And I'm pretty sure that my big sis would side with me on that one. Remind me to tell you about the time that Tampa Bear tried to sit on her lap, ended up sitting on her chest, and left a nice little big poo streak on her white blouse. Oops! Yeah, that was some funny shit. {Pun intended... Mr. Obvious} Sorry Aunt Heather!
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{How could anyone stay mad at THAT face?! Good thing Aunt Heather has a fun sense of humor!}
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But other than enjoying the option to live 'streak-free'... I think that living my 'best life' would greatly mirror my doggie's lifestyle. And I mean more that just playing ball ALL DAY. If you've ever seen me catch a baseball, then you know just how unfulfilling that 'play day' would be for me. But before we get into livin' the life doggie-style {get your head outta the gutter!!!}, let's digress...
Yesterday was One. Crappy. Day. Strange how most days are pretty darn tolerable and then one day, outta nowhere, WHACK. You wake up and feel like both Tyson and Holyfield went at you. Kinda like when you were younger and two of your brothers held you down and the third one beat the crap out of ya. No? You don't know what I mean? I'm the only one? Oh yeahhhhh, I remember now... it was 'for my own good'... made me 'tough'. That was it... right Shannon?
So, since every bone in my body hurt like hell and every muscle felt too weak to move, I dragged my ass downstairs and spent the whole damn day on the couch. YUCK. I know, I know... My working peeps are thinking, "Ungrateful bioootch... We would LOVE to spend a day in front of the tube." However, you've gotta remember, I'm a pretty crappy 'chillaxer'. Which means: I was bored as crap, ended up with muchos neck pain and a headache from laying down too long, and felt guilty most of the time for, well, being so freakin' unproductive. BUT, good did come from my day o' shame. After a nice late afternoon/early evening nap, I awoke finally feeling much much better. Just in time to hang with my guy, order some sinfully delicious food {because, well, ummm, didn't quite make it to the grocery yesterday}, and watch both the US Swim Team and Gymnast Team deliver some fine ass performances. How can Phelps' smile not put a smile on your face? So stinkin' cute.
Since my cabin-fever hit an all-time high, I decided that today would be a dawn 'til dusk, outta the house, get my groove-on kinda day! Where does a the cape fly on such a day?? First stop... Starbucks! Confession: I LOVE STARBUCKS. And I mean L-O-V-E. It makes me SO happy. And since there's like 457,000 of them in Houston, I'm pretty choosy on my location too. My must-have list:
Lots of big windows. Sunlight = Joy Joy Joy!
Lots of good tables. Room to spread out = Productive Jo!
Friendly Crew. Fun Workers = Good Ass Vibe!
Great Spot. Convenient Location = Less Houston Traffic Jams!
Awesome Clientele. Occasional 'Work Breaks' = Need for Some Gooood People Watchin'!!!
I found my super-duper all-time favorite location earlier this year. The one on West Gray. NOT the Starbucks wannabe 'We serve Starbucks drinks but are actually NOT a Starbucks' {what the??} inside of Barnes and Noble. And NOT the stand-alone Starbucks next door to Barnes and Noble {you know, the HUGE one with only like 3 parking spaces}. No no. The one ACROSS from the Barnes and Noble. {Like I said, we have at least 496,000 of them... and counting... obviously at the speed of light.} That's the one! My all-time fave. It's SO good I've actually made friends here before! {Yup, I'm here right now.} Ok ok, it could be, perhaps, because at one time I was here ALL of the time! But whatever. Warmhearted new friends are warmhearted new friends... even if you met each other at your mutual 'home office'.
As the Zzzzzz's were come on last night I decided that I would hop into the shower and outta the house as soon as I awoke this morning. I know I know, I'm really pissing my working friends off. I can hear 'em now, "WHAT?! You don't shower or have to hurry outta the house EVERY morning?!" Nope. Heck, most days I don't even head for the shower until I get that awesome text or call from Jas letting me know that he's homebound... Yay!!! And, truth be told, some even consist of just a face wash and teeth brushing... or maybe a whore bath if I'm feeling extra motivated. I know I know. I've said it before and I'll say it again... Jason is One Lucky Man. But, since yesterday consisted of a mediocre face and teeth cleaning {at best}, I figured that my fellow Starbucks goers would appreciate a full-on proper cleaning today.
Tampa Bear {my super-dog} is one really really uber smart dog. And I'm not just saying that because I'm one proud momma. He actually IS one of the smartest dogs. German Shepherds are ranked 3rd in intelligence of all dogs. The only smarter 4-legged furballs are Border Collies and Poodles, both equally lame. Kidding. Just prefer the size and outgoingness of my HUGE ball of fur! It really is incredible how smart they are. Tampa doesn't require 'commands'. You can just talk to him the same as you would a person {an intelligent one, at least}, in full sentences, and he understands the key words within that sentence. It's really pretty cool. The average dog is capable of knowing 165 words and 'super dogs' {those in the top 20% of dog intelligence} can learn 250 words! Like I said. One smart cookie.
Considering how much they understand of our verbal communications, clearly they interpret our body language and action 'clues' more than we probably even realize. They can read us like an open book. {And not the '50 Shades of Grey' kind of stuff... put them outta the room for that kind of body language! Silly, sick freak!} More like things such as that dreadful suitcase. Even if they haven't seen it in awhile, just pulling it out is enough to bring back such lonely memories and ensue an evening of sulking... knowing that their momma is gonna 'leave' them for a bit. Breaks. My. Heart. Or hopping in the shower. You see, Tampa has gotten quite accustomed to his {dirty} momma hanging out at home with him, so a 'straight to the shower' morning definitely brings on a depressed pooch. Normally, Tampa is one to roll you the ball over and over and OVER before you even get a chance to throw on some morning duds but today he just laid, mopingly, on the bedroom floor. You know, that 'Woe is me, I'm just sooooo sad, my life is OVER!' kinda lay. Actually... it's worse than that. He just stares at you with those mopey eyes... and they follow you everywhere... so sad... just can't take those eyes off his momma because he knows that soon she'll be gone.
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{Took this pic of Tampa a few years ago. Putting on my tennis shoes one morning,
he got ALL psyched to go for a run... Until I explained to him
that momma wasn't going for a run. This is what I got.}
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Thirty minutes later {total lie... more like forty-five... at least!}... hey... it takes a while to scrub two days of dirt off of ya! I am SO lucky that Jason is a patient man. Although he tells me that I really don't take long at all, going from friends of my past, I DO and Jason's either being kind or he's had some serious divas in his past. No really though, I'm not high-maintenance... Just actually enjoy the girly process of getting ready. Most of my time goes to lathering and lotioning vs primping. I always felt if we spent our moola on good skincare products, then we wouldn't need big, expensive, over-the-top make-up. Heck, most of my stuff comes from good ol' Walgreens. Although, the older I get, the more that theory is being tested! Grrrrrr!
Anyhoo... forty-five {ok ok! fifty-two!! geesh, stop calling me out!} minutes later I grab my bag to head out. The tiny, muffled sound of my jingling keys buried inside of today's bag was enough to transform Tampa into the World's Happiest Most Excited High-Jumper Fifteen-Time-Gold Olympic Dog!!! {Really, you should see his vertical when he's excited... it's kinda insane.} Funny how he swapped all of his 'depression' for 'hope' in a hot minute as soon as he heard those keys. You see, dogs carry this unwarranted hope with them all of the time. Even though he knows he typically never goes with me {for many reasons... and I do know... so sad... but sometimes a momma's gotta do what's best... even if it breaks her heart}, he still gets SO excited that there is this super small, 1% chance that TODAY will be the day! Either that or he's crazy excited that we're leaving and he has the house all to himself... Ahhhh... 'I'm on Jason's couch! Na na na na Boo boo!' Yeah, that's probably what it is.
Dog Lifestyle Lesson #1
Live with 'That Bitch is Crazy', Unrelenting, Annoying,
'I Believe It, I Believe It, I Believe It' HOPE!
Why should we really care what anyone else believes is possible of us? Why should we limit ourselves with 'statistics' or 'odds' or 'chances'? Heck, if we're gonna confine ourselves within a smothering statistical box, why not be the 7% of pure awesomeness?! You know, the ones who succeeded against all odds {or, well, 93%ish odds}. Even if we get let down at the end of the day, wasn't that day full of hope, excitement and happiness totally worth it? Would we really ever prefer to go back on such a great day and change it to total misery? I don't think so! Why not just live every freakin' day believing that it's gonna be the BEST DAY EVER!
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{Took this the day that I adopted Tampa Bear. That was MY Most Favorite Day Ever!}
Dog Lifestyle Lesson #2
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Greet Our Loved Ones Like We Haven't
Seen Them in Five Freakin' Years.
That is probably what I find so fascinating in dogs. It doesn't matter if you've been gone for 5 minutes or 5 days... the 'Welcome home! I've missed you soooooo much! I wuvvvvv youuuuu!' is the same every time. It's over the top, uncalled for, extremeness at it's finest {a lot like my gay friends now that I think about it} flattery and love. {No wonder I surround myself with dogs and gays... total ego boost!} Just the kind of flattery and love that WE should show A LOT more of. Although Jason and I are the huggy and kissy kind of people ~ with such warm and fuzziness occurring soon after he walks in the door ~ it's nothing like the smiling from ear-to-ear, tail wagging 'OMGOSH! YAY!!! YOU'RE HOME! MY LIFE IS GREAT AGAIN!!!' kind of love that you typically only get from the soul of a dog, life's most unselfish and loving creature. Well, step aside Tampa... Momma's got this one tonight.
Jas: You may wanna throw on some of your hockey gear as you pass by it in the garage. Oh yeah... it's gonna be a full-on race to the door. I'm talking a total jump on, tackle, take 'em down kind of greeting!
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{Ahhhh... love a good strong hug. That kind filled with excited love... or inebriation.}
{Me and Jas on 'Kids' Night Out with his fam in St. John's.}
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Dog Lifestyle Lesson #3
Forgive. And Quickly.
A dog's capacity for forgiveness is remarkable. Sometimes I feel like we really don't deserve their love. And then I realize, that we do... because they are so much wiser... and understand that we all make mistakes and deserve a little forgiveness and love. Yesterday, I snapped at my poor Tampa Bear. I know, not my finest hour. I felt really bad and apologized to him. And he forgave me... right away. I mean within a second. No 'lemme think about it, lemme stew on it, lemme make sure that you understand just how bad you made me feel'. No no... none of that selfish crap. See, that's just how mature and wise dogs really are. Why waste a minute of their life holding onto anger and grudges when that precious time can be spent smiling and loving?
They realize such childish {errr, puppyish?} behavior would actually just harm them more anyway. And they're way too smart for that. They also have this amazing capacity to love unconditionally. And, just as they hope that we forgive them quickly when they have accidents or make little doggie mistakes or bad decisions, they understand that our mistakes deserve such forgiveness too. Which they are more than happy to supply us with and quickly follow it up with a big ol' 'We're all good... Let's hug it out!'
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| {Jason's sister, Tina, and her uber-cool dog, Marshall. He actually donated blood just the other day to save a buddy's life. Super-Dog! And I'm betting that he forgave the Big Bad Wolf... aka Vet with the ouchy-inducing needles... as soon as it was over. Lots and lots of ice cream for Marchall! Aunt Jo is gonna give you the BEST Christmas Presents EVER!} |
Dog Lifestyle Lesson #4
Play. And Play Hard!
Life is SO meant to be a fun adventure. I don't think that even MY rambling ass could list all of the cool, fun stuff there is for us to do in this awesomeness we call life. Yet, we do mostly the same stuff today that we did yesterday. And last week. And last year. Now, don't get me wrong, parts of our routine or frequent pit stops on this highway of life are there because we love them, have recognized the pleasure that they bring us and therefore call on them daily. Like my Starbucks. Or BUC-EE'S!!! Those of you in Texas understand such excitement for Buc-ee's... otherwise known as a truck stop {gas station? fuel mall??}. It is just one badass place. LOVE it. Must stop there EVERY TIME that I head to Austin or San Antonio. Even if those beaver nuggets make me sick... I must have them!
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| {My good friend, Chip, and me taken on a road trip pit-stop into Buc-ee's!!!} |
But even though some of our daily routine stems from experiences that have proven to enhance our 'happy factor', as least some of the time, the routine consists of a going-through-the-motions, all too familiar form of just existing... not really LIVING. I think that the most endorphin-rushing form of living is when we're doing something either completely new or that we've always wanted to do or that is truly no-doubt-about-it one of our most all-time favorite things ever! Now THOSE are the best times of our lives! So why not sprinkle {screw that... douse!} this awesome experience, otherwise known as life, with some of those crazy fun elements. If we already know all of the super-fun things that we love to do... Awesome! We just have to go do it! If not, even better! Then we can go try a bunch of different fun stuff and figure it out along the way! How awesome is THAT gonna be!
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| {Five finger lifted from Eric Turner on Facebook... Gracias!} |
So, as a 'Thank You' for not only being the World's Best Dog, but also for teaching me most everything that I need to know about life, I think that we'll treat our Tampa Bear to a super fun night out on the town!
Tennis balls + doggy park + beers {for momma!} + lots and lots of running and stuff to sniff = The Best Night EVER!
YAY!!! Hope that yours is equally awesome! As always, much love to you for reading. Hey, so do you prefer the 'normal' sized photos that are normally on here... or the suped-up BIG ones from today?
Chat Friday!
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