So according to the vets, they feel Ava will be strong enough to get out of the animal hospital tomorrow...I am so excited and happy! I know I'm just buying her time, but I love her so much and I think that all your prayers and good thoughts really helped her!

I'm actually very motivated about poker right now and have been putting in a ton of hands. December was actually my first losing month of 2008. It was very tough emotionally. At my lowest point, I was down 6.8k at 1/2 and 2/4. I also didn't play much for the first few weeks of December (life tilt ldo and going out). I clawed back at the end of the month putting in an impressive 25k hands from the 22nd onwards (impressive for me) to -$171.85. I guess it wasn't a breakeven month if you count rakeback...but still very disappointing results wise.

I was talking to a couple of friends today about bankroll requirements etc. I've decided I'm way too nitty after talking with them and should really be playing games that my EV is the highest. So with that being said, I've played a good amount of hands so far at 2/4 this month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good month! Lately, my life has consisted of reading all strategy and talking about difficult hands with friends.

On a side note, poker is all about making the right decision in order to induce some kind of action or response from others. I find myself wondering, how much of that applies to life? In life, how often do we say or do certain things in order to elicit a certain response from others? For example, if you're a people pleaser (which admittedly I am) how often do you agree or disagree with a group or individual sentiment in order to fit in? Going further with that thought, just as in poker how often do we anticipate the level that the other person is on? An example would be expecting a person to act a certain way or a conditioned response to whatever stimulus you give that person. What if that person already expects that you are wanting a certain reaction and does the opposite? Then what if you already know that person knows that and you plan your next step in order to elicit the desired reaction? Sick leveling haha its making my head spin but, I think its pretty valid to think about these things.

Ok because I haven't done this in awhile, I'm posting a video! I think Mariah Carey is hottt here.

I want to thank each of you for leaving a comment in my blog about Ava. She's still in the animal hospital and its still touch and go. Some days are good days and some are bad. The vet thought she could leave on Tuesday (this was Monday) then she plummeted Tuesday morning. Her liver is shutting down because of all the meds and she was experiencing neurological side effects from the meds such as not being able to walk straight, twitching randomly and dogpaddling. The vet told me to come in to see her and be prepared for the worst.

I brought Gamby thinking he'd cheer her up as well. When I saw her, it literally broke my heart. She was sickly and sad. Being Ava though, she still was trying to wag her tail and snuggle up to me. I've lost other dogs and pets, even people before however, Ava's health problems are hitting me the hardest. Most people don't know this, but those who are very close to me do. Ava came into my life during my emotional equivalent of the crash of 1929. I was very depressed and barely got out of bed. It literally felt like my world was ending. However, she came into my life right before and it was her in large part, that brought me out of my depression.

I got my update today and she's doing better today, but I know she can't live like this because all I am doing is buying her time for a fatal disease with no cure. I'm prepared to do the right thing and put her to sleep if it comes to that.

I guess I should talk a little about my New Year's. I had a ton of fun, going to TAO with Omniheart (Ye) and some other poker players and their friends. December has been good to me in credit card roulette! I played quite a few times and got out of it everytime even when it got down to heads up. Anyway, New Years in Vegas is insane. The crowds were crazzzy. We had to walk from Planet Hollywood to Venetian and there were times people were pushing and shoving each other over. Finally, we get to Venetian and a ridiculous amount of alcohol was consumed by all.

The thing is after midnight I got pretty bored and ended up leaving by myself. The strip was still closed and there were tons of police officers everywhere. I walked from Venetian back to my place at Sky which is about a mile and a half. Walking always gives me amazing clarity. Random drunk guys kept talking to me as I'm walking alone. I kept telling everyone I wasn't interested in any company but to have a good new year's.

Some New Year's Resolutions:
1) Get in ridiculous shape by this summer. Poker has made me lazy and I want to look great since everyone looks great in Vegas. I also have a 5k prop bet with Tom which means no slacking on my part!
2) Not date anyone until I figure a few things out. This one is probably the most important actually.
3) Poker goals that I'm not going to disclose here actually because I'm not 100% sure what they are yet. I'm very fortunate actually. Lately, I've been talking to Nick (high stakes poker player who's sn is not to be disclosed ldo) who sees lots of potential and he wants to and has been helping me daily.
4) Not waste so much time...so I'm going to be spending a lot less time reading CR OT, bbv4l etc. Instead I'm going to be reading lots of strategy posts and working extra hard to improve.

Last thing is in other news, I'm hitting up Pure tomorrow night with Ye and meeting Gaucho for the first time everrr haha. How exciting. Such is life in Vegas I suppose.

That's it for now babes. GL at the tables.

Tonight, my pretty little Ava was admitted to an animal hospital because her blood disease is back and in full force. Ava has autoimmune hemolytic anemia which as my first vet explained is like the opposite of HIV. Basically, your white blood cells destroy your red blood cells. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ A good webpage if anyone wants to read about it.

The vet has said the next 48 hours are crucial (and expensive...sigh) because this disease is so aggressive. She was only not feeling well for less than two days before I brought her in. There is a strong possibility she might not react to the meds and IV. She's actually been through this before last year when I first got her in August. She pulled through then and I was able to wean her off her steroids and meds. Now that it is back and in full force, she will have to be on meds and shots for the rest of her life (if she makes it).

Ava is the best dog and to be honest, my favorite out of the three. She is so calm and sweet. She's never rude and always waits her turn for food or to play. All she really wants in life is a warm human lap (she always prefers to be touching me in some way), food, a ball and sometimes a rawhide. I am really praying she makes it through, I literally fell apart at the vet's office (I'm sure they thought I was insane).

Here's a pic of her and Minks sleeping together on the way back from the beach in May.

I wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas in my blog :)

This Christmas has been the weirdest one yet. I spent the whole day by myself...mostly playing poker. I chose not to go home for personal reasons and some of my family and friends are visiting in Jan. Overall, it wasn't bad but the weather in Vegas was horrific today. Well that's about it I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of joy and presents and got everything they wished for and more!

xoxoxo

Now that CR has fixed its blogs, I definitely want to post more!

December has been a pretty crazy month. It all started with Ray (booshiet/Hustler) visiting Vegas with another Stars msnl reg BillyBear. They are some crazy guys but I absolutely loved meeting Ray. He also got me playing a bit more live which is good.

I met Tom (tjbentham) and Hevad through Ray and a bunch of other poker players as well. I basically lived with these guys for the past few weeks which has been an interesting experience to say the least. It wasn't uncommon for me to wake up at 430 am (I'm a horrible sleeper) or 6 am to sounds of Mortal Kombat or poker. I've also become accustomed to their late night junk food type cravings haha. I think I've also become a neater person since I was always picking up after them so the doggies wouldn't get into things.

Onto poker before I post pictures, I played almost 0 in December (except live) and I'm on my worst downswing ever online between 12-13k. A big part of the last 2-4k is me experimenting with some new things. I'm now more confident and motivated to play. I know things will turn around :)

Ok pics!

Benny (1masterminds) and Tom at Tao.





Hevad and Tom at Tao.




Benny being FOB in Chinatown hahaha!



All the guys, Tom, Eric, Hevad, Benny and Bailey in Chinatown.


Bailey and my doggies.







My favorite steak restaurant Prime yumm!




Funny story behind this picture: I called him Sammy Farha because I was drunk!! Opps. The guys thought it was hilarious.


Well that's it for now...I have more pictures but I have to run errands.

Later babes :)

I am sosososo excited for UFC 91 tonight. My friend John and I scored some bomb ass (hahaha I never use this phrase!) seats from CR member bk(bunch of numbers). He was great and fedex overnighted them. I've been a pretty big fan of UFC for a few years and I remember back when the Oscar De La Hoya and Mayweather fight took place I said to myself that someday, I would go to a ufc event.

So tonight, my friend bet 1k on Lesnar and I did a bet as well. I've never sports bet in my entire life, so wish me luck guys! More than anything, I'm just super excited to have the opportunity to go. I'll make sure to update with pics.

Also, I had dinner at Social House at T.I. the other night. It was sooo good. I really recommend anyone who likes Japanese food with an ultra lounge feel to go there. Back to UFC, I'd really love to score tickets for the De La Hoya in December that would be my ultimate dream. He's my favorite fighter mostly because of his personality (hah I love that he smack talks sooo much). Anyway, time for me to go showerrrr....I'm so excited!

I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.

---Janine Allen

Officially, I'm getting another dog, another gorgeous Cavalier. My search started a few weeks ago when I looked around and saw all kinds of extra dog things at my place. Beds, dishes, treats, toys...you name it I had it. Then I started thinking to myself, why not try to offer another dog a good home. I started looking at shelters online but, none of those poor dogs were really it. My heart kept telling me to try and rescue a Cavalier since I love the breed. The first Cavalier I wanted to rescue, the owners never got back to me. Then I decided I really love the ruby colored Cavaliers.

As it turns out, this boy is perfect for me. He's 1 year old and it seems like most people don't like Rubys anyway...not sure why. The breeder was never able to sell him, she said it seemed like no one wanted him (or his other ruby brother). As it turns out he is related to Ava! His grandfather is the champion of the kennel Ava came from. Pretty much the breeder was sold. She's shipping him out to me next week. At first, I was a little hesitant about this guy...but when I heard his show name "The Gambler" who they call Gamby, I knew he was made for me!

Anyway, I started thinking about how my dogs have rescued me in times where I was really down about life. My boy doggie has been through so much with me...Hurricane Katrina being the most catastrophic. Ava came at a point in my life where I was absolutely devastated my ex-fiance and I broke up. I think Gamby is my run good doggie! The day I saw his pictures I played the guy at 10/20 haha. So in case you guys can't tell....I absolutely love my dogs. They are my life. I'm probably gonna be known as the crazy old woman with lots of dogs and shoes.

Here's a pic of Gamby!

So last night as I was grinding 1/2, there was a huge mega mega fish at 3 of my tables. Eventually, as he was talking some smack with another fish at the table. I asked nicely if he wanted to play HU. At first he declined, as he said that he wanted to play the other fish at the table. Then he said "well I have 2.5k left in my account." So he proceeded to sit at 10/20 hu.

Gulp. I knew I had to play him so I managed to sell action. However, before I was able to do that, another 1/2 reg sat with him. At this point, I was busy begging in chat to be able to play him HU....from "but, I'm a hot chick with boobs! And this guy, well he's probably an ugly pimply face nerd." Sorry to the 1/2 reg if he reads this, I don't really think that! Villian managed to get AKss vs AQo aipf. Fish doubles to 4.5k. Gulp. At this point, I'm sweating hard but I had managed to sell action so I sat before someone else could.

I insta quit all my tables except the one he still had money on at 1/2. That table proceeds to go nutz. I really didn't respond to any chat because I was so focused on the HU match. Another 1/2 reg who I actually have a healthy amount of respect for actually said I was a good player! That was really nice on his part :)

Anyway, I ended up +4.5ish k!! So I busted his roll. I was so nervous the entire time...haha little tmi, but I'm not a very sweaty person and I keep the temperature in my place about 73. I was sweating the whollleee time and my hands were shaking. I ended up keeping the majority of my action so this was an awesome score!!

I don't want to jinx anything, but I could be on my way to beating my record of 12.6k (my biggest month). However, I want to say I will not be playing 2/4 anytime soon. Instead I've decided to try to save up and get coaching (10 lessons worth) from someone really awesome like mynameizgreg and skip 2/4. (its rigged!) Another funny little antecedote, Villain asked me how much was in my account. I didn't want to tell him I play 1/2 with 100+ buyins lolol. At the end of the match, railbirds were asking for a % lol, like that was gonna happen.

UFC was soooo amazing. I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to go to this. I even made monies sports betting! It was such a crazy night. The atmosphere in Vegas was electric that night and traffic a nightmare. My friend and I took a cab and it was crazy to even get to the Excalibur. From there I hiked in my Jimmy Choos boooo. My feet were killing me by the end of the night. The prelimaries were amazing even. I will admit I was a little disappointed that none of the fights were decisions! It was really difficult to get good pictures as the stands were always shaking!

Hi Lesnar!




Sorry they are so blurry!! People around us literally went crazy when he won.

So Gamby has been here for a day now. He was so funny he came out of his crate after 9 hours wagging his tail immediately. We bonded instantly, he's really gorgeous and totally still a puppy at one year. Minko didn't like him much last night but they are all starting to get along great. He's such a puppy though, he has torn up 1) part of my headset 2) part of his new leash 3) tissue and 4) pulled things off my coffee table. There have been no potty accidents! Yay! Ok pics...


Ok that's it for now :)

I'm so excited!!! For 4k!!!

Tommorow I'm going to play at the Venetian deep stack. I hope to run good!! I am being staked for tourneys though but I do have a great deal. Tonight's score was 50/50 so I was freerolling and for the other tournaments I am getting 60/40 with no makeup. I'm excited!

So far I've made my stakers $$$$. I don't think I'm going to become a tourney pro anytime soon (shoot me would you?!) but I like playing them pretty regularly.

It was pretty sad going into HU the guy had about 6:1 chip lead on me. I raised 7 10 cc otb and he calls. Flop is A 8 9 giving me an oesd and backdoor fd. We get it all in and he holds. :(

Well I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight and hopefully do well tom since I do not play live much!

Ava was super cute and cuddled with me the whole time since I was playing on my laptop, watching the election and some Leggo vids. Btw, GO OBAMA!!!!