Change is in the wind

One week ago tonight my life changed in a way I was not expecting.  It started as a normal evening at home in the middle of a routine week.  Just the night before we'd spent a few hours at the local farmers market enjoying the plethora of delicious prepared food that's offered there.  We stopped to pet one of the rescue dogs that they always have at the corner and remarked, once again, that we were not ready to open our battered hearts to a new dog, not just yet.

The best laid plans...

Fast forward to the next evening.  I was spending a few hours minutes on the computer before I settled in for a long evening of TV pondering  the world's problems when I noticed a posting on Facebook (not that I go there all that often) which caught my eye.

ROCKY NEEDS A TEMPORARY FOSTER HOME!


This is Rocky, a darling 12 pound Pomeranian mix. He was rescued from the shelter last week. Unfortunately, he developed kennel cough. It's not a serious problem for him, but kennel cough is contagious and so he needs a foster home without other dogs. Rocky will not be able to undergo the veterinary procedures he needs until the kennel cough clears up.


If you can offer a temporary home to Rocky, please let us know.
Thank you!

Something about that cute little face tugged at my heartstrings.  I knew I wasn't ready for a new dog and we didn't even want a small dog like this but we did have a dogless home that could offer him temporary shelter while he got over kennel cough.  I wrote to the rescue organization (which I had been familiar with through a friend) before I could change my mind.

Two days later we headed up the coast about 40 miles to the vet hospital where "Rocky" was convalescing.  We met the rescue organization's board member who had sprung Rocky from the shelter and she turned him over to us along with a bunch of toys and blankets.  Later that day another board member stopped by with a crate and food.

It didn't take long for us to know that we had to rethink the whole "we're not ready for another dog" policy.  Rocky (we're changing the name, I'll announce that later) is the quietest small dog I've ever known.  I've only heard him bark once.  He loves riding in the car with us, walks perfectly on a leash and likes nothing better than to sleep next to me on the couch.  He's calm and mellow but always ready for fun.   He has a few of Jasper's quirks and mannerisms which has been a little freaky at times.

I figured our lives would be in upheaval after getting him but he's fit seamlessly into our lives with very little adjustment.  One of the hardest things about the last six months has been not having anyone to take care of.  My mornings seemed empty without someone to take out and feed so it's been nice to get back into that routine.  T says he enjoys listening to the 'family' sounds once again.

Rocky has had a rough life recently.  His original family gave him away to a neighbor because they were moving but the neighbor had other dogs so Rocky spent most of his time in her backyard by himself.  She eventually decided she didn't want him after all so she put him in the shelter.  His eyes were wary and full of concern when we first got him, I'm sure he was wondering how long this was going to last before he had to go somewhere else.

So yeah, he's not going anywhere; we've started the adoption process.  He still has a few routine veterinary procedures to go through before he's officially ready for adoption but he's definitely ours.  His eyes are happy now.

Resolutions? Yes!

I know lots of people resist the idea of making New Year's resolutions and they have all sorts of excuses reasons why they don't make 'em.  There are those that say that they don't need to wait till the first of the year to resolve to make changes of course not but how many of those people actually get around to making resolutions at any other time of the year?  Or there are the ones that don't want to spend any time looking over the last year - good or bad.  Are they afraid of introspection?  Afraid they won't like what they see or afraid there won't be anything of substance *to* see?  Afraid they'll see more regret than accomplishment?

My personal favorites are the ones that won't make resolutions because they know they won't keep them.
Sweeties, y'all are just making the WRONG resolutions! 

I think too many people use resolutions as a form of self punishment.  Rather than make gentle adjustments into something that they really want, they make drastic changes to turn themselves into what they think they're supposed to be.  Of course those types of resolutions don't work, they were doomed to failure before the thought was even formed in your head.

I say, never make a resolution that's going to bring you anything but joy.  My friend, Duke, has the right idea here in his New Year's Eve blog post.  He's not going to have any trouble keeping those resolutions and they'll bring him a lot of pleasure all year long!

With that in mind, here are my joyful resolutions for 2012:

1.  sing as much as possible, even if it's only in the car or shower but even better, look for opportunities to let your inner diva come out and play
2.  look for the extraordinary in each day and be grateful for it
3. make more healthy choices than unhealthy but don't regret the unhealthy, if you're going to cheat on your diet then you might as well enjoy every moment
4. enjoy the quiet days but don't hide behind them - adventure is outside of your comfort zone
5. be adorable every day, even if some days it takes more effort than others - you are worth the effort!
6. discard anything (clothes, clutter, situations, people) that takes away from being adorable
7. give thanks daily for the people you love and let them know it
8. start projects with the intention of finishing them but give yourself permission to let go of projects that no longer fit in your life
9.  don't beat yourself up about mistakes, turn them into a funny story and make someone laugh
10. smile often, laugh frequently, enjoy life for the gift it is

Looking forward to the next 364 days!

A Year In Pictures - 1 of 365

In 1996 we visited Calfornia from Virginia and fell in love with the area around the Monterey Bay.  We decided it was time for a change in our lives and we wanted to move closer to the ocean.  In 1998 we moved out there and have enjoyed the scenery for all these years.  Even if we eventually have to move closer to Silicon Valley for T's career, and even if I frequently feel guilty that I'm not helping out in Florida (mother is out of groceries and medication, her car won't start and there's nobody around to help) this will always be home.  It seemed a fitting way to start my 365 picture project, especially since the weather was absolutely gorgeous today. 

don't let the door hit you on the way out

It's the last day of 2011!

2011 is not a year on which I will look back with undiluted pleasure. 
100 points to anybody that can identify the source of that (paraphrased) quote!

So, no undiluted pleasure but no undiluted despair either.  There were many sweet moments, lots of laughs and memorable experiences.  Undoubtedly there were lessons learned, or at least lessons that will be learned when I mature enough to figure out what they were.

Normally I view the new year as a time for reflection but I don't really want to look back on this year.  I'd rather look forward.  It's a time to begin new projects, redefine goals, clear out the cobwebs and figure out what's out there for me.  As my best friend from high school recently said - Resolution #1 of many: Take action to make 2012 memorable for GOOD things. Enough with the mundane and negative!


There are lots of good things on the horizon - Laurapalooza 2012 is coming up in July and it's not going to plan itself.  I imagine it's going to take up a good deal of my time (and the time of everyone else on the Board and committees) between now and July.  Then there's the do-over that T and I want for our 25th anniversary even if we end up with several small celebrations in different parts of the country to make sure we get to celebrate with everybody that we love.  Having several small parties and multiple new dresses *will* be a hardship for me, of course, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for my friends. ;-)
 
And most important, I want to take some time to try to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  I feel like the answer is shimmering out there in front of me but I just can't quite seem to catch hold of it yet.  Maybe I'll try a few different things this year, maybe I'll make some false starts.  That's ok, I just want to put some quality time into the search.
 
One project I plan to start tomorrow is to take a picture each day and post it with a short description of why it's a part of my story that day.  I'm sure some days will be more prosaic than others but that's kind of how life goes, isn't it?
 
So let's enjoy each moment of the last day of 2011...and then let's kick it in the butt as it's going out the door!

Pithy saying # 1

I was shopping in town yesterday and dropped by the hat store which is run by this lovely couple although the wife is...hmm, how shall I put this....slightly intense.  I must admit I kind of prefer it when only the husband is working, the wife scares me a little although I really do like her.

They were both working yesterday, and I found the most darling little hat as a late Christmas present to me, and when I took the hat up to the counter the wife exclaimed over its cuteness and then took my hands in hers and said something like "let's vow right now that next year will be the best one ever."  Yeah, ok, the hat WAS cute but I don't think it's going to change my life.  But then she said something that got me thinking - "It's not enough just to make a vow, I'm a firm believer that change only happens when we act on our vow.  We've got to MAKE next year the best one ever."

I feel like 2011 happened to me, I just laid down and let it run over me without doing anything to stop it.  I want things to change but I haven't been acting to make it happen, I've just been waiting for stuff to happen to me.  That's got to change, I feel like I wasted a whole year, like I put things in motion in January and then dropped the ball.

So today I picked up a month's worth of accumulated mail and there was one of those catalogs that they send out at Christmas time with all sorts of plaques with pithy sayings.  A few of them spoke to me, things I want to keep in mind next year so that I don't waste another 365 days.  Here's one for today:

I cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from passing over my head but I can keep them from building a nest in my hair.

Merry Christmas

 To you and all your family

Your neighbors and your friends

May all your days be happy

With a joy that never ends

May peace and love surround you

At Christmastime and all the whole year through

It says so in my Christmas card to you

Golden hugs

Guess what we did last week?

We VISITED puppies.

Or, at least, that was the intention.  Well no, the intention was to visit dogs.  We'd been missing the feeling of petting and hugging a big, golden dog.  Luckily we know a great breeder that was nice enough to tell us that we could come out and pet dogs to our hearts content...and that's what we did.

It was very satisfying to pet a bunch of happy dogs.  They were so excited to see us but so well behaved that we never heard a bark the entire time we were there. Just a bunch of wriggling golden bodies with the occasional kiss.

And, of course, there were puppies although we didn't really get to play with them because they were too little.  Golden retriever puppies have got to be one of the cutest things on Earth and you can't help but want to take one home.

So we went home and really thought about putting our name in for one of the upcoming litters.  Really thought long and hard.  It was oh so tempting.

But in the end we knew we weren't ready yet.  The minute we admitted that to each other, we knew it was the right decision...for now.