Homesick for Bluebonnets

It snowed again on Saturday. Is this winter never going to end?  I’m a Texas girl, and this time of year I should be going for long drives in the country to enjoy the wildflowers.  Ohio is very nice in fall, but this winter is killing me.  Mother Nature, do you hear me?  I. Am. Over. It. 

To cheer myself up, or maybe just to torture myself, I've been dreaming of bluebonnets.  This is what spring is supposed to look like.

Gorgeous photo of bluebonnets is from TravelTex.com

You hear me Ohio?  I need spring, and I need it now. Please.

Beaten Up by a Pup

So, I got beat up. By my dog. No, not the big one. The little 15 pound terrier. 

She didn't mean to do it, she was just in a hurry to get outside. I had her leash in my hand and as soon as I opened the patio door she took off running as fast as she could. The result was my hand being smashed into the door frame. It immediately started swelling and bruising. Luckily, I was in the kitchen when it happened, so I had an ice pack on it in less than a minute. It wasn't until I saw the blood on the ice pack that I realized that the door frame had sliced me open.

Fortunately, hubby was home and he bundled me into the car and off we went to the emergency room.  I got some really funny looks from the staff when I tried to explain that my dog broke me. By the time we left I had x-rays, a tetanus shot, my wounds cleaned, two different kinds of antibiotics and a prescription for Vicodin.

Does this look like a pup that would beat up her Mommy?

My pup has been so sweet ever since. She sits in my lap constantly and keeps giving me these “I’m so sorry” looks.  The really ironic thing about the whole situation? She had obedience class the day that it happened. I had to call her trainer from the emergency room and explain why we would be missing class that day. To her credit, the trainer did her best not to laugh.

Chaos and the Home Office

One of the best things about working in an office is that when your personal life seems chaotic you can escape to work, and when work is chaotic you can escape to home. Unfortunately, when you work from home there is no escape.  Cue the scary, horror movie music.

One of my better plans when I started working from home was to try and keep things separate.  I keep everything work related on my work computer and everything home/personal on my home computer.  Heck, I even have two separate desks.  Unfortunately, since my office space is limited the desks sit next to each other.  Today is one of those overwhelming days where both desks are stacked high with stuff that needs doing.  I’m trying to focus on work, but out of the corner of my eye I see the stack of bills that need paying. If I take a break to work on home stuff, I can’t help but see the emails rolling in on the work computer.  Now, I know that conventional wisdom would say to turn off the email notification, but since I support a crucial software system I have to at least scan emails when they come in.

Not me. Not my desk. But a very good representation of what it feels like.

When I started working from home I naively thought there would be few distractions.  Boy, was I wrong!  The distractions are different from what you get in an office, but they are still there. My older dog thinks it is her sworn duty to bark at everything that passes by her window. My younger dog doesn’t understand why I won’t take her for walks whenever she wants, so she gets whiny.    Telemarketers call all day long, but I at least got smart and turned off the ringer on the home phone.  We live near a busy road, so there are traffic noises and sirens all day long.  I feel like that old commercial, “Calgon, take me away”!

So, there is my confession. Working from home is not all sunshine and roses. It can be filled with distractions and on a bad day there is no escape from chaos.  Oh well, time to stop distracting myself with the blog and dive back in!

Dogs & Kids

Two of the cutest things in the world are little kids and dogs. While my hubby was out walking our dogs today he ran into a very little girl who was out for a walk with her mom.  The rest of the story is hilarious.

We have two dogs, so hubby was walking them one at a time.  First up was our Jack Russell Terrier, Piglet.  Piglet is about 15 pounds.  Hubby and Piglet were walking around the block when they ran across the little girl and her mom walking the opposite direction.  Piglet is very excitable, as Jack Russells tend to be, so she just immediately went into wiggling, squirming, licking, mode. It was probably a little overwhelming for the little girl, but she handled it well.

Piglet

After they finished their walk, hubby drops Piglet off at the house and leashes up our Australian Shepherd, Fancy.  Fancy is about 85 pounds.  The two of them walk off on the same route, and a little while later they came across the same little girl and her mom.  The little girl’s eyes got wide, and with a voice full of wonderment she said “Mister, your dog grew up fast!”.

Fancy

Is that not the sweetest, funniest kid/dog story?

Kids For a Day

My recent stay in Florida wasn't all work and house fix-ups.  The first week-end my hubby was able to join me and we decided to spend a day at Disney since it is only a couple of hours away.  We decided that for a couple of grown-ups with no kids in tow the best place to go would be Disney’s Hollywood Studios®.  We had a blast, so I thought I would share some of our experiences with you.

The number one attraction on both of our lists was Star Tours®.  This was pretty much the perfect ride for us.  Hubby is a big Star Wars fan and I like rides but I am terrified of rides with any type of fall or plunge.  I have a mild fear of heights but a huge fear of falling. (If reincarnation is real I must have died by falling off a cliff in a previous life.)  Between the flight simulator and the 3D video they do a wonderful job of making you feel like you really are flying in a Starspeeder.  However, since you aren't truly hurtling through the air I didn't freak out.  Hubby swears that I giggled through the whole ride.  I will neither confirm nor deny that allegation.  This ride was so much fun. I highly recommend it for anyone regardless of whether they are a Star Wars fan or not.

Apparently we had a bit of a Harrison Ford theme going, because next up we went to the Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular.  That was also lots of fun.  It really gave you a sense of being ‘behind the scenes’ during the filming of the action sequences. It had lots of action and plenty of comedy as well.  If you happen to be at the park during the summer months you will also appreciate that the seating is shaded. It is a great way to take a break, get out of the sun, and be highly entertained at the same time.

For lunch we went to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. This restaurant is done up to look like a 1950’s era drive in movie. The booths are even recreations of cars. Clips of cheesy 50’s sci-fi/horror films play on the big screen.  The food is classic American cuisine – hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, etc.  My burger was tasty.  I will admit that it wasn't the best burger I have ever had, but it was definitely quite a few tiers above a fast food burger.   The movie clips were hilarious. It is very kid friendly, but the kitsch will go above most youngsters’ heads.

This is far from everything that we did during our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it should give you a fair idea of what to expect from the rides, dining, and attractions. We had a terrific time and it was so much fun for the two of us to just let go and be kids again for the day.

Note:  This is not a sponsored post. I was not compensated by, nor am I affiliated with, Disney. 

Seize The Day

I’ve spent the last week cleaning out my father-in-law’s old house.  I have been a little surprised by how emotional it has made me. Initially it wasn’t too bad. I tried to think of it as just “stuff” instead of “Dad’s stuff”, and for a while that was working. At least, until I got to this one particular drawer in his dresser.

There wasn’t anything in the drawer that was particularly sentimental. In fact, most of it was just clothing that had never been worn. It was just sitting there with the tags still on, in packages that had never been opened.  Those unopened packages hit me harder than anything else. More than his favorite shirt, more than photo albums, more than anything else I came across. Those unopened packages were such a stark reminder that none of us knows how long we have on this earth.

How many of us have clothing in our closet that has never been worn? Maybe we are waiting for a special occasion, maybe we are waiting to lose five more pounds, or maybe we just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Maybe it is a perfect pair of shoes that sits in a box because they are so pretty we don’t want to take a chance on messing them up. Maybe it is grandma’s china that sits in storage because we are afraid that we might break a piece if we use it.

Seeing those unopened packages really drove home to me how pointless it is to wait to enjoy the things that we have.  Those shoes may be perfect, but what if your time comes before you ever take them out of the box? Grandma’s china may be very special, but wouldn’t you rather think of her every time you use it (even if you do break a saucer)? What if you don’t ever lose those last five pounds?

Those unopened packages have inspired me to stop waiting. When I get back home I’m going thru my closet to find those ‘special’ outfits and I’m going to wear them. I’m going to eat a hamburger off a china plate.  Because we never know how many days we will have I’m going to start seizing every single one of them.

Me and my father-in-law