calendar dogs and making 2014 happen

is it really the last day of the year? it must be because everyone is posting end of the year and new year craziness.

we spent the last day of the year relaxing, reading and enjoying the beautiful weather that today presented.

i love it that this one is truly a lap dog and that he loves sitting on my lap and he actually fits

when we went outside to do our business (they did their business, i just checked the mail), we stopped at dad's wood shop and they went up on the porch and chaco said, "hey, take our picture! this one will be great for a new calendar..you're making one this year, right?" and bruno was just kinda' like... really? is this necessary?

sometimes it takes a minute, but when i can get them to both pay attention, they're pretty good models (this one will be in my new year calendar)

as i look back and reflect on the year, 2013 just kinda' slipped by. nothing spectacular, it just plodded along. 

i want more out of 2014. and that's going to be up to me. i did start by picking up one of these:

i was an idiot and i let mine expire. my bad.

i'm not really dying to go anywhere but back to HONDURAS to visit, really i need to get out to see more of the U.S. we have such a great abundance of beauty that i have yet to mark off my list-makes me wish i had an r.v.

also on my list:
- find a church nearby that i really love and feel a part of.
-there was a homeless group that i was about to get involved in a couple of years ago that i would like to look into more closely.
-more walks with the boys-more dog parks.
-more visits to norman (now that bmayes is back).
-more smiling.
-more laughing.
-more singing, and maybe some dancing in the rain (when everyone else is inside).
-more eating outside.
-more walks at lunch.
-less t.v.
-less social media (that will be difficult)
-more letter-writing.
-more compliments and encouragement.
-less criticizing, more helping.
-more painting.
-more exercising.
-more eating well.
-more leisurely reading.
-more risk-taking.
-less second-guessing.
-less caring about what everyone else thinks.
-more nature.
-visit more museums, plays, and other fun cultural events.
-catch up with more old friends (not that they have to be ancient-old, more like simply reuniting with people who have been special to me at some point in my life).

i'm sure there are more things that will go onto this list, but it's a good start.

move over 2013, there's a new year in town!

instead of just waking up tomorrow and saying, "happy new year!" let's wake up every morning and say, "HAPPY NEW DAY!"

julie

see the beauty in the ice-don't just shiver and curse its coldness.

well, we drove up to mo. to visit mom and dad for the break. we left on monday to avoid bad weather, and it was actually a fairly nice drive. when we got up into oklahoma, it was obvious that an ice storm had passed through. dad called when we were just about halfway through ok, and told me i should probably go the speed limit, because they were talking about cracking down on speedsters...

i figured this might be a good time to be obedient and heed his wisdom. we were in no hurry. in fact, the effects of the ice storm were so compelling that i decided to pull off and take a small side road in the country to get some pictures. i love leisurely trips!

 then we i got back in the car (the boys were hesitant to get out. chaco was like, "look at me. my hair is so thin. i can't go out there, you haven't even gotten me a scarf for the winter! do i look like a husky?) i'm pretty sure anyone who was passing by was wondering what i was doing...don't care.

so we kept going and who forgot to check the windshield wiper fluid? so on the turnpike with no exits in sight, i thought about pulling off, throwing some snow on the windshield and wiping it off...actually i considered the sprite sitting beside me for about a fraction of a second; instead, i would get up near a big truck who was spraying up just enough wet stuff to wipe them, then speed around him until we finally found an exit and bought some fluid. it was magical. i never knew that happiness could be found in a bottle of wiper fluid, and yet there it was.

i did stop in to get chaco his scarf, and that night, we got some ice in buffalo as well, and he was willing to step out for just a moment, but he shivered the entire time. bruno on the other hand, was loving it.

i was riveted by the ice on the trees. it glistened in the sunlight and it kinda' looked like tinsel. the best part was just listening to it talk. the limbs creaked with the weight of the ice and it was fascinating!

the boys were greeted with their own stockings this year-they were pretty excited!

bruno with his squeaky toy giraffe...he set it aside to sniff out the other goodies.

and chaco with his squeaky boar. he LOVES that thing! and i'm excited because he hasn't been able to disable the squeaker.

rare moment when they weren't in checking on the cat.

 they have been very diligent all week long to check on the cat in the laundry room to make sure he was still up there on the washing machine. he's pretty much proven that he's not afraid of them, he just likes to taunt them by sitting still and watching them bark, then if they get close enough, he'll bat at them with his paw and they think he's like mike tyson or something.

it warmed up for a couple of days and so we got to plink around a little. i really wish i could find abundant supplies of ammo for the 9mm-it's a better shot. but dad pulled out his rifle and we played with that too. i don't know how many rounds we went through in all, but when it was all said and done, dad and i went down to look at the wooden stand he had rigged up, and it took a beating...and that was just with the .22. i heard shots in the distance around the 'rural neighborhood' and i'm guessing they were probably shooting at dear targets...not me...mine was a self-defense silhouette-they probably think i am some kind of maniacal Texan (if they saw my plates). sorry kids, that's just how we handle things in texas. (surely a stereotype that we are all walker texas ranger-thank you chuck norris)

i settled in with the book thief because i was intrigued when i saw a brief portion of the movie trailer. i really was a bit clueless as to what it was going to be about, but i couldn't put it down. i really loved the characters in the story-they had such neat qualities.

i received many lovely things this year, and while the heartfelt thoughts behind every gift is greatly appreciated, what made my heart the happiest this year was hearing from friends-that things are going well-that they are happy-that they are feeling blessed in many ways-that family is well and healthy-that memories are being made-these are the things that warmed my heart the most during this season of JOY.

may your blessings be many-
julie

no worries, it's just a crime risk report

UPDATE! THE GRINCH PICS FINALLY CAME!

when they guy took off his mask, he still kinda resembled the grinch. bruno was like, "mom, he's worse than halloween." hmm.

wednesday we had our staff party at that famous italian restaurant that's not olive garden...i'll remember it in a moment...i'm too lazy to look it up. but i had a fabulous chicken parm. on the way to the restaurant, i had to stop and get another Christmas card-writing pen because somehow i lost the other one that i had JUST gotten! what in the world? it was worth it to go through the feeling of getting a new pen all over again. (anyone else with me on this pen thing?) i mean, the pen makes or breaks it!

at one point while at the dinner, i had to use the restroom, and of course there was an italian lesson on the intercom of the restroom in which the tourist was learning how to say some very strange things. and when i turned to go out the door, the door said 'uomini/men'....so i quickly opened the door to make sure, and the outside said womens-that was weird. scary weird.

when i got into my car, i saw a paper under my wiper...uh oh, it looked like a ticket. i AM late on my inspection...and that could've warranted a ticket...

it wasn't a ticket!!! the officer was just trying to help me prevent criminal activity..HIDE RADAR DETECTOR TO PREVENT THEFT.

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

then i got home and my throat was getting that beginning-of-scratchy feeling. so i went to bed at a decent time. when i woke up, it was rough. i didn't even roll out of bed. i called in sick, and went back to sleep til about noon. then i was up for a bit and i went to get cold/flu medication at tom thumb; i wasn't sure what to get so i got 4 different items, plus a thermometer. i didn't think i would need it because i was feeling a little better, but i don't have one, and since i was thinking about it, i might as well get it, right? so i did. and the next morning when i woke up, i was running a fever, so i called in again. boo. 

i missed ugly sweater day on thursday and i missed pajama day on friday. boo, again.

julie

if it's red or green and it's in our home, attack it!

hmm. (that's how i begin when it's been awhile and i really have no idea exactly where to begin). so i will just start with december, how's that? (rhetorical-your input is not valid here).

so, here's the deal. thanksgiving decided to come super late this year. thanks a lot, thanksgiving. (and at this point, you might be thinking, 'i thought she said she was starting with december.' i lied. my blog, my prerogative. unapologetic. but not really...i'm a little sorry...only not much). regardless, i was am grateful for much. i am not going to sit here and list everything that i am grateful for and bore you, but i will say that i did a lot of thinking over that break and what i am especially grateful for ( i just told you i wasn't going to do this, but i guess one word a list does not make...yoda logic...and once again unapologetic-for real this time) is relationships past and present.

ok, FF to december. we tried to get into the swing of things at school, but then we were graced with a snow  ice day that friday and it lasted through to monday, when our 2nd snow day was used up...boo. the only thing i hate more than losing a day to ice is losing 2 days to ice. we didn't get out to do anything. in fact, the electricity went out around 3 am on friday morning and lasted until about 5 p.m. saturday... i was not smiley face icon...i was more grumpy cat icon (if there even is one). we made the most of it. so...i like to be prepared-thankfully i had the emergency radio and was able to crank it for news and music...otherwise, i might have driven the boys crazy. and then we snuggled up on the couch and i wrote some of my Christmas letters.

um, yes, please notice the pen. this is one of TWO special pens i bought specifically for writing Christmas messages. it made all the difference. and yes i made a special trip just before the storm specifically to make that purchase. i'm serious about my pens.

 i pulled out all of my batteries, and then i found my camping stove that uses gel (which burns clean) and when it started to get a little chilly, i opened the hand warmers and put them in my socks and in my pockets. worked like a charm.

i used the little stove to heat up water for coffee-the old fashioned way, and i think i heated up some soup...then i took some of the refrigerator items and put them in the cooler and placed them on the balcony.

i'm pretty sure i'd do just fine in a cabin in the woods.

then monday came. i was supposed to be at a convention that day. when i woke up and watched the news, they were showing all sorts of video of people having difficulty maneuvering about on 'cobblestone ice'. so i decided to wait for awhile and see if it started to melt or look better. i decided to venture out and check it out myself-by delivering some mail to the post office (which was close) those roads were clear, so i felt guilty and decided i should try to make it over to the conference at the gaylord. got caught up a little and missed the afternoon session, so i went down to the exhibition hall and looked around (trying to avoid actually talking to any of the vendors). i did come across this next to the restroom:

hmm...now why would anyone build a non accessible closet...and then announce it? and on a placard none-the-less!! rich people.

the next two days were great because i actually went to some great sessions...okay, two were great, the third one i should have gotten up and walked out, even though the presenters came all the way from singapore; a piece of me is still mourning those 2 lost hours of my life (and i did write a Christmas card at that point...i'm sure layne will appreciate the mention of wishing for a cyanide tooth in her Christmas card).

yesterday when i was at petsmart, i saw a santa, and they said santa would be there til 4. i looked at my watch: 1:30. i rushed home, got out the shears, gave bruno and chaco a trim, and quickly hustled them out the door for pictures (we were running against the clock, i may or may not have left hair trimmings on the floor in our rush out the door-but this was important!) when we got there, there was a lady in the santa costume...well, the boys have never met santa before, and they are pretty perceptive...they now think santa is a lady...so i told them that santa is an elderly lady with lots of testosterone in her system, that's why all of the facial hair. chaco was like, "what? she's a tester of bones? i want her job!" selective hearing.

pretty sure if she were the real santa, she would've told chaco he wasn't getting a cat for Christmas because he was DEFINITELY barking at the little boy who came around the corner. he really doesn't like little kids. i don't know what the cut-off age is.

now they know santa. pretty sure chaco was done before we even started.

then i saw something on facebook that a friend posted about getting pics with the grinch. well, i thought this would be a very good idea. it would help a dog rescue team, AND more importantly, the boys would know the difference between santa and the grinch, and if the wrong one showed up on Christmas eve, they would know which one to freak out about...ok, for real though, i told them that if either of these crazies showed up in our place, they should attack!

we waited in line for a bit and a girl came out of the ice cream shop and rushed over to pet the dogs-let's face it, bruno and chaco just aren't very social. they don't like people in public. if you come to my place, they'll be all over you, otherwise, it's like you aren't even there. anyhoo,when i picked chaco up, the girl ran out again to pet him, and i saw his ears go back...he was good. then she turned around and he barked at her-and it wasn't a nice 'come-back-and-keep-petting-me' bark...it was more of a 'that's-right-you'd-better-turn-around-and-run-and-never-look-back' bark. yeah, so i'm thinking that the cut-off age is right around 4th-5th grade.

it's not the greatest pic, i am waiting for them to send their digital pic-i was moving, trying to get them to look at the real photog.

then we came home and did some photo shoots. we got a Christmas one for next year's card..

we may have to choose between this, santa and the grinch...

and then we went for something a little more sophisticated.

they'd seen a guy on facebook do this with his cats, and bruno was adamant that they would look great. we go to great lengths to keep 'em happy.

well, this is it, one final week of classes until we have a break! i have a few more Christmas messages to finish-hopefully i will find a free evening this week.

 make sure your pets know the difference between good and evil! (and rehabilitated) or just teach them to bark at everything-safer.
julie