Mimi, The Neurotic January 20, 2010

It’s about time I introduce you to Mimi, our much loved two-year-old Jack Russell Terrier.

Mimi joined our family last June after a chance viewing on Craigslist.  We were in the market for an animal, but we had already agreed that we’d get a cat since they are more independent than dogs and if we were to leave the house for a day, we wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to let the dog out.  As I was scanning the listings, one caught my eye.  It wasn’t a cat listing, but one for a Jack Russell.  I clicked it just to see the picture and found this face staring back at me.

I don’t think we looked at a single cat posting.  We emailed the owner and made an appointment to go see her.  It was love at first site!  We took her home and have just fallen more in love with her and her antics every day.  My husband calls her Mini (like a Mini Cooper, because she is little and fast), which is funny because that was her original name with a different spelling.  I liked the name Mimi, because I had just seen Rent and wanted her to have a Broadway name.

Making Memories January 1, 2010

I love to hear my daughter reflect back on things we’ve done and remember our good times.  Being an only child is lonely for her at times and I know she wishes she had a sibling to share things with.  Sydney was a twin, but unfortunately, my water broke at 10 weeks and we lost her twin.  Sydney’s amniotic sac remained intact and I was able to carry her to term…past term, actually.  She didn’t want to leave me then and 11 years later, she’s the same way.  Always stuck by my side, or on my lap, or touching some part of me, it seems.  Sometimes I just think, is she ever going to get tired of hanging out with me?  Or more to the point, hanging on me?  Then I remember that the answer, sadly, is yes.  Some day, sooner than I am ready, she will decide that her time would be better spent in someone else’s company, so I really need to cherish and enjoy these times when she is so attached to me.

New Year Reflection and Wishes December 29, 2009

This time of year always makes me think of family and our lives together.  I wonder if I am giving wonderful memories for my daughter to reflect on later.  I was lucky, I grew up in a large family and though we certainly had our share of growing pains, perhaps more than some, but definitely less than others, we always knew we had each other to lean on.

Defying Gravity November 13, 2009

Today I am driving to San Marcos to watch my brother and sister jump intentionally out of a plane.  While this is not that big a deal for my brother (because he’s a little nutty, like me), but my sister is really facing her fears with this one!  She is deathly afraid of heights!  She gets ashen and white-knuckled driving on the 183 fly-over!  I pity the man or woman that is going to be strapped to her back on that jump.  I am so proud of both of them because they are doing something they have both always wanted to do.  I am envious, because I would like to be up there, too.

Let’s drink to working parachutes, skilled professional tandem jumpers and safe landings on terra firma.

I’ll have another recipe or two hopefully tomorrow.  Baby (my kitchen-aid mixer) just received a brand new ice cream maker attachment, which is chilling out in the freezer as I type (hint, hint).  Suddenly cinnamon ice cream may not be so hard to find.

Here’s an update: