A Number of Thoughts

It has been too long, and now I have quite a list of ideas in my head to post on my blog. I figure I can give shortened versions of them all right here, right now, in order to catch you up on the latest.

I had a blogger friend come and visit me the week before last. We met back in college and have been dear friends since. We did what we do best while she was here including but not limited to having coffee, window shopping downtown, drinks, and most importantly, conversation about life's biggest questions. She stayed over that Thursday night and then left after an early breakfast the next day. I, of course, miss her now that she has gone and am looking forward to the next time our paths can cross again. Here we are enjoying cocktails with two of my local friends:

BTK and I spent a week in Ohio to spend Christmas with his family this year. Our favorite part of the trip was seeing our one and only nephew, Owen. He is such a beautiful, happy little boy and we love seeing him. He opened two gifts from us for Christmas and I'm sure they were his favorite gifts of all! Here is his reaction upon opening and experiencing them both:

A Radio Flyer wagon and a Ball. I can't think of better gifts for a little boy named Owen. And as you can see, he was thrilled!

While we were in Ohio, we checked Indy into the vet for a second TPLO surgery on his other knee. Poor little guy has gone through so much this last year, but this will hopefully be the last major surgery he has to experience and will put him on a path to being able to run again this summer...

They stuck a morphine patch on his side for pain that he managed to chew/eat off today while I was gone. I kind of freaked out when I came home and found it gone, not to mention he was visibly shaking and threw up shortly after, so I took him into the vet and everything is fine now. I had Doc check the fluid that has accumulated around his ankle as well as the random scabby spots/bites around his ear and neck and shaved back. I was assured those issues are all completely normal. What's funny is that I had to call around to find a vet that was open, and this one I found had technically just closed, but she said the doctor would wait if I could get there soon. I said I'd leave right away and she told me the only catch is that I would get charged an emergency fee. I said, "okay, how much is the emergency fee?" and she replied with, "between $35 and $65". And I'm thinking, okay, I'm sure there is a rationale as to the range in cost, so I asked, "what determines how much I get charged?" and she replied with, "Um... I really don't know." Well, I was taking him in no matter what, and at least I knew it wouldn't be more than $65. And they were doing me a favor anyway, so off we went for our emergency visit. And in the end, they only charged me $28 for the emergency part of it, which confuses me more since it doesn't fall between the $35 and $65 they originally told me it would be. It all came to $100.07 for the peace of mind I left there with. Now I'll be able to enjoy my night with my husband without the constant worry if Indy is going to make to tomorrow.

Today is the eve of another year. How do I feel about it? Well, I'd love to embrace 2008 with open arms, but I'm sad to let 2007 go. As the years pass, I want each one to be better than the last. And as I get older, I want more and more to have perfection in my life. Am I setting myself up for disappointment? Probably. I guess it all depends on what "perfect" means to me. I feel like I'm running out of time to make my life what I want it to be. I feel like I didn't get a fair chance at making something of 2007. I was preoccupied with school and work and didn't allow myself to enjoy my "free time". It's a crying shame, it is. BUT, with the coming of 2008, i'm determined to enjoy it and make something of it... whatever that means. What do I want to make of it?? Well, I want to watch more sunsets at Lake Michigan. Watching the sun set is on my list of favorites, and I hardly make time to do it. My dear sweet groom and I just recently bought a scooter and that should give him incentive to come with to watch the sun go down. I'd also like to put more time into our woofies (dogs). They have such potential to be extrordinary creatures, but they need us to guide them. I want to give them that gift of greater guidance in 2008. I'd also love to give our home some order on the inside. BTK and I like to consider ourselves minimalists, meaning we don't like to accumulate "stuff". And although we don't have a lot of "stuff", the stuff we do have could be more organized. Everything should have a place, you know? Together, we can give everything a place in 2008. BTK doesn't know this yet, but we are going to pledge (with our secret handshake) to do those things that we always say we'll do and don't.... such as: going camping, going hiking with the woofies, going to local festivals, etc. And last but first on my list for improvements in 2008 is spending more time interacting with my dear sweet groom. I've cut back my work hours in order to make this happen. Though we'll miss the $$, we've decided our marriage is much more important and we miss each other dearly. It's not that we can't handle opposite schedules, it's that we don't want to do it anymore. I'm looking forward to making dinner for us and cleaning up together. As my parents have said, "some of our best conversations took place while cleaning up".

I could go on and on about what I want my 2008 to be. I'll save it for another post, because at this point it is all a mess of thoughts.

Tonight, BTK and I are staying in. We will order pizza and wings from a local joint and another couple may join us later in the night to ring in the new year. But if we find ourselves alone, with each other, that will suit us just fine, for that is what the next year is all about... us.