Smells like ... Spring...

As Franklin and I walked outside this morning we both stopped to smell the air. This is Franklin's normal morning routine, not so much for me though. What caught my attention this morning was the warmth and heaviness of the air. Even though the temperature was in the 30's and there was no sun to be found, it smelled like Spring. 


I know Franklin felt the shift in the air too because he was super excited about his walk. We saw a few other doggie friends and he even played and ran with them, which almost never happens. 


Coats, gloves and scarves are still required for now, but it makes me feel better to know that before long flowers will be blooming and I can shift from a heavy coat to a light wind breaker. Right now, that sounds like heaven. 

Snowpocalypse Day 2...

Last night, we let Franklin out to go to the bathroom before bed and the snow was already up to his belly. The look he gave us was one of complete annoyance. Since then, we have had many, many more inches of snow. My husband and doggie went out this morning to shovel more snow. This kind of turned into a block party with all of our neighbors joining in the shoveling fun. Franklin and his favorite doggie friend, Kaya, played in the snow and had a great time. While the boys were outside freezing, I stayed inside and made a bacon and cheese quiche and homemade hot cocoa. Yum....

This afternoon, the boys braved the cold once again to shovel the driveway. Although Franklin was exhausted, he jumped up the second that I asked him if he wanted to go outside again. I'm not sure what the total numbers are right now. But, I know that we have a lot of snow and we are running out of places to put it. 

Snowpocalypse 2010...

Well, the snow storm of my lifetime has struck... We are a few hours into what is being referred to in my household as Snowpocalypse 2010. All week we have been hearing about what was coming. Total snow amounts varied from 8 inches to 24 inches. Finally, today as the snow began the weather guys decided that we would end up with roughly 30 inches of snow on the ground. 30 inches!!! I can't even imagine what that will look like. In anticipation of the 30 inches, my husband and I are settling in for a long cozy weekend.

Here is just a preview of all of the snow pictures I will take. This is my beloved shoveling the driveway in an attempt to "stay ahead of it." And of course, I had to get Franklin playing in the snow in there.

          

This final picture was taken about 5 minutes after my husband finished shoveling that part of the driveway. Besides the shoveling, around here it will be a lovely weekend full of reading, watching movies (Food Inc. I hope), and spending time on the couch. Happy Weekend everyone!

Doggie Snow Angels...

As I rolled out of bed and put on my many layers of clothing to take Franklin on his walk, I thought about the warm days of Spring and Summer ahead. I thought about the warm sunshine on my face and the warm breeze that smells like fresh flowers. I thought about Spring dresses and wearing cute flats instead of my bulky boots.  But, as I looked out the window I quickly realized that we had another few inches of snow on the ground and that it is in fact ... still winter.

Over the weekend we had about 8 inches of snow and of course, I had to take my favorite little dog out to play in it. Franklin loves the snow. He will run all over the place with his nose stuck to the ground and then when he's found the perfect spot, he rolls and rolls in it. He will lay on his back and wiggle from side to side making doggie snow angels. It's so funny to watch and almost makes the cold, gray, snowy days of winter worth it. 

Since this winter has been very hard on his skin, Franklin has to have a bath once a week with a special medicated shampoo. This week, I bathed him on Sunday so he would have enough time on Saturday to play in the snow and get it out of his system. Let me tell you, that didn't work. After giving him a bath and making sure he was dry, I let him out to go to the bathroom and the very first thing he did was lay down in the snow. He is such a funny dog that it is hard to be mad at him when he does things like that.

This weekend we are expected to get more snow. If this does happen, I'm sure our weekend plans will be full of doggie snow angels.

Road trip...

Happy Monday everyone! A few weeks back, I met my younger (I don't use little because he is not little and has never been) brother in Auburn, AL. We went to Auburn to explore the town and of course, Auburn University. My brother, who has already had a life full of experiences in his short 25 years, has been accepted to Auburn to continue with his Marine Biology degree. 

We had such a fun time running around town and exploring what BB's (Baby Boy is my nickname for him, it is something that my Mom still calls him) life will be like beginning Fall 2010. We both loved the town, the people and of course the campus. Everyone was so nice and just excited to be at Auburn. 

This is BB in front of one of the Science buildings. He will spend most of his time in the four Science buildings, which look really new and fancy. This will be a wonderful place for him to continue to learn about marine life and indulge in his favorite past time, scuba diving. 

I'm really excited for my brother and a little jealous that he is going to Auburn. I've already gone through all of the school that I want to go through, but I have to admit that while we were in Auburn, part of me wanted to go back. Going to the campus bookstore, the student center, and seeing the football stadium made me long for the seemingly carefree college life, and definitely made me want to go back to school. When I texted my husband and told him I wanted to go to Auburn, his reply was "I thought that might happen." All I could do was smile and know that my days at school are over for now. But, I can't wait to go back to Auburn to visit BB and watch some SEC football. 

Doggie Tales...

Yesterday morning I was running around the house unpacking things and putting stuff away, when I turned around and saw Franklin dreaming about his farm dog days. From October until last week, Franklin had been able to go outside whenever he wanted and run on a nine acre farm with two other farm dogs and a farm cat.  He was in heaven as he bounded up the hills with his ears flapping in the wind and his nose in the air smelling all of the new and different smells. The snow didn't hurt his enthusiasm for country living either.

When I saw him staring out the window yesterday, I know he was wanting someone to let him out so he could freely run, smell and pee on everything he could find. I know adjusting to city life again will take some time for him, so in the mean time my goal is to take him to the dog park more often and to take him on more walks. I think this is the least I can do since he has been such a trooper over the hardest months of our lives.

During our most trying times, he was a protector, a comforter, a snuggler, an entertainer, and just a really great dog. So here is to more walks and more trips to the dog park in 2010. I hope everyone has a great New Year and has someone, even if it's a dog, who is all of these things to you.  Happy New Year!

Putting life back together

Two days ago, I walked into my home for the first time in almost 11 weeks. As I drove through my neighborhood I was amazed how surreal everything looked. I had thought about this moment for weeks and wondered how I would feel as I walked back into my life. Physically speaking very little had changed in our neighborhood. But, as I sat in my car in the garage I teared up. I was thankful to be home but also nervous about what the future holds.

As I sat there, I thought about how much my husband and I have both grown and matured. Really, I think even our dog has matured. He went from a city dog to a farm dog. Although I know he loved being a farm dog, he reverted back to his city dog roots and come inside when it got cold or rainy or was anything less than abundantly sunny.

Going back to human growth in unfortunate circumstances...my husband and I don't have kids, and besides our super-fantastic dog, we haven't really had anything to take care so when it became apparent that we were going to be the main care takers for my husband's mom as she struggled with and eventually succumbed to lung cancer it forced us both to grow up. It forced us to really put other people first and be more patient and understanding people. For me, this experience has made me a more empathetic and compassionate person and with the new year coming up my goal is to continue these traits.

I would also like to remember everyday to be thankful. Not everyday will be perfect and in fact, some will be downright hard but there is always something to be thankful for.