Aussie’s story June 29, 2007

My dog, Aussie is the only family I have – well, other than my corn plant Cornelius.  Technically, I have a lot of family that I’m pretty close to, but I’m only talking about the ones that live with me.  Thus, my dog and my corn plant. 

Real quick – Cornelius was given to my dad when he was in the hospital with kidney stones.  I was 2 yrs old.  So this plant is quite the survivor to have been repotted several times and moved more often than that. 

So back to my original story.  I’ve known Aussie since she was a pup 9 years ago.  She belonged to a friend of mine and his wife.  They moved somewhere that didn’t allow dogs, so they gave her to the owner’s brother (also a freind of mine).  This guy happened to be my brother’s roommate in college so I would See Aussie when I visited.

A couple years later, Aussie and her owner moved to Florida and again lived with my brother.  I moved to Florida 2 months later.  Since my brother and his new roommate were the only people I knew remotely close to my age, I spent a lot of time over there – especially with Aussie.

Eventually my brother and his roommate got their own apartments, so I didn’t see Aussie quite as often anymore.  Then Aussie’s owner got married and I became wonderful friends with the owner’s wife.  They even asked me to dog-sit a couple times when they went out of town. 

Meanwhile, the original owner got divorced and moved to Florida.  He aquired Aussie again after the second couple moved into a place that didn’t allow animals.  Eventually, he moved in with his brother and sister-in-law while waiting to find a new apartment.  This is where I come in.  I got to keep Aussie for a few months until he found a new place. 

However, I moved to Canada for 6 months and couldn’t take Aussie with me, so I left her at home with the girl that sub-let my apartment.  This girl was engaged to Aussie’s current owner (the divorced one, not the married one).  She kept Aussie until they got married and moved into a very yuppie place that only allowed animals smaller than 20 lbs.  So Aussie couldn’t go (she’s a 42 lb. Australian cattle dog).

At this point, there was no one to keep Aussie.  She was homeless.  So she went back to the second couple even though they weren’t allowed to have pets.  She stayed there for about 3 months and the couple just tried to keep her out of sight so they wouldn’t get in trouble, but they did anyway. 

I came home and Aussie moved back in with me since neither of these couples could keep her.  I’ve had to have a couple dog-sitters when I’ve gone on trips, but she’s officially my dog now.  The vet changed her last name and everything! 

I’l be leaving the country again for a few months and Aussie will have a different ‘keeper’ while I’m gone.  The girl staying in my apartment will be taking care of her.  She’s an easy dog to keep though.

She’s very sweet and obedient, unless there’s a threat nearby (ie – children or scary men).  She’s extremely protective, but has never bitten anyone to my knowledge.

Just recently, she had minor surgury, but the vet says she’ll be fine.  However, she’s been sick all week.  Everything she eats comes back up.  She can keep water down though and at least she doesn’t have diarrhea.  I also gave her some chicken broth that didn’t make its way back to my rug. 

I have hardwood floors and a couple area rugs in my apartment.  For some reason, she can’t seem to ever throw up on the hardwood part, it’s always on my rug.  At least it’s my cheap Family Dollar rug and not my nice $200 one.  Smart dog!

After giving her some children’s nausia medicine and small amounts of pepcid, I finally gave her some solid food last night and this morning.  Hopefully, it’ll stay down. 

Anyway, I’ve become one of those people I alway make fun of.  You know the type: their world revolves around their pet.  On the same token, I’m not overboard by buying extravagent things for her or only giving her certain cuts of meat from the market.  I do consider her like my child though.  I love her dearly and she brings such joy to my life!

 I also love having a warm body on the other side of the bed- but this week I haven’t gotten much sleep because she’s been walking around a lot and sleeping back and forth between the floor, couch, and my bed.  I’m praying that stops when her stomach settles down because I need my beauty sleep as much as she does!

Anyway we’ve decided (me and the previous owners) that when Aussie dies, only the people she’s seen naked will be invited to the funeral.  That narrows it down to about 20 attendees!

Tank Tops and Flip Flops June 28, 2007

 . . . and pajamas.  These are my ‘comfort’ clothes. 

In case you don’t know, living near the coast in Florida is HOT!  So tank tops work out wonderfully, but you usually need a lightweight jacket because most every building you enter has the A/C on full blast and it’s freezing!  However, the older I get, the more self-conscious I become about my arms being flabby.  I’m not sure I care enough to not wear tank tops though.

The flip flops also help with staying cool, but that’s not really why I love them so much.  I was raised kind of out in the sticks of North Carolina.  I hated shoes growing up.  I preferred to run around barefoot in the grass or whatever happened to be beneath my feet.  I still hate shoes – they’re restricting or something.  So flip flops to me are as close as I can get to wearing shoes, but feeling like I’m not really wearing shoes.  They’re so easy to slide on and off.  They’re wonderful!

And my pajamas. . . love em!  I wear them to the video store, grocery store, gas station, friend’s houses, almost anywhere.  Usually, my pajamas are boxer shorts or pj pants with a tank top.  Sometimes I’ll wear a t-shirt.  I do have actual night shirts I’ll wear on occassion, but not often.  I also have winter pj’s that are either flannel or what is that material that’s kind of furry?  I don’t remember, but anyway – these are matching long sleeve tops with the pj bottoms.  I don’t wear those or the night shirts in public – well, maybe as far as a friend’s house.

I think people under-rate being comfortable.  I’d rather be comfortable than look good, but fortunately for me- I look good in anything!! hehehe

My Wedding June 28, 2007

All this is hypothetical of course, since I’m not even dating anyone.  I suppose I’ll have to run all this by ‘mr. right’ whenever he comes along, but hopefully he won’t want to change too many things.

 I plan on getting married at my family’s farm in South Carolina.  I absolutely love it there and would love to raise a family there one day.  It will be an outdoor wedding by the pond in the afternoon on a beautiful day in May, but March is okay too.  The most expensive part of the wedding will be the hotel rooms.  Since everything I have planned is pretty cheap, I would love to rent out the local motel for either the night before or night after my wedding since it will be at least a 3 hour drive for 3/4 the guests.  I will especially take care of anyone participating in the wedding along with their families – hotel, gas, and food.

The seating will be rectangular hay bails with white sheets on the top so people don’t get their clothes messed up.  Plus hay can really be prickly and itchy at times.  The sheets will stay on the top of the hay with knitting needles – the hook part will hold the sheet while the long pointy part will be pushed into the hay.

I haven’t figured out how the actual entrance will work yet.  Anyway, my pastor will be there and lead worship.  My friend Sumi will sing “Ravished By You” at some point during the service.  That’s all I know about the actual service at this point.  Oh wait, after we’re pronounced man and wife, we’ll walk out to the Peanuts theme song.  Then we’ll both walk around and I’ll release the bride’s side and he’ll release the groom’s side so we can hug all of our friends then instead of waiting til the reception if people need to leave.

 I of course wil be wearing my beautiful gown that still needs some work.  My aunt had a bridal shop, so when she went out of business she let me pick a dress.  It’s still not what I wanted, but we can make some adjustments to it.  I had a dream once of me in a wedding gown that I fell in love with, but I’ve never seen it.  I could draw a picture of it -it’s that simple.  Anyway, the dress I have will need some beading removed and the train cut off.  I hate trains – for me anyway.  The extra material can be used to make sleeves because as it is now, it is a short sleeve dress and I prefer long- yes, even in the heat.  It’s my wedding, I get to decide, right?  I’ve already decided also that I’m wearing flip flops.  It’s outside and I need to feel as comfortable as possible on my wedding day.  I hate heels and flip flops are my comfort shoe.  They’ll be pretty white, no worries.  I won’t have a veil either.  I think they’re dumb.  I’ll have an up-do with maybe the back of my hair down, but I’ll decorate it with baby’s breath.

As for the attire of everyone else- I don’t care.  It’s all about me, so if everyone else shows up in shorts and tennis shoes, I won’t mind at all.  It’ll just put more focus on me!!  The groom should at least wear a suit and tie if not a tux.  I’m not having a wedding party.  Only my best friend, Nikki, will be my matron of honor.  She will choose her own dress.  Her dress wil be a lilac or lavendar color and we’ll both carry white lilies.  The groom can choose a best man and that’s it.  I’ve been in too many weddings as a bridesmaid and it’s just not worth it.  Besides, if I have more than just Nikki, I’ll have like 10 people and that’s just rediculous.

The reception will be in my aunt’s yard.  There are beautiful oak and pecan trees.  She has a green thumb as well, so there’s an arbor with roses and grapes.  There’s also a bench swing with hanging plants on the arbor that holds it.  Her entire yard is full of exotic flowers and even a magnolia tree.  I don’t care how or where all the tables are placed.  My aunt says she knows where we can rent tents, tables, and chairs for cheap or free.  For the center pieces, I only want mason jars with daisies or dafodils. 

I’ll leave all the food up to my aunt (this stuff is right up her alley).  I don’t want a wedding cake- I hate wedding cake.  So I’ll have several tiers of my favorite cakes: yellow with chocolate icing, red velvet, strawberry, gooey cake, and chocolate caramel.  I also don’t want a lot of drunk people there because my family and a few of my friends are big drinkers.  So I’ll have champagne as the only alcoholic drink and hope for the best.

My friend Sarah will be the photographer.  There’s George the DJ that lives there in SC.  We will be dancing at the reception.  I want to dance to “More Than Words” with my husband for our first dance.  I haven’t decided on a song for my dance with my dad yet, but something Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, I think.  I also have a surprise for my best friend and her husband, but I don’t want to spoil it if she reads this.  I would love to have some karaoke, but sometimes people don’t really do that. 

After the wedding, I want to come back to Florida or wherever we’ll be living and spend my first night as a married couple in our own home.  I don’t want my first time to be in a hotel somewhere that I’ll never go back to.  After that night, we can go on a short trip to the beach or mountains, but I don’t want a nice, extravagant honeymoon until we’ve been married for a year or so.  To me, I just think we’d be so much more comfortable then.  I know some people say we’ll never go if we don’t do it then, but I say we will.

That’s all I have planned for now, but if I think of more later, I’ll definitely fill in the blanks.  This doesn’t sound too expensive, right?

I slept!! June 22, 2007

Last night, I had a headache so I laid down to just rest my eyes for a bit.  I dozed off watching tv, but woke back up shortly after.  I think I got up to use the restroom and check my email, then decided to lay back down.  However, this time I turned off the television.  It was somewhere between 7:30 and 8pm. 

I was planning on waking up to watch one of my favorite shows around 9pm.  (I’m a late night owl, so that’s still early for me).  When I woke up, it was almost dawn.  Obviously I missed my show, which is okay because I’m starting to sound like a couch potato anyway.  I didn’t look at the clock when I woke up, but knew it was early morning, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.  I later woke up and realized I never walked my dog the night before.  Poor thing!  She goes when I get home from work and then before bed.  Yeah, I didn’t take her before bed because I wasn’t planning on going to bed that early! 

I must’ve needed it, I guess.  I’m usually at least an 8-9 hour a night person, but since I’ve been working the last couple weeks, I’ve only been getting around 6 hrs. sleep (plus I’m still fighting this nasty cold).

Tide-To-Go June 21, 2007

I have a tendency to drop my food either on my shirt or in my lap.  I was so proud of myself today because I made it through a whole taco without dropping any of it!  I was wadding up the paper it was wrapped in to throw it in the trash when a piece of meat drenched in sauce fell on my light-colored linen pants.  I was a bit frustrated because I think they’re dry clean only.

So I went back to work and dabbed water on the stain with a napkin.  A co-worker saw what I was doing and said, “oh, I have one of those pens that will get that out.  It works wonders.  I’ll go get it.”

She did.  I used it.  and POOF!!  It’s a miracle- no more stain!

It’s about time! June 20, 2007

Finally, I’m starting to get excited about moving to Bolivia!!  Last year, when I moved to Canada, I really didn’t want to go.  Now I’m going through some of the same emotions.  However, I have more anticipation for what God will do.

This time, I’m expecting God to do grand and wonderful things.  Maybe because the church there has just been through another change in leadership, but I believe God is up to something since the pastor now is 26 yrs. old and I’ll be the ‘right-hand man’ at the ripe old age of 29.  This just encourages me because we’re not a couple of young people that don’t know anything- we’ve both practiced what we preach for quite sometime.  We’ve given our youth to the things of God.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to not ‘working’.  Although ministry is a full-time, non-stop job.  People often don’t realize this.  It is extremely draining spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  You literally lay your life down as a servant to the sheep.  The upside to all this is it is my passion in life.  I’ll have the priviledge and opportunity to do what I love most- to minister to the heart of God by preaching and teaching His word and leading His people into His presence through worship.

I don’t expect to watch much tv or be on the computer as often as I am now since I won’t have cable or sattelite. . . besides, most shows are in Spanish and I haven’t learned it yet.  I suppose that would be a good way to learn.  I’ll either have to go to an internet cafe’ or to a freind’s house to check my email and the like. 

Hopefully, I’ll get to stay in an apartment that a family in the church owns.  It would be wonderful to have my own place.  I don’t mind living with people, but it is really hard because I almost feel obligated to give my time to them when I need to be in the Word or whatever.  I’m still a little aprehensive about living alone in a third-world country when I don’t speak the language, but a lot of my friends there speak English and I’m praying they’ll be patient with me while learning their native tongue.  I’ll have to either walk or catch a taxi to go places. . . I’m actually looking forward to getting in better shape and shedding a couple pounds.  The cab rides scare me a little only because being the ‘gringo’ I know how they would over-charge me for a 50 cent ride. 

The crime there is horrible too.  A friend of mine was a few weeks or months pregnant walking down the steet while chatting on her cell phone when someone ran up to her and stole her phone.  The man also tried to pull her diamond off her hand, but it was stuck.  If this happened to my Hispanic friend, I’ll be extremely cautious as the very white American that I am.  No evening strolls for me!!

All I need is my visa, a plane ticket, and a few living expenses and I’m off!  The thing I’m mostly concerned about is leaving my dog.  Crazy- I know.

Catching Up June 19, 2007

My life is a bit chaotic at the moment, but I’ve come to accept that as the norm.  However, I’m not a person that can deal with a lot of drama, so I try to keep that to a minimal level.  I’ve been fighting a cold for almost two weeks now and it’s slowing me down some.  It’s really getting old!  I’m also working a temp job for some money to pay the bills for the time being. 

Soon, I need to start all the preparations for moving out of the country for the rest of the year.  I keep procrastinating because it is such a headache.  I do want to go and I know it will be a tremendous blessing.  A huge part of me just feels like I’m answering a need as opposed to really having a call to go on my heart.  It’s like God said, “who will go?” and I said, “Here I am Lord, send me”.  I don’t want a rock to cry out in my place and I know the Lord can and will use me. 

Anyway, I’m sub-letting my apartment to one of my old youth . . . they’re all old now.  Everyone (with the exception of about 2 kids) that were in the youth group when I was a youth leader/ pastor is out of high school or college by now.  So the girl that will be staying in my apartment, watering Cornelius (my 27 yr old corn plant) and taking care of my precious Aussie-dog came by last night and will be meeting my landlords tonight.  I have a few doubts, but I’m trusting Jesus will keep everything in His hands and under control.

She did bring with her some of my old furniture.  I had a bedroom suit growing up that was antiqued with that God-awful ugly green/ blue color.  It was my grandparent’s first bedroom set after they were married, so it’s very old.  I had given it to this girl’s parents to re-finish and it’s been so many years, I’m surprised they still have it.  I was even more shocked when she brought it back finished!!  It is so gorgeous and I’m so proud of it. 

The only thing I’m upset about is a small bookcase that is my mother’s, but I thought I’d be able to use it as a cabinet for all my movies and cd’s.  My mom took it home with her and all my books and videos are overflowing from my bookcase.  I don’t deal well the clutter.  I’m used to my videos being organized by genre (even all the Meg Ryan movies are together) and my books as well.  I hate for my literature books to be mixed in with my Bible-studying materials.  It’s driving me nutty. 

Those things aren’t important though.  In the big scheme of things- how I organize my bookshelf has nothing to do with my eternal life.  It’s just keeping the priorities straight.

My Little Cousin June 14, 2007

I have a billion cousins (and no, I’m not exaggerating), but one in particular makes me smile every time I think of him.  He’s 12 years old and if you have a problem with hunting stories, then this particular blog is probably not something you want to read.

 Normally (from what I’ve been told by the hunters in my family), boys don’t usually shoot their first deer until around the age of 13 or so.  It’s kind of a right of passage if you will.  Well, coming from a family of hunters, my little cousin got his first shotgun by the age of 5, I think (he was little).  Anyway- little guy shot his first turkey before he shot his first deer.  But the first deer came at the age of 9.  This wasn’t an easy feet because he was hunting with dogs as opposed to sitting in a tree stand.  This means it was a moving target and not a deer standing by a pool of water for a leisurly drink.

The ritual for boys in our neck of the woods after their first kill is for them to first skin the animal.  This was no problem for my cousin because my family owns a hunting club so he was very accustomed to this by now.  After the deer has been skinned, then the innards (organs and bowels) are squeezed above the head of the newly initiated hunter by the men so all the blood and guts drench the young boy.  This can never be comfortable, but it could be potentially traumatizing to a 9 year old boy, but again this wasn’t new to him- only the first time he’s been on the receiving end instead of a bystander.

After he is drenched, or maybe before- (I’m not clear on this part of the ritual), he must wear the testicals of the animal around his neck for the duration of the celebration.  Most people consider this an extremely torturous and tribal ritual, but to my family it’s just a way of life. 

So now that he’s 12, he’s even killed a deer with a bow and arrow- another difficult accomplishment.  Once, he put deer feed in his back yard and shot a deer from his bedroom window.  However, this is in city limits, so I’m pretty sure it’s not legal.

He also raises biddies (small chickens) and sells them to a man that then takes them to Alabama where it is supposedly legal to fight ‘gamecocks’.  As far as I know, my cousin has actually fought one of his first chickens over a year ago or so, but he said you can only fight them once.  Go figure.

The most recent notch on his belt is an alligator.  (Yes, it is also illegal to kill).  There is a pond on my family’s land and he was on the dock.  He saw the alligator on the other side of the pond and shot it right in the head with a rifle.  It was the next day when he and his grandfather went out in the boat to get the 7 foot creature as it was floating on top of the water by that point.  Then he tied the gator to the four-wheeler and drug it a few miles back into the woods so the game warden wouldn’t see it if he happened to come by.  He has plans to make a necklace of it’s teeth after the buzzards eat it. 

I don’t have a list of things he’s killed, but mostly game (deer, turkey, dove – not the white kind) and critters (the alligator, snakes, etc.)  There is a possibility that he’s killed a wild coyote or two, but I’m not sure about that. 

This might sound odd, but I’m very proud of him (he is only 12 after all).  Plus, he is one of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet.  He’s so thoughtful and helpful.  He LOVES working on the farm.  He started driving the tractor a few years ago, then the combine, and he graduated to driving the jeep around the farm a while back also. 

He’s a little short for his age, but he’s extremly athletic.  He plays baseball, football, and also enjoys a good golf game.  He’s quite the little grown up with his own cell phone.  Sometimes his parents have to call him just to see if he’s hunting, fishing, or golfing.

Nonetheless, he’s quite the little comedian, but he doesn’t mean to be.  He always makes everyone smile and he’s not even trying to be funny.  He is quite the little blessing to our family and we love him deerly (pun intended).

my shoes hurt June 13, 2007

If you haven’t already gathered, my shoes are hurting my feet!  I’m at work behind a desk, holding down a chair in of course- professional attire.  I hate this.  I have to do it to save some money and pay the bills, but it is definitely not my passion in life.

I think going  to work shoud be enjoyable, not painful.  If I were in blue jeans and flip flops- this menial job would be so much more enjoyable.  Okay, maybe not enjoyable, but at least more comfortable!