TAMW

Happy Wordsday Thursday! Or, more accurately, Wordsday Friday, as I am a few minutes late! My sincerest apologies.

If you're unfamiliar with it, TAMW stands for "That Awkward Moment When", but feel free to change "awkward" to other A words! Annoying. Awesome. Asinine. Alarming. Atrocious! Whatever fits best.

The list below is of TAMW scenarios I have compiled... Purely theoretical, of course! I would never do such silly things* ;)

*TAMW you believe my lies...

That awkward moment when...

... Your dog is hogging all the covers and most of the bed and you're freezing and uncomfortable but unwilling to wake her

... You tell a joke no one likes and you're stuck chortling like an idiot while people watch you uncomfortably

... You're at work and get a brutal case of the hiccups and customers ask if you "had a few martinis for lunch"

... You catch yourself speaking cat language to your cats: "Meow? Myah-myah! Squeak! MYOW! Brrt?" And they just stare at your blankly.

...You hear a recording of your voice and you cringe and feel like apologizing to everyone around you for having to put up with hearing this voice all the time

... Your dad asks you how late you were up the night before and you don't want to lie! But you don't really want to be truthful, either

... You're in the car with mixed company and see a stray dog on the side of the road and roll down your window and yell, "GO HOME! You go home!" and realize (from your passengers expressions) that not everyone does that

... You're on a long car drive and you feel like listening to some epic music so you listen to the Game of Thrones opening theme on repeat

... You're at Walmart digging through the $5.00 movie bin and find all these AWESOME MOVIES... that you already own, and payed full price for. IF I COULD HAVE WAITED 10 YEARS, I COULD'VE GOTTEN THE WHOLE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY FOR JUST OVER $15!! Probably less...

... You're very busy at work and suddenly you have trouble doing something ridiculously simple, like opening a plastic bag, and all the customers are staring at you like, "What's her problem..?"

.... You catch yourself hugging and kissing pets that aren't yours. What? They're cuddly and adorable! Get over it

... You pull in your driveway BLASTING stupid dorky music (like, ohhhhhh, off the top of my head, songs from Annie, "Ridin' Dirty" by Chamilionnaire, or the better version "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al) only to find  your neighbors seem to be having some sort of family reunion and they give you uneasy waves while whispering to each other. Congratulations! You're the weird neighbor...

I guess it would be fair to call me an awkward person! No surprise there...

I'm going to be doing some travelling, so I don't know when I'll write next. But when I do, I'm sure I'll have lots of good stories.

Happy Friday!

Sarah

The Story of Pedro

You may or may not have heard, but our German Shepherd, Pedro (Pete), is very sick. He's dying. We took him to the vet because he had stopped eating and was behaving very strangely. They did an x-ray and found cancerous tumors in his stomach. The veterinarian gave us bottles of steroids and pills to increase his appetite, but they weren't working. We figured we would have to put him down today, so last night we got together at my Dad's and had a Pete-za party in his honor!

Something happened. We started feeding him toppings from a Meatlover's pizza, then bites of turkey, then he ate a whole bowl of crunchers! I dunno if it was the delicious meat, or the pills kicking in, or he just wasn't ready to give up yet, but our sweet boy made such a comeback in the span of a couple hours that we've postponed putting him down!

So I thought I'd tell you a little about this good, good dog, who NEVER gives up.

We first met Pedro years and years ago. I don't know if he was dumped out  over by where we lived or he ran away from a very bad home, but we started catching glimpses of this skittish, handsome German Shepherd, running around outside. He was skin and bones, and very shy, but he fell in love with my dog, Otis. He constantly hung around our dog pen, until one day we came home and he was IN the pen with our dogs! When he saw us approaching, he leaped up and over the 6 foot fence and disappeared in the trees.

Then! One bitter cold December evening, the wind was howling and bits of icy snow flew through the air. We were inside by the warm fire, but guess who should show up in our dog pen! I spent the better part of an hour sitting on the frigid floor of our garage, trying to tempt this homeless German Shepherd into coming inside, out of the wind. Finally, I grabbed a can of cat food and took the lid off. I stuck my arm out of the dog door, holding up the smelly can, trying to entice him. I thought he might smell it and lick at it and I might be able to grab him, but imagine my surprise when he snatched the whole can and took off!

Luckily for me, he was still very hungry and came back. I was finally able to grab him and pull him inside the garage, and we shut the dog door. We finally got a good look at him! He was truly emaciated, and his thick coat was covered in mud and brambles. He was very scared, but not aggressive at all! We could tell he had been abused, because any time he saw someone approaching, especially men, he would shy away. To this day, he is still scared of brooms and rakes and loud noises.

We were fans of Napoleon Dynamite, so we named him Pedro! After feeding him all the crunchers and cat food he could eat, we let him inside. It was Christmastime, and our house was warm and bright and decorated. Imagine our surprise when he approached the Christmas tree.... and lifted his leg and peed on it!

He quickly adjusted to life at our house, and became much less shy and much more playful. But we were on the hunt for his owners! He's such a gorgeous, sweet dog, we figured someone somewhere must be missing him! We put up flyers all over and got a few calls, but mostly from weird people we didn't feel comfortable giving him to. Our neighbors volunteered to take him, so we took him to their house, stayed with him a few minutes and gave him a sad goodbye. As soon as we drove off, he hopped the neighbors fence... and beat us home!

We took that as a sign... and kept him!

He took to us like a fish to water! And we loved him right back. He did have a few odd habits... for example, for a while he enjoyed sneaking into my sister's room and pooing in her shoes. We never did figure that out...

And of course he loved relaxing in our horses' water tank. But what dog wouldn't?

We teased him sometimes, calling him "emo" because he could be a tad dramatic...

But everyday we've spent with him was a gift. Really.

He adopted us, when we didn't know we needed him... but we did.

I don't know if he will be with us a few more months, or a few more days. But he has been such a good, good dog. His sweet and goofy demeanor has positively impacted everyone who got to know him. You can bet that his last days will be full of good food, good company, and good love. He deserves it, a million times over.

You're a good boy, Petey.

Love forever,

Sarah 

I Can Focus Much Better Now, Thank You

I had an appointment with the eye doctor today! Is it just me, or are eye appointments MUCH less stressful than dental visits? I don't know what it is, exactly. They're funner and more interesting and I am much less afraid of them.

I go to Dr. Hagen in Trinidad and since today was my day off from work, I decided to make an outing of it! I rolled out of bed at the crack of noon and dug through the clean-laundry basket on my bedroom floor. After pulling on a T-shirt and some jeans, I rousted Otis from bed and made her go outside while I finished getting ready. I yanked a brush through the snarls in my long, tangled blue-green hair and applied a fresh coat of green-apple flavored Chapstick. By then, Otis was crying to be let in, so I opened the door and stepped aside. Click-clack, click-clack, went her nails on the hard-wood floor. I ran a hand along her back, and her fur was warm from the sun. After giving her a milk-bone, I poured some fresh Friskies "Indoor Delights" for a hungry, yowling Sheldon and slipped on some sandals. I grabbed my bag from beside the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine. To the north I saw some dark storm clouds gathering, and after cranking my car's air conditioning and grabbing a bite of lunch, I drove towards them. 

Heavy rains have recently caused some trouble on the pass, washing down huge rocks onto the roadway. By now most of them have been cleared away, but you can still see evidence here and there- little piles of gravel and washed out sections, heavy tire tracks in the mud. 

Once I got to Trinidad, I immediately headed to Walmart! It was busy, and the parking lot was full of cars and people. I wondered what the traveling families stopped at Walmart thought about the Cannabis shop right next door. Inside I leisurely made my way around, stopping to gape at the Back-to-School section, already up and ready. Folders and pencils and backpacks, oh my! I've been out of high-school for 5 years now, but the Back to School section still sends a shiver of dread down my spine.

I stocked up on hair dye and my favorite pens and I was in the magazine section when a clap of thunder shook the building. For a moment, the lights flickered ominously and every shopper in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and involuntarily gazed upward. It only lasted for a few seconds but it had a panic-effect on a lot of the customers. It seemed just about everybody felt the need to get out of there before the lootings began, or something. Since I was all done with my shopping, I too headed for the checkout lanes. Once back in my car, I realized I had a very long time until my eye-appointment, so I found my copy of "Game of Thrones" that I keep in my bag and read for several minutes.

I had a good visit at the Optometrist! For "Throwback Thursday", here is a blog I wrote almost two years ago, about my last eye checkup. It was very similar!

http://jesusbeanlaiho.blogspot.com/2013/09/before-i-lose-my-nerve.html

I must say, having your eyes dilated is one of the weirdest sensations! Your eyes get all gummy and strange from the eyedrops and you struggle to make your eyes focus, and the sun literally hurts! I drove at right around 55 mph all the way back, squinting and blinking and breaking for, usually, no reason at all!

I picked out a new pair of eyeglasses, which I'm excited about! I just hope I chose well, as I could barely see them through my dilated pupils. 

And NOW! Because you're a trooper and read this whole blog, a picture of my dilated eyes!

You're so welcome.

:)

Happy Wordsday Thursday!

Sarah

Red, White, and Blue!

In the spirit of Independence day coming up on Saturday, I thought for today's Wordsday Thursday I'd make a quick list of SOME of my favorite things that are... RED, WHITE, and BLUE! And pics of my hair in the same colors ;)

RED

• Roses from the greenhouse
• My old, worn ACE aprons with cool pins and crap in the pockets
• Red licorice at baseball games
• My worn-to-death "Bazinga" hoodie that my cats love to sleep on
• The color of Christmastime- tissue paper and candy canes and bright lights
• That pink tint to your cheeks after spending a fun day outside, but not quite sunburned (Nosferatudermis!)

WHITE
(kinda)

• Snow
• A blank piece of paper, right before I write on it
• The glow of the moon
• Otis' paws
• Petunias flourishing in the heat of summer
• Loved, used, cracked old lawn chairs
• That white-hot feel of the pavement right before you sink your feet in cold water

BLUE

• That deep color of the sky on beautiful days 
• Ocean Water from Sonic
• Comfortable jeans
• Otis' favorite toy, Chester the blue Lobster
• My dad's cats, Bob and Betty, who are "Russian Blues"
• The color of your tongue after eating bright blue Popsicles or cotton candy
• Swimming pools
• Blue pens

They all come together to make something awesome! Like America!

I hope you have an AWESOME Independence Day! Light a firework for me :)

Sarah