60 Days of {Gratitude} : Day 4

I’ve been trying to avoid writing this post first, it seems so “typical” that I would start with the thing I am most thankful for...I guess 3 days was good?  Although it’s hard to rank gratitude, my husband is very definitely at the top of my list. I’ll try to keep this short and minimally sappy...

Today I am so very thankful for my completely amazing, wonderful husband. We’ve only been married 7 months, but the past 4 1/2 years we’ve spent together have taught me so much about life, love, and what a partner is supposed to be.

I thought this would be the easiest blog to write. Turns out I’ve been sitting here for hours trying to find the right words to adequately describe the guy I fall more in love with every day. The guy who takes such good care of me, and probably didn’t know what he was signing up for when he promised in sickness and in health. The guy who makes sure we don’t starve, and probably hopes one day I’ll learn to love cooking (doubtful, fyi). The guy who would do anything for his friends and family. The guy who works hard every day so we can have a great life, do the things we love, and have fun along the way. The guy who really doesn’t need much in this world other than a deer stand and a rifle every November. The guy who patiently puts up with me and all my DQ moments. Gosh I could go on forever, but I’ll spare you. Basically, I’m just the luckiest girl in the whole world... I’m so thankful we found one another and that I get to spend the rest of my life loving him.

Alecia Hoyt Photography
Our First Dance...The Best Day Ever

60 Days of {Gratitude} : Day 3

Bubble baths! Yes that’s right, today I am SO thankful for my huge tub, hot water, scrumptious smelling bubble bath, and big fluffy white bubbles to soak in. I used to take baths for granted, opting for the much quicker, more practical big sister of the bath -- the shower. While I still take my daily morning shower, I’m trying to find more time to bond with my tub. It clears my mind, relaxes my body, and is most definitely good for my soul... Thanks to whoever invented the bubble bath, or at least the idea of taking one for something other than to just get clean :)

60 Days of {Gratitude} : Day 2

Not having a good day. Tired and not feeling well at all. So, I’m trying to follow my own rule and look at the positive (which I’m learning may be harder than originally thought over the next couple of months)...today I am extremely grateful for talented, dedicated, and compassionate doctors. As some of you may or may not know, I suffer from multiple chronic autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are often referred to as "silent illnesses" because to the rest of the world, it looks like there is nothing wrong with me. Now before I get all dramatic, I realize that there are so many people out there suffering from diseases far worse than anything I’ve endured. That said, I've faced some obstacles and my fair share of medical frustrations over the past few years. Luckily, I live in one of this country’s largest cities, and I've been fortunate enough to be treated by some of the top specialists in their fields. What has amazed me far more than their medical knowledge and the books or papers they've written, is their true concern for my health (physical, mental and spiritual) and my overall quality of life. In a world full of doctors that are more concerned with seeing as many patients as possible and fighting with insurance companies, I’m constantly impressed with the amount of time my doctors spend with me. Some of them tend to marvel at me because I'm "young" for all this and are extra inquisitive, which is okay. But mostly it's true concern and total understanding. Just a couple weeks ago, after 20 minutes of medical questions and all the necessities, one of my doctors stopped and looked at me and asked me how heart was doing. They can't teach that kind of sincere compassion in medical school. So for her, and all my other amazingly talented doctors, I am so very grateful.

60 Days of {Gratitude} : Day 1

As briefly mentioned in my previous post, I LOVE the holidays. Like over the top, crazy love. So today I am thankful for Starbucks. On this beautiful November 1 morning, I was greeted by a venti sized HOLIDAY cup! Words can barely describe my excitement. In addition there was a fabulous sign out front stating that the Peppermint Mocha was back (Ha! Here’s a little secret peeps: that drink is available 365 days a year! I should know...)! Of course I got into work and everyone commented on my Christmas cup so I promptly started playing the GLEE Christmas album. I convinced my cube mate that I needed at least 30 minutes a day of out loud Christmas music. He agreed. I’ve also been planning our work Thanksgiving luncheon and frantically working on my plans for decorating my house. Yup, it’s finally officially that time of the year and I am ecstatic.

Grateful for Starbucks kicking off
the Holiday Season!

60 Days of {Gratitude}

I’ve been feeling really negative lately. To be fair, I’ve had a pretty rough month. But enough is enough and it’s time to suck it up and get back to life. With Halloween being out of the way it is officially time to start celebrating my favorite time of the year, the HOLIDAYS!

I’ve really been thinking the past few days and although things aren’t perfect (when are they ever??), I have so much to be thankful for. So I’m going to spend the rest of 2011 focusing on the important stuff (big & small) and less time dwelling on the less than stellar. Which brings me to the new series in my blog: 60 Days of {Gratitude}. Now you all might be thinking, aren’t there 61 days left in 2011? Why yes there are. But let’s face it, on New Year’s Eve I will be thankful for champagne and 60 days sounds nice and round. So here we go...

My plan is to write a blog each day (don’t worry they’ll be short). I’m sure some will be sappy, but there will be plenty of silly things that you can call me ridiculous about, and probably things that are only important me that will make no sense whatsoever. I have a few ideas in mind (the obvious stuff), but I’m hoping that taking time to reflect each day will require me to really stop and think about how much I have and stop focusing on what I don’t. And at the very least I’ll be able to think of a small part of my day that didn’t suck.

Wish me luck, we all know I’m not the most consistent blogger, so the posts themselves will be a challenge, but one that I’m ready to tackle. If you haven’t already, start “following” my blog and let me know what you’re grateful for and what you think about my list of top 60.

xoxo
DQ

Meet Ellie

There’s been a lot going on in our house the last few months since I’ve posted, the most exciting and noticeable...we got a puppy! On August 24th we welcomed a sweet 3 month old female Red Heeler mix into our home. We found her at the North Texas Humane Society and knew she would be the perfect addition to our family. 

Meeting Ellie at the shelter


 As most of you know from reading our blog, we lost our beloved yorkie Lexi earlier this summer. During our exhaustive search for her, my husband and I both had our eyes opened to how many dogs in our area are without homes. I’ll admit when I got Lexi I wanted a particular kind of dog with certain qualities so my parents got her from a breeder. At the time, I never really considered anything else. After tearing up every time I entered one of those shelters looking for Lexi, I knew I’d never buy a dog from a breeder again. There are too many abandoned dogs, too many dogs that will be destroyed if they don’t find loving homes. We both decided that our house was too quiet without a canine companion so we began searching the shelter websites to see if they had any dogs that would be compatable with what we were looking for. Finally, we just decided to spend a Saturday morning visiting the shelters. First, we went to a shelter where they had 3 lab puppies, 2 of them were brother & sister. They were so sweet and fluffy, but we weren’t sure we could separate them...and we certainly weren’t sure we could handle 2 puppies! Then we went to a large shelter downtown and found several sweet dogs, but our favorites were these 2 cattle dog mixes that were inseparable. For the second time that day we were faced with the decision, can we handle 2 young puppies?? While we debated that decision, we headed out to check out one more shelter. This place was special, it was a small shelter that only took on a limited amount of dogs, dogs that were set to be euthanized before this shelter rescued them. As soon as we walked in we saw her laying there, cuddled up in the corner of her crate. They called her Reba because of her red coloring. She was a little sad because her sister had just been adopted. After taking her outside and playing with her, trying to get a feel for her disposition, we knew we had to have her.

She was about 3 months old, 10 pounds, and had already been spayed. Although we obviously don’t know what all she has been bred with, she clearly has a majority of American Cattle Dog, Red Heeler, in her. Probably with some lab mix. We brought her home, went to PetsMart to stock up on all the necessities, and got her settled in! We decided we weren’t a fan of Reba, so after days of debating, we finally settled on Ellie (my husband calls her Ellie Mae!).

She’s our little ball of energy and can play for hours, but also loves to cuddle. She’s in her second training class already and her intelligence continuously astounds me. She already weighs about 25 pounds and is finally looking really healthy. She LOVES to eat! More to come on adventures with Ellie...I’m sure we’re in for an exciting ride!

Ellie loves her big bone from Gma & Gpa!

Graduation from Puppy Class!

Sick Day

When I was younger...
Being sick wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If I could convince Mom that I didn’t feel well enough to go to school I could lay at home, watch tv (usually the Price is Right or Y&R!), eat banana popsicles and swiss miss vanilla pudding, cuddle up in my bed, and being checked on every so often.

Today I’m sick and...
I had to wake up early, email my boss to let him know I couldn’t make it in today, drive myself to Target and fill my prescription, come home and make myself lunch, check work email, call my doctors, and pay some bills. I’m squeezing a nap in, but sheesh, I miss my Momma!

Sometimes I really wish I could just be little again...

Need a Slow Down...

Had a fabulous evening at Book Club (aka Wine Club) with some wonderful gals! I love having girls’ nights, kicking back, relaxing, and just being silly with my girlfriends! Tonight it really made me miss my friends back home and my carefree college days with all my beautiful sorority sisters. I’ve been missing a lot lately...

My Momma. Missouri. St Louis. Alex’s. AD/LJ/RD. Stillwater. The Z Tau house. My brother. Fall. Sleeping in. Lexi. The Grotto. Rolla. Ted Drewes. Small towns. My beautiful cousins. Tablerock. Dirt roads. Our sailboat. My grandparents. Having time to read. My crazy awesome in-laws. Maid-Rite. The Brew Crew. The Hill. Family ski trips. The mountains. Holidays. Going to concerts. Sitting on the front porch. Rain. No traffic. Soulard. Float trips. Date nights. Stars. Relaxing. 

A random list. But so true. Sometimes you miss where you’re from. And the people you can’t be with all the time. And the things you love to do but just don’t have time for. I think I’m in need of a slow down...

For Lexi

Christmas morning, right after meeting her 
new Mommy

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am." 

- Author Unknown

One month ago our baby girl Lexi went missing. For those of you that know me, you probably know Lexi. For those who don't, let me introduce you to the most amazing little animal who changed my life forever. The least I can do is tell the world her story...I owe her that much.

On Christmas morning in 2006, I opened up a large gift under the tree to find this little furball curled up inside. She was so soft and fluffy, the most innocent animal I'd ever seen. I had begged and pleaded with my parents for years to buy me a dog. Specifically a yorkie. Mom had always said no, insisting that we just weren't dog people. But things change, and people change. In March earlier that year, my brother Phillip passed away. Our family was grieving and trying to deal with our world being flipped upside down. I had just transferred colleges to be home with my parents, and was trying to adjust to life as the now only child. Lexi was my parent's version of therapy for me. They knew how much I had been wanting a dog and I think they were looking for something to make that Christmas a little more bearable for me, to distract me from the reality that it was the first of many Christmas mornings we’d be celebrating without Phillip. Little did they know how much joy that puppy would bring into all of our lives. 

Happy 1st Birthday to Lexi and Happy
22nd to me!

Lexi and I were meant to be. Her birthday was the day before mine and we always celebrated together! For her 1st Birthday, om even made a Lexi cake. The only thing we didn't see eye to eye on was fashion. She was not so keen on the idea of wearing all those cute clothes I insisted on buying her. So eventually I learned that as much as I wanted her to be my little princess, she was really a tomboy who loved to play fetch for hours and hours on end, jump in the creek, chase birds and squirrels, and roll around in the grass...usually right after I gave her a bath. I could occasionally get her into her puffy winter jacket when there was snow on the ground, but that was about the extent of her girly nature. Though that didn’t stop Mom from getting her a Coach collar the next year for Christmas...

Clark and Lexi breaking the rules.
 Me: Clark, get the dog off the table.
Clark: In his Lexi voice, “Mommy
I don’t like being on the floor so
far away from all of you and I’m cold.”
Guess who won?

Lexi's love and energy was infectious. First there were my parents (you know, the non-dog people), who toted pictures of her and showed off their "Grand Dog" to anyone who would listen. They loved taking her to the lake with them, she'd wear her life jacket, go sailing, and socialize with all the dock neighbors. When Lexi and I moved to Texas so I could pretend to be a grown-up, I'm not sure who my parents missed more...me or the dog? And then there was everyone else who got to spend time with Lexi: my grandparents, who adored playing with her; my cousins who liked to dress her up; and my friends who were much less interested in whether or not I was coming to visit and much more interested in making sure I was bringing Lexi along. 

Lexi was really happy when
 we got engaged!

One day, about 4 months after Lexi had become part of our family, she met Clark, my now husband and her Daddy. Clark was a dog person. The only problem was that Lexi didn't meet his definition of a dog. He believed a dog had to be big and manly, with a loud bark, and plenty of slobber and hair shedding. However it didn't take long for him to become a smitten kitten with Lexi. I can't begin to tell you how many times I would tell her no, or say she couldn't have another treat and he would sneak around and give her exactly what she wanted. In his baby voice he'd say "but Lexi needs a treat, she's been such a good girl" or something equally convincing to win me over. Those two could get away with anything...and were so darn cute doing it. 


Lexi brought an enormous amount of joy to my life. Joy that I wasn't convinced existed after some of the tough times I had been through. Joy that I didn’t really know animals could give you. Joy that words can't really do justice. We shared some of the biggest milestones that people have in life together: graduating college, moving out on our own, starting that first “big girl” job, buying a house, getting engaged, getting married... the whole twenty-something bucket list really. I couldn’t have picked a more loving, loyal animal to have by my side while I was figuring out who I was and what I wanted in this life. 

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. 

~Roger Caras

Five years later I'm feeling a sense of loss again. A loss that I'm not sure how to handle. After all, she's an animal. But I'm grieving. And I'm praying every day that she's safe and sound, which I truly believe she is. And most importantly I’m hoping that she’s bringing a little joy to someone else. My best friend reminded me the other day about how much I needed Lexi when she came into my life and that maybe there was someone out there who needed her now the way I needed her then. And as much as I miss her every single day, knowing she could be giving someone else what she gave to me starts to make it a little more okay. I love you Lexi dog. Thank you for being everything I ever needed and so much more.  

Sharon Ellman Photography

Our perfect little family.
Sharon Ellman Photography

Not a good start to the day...

Ways to test your husband's patience: run out of gas in his car, on 103 degree day, and then complain that he isn't driving fast enough to come rescue you.

Stupidity for the win today. I'm a sweaty hot mess. Literally.