Dogs

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have four dogs in our house. I guess you could say that we are the 'Brady Bunch' family with dogs instead of kids. I had two dogs before meeting my boyfriend Luke and he had two dogs. When we decided to co-habitate that meant having four very large dogs in one house as opposed to two...

So needless to say, with all of that canine companionship we don't have a shortage of stories to tell. Whether it be stories of them playing together, fighting with one another, debating on which one is the best behaved...(honestly there's no question, the oldest boy Summit is the best. But he's had the longest to learn so I attribute it to that rather then him being superior to the others...) Anyway, last night and this AM we added to our dog stories...

For some reason, I couldn't sleep last night. After about 2:45 I was laying bed awake. And like I mentioned before, the dogs have a sense that you are awake and they are ALWAYS ready to go outside. Regardless of the weather. So there I lay at 2:45AM wishing I were asleep like Luke. When Bruno and Messiah started pacing the stairs and the downstairs wood floor. This went on for 20 minutes before I got so annoyed I finally went down and let them outside. I took the time to do my business and then went to the door to let them back in. 2 of the 3 came in no issue. But not Messiah - the baby. The golden child. The dog that can do no wrong. At least according to her father...Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but I am not quite as biased about her perfection as Luke is. Anyway, I make my way out on to the porch to yell at her in the freezing March-in-Michigan weather in my tank top and underwear. I scream at her in my highest whisper - it is 3:00 in the AM and I doubt the neighbors want to hear me yelling at our dogs...so I whisper-scream and she looks up at me and just stands there. So I am really getting mad. I scream again and tell her to get her A$# in the house right now! She runs under the porch and hides...so eventually I coax her inside with a much sweeter whisper and head back up to bed. Thinking, ok good, I get to sleep for about 2 more hours. Except I couldn't get to sleep...I dozed off but then I thought I heard something downstairs. I ignored it and wrote it off as the dogs getting back in the places of slumber...

Well fast forward to 5:00 when it's time to get up. Luke went downstairs only to find that Messiah had chewed up one of my sandals that I wear to the gym. My shower shoe. Now this isn't the first time she has chewed things of mine. Bras (Victoria Secret bras), underwear (not sure what that's about), my coffee table!, our basement door, other shoes of mine...so there is a pattern. Anyway, today was probably the FUNNIEST. Luke started to reprimand her and she bolted upstairs. I was still laying in bed debating on whether I should go to the gym or TRY to get some sleep in the next 25 minutes...Well that decision was made for me. Miss came barreling upstairs with Luke right behind her. The light goes on and before I know it she is pouncing on my side of the bed right over my head. She is a 140lb Presa Canario people - not a poodle. A lot of dog. Anyway, she jumps over me, jumps off the bed and then repeats the action when she realizes Luke is right there waiting. Then she tried to hide under an end table. Her head was covered so she thought she was hidden. Except 3/4 of her was still hanging out in the open...All of the other dogs are just sitting there watching like WTF?? All they wanted to do was hop in bed with me like they do every morning after Luke gets up for work. Not today. Today we all got the show and I got my butt up and went to the gym. With a NEW pair of shower shoes...Thanks Miss. I appreciate it.

Old Friends...

Wow! Today I received a note from a dear friend of mine who I lost touch with a few years back. Nothing happened other than life to cause the split, so when I got her note this morning that she had found me on Facebook, I was ecstatic! We were great friends in high school. And the interesting part is as much as we were alike in many ways, we were also very different. At that time she was very much involved in a dedicated faith. One that did not condone watching TV, going to the movies, wearing make up, swearing, drinking, etc...Whereas I being Catholic, well pretty much anything goes. Within reason of course...

Anyway, Cyndi or 'Cecil' as our fifth hour Spanish teacher named her and I were great friends. In fact I managed to expose her to a lot of new things...and when I say expose, I mean that literally. I took her to the Naked Mile in Ann Arbor. A tradition for U of M students that involves streaking the town in the winter air...you can imagine what kind of shock that brought on! It was great! So yes, the Naked Mile, skipping school, challenging authority a bit etc are all things that I brought into Cecil's life.

There's a saying that someone I knew would say 'that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.' And determining which category people you meet fall into is up to you. For me, very few people have ever fallen under 'lifetime'. There's family of course. But as far as friends go I have a handful that I would consider 'lifetime' companions. And it's hard to make friends that deserve that 'lifetime' classification. So when you do, you really need to value that friendship and really give it your all to maintain it and never take it for granted. Cecil is a definite lifetimer. I know that no matter how much time would go by that she and I didn't speak or hear from one another, our memories would keep us company and make us laugh. And when we would speak again, it'd be just like it was when we left off that last time.

Lifetime friends are rare. Much like true love. I believe in both. If you are lucky enough in your lifetime to share true friendships and true love, then you have truly been blessed. And that I am. Because I have both...

Fridays

So today is a Friday. My second favorite day of the week only to Saturday...

Friday means another work week has just about come and gone and the weekend is just beginning. Lately Friday is what I get up for on Monday...it's not that I don't enjoy my job or the people I work with. Nor is it the fact that I don't realize every day how fortunate I am to have a great job to get up and go to. It's just lately it seems like week after week very little changes, except on the weekends. My weekday routine, which is exactly is what it has become, routine, is pretty much the same. Quite honestly though I am happy about that but when you get into a routine sometimes you question if that's enough or if you should be doing something different... At least I do. Something I need to learn - to savor the fact that I have a routine rather then think something is wrong with that. Especially having one that is so positive and enjoyable.

My routine -
Monday - alarm goes off about 5:00AM. Slightly thereafter our bed is surrounded by our dogs (those that are not aware, we have 4, yes 4, dogs in our house - and not little 'kickable' dogs either) all of whom are morning dogs, and are more then ready to sprint into the frigid winter air once they hear the click of the alarm clock being shut off. Get up, let the dogs out, get my lunch ready, get stuff pulled out for dinner that night, prep my bag for the gym, brush my teeth, let the dogs in and then hit the gym. Work out (which quite honestly I enjoy on the mornings I actually do force myself up this early), hit the shower, get ready for work and start my commute. I work about 43 miles from home, but it takes on average over an hour to get to work every day. I often use this time to think, plan, daydream. Sometimes though I have road rage casuing my day to start off on the wrong foot. Which those of you that commute, I am sure you can relate to...

Anyway, I get to work, which in itself is pretty routine, around 12:00 I take lunch, and around 5:00 I head home. Get home (after yet another commute), immediately change into sweats or something comfortable and start dinner for the night. Eat dinner, catch up on our days events and happenings, as well as any gossip we may have heard, then watch TV and hit the sack by about 9:00 (and sometimes that's a late night)...

Tue-Thurs - repeat Monday's routine.

But Friday. Ah, Friday...is a whole another ball game. Friday means, sleeping in the next day. Friday means, getting home, relaxing, having a few cocktails and a nice meal after work - and that's the start of the evening...Friday means, two whole days of doing whatever, whenever we want to...