totallytinab

This is Bella again doing a guest dog blog.  There has been some talk around my house lately that has me a little worried so Mommy said I could express my concerns with her readers.

The talk is about getting another dog.  Now I have lived in this house for more than 2 years and I am the big dog so I am not sure how I feel about another dog invading my space.  I guess there are some positives and there are some negatives so Mommy says whenever you are considering something important it is always important to make a list.

Positives:

• I will have a play friend. I can’t wait for that.  It will be so fun to have someone to swim, run and hang out with
• I will have someone who speaks my language.  I can’t tell you how many times I try to make an important point and all I get in return is a smile
• I will have someone to blame if I mess up.  If Mommy and Daddy can’t prove who made the mess, they will not automatically blame me
• I will be able to show the new dog the ropes and how things are done around the house.  Oh, this is a good one!  I can show him how if you whine in the morning you get breakfast quicker and if you keep tapping at the door, you get lots of attention.  If you follow Mommy into her room at night, you get to sleep on the big bed for a little while and if you steal the laundry out of the hamper, you can use it like a pillow.  If you go in your crate when they say “bedtime” you get some extra food.  If you lay on top of the sofa like I saw the cat at my first house do, you can sleep for hours!  If you make a really cute face Mommy can’t resist and gives you people food.  If you go into Daddy’s office, you can get papers out of his garbage can and shred them for him. Gosh,there is so much I can’t wait to share!

Negatives:

• I am so excited I don’t think there are any negatives.  I heard Mommy say she is worried she has only ever had one dog and doesn’t know how she will love us both, but I know Mommy has enough love in her heart for 50 dogs!  (Hey there’s and idea I should share-50 dogs!)

Looking at my list, I would say that YES I am all for getting a new dog!  I am ready to be a big sister or little sister to whomever might be moving in.  I promise to show the new dog around the house and not share any of my bad habits-just the good ones:-)

Thanks for reading but I have to go.  I have a stick to chew and nap to take!

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes…How do you measure a year in your life?

January 12, 2012 marks the year anniversary of me breaking my neck.  Its been quite a year!  How do I measure the last year of my life?  Kind of like the song from Rent.  First during recovery it was in daylights and sunsets.  One day at a time.  With time, I got better and started to measure by walking inches and then miles.  Sure there was strife but there was way more laughter.

And now?  Well I may never fully recover.  I have some lingering pain helped by daily doses of Tylenol.  The back of my head is still numb.  I don’t have full range of motion in my neck and never will.  But if you didn’t know any differently, you would never know by looking at me that one year ago today I dove into a pool and changed my life.  I am able to work out, play golf, walk my dog, work at a job I love, and really just live my life to the fullest.

The past is the past, it can not be changed.  The future is out there waiting,  What will the next year hold?  Who knows?  But I  will continue to measure it the exact same way…in daylights, in sunsets, in laughter and in strife.

My best friend, Jacki, and I have a deal.  Each year, I visit her in Minnesota in the winter and she visits me in Arizona in the summer. Our deal doesn’t make a lot of sense to most people, but the timing works well.  I have some off time in the winter and she has some down time in the summer.

I am going on my annual trip tomorrow and looking at the 10 day forecast, I am lucking out.  The temperature will be in the 40’s when I land and the highs all weekend will be in the 30’s.  There is no snow in the forecast and not even any on the ground.  These temperatures are still really cold for me and I have plenty of sweaters packed, but it could be a lot worse.  A few years ago, the temperature did not get above 0.  It was ridiculous and I am not sure how people live that way.

Of course, Minnesotans say the same thing about our Arizona summers.  I believe we had a record number of  110 degree days this past summer.  Jacki and I once played golf when it was about 114.  She nearly passed out and I think it took her at least few days to recover.

But we will continue to honor our deal.  It gives me a small little blast of winter and it gives her a chance to feel what hell might be like.  I will pack an extra coat and she will pack a bathing suit.  The important thing is time spent together-no matter what the extremes!

It’s a new year and you know what that means?  Resolutions!  The number 1 resolution has to be to lose weight and for the first time in forever, I am OK.  I have had to come up with something different.  When we make resolutions, we reflect back and look forward.  What kind of year do I want 2012 to be?  What about myself, if given a clean slate, would I like to change or improve?

When I look back on 2011, I am torn on whether or not it was a bad year.  It was certainly an interesting year.  Immediately, you would think that any year you break your neck would be a bad year.  But I am glass half-full kind of gal.  My accident showed me so many things about so many people including myself.  My husband got a great new job.  I got a new position at work.  So all in all, things were OK in 2011.

Now it’s time to look ahead to 2012.  What do I resolve to get done this year?  First, I would like to write more in this blog.  My goal will be at least 4 entries/month.  I enjoy writing and I think updating the blog will keep me more accountable to what is going on in my life.  Secondly, I want to figure out a way to give back more. There is no greater reward than helping others.  And finally, I want to learn to live a little more “green.”  I need to do my part to take care of the environment.

I hope that 2012 is a great year! (although not quite as “interesting” for me) I am resolving to make it so.