home atlast... home atlast, God all mighty he's home atlast.

We had such a wonderful first day with our new furry son.  As my previous post explained we named him Cooper.  Cooper is such a wonderful puppy.  A lot more affectionate than I thought he'd be, a real lover.  He's the sweetest pup!  I'm so happy, a bit tired but happy.  Cooper had a great day, and even though he has diarrhea right now, which we find strange cause we didn't change his food from what we were told they were given him.   Although honestly we don't know how long ago he was weaned from his mother. Of course,  we thought of a hundred questions to ask the breeder after we left with Cooper, but at the time we were just so super happy & excited to finally see him & take him home.  Even with his diarrhea, he didn't have any "poop" accidents in the house.  A few close "pee" calls & one small pee accident.   Luckily we bought some "enzyme" cleaner that cleans & deters him from going there again.  Fingers Crossed it does... anyway.  I just wanted to pop on here & share some of our pictures with you.    I (especially) have spent the last 3 weeks feverishly reading about border collies, & quite honestly was a little worried...  because I filled my mind with all these "super hyper", extremely needy, "horror stories" of Border collies.   I was beginning to "freak" myself out.  It was honestly the complete opposite of that,  he was calm, sweet & the most lovable puppy.   Now I know it's only been one day & I'm sure as we relax a little & aren't "monitoring" him like every second there will be moments of  "oops".  But honestly this first day went so much better than I could ever dream it could go that I have loads of confidence that Cooper will be a great addition to our family.  Emily is so excited to start training him... she of course needs to learn a little more patience & that training him takes time. But....    Last night he didn't even have an accident in his crate.  He whimpered to go out every 2 to 3 hours, but didn't poop or pee in his crate so we couldn't really ask for anything more.  We are of course hoping as he grows & when he realizes we aren't going to abandon him, he'll sleep for longer periods, cause that was a bit rough. lol. But he has given us so much joy already.  Couldn't be happier with Cooper.  We love him already!!!!!!

Cooper

We are going to get a new puppy & his name is "Cooper"!!! Emily named him, after "SHELDON COOPER" from the Big Bang Theory.  I love the name!!!! It is perfect cause he's a border collie, which is the "smartest" dog breed.  Brian likes it I think cause he can call him, "Cooper... the Pooper" I'm hoping it's more like Cooper... the "Outside" pooper" LOL!  He's almost 7 weeks old & we got him from a reputable breeder in Lancaster PA.  It's been over a year now that we considered getting a dog & what kind of breed to get. So it's been a long time coming.  We have to wait til he's 8 weeks old to bring him home but Brian & Emily did go out to pick him out.  It's important that we wait til he's 8 weeks so that he can learn what he needs to from his mother & siblings.  For example not to bite too hard.  Puppies learn this important rule from their siblings, when after biting a brother or sister too hard,  they will hear a big yelp & tend to get shunned for a while,  & if they are taken away from them too soon may not learn this lesson along with other "puppy" need to live by rules. So,  needless to say we are ok with waiting... BUT he's so cute!!!   Brian & Emily got to play with him for awhile & hold him, etc.  We can't wait!!!  When he can come home will be about a month since we went to visit him & put down the deposit for him... so it's been really hard to wait but it was actually a good thing because it allowed us to have the time we needed to get everything ready for him.  So far we got him: a dog bed, lots of dog toys including:  Frisbees, a baby kong- a teething type toy for puppies, you put treats inside & they chew on it, a rope toy, a duck, balls, etc., we also got him a stainless steel dog bowl set, a crate (for traveling & sleeping in ONLY), a gate to keep him safely upstairs, a leash, & a doggy book of the breed for us.  We still have to get him training treats, his puppy food, house training mats, & a collar----& I'm sure a ton more but it's a pretty good start!   We also have used this time to TRY to puppy proof the house, looking into "dog" insurance, we think we are going with the "preventive kind" which includes all vaccines, his neutering, & general care with a fee you pay ever month---plus 20% off flea/tick, & heart worm medicine, we also have spent some time getting the yard in order-(removing the sticks, debris  & such from the yard).  I'm both super excited & just a tad nervous.  This type of dog is very very energetic & requires ALOT of physical & mental exercise BUT I do believe we can handle all of it.  We are up for the challenge! We want to do everything right with this new puppy now that Emily is older & more independent we feel like it's the perfect time to bring in a new furry family member.  We have also looked into obedience school, & possibly doing something like "agility classes" with him.  Emily is super excited to get to "teach" him!  OH.... & Brian especially wants to take him hiking.  (which the breeder has told us, he will LOVE!!) I'm hoping that having a very active dog will get us all to be a bit more active, I mean really we won't have any choice about the matter.  We will probably have to take him on up to 3 or 4 long walks a day!!!! This dog was breed to be out in the field "herding" all day.... so it's in there blood to exercise.  The lucky thing is though that with Brian working from home all day, it's really ideal.  He can take breaks for a bit during the day to do a little exercise with Cooper. & Emily/I will help when we are home too.   I like the idea that Emily & I will have a guard dog when Brian's away too.  So can't wait to meet him, & get to know his personality.  He was a real love bug when they picked him out & seemed to pick them out as much as they picked him.   Anyway.. I'm so eager to have Cooper here with us, that I go on the breeder's email/facebook page everyday hoping they put up a new pic of him, so it's a really exciting time for our family.   Anyway... here's a pic of COOPER!!!!!

Watched the movie, "Hope Floats" again today.  I like this movie & the more I watch it the more I like it.  It's one of those movies.  The first time I watched it was years ago,  & I thought it was a little slow.  I think now that I'm older & (maybe slower myself) I really liked it much better. Also,  WOW! I never realized how awesome the soundtrack was.... I'm thinking about buying the CD.  Anyway... thought I would share the lyrics to one of the songs on here..... cause isn't this how we all wish that someone loved us or showed us how they loved us. 

Album: Hope Floats

~ Bob Dylan ~ 1957
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there's is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
There's no doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There ain't nothing' that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on a rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothin' like me yet
There ain't nothin' that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love

Write.... right?

I like to write.  It doesn't mean I'm good at it.  I know I'm not really.  But I do enjoy it,  maybe perhaps it was a missed calling.  Meaning,  if I had went to school & learned how to do it well... well, who knows?    I don't know. & I know I know.... it's not too late.   Maybe though for me... this is enough.   I'm not sure if I made it a "job", I would get the same pleasure out of it.  If I knew I was being "judged" on it like that,  I'm not sure I'd want to. LOL!   Plus there's no pressure.. I get to do it when I want to & when I don't I don't.  It's awesome to know that you're free to write whatever it is you want.  That this is my blog & no one else's.  I own the words. The good, the bad... & in my case sometimes the ugly.   Doing this blog really does make me happy to write.  I don't know why,  I just get something from it.  A pleasure.  For me why I started writing was because my mom passed away too young & there were soooo many things I wished I knew from her,  I've said it before but she passed away at such a critical time in "our" relationship.    No... it wasn't like I was a child anymore who needed her in the same way, and maybe that's the point... it was a time when I was just becoming a mother,  when I could see us becoming "friends" see us becoming "equals".  There were soooo many questions I wished I'd asked her.  But I never got the chance.  SO many times I wished I simply had more of her.  OF her wisdom, or philosophies, or simply how she saw life.  What mattered to her?  What did she really miss, or love, or yearn to be.  What did she want, or see or regret?  A million tiny questions... that I'll never really know the answers to now.  So that was why.  I wanted my child to have some of those answered by me.  What I found out was that I enjoyed writing & sharing.  My only disappointment really is just I wish  I was even more of a "carefree" writer.   I wish I wasn't the type to care about how I might come of, or what another person thinks of what I have to say.  That I could be more free.  That I could share even more of my feelings, that I wasn't afraid of what others would think of  my thoughts.  Cause isn't that what I wanted to do.  But I think I'm just not brave enough to do that...atleast not yet.   Something happened a while ago that has made it even more difficult for me to share everything.   I shared a little story on twitter.  Which was simply shared to explain further why I wrote something... & someone close to me, took it completely the wrong way.  I was not trying to be mean.  But someone took it sooo completely the wrong way that I think it stifled my "willingness" to express things.  Or I guess I should say,  I let it. Either way... it doesn't make for the best writer?  Does it?      I actually am quite disappointed that I let it do that,  because I never doubted my actions.  I knew it was my story to share.  That I had a right to say it, & I didn't do anything wrong.  But yet still.. I know in some major way I let it affect how I wrote after that.  I allowed it to make me completely worried about "how" someone would take something I said.  Even putting this out here makes me a tad nervous.  It's silly really.  Anyway.... I hope maybe one day I'll be able to write freely, without my own limitations getting in my way.


 

What's a "cellphone"?

Brian, Emily & I decided to go to a little Italian restaurant in our hometown for lunch today.  They have really good pizza.  We've been going there for years but not so much in the last couple so it makes me happy whenever we go,  cause it reminds me of those "earlier" days.  Anyway..... on the way there we were driving along behind this car that had a problem with it's back end.  It was driving real low,  it was an older style car.  It almost looked like a "low rider" car but I don't believe it was intentional,  AND I think usually those are the opposite the back is higher than the front.  Brian said maybe there was something wrong with the suspension.  Whatever that means.  But it was very shaky & very low.  It made me sad, because I totally made an assumption about it.   I said, "That's too bad she probably doesn't have the money to get it fixed"  Which reminded me about my own childhood.  I remember my mom every few years would get a "new" car,  not because we were rich but because the only cars she could afford cost like $200-$500 and were about 200-1000 miles away from "junk" yard heaven.  SO we had a bunch of cars growing up.  A bunch of "piece of shit" cars.   Usually at some point the transmission went or the engine or sometimes even things like the "radiator" would go & we'd be screwed.  You see, we were the living definition of "paycheck to paycheck"  So often times my mom would drive the car even when she shouldn't.  I don't really remember all the "kinds" of cars we had.  I remember we had a "white" car when I was like in middle school that was so in need of a new muffler that for about a 1/4 mile down the road behind us, there would be this HEAVY cloud of "white" smoke that trailed our car.  It was really embarrassing for us kids.  But what could my mom do,  we needed to eat SO embarrassed or not this was the only way we could get around.  Anyway...this car today made me think of that "time"of my childhood & I shared the story w/ Brian & Emily.  It also made me really grateful that we are in a better shape financially than I was growing up.  We are FAR from rich,  but I feel like we are doing ok.  In some ways more than ok.  We have enough & when something comes up, usually we can handle it.  Sometimes we can't... & sometimes things have to wait BUT we are in a relatively good "space".  To put it simply Emily won't have to be embarrassed about our car or an eviction notice posted on the door to the place we live in at the moment.  We have a decent house that is ours & a reliable car.  It's different than it was for me.   Growing up the way I did wasn't all bad... but it was tough.  I remember rushing to get a job at 16 just so I could afford things that I wanted because my mom couldn't afford all the "fluff" that a teenager cares about.... like year books, clothes, school dance tix, etc.   If I wanted those things I had to work.   My first job was at Taco Bell... I loved earning a pay check, I loved the freedom it gave me.  I remember I always gave my mom some of it.  I don't think she asked me too but I always did.... I didn't like to see her struggle the way she did.    I also remember sometimes even with me working I still couldn't get everything I wanted... there was only about two times that I actually paid for the dresses I would wear to fancy dances at school, the other times I asked friends if they had one I could borrow.  The yellow dress I wore my junior prom was from a girl that I worked with at Taco Bell.  The pink one I wore when I was in 10th grade & went to my hs boyfriend's jr prom was one I borrowed from a girl at school.  Hand me downs... & I was grateful for them.  The pretty pink one I wore to my senior prom was one that I(maybe my mom helped too) bought, I was so proud of that dress because it was paid for & I loved it!  :) I've been thinking about my "generation" lately and despite everything.... how lucky we were... that we were really the last generation to "appreciate" things in a way that the majority of kids today don't.  We didn't have our heads down, looking at text messages because we don't know how to talk to each other in real life. Not only did I have to talk to my friends, but they were kind enough to "lend" me prom dresses.  It was a different time... those 80's.   You know,  I love watching the tv show, "The Goldbergs" because it really totally reminds me of how good we had it.  Every Wednesday when there's a new episode I kind of get excited to remember that time.  And honestly no matter how difficult at times it was....  I loved growing up then...... a time before computers, cellphones, & instant everything.  When life was financially difficult, (*for my family anyway).... but more simple.

 A few pics from the 80's.... Gotta love "Jersey" 80's hair too.  That is the pink proudly "bought" dress! LOL! & the "yellow dress w/ swimmies" I borrowed from my taco bell friend.  :)