Update for 3 Pups In a pop-Up

Greetings! We’ve updated the sailing trip info over at our other blog, 3pupsinapopup.com. please have a look and let us know what you think!  Arf!

http://3pupsinapopup.com/2011/07/29/sailing-for-dummies-or-how-i-got-the-crabs-at-sea/

 

Ch ch ch ch Changes

I am feeling a tad overwhelmed!  As of last Monday, HK and I are making some MAJOR changes in our life!

Lately, HK has been increasingly frustrated with his life path, searching for more meaning and deciding what to do later on down the road. So we decided to watch the budget and begin making plans for an eventual career-break, somewhere between 2-5 years. Using the power of positive thinking, I had no doubt that this would, indeed, happen.

For the past several years, I have been keeping a dreamboard reflecting the things that I want out of life, long and short-term.  Most of it involves travel, relocation, growth and, of course, meeting Ellen DeGeneres (my idol). HK’s dreamboard is still in his head, but I am encouraging him to make it tangible.

SCREEEEEEEECHHH (that’s the sound of a stereo needle dragging across the record album).  After a week of deliberation and heart-to-hearts, what-if’s and why-not’s, HK formally resigned from his job at a Fortune 500 company where he has worked for many years.  This certainly wasn’t the immediate plan, but, well, life doesn’t always pan out the exact way we figure, does it?  So we’re fast-tracking our plans and furiously figuring out our next steps.  We have no schedule, no itinerary, no concrete obligations, and nothing really holding us back, so it just makes sense to move forward now.

Our goal in this journey of discovery is to figure out to how we want to live the rest of our life. We both agree that Atlanta is not our forever home. We want to live near a coast, but no further south than we already are. Mountains are important, as well. We’re not flat-landers. Actually, we’re not convinced that we need to stay in the US, although, with a family that includes 3 dogs, we will be limiting our upcoming adventures to places that are drivable. (This isn’t too far-fetched, as we drove our 2 dogs with us to live in Vancouver for a summer 2 years ago.)  Besides, they need to have a say in where “home” is gonna be!

When Zachary Scott  said “As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do,”  he was speaking to me. As I’ve said before, hitting the 50 year mark was a turning point in my life.   I decided to let go of things that held me back and look forward to forging new paths in life.  Surely I’ll hesitate when I come to a difficult crossing,  but instead of turning back to the safety of the old and familiar, I’m going to hike up my britches give it my all.

What are your thoughts on living life to its fullest?  What’s holding you back from following your dreams? How can you make small steps to overcome those barriers and blaze your own trail? Please share. We all have a lot to learn form one another.

 

Home-it’s where the heart is!

Yeah, I’ve been spendin’ plenty of time at home this week– Atlanta is at a virtual standstill since we got 5 inches of snow and it’s been 3 days and the roads are still iced over! yikes!!!!

So I’ve been working like mad on my children’s book, gotta send it to an editor by next week- and also surfing the net (especially you-tube) a lot. I came across this video of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros-Home   I just love it!  I’ve been playing it over and over– I especially love the lyric  “Home is wherever I’m with you”  Watch it– Don’t you just LOVE it?????

So… while dancing around in my ‘jammies all day, i came across a link to this video– same song, different artists, and, I gotta tell ya, I think I even like this one better!!! Soooooo sweet!

Ohhhh… i feel soooo happy!!!! gonna dance all day in my jammies and comfy pink slippers!!! gonna drink hot cocoa and eat leftover pie.  gonna snuggle with my puppies and play this song over and over and over!

Pink slippers (and Chance)

 

I’m a writer, right?

Sailing with Chance

Some of you know that  I have recently begun writing a children’s book. This is new to me, as the focus of my writing in the past has been centered around travel–travel memoirs, product reviews, how-to’s and the like.  I am editor of the European Travel Site over at Bellaonline.com and also contribute to a couple of other online sites.  I actually have a VERY rough draft for my crazy, off-the-wall travel memoir stuffed under my bed. I just lost interest.

You may also know that recently, well, about 6 months ago, I became a foster failure and adopted a new doggy-member into our family, making a total of 3 dogs.   Our home has been so full of life these past months, and Chance has brought new life to my oldest dog, Kismet, who, at almost 13 is slowing down a bit.  It is heartwarming to have 3 dogs cuddling on the couch with me, running to the door upon my arrival (even if I’ve just gone to the mailbox), and yes, sharing the bed with HK and me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So a while back, I started toying with the idea of incorporating Chance into my children’s book.  Originally, my main character was Willy and the Boyz, but, after tossing that around in my head, I figured kids might not be able to relate to a napkin holder too well. Kinda hard to warm up to, ya know?

But Chance, now he’s another story altogether. He’s already got the personality, I just give it a voice.  And it’s fun! Children’s books are a completely different genre for me, especially since I never had kids.  I’ve been spending lots of time in book stores and at the library, getting a feel for wha’t’s popular. I think the main thing is that I’m feeling enthusiastic about this new project. So we’ll see where this goes. Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you posted.

 

BUSTED!!!! Caught in the Act!!!

Busted! Damn!

So, you may know by now that I rescued a little doggy that I named Chance about 2 months ago.  He has been a delight, for the most part.  After he was cured of his skin infection and his hair grew back he finally looks like he is supposed to–a fluffy little furball.

In the past, I have always had large or medium sized dogs. 25-30 pounds was as small as I went. No real reason, that’s just usually what I ended up rescuing (all of my dogs have been rescues).  So I get this little 10-lb. pup, and he never ceases to crack me up with his antics.  If I leave the house, he jumps on the kitchen table to watch until I am out of sight.  Then he runs from room to room to check my whereabouts, and waits at the last place he saw me until I return, repeating the ritual in reverse.

As you see in the previos post about Chance, he loves to swim. he also has a drinking problem. Let me explain.  While he is swimming, Chance takes huge gulps of water consistently. Seriously, he consumes gallons. So last weekend, after a fun day at the lake, Chance began acting weird.  He threw up a ton of the lake, then started staggering around and fell down.  He couldn’t lift his head or control his bodily functions.  I rushed him to an emergency clinic to the tune of $500, where he was diagnosed with diabetes. (which I found out the next day was a false diagnosis–another $100.)  He is fine now, they just said it was water toxicity. No more gulping, we’ll have to figure out a way to control his drinking. (any ideas are welcome here.)

So, this morning I found him eating something outside. It was bright red, I actually thought he was eating a ball.  Turns out, it was one of the neighbor’s heirloom tomatoes.  Yep, Chance and a very crafty squirrel are in cahoots. The way I figure it is, the squirrel goes into the neighbor’s garden, picks the ripest, biggest, most prized tomato, and rips it off the vine.  He has his one or two bites, chucks it over on our side of the fence where Chance eagerly devours the remaining fruit.

A dog's version of flipping you off!

The neighbor, Barb, has been complaining that her tomatoes are disappearing, and we, naturally, blame the pesky rodent.  HA! Well, today, Chance got BUSTED—big Time.  Good thing I had my camera close by!

 

It’s official-I AM a “Foster Failure”

Well, peeps, after fostering this latest little guy for 2 months and falling head over heels, I’ve decided to keep Chance. I was determined to find his perfect “forever home”, but that just never happened. Every time I got a request for more info about him, or received an application, my heart would speed up and I’d start sweating. (OK, there are for sure some hot flashes mixed in there, but, you know what I’m sayin’…)

I did take him to a Petsmart adoption event, held on behalf of the awesome rescue group I volunteer with-Animal Action Rescue-check them out!–but every time I put him in the crate, he cried and barked and became just a big distraction. Then, on the few occasions that anybody actually picked him up, I just wanted to tell them what an awful little dog he was. He’s not, of course, but surely that would turn them away.

So after countless hours of discussions with self, I realized that continuing to bring strange, temporary dogs into my household was not emotionally healthy for my 12-year old dog Kismet. Nothing to do with me, Nope.  Nada.  (yeah, right).

So I started “grooming” him to be our dog. I took him to the lake, where he promptly fell in twice and nearly drowned.  HK had to jump in in his clothes once to fish him out from under the dock.  So he got this little orange life jacket, and now, 2 weeks later, we can’t keep him OUT of the lake! Hope you enjoy his little video, along w/ Kismet and Roxie-his new siblings.

I’ll continue to be active in animal rescue. I have volunteered to transport dogs (see pup my ride ) and make donations as well as pet food drives, but now I know that I am just not cut out for fostering. (At least not right now).

Oh, did I mention that “Good Dogs Doing Good”, the book that I have a story published in, is doing very well? Check it out! WOOF!

 

Foster Failure?????

Chance

As many of you know, I have recently joined the ranks of  “doggy foster moms”.  I did this because although I donate to certain rescue groups, (Best Friends Animal Society mostly), I felt the need to become more hand’s on.

Since I am a facebook junkie, I “like” or “join” lots of different rescue organizations online. I was deeply bothered by the sheer numbers of pets that were on death row for some reason. Stray, throw away, puppy-mill rescue..whatever. the entries read something along the lines of “this is rover. His owner decided that he was too big, so he took him to the kill shelter. Please help us get him out before tomorrow or he gets the gas chamber.”

Well, they can’t get a dog out unless it has a foster home (at least) to go to. That’s where I come in.

So, my first foster several months ago was a little minute of a dog I called JoJo. He was young, energetic, adorable and VERY distrusting. He was also a total mess, and chewed absolutely everything he could get his sharp little teeth on!  Within a week he warmed up and decided that I had his back, and lo and behold, I became attached.

JoJo likes beer boxes

I was sure I was heading down “Foster Failure” lane, but then a good friend in Tennessee saw his picture on my facebook page and then I hooked them up on SKYPE and that was history. When I made the “hand-off”, I

 

Click Click Click

Click. It’s one of the first things I do each morning when I turn on my computer. I click the purple button on  the Animal Rescue Site.

That one click that takes a second to do, provides a bowl of food to a homeless pet in a shelter. Really.  I looked it up on snopes after someone poo-poo’d it and

 

For Dog’s Sake, Use Protection!

This weekend, HK and I went over to Piedmont Park to enjoy the first real snow of the year.  We took a plastic sled-thingy and had such a great time speeding down the hills!  It was NOT on purpose that I torpedoed into that kid—for crying out loud–I was yelling at him for a good 7 seconds before the crash! I mean, his Dad got out of my way–why didn’t he pull his kid to safety, too?? I guess that’s all part of Darwin’s whole theory–survival of the fittest, right? Anyway, he had to be 10 or 11, in my opinion, waaayyyy too old to cry like that!  Suck it up, kiddo, life’s short–play hard!

What i do feel sorry for, however, are certain

 

Saving a life, one dog at a time

As most of you know, I am a dyed-in-the-wool sucker for dogs.  I am also an advocate for pet adoption (all of mine have been adopted) . Well, I am on a couple of rescue groups email lists and saw a notice about this little scruff-ball of a dog that had been a stray and turned in to a kill-shelter. It needed a foster home quickly, and not wanting to think about this little guy not getting a fair shake, I stepped-up to the plate and volunteered.

jojo

A skittish little guy, jojo (he just looks like a jojo) was extremely timid. He was very thin, quiet and reserved. He sat in my lap on the entire drive home, staring at me with these big, brown eyes.  I was smitten.

After an initial introduction to Kismet and Roxie, I let him out of his kennel. Within 2 hours, this little 10-lb ball of energy had every toy in our house scattered everywhere.  I watched him as he ran in circles around the rugs, skidded on the hardwoods, and jumped on my lap.  That,  my first foray into this whole rescue thing, was deeming me a “foster failure” (when you keep the dog instead of adopting it out).

I posted his picture on facebook, and all who know me told me in so many words that I was toast. Except HK. Always the sensible one, he reminded me of our frequent travel, as well as the cost of boarding our other 2 dogs, much less the added $$ of another.

Fortunately, within a couple of hours, an old friend, (who i trust), called me on the phone and said that she wanted to meet and probably adopt jojo. In all honesty, I was saddened, but relieved to know that he would go to a home where I knew he could flourish. We did a skype call, and she “met” him, fell in love, and will pick him up next week, once all the adoption papers are in order. So I get a few more days with the little guy, then my home opens up to save the life of another dog in need.

Have you ever fostered a pet? What was the outcome? Are you a ” foster failure”? I’d love to hear your stories.