Sunday, December 21, 2008

Time to fire up the sleigh and make our rounds!

We try to make use of having a graphic designer in the family when we can.  But we haven't been able to get our act together recently to top 2005's card.   I thought I'd share it anew with my blog friends and give those who've received one a reminder that we have actually managed to send out cards until fairly recently.  

I'm hoping to hit the rooftops of each of my blog reading friends before Christmas but if not...

Have a very very Merry Christmas my lovelies near and far!!  I am so thankful to have known you for years, or to have recently made your acquaintance as in the case of some of my newer friends in the great land of Blog! What a wonderful bunch of people!!  May the Lord bless you this year and into the future of '09 and beyond! 

Much love and air hugs, 

Shan and fam

Thursday, December 18, 2008

And they call it Puppy Love


Well, I have just had quite the scare from my serene young cat-dog this week! I noticed she was looking a little green around the gills yesterday morning as she robotically walked right by the scene of me giving her sister a treat, and barely managed to give us a slight courtesy glance.  This is highly unusual behavior for a Boss Hogg type of dog like Tulip.  Nothing goes down between Tiki (our well mannered pomeranian) and a human that Tulip doesn't try to intervene somehow-usually with her midsection poised atop Tiki's head if at all possible. 

But on this day OH DEAR!  My little poochie was sick! I immediately got down on the floor to begin asking her what was going on and how I could help her.  She stood, eyelids at half mast, like a pony at the fair just waiting to be reloaded with a bratty kid.  Then, as if loaded, she walked on with the same measured steps she'd been doing before, so I got up and followed. Steadily she walked all the way outside and down the stairs and then proceeded to do some throwing up.  Just as slowly, she walked all the way back inside only to repeat the process moments later with a bathroom trip.  It was strange to watch my normally spunky fast paced chi hoo hoo turn so serious (even polite) and just go about her illness as if having had trained for such times.  I watched in worried fascination. 

This time though she came back in and walked under the table and flopped over into a strange twist with her buns (haunches?) down and her ribcage turned all the way to the side and she started doing this slow twitch with front paws together at the wrist and her back legs stiffening out behind her each time she flinched her stomach muscles.  You can probably guess what happened next, but if you can't I'll tell you. Naturally, I burst into tears and thought Tulie was going to kick it!!  It was horrible!!  By the time I got myself dressed and ready to take her to the vet she was looking a little more relaxed and was able to get up in a chair and rest so I cooled my jets a bit.  
I was expecting company the whole day beginning with some friends of mine and ending with my nephews after school so I just kept my eye on Tulie for the rest of the day to make sure she wasn't going to do any more doggie Lamaze.  

She was somewhat better today but I took her to the Vet this morning to make sure she wasn't dehydrated.  He gave her a shot for her stomach pain and doggie antibiotics which were super fun to try to trickle down her throat by myself.  At one point in our wrangling, I noticed my mouth was right beside hers and I thought it would be funny if I squirted the chalky liquid in my own jowl accidently rather than hers.  Grodimus.

Can I make a story out of ANYthing or what, you ask?  Well, it scared me!!  I am not a brave pet owner when it comes to these things!  I can't even trim my dogs toenails because I made Tulip yelp once having clipped a nail too short.  And then of course, Tiki had some horrible bowel blowout earlier in the year which was one of my very first entries on my blog as I recall.  Canine Colon trouble always makes for good blog fodder don'tcha know???? 

And now, as a tribute to little Tulip, who is feeling ever so much better aside from some wicked gas.  I shall share with you a poem that came to me all at once as I curled up beside her one evening while she slept on my bed.  Now, I'm no poet.  I don't like poetry and I certainly don't claim to be able to write it seriously.  This just plopped out of my head like it was from the cosmos so I jumped up and wrote it down without giving it any second thoughts.  So don't mock me.  Or do, I don't care-baha.  This is copied from my old Myspace mini-blog.                      


a bedtime poem
Category: Life

I Laid Down With My Chihuahua 

I laid down with my Chihuahua and thought about the world.

She growled at me a little and I thought about the world.

It growls at me a little too and smells a bit as well.

I think about that big round world that turns and smells and growls.

And nestles itself down for sleep while half of it stands guard.

It guards itself against itself and yet still fails to win,

because it's hind leg wiggles up and gets bitten in the shin.

Yes, the world goes round and thinks it's tough but small it really is.

To the great "I am" it struts its stuff with Bravado and its kids.

We have no clue where we're to go just feel our way is right.

And, of course, the Master sees our plans and still kisses us goodnight.

    

      She is not just a dog in a vest after all....she is my muse!                                  

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

All in a days play

Todays excuse for not blogging lately:  I can't type very well while wearing knit gloves on my frozen mitts.  
 Ok, no, that's not really it, though my mitts are definitely frozen.  I guess I'd just rather not be the prime talker, as my self edit button is usually on the fritz, and I say far too much without it. Boring boring snoozerville of a girl you don't have to write EVERY single thought! (oops)

Soooo....today to break the ice a bit both here and between my fingers.  I think I'll show you a couple of things from last Saturday.  Saturday was a wonderfully Christmassy day indeed.  Let me set the stage a little bit for you.  

I awoke after having slept in just long enough that the piercing morning light coming through my East facing window didn't get the chance to actually burn a laser sized hole right into my brain via one of two vulnerable eye sockets.  So far, so so good.  

Then we chatted a bit over coffee (and breakfast by hubby--always nice) with our in house guest, Travis, who will soon be mentioned at length in a whole 'notha entry. 

The morning flew by both peacefully and in an instant as Saturday mornings, heck most mornings, tend to do.  The boys played video games while I tidied up a bit and listened to this on my headphones.  Not the most interesting book I've ever "read", but the author was really able to describe life as a stay-at-home mom to a tee from several different perspectives.  So much so in fact, that I found myself agreeing audibly with some of the lines in the book like they were coming right from my own bank of thoughts.  But anyway....

Next, the kids and I made our second annual gingerbread house together. And here she is in all her candeliciousness.  

I probably should have made more of an effort to cover the plastic base now that I'm looking at it with fresh eyes with you.  But, oh well, it's still quite cheerful.

Then, with fire in fireplace and The Santa Clause II cued up (it chokes me up EVERYTIME- Darn you Tim Allen!), we began putting up the synthetic tree together.  Sigh.

I realize I might need to improve on my 'Jesus is the reason for the season' pre-Christmas teachable moments.  But I figure we can make time for plastic Santa movies and trees this early in December without much harm done. 

My afternoon soon migrated back to the kitchen where I had shortbread and sausage balls to prepare for our traditional post-parade party at Casa de Beck Bleu.

Oh but the parade!!!!  I mustn't pass by it so quickly.  My hair was not quite as ready as I needed it to be (read: soaking wet fresh from the shower) so I sent the boys down the street ahead of me so that they wouldn't miss anything.  Our house is two blocks up the hill from downtown so we are just naturally included in any event that clogs up our main street and we never need to hunt for parking.  We just step out and enjoy!  

As I knew from past experience that finding my three guys in a mass of people wouldn't be easy, I decided just to take in the small town crowd as a whole experience and walk the downtown area as if I were in a movie.  Here's what it was like only much less dizzying in person:
   

I love this town!!  We may leave it someday, so I try to find these drinkable moments and just hang on to them the way I do with my kids sweetness at every age. Delicious! 

This was a perfect day in almost every way!  Family fun, festivities, fires, fattening foods, farades (ahem). What more could one ask for on a Saturday in early December? I can't think of a thing. Thanks for reliving it with me.