We Are Blending

There comes a time in the life of every owner of a goofy, large dog when the issue of discipline rears its unruly head.

Hobbes, Dear Fiance's half Boxer, half Redbone Hound (an adopted animal), is the most lovable, affectionate, and eager to please pet I've ever met.  He amiably lounges with the kids and their friends, wags his tail almost incessantly, and is a joy to have around.

Except when large dogs are present in a public setting.  Then Hobbes transforms into a slobbering, snarling, beast and generally scares the living daylights out of people, myself included.

What to do?! In his brilliance and technological savvy, Dear Fiance suggested electronics. Training was getting us nowhere for a variety of reasons, so with grudging acceptance, I acquiesced to what I now call Hobbes' "Good Boy" collar.

It's fantastic!!!!  With a merciful few corrections, Hobbes has learned not to pull and I'm much more confident that our walks will no longer result in Jerry Springer style canine interactions. Better living through electronics!!

Sitting down with a decaf latte at my favorite cafe, 2 Stories Coffee House, to do a bit of serious writing -What are you up to this afternoon?

It's as though we've entered this sort of greenish yellow alternate universe where all the plants, all the cars, all the streets, yards, driveways, and yes, even kids playing outdoors, are turning into pollen dusted sugar cookies.

It looks like rain, and that would make me very happy, because it's a little surreal!!

But in exciting news, more uplifting and exciting than having to download and learn 2 new applications and work through their different issues so that I can create a good looking slideshow for a client.  Who knew that iMovie would be such a very fancy, but arthritic app? Not me. :p

The thing that makes me most happy at this particular moment, besides having whupped that problem for my client (what was I going to do but to finish and make it right for her?!) is that one of my strawberries bloomed this morning.

It's a little thing and I know that, but the magnificent window boxes I got for my birthday, complete with herbs and strawberries, sit on the windows in the bay window that my desk fits into for my office.  I look out over them from time to time and it makes me smile.  Birds come to visit.  Bees buzz and I watch them grow and think about cooking with the herbs, which I love.

These herbs will be undefiled by the depredations of my terriers and the felines that live outdoors.  Nuff said! It's FOOD, afterall, and I'm uptight about things like germs and fur and much worse getting into my family's food.

So about this strawberry blossom - it inspires me that things do bloom in time.  Everything isn't a battle (like this morning was for me) and that something so beautiful and promising can happen easily and beautifully.  I started so upbeat but degenerated into a crank and needed lots of quiet and space so I could focus on "cudgeling my brain" as Dear Fiance so aptly puts it.

Brain cudgeled.  Nerves recovering. Strawberry blossom making it so much better.  And it does look like it's starting to rain a little and wash this pollen away.

Happy Thursday!

I'm so excited about honeymooning in St. Augustine, Florida and am starting to get images together so I can focus on which places and things to do will be the most rewarding for us.

It's one of the most special places in the world to Dear Fiance and I both, so it was a natural wedding destination.

Here's a question: Would you get married outside by the Fort, overlooking the Bay, or at a very old, well cared for B&B?  The B&B wedding is locked in and planned, but I'm sure we could change it up if we wanted to.

Meanwhile, I'm honeymoon dreaming. *dreamy smile*

OK, we are delving DEEP into BEST BIRTHDAY EVER stuff here!!!!!!!

Dear Fiance, in a total surprise move, got me the Intuos professional writing tablet!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case this doesn't cause your heart to skip a beat or your face to flush with anticipation (which it does for me) then let me explain ...

I guess it was bound to happen.  Start hanging around with high tech drifter, get engaged, and guess what he wants to talk about 80% of the time? TECH! Eventually, even I had to learn some things to keep up.

I already had a stable relationship with InDesign, a passionate love affair with Illustrator that still stands, and a naughty flirtation with Photoshop.  Just knew a few tricks, but it's not like we'd spent months together on end like I have with Illustrator.  Like I said - it's special, sacred.  I don't expect everybody to understand this kind of relationship.

Kinda dark and forbidden, especially when I spend time with them after the kids have gone to bed and Dear Fiance is working on a project. It's just me and the tablet.  In the mostly dark room.  All alone together.  Oh, throw a glass of ice water on me I'm getting hot!! (Could be hot flashes, but that's still a ways away we hope).

I guess this is what happens when you decide to marry an Uber Geek.  You get very cool techie gifts for your birthday and you love them!! And yes, he did take me out to dinner too. :D

What constitutes Tech Porn for you these days?