Monthly Archives: November 2023

Adventures, Daily Prompts, Reflections

Sammy Part 2

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Sammy Part 1:

Favorite Animals

.-.-.-.-.-.

I drove with my mom to go pick up Sammy from the pound. I was still buzzing with excitement.

We had the yard prepared. Her dog house was in the back back yard. Her “pooping area” was hopefully back there as well. It was actually a substantial sized yard for a dog.

But I don’t know what I was expecting, when I finally got her. But as she waddled out of the pound she looked groggy. That was due to the shots and procedure. But the moment she recognized me she was waddling a little faster and licked my hand once beside me.

She remembered me. She was mine!

Instead of putting her in a crate I decided to have her in my lap. I thought crating her would be to traumatic for her. I sat down and then called for her to get in the car too. She was confused to say the least. So instead the backseat it was; which was a bench. Sammy didn’t fight me when I picked her up and placed her on the bench. I sat beside her; she crawled over enough to place her head on my lap. I scratched her ears the whole way home.

“Make sure you vacuum the car out afterwards,” mom said as we drove home.

“Of course, mom.”

Home. We were home. “Sammy, we are home.” Instead of having her walk I picked her up and carried her into the fence of the backyard. I placed her down and walked her around the yard. Letting her smell all the new smells. She wasn’t really interested in anything.

“Mom. I think she just needs a day. Or maybe a couple days to let the drugs wear off in her system. I’ll take her to her dog house, instead. I again scooped her up and carried her into the back back yard. I placed her in front of the dog house. It was a very spiffy dog house. I had gotten her a comfy pillow. It had been a little large but I made her a cocoon. She didn’t move. She just stood there frozen. So like any good owner I crawled into her dog house, circled a few times, and then laid down getting comfy. It was quite comfy. Getting back out was different story. How did my butt for through the door in the first place. Haha! But I managed to get back out; and Sammy instantly copied what I had done. She laid down and then she was out. ‘Good girl.’

I had given her food around dinner time but she was still asleep. So I left it there and went to bed myself. But when I woke up I rushed outside to check on her. She was no where! She wasn’t in her dog house! Her food had not been touched! Oh no! I thought the worst. I thought she ran away.

“SAMMY!” I called!

And suddenly there were little pitter-pat feet coming towards me. Where had she been? But Sammy walked over to me and licked my fingers as a good morning. And she was smiling! Definitely smiling. It melted me heart.

“Let’s go eat some food, Sammy! Do you want to do that,” I walked back to her dog house. She followed and I showed her the bowl of food. She saw the food, and then it was gone! (I discovered I like the sound of dogs eating food; it was quite relaxing.) But again she was a smiling dog. She knew her spot. And it was to sit in front of me with her back pressed into my legs; waiting for her morning scratch. I gave it to her.

But then suddenly she perked up and she dashed off into the front back yard. ‘What?’ And I followed her. Someone was walking by the fence. And Sammy jumped up on the fence to say hello. She wasn’t barking, but instead she was smiling, waiting for scratches. ‘I picked a social dog.’ The woman walking was startled, but then saw me. She waved me over.

“Did you get a new dog?”

I didn’t know this woman. But, “Yes. I got her yesterday.”

She looked at Sammy who was still waiting for some love. “Can I?” Do you know?”

I didn’t know for sure, but I assumed. “I’m guessing she just wants some love, but I’m not completely sure. I assume she would be barking at you if she didn’t want you here, not here smiling at you.”

The woman decided to give Sammy some scratches behind the ear. Sammy leaned into her had and soaked up all the love she was getting. I think Sammy would have stayed in that position if the dog across the street didn’t start barking incessantly at the woman petting Sammy.

Sammy hopped down from the fence and just stood looking at the other dog. Not barking just looking.

“You picked a wonderful dog,” the woman said as she started to walk off.

“Thank you!” I beamed. I knew I had picked the right one. But for a stranger to say it, it just reaffirmed it for me. Sammy was the right one.

.-.-.-.

I learned several things as time went on. Sammy did not want to be in the back back yard. She wanted to be closer to the fence, where people walked. Because anyone who walked by got big smiles from Sammy. She never barked at anyone. I take that back. She did not like skateboarders. Not matter where she was in the yard, she would sprint to the fence and bark until the skateboard was gone. Haha!

But other than that she was perfect. I gave her a bath the second day of having her. She did not like or appreciate the water. It was a battle to bathe her. But as time went on she didn’t fight me as much. I also brushed her. So that she wouldn’t look mangy. She was a beautiful dog. But to me she was a lab, husky, smidge chow mix.

Learned more things. Like you have to put pavers under the dog house. Because when it rains, if it’s on the ground, the water washes in and soaks the dog pillow. Blah! Another. Sammy hated lightning and fireworks. I lived in the back room of the house, so on those types of nights I had Sammy sleeping next to my bed. And she was the perfect dog. She just laid down. She didn’t wander. She didn’t mess with anything. Also she knew how to tell me she needed to go out. I would be dead asleep, and she would come lick my hand. I would wake up staring into Sammy’s eyes and she would walk over to the door, which led outside. She would stand there until I let her out. She would go do her business, come back to the door, and wait for me to say come back in. She would scurry back inside and find her spot again. I didn’t teach her that. Her previous owners must have.

She protected me from bees. I’m allergic to bees and when being outside I would suddenly gasp or scream because a bee was diving for me. (I don’t know what it is but bees chase me.) But Sammy would eat them for me! She was my protector as well.

She was the perfect dog.

Through the years we moved houses and lived in various cities. But Sammy always came. And the new yards became her domains. But she had less and less social time with people walking. The houses we moved into had privacy fences.

But then my nephews came along, we discovered that Sammy loved being a mama. She allowed my nephews to do everything to her. And she never retaliated . They would pull ears, try to ride her, pull her tail, and she would just sit there allowing it.

We also got kittens at one point. My brother’s cats got pregnant and we had 9 kittens. The mom cats died when the kittens were on hard food. But Sammy took the role. She would lay down and snuggle the kittens, she would lick the kittens clean, she would sleep with them. My dog as a perfect mama.

I continued to learn through the years. She was gentle. She was mischievous. She was delightful. She was my best friend. But she wasn’t just my dog. She was my family’s dog. My mom loved Sammy. My sisters who were not big dog people loved her. I ruined my family for having the perfect dog, because she couldn’t be replaced.

But then I got married, and we were going to move away. I wanted to take Sammy. Desperately! But it would have been a huge change for her. Her life would have changed so much that I didn’t want to make her depressed. So left her with my mom.

It broke my heart. But I didn’t want to ruin her. We had, had her already 11 years. She was old. She had slowed down. But she had also become everyone’s dog. So she wouldn’t have been too depressed me leaving.

Thankfully I got to travel down and see her before her final year. She got to meet my daughter. She licked her fingers. Just like she had done to me.

Every trip down I spent time with Sammy. But she was getting older and older. She had lost her hearing. She had trouble walking. But she was still smiling.

Then I got the call. The call that Sammy was in so much pain that she needed help to be done. I FaceTimed with her for a short visit. She smiled at me. But then she was gone.

We had her for 16 years. She was 17 when she passed. She had the best life. She was loved by so many, and she loved everyone back.

I had the perfect dog. I’m so happy I stuck to guns and was stubborn to get her. Because she was the best. ❤️

Young Sammy
Her last day 💕

She was still a beautiful sweetheart on her last day. I’m just bummed that my kiddos didn’t get to play with her. But I’m lucky to have had her growing up. I was the lucky one.

Adventures, Daily Prompts, Reflections

Favorite Animals

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What are your favorite animals?

#1 Easy. Dog. But for me is a very specific dog. My dog that sadly has passed away, Sammy.

Part 1

She was the best dog ever. And she is the dog I compare to.

I got her when I was thirteen from the pound. A funny-ish memory with my dad; that is a scarce thing. But my dad is the one who took me to the pound that day to pick out a dog. I had, had my eye on one; a golden retriever puppy. But sadly the puppy had to stay at the pound another 2 weeks before it could come home with me; that must have been too long because I moved on.

My dad had his own ideas about a dog he wanted a male German shepherd mix. A dog my mom specifically said not to get. That was my dad though. I of course, was not going to choose a dog against my mom, but I continued to walk through the pound in search of my dog. I knew I would know when I saw it.

I walked past each stall; getting more discouraged as I went. until I came up to one stall. The dog was black. A little fluffy. Mangy looking. The sign said lab chow mutt. I don’t know what it was, but I liked this dog. She was just sitting in the corner sleeping away. My dad tried to pull me away, but I stood rooted there. He continued on, and I still stood there looking at the dog.

I squatted down to be on her level when she woke up and almost fell over. The commotion must have woke her up, because suddenly there was a little dog head perked up looking at me. I saw sadness in her face. I was about to walk on, because I thought she was too skittish; but as if she knew, she stood up and slowly walked over to the fence and licked my fingers. It startled me. I had forgot I had my hand there. But she continued to lick my fingers.

I trusted her instantly. I shoved my fingers through the hole in the fence and began to scratch her ear. She almost my instantly collapsed into the fence and soaked up scratches. She pressed her side to the fence and I continued the petting session. I probably squatted there, petting her for almost 15min. I knew. This was my dog. My dad was still off somewhere looking At probably only German shepherds. But I continued to be squatted there scratching my dog. My dog Sammy. I previously had a different name picked out, but I still to this day have no idea what it was. But when I was petting her, I just said, “Good girl, Sammy.” And that was that. This was my dog Sammy.

Finally he came back. “Pop, I want this one.”

My dad looked at the dog , “I don’t think so, I found a really cute dog down the hallway. It’s ready to go home today and everything. Let’s go take a look,” he started to walk away.

I didn’t move; instead I struggled to stand up and pointed at Sammy, “No, I want this one.”

“No. This one looks mangy; probably she will attack you or run away the moment she comes to our home. Instead there is a good looking German shepherd puppy down the hallway. I’m sure you will like it,” he tried to get me to come with him.

“Nope. I’m good. I want this one.” I can be quite stubborn. Haha!

“But, I think you should keep your options open. This one might not be available today. Let’s continue to look. I’m not committed to any dog just yet. Not until you look at the other one.”

I knew that he was not going to be open to my dog until I looked at his…but I was not moving. Thankfully a worker came up to us and asked the question I was hoping for.

“Did you find a dog you liked?”

“No, we are….” My dad tried.

“Yes. This one.” And I pointed at Sammy.

The worker looked at me, then at Sammy, then at my dad, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m positive. I want this dog for my birthday.” Yeah I forgot that part. I was getting a dog for my birthday. My parents agreed I was old enough for a dog. So my dad brought me to find a dog. And I found her! “Can we start the process?”

“Oh. It’s for your birthday. Then of course you should get the dog you picked. Right, dad? If your daughter choose this one, and is adamant, you should trust her choice, right?”

Thank you worker. But oh! my dad is going to be pissed on the drive home. At the time I was terrified for the drive home, but not scared enough to give up on Sammy. My dad just nodded, but I knew he was not happy.

The worker grabbed the small sign and walked us to the office. I looked back and Sammy must have felt abandoned and walked slowly back to to her corner. ‘I’m coming back for you.’

We got to the office and the person in charge handed me a slip to fill out. The normal stuff, but I also got to put Sammy’s name on the line for name!! It was an exciting moment. But then came the time for paying. Thankfully my mom had planned ahead and gave me a $20 bill, because my mom knew that if my dad didn’t get his way he was not going to pay.

The worker said, “Okay, that will be $15. Who will be paying?”

As I expected my dad didn’t react; so I pulled out the $20 bill and said, “Of course me. It’s my dog after all.” It was done. She was mine. I fought for her!! They also let me sign on the dotted line since I payed.

Sammy would be ready in two days. They had to give her, her shots and spay her. But she was mine. It was done.

I thanked the workers and walked out of the office with my receipt. I was so proud, that I forgot all about my dad. I turned and he had not followed me out of the office.

I sung open the door and my dad just said, “maybe have that German shepherd puppy ready to go in two days too and maybe she will change her mind.”

I rolled me eyes. The workers looked uncomfortable. I yelled in the door. “No need. Sammy is all I want. Come on Pop, let’s go home and prepare the yard for Sammy.”

That ended the topic. Sammy was my dog. I would fight for her!!

.-.-.-.-.

I know this post was meant for multiple animals, but Sammy is…well now, was my favorite. I think I’ll continue the story tomorrow. The story of Sammy is a fun one.

But now you got a glimpse into what my dad was like. I think this result only happened because I was his favorite child. Which sickens me. The only reason for that, was because he had control over my swimming. Also (not to brag) but I won races a lot. I gave him so much pride. He gave me too much pressure, but he didn’t care. Which is why I think he allowed my behavior that day. Because he needed me to continue to fuel his vain side in the future.

But I’m happy for that. For once in my life I was happy I was his favorite; because I did get the best dog that day!! My family would agree.

(Also I’m not against German Shepherds. I just for one didn’t want a male dog. I wanted a female. And German shepherds have lots of energy. I wanted a more mellow dog. I wanted a dog that would be content in our small backyard. Nothing against German shepherds.)

Part 2 to follow.

Sammy ❤️
The Best Dog Ever!
Art, Creativity, Daily Prompts, Reflections

Beach…Or Mountains?

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Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?

This is a two part answer. Because I want to vacation at the beach, but live in the mountains.

The beach it’s warm and sunny. Beautiful! There is the hot sand, the blue oceans. It’s paradise. But honestly for me not where I want to put down roots.

I have some reasons. I’m not just stating a fact or anything. But for one, I’m afraid of the ocean. Yes it super pretty to look at; but only my knees will be dipping in. The husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and I was having a panic attack swimming around in the ocean. I totally was a buzz kill for the husband.

Second reason…tsunamis. Not a fan…or hurricanes…nope nope. It’s all sunshine and rainbows until your house is washed away.

Third reason. I burn. No matter how much sunscreen I put on; I burn. Peeling is the pits.

But still, even with all those things; I would love to vacation at a beach again.

But putting down roots; I’m a mountain girl. The trees, the mountains, the Autumn’s breeze, the snow, the cold. All of it is beautiful.

But the extreme weather is not the greatest. The over 100mph winds or the -50°, terrible. But you learn, you adapt. My great fear in the mountains is grizzly bears and rattlesnakes; but there are things to do to handle those problems.

So I guess that’s what it is for me. The extreme weather issues of living in various places. You live up north you freeze. You live farther south you get whacked with baseball sized hail. The east you get humidity and tornadoes. And the west you get sky high population and expensive living with nice weather. Haha! But no matter where you decide to put down roots; you take the good with the bad. You learn to adapt. You live!

Happy Saturday!

Photography By: emily2jane
“Chilly”
11-25-23
Adventures, Daily Prompts, Life As A Mama, Poetry, Reflections

Food. My Family Lives Food!

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What are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?

I’m going to stay away from holiday meals. Because Christmas and Thanksgiving to me are easy answers.

#1 I think one of my favorite meals is a big juicy steak. With some side of potatoes, corn, salad. But most importantly, we need the horseradish sauce. I like to make the sauce extra spicy. Where when you eat it, it clears your sinuses. But this meal is an easy one for me. I marinate the steak the night before. Then I make the side dishes, and the husband cooks the meat. I can make most things. But he does those dishes,I have trouble with, and they come out amazing. Steak, burgers, chocolate chip cookies, and biscuits.

#2 It’s a recent meal. I made beef enchiladas a couple weeks ago. And they were amazing!! I wish I had taken pictures and used it for a blog post. Maybe next time I will. But I also made the enchilada sauce from scratch too. And I think that made a huge difference. Another part that amazed me was, that my daughter ate it. She didn’t particularly like it, but she ate it. But that my son ate 1 and half enchiladas. I had 3…I’m a grown adult. He is not even 1 1/2 years old and he devoured them. The husband also took the leftovers for work. I was a little annoyed he took them; I wanted to eat them…

🤤

#3 Probably Orange Chicken. What’s funny about this meal is, it’s a staple in my entire family. At my mom’s house they also have this often. I just take it a step farther and I make everything from scratch. Not the sauce. I use the panda orange chicken sauce. It’s just so delicious. And less work for me. I always strive for that. Haha! But this is a meal that has transcended generations.

Like all the posts I could probably list more favorites, but I think I will leave these answers as the only answers. Because they are true.

Well I should get back in the kitchen. The husband worked yesterday so today is our Thanksgiving dinner day.

Have an amazing weekend!!

.-.-.-.

Five colors.

Four painted hands.

Three crisp papers.

Two excited kiddos.

One wet brush.

That’s right! Thanksgiving Hand turkeys. I hope to do it every year. To see how their little hands grow every year! ❤️

Art, Creativity, Daily Prompts, Reflections

Hmmmm…?

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Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?

I think I would choose age 15-17. When I was a competitive swimmer.

I stayed on my swim team because I didn’t want to lose my friends, start from scratch, and I didn’t want to let my coach down.

But if I had switched teams I would have probably gone farther in the sport. Not gotten hurt. And probably would have made it to the Olympics.

But instead I choose my friends. I thought they would be my friends always. But the older friends tolerated me because I was fast. The younger friends respected me because I was fair. But in the end I only have one good friend from my 17 years of swimming; living in a different state, and I only text her. It’s been almost 5 years now since I last saw her.

Another reason for not leaving, was I didn’t want to have to figure out my place on a new team. I knew there were faster swimmers than me. Surprisingly enough, more dedicated swimmers than me. But on my old swim team I was respected.

You can’t really leave one team, try out another, and then return. It would have not gone well.

The biggest reason of all: I didn’t want to disappoint my coach. My coach was my coach for 8 years, I think. She was the one that kickstarted my desire to become great. I always did anything she said. She was the one that was going to take me to the next level.

But like most things, many different events happened that began to unravel my hoped future.

She always wanted me to be the best, but I’ve come to realize it that she just expected the best without her 100% effort to help me there. She had a favorite on the team; and to her, that swimmer could do no wrong.

Another event was that when I was 16, I had finished 3 exhausting swim meets in a row. I had been invited to an invitation only swim meet, that I had to go to as well. But into the first day of the meet I had an excruciating pain in my stomach that I couldn’t even sleep through the night. My mom came to get me and we went to the hospital. Turned out I had a cyst the size of a large grapefruit in my lower abdomen. The doctors were amazed that I had continued through the pain, for this long, while being an athlete. I had to have surgery. So it was quite serious. The doctors said that if the cyst had ruptured I would have died.

But what do you think my Coach’s response to all this was… disappointment. She made me feels so awful for leaving that swim meet. She made me feel like I embarrassed her; and that I should have just sucked it up, and finished the meet.

After that day my Coach gave up on me. The swimmer that could do no wrong was now more than ever her favorite. And I continued to try and prove myself to my coach. I did more in my 16-17 years than I had already done for her from the age of 10 to this point.

And you might be wondering how it ended…

Without any help from my coach. I bettered myself all the way up to the nationals level. That’s one step lower than the Olympics trials. Two steps away from the Olympics. I thought, I would have at least one more year of her help. But instead she took her favorite to the Olympic trials. The swimmer chocked and didn’t perform well, and then my coach retired.

She gave up. She gave up on me. If she had given me some direction the year before she retired she might have taken two swimmers to the Olympic trials. I think I lost my spark after that.

She then sold the team to my teammate. He then made a rule that after the age of 18, if you are not swimming in college you couldn’t continue to swim on the team. So I lost my coach. I lost my drive. And I lost my team. All after I turned 18.

I swam at my community college. I did amazing. But it wasn’t the same. My spark was gone. I broke almost all the records. But then I got hurt. I think it was an old injury from when I tried to earn my coach’s respect back.

Now as I look back over those years I can see that I should have left. I wasted 8 years trying to swim for someone who never seemed to care. But I wasted the best years especially; where if I had just switched I probably would have made it. I know I would have!

But with all things you must go on. I coached. Which I loved!! I will definitely do it in the future if I get the chance. Without the public speaking part. I’m terrified and terrible at that part. Another, I still like to do hard work. Any projects we have on the property I’m rearing to help complete them. My body feels sore and tired afterwards. Most importantly, I found someone who cares for me, who wants me to do my best, but will also accept me as I am.

So yes, I want to change those years. Because I wish I could give my 17 year old self a chance to succeed on the level she desired. But like all things. You learn. You move past it. And you then live your new life.

Digital Art By: emily2jane
11-04-2023
“Stilled Moments”
Daily Prompts, Life As A Mama, Poetry

To Be A Kid At Heart…?

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What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

This is a difficult question to answer. Because I think it will change based on where you are in life.

But to me I think it’s to still have that innocence. Where you can be an adult, but there is something that makes you giddy and excited; just like it would for a five year old. That it’s the purest enjoyment.

Like for me, when I get a new painting idea. I get all giddy and excited to at least get my idea down.

I think for my husband it’s playing video games. Not as giddy as I would be. But I think it reminds him of his teenage days. He still can get online and play with his buddies.

But I don’t think it’s really behavior like a child. It’s the pure excitement that comes with doing something you love.

So for me when someone is being immature and someone says they are a child at heart I don’t feel the same.

That’s more like you are stuck in the age of a fifteen to sixteen year old, and you are still a pain. Every parent knows the age. It’s the age where you yourself regrets experiencing personally.

So to sum up. For me…

Child at heart = pure innocent excitement.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Inspired by my sons costume yesterday.

.-.

Yellow

And in charge.

Waddle here,

Waddle there.

So cute,

So large.

Definitely in charge.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

He was a duck. It was super adorable. But he was stomping around the harvest festival like he was the boss. It was so cute!!

Now it’s time to decorate for Christmas!! My son loves going to Costco and seeing all the lights. Excited to see his reaction when it will be in and outside our home for almost 3 months.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!