Average Joanna

It’s been a hell of a week.

Two weeks ago, Andy and I went to see some of the cutest, sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet. They are German Shorthaired Pointers named Ellie and Jake, and they had a littler of puppies.

Andy and I have been talking for a long time about getting a dog, and we found the one we wanted. She’s the runt of the litter. Very independent, and spunky. She’s just adorable. We named her Daphne.

The puppies were still too young to leave Ellie, so we planned to go back and get her Saturday, the 21st.

After we left Daphne, she developed what appeared to be some really concerning health issues, and we found out on Monday that it might not be the best thing for her to come home with us. I won’t go into detail here, because I’ve talked it over with so many people this week, and I just don’t want to type it all out. I will say that the issues we were facing would have been challenging for the most experienced dog owner, not to mention very, very expensive. There was a vet in the clinic that has been seeing Daphne, who volunteered to adopt her if we decided we couldn’t, which made me feel a little better, but we were already attached and the thought of sending her to someone else, no matter how sick she might be, made me feel like a puppy mommy failure.

Andy and I decided to have her tested first, before we made a final decision, to determine just what it was that was wrong with her, if anything.

Last night we got the call that her blood tests came back negative for the life threatening condition the vet thought she might have. It looks as though she’s just a late bloomer, being the runt of a pretty big litter, but we’ve been advised to have some blood work done as soon as possible, just to rule out any other complications. I’m so relieved and I’m so glad that tomorrow we’ll be bringing our sweet girl home.

After a very trying, gut wrenching, roller coaster of a week, the weekend is looking up.

I hope yours is! Happy Friday!

Feet at the beach. SC coast, 2009

This past Saturday, April 14th, marked the third anniversary of my car crash. The looming date had been on my mind since my birthday. It hovers over my special day each year, like a dark cloud waiting to unload. Eleven days after the celebration of my birth. The day that changed everything. My life and how I live it. I’ve been determined, since the crash, that I wouldn’t let this one thing that happened determine the course of my life. I lived through it, so there must be some purpose for me other than walking through the rest of my years constantly questioning why it happened. While it certainly changed me, it will not define me.

I’ve made it a point, on this blog in particular, not to talk much about the accident, but I’m writing this now to mark a significant passing of that dark day, three years later. I noticed the date on the calendar, like I always do, and a little bit of dread filled me in the days leading up to it. For two years after the crash, on the anniversary, I usually have a little meltdown, but not this year. Andy came home Friday from being out of town all week. We went about our business. Ran errands, wasted time, cleaned cars (him) and apartment (me). Friday evening passed. Saturday morning, afternoon, evening also passed. It wasn’t until early Sunday afternoon I realized the 14th had come and gone like any other day. I asked Andy if he knew what Saturday had been and he couldn’t even guess. I had to tell him.

Then that little part of me, the piece that was still being held back by that awful day and the aftermath, was finally free. I did an internal dance of joy because we both forgot. It didn’t matter as much anymore and it finally, after three years, feels like we’re stepping, fully, into the sun again.

So, in the spirit of moving on, I’ve been planning a little summer vacation for us.

Andy is going to have some built in time off work later this year, and while we have a BIG TRIP in the works to celebrate our joint 30th birthdays, that has been moved around a bit, so we’re wanting to make a smaller getaway in the in between.

We’re planning another road trip, sort of like the one we took in February, except this time we’ll be flying and renting a car. We’re looking at three possibilities all along the three US coast lines, since it’s been nearly three years since we’ve taken a beach trip. We’re either going to the Gulf (LA & TX), New England (ME, NH, MA) or California, driving to several towns/destinations. We think. I wouldn’t put it past us to change our minds last minute.

I’d love some feedback from people who have visited any of these places. Where to go? What to see? Where to stay? I love planning trips, as much as I love going on them, so I need some help getting focused. When I start researching I want to do it all and plan way too much. Help!

Last weekend we had a party to celebrate my 30th year. I would have posted sooner, but it was a whirlwind weekend followed by a mad dash to get home and get Andy ready to leave town for work all week. Then, when he left, he took the computer with him.

I think I needed the week to recover and probably wouldn’t have gotten any pictures posted until today anyway.

For the most part the pictures speak for themselves, but I will say this one thing about my dress: I wish someone had told me to stand up straight. Also, I had to buy a size larger than normal to, ahem, accommodate a certain part of my anatomy, ahem, which made an already slightly poofy skirt that much more poofy. When I was shopping for a belt I had thought a wide belt would be better, and in retrospect I was right.

I can’t say, “Thank you” enough to my in-laws for hosting the party at their beautiful home, and to them and Andy for being my gophers. The party may have been my vision, but I couldn’t have pulled it off without their help.

Here’s to another thirty years!

It’s 11:45 on April 2. In 15 minutes I’ll be 30.

Happy early birthday to me.

I keep saying I just want to stay home and rest, but that never seems to happen. I traveled last weekend. I’m traveling this weekend. Two weeks from now I’ll pack my bags and hit the road again. Maybe the weekend between will be quiet. That would be nice.

Seriously though, I don’t really mind, because all the going, going, going has been filled with a lot of good and happy things.

Here’s a list of what’s been going on

• I went to a baby blessing
• There was a double birthday party
• Girl scout cookies
• A new spring wreath that’s the color of sunshine
• Planning my birthday party (the big THREE OH!)
• I got a new curling iron
• Shopping. Andy tells me I have to stop
• Spring arrived!

On a somewhat related note:

This is my youngest niece. My family says she looks just like me. I can’t really say, because I don’t remember what I looked like when I was three, but I got her a pair of jellies for her birthday & she loves them. So based on the fact that she loves shoes and extra loves her jellies, I can most definitely say she is related to me. For sure.

Happy weekend!

I went on vacation again. Just two weeks after coming home from the last vacation.

Vacation is exhausting.

Fun, but exhausting.

This time I headed south, with Julie, to Atlanta to visit with Julie’s brother and his family. Then, while they were enjoying some more family time I hopped on a plane and went to see my friend Jessie in Pensacola, FL. Yeah, big trip.

First: Atlanta.

The first day we just hung out at the house & everyone got a bath. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, and it isn’t for me because I don’t have children, but for Julie and Amanda it was.

We went to Babyland General where Cabbage Patch dolls are born daily. It’s a little creepy. Each toddler picked out a doll, which proved to be quite a task. We got to watch Mother Cabbage give birth, twice. Rosalie made friends with a doll who was wearing the same outfit. By the time we headed home all the adults were in the mood for a very strong cocktail.

On Friday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. I love aquariums. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and this particular aquarium did not disappoint. We saw dolphins, penguins, whale sharks, and beluga whales, just to name a few. It’s a gigantic, beautiful facility, and if you get the opportunity to go don’t pass it up. I didn’t take as many photos because 1) it’s hard to get good pictures of the sea life through the glass and 2) sometimes I just like to put the camera down and enjoy what’s going on around me. Trust me, it was fun, and exhausting, and by the end of this one we were in need of more than one very strong cocktail.

Up next: Pensacola.

Again, I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures and for the most part we took it kind of easy. The first day we drove all over trying to find a souvenir, but other than that it was a lot of walking along the beach and eating. The Gulf is beautiful and I’d love to spend more time there.

While I had a lot of fun traveling all over the eastern part of the country, I’m glad to be home for a while.

Me: (holding up a flowy, peasant top) Oh, this is cute. Do you like this?

Andy: Nope.

Me: Why not?

Andy: Because we don’t live in a tent.

Happy Monday!