A Moment of Us

This weekend, something amazing happened (and I'm not just talking about The Hunger Games, which was awesome, and was a pleasant surprise in a world where books turned movies are usually a huge disappointment).  On Saturday, I woke up to birds chirping in the warm morning sunshine and three dogs who were eager to cuddle as soon as they heard me stirring.  I looked over to my left and saw JD petting Harrier next to me.  That's when it hit me- I rarely wake up with my husband.  Sometimes I wake up and he's there, sound asleep after a long night shift, but we almost never wake up together.

In an eight week period, JD works four weeks of night shift and four weeks of day shift, so half of the time we're on completely different sleep schedules.  During his four weeks of day shift, he works two of those weekends, so he's up and out of the house well before I get up.  During the two day shift weekends he's not working, he usually spends one of those weekends transitioning to a night schedule, meaning he stays up late and sleeps in much later than me.  That leaves one weekend.  One weekend every other month where we have the opportunity to wake up together.

It's a small thing, I know.  Trivial in the wide range of things other people might worry about in their marriages.  Still, it's one of those things you never really think about.  One of those things you might otherwise take for granted.  A moment of quiet.  A moment of just us.  A moment without cell phones and iPads and to do lists and police radios.

We laid there, listened to the birds, and cuddled with the dogs for a few minutes till Sadie got impatient and started jumping all over everyone.  The moment was over, and we went on with our day.

I am thankful for those moments, and I'm thankful to have someone I want to spend them with.  In a way, I'm also thankful that those moments are rare, because it makes me appreciate them more.

The Madness of March

March is here.  Spring has sprung.  And the warm weather seems to have brought a busier schedule with it.

Boyd has an ear infection…. again.  So he’s back on meds and we’ve switched his food…. again.  The good news is that a friend recommended a local place that sells all natural dog food with different blends for different health issues (like low-allergen for our problem pup).  The best part about this new place is that they DELIVER the food FOR FREE.  And when you have 3 large dogs that go through 10 cups of food a day, having someone deliver the food to your front door is AMAZING.  My only complaint with the new food?  He farts.  A lot.  And for anyone who hasn't smelled 75 pound dog fart, it's not good.  But being the good puppy parent I am, I'll make that sacrifice if his ear infections go away for good.

My office celebrated the start of March Madness by serving us pizza for lunch last Thursday, putting b-ball on the TV in the cafeteria, and serving beer and wine starting at 3pm.  True story.  I didn’t get to fully participate, as I've been extremely busy with work (which is a good thing!), but I did take my laptop down to the cafeteria to watch b-ball WHILE I worked.  Epic.

JD and I met up for dinner with a couple friends last week.  When the 4 of us get together, things are bound to be hilarious, because JD + Josh = high school all over again and Rachel + Jenny = picking on JD and Josh.  JD hit Josh in the face with a spitball.  Josh squirted ketchup across the table and got it all over JD’s shirt.  Rachel nearly snarfed her beer multiple times.  Good friends.  Good times.  I don't care what anyone says, the best times in life are when you're not acting your age.

My loving sister has been accepted to 2... TWO!.... grad schools (and she’s waiting on letters from more schools!) for an MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) program.  I'm so proud of her for following her dream and for not listening to the people who tell her that getting published is too hard, too competitive, and that writing doesn't pay well.  She's a beautiful writer.  Most importantly, I can see how happy she is about this, and how excited she is to pursue her passion.

In sad news, both of JD's grandparents have upcoming surgeries scheduled.  As extroverted as I am, I like to keep family and medical issues private, so I won't get into details, but thoughts and prayers are appreciated.  They are both very active and still so full of life, so I have faith that both surgeries will be successes.

This upcoming weekend is the weekend of The Hunger Games!  I know no movie will ever be as good as the book, but I hope I like it at least.  I hope I don't leave the theater thinking that was horrendous.  I've finished the books, so the movies are all I have.  It better live up to my expectations.

Girl On Fire

About a month ago, Rachel and I had been talking about what we’d been reading.  The list included The Help, Water for Elephants, and other best-sellers turned movies.  She then made the recommendation that changed my life.

“You should read The Hunger Games,” she said.  She explained the premise of the book.  It’s set in the future and the US is not as we know it today.  Instead, there are 12 districts and a Capitol that rules everyone.  There had been an uprising by the districts against the Capitol that failed, so as punishment, the Capitol forced each district to send a boy and a girl to fight in The Hunger Games each year.  It didn’t really sound like my kind of book, but she insisted that I had to read it, saying she was hesitant at first too.  “The only thing I didn’t like about it is that there are only 3 books,” she ended.

I decided to try to get through the first book before the movie comes out later this month, but kept putting off downloading it to my Kindle.  I had trouble motivating myself to get started.  Luckily, JD had already started reading it on his iPad and was able to share it with me on my Kindle, so I gave in and started reading.

I’m a fast reader, but I typically only read 1-2 (short) chapters per night (maybe less for books with longer chapters), because that’s enough to put me to sleep.

Enter Hunger Games.  I flew through the entire first book in less than a week, because once I started reading, I was so enthralled by the story I couldn’t stop.  I actually had to make myself stop each night so that I could go to sleep at a decent hour.  Now, I am halfway through the third book, and forcing myself to slow down so that I can draw it out a bit, because I know that when I’m done with this book, there will be no more.

Yes, there’s action and suspense in the books that keep you interested, but there’s something more about it that I’m not sure I can explain.  You feel like you lived it, or want to live it, or are afraid of living it…. or something…. and end up haunted, craving more.

I don’t usually get sucked into pop culture obsessions cough<Twilight>cough.  Probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a book, movie, or TV show is when Sons of Anarchy starts its new season on FX each fall, but even that doesn’t compare to how much I loved these books and how excited I am for the movie to come out.  So excited, in fact, that I bought pre-sale tickets for opening weekend (and it takes a lot for JD and I to pay to see something in the theater at all). 

Now for the part that really makes me a huge dork.  I bought a necklace off Etsy that's related to the books. 

*Pausing to allow the full weight of my dorkiness to sink in*

I never want to take it off.

To be fair, I didn’t seek it out; I stumbled across a “mockingjay” necklace while looking at some other jewelry one day and got curious about what else was out there.  Then I found this necklace, saw the charm that was stamped with “girl on fire” and fell in love with it.

Now that I've successfully made you all believe I am crazy and obsessive, I'll leave you with this thought.  Read the books.  They will change your life... and possibly your jewelry collection.