Welcome Home, Bruno!

As you may know, we lost our dog, Marshall, at the end of June. I said I'd never get another dog. Guess what???

We got another dog! His name is Bruno, and he's from the Save-A-Pet shelter near our house. He is 2, 2 1/2 yrs old and has been at the shelter since June 2008. He came from Texas, where a woman ran a small shelter out of her house. One day, she decided to leave the dogs and her husband. Somehow, Bruno ended up in Grayslake, IL at Save-A-Pet.

He's very shy, likely because he never really bonded with anyone. However, the shelter staff and volunteers who have spent time with him all say he is very sweet and once he gets to know you, he's like velcro and won't leave your side!

Our first night was tough. He spent most of the evening in the dining room alone. When bedtime rolled around, I laid on the floor near him and talked to him for awhile. Around midnight, he woke up and was walking around, so we went outside for a walk. We came back and both of us fell asleep. I heard him get up overnight and found him laying in the corner of the family room this morning. Eventually, he came out and we went in the backyard, he ate a little of his food and he's been right by me ever since. Gotta love progress...

So, he's warming up to the house and people around him. Steps were something new, but he's doing quite well with those too! I'm just happy to have him and help him come out of his shell and have a wonderful life!

IT'S A GIRL!!

Where have I been?? Hanging out at the hospital because my sister had her baby and its a GIRL!! Sofie Eleanor, 7 lbs, 9 ozs, 19 1/2 inches long was born on Sunday, September 13th.

SOOO EXCITED!!!! I love my son to death, but girl stuff is so fun!

Juj was a trooper..no drugs. It was absolutely amazing! So, congrats to Julee and John!

God Bless America

I can't believe it's been EIGHT years.

I'm sure we all can remember exactly where we were and exactly how we felt that day. I was at work. Like many, at first we all thought it was some bizarre accident. I remember when the television was set up, and an office full of people stood in complete horror in front of it, watching the events of that day unfold. The office eventually closed for the day, we all headed home, speechless, to continue to watch...

I remember feeling completely helpless and vulnerable, and left wondering what the hell the world would be like for my then 1 yr old son.

I've never forgotten that feeling, and never will, regardless of what day it is. However, on 9/11, when the news is covering remembrance ceremonies, I still cry. I always will.

Please continue to pray for and support our the men and women of the US Military, as well as the men and women across the county serving as police and fire personnel.

We will never forget.....

Just an Observation..

This week on the news in Chicago there was a story about a woman who staged a nursing sit-in after being chastised for nursing her baby in public. Over 30 nursing mothers showed up to show their support.

I nursed for about 5 months, and honestly, hated every minute of it, but completely support any woman who chooses to - or not to - nurse their child. I was never comfortable nursing in public, but for those that are - and for those that I've seen do it, they're usually discreet about it and try to cover up so their stuff isn't hanging out.

A few times this past week, I was out running at a local forest preserve area. There are 2 older men walking the path in shorts and no shirts. Complete with their large guts hanging out all over the place for the world to see. Sure, it was slightly warm this week. Then wear a tank top, boys.

Do you see where I'm going with this??

So, someone actually complained about a mother nursing her child, said that it was inappropriate and she should do it elsewhere, like a bathroom. However, two overweight old guys walking shirtless is okay? Blech...

Pondering....

After reading the post by Kristina, I've been thinking a lot about what was said. Specifically, "There are three types of people in this world. There are the people who live fearlessly and eagerly do scary things like BASE jumping. There are the people who live cautiously and rarely do anything bolder than driving somewhere new without Mapquest. And then there are the cautious people drawn to scary things, the people who are anxious and guarded about most everything but sign up for stuff that feels crazy anyway."

Kristina goes on to say, "Sometimes, we have to do things are really hard, all by ourselves." That I completely agree with.

I wouldn't say I'm anxious or guarded with most everything, but I do fall into the third category (actually, I'd prefer to be in the first example, but being responsible for an almost 9 year old takes me out of the running for that one). If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I'd run 2 marathons, I would have laughed. But, alas, I did (okay, 1.75. I trained like hell for Chicago 2007, and got out there. They canceled it on me, but that's another story.)

But, I do think that sometimes we do have to do things that are really hard, and do them alone. Pushing oneself to new heights takes willpower and guts. It's been a unique year for me..being unemployed and taking on an entirely new role at home, and trying to figure out what to do with my life and how to do it. I've learned a lot about myself since January, but also think I have more to learn.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Sure, it's been hard, and I've dealt with it alone - mostly in my own head, because all the changes have required me to think differently. I fully intend to keep pushing ahead, doing scary things and challenging myself. I don't know what fate has in store for me, and that's okay - I know what I'd like it to have in store, and I will continue to work toward that. But you know what they say about life happening while you're busy making plans...

Whatever it is will happen exactly when its supposed to. In the meantime, you'll find me pondering the great mysteries of the universe and clearing my head while running my ass off.

Now, go take a look at Kristina's blog. She's amazing!

Random Thoughts

I received this via email the other day from my neighbor...it's hilarious. Long, but worth the read. Enjoy..

Random Thoughts of the Day

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think
about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own
story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize
you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be
going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check
your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself
to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by
randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was
younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This
recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be
ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know
how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or
FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f ** was going on when I first
saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes
stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes
shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the
right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a
millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really,
really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on
highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I
decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk
over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that,
Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my
hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a
mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is
me. Even cats can re cognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your
computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish
a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to
say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.
Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired
about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us."
Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I
hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and
smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to
prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples,
I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I
had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G
as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each
other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile
is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red
Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every
year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a
problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want
to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going
to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if
I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I
did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching
TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me
if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this.
It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room.
Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China
and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that
when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!),
but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to
voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run
away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing
anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't
already told me but that I have learned from some light internet
stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then
I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed
for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but
no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not
know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I
find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the
fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to
with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys
in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey -
but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3
feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about
it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating
to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself.
There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before
dinner.

Really?

B will be 9 in less than a month. He came home from school today to tell me that he is 56 inches tall - his teacher measured all the kids in class for some math graph thing. So, I ask him if that was with shoes on. Yes, he says...

So, I remeasure him at home, sans shoes. He was just a smidge over 55.5 inches tall. For those of you who don't know me, I am exactly 5 feet tall, or 60 inches. Which means my not-quite-nine year old is only 4 inches shorter than me.

I always knew there would come a day he would be taller than me. Heck, everyone is. I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

I had an aunt or something who was only 5 feet tall. She stood on a chair to yell at her over 6 foot tall boys. Guess that's where I'm headed too!