Mon Chien et Mon Cat

My dog and my cat love each other. They are both girls, and we get confused around here and refer to the dog as a "he" constantly. Our previous dog and cat were a "he" and "she" and, to compound the problem, our current female dog is identical in looks to our previous male dog. To further cause problems, our female dog, named Tinker, is bossy and rambunctious, even at a ripe age of 8 years. Our previous dog was a sweet, submissive male, somewhat fearful, which did not work well once we had our dominant toddler. But that's a whole other posting.

Back to the current dog and cat, Tinker and Paris. They do not cuddle but theyskdu - sorry, hand nudge from the bossy dog - are fascinated with each other. The dog was about 2 when we got Paris as a kitten. Of course, we were concerned that the dog might chew up the kitten so when even we put the kitten on the floor, we hovered closely. I have photos of the dog sniffing the cat. The dog was fascinated, constantly following the cat around. You could just see the little comic strip cloud above the dog's head, saying, "You got this thing for me? So cool." And the fascination has continued. The dog is allowed outside in the backyard or, somewhat supervised, in the front year. She does not get to be outside very much. She is a people-dog, not interested in the other dogs at the dog park. If you let her out in the cold, she is soon back at the door, saying, "You guys still in there?" She throws a fit if we happen to leave her outside when we leave home. We've somewhat spoiled her in that area. The cat, on the other hand, gets to go outside and in frequently. The dog usually has to sniff the cat to find out where the cat has visited.

Tonight, the cat was sitting in the window and started crying. The dog, who had been lounging on the floor, immediately understood the cat was saying, "Strange cat in the yard! Strange cat in the yard!" The dog ran to the front door, the cat moaned in the window. If I had let them out, there would have been a whippin' in the front yard. This is not the first time this little scenario has played out. They've done the moaning and barking before. But this was the first time that I realized that the dog reacts, not to sounds she hears outside, but to the cat's talking. During one of these episodes, if the cat and dog are close together, the cat will direct her anger at the invading cat on the dog. Yeow! And you think my life is boring....

A Lecture to Myself

I had a bummer of a visit to the dentist today. I have problems with my TMJ (temporomandibular joint). It's the joint of the jaw. I have long had problems with pain with those joints. At best, the joints, especially on the left, feels week. The pain is mild, but annoying and sometimes constant. My TMJ problems are cause by my canines being removed when I had braces as a teenager. This was a common treatment method during the '70's. As I learned 30 years later, removing teeth is not the best way to manage an overbite. It kept my jow from fully developing and allowed my jaw to slam into the TM joint, causing damage.

Finally, during my 40's, I started having jaw pain. I had extensive treatment then, including a second round of braces to pull my teeth forward to attempt to relieve pressure. I've done well over the past 10 years, but recently have started having problems. I've always known that the problems would start again and have joked that some day I would be on puréed foods. Today, I went to the dentist to get a mouthpiece to help with the jaw pain. I assumed it was something to sleep in and have apparently forgotten the details about previous treatments. Surprise! I am to wear the mouthpiece 24 hours a day, except while eating. I had forgotten how it makes you lisp (great for an SLP at work). It makes your tongue sore while you adjust to it. And, the dentist mentioned that I might need to have braces again. That brought me to tears. I don't know if I can do it again. I trusted the first orthodontist to do it right. I don't fault him for his poor treatment method because it think it was probably hindsight that showed the error of that method. He's deceased anyway. However, the second round of braces was supposed to help with the problem. I always know that my TMJ would remain a weak point for me. But I was blindsided with the suggestion that I might need braces a third time.

 I need tonight to feel sorry for myself. Tomorrow I'll work on my grateful attitude. I have friends with far worse problems. But, tonight, I'm toast, sniveling, sad. I don't wanna to do this again.

32 Things IFor which I Am Grateful

I'm not going to censor myself so the might sound very shallow or self-indulgent. These are not in a special order. Here goes....

1. My husband (EM)

2. My daughter (AT)

3. My profession

4. My job (#3 and #4 are two different things)

5. My house

6. My parents

7. My sisters

8. Changing seasons

9. Spirituality

10. History in organized religion

11. Health

12. Love of cooking

13. Love of reading

14. Technology

15. Town I live in, especially it's size

16. College education

17. Eating

18. Low stress life

19. Pets

20. Hiking

21. Decorating

22. Entertaining

23. Husbands hotrod

24. Keeping my eyes open. To change.

25. Gratitude for the little things

26. Moderation - how it saves me

27. Chocolate

28. Friends

29. Prayer

30. Eating out

31. Laughing with family and friends - deep, belly-laughing, almost crying laughter

32. Getting up early in the morning and those first minutes after I get in bed at night.

Yoga on Caffeine

My great husband brought me a small gift this evening, my favorite mocha. We were waiting for AT to finish her tumbling class. He was drinking his trusty senior coffee. It was a sweet surprise and I gulped the mocha down, after I protested that it had caffeine in it and I can't do caffeine after 5:00 or even after 4:00. Over the past few years it has kept me awake. And I mean awake! So tired, eyes closed, but brain racing. I have always been hyped when drinking it. My sister recognizes that I'm on caffeine when she calls. I've had acquaintances say "You're sure walking fast," on a Friday morning, mocha-driven arrival at my job (and I'm a fast walker sans caffeine). I don't drink real coffee. I say my coffee has to be basically a hot milkshake. I do make it non-fat and often sugar-free. And I only have it about once a week. On vacation. A gift from a husband. A Saturday morning drive Oh, bliss!

So, here I am, 9:44 PM and I'll still going strong. A perfect bedtime routine, The Voice, yoga and blogging. Not all at the same time, but one after the other. Well, some at the same time. And it's OK because I have a dental appointment in the morning and get to sleep late. Actually, that is a joke of a sentence since sleeping late for me is 7:00AM. Yoga and caffeine? Zoom, zoom, I think that's a oxymoron. Oooo, one singer on The Voice just gave me the chills. Look, a chicken!

Recently I've been reading James Altucher (www.jamesaltucher.com). Very inspiring in several directions. I need to blog more. Write, write more.