LADDventure

Mystery Poo

Look how he's avoiding eye contact.  You'll know why in a second.

Given my post yesterday, I decided to start out today with some goals:

1.  Write for 3 hours (from 9:00-12:00).  Butt in chair.  Cell phone turned to silent. No Facebook.
2.  Go grocery shopping, menu plan in hand.
3.  Finish fall decorating. 

Wouldn't you know it, at exactly 9:00 on the dot, I stood up to put away my breakfast dishes and get started and it happened.  I stepped in something.  It was a little sticky, so thinking it was honey or jam dropped on the floor from my husband who I swear is part bear, I wiped it on the throw rug.  Yeah, not honey or jam, and Buddy was nowhere to be found.  Now, if there is one thing worse than poo on your bare foot, it is poo on your foot from a mystery source.  I could not figure out where the original scene of the crime was.  I retraced my steps (not hard to do when you've stepped in poo), but could find no bigger pile.  Must've been a cling-on, and if you've had dogs you know what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, use your imagination, and you'll probably never want one after this post.

So my 9:00 start time was pushed back to 9:20 as I cleaned my foot and the floor, threw the rug in the washing machine, and tried to find Buddy before anymore boobie traps were left around the house.  He had the sneaking suspicion he had done something wrong and was cowering in his usual apologetic cowtow when I found him.  He was embarrassed and uncomfortable and not quite sure what to do about this (ahem) "baggage" he had brought in with him.  I knew I couldn't really be mad at him, because he hadn't meant to.  It wasn't intentional.

There has got to be some sort of "when life gives you lemons..." or "shit happens" sort of metaphor here, but I think it's a little more complex.  You see, you can have great intentions, like Buddy's intention of keeping his poo outside where it belongs.  But sometimes you do everything you think you're supposed to, and still you accidentally drag some of your poo into the house.  Inevitably, your poo ends up affecting someone else.  Say you're sorry when someone else has stepped in your poo, and be the one to forgive if your foot is currently covered in poo.  In addition to forgiveness and restoration, you may get a blog post and a few life lessons out of the ordeal.   You didn't really have a topic you were excited to write about today anyway, and now your metaphor-loving heart is full of ideas.  So here are the morals of today's post:

• You can have the best of intentions but sometimes your crap ends up accidentally hurting someone else.  When it does, apologize.

• Forgive someone who affected you with their baggage.  When you retrace your steps, you may realize they didn't mean to, and they are probably ashamed and not quite sure of what to do with it.

• You can have timely, organized plans, but shit happens, and you just need to clean it up and carry on.  Don't let it distract you from your goals.

• When life hands you poo on your foot, turn it into a blog post (well that one may not be so universal, but you get the idea).

Barcelo

It is through watery eyes that I write about a precious doggy soul who is now resting in peace.  Barcelo was our friend Eric and Laura's beautiful boxer.  They had to put him down today way earlier in his life than they wanted to, but he was sick and weak, and needed to be laid to rest.  I have been crying about it for the last 2 days and am trying to get my head around what's so hard about it for me.

I think it's emotional because my heart breaks for Eric and Laura, and because besides being such a sweet, fun dog, Barcelo represents a lot.  He was their first 'baby,' and I will never forget going to see him for the first time at 7 weeks old the chilly night they brought him home in his little mini fleece.  They had just gotten married, and named him after their honeymoon resort in Mexico.  He officially made them a family. That night was also one of the first times we were ever over at Eric and Laura's house. We had been acquaintances.  I went to high school with Eric, and we had some mutual friends, but Jeremiah had just started working out with him at the gym, and we were starting to get to know Laura.  We were engaged to be married the following spring.  I feel like we needed couple friends at that point in time, and meeting Barcelo that night marked the beginning of a friendship that we cherish.

When Barcelo was just about a year old, Eric and Laura also picked up a sassy little Italian greyhound/rat terrier mix at the pet store.  He was on clearance, and they couldn't resist.  We ended up with him the next night because Barcelo was still a big puppy and would scoop him up and slide him across the floor with his big paws or pin him down to play and the little guy just kept coming back for more.  This was clearly not going to work out so well, given their size difference at the time.  Jeremiah had just told me we could start looking for a little dog for our little apartment, so we went to Eric and Laura's armed with a checkbook and brought him home that night.  Now we were a family too.

I like to think there would be no Mico without Barcelo, and as Mico got bigger they were able to play and become fast friends. We named him Mico because he is part Italian and the Italian word for friend is 'amico.'  Fitting.

I firmly believe that God created dogs to be our companions, and help us understand how to live more fully and love more deeply.  The kind of love that just shows up and is always present;  at the door when you walk in, curled up behind your knees on the couch, and alongside you on a walk.  Quietly, steadily, just there. Barcelo was just that - gentle, sturdy love in the form of a wagging nubbin tale, a wrinkly concerned forehead, and velvety ears. We all learned a lot from Barcelo - that you should run with abandon through fields sometimes, not caring that your big cheeks are flapping in the wind and drool is flying everywhere. He taught us that anybody can be a friend no matter how different from you they might be, playing with Mico who was 1/4 of his size and treating him as an equal.  Most importantly, he taught us that no matter how big and strong you are, sometimes you just need to lean your heavy head into someone you love, or let them carry you for a while.

Goodbye for now, Big B!  I have no doubt you will greet us at the door of Heaven just like you did at home, with a wiggling butt and lots of slobber.

Wordless Wednesday

Caption Anyone?

Looking Back on The Week

This is the first week since I have started the blog that I have actually posted something every single day, and it has been awesome. I'm hoping to stick to that schedule with regular features like Waist Management on Sundays, Wordless Wednesdays, and Random Reading on Fridays.  In between it will be any myriad of adventurous and lovely things.  Having a set schedule to write for a couple hours every morning has made all the difference.  It has given me purpose throughout the week as I look at things differently, collecting pictures, phrases, and bits of stories to tell. I caught up with a few friends and family over the phone, and discussed all things bloggy with my next door buddy.  I enjoyed the rainy nights, made a killer summer squash gratin (recipe coming soon), and conquered some pesky technology.  But other than that, I spent a lot of time by myself this week just thinking, reading, and writing.  I haven't had the time to do that in quite awhile, and it was perfect.  The rest of this weekend will include napping to golf on the T.V., volunteering at a doggy rescue, celebrating a friend's birthday, probably some pool time, and making an amazing chocolate chip zucchini cake (this recipe also coming soon).  I'll be literally weighing in tomorrow with a new WAIST Management post.

Rainy Random Reading

Monsoon season has started here in the Valley of the Sun.  It's that lovely time of the summer that comes along just when you think you can't take the days of blowing dust and blazing sun any longer.  Around sunset the layered clouds start rolling in shadowing the mountains as they undermine the sun. The wind cuts through the dead air and sways the palms.

The night cools down enough to sit on the patio for a lightning show with your hair blown back and a sweating glass of iced tea.   Then comes rain.  The smell of dampening dust and refreshment hangs in the air, and the other night I literally drank it all in. Stood out in the rain with my face up to the sky, mouth and arms open wide.  Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to precipitation.

On that note, here's some reading material for your (hopefully) rainy weekend.  Most of them are links to the best things I read online this week, but I do have to mention that I'm currently reading the best rainy day book, Tana French's In the Woods.  It is mysterious and creepy, but heartfelt and engaging at the same time.  Lovely to read with rumbling thunder in the background.

Perfect Iced Coffee (The Pioneer Woman)

Finally found a cold brew iced coffee recipe that looks doable, and I tend to trust whatever Ree Drummond says, so it is currently brewing.  Hopefully this will be a staple in our desert fridge at all times.

7 Years of Blogging (Sarah Bessey) 

I originally clicked on this one because Laura of Hollywood Housewife recommended it, and I also trust whatever Laura says.  Great thoughts and encouragement for me about writing and faith.

Eating Chicken-Solving Problems (Dinner a Love Story)

I had not seen this blog until Shauna Niequist mentioned the post.  I also infinitely trust her opinion. (are you noticing a theme here?)  Great theory on what coming back to the table together could accomplish, and why sitting down to share a meal with people you care about is so important.

Spoiled Rotten (Elizabeth Kolbert)

I think this one has been circulating for a while, but it is a must read.  It so interestingly and accurately describes the biggest problem I saw as a teacher.

LIES (The Bloggess)

Lately discovered the Bloggess and can't get enough.  I just finished her hilarious memoir, Let's Pretend This Never Happened.  It is absolutely laugh out loud by yourself on an airplane and shoot pretzel crumbs out of your mouth while reading it - that kind of funny.

Happy Weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Yoga for Two

So, lately we've been trying to be more active together. We've been popping in my Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD and attempting yoga on our "his and hers" yoga mats in the living room. It's been one fitness activity which I've found we are on similar ability and comfort levels with, so it's been interesting pursuing it together. Hitting the gym with Jeremiah is a bit of an exercise in frustration as he hangs out in the "heavy breather" section (you know, the place with the huge dumbbells where very large men lift one obscenely heavy weight a few times, and then walk around breathing heavily and looking at themselves in the mirror for the next 10 minutes). He has also been fairly impatient in showing me how to use the complicated machinery that tends to resemble medieval torture devices, and so needless to say, I stick to the treadmill when we go.

With yoga however, we have met on fairly equal playing ground. I show him how to straighten his leg in Warrior position and he shows me how to keep my back straight in Plank, and we both sweat profusely and drop to the ground occasionally in exhaustion and yell at Bob on the DVD. So we're strengthening our core muscles and our relationship as we bond over Yoga for Two.

Really it's more like Yoga for Three as you will see in this next picture of Buddy demonstrating Downward Dog pose...

Wordless Wednesday