What's in a name?

It is official - our new puppy has a name. My sister-in-law and nephews came over to see the puppy and name ideas started flying. We went through the names of Star Wars characters and those from Lord of the Rings. We also had Moose, Bolt, and Jack Sparrow. The two finalists were: Chewbacca (Chewy) and Indiana Jones (Indy). On Saturday the name was officially decided.

Indy - as in Indiana Jones or Dr Jones.

It is a bit difficult getting used to a handle for the pup and for us. I stumble over the name and try to call him Maggie (after our old dog), Ozzie (the name of my friend's dog), and for some reason Iggy. As for Indy, he's not sure if we are talking to him or just saying more silly human stuff.

Indy has already made a couple of new friends. My friend, Shae, brought her Australian Shepherd with her from Seattle and Indy and Ozzie got along great. Ozzie is older and hasn't has any pups but she has a strong maternal instinct. The two played together all night and had all of us in stitches. Today, Indy met my sisters new pup, a chocolate lab named Kira. These two chased each other and my niece and nephews around the house like pack of - well - wild dogs.

We have had a few new puppy messes but all in all having a dog around again feels really good. I never really considered myself a pet person - dog, cat, or otherwise - but now I can say I am definitely a dog person.

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet. ~Edith Wharton

They never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in the conversation. ~Jerome K. Jerome

Today we welcomed a new addition to our little family - a Sheprador puppy. No name yet.

A Sheprador is a "designer breed" or "hybrid". No name comes from an AKC registered Australian Shepherd and an AKC registered yellow Labrador Retriever. I found him by searching the KSL.com classifieds for either an Australian Shepherd or a Dachshund. That site has everything. When I saw the picture of these pups, I had to call. Once I held him, I had to bring him home.

So far he is sweet tempered and well behaved. We will see what tomorrow brings.

"Sissy's Song"

Every now an then a song comes on the radio that expresses my feelings in ways that I cannot. Today I heard one by Alan Jackson called "Sissy's Song". After the first line my thoughts immediately went to my dear friend Jodi who passed away this past September in a car accident. Jodi left behind 2 sons who are in the Army.

Lately Jodi has been on my mind more often than not. The warm weather on the horizon reminds me of lazy days fishing, long drives with the windows rolled down and the radio blasting, floating out on the Spanish Fork reservoir, and sitting on the front porch talking. I miss my friend more and more each day and wish I could pick up the phone and call her like I used to or drive up to her house and go to the gas station for a drink run.

The picture in this post is from our last fishing trip together.

Tonight I went to Alan Jackson's website to find the video for "Sissy's Song" and read the following about why he wrote this song:

"He wrote it after the sudden death of Leslie “Sissy” Fitzgerald, who worked in the Jackson household and who the Jacksons saw every day. Sissy died on May 20, 2007, in a motorcycle accident, and left behind a college age daughter and high school age son and her husband, who is an expert car restorer and also works for the Jacksons. Jackson has said, “I didn’t sleep for a while. So I sat down one day and wrote this song and after that I felt all right.” Jackson recorded the song and gave it to the Fitzgerald family for the funeral." (http://www.alanjackson.com/)

This song reminds me that Jodi is okay and I will be okay to. It will just take some time. The link below is to the video for "Sissy's Song". If you have lost someone suddenly or too soon. I hope this brings you some sort of comfort.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/alan-jackson/355885/sissys-song.jhtml?

I tried to embed the video but have no idea how to do that.

Getting back into the swing of things...

On Saturday night we came home from a week long vacation to southern California - specifically Disneyland. The vacation was great. I was able to spend some quality time with my son, parents, and brother, plus I crossed something off of my "possibilities list". But being away from home - even if you are in the “happiest place on earth” - for seven days can be quite tiring. Especially when two of those days are spent driving. Yes we drove!

During the week we spent 5 days in Disneyland and California Adventure - where I discovered that any ride where my backside rises several inches off of the seat while plummeting back to earth is not my cup of tea. On Thursday my Uncle Steve and his roommate Joe joined us. Even though Steve enjoyed ridiculing my fear of the Hollywood Tower of Terror and large roller coasters, it was a lot of fun to hang out with him for a day.

We spent a day in SeaWorld. The shows were great and getting splashed by the whales in the Shamu show was a lot of fun.

Even though by Friday night I was ready to be home I wasn’t quite as ready to face the real world again. But here I am back in the real world of work, school, bills, housework, grocery shopping, Mom Taxi, and responsibility. Quite frankly, it has been hard to get back into the swing of things. My equilibrium feels out of whack and I want nothing more than to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

To top it off it has been a busier week than usual. On top of the normal schedule of work and having Austin to school at 7 am three days a week, there were other activities. Tuesday night Austin had a choir performance and I had to make changes to a tablecloth I made for my brother-in-laws display this weekend at the ISE, Wednesday night I went with my mom, aunt, cousin and Grandma to a Relief Society enrichment night, tonight my visiting teachers came over and I tried unsuccessfully to clean my office/storage/work room.

This has truly felt like the longest week! It seems an unjust punishment to come back from a vacation and still feel like you need a vacation. Does anyone else struggle with getting back into the swing of things when you get home from a vacation or other activity that takes you out of your regular routine for awhile?

Maybe the upcoming weekend will help me get my equilibrium back and I can start next week feeling like I can take on the world again. It may be a short lived feeling though as I fly to Seattle on Thursday night.

Hmmm…maybe a short trip to Seattle will be just what I need.