Happy 5th Birthday, Bing

"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made." - M. Facklam

I can't believe my little boy is 5 already!!! It seems like just yesterday I picked him out at the breeders and he was 8-weeks and under 2lbs!

I have to say; I've changed more in the past 5 years than I have at any other point in time. My dogs have saved my life in more ways than I can recount. Since having them in my life I've become a more emotional, sincere and softer person (hush now, really, I have improved over the past 5 years.) It sounds so odd but sometimes I think I am more compassionate about people and life in general because I have two little creatures that love me unconditionally.

I make no "bones" about the fact that I'm a "dog person." Don't misinterpret, I LOVE my cats, but I am a "dog person." There is just something about dogs and any "dog person" knows what I'm saying. Cats are so moody; they love you on their terms. Bing and Manny on the other hand, well, Manny is in my lap right now and Bing is at my feet. They love to be around me. They follow me around just waiting for me to love them. Maybe that says something about me, maybe need to know where I stand with an animal, but I have to say, I don't own my dogs, they own me. I really don't think there is anything I wouldn't do for them.

Anyway, back to Bing. Bing Francis is 5-years-old today. This makes me incredibly sad. I hate that he's growing up and getting older. I want him to stay a healthy puppy forever and ever. Bing can bring me out of any bad mood. He's not only adorable, but his temperament is gentle and quiet. He is the sweetest little thing and he is extremely handsome. He's not cute; he's H-A-N-D-S-O-M-E. He is my first born and I completely act like I birthed him.

Most often Bing can be found lying in front of any source of heat, or curled up next to me at night. Yep, he sleeps with us.

There is nothing in this world even close to the feeling of coming home and having a puppy so incredibly happy to see you. When we take the time to walk and love and kiss and play it makes Bing and Manny so happy- to them life is so simple; eat, sleep, get love, give love.

I am so grateful to have the best little guys in the whole world. I can't remember what it was like to not have them around.

Bing, you're the sweetest little guy and you have no idea how much I love you. Happy Birthday Bing (aka" Bee, Be-a-zel, Boppy, Francie, Francois, Besus Christ, Bingy, Beasty, Bells, Beazlebobincero, Francois- Louwah) we love you so very much!

Say What?

Aaron can eat whatever he wants; something I hate love about him. Because he spends so many hours each week training and exercising he can eat whatever (and A LOT of whatever.)

I am quite the opposite. If I even smell food my pants get a bit snugger. Because of that I have to savor any type of junk food I buy. For example, I might buy a pack of peanut butter cups and take a bite out of one and put it back in the cabinet for later. Aaron, on the other hand, might buy a bag of chips and eat the whole thing in a sitting. Honestly, the cost of feeding Aaron while he's training is astronomical. I'm not complaining because he's definitely is easy on the eyes, but what I do HATE is when he eats MY stuff.

I know, I know, in marriage there is no "mine" or "yours." But, when it comes to food there certainly is a "mine" and a "yours." Often I will walk over the cupboard, quite excited for the rest of my whoopie pie only to find it has turned up missing.

J: Aaron! Where is my ________?
A: (innocently) Oh, it's been in there for a few days I thought you didn't want any more of it.
J: Of course I did. Do I need to start hiding food from you? Don't eat my stuff!

So tonight, as I was skulking around online and eating my pretzel rods, I had a thought, "You know Jessi, some Pepsi would be great right now." It's MY Pepsi and I purposely drink right from the liter just to mark my territory. As I walk over to the fridge, completely ignoring the concept of a glass, I lift the 2-liter-bottle and find it's a bit... light.

J: (screeching) Aaron!!!! Did you drink MY Pepsi? (completely pissed because he asserts that he isn't a Pepsi guy, he's a Coke guy- I'm a Pepsi girl.)
A: (startled... standing in the shower- fixing the window trim) Uh, I had a sip.
J: A sip? A SIP?! You took more than a sip... YOU TOOK A FREAKING CHUG-A-LUG!

I am turning into my parents. Who says chug-a-lug? In this argument, I immediately lost all credibility when I said chug-a-lug.

Photographic Friday

Aaron recently cut a “kitty door” out of the door that leads from our kitchen to our cellar. Up until about a week ago we were keeping the litter box in our upstairs den until we realized it was a waging a massive assault against my allergies (yes, I'm allergic to cats) thus moving the litter box has improved my quality of life.

Rocko and Shredda love having access to the cellar where they can sniff around and hide. It's not a huge room, but we keep it tidy and there are plenty of nooks and crannies for a feline to explore.

Surprisingly, Bing and Manny have very little interest in the cellar. Being nosy, they will check out what’s going on, but wouldn't dream of going through the actual portal into the unknown; just hanging out spying.

I captured this picture of Bing on Sunday evening. I love this picture.

Bathing the boys

Once per month Aaron and I give the boys a bath. It's not the easiest process, but luckily they are tiny little guys who we can easily throw into the kitchen sink.

Bing, as you can clearly see, HATES to be bathed.

Mean Daddy... but I do love how Bing is scrunching up his body.

Manny, on the other hand, loves being scrubbed down.

Wednesday, Oui- Meteor Shower

On Tuesday morning Aaron woke me around 3:30 AM to see the meteor shower. Astronomy is something I have become interested in since being out of grad school (and being able to read for pleasure.) It was a crisp and clear night; we were able to see a few meteors before going back to bed around 4:15. We first attempted to watch the showers from the bird room, which has windows on all four walls, but to no avail.

Finally, we packed up a sleeping bag, some pillows and a blanket and laid down in our driveway to see the showers. It was actually warm and cozy. We even spotted several meteors!

As I was laying in my driveway, watching things fly through space, I felt so small. I just kept thinking, "I'm laying here, in MY driveway. I own this driveway. That's MY house. MY husband woke me up at 3:30 AM to watch something that amazes me. How did I get here? The world is going on around me. People are going to work- living their lives. I'm laying in my driveway, comfortable and cozy, star gazing. How does this happen? This is my life and I can't believe it most days."

I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone. But, to me, it does.

Oui