Ugh.

Stepping in dog poop is considered good luck, right?  I certainly hope so because I just stepped in some... twice.

This Really Just Happened

There are many things I take for granted on a daily basis, but I have just realized how thankful I am to have a husband that lovingly helps with many tasks.  One task in particular:  The Dogs.

Preface

This week I am a single parent to two fur babies – Harley and Hank.  Harley is my ferocious two year old Chihuahua weighing in at 6.5 pounds soaking wet.  Hank is our passive five month old Black Lab who has far surpassed 40 pounds and continues to grow like a weed with every day that passes. 

The Incident

Just a few minutes ago, Hank was standing at the door barking to go outside like he usually does when he needs/wants to go out.  So I put Hank’s leash on him and Harley’s leash on him to head outside.  Little did I know that it would be raining when I walked out of the door, but that is nothing compared to how this story progressed.

Harley and Hank both used the “potty” (this is the doggy language that we have chosen to use and is recognized by both of our pups) and then sniffed around a little more.  It’s completely pitch black outside and raining and of course the neighbor who lives down the street (whom I haven’t met yet) decides he needs to walk his dog in the midst of all of this.  I, who am trying to tend to my own business so the dogs can do theirs, become a laughing target as both Harley and Hank spot this man and his Boxer that are so gracefully passing by the front of our home.  [The Boxer is walking to the left side of his master not making a noise and the man is in full control of his dog.] 

Of course my bodyguard Chihuahua tries to be manly as he barks loudly and dashes towards this man, only to wrap himself around a tree and make me look like a fool.  Hank on the other hand doesn’t care about a thing in the world and likes to pull Harley around by his leash, so he takes this as an opportunity to pick at his little [big] brother by jumping back and forth over his leash while also pulling him in a few different directions.  I am mortified at this point and overwhelmed because I don’t know how to get myself out of the current situation.  Hank’s leash is wrapped around my right hand because that’s the only way I can keep him from pulling me all over the place and in my left hand is Harley’s retractable leash.  To give you more of a visual, Hank is to the left side of my body though his leash is in my right hand and Harley has somehow managed to go to my right side with his leash in my left hand and wrap himself around the tree behind me.  It’s a true disaster.  To semi-relieve myself of the situation and hope for an easy fix, I let go of Harley’s leash.  Big mistake.  He darts down the street after this man and his dog, but thank God for the person who invented retractable leashes!  Harley’s leash started retracting as he was doing his show-off act and the noise and sudden pull of the leash caused him to stop in his tracks, which allowed me to run towards him in time to scoop him up.  At this time, Hank gets excited and feels the need to jump on me nearly knocking me over and leaving beautiful mud prints down the front of my entire body.  All of this occurs before the man rounds the circle at the end of our street so he gets to see firsthand how chaotic my life seems and how much my dogs are in control of me instead of me being in control of them. 

While this seems hysterical, I am more embarrassed that my neighbor’s first impression of me is distorted.  I am blessed that my husband comes home Thursday and that my only responsibility is learning how to take care of dogs.

And what do you know…. Hank’s at the door again!

19 Degrees and Semi-Heatless

Yesterday we had the joy of experiencing the outage of our upstairs heating unit.  Fortunately, it’s going to be an easy fix once we receive the necessary part and we rest assure knowing it has already been ordered.

It was 19 degrees outside when we went to bed last night, and with no heat upstairs it was interesting.  I slept completely clothed from head to toe; a long-sleeved t-shirt, leggings and socks.  I hate when my feet feel confined and sleeping in socks is a huge negative; however, somehow I managed to keep my scrawny toes covered the entire time I hibernated.  I just hope I didn’t scar Justin with my chosen form of attire.  After all, we are newlyweds… and I didn’t match.      

On the bright side, heat rises so our downstairs unit is pumping hard and trying to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout our entire home.  Luckily it will be fixed tomorrow before the predicted winter weather mix starts up again. 

TWO HEARTS, One Lifetime of Love

Today we have reached a milestone in our relationship – six amazing months of marriage.  It seems like only yesterday we met each other at the front of Binkley Chapel ready to vow our lives to one another… for a lifetime.  A lifetime of good.  A lifetime of bad.

The past six months have been interesting, but good preparation for the years to come.  Living together has not been easy; however, it has been a new experience in our relationship that allows us to continuously learn more about each other in ways we thought we already had figured out. 

Growing Pains:  Learning to ‘Live’ Together

I knew Justin had tendencies to be completely unorganized, but I always thought he would get his act together once we were married.   Never did I expect the banister to become a clothes rack or his boxes to be left completely packed in the “man cave” for nearly four months into our marriage.  It took great motivation to solve both of these issues and I am grateful to say it has been a huge accomplishment.

There’s nothing that frustrates me more than Justin falling asleep at eight and nine o’clock at night with my little Harley in his arms…  You see, that’s where it has been the hardest.  I’m a night owl and Justin’s an early bird.  I annoy him when he’s ready for bed because I am usually ready to hang out after he has completely shut down.  In return, he gets in my face in the mornings trying to wake me so we can have coffee together.  Needless to say, we both fail in those areas.  Justin still falls asleep early, I stay awake until the wee-hours of the morning, he wakes up early, and I receive the payback from picking at him while he was trying to snooze.  And on a side note, we don’t drink coffee together in the mornings.  My Lesson Learned:  Rent any chick flick [I] want because Justin will fall asleep within the first ten minutes of the opening scene (if not during the previews).    

One other pet peeve is when I walk into our home after a full work day to find him either on the phone or playing video games.  [This is where I pout because my dogs are more excited to see me than my very own husband.  Don’t worry, I have verbalized my opinion.]  His Lesson Learned: Jump up and down and greet me at the door when I get home from work (less sarcasm and exaggeration would make it seem a little more genuine; however, the acknowledgement is a huge improvement and makes me smile if anything). J

The Things that come Natural.

Though the bad often seems to outweigh the good in almost every aspect of life, I have been able to experience a lot of pleasant moments in these six months of marriage.  Of the many exciting times we have together, we always make time to laugh both at each other and with each other.  There never seems to be a dull moment. 

The cutest thing to me is seeing Justin sweep our hardwood floors while he leaves little dust piles all around the room because he 1) doesn’t know how to sweep them up by himself or 2) doesn’t want to sweep them up because he knows I’ll do it for him.  No matter what his intentions may be, I find it sweet that he takes time to help which makes sweeping up all those little dust piles completely worth it.  And it still makes me laugh when I occasionally step in those little mountains because I haven’t received warning that they even exist. 

Another sweet moment just two weeks into our marriage after Justin woke up and was getting ready for work:

• J:  Politely speaking.  “Hannah, you need to do laundry today.  I don’t have any clean undershirts.”
• H:  Laughing under her breath [no sarcasm intended].  “You wear those?”
• J:  “Yeah, like every day.”
• H:  “Oh.”

The simplicity of this conversation tickled my soul as I began to realize what I had just gotten myself in to.  It’s moments like this that I cherish.

Special Memories

• Getting a Black Labrador (It’s been an adjustment but we’ve been successful)
• Our trip to Colonial Williamsburg
• Our first CHRISTmas together as husband and wife
• Watching Harley and Hank learn to like/love each other

Despite the challenges that have faced us, this journey has been exciting and fun and we will forever continue making memories together in this lifetime that God has given us as one.