"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

-- Walt Disney

Not surprisingly, Mr. Disney makes a great point and it's something I've written plenty about. That being said, I won't touch on it much more than to offer a great quote and hope that you will keep it in mind next time you're reeling from the blow that just hit or the hand you were unexpectedly dealt because for every crummy day you have, two perfectly fine days will follow until eventually, the crummy days are gone. Take my word for it.

I have a puppy. In all honesty, I found it easy to forget the fact that Ted was only eight, nine, ten

months old until now. His illness had plagued him

with the body of a fifteen year old dog, preventing him from walking around the block in even the

coolest of weather. Well, he is most certainly not suffering from that anymore. He got three walks today with sporadic running thrown in the mix and he still had energy to burn. He has to walk on his leash now because if he even sees another person, much less another dog, he will bolt to make a new friend. I watched him play with my neighbors dog this weekend and had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

Due to this, I had to buckle down and do the things I had been putting off. I finally caved and gave him a good haircut, trimming down the spots my dad had missed and getting his hair down to a more manageable length. Little does he know he'll probably be getting another

grooming session this weekend. He did surprisingly well with the trimmers, sitting for me and not making any kind of fuss. As you can tell (I hope?) left is the before and right is the after (although I cut the hair on his face a bit later). He looks like a whole new dog!

I feel like I have finally truly adjusted to the working world and the life that comes with it. Soaking up the weekends as much as possible and still being incredibly productive on the weekdays. I have a schedule I prefer to follow and rather enjoy having everything mapped out. In fact, deviations leave me slightly uncomfortable. Yay for the early signs of some kind of compulsive disorder.

It's finally the weekend and I'm ecstatic. What are your plans?

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When does caring become overbearing?

We all have friends and family that love us and will tell us the absolute truth with no hesitations. But it begs the question, where is the line between caring and overbearing? At times I have felt that any relaying of thoughts, opinions or emotions have been a good thing but as of late, I have gone the other route. Realizing that sometimes, what people think and say might push you towards the very thing they are trying to prevent. So where is the line?

You would think we would take all thoughts and words into consideration. Everyone counts on their friends to have their backs, be the shoulder to cry on and tell them the facts up front without sugar coating it. So why do we get upset when our friends are brutally honest with us? Isn’t that what we claim to always expect from them? And why is it, that when some people tell us the truth, we choose to ignore it?

Brutal honesty is my forte. I hate sugar coating because well, how is someone going to learn if you try to make it seem like less than it is? They won’t. But here’s my question. If we turn to our friends for advice and their outside opinion, why is it so easy to become annoyed with them when we get it? Is it because we don’t like what we hear? Or is it because we know they’re right?

I count on my friends for a number of things and I hate the fact that sometimes I doubt their valuable and irreplaceable opinions. But when I've heard the same thing from multiple people, sometimes I just want to throw it back in their face and say, sorry 'bout ya. And I can only imagine friends of mine saying the same thing about "advice" I have given them. So the question remains, when does caring become overbearing? Where is the line that, once crossed, pushes people closer to the outcome you want them to avoid? And why isn't it clearly marked so that all friends can stop before they get too close?

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"Sorrow is a fruit. God does not make it grow on limbs too weak to bear it." -- Victor Hugo

It has been exactly one month since Teddy lost the fluid in his abdomen. For a while, I expected it to come back and I still fear it will but his behavior this morning makes me think he's feeling better than ever. Nothing beats being woken up by a whining dog, jumping to try and get on your bed and lick you until you wake up. Or taking said dog for a walk around the block and having to speed up your pace to keep up with him. Ironically, I had a dream last night that contained several scenarios of my dog dying and yet here he is, happy, energetic, and hopefully healthy.

I took a much needed break last night and stayed in. I read, wrote, pondered, remembered. And then, this morning, I understood. It truly was an aha moment, the realization of why things had to happen. Take Teddy for example. When we found out he had his liver problems, I had two options. To distance myself from my amazing puppy or bond with him like no other and make sure he had the best last weeks of his life. I went for option B and here we are, 6 months later and still going. That bond is something I wouldn't trade for the world.

Victor Hugo is right- The Lord doesn't put us through trials and tribulations if we can't handle it. Of course, that knowledge and outlook is hardest to grasp when you're in the thick of it all. And I'll admit, I knew things would get better with time and that there was a reason for everything but constantly telling yourself that doesn't make it any easier to believe. No, it's not until you reach the other side of the mountain that you become capable of looking back and appreciating the journey. Appreciating the hardships and burdens you have overcome. And looking back at where you were and seeing where you are now, that's got to be one of the best feelings in the world.

So those troubling times you're going through now? Just remember, they don't last forever and honestly, the view's much better from the other side of the mountain.

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How long do we have to wait for everyone to grow up?

What is it that keeps people, even adults, from growing up? Sure, we all know that women mature faster than men and that you have to date older to find a guy on your maturity level, but I've now experienced first hand that older does not necessarily mean more mature. And it's not an attempt to hold onto youth; that's just a lie someone told to feel better about their behaviors. So what is it that prevents people from maturing?

Is it some kind of twist in their childhood, making them think the carefree ways of the immature were better than the ways of the wise? I find that I'm almost more carefree than I used to be. Not having to worry about what other people think or if you were wearing the right outfit. Not fighting to be in the popular crowd or crying because you aren't. Life now is pretty good. Sure there are bills to pay and you work 40 hours a week, but I'm much more content with that than attending school for 7 odd hours.

The thing I hate the most is when people think they are the most mature, sophisticated people around but they're worse than a 13 year old. We all have our flaws and by this point in life, you would think we'd all be aware of them. I became highly aware of my stubbornness in high school and have since learned to pick my battles very carefully because, well, when you challenge me you better be ready to fight to the death. So when does everyone else catch up? When does the rest of the world realize their flaws, work on them and become the adult they're supposed to be? We can't stay young for everyone and hell, I don't want to. So why would anyone willingly choose to continue a behavior they've been doing since junior high?

How long do we have to wait for everyone to grow up??

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"Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be." --Carrie Bradshaw

I think the most interesting thing to have come from the past two+ weeks is discovering I'm not who I thought I was. I'm not that shy girl I was back in primary school or even during college, I'm not the girl who was scared of risk or adventure and I'm not ready to be tied down to a place like I thought I was.

There were so many times in my past when I would be the quiet one, unable to introduce myself to my peers and in turn, be the odd one out. That wasn't a constant but it was more often then not. And now, here I am, going out and making friends on the weekends, meeting new people and honestly, living for me. I'm doing things because I want to and because of that, I'm enjoying all of the experiences so much more. I'm no longer the homebody who stays in on a Friday night, not because I don't still enjoy that but because I want to go out and meet people, maybe go a little crazy.

I was thinking today, especially with my job, that I can go anywhere. I can live anywhere and still get my job done. Which has made me want to compile a list of the places I want to stay and figure out when I'm moving. Go for 6 months to a year and then move on to the next place. Of course, it's easy to say now when I don't have something/someone tying me to one spot but it's still fun to think of being in California for a while, living in Hawaii and working on the beach, stopping in Houston and watching my precious nephew.

I'm realizing at this point in my life, the options are endless. The opportunities are never-ending and, for now, I have no one to worry about except myself, which is so incredibly freeing (albeit a little little sad, again, for now). It's interesting that people say your past shapes who you become, which can be true. But at the same time, if you hold onto your past for too long, it really can become an anchor that weighs you down and keeps you from growing, changing, improving. Sometimes though, it's easier to hold onto your past. It's what you know since you've experienced it. But take the risk, let it go and figure out first hand who you're supposed to be without the past keeping you from doing so.

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