Doggy Daycare

I'm just gonna come out and say it.  I'm a cat person.

But not this kind of cat person.  Because that's weird. {here}

It's not that I don't like dogs.  I just have never been fond of jumpy-licky dogs.  Cats are chill and do their own thing.  A friend of mine went out of town this week and asked me to look after 3 of her 4 dogs.  They are all small dogs and they live inside her townhouse.  That sounds totally doable.  Y'all, one of the dogs wears diapers.  Like for real Pampers.  That would have been a handy detail to know.  And one of the dogs hates me.  She wants to eat my face off.  Here are the culprits.

My name is Toot.  I love to snuggle.

My name is Parker and I wear diapers because I can't control my pee.  I like to sleep under the covers because I get cold.

My name is Maddie and I will murder you.  And pee all over the carpet, right next to the potty pad., just to piss you off.

These tiny dogs are neurotic.  They make me appreciate this little nugget of mine.

Oh, hi.

After work today, the parents and I are headed to Alabama to see my Grandmother (and obvi the rest of the family) for Mother's Day.  This will be the first time we've been down there since Granddaddy died.  Thinking about it makes my heart hurt.  

That's all I have for now.  But really, how do you top dogs in diapers?  That's pretty much as exciting as it gets around here.

Go hug your mom/grandmother/aunt/etc.

Kthanksbye,
A

PS- Does anyone know a good Blogger app for the iPhone?  Does such a thing exist?

I miss him.

He died.  Granddaddy died.  And I found out via Facebook.

Let's rewind.  On New Year's Eve morning, my parents decided that they were going to drive down to Alabama to be with the family and go see Granddaddy in the hospital.  I wanted to go with them, but I had to babysit that night for a few hours and I wasn't feeling so stellar.  My parents left in the afternoon and made their way down.  I checked in throughout the day to see if they had any updates.  He wasn't doing well at all.  They'd found fluid in his lung and were going to try to remove it to ease his breathing.  I prayed all day that he would recover and be able to ring in the new year with us.  I arrived at my babysitting destination at 5:40pm.  The couple was going to an early dinner and said they'd be home around 8:30pm.  I called Mommy Dearest around 7:15pm to see if they'd made it to Alabama and if they had any news.  I asked how Granddaddy was doing and Mommy Dearest hesitantly replied that he wasn't doing well.  I texted back and forth with BFFAE about tentative plans for the night.  After babysitting, I was planning on going home, changing clothes, and heading to her house.  I put the little boys to bed went downstairs to the living room a few minutes before 8pm.  I knew I had some time to kill before the couple got home, so I started browsing Facebook on my Blackberry.  Everyone's status seemed to be about their plans for the evening and wishing everyone else a Happy New Year.  Then I saw it.  My cousin's wife had posted the sentence that I've been dreading my whole life, particularly this past week: Cynthina is ringing in the new year with a heavy heart.  Claude (Jason's Granddaddy) passed away today.  My heart sank, I burst into tears, and I almost threw up.  I immediately called Mommy Dearest.  She answered the phone and all I could say was, "He died, and no one told me??"  As it turns out, she had called BFFAE and filled her in.  The plan was for Mommy Dearest to call me once I got to BFFAE's house so that I wouldn't be alone when I got the news.  Well, thanks to technology, that plan failed.  My parents had been a few miles away from the hospital at 5:43pm when they got the call that Granddaddy had left us.  They opted not to remove the fluid from his lung because his body couldn't take the strain and they didn't want to cause him any unnecessary suffering.  I spent NYE alternating between crying, rationalizing that things happen for a reason and that he's in a better place now, being angry that I wasn't there, and trying to pack clothes for everyone to wear to the funeral.  Unfortunately, my good friend Harley Chick's Grandpa had just been diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer and died the same day.  And my Grandmother's brother that had been placed in the care of Hospice passed away at 1am on New Year's Day.

I need some time to catch my breath on this one, plus I may or may not have started crying while writing this.

To be continued....

A

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

I have been extremely slack with posting lately.  Don't worry, you haven't missed much.  I've been working and making jewelry and babysitting and trying to stay well.  Daddy has bronchitis and Mommy Dearest has an upper respiratory infection.  I fear that I'm coming down with a deadly combination.  Stuffy head, sore throat, lots of snot, coughing, sneezing...awesomeness.

We celebrated the BFFAE's birthday on Friday.  I did my best to orchestrate a get together, but a big chunk of people couldn't make it.  It was lots of fun.  Two of our best friends from high school days came (M.Elmo an Vron).  We had about 12 in all.  Of the 12, four of us wore argyle sweaters.  We. Are. Old.  After a very long dinner, we went to another bar to listen to a live band.

Saturday, my family trekked down to Alabama for Christmas with Daddy's side of the family.  It was a slightly smaller gathering than normal...only 19 people.  We have moved away from giving gifts, so it was just an afternoon of food, games, and conversation.

Sunday, we had Christmas with Mommy Dearest's side of the family.  We had a huge spread for lunch.  You'd have thought it was Thanksgiving all over again!  There were about 27 people there.  Since Mommy Dearest is the baby of 9, there are 19 years difference in age between her and her her oldest sister.  My Aunt Joan (the oldest) passed away in January of 2008.  She has 2 sons, one of which has a daughter a few years older than me.  That being said, the other has a daughter that is 10 years old and her name is Skylar.  Skylar desperately wanted to learn how to play the piano/keyboard, but had never had a single music lesson.  I took it upon myself to Google some Christmas songs to teach her.  Bear in mind, I have not touched a piano since I quit lessons in the 7th grade.  I "relearned" how to read sheet music so that I could teach her some basic Christmas songs.  I numbered her fingers, and wrote down a string of numbers for her to play.  That was much easier than trying to teach her how to read music.  She successfully learned "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls."  Sweet kid.

I have way too much to do and literally no time in which to do it.  I haven't wrapped a single gift, and I'm still waiting for some to arrive via UPS.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute...

Daddy is having knee and ankle surgery on Thursday.  Yes, that would be December 23, two days before Christmas.  Thanks.  I will be spending my Christmas vacation playing nurse, all while trying to relax and not catch "the crud." I wonder how successful I will be...

The BFFAE and Mr. S flew out this morning, bound for Mexico for the holidays.  Bon Voyage!

A special thanks to S.E.Dubs for bringing me coffee and a muffin this morning.  That's probably the only reason I am still (barely) awake.

I'll post pictures and more stories later.  Right now, I'm trying extremely hard to not fall asleep on my keyboard.  Eyelids...heavy...

Snuggles,
A

I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)

"I'm in a hurry to get things done

Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun

All I really gotta do is live and die

But I'm in a hurry and don't know why"

Ultimate Alabama 20 No. 1 Hits {here}

This is exactly how I feel lately.  As soon as Monday morning rears it's ugly head, I'm praying for 5:01pm on Friday to hurry it's little butt up.  The upside is that I enjoy all of the things that keep me busy and have me always in a hurry.  However, I do love the moments where I have NOTHING to do.  Those are few and far between at the moment.  I long for those moments, especially right now since I have a broken foot that doesn't appreciate my constant hurrying from place to place.  What keeps me so busy you ask? (I'm just going to pretend that the 2-3 of you that actually read this did ask.  Humor me.)

1. My full-time job.  I work somewhere that I like, with people I enjoy, doing work that makes me happy.   PLEASE don't assume that I'm ungrateful for being employed because that is most certainly NOT the case.
2. My business.  I started my own jewelry business in August and I am loving it.  Orders are rolling in and I couldn't be more thrilled.  However, this leads to some late nights when I have people needing a quick turn-around on an order.
3. Church.  I've taken over the position as the new Youth Director at my church.  I don't really feel old enough to be in that position.  I mean, wasn't I in Youth Group like yesterday?!  This requires that I plan Sunday School and Youth Group curriculum, which can be challenging.  Have you ever tried to find a meaningful topic that is also interesting and engaging?  
4. Kappa Alpha Theta.  Joining Theta in college might have been one of the best decisions I made.  I walked away with life-long friendships, great memories, and some pretty hilarious stories/pictures.  Since I live just down the road (about 45 minutes) from my Alma Mater, I decided to volunteer to the the Membership Advisor for our Chapter.  Keep in mind, when I decided this months ago, I was unemployed and searching for positive ways to spend my time.  I'm very glad I took the position, but it's been some time since I participated in Recruitment (aka Rush).  I was Recruitment Chair in 2006 (junior year) and then I was studying abroad during Recruitment senior year and missed it.  It's crunch time this week, as everything kicks off tomorrow, so I'm preparing to switch back to Theta mode. (Suddenly, all of the cheers and songs from my college days have coming rushing--no pun intended--back into my head.)  And there's a tiny (well, maybe bigger than that) piece of me that hopes that even as an advisor, I will get a Bid Day shirt.  Is that sad?
5. Babysitting.  During my 6 months of unemployment, I spent a fair amount of time playing the role of Nanny for several families.  (Thirty-something children, to be exact.)  I loved it.  I've been doing the babysitting thing since I was 13, so this is nothing new.  I guess I'm considered the "cool" babysitter because I love to play games, make crafts, color, read stories, and things like that.  Since I've gotten a job, I babysit less, but usually I do it at least once a week.  That means my life still includes Disney Princesses, colorful band-aids, talking stuffed animals, Dora the Explorer, bedtime stories, finger painting, carpool lines, and all the great things that come with kids.

And the rant is over.  Just wanted to give you a glimpse into my chaotic life.  Thanks for reading!

Later gators,

A