Everybody Loves Boyd

Boyd.  Our Big Baby Boyd.   

Our Big Baby Boyd with an ear infection.  Our Big Baby Boyd with the longest lasting ear infection… ever.

Seriously, he’s had this thing for at least 4 months.  At least.

I feel bad for him, because he’s miserable half the time, but I’m frustrated too because no one can seem to figure out what’s going on!

So far we’ve tried 5 different medicines and a prescription hypo-allergenic dog food that costs $80 for a 35 pound bag.  Crap.  Not to mention the office visit fees for the numerous vet appointments we’ve had.  And since he likes to put on such a production, it requires both JD and I be available to take him to his appointments. 

The good news is he just L-O-V-E-S the vet.  Why?  All the attention.  Even if that attention comes in the form of a thermometer up his butt.

Yep, that’s our boy.

Luckily, despite his over-excited wailing and scratching at the floor, they just L-O-V-E him too.  And since they can all hear him coming, we’ve barely reached the check-in desk before they get all gushy.  He gladly eats up the affection.

One vet tech even makes a special stop in our room, even if we’re not on his appointment schedule, JUST because he loves Boyd so much.

I think the ear infections are a ploy.  He’s probably figured out that the sicker he is, the more we take him to the place where everybody loves on him.

Boyd.  Geesh.

Hello, NFL? Yes, I can start this Sunday.

Ladies and gentlemen.  Jenny has gone from place-holder to all-star football player in one week.  That’s right, I scored my first touchdown.

Actually, I have to give credit to my team for having patience with me.  They’ve been trying to get me a TD since last season.  Last week the stars aligned and my moment arrived.  I can finally say I played a part in our victory.

I’d like to say I was totally cool about it, but I wasn’t.  I remember running, I remember turning, I remember seeing the ball coming towards me, I remember distinctively thinking there’s no way I’m going to catch this.  Then, the ball was in my hands…. And I didn’t drop it.

I looked down and realized I was in the end zone… and… I squealed.

That’s right, I squealed in celebration, instead of doing what I’d been telling myself I would do, which is acting totally cool- like I caught TD passes all the time.  But, no, I had to let out a delighted, girlish squeal.

An Ochocinco riverdance would have been less embarrassing.

Oh well, my team seemed proud of me anyway.

For my next challenge- interception.

Word Vomit

As you may recall, I am an extreme extrovert, which is why it's so hard on me when JD is working night shifts.  On nights he’s working, he’s only awake for about an hour before he has to leave for work.  Even on his off days, he’ll sleep till late afternoon, so our time together is very limited.  It’s not that I’m completely isolated when he’s not around- I do have my own friends and my own life- but he is my best friend and the person I tell everything to, so I’m still getting used to not having him around as much as I’d like.  By the end of night shift months, I'm so relieved to have him back around full-time that I start spewing thoughts one after another as if I've been keeping a mental checklist of everything I've missed out on telling him over the past month.  Being the good husband he is, he patiently listens (or at least gives the illusion of paying attention, which I appreciate), and even though I know he’s probably getting sick of listening to me talk for the sake of talking, I can’t help myself.  It keeps coming out, like a compulsion.

A few weeks ago, JD had spent the weekend working night shifts, so by Sunday, I was starved for spousal interaction.  I waited till 4 then went upstairs to wake him up so we could go to an early dinner (well, dinner for me, breakfast for him).  He’d barely rolled out of bed before I started rambling about the wall hanging I’d bought at Target to put up in our bedroom and where we could go to eat.  I could hear him silently begging me to stop talking till he was a little more awake, and I couldn’t blame him.  I wouldn’t want someone to start rambling right when I’d woken up either, yet I kept talking, as if I felt the need to make up for lost time.

I know that my family is reading this now and smiling to themselves, because they’ve definitely been there.  Back in high school, I’d spend dinnertime detailing each class I had that day until everyone else was in the kitchen cleaning up and I had a cold plate of untouched food in front of me.  My mom once told me that the first family meal after I’d left for college was practically silent.  No one knew what to say because they were so used to me jeopardizing the conversation.  Even now, I get so excited when I haven’t seen my family in a while that I can’t stop talking.  It’s hard for me to break away long enough to take a shower so we can leave to go somewhere. 

I think Lindsay Lohan said it best in Mean Girls (yes, I’m actually quoting a Lindsay Lohan movie here, but Mean Girls is classic) when she said, “I could hear people getting bored with me, but I couldn't stop. It just kept coming up like word vomit.”

I’m just glad I have a good husband and family who love me, despite the word vomit.

Thoughts for the Day

Sometimes I wish there was a Starbucks across from my office.  Sometimes I’m glad there’s not.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again.  North Carolina has some of the worst drivers on the planet.  Period.

I have recently developed a puffy red eye issue that I attribute to some allergy that’s never bothered me before.  I have an appointment for an allergy test on Monday.  I feel like I need to wear a sign that says, “No, I was not up all night crying.”

Right now I’m totally in a Damien Rice music phase.  For those of you who don’t know him, his music is generally extremely depressing.  Jenny and depressing don’t generally go hand-in-hand, so I’m not sure why he is my current musical obsession (maybe it’s the adorable Irish accent).

The new season of Sons of Anarchy started yesterday.  It’s a drama on FX about a motorcycle gang in California.  It’s definitely a JD show, not really a Jenny show, but I actually love it.  I highly recommend it, even if it doesn’t sound like your thing (but watch the first 3 seasons first!)

Another recommendation: “Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” on Discovery Channel.  Each episode features a different building or memorial at the new WTC site.  There are parts that are sad, but the tone is mostly uplifting and inspiring.  It’s a very powerful, very well-done series.  They show re-runs all the time if you want to catch up.

No, I do not sit around all day and watch TV, contrary to what my previous thoughts may suggest.

My friend at work was laid off at the beginning of August.  She left me alone with our 2 guy friends.  I miss her.  Showing the boys my newest shoe obsession isn’t nearly the same.

JD and I are STILL working on getting our April tornado damage repaired.  Last I checked, the economy is terrible, so I’m not sure why we’re having a hard time getting contractors to show up for estimates and return our calls, but if they don’t want our money, I’m not going to chase them down.

There’s a tiny white-haired lady who goes to my gym.  She does twice the weight I do in Body Pump and gyrates her hips along with everyone else in Zumba.  She is my hero, and I hope I can be that awesome when I’m her age.