What If Wednesday: What If You Grew To Be A Giant?

Hey all- it's 'What If Wednesday'!  And today's installment is being done all in fun.  I've had a rough week so far and I'm ready to take a little detour into the realm of silly.

My inspiration for today's post comes from two sources.  First I had to laugh when I saw this:

Somehow nobody looks really comfortable here!

 But it used to work so well!

 

 

 They finally worked it out!

And the second part of my inspiration goes to the dear young man that I was a nanny for, for 9 years.  Luke was always a tall boy.  He knew that there were genes in his family for becoming a VERY tall person.  Some of Luke's male relatives are over 7 feet tall!  I remember him doing everything he could to try to stop his rapid growth.  He would drink coffee from a young age and was always willing to try anything else that would supposedly stunt his growth.  Luke is 21 now and hasn't grown much in the last year.  He is 6 foot 7.  At this height, Luke claims that if he doesn't grown any taller then he will have succeeded in saving himself from becoming 'freakishly tall'.  I'm guessing that from my own 5'4" viewpoint on the world Luke may think of me as simply puny.  And although being short can sometimes be inconvenient, I don't think of it as so tough as being so darn tall that you tower over most other humans.  Still, I am confident that Luke will grow psychologically to accept his own tall statured life as just fine, even if he grows some more.

I can imagine that becoming larger or taller than most people is very difficult, even just for everyday things like driving or walking around inside your own house.  Of course there is an upside.  I know I sure would appreciate some extra height when it comes to trimming my trees and being able to get up onto the roof.  I also like the idea of being able to get away with eating a bit more of my favorite things!

How about you?  Do you see the prospect of becoming a giant as something good or bad?  Would you miss doing some of your favorite things (like my little dog that isn't quite as little as he used to be)?  Or would you embrace the cool stuff that you could do that nobody else can?

Liebster Award

Thank you Jodi over at KY Fire Wife for giving me a Liebster Award!  I am sometimes very bad about responding to these and answering all the questions and such.  (Just ask Robin.  Sorry, Robin.)  This time I am going to give it a try. ***Over the weekend I messed around on blogger and lo and behold what do I see?  I see that Robin over at YOUR DAILY DOSE has also bestowed the Liebster Award upon me.  So yes, I will be answering her questions as well.  And I'm glad to get a second chance at responding to an award from Robin!***

After digging around on the net a bit I found this:
The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

Well... I do try to be pleasant most of the time, so here goes!  I need to give 11 facts about myself, answer 11 questions from the person who gave the award & ask other bloggers, that I pass the award on to, 11 questions of my own.

I've really been struggling with coming up with facts about myself, so I am just gonna' go with whatever comes to mind right now.  Hopefully this goes well!

11 Facts about me:

1) I like fun girly things.  Not fussy things that require tons of time and effort, but the little touches that make things unmistakably feminine.

2) I can go to the store and pick out something that is an exact color match to something I would like to match at home- like a fabric or paint, without bringing said item with me.  For the longest time I thought everyone did this.

3) If I spend more than one day at home without leaving the house I go stir crazy!

4) I am blessed with natural energy. 

5) I am often the hardest working person on the job.

6) Outside of being stuck in a lousy class with a lousy teacher, I can't remember ever really being bored.

7) I would rather be too hot than too cold.  I spend most of my time being too cold.

8) I can't stand maybe.  It's yes or no for me!

9) I love color, texture and design.

10) I am much more likely to use power tools than my husband is.  We blur the traditional roles very comfortably around here.

11) I would rather be constantly traveling and moving around than be stuck in one place forever.

And now it's onto the 11 questions and their answers from my nominee, Jodi, over at kyfirewife.
1) How do you usually spend your free time?  I try to be productive whenever possible.  I usually turn to fixing, cleaning or making something.  I'm not much for sitting still.

2) How would you like to spend your free time?  I really should think more about getting out and being active as much as I can as I know darn well how much more toned I could be and when the weather is decent I should be taking advantage of it!

3) If you could live anywhere, where would it be, and why?  I actually started this blog so I could document how I'm feeling as I accomplish a long distance move to Texas and that is still where I really long to be.

4) How long have you been blogging?  Since September of 2010.
5) High heels or flats?  Definitely high heels.  I don't wear them on a daily basis or anything, but I am certainly willing to give up a little comfort for fashion and I love how I feel when I wear them.
6) What advice would you give to your former 18-year-old-self?  Get out of the house as soon as humanly possible.  You WILL finish college and make something of yourself and staying 4 more years in a hell hole is totally not necessary to prove anything.
7) What color is your car?  Red!
8) You just won the lottery, check has been deposited... what do you do first?  I actually told my nephew the other day that if I won the lottery he would know it because I would arrive on his doorstep with lots of guns and ammo and have a private jet waiting outside for him.  Yeah, I come from a long line of crazy, what can I say?!
9) On an average day, how much time do you spend watching television?  The TV is almost always on at my house.  I don't do quiet.  It makes me think something bad is about to happen.  But actually watching it, ummm, maybe 2-3 hours a day between news, some HGTV and maybe a reality show on TLC.
10) Have every played an organized sport? if so, what / when?  I'm pretty much a dance girl only, but I did play on the church soft ball team once back in high school.

11) Do you have any siblings?  Yes, only one half sister that I share a mother with.  However, I am pretty sure there are others on my Dad's side that I don't actually know... it's a long story.

And now onto Robin's questions:
1. Who do you miss the most?
I think that would be my friend Donna.  I actually visit her grave site on a regular basis where I talk to her and look out at the beautiful lake view.  This is SO not like me.  I  hate funerals and don't actually dig cemeteries so much either.  I think I feel like we were so much alike and we didn't have very much time together.  I met Donna only 4 years before she died.
2. What is your favorite word, and why?
I have never actually thought about this!  So for now I'll say that it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious because that's kind of fun!  By the way, I hate the term 'for now'.  It says 'this is going to be done half-assed and never really finished' to me. 
3. Where do you want to go that you have never been, and why?
I have a long list of National Parks to get to.  I need to see the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion, etc.  I also need to spend more time on tropical islands!
4. Where do you want to you go that you have already been, and why?
I need to get back to Montana in the summertime and I need to take my husband to see Cancun as that is the place that I just can never get over.
5. If you could relive any experience in your life just for the pleasure of doing it one more time, what would you choose?
I might go back to when I was 10 and spent the summer before my favorite aunt turned 18, having her read the Winnie The Pooh chapter books to me.  She is probably the only person who ever really tried to nurture me in any way and I remember loving that she was doing this with me, even though I was never really into kids stuff.
6. What is your favorite holiday?
Definitely Thanksgiving.  A pretty easy going holiday as holidays go, and I absolutely love to cook!
7. Do you feel like you are doing what you are meant to be doing?  If so, what is that?  If not, what is holding you back?
I definitely know that I am meant to be serving people's needs in some fashion that allows me to use my creative flair. And I do that quite a bit right now.  I also know that I like change and I sense that I will probably find a new way to anticipate and fulfull others' needs in the future.  I see myself dancing again in the future as well.  Sometimes I have such a vision of myself leading dance classes for senior citizens.  I think that would be so much fun!  Right now, I need to know that I'm not preparing to move in order to be comfortable in changing things up.
8. Do you remember your dreams?  Have any of them ever been significant in your life?
Once in a while I remember dreams, but I mostly remember very vivid nightmares that leave me breathless and terrified.  I try to analyze them and see if I can learn something.  I often can.
9. Tell me about the first time you learned the lesson that life simply was not fair.  (It's not a question because I know it has happened to you.)
On the day that I fell in the mud on the way to school and had to go back to my grandma's house to wait out the day, with nothing to do and no one there to talk to.  I hated missing school and she had only diet food in the house!
10.  Who, or what, did you want to be when you grew up (earliest memory)?   (For example, I wanted to be Cher when I grew up when I was about five or six.  That is my earliest desire that I can recall.)
A writer in New York City.  So funny now- I can't stand NYC!
11. Why do you blog?
I started out wanting to document the process of moving out of my home state to a place that felt more like home.  Now I do it because I like the way it makes me think about things and I like the interaction with other bloggers.  :) :)

Now, I don't have a full list of 11 bloggers to pass my questions on to mainly because so many of the bloggers I read have already been included from the 2 people that I received the award from.  However, here are some people I'd like to pass the award on to and will ask my questions of-
 
Arlee Bird @ Tossing It Out
Amber @ Faith, Love, Kids and Me 2
Loretta @ Loretta's Journey
Myra @ Myra's Journey
 
And now here's the list of my own questions:

1) Do you speak any other language, other than English?

2) Do you have any serious regrets? 

3) Have you ever broken a bone?

4) If you could change one major law, what would it be- and why?

5) Have you ever had a pet that was truly a terror, but you loved it anyway?

6) Are you a home body?  If so, why?

7) Do you sometimes break the law if nobody gets hurt?  Or do you always toe the line?

8) Have you ever discovered something that you absolutely love that you thought you never could or would?

9) What is your guiltiest pleasure?

10) What is the biggest surprise of your life?

11) If you needed to live somewhere outside of the United States, where would you choose? 

Again, I thank anyone who has read all of this and hopefully you've found something interesting here.  If I didn't nominate you but you're reading and would like to get in on the fun, hit me up in the comments and tell me where I can read your answers! 

Special Souvenir

We're back from a wonderful trip to Yellowstone National Park.

"Scenic View At Midway Geyser Basin" by aeypix, found at freedigitalphotos.net

I should be right back at it with the blog and sharing some cool photos from the trip and such.

However, I seem to have brought back the ultimate souvenir.  You see, my nephew is here with me for the next week or so while his Dad takes a motorcycle license course.  With all the 11 year old energy added to the house, I'm not sure I'll be able to blog much for the next little while. 

We have so much swimming and running and biking, etc. to do....

I don't know how you bloggers with kids do this!

Robin, This One Is Especially For YOU!

Hi all!  I'm finally gonna' do some catch up here in blogland.  Soooo..... without further ado, it's time for that cutesy dog post I promised.  You've been warned.

On the day we got Tanner, he looked like this:

 

He was a little tan fur ball with a white blaze on his chest, white back toes and green eyes.

On his very first night at home, our dog Hailey was already willing to share her favorite spot with him.

He made himself quite comfortable.  I thought even his little backside was cute.

 Tanner got to meet our nephew Nathan the very next day as we were already on our way down to Palm Springs to close on our condo.  Obviously, Nathan thought Tanner was pretty cool.

We ended up waiting in a motel for days while the kinks were ironed out with our seller.  Tanner proved to be a pretty mellow fellow through it all.

Hailey and Tanner made themselves comfortable in the condo right away.  

They didn't mind the 80's furniture one bit.

When we checked out the dog area at the condo's west wall, we found out that Tanner wanted to help take Hailey for a walk and that he would hop like a bunny to keep his feet from getting wet in the the long grass.

Tanner's ears were flopped over for about the first week that we had him.  He looked like a little teddy bear.  Many people mentioned that he seemed a lot like a 'live' stuffed animal.

 Then one night he had one ear that was starting to go up.  The next morning he looked like this:

He was really starting to look like a Chihuahua!

There was a lot of work that needed to be done in the condo and all that being held in one hand while my husband or I would clean and scrub and move things around with the other hand was exhausting for Tanner.

But he found a really great place to rest!

 Hailey is sweet and will put up with almost anything from Tanner.....

 But when she's done, she's done.....  everybody has their limits!

(This is one of my absolute favorite pictures!)

 We have had so much fun with this little guy.  He is super easy to train and really made this Christmas time special for all of us.  It was a little tough because I took on extra work and then I was also surprised to note how challenging it was to have a big family holiday without our dog Parker this year.  Many people mentioned that they had so many wonderful memories of our Parker and also told me how much they really like our new little dude.  I would never want to put any pressure on a pet to heal a hurt, and yet Tanner has been just what we needed, just as he is.

......and it looks like the green eyes are here to stay!

15!

He made it!  My sweet Parker is now 15 years old!  Time to party!

My friend tortured Parker with this hat at her dog birthday party.

I have had different Boston Terriers in my life over the past 28 years and never had one live past about 13 & 3/4 years until Parker.  But then Parker has never been an average Boston Terrier.

Even though his litter was registered for April 4, 1997 because the majority of the pups were born on that day, Parker was actually born on April 3rd at about 11:30pm.  After having owned several Boston Terriers over the years, my family had decided to take on the challenge of breeding a litter of pups ourselves.  Wouldn't you know it, the very first pup born is still the largest pup we've ever seen even after a half dozen more litters that we birthed over 10 years.  Parker was so big that we ended up going to the vet to get him out as he was stuck and his mother was in major distress.  When the vet finally yanked him out he was blue and needed resuscitation.  Thank goodness we had the famed and eccentric Dr. Jeffrey Mayo to help us out.  Dr. Mayo just laughed and said it was a good thing we were able to save this one as he was about the best specimen of the breed he had ever seen! 

Parker as a pup a few months old.  You can see him on the right and still about a fourth larger than his sister.

 

 

Throughout his life Parker has continued to be remarkable.  He has had boundless energy and people have always been attracted to him.  Everywhere we go people stop us and tell us how handsome he is.  Then when they find out how old he is they just can't believe it. 

Parker still loves to play with a squeaky ball, be near one of his people whenever possible, give his opinion of any situation and sleep in the warm sun. 

Parker has slowed way down with his recent health and age related issues, but things have leveled off in the last ten days or so and he seems pretty comfortable for now.  Although he won't be able to travel anymore, the list of places he made it to is none too shabby.  Outside of his home here in the Northwest, Parker has been to Vancouver B.C., Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and most recently California.

Parker has been such a source of energy, love and fun.  I'm so glad we have been able to have him in our lives these past 15 years!

Sometimes My Husband Still Surprises Me

I have a feeling that my husband is somewhere on the Asperger's scale.  No seriously, but just mildly so.

I have a good friend with a husband who is diagnosed with Asperger's and he and my husband get along famously.  It's like a bog ol' nerdfest when the two of them get together.  And nobody else seems to get this guy better than my husband.  (Asperger's is a form of autism that affects social skills more than anything and a person with Asperger's is likely to be highly intelligent yet very bothered by overstimulation.  Mozart, Einstein and Thomas Jefferson all shared symptoms of Asperger's .) 

What could possibly make me think something like this? 

I'm won't pretend to be an expert on the subject.  These are just my observations:
My husband sometimes misses social cues- big time.  He has to cut the tags out of every piece of clothing he owns and food textures can be quite troublesome.  He's such a freakin' number genius and yet sometimes he panics if you ask him to add up a simple list of things and then he has to double and triple check his answer and explain how he got to it.

I'm not complaining.  Again, just my observations.  It's actually a part of his charm.  And he balances me out quite well.  Besides, I may or may not be known to let his quirks get me out of a bind here or there on occasion, but I'm not admitting to anything...

So yeah, he's just not a real emotional guy.  (But like I said, that keeps my 'fieryness' in check.)  While I appreciate how rational my man is, I must admit that I do sometimes miss out on romantic notions.  Small things like not thinking about the resale value of a gift, or how much it will cost to insure it.  Or sometimes he just doesn't seem to get the emotional intricacies of a given moment.  He can be perceived as pretty cut and dried with an affect that comes off as rather flat.

And yet, at times he is so clever and funny and brings out a childlike joy in just experiencing something.  And he will do literally anything for me, even if it goes against his highly logical side.  These are the times when sharing his life is magical.  So... what a wonderful surprise it has been to see how excited my husband has become about the idea of having a vacation place in the desert.  Imagine how wonderful it has been to hear him almost gush at how good he feels in that heat, how 108 with no humidity feels just right, how being able to get away to a place that is just so different is amazing to him, how he just never dreamed that he could want something so much.  It's just so cool to see him willing to take a chance on something without over thinking it.  Just because he wants to.  He doesn't often verbalize about goals much outside of rational lists and good investments.  So this is just fun.  And I'm happy for him. 

It's good to be able to share a dream and actually have a concrete plan to make it work.  My husband keeps me grounded so my dreams can take flight.