A New Way of Life

We've been dog parents for 3 weeks now and except for a few small bumps in the road, it has been really nice. Jon's new favorite time of day is his morning walk with Ray. (Should I be jealous?) I look around the apartment and think of how much we've altered our schedules and space to accommodate our little one. We've rearranged our bedroom to make room for a soft crate and we've given up some valuable real estate on the first floor for a gigantic food and water bowl, a fluffy bed, a metal crate, a baby gate to guard the stairs, and toy box. We eat at our table now instead of on the couch - it's bar height so it makes it hard for Ray to beg - and we snack standing up at the counter which is probably better for us because we don't eat as much. 

This time of year, Jon works a lot of extra hours and it can be a little lonely around the house so I am really enjoying having a companion to hang out with and take care of. We talk on the phone just as much as always but now there is always a dog report involved: where Ray was walked, for how long, was he good on the leash, did he do something naughty or incredibly cute. I told Jon that eventually this won't be so new and we'll go back to talking about other things. I imagine this is exactly what it's like to have a new baby, right down to getting up in the middle of the night to take him outside. (Thankfully, we're over that.)

By the way, Ray is not 7 months as we were originally told. He's probably somewhere between 12 and 18 months, so he is about as big as he's going to get. He might fill out a bit but he's definitely on the small side for a lab. That's fine with us. And we found a phenomenal vet right down the street since we can't take him to Houston every time he needs shots or has the sniffles.

Not long after we got Ray we also realized that we have more cable than we thought we were paying for. Until we sort it out, we are enjoying ESPN, TLC, Animal Panet, and National Geographic. We've watched all of the recent episodes of Dog Whisperer (that Cesar Millan is a genius), It's Me Or The Dog, Dog Town, Whale Wars, and What Not To Wear (Marianna's story is my favorite). Kristy, if you'd go to work for the Houston SPCA I could watch you on TV. That would be cool.

As for Cesar Millan's show, it always bugs me that he hangs out in Vegas, Los Angeles, and Arizona - very sunny, hot places - and he and has trainees never wear sunglasses. Random, yes, but it is a problem for me almost everytime I watch. Has anyone else noticed this?

Not much else going on here. Just keeping our eyes on this situation. Will let you know if there's any news.

These eyes get me every time.

A New Shaper of Young Minds

My sister-in-law, Jenni, graduated in May with a teaching degree and today she got a job teaching 9th grade science at my old high school! Congratulations, Jenni! I am so happy for you!

I also appreciate the poetic justice of the fact that my brother's wife is going to be teaching at his old high school. Hee hee. The question is, do you tell them you're related or not?

Two posts in a row?!

I know, I know, you must be in shock. I'm a rare poster, but this time I've posted two in a row! Yesterday I accepted the job offer that I have been waiting for. I will be doing in-home family therapy. I missed the call from the supervisor on Wednesday night due to my driving fiasco (see next post!). I'm so excited and feeling ready to get back in the therapy world after having a nice break of looking after some really cute babies and toddlers. I will miss them but I'm excited about doing this new job.

A nice ending to a bizarre evening...

I'll start off by saying that I'm fine. But I had the weirdest day today starting at 5:30 p.m. I was driving home in rush hour traffic and got rear-ended by somebody. The guy took off but I got his license plate number. Fast forward through the humiliation of me being put in a neck brace and belted onto a board and taken to the hospital (everything with neck and back is fine). Then there was the part where I had to go the mall and identify the guy who fled the scene after hitting me. He got arrested and is in some trouble because it originally just was motor vehicle violations (driving with no insurance, driving with a suspended license due to DUI), but then he concocted a story about his friend doing it, so he is now charged with the crime of interfering with an investigation. The best part about the evening was right now, as I watch "The Routine" episode from Friends season 6. This is the fabulous one where Monica and Ross perform their middle school dance routine at the Dick Clark New Year's Eve party. I enjoyed watching the actual routine, but it made me happy while watching it, knowing that I wanted to tell my own Friends about how good it was to see that episode. I hope you all have seen it! I can't wait until August 4!!

Other things I should have outgrown....

I still love Saved By the Bell!! (See Sarah's post below.) It's on every morning and I definitely watch it when I can. Also, in the last few weeks I heard "Friends Are Friends Forever" and thought of you guys!!!

Eric is starting a management job at Subway today and I'm so happy for him. Our church website is casemountain.org if you want to see what's been going on at our church. I have had so much fun watching Eric preach and really feel like he is in his element. It's been a really cool adventure so far.

I am still working at the daycare but am looking to get back into doing therapy. I'm feeling ready to re-enter that world. I'm planning to finish 8 credit hours of classes so that I can get my licensure, and that will open up some more opportunities for the kinds of things I can do. Hope y'all are doing well.

Why did the chicken, I mean goose, cross the road?

The answer is, literally, to cross the road. The adult geese waited until the cars had passed before herding their kids across the road in one line, just so they could hang out on the other side of the road. There were so many of them that this picture doesn't even capture them all. Canadian geese have fully taken over Earth City (known by some as The Capital of the World) where I work. This was taken at the entrance to the parking lot of my building. For the most part I like having the geese around, but it does get annoying when they poop on the sidewalk right near the front door of our building or just decide to sit and rest in the middle of the parking lot driveway.

It's because of moments like this that I carry my digital camera around with me everywhere I go.

My New Job

If you couldn't figure it out from my cleverly mysterious title, I have a new job. Now don't fret, I'm not leaving my current job. I've actually gone and gotten myself gainfully employed during the summer. Again, blame Wendy. She got me a job working with her at the local community college. I'll be helping to advise students 20 hours a week. I'm really looking forward to it. This also means I don't get the leisurely summer I'm used to, but hey if I'm going to continue to buy shoes and purses at my current rate (oh yeah, and grad school) I better get more cash.