I'll Never Remember This But... BGETH

I stumbled across this inspirational quote this morning while sipping my coffee, keeping an eye on the puppy, thinking about what I need to do today, and praying that a functioning brain would decide to bless me with its presence today. (Clearly, I have been working on getting my multi-tasking abilities back. Having a puppy in the house is great practice, but I have a very long way to go.)

I sat my coffee cup down (missed the coaster and nearly dumped it right on the laptop). I smiled because the puppy has fallen asleep (apparently dragging a gallon of mud, dirt, and tree branches into the house are hard work) and does not need her mother's watchful eye on her right this very second. Aha! I can think about this for a few minutes. (Okay, it started out as a few minutes, and then went into over time.) After all, the things I need to do today can wait for just a few minutes. They are not going anywhere, and even if they did decide to wander off, I would forget that they were here in the first place so it would not make that much of a difference. I will probably never locate them again, so they must not have been that important.

Putting on this coat of many colors, every morning, so to speak is a choice. If I choose to feel blessed, grateful, excited, thankful, and happy, I am all set. Everything else will fall into place because I will not be allowing myself to get bogged down with life and all of the crap that comes along with it. It is just better for my emotional and physical health than allowing stress and chaos to destroy me.

I can make the choice every single day to feel BLESSED. Sometimes blessings do not jump out in front of you and smack you in the knee cap (like the wall, door, bed, etc., etc., that you keep running into- I do not do this, I am just trying to help you relate to what I am saying.) Blessings have a funny way of not seeming like blessings at the time, and can even initially present themselves in an ingenious disguise. It may be days, weeks, months, or years before you realize that something bad that happened to you is a blessing. But trust me, they are most definitely there, and probably in greater abundance than you even know.

I can make the choice every single day to feel GRATEFUL. First and foremost, every single morning that my feet land on the floor, even though things crack that never used to sound that way, I am grateful. While it may seem crazy and mundane and you might wonder if I am smoking the "wacky tobacco," I can be grateful when I find myself sitting at the dealership waiting for an oil change. Stick with me here. Needing an oil change means that I have been places, and that means that I have probably seen people, done things, and made memories and for this opportunity, I am grateful.

I can make the choice every single day to be EXCITED; this is a hard one for me. I can admit when something challenges me, and this does. As a gal who used to get excited about the small stuff, over the last several years, exhaustion made it impossible for me to muster excitement over anything. Life continually popped my excitement bubble, heck I am not even sure that for a while that there was even a bubble left to pop. But, I am working on this. I will find excitement and things to look forward to if it is the last thing I do... (What was I doing again?)

I can make the choice every single day to be THANKFUL. My life is not without challenges. Rather than becoming angry and bitter over my challenges, I choose to be thankful for those mishaps which make fabulous stories and give me inspiration for this blog (and the book which is a work in progress) which keeps all of you entertained. Daily, I discover people and things that I can thank the good Lord for. I do not even have to look that hard to find them. They are right in front of my face (thank God for that because my vision is not the greatest), and yes, I have smacked straight into them on more than one occasion because I am clumsy, klutzy, and very easily distracted. ( I trip over two of my greatest blessings, at least, a dozen times a day.)

I can make the choice every single day to be HAPPY. We are responsible for our happiness, no one else. While choosing to be happy, we are also responsible for not allowing anyone else to mess with that joy. Unhappiness can kill you, so this is a critical one. Making the choice to surround ourselves with other people who are happy, and people who care about our happiness is something we need to do.  Life is way too short for people who squash happiness like bugs, and frankly, I would much rather be smiling than frowning. I am no spring chicken, and wrinkles are way too fond of me.

Life truly is about choices. Choose wisely because you never know how many redos you are going to get. Open your eyes and really take in your surroundings, not the stuff, the people. I honestly believe that it is within people that we find our greatest joys...

Membership Has It's Rewards! Are You The Right One?

During my time in rescue, I often found myself having conversations about "the right fit." Several times I had volunteers mention to me that they thought a particular boxer was the perfect fit for a family. While I have only been owned by three boxers in my lifetime, I have learned a lot about boxer parenting. I am seriously convinced that the question is not if the boxer is right for the home, but is the human right for the boxer or even a boxer in general.

I dedicate this blog post to all of the boxers that have found themselves in rescues and shelters because the humans were simply not right for them. And also to the "right fits" that I feel blessed to have been a part of.

It was almost six years ago that I made the choice to become a boxer parent. Not unlike an expectant mother anticipating the arrival of a new two-legged baby, I did a lot of reading and a lot of research and a crapload of planning. Truly, though, after six years as the human of a boxer, time and experience are really the only things that have taught me what being a boxer family is really about.

Of all of the choices I have made in my life, and all of the things that I have accomplished, being a boxer parent is definitely my greatest source of pride. I have absolutely no regrets about my life with my boxers.

A boxer is not just a dog. A boxer will inevitably wiggle its way into your heart, and every single aspect of your life. These goofy, wiggling buddies will want to be a part of everything that you do. These are little humans in the most adorable little bodies. When you make the decision to parent a boxer, you are committing to a life-long assistant. Dishes, laundry, cooking, gardening, bed-making, painting, even taking a bath (and as I have recently discovered with Jazzy, showering). Are you ready to never pee alone again? Can you handle this level of companionship? These guys are not for the admitted loner, but rather the human who is ready to share every part of their life with a four-legged, nosey, and oftentimes persistent clown.

Boxers have a concept of personal space that is very original. It is the "your space is my space" concept. This means the bed, the sofa, and pretty much every square foot of your home. If you are not okay with mud, slobber, and water all over the floor and every other place that drool can fly to, you are probably not right for a boxer. Boxer drool is a very serious topic and one that I could do a stand-alone and very long blog on. This is a unique substance that has powers beyond your wildest imagination. Not only is it comprised of something that closely resembles gorilla glue, but it is also capable of reaching places that you cannot possibly fathom. If you are OCD about clean windows, furniture, and walls, a boxer is probably a bad match.

Are you commitment-phobic? Are you unwilling to submit yourself to what can only be described as passionate, all-encompassing love? Boxers need a human that is open and willing to being loved in this way. No boxer should ever be allowed to fall in love with a human that is not prepared to love him back for his entire life. That is just not fair.

Are you a stingy lover? (Get your head out of the gutter, I am still talking about the dogs.) These guys crave attention and love. It is not uncommon to find soulful eyes staring at you  quite dauntingly because you have not loved on them in the last five minutes. My boxers remind me several times an hour that they love me very much, and in turn, they also like to be reminded that I love them right back.

One of the greatest gifts that my boxers have given to me is what can only be described as unconditional love at the highest possible level. This is a love that goes in both directions.

The love that these guys give to their humans is enduring, wonderful, and life-long. It is a love that lasts long after their bodies, but never their spirits have left this earth. We never really get over the departure of our boxers from this earth. When we give ourselves to our boxers, we are making a commitment to understanding that a piece of hearts will at some point probably go with them from this earth and yet another part will always belong to them.

Boxers really are clowns for life. While their birth certificates may say that they are "older", they are really just puppies at heart and in spirit. Are you okay with the fact that you are going to have a puppy in your home for the next 13 years, or longer if you are so blessed? They never stop entertaining, and they never stop being wildly silly.

If you are not okay with the fact that this gorgeous breed will never really outgrow "puppyhood" you may want to consider another breed. If you are not crazy about smiling, laughing and being reduced to tears at least once a day, the goofy, comical boxer is not going to be a good match.

I have been extremely lucky with little Jazzy! She might just be the world's best boxer puppy, or maybe it is the fact that she has an awesome big brother. Everyone who has met Jazzy has looked at me and said, "She's not a typical boxer puppy". Yes, I will be forever spoiled by this little darling, but in all honestly, she is still a puppy, and she is still busy and requires a lot of training, time, energy, and attention. She never really stops which is okay, because I never really do either.

If you are expecting a well-behaved boxer, be prepared for ongoing mental stimulation, not just through the puppy years, but throughout their entire life. Boxers are the world's most cuddly, loving little creatures that you will ever come across, and they are more than happy to keep you company when you want to watch a good movie.... but only after you have played tugged o' war for 55 minutes and walked around the block 17 times, shared cheese from the fridge and then walked around the block another 17 times. These are not dogs that are okay with their humans leaving the house for 10 hours at a time. Frankly, if Jazzy and Duke had their way, I would never leave the house. Crap, it takes me all of one minute to walk to the mailbox and back and by their reactions when I walk in the door, you would think I had just returned from a six-month stint in China. God, it is seriously amazing to be loved this way.

Boxers, like children can often have sensitivities and allergies to food and things in the environment around them. Be prepared for a huge financial investment in feeding your boxers things that are not only good for them, but that agree with them. Sometimes, the solutions are not always clear and the problems not so obvious. Lucy saw multiple specialists and endured many changes in routine in an attempt to rid of her allergies to food and the environment. We never really did find a solution that was a solid fix.

Jazzy and Duke enjoy a raw diet that is a combination of chicken with bones, beef, vegetables, proteins, omega-3's, and yes, cheese.

If you have never experienced life with a boxer, you might be reading all of this and thinking "Good Lord, now I know this woman is crazy!" Life with two boxers is never dull. I am never alone. I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to my boxers as if my heart were walking around outside of my chest all of the time. I adapt my life and my activities around my boxers needs to keep them happy because they do the same for me. We have a wonderful give-and-take relationship, but only because that is the way I want it and that is what they require.

Yes, I spend insane amounts of time cleaning and mopping floors, have nearly killed myself more than once in incidents that most certainly involved drool, and I am forever fighting for blankets and space in my king size bed. I find laundry in my living room, toys in weird places, and my car windows are always covered in boxer art work. But none of these things matter when I think about how full my heart is with love for Duke and Jazzy and even Lucy.

I am proud to be a card carrying, boxer mom.

Kinda Sorta, Almost Rocked Christmas!

While I will not go as far as to say that "I rocked Christmas," I will say that I felt some of the magic, and Christmas was enjoyed more this year than it was the last two years. I am even sad that the holiday is over. I am also more than somewhat disappointed that it is time to take the decorations down and put the lights away. Do I have to, Mom? (I know that the answer to this is yes because every single time I speak to my mother, she asks if I have taken my Christmas decorations down. Okay, I've got it, Mom!) Who says that Christmas decorations cannot stay up until well into February (That would be my mother)? Is there a rule written somewhere because I have not seen it, and frankly, I would probably just decide that it does not apply to me!

I am thoroughly convinced in order to enjoy something as we did as children, as an adult, is to rid our minds of all of our preconceived notions about the way that things should be, or the way that they were. Seriously, when we build things up in our minds, we are bound to be disappointed. Our minds have a way of spinning things to make them better than what they actually were. As adults, we just are not the same as what were as children. I guess to some, this might seem like a good thing, but in a way, I find it rather sad. So many things had a magic sparkle to them as a child. I guess that I am having a hard time with this concept, and will probably spend the rest of my life trying to make my life just as magical as it was a child. Probably a better idea would be to work on embracing whatever magic does get thrown my way and not comparing it to the ideas that I have in my head. Yes, there is a viable thought. I absolutely refuse to give up on this notion completely, though!

I found myself throughout the holiday season turning the Christmas music on every morning and looking forward to the tree lighting up at 5:00. At some point, I gave up and thought it silly to wait until 5:00 to enjoy the tree and just turned it on. It is still on, all day, every day. Jazzy kept turning it off and on anyway and it was making me insane. At some point, I will probably regret this decision as I am sure that bulbs are going to burn out. But, that is what that whole bag of spare bulbs is for, if I could find it, that is.

Maybe I need to rewind here a bit. What does the perfect Christmas look like in my screwy brain, and how did that "home movie" get there in the first place? I think that is an excellent question. I am bright enough to know that while the "magical Christmas" that exists in my brain and that I have always longed for, resembles a Hallmark channel movie, which it is television. I am not trying to be difficult; I just want to experience even just a bit of the holiday romance that exists in the movies that I found myself watching throughout the season. However, a walk down a snow covered lane, holding hands, wearing mittens, and catching snowflakes on my tongue is probably an unrealistic expectation. It is rather challenging to build a snowman when you live in central Florida and have no snow.

Clockwise from the top left corner: Peanut Butter Blossoms,
Cranberry Orange Macadamia White Chocolate,
Old Fashioned Shortbread, Butterfinger, Andes Mint Spearmint,
White Chocolate Candy Cane, M&M Pudding, German Chocolate Cake,
Softbatch CreamCheese Chocolate, Turtle Cookies,
and Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies, and missing from the small images,
but not the cookie tray: Lady Locks.

My Christmas Cookie Madness, or my OCBD (obsessive cookie baking disorder) as my friends have come to refer to it, was a tremendous part of my Christmas magic. Admittedly, for someone who has the attention span of a boxer puppy surrounded by 3000 squeaky balls, baking had its challenges. Despite the challenges, it brought a lot of joy to my heart. Giving of ourselves is the best way to experience the magic of Christmas. 

• There was the moment when I realized that 1/2 of the butter that was supposed to be in the dough that was chilling in the fridge and was not supposed to be taking up space in the microwave. Oops. 
• There was the moment when I realized that the cinnamon and sugar was supposed to be sprinkled on the outside of the cookies, not blended in as I had done. Oops. 
• There was the moment when I realized that my storage plan was sorely missing good judgment. Stacking several bags of cookies in Ziploc bags was a poor choice. But, I did not know that until I opened the freezer and had a "cookie slide" that resembled a mud slide. Yes, I had choice words. Oops.
• There was the moment when I realized that the heat was negatively impacting my lady lock filling and it was dripping right back out the other end of the cookies and all over me, the counter, and my cabinets. Oops.
• There was the moment when I found myself standing in the middle of the back yard involved in an active tug-o-war match with Jazzy and realized that I still had a tray of cookies in the oven. Oops.
• There was the moment when I remembered that I had put a tray of cookies on top of the freezer to keep Duke from counter surfing, but had forgotten and opened the freezer door only to have the whole tray on the floor. Oops.

I know that there were more baking foibles than what I have shared here, but as you have probably guessed, I have forgotten. Despite all of the challenges, and as you can see, there were a lot of them, my cookie baking project was a huge joy to me and to each of my friends and neighbors that I shared the trays with. This baking frenzy will be a part of my Christmas traditions from this point on. I am looking forward to next year, even though I will struggle with the few pounds that I was unfortunate enough to acquire for the next month or so. I shipped a box of cookies to my parents, and they arrived unbroken and seemingly unaffected! So now I know that I can send my cookie joy all over the country!

I made new memories that will forever be etched in my brain as a part of Christmas 2015, While the day that my best buddy and I spent rolling and wrapping lady locks was a long, hot day, we had a lot of fun and did a wonderful job of entertaining each other. Baking is so much more fun when you have a partner in crime. Despite the fact that while I jotted around Orlando passing out cookies and visiting with friends on Christmas Eve, Duke managed to free Jazzy from her crate and she roamed freely about the house for an unknown number of hours, Christmas Eve was wonderful for me! (Just for the record, nothing was touched, and there were no accidents! "GOOD PUPPY!" Duke still needs to explain!)

I am confident that next Christmas will be even better and I cannot wait to see what Christmas 2016 has in store for me. But, most importantly, I am looking forward to it rather than dreading it. I remain headstrong in my resolution to not let bad memories keep me from making new ones. Yes, "I've got this!"