henry dog

it has been over a year since i introduced the world to my handsome little guy. for those of you who have never had the distinct honor of his presence, please let me introduce him to you now...this is henry. and this, my friends, is the essence of my dog. i must admit that he has a fabulous life. he has two parents that dote over him constantly, toys waiting for him in every room, the privilage of licking our plates clean, endless peanut butter snacks, the entire back of the couch for his napping pleasure, and please do not let me forget his wonderful best friend. yes, dogs have best friends, too, and henry's is hucs (short for huckstable). hucs is this tiny little chihuahua that pees when he gets excited. when we need henry to get some energy out, we send him out to play with hucs...seriously.


henry also has a girlfriend. meet millie. millie's parents are my friends lori and chris (i will talk about them another day, but just so you know, i love them!) as you can see, henry and millie's relationship is more of a cat and mouse kinda game. henry chases, millie runs for cover. it is cute little game of puppy love. and as you can see, terry is loving this! hee hee.

henry's got it all - a loyal best friend and the love of a good woman - what more could a little dog ask for.

randoms...

Some random thoughts swimming around in my head:

• It’s 2:38 pm…I wish it was 5…I’m ready to go home.
• The tallest man in the world, 7’-9” to be exact, saved two dolphins today by sticking his arm inside (don’t know where but we can all guess) and pulling out pieces of plastic. Weird.
• I ate the best mac and cheese for lunch and now I want to nap. On my couch. With Henry. And the Christmas tree on.
• Henry not only pees on the tree, he eats it too (the tree, not the pee)…he has the most lovely breath these days, very spruce-y.
• If you have seen or heard from my sister, tell her to call me.
• Same goes for my hubby.
• Three more working days until my 13 days of napping…wahoo!!!!
• I have to go to Tuscaloosa again tomorrow…it makes me miss Athens.
• My grandmother went to her best friend’s house this week and baked goodies for two whole days…dang, I can’t wait to eat some. Yum!
• I have a tiny Christmas tree at my desk that makes me smile.
• One of my co-workers has a belching problem…today it’s really bad. Sick, man.
• I absolutely love me some Michael Buble!
• My back is killing me, I need a massage…hint, hint lost hubby.
• I don’t drink enough water. Maybe that will be a new year’s resolution.
• Supposedly there will be “northern lights” in the sky tonight due to the sun’s particles hitting the earth’s surface. What the heck does this mean?
• I think I want Mexican for dinner.
• I am so excited for Carrie, she got engaged a week and a half ago…nice bling!
• I need a maid – my very own Jeannette.
• I am bored at night b/c all my shows are gone: Lost, The Bachelor, Amazing Race, Top Model, Grey’s, Desperate Housewives…I need some entertainment people!
• Angelina has said in Vogue she and Brad are legally bound to their children, not each other. Weird. Are you gonna wear your kids blood around your neck, too?
• My dad’s reindeer were going at it again Saturday night. Hee hee.
• It’s 3:43. So I’m slow.

Donkeys and Hippos

My favorite thing about Monday mornings are the “Monday Morning Question.” My fabulous friend Shannon emails a fabulous group of friends a fabulous question. We all take our turn answering in our own little way…there are always laughs and giggles, and the occasional making fun of some ones answer. There have been all types of questions like “If you could be on one TV show which would it be?” Ummm, duh, Grey’s Anatomy as McDreamy’s heartthrob…I think we all agreed on that one. Then there was “Name three things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving” …see, we do get serious – sometimes. Well, one Monday morning at the beginning of the Christmas Season, Shannon asked “What is your favorite Christmas Hymn and Christmas Song.” I loved this one. We started getting the typical answers: Holy Night and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer…Silent Night and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas…you get the picture. Then my Haley busts out in typical Haley fashion with her strange favorite, “Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey.” …..WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? Are you kidding? I cannot stop laughing at my desk…that is just crazy, donkeys aren’t invited to Christmas. Next thing I know I am answering the question and without even thinking I say that my chart-topper is “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” Hippos - I must have jumped on the crazy train, too! I always knew Haley and I were a special pair…there was always this oddness that brought us together. This year it was Hippos and Donkeys.

So for your listening enjoyment and in honor of my sweet Haley, have a laugh, a giggle and a smile over our favorite Christmas animals…

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/hippo.htm

http://members.shaw.ca/cybernana/funpage/dominick/dominick.htm

Christmas Memories...

So I thought it was time for some more wisdom from my favorite Story People. Most people in my life know of my obsession over Christmas…I love it…it is just absolutely fabulous! In my opinion is doesn’t start soon enough and it doesn’t last long enough. So,I thought today I would share some fun Christmas stories that I love to tell…

- My dad and step-mom are faithful decorators – outside and in. One of my favorite things are the deer that sit off to the side of the house in the “woods”. There are several of them, all lit up and glowing with the Christmas Spirit. A couple of years ago on Christmas Eve, we were having a wonderful evening spending time with my aunt, uncle and cousins. As usual, we had spent the evening catching up, talking about how my cousin Justin and dad are so much alike, how life is going, memories we cherish, we talk to my Aunt Cindy in Texas, we sit by the fire, eat, open presents, ect… After we had all talked our ears off, we decided to call it a night. Little did we know that when we walked outside we would be interrupting a romantic moment between two of Santa’s Reindeer. Yes, some little teenager decided it would be great fun to position the deer, oh how do I say this politely – humping. I cannot help but laugh at the night we so rudely walked in on a little Christmas lovin’ between Santa’s helpers. Hee hee.

- This is our second Christmas with our wonderful little pup Henry. It has taken Henry a while to learn how to go tee-tee outside. He was so proud the day his leg started to “hike” that from then on I could not stop him from “hiking” that little leg on everything. When we go for a walk, the little guy stops at every mailbox to show his stuff…then he turns and looks at me and seems to say “Did you see that mom? Right on target.” This year we got a real tree. Oh it looks so beautiful! And the smell – oh so wonderful – that is until Henry thought the tree was his very own pissing post, brought inside for his Christmas enjoyment. Yes, I now own the only tree that smells like dog pee.

- Our Christmas tree is filled with memories. Many of them were my ornaments, but slowly Terry and I have replaced them with our ornaments, our memories. We now have a good little collection of Tingle Christmas ornaments. There is one however, that I cannot part with. One from long ago that hangs in there and waits for it’s debut year after year. Off Wesleyan Drive there is a little preschool that I attended. It was here that the ornament made it’s way into my life. I was four and Field was right beside me making his. You see, it’s only made out of clear plastic paper and red puffy paint into the shape of a Christmas tree, a prefect tree that has “Teacher Helped Me” written all over it. I can still remember her hands guiding me with the puffy paint, making sure I had the perfect tree to take home to mom and dad. The masterpiece is nothing fancy and basically gets lost in the tree, but it is my favorite.

I savor that ornament…but why? When I was younger I think I just adored it because I made it and I was proud. Now there is a deeper love. In order for that tree to be perfect, someone had to guide my hands. Christmas is about Jesus and remembering why God sent him to this crazy place – to guide our hands, our steps and our hearts. My ornament is also clear and as I said, gets lost in the tree. I think that is what we do with Jesus – lose him in the midst of life. But not this year. This year I will celebrate the birth of Christ. This year I will bask in the Season of Joy. This year I might leave my tree up until June.

babies, cheap gas, craziness and blessings...

it has been quite a while since my last post and to my few readers i am sorry. in my absence life has seemed to take quiet steps and those are the moments i have treasured. i have a feeling that those days of rest and selfish loathing are drawing to an end. you see, these quiet steps are soon to be loud crys, dirty diapers, a jealous dog, late nights and no sleep. but i am ok. i won't say i am ready, but i am ok. i don't think as first time mothers and parents we truly comprehend what in the heck we are getting ourselves into...but this i do know - life as i have known it for 26 years is soon to change. as of today i am 13 weeks and 5 days. it finally hit me that i am pregnant when i was 13 weeks and 1 day. so i am a little late, what's new?

i was at the Racetrac getting some cheap gas to fill up my "mommy mobile" just the other night. just as with any other cheap gas station, the trash cans are overflowing and stink to high heaven, the pump holder thingie is broken so you have to stand out in the friggin' cold while it takes 10 minutes for the cheap gas to fill up your tank, and ok coarse there is always cheap gas that spills out all over the car, all over your clothes and let us not forget all over your hand. so here i am getting high off gas and i realize my little peanut is enjoying the party as well. i am serious, right then and there - with all the other rednecks at the cheap gas station - i realize i am pregnant. my little one no longer looks like an alien but a real little baby. crazy. i am going to be a mom and terry is going to be a dad. crazy. my clothes don't fit and i have a right to continue to gain a little wieght. fun but crazy. my parents are now grandparents and my grandmother is now a great-grandmother. crazy. i soon will be that parent standing in line at the mall with their screaming child waiting to see santa. i will be going to disney on ice, the circus, and god help me - the wiggles. crazy, crazy, crazy. yes this is all crazy but it is a blessing.

in the midst of this blessing, i have often asked god why this was so easy for us...i feel like we had our very own easy button from Staples. but that easy button didn't have answers for my burning questions: can we really do this, will we ruin our child, who will it look like, who will it act like, will it let me sleep at all, will i remember to feed it and if i do will i remember to feed henry, too. i have to wait well into next year for most of these answers and for some i know that most likely i will never get an answer...but i do wonder. and while i wonder i will be more careful as to how much gas i inhale.

houses and puppies and cars, oh my

what can i say, it's been a good year! we have a house that own's us, a puppy that loves us, and a new car that puts 'ole suckie to shame. we sold 'ole suckie yesterday. i wish i had a picture for all to see the look of joy on my face. it was priceless. you know mastercard is taking ideas for new commercials...maybe in honor of 'ole suckie, i should submit one about her.
gas spent traveling from athens to b'ham: $5000.oo
cost of replacing water pump, both times:
$350.00
quick fixes for a broken ac: $155.00
cost of AAA to save me from my next break-
down: (i really don't know, ask my dad)
feeling of cool air on the face and a smooth transmission: Priceless
I do have to say, it is always kinda sad to say goodbye to something that has been beaten and abused and still not willing to give up. She was a trooper... a good friend. She let me sing drivin' and cryin' at the top of my lungs, she kept me safe from all those rocks that flew at me, and no matter how bad a talked about her, she always got me from point A to point B, well almost always...sometimes i would forget to give her food and she would pass out on me. But most of all she made me thankful. life feels the need to be humbling at times. 'ole suckie humbled me. when she made more noice than terry's snoring at night, it humbled me. when these 16 year olds in birmingham drove around in there bmw and lexus', it humbled me. when she would decided to blow up in smoke in the middle of 280, it humbled me. but life isn't about the best car, or the cutest house. to me, life is about having fun. laughing. smiling as big as i can, even with braces on. today i will have fun, laugh, and smile. not because i have houses and puppies and cars, oh my...but because i am humbled by life, i am blessed by life.

baby brayden

i got to capture a sweet moment between gracie and baby brayden the other night. i like to think that gracie is telling him secrets and tips on life and laughter. gracie is nothing short of funny. she can make us laugh in a heartbeat. she is passionate...and passionate people have a not so funny side too. i think that is why i relate to this little toddler. we have our good moments and we have our bad moments: the good are really good, the bad really bad. she has a lot to learn but more importantly she has a lot to teach. she will teach baby brayden how to take full advantage of being the baby of the family. she will teach him how to get one more peice of candy from mimi. she will teach him how to dance. and poor brayden, she will probably teach him how to play dress-up.

just like gracie wanted her time with brayden, i did too. when you have been married for almost two years the #1 question asked and the #1 topic among other married friends is babies. we say we are not ready. we say we are scared to death. we say we are too selfish. we say we want more time with our husbands. we say it will be 5 more years. we say alot of stuff to ignore that stupid clock ticking in our heads and hearts. but when i get a precious one month old baby in my arms, that clock sounds like a siren. so here i am, confessing that no, i am still not ready...but if jesus said i was, i think i would have a fun little dance with gracie and baby brayden.