Scariest Chewie Moment

I thought I was going to scrape up a dead Chewie off of 70th street today. On Sundays such as today, when the sun is out and it isn't too cold, I take Chewie to the dog park. It gives him a chance to run in a fenced yard and play with other pooches. Well today Chewie realized that his head can fit through the fence at the dog park (why they have 4 inch wire fences in the "little" dog area of the dog park I have no clue). Well in Chewie land, if he can get his head through, he can get his body through and in one slick moment Chewie was out. This may not have scared me if he had gone through the fence from the little dog area to the big dog area, but no, Chewie went through the section that goes to the parking lot and then onto a busy 70th street.

I of course wasn't quick enough to catch him from escaping and luckily I had my running shoes on! I ran after Chewie (but of course got held up through the 3 gates a human must go through!). I saw him go into the parking lot, but couldn't find him. I feared the worst, I thought he had gone into the road. But thankfully a woman, a man and a pitbull saved my Chewie from the street. Thankfully Chewie is a very social pup with humand and dogs otherwise... he may have been road pizza!

I have never been so scared in my life! I cried the way home, thankful I had my pup. I am motivated to write the city a letter about the fencing, which isn't appropriate for a little dog section, but am sure I will get a response that they do not have the funds to fix the fence. Which will most likely motivate me more, afterall we pay so many taxes. This also motivates me to start saving money for a fence of our own, so Chewie can just go outside our door to his own play area, though it will be minus the other pups.

Update

Well, I was told this weekend by a dear friend that I don't blog on a regular basis. And it's true! I enjoy blogging, but have to admit that since I cannot use my work computer for personal use, I don't log on much anymore. The state is much more picky about my use of their computer than I was when I was in private practice, or any previous employers were. So to all who follow my blog, I apologize! I will try harder to keep up and keep you posted.

Moving Moment

At church last sunday it was our missions sunday. We hear about what we have been doing in missions abroad and locally, as well learn of the needs. In the service there was a true story video, I want to share that story with you. I can't remember the names, but the message is what is more important.

A group of seasonal banana farmers/harvesters/workers (men, women and children) were on a bus headed to the banana fields in Colombia, when they were stopped by guerillas. The guerillas took the bus and drove it about 20 miles with the people at the back of the bus. They stopped the bus and had the workers get out, kneel, and tied their hands behind their back. The guerillas set the bus on fire and proceeded to shoot the workers. One male worker while on his knees prayed for his persecutors, that God would show mercy upon the guerrillas. At the end of the ordeal all 26 workers were shot, all died but one, the worker who prayed. A few years later the worker who prayed was in a local jail (for preaching the gospel) and was celled next to the guerrilla commander ordered the killings. Over time, the worker witnessed to the guerrilla commander and that commander came to know the Lord. To this day the worker and commander are friends and the worker disciples the commander.

What struck me about this story was the interview with the commander whom is so remorseful for what he has done. He weeps daily for the death he has caused. Also, the compassion for the worker to put aside his judgements, anger, vengeance and just be Christ, how amazing!

I don't know if I could do that. Forgive something like that. It was truly touching and life changing.

Work!

I have been getting many questions about work and thought I would share with all. Work is work. At times I enjoy it and at other times I wish I was somewhere else. But I do love it most days. At times my job can be stressful as I come from a progressive state and Nebraska often seems as if it is still in the 50/60s. But I know I am doing great things, I know the Lord is doing great things through me.

I found out today that a new co-worker of mine has resigned, I really liked her, so she will be missed greatly. But I also found out that I can laterally move into her position which is a permanent position. Which means I would be a permanent employee and would do more of what I love. This job would be working mostly with sex offenders. I know what many of you are thinking, how could you work with those type of people? I didn't think I could at first, but let me tell you I think it is a calling from God. It seems so many times I had people mention being a sex offender therapist and I would always say no, until now. This inpatient program in corrections is amazing! It is using DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) which is a new concept and is quite successful. I am currently working with sex offenders about 35% of the time and really enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, it can be difficult at times hearing their stories, but it is great to watch these folks change.

The Agony!

I have to be a part from my puppy this weekend and I am sad about it :(. I know many of you laugh and say, its just a dog. But he's not, he fills my baby void. I am sad about having to leave him at Grandma Hay's house for the weekend. Oh well...

More Honeymoon Pictures!

Haystack Rock and the house from the movie "Goonies". The bungalow where we stayed. View from Ecola Park in Cannon Beach (part of the Goonies was filmed here, the part of the old restaurant was constructed on the park grounds and torn down after filming). And a large anchor in Newport (Ted is standing next to it).

Honeymoon Pictures!

Prayer

Just wanted to let you know that my Grandma Louise (Maternal grandmother) is actively dying. So please pray for my family during this time. Please pray for me as it is very difficult to be so far away from my family right now.

Puppyhood

I can't believe that we have had Chewie for over a month now. He is such my focus and pride and joy. Not to mention I handle Ted's hours a lot better with a cute puppy to come home to. He can now sit on command, goes to the door to go out to potty and is learning "come". This morning he did the cutest thing when I was giving him his morning H2O and breakfast. He started to get very excited and began jumping up and down. This was the first time he had done so. However he gets so excited now that he doesn't want to eat much, so we are working on his breakfast meal and getting him to eat it. Some of you may say no big deal, he'll eat when he is hungry. True, but when he gets dinner he is so hungry that he doesn't chew and eats too fast, thus vomitting it back up and then re-eating it. Wouldn't be so bad if it didn't stain the carpet.

He has grown since we first got him. I think Chewie will get his first hair cut on Saturday, so I will try and post new pictures of him after that.

Pictures of Chewie!!

Well, we finally got pictures of Chewie on the computer so will put a few on! Sorry about not blogging all. It is hard when I am not infront of the home computer very often. I plan on getting back into my old routine on Saturday mornings while Ted is still asleep.

Chewie Update

We have had Chewie a little over two weeks now. He had his first Doctors visit and all went well. Ted took him as I was at work. Ted made an appointment for Chewie to have the grand snip in December or January...Merry Christmas Chewie?

Chewie has been able to go up stairs since about the third day we had him...but until this morning couldn't go down the stairs. This new development means the addition of another puppy gate to the stairs going down to our front door. I think Chewie may think his name is "NO!" as he is living up to his name and chewing on most anything left on the floor. Which isn't so bad when you pick things up. But as Ted is going to find out when he gets home from work, leaving your prized turkey butt feathers on the floor makes for a wonderful toy for Chewie. Just hope we still have a dog when Ted gets home.

Feeling blue ):

I am feeling a bit blue today, this schedule difference between Ted and I is really getting to me. I feel a bit more like a maid and cook than a wife. I am sure it is because I clean up during the day, make sure a meal is on the counter for Ted when he gets home, etc. It wouldn't be so bad if I actually got to spend some time with him, but I don't.

When we are home together, our schedules are still opposites. I don't feel like a priority. I'm not sure what to do.

Great picture of Ted and I.

Ted's friend from work took this picture of us. It was taken during a joint reception with two other couples from Ted's work. One couple got married on the same day we did and the other couple got married the first saturday of August.

Back in the Swing of things!

I haven't blogged in quite some time as I have been sick and with the new addition to our family, busy! Yes, Ted and I now have a sweet and adorable puppy! He is a Shitzu/Poodle mix otherwise known as a ShihPoo. I have pictures but haven't been able to get them on the computer yet. His name is Chewbacca, we call him "Chewie". He is adorable and worth every bit of it.

It is really fun to watch big 6'7 Ted with this little 5 lb puppy. I love it as I now have something to come home to and something to mother! Will get pictures up as soon as I can.

I went to the Optometrist a week ago. I have been having horrible headaches, which seemed to be vision related. The news from the Optometrist is eyestrain. I continue to have good eyesight at about 20/25, but with being at a computer most of the day and being under fluorescent lights, my eyes are suffering. So he prescribed reading/computer glasses for me. However the prescription is so little that I can't buy any over the counter as the lowest level of reading glasses OTC are +1.00. I need +0.50, so I had to pay $112 for glasses that are UV and Glare protected. Oh well!

Finally over my cold...I hope!

Endnote: Chewie is able to fit in Ted's work shoes. Not sure why anyone would want to smell Ted's work shoes, but Chewie sure does think they are great!

Husker Game Day

We went to the Husker vs New Mexico game on Saturday. Our first attendance of the year. It was a beautiful day/night for a game. Huskers played a good game even though they were playing against an "easy" team. But it was a good morale booster for them and it gave playing time to the third and fourth strings in the last quarter. Something I thought was cool, the Huskers have brought back praying in a huddle on the field after the game. Under the Callahan rule after a victory they would take of their helmets and chant with the band. This was a wonderful surrender. Not to mention they invited the opposing team to join them. At that point they were just football players taking a knee to pray. That was amazing!

In our times of the separation of church and state non contextual overboard, this was awesome! I pray that their efforts to include God in their endeavors continue and that an example is being set.

To my friends rooting for Mizzou...Ted says to watch out!

Fall Cleaning

Okay so the first day of fall is around the corner, but when your husband says lets clean, you take advantage of that time. However, he has Fridays off, so his thought was lets clean Friday when you get home from work...WRONG!!! Must I remind him that is my last day of work for the week and all I want to do is relax. So he cleaned mostly (remember his idea of cleaning is different than mine, as mine is logical). I was always taught to clean public areas first, then private areas (bedroom, game room, office, etc). Ted has a top/bottom approach, which means lets clean the office, bedroom and guestroom first. So I let him clean those areas of Friday, then yelled at him on Saturday for making the rest of the house more of a mess (it was also hot and humid in our house which I don't do well in). I think he understood my point and my upset as he demonstrated by closing all the windows, turning on the A/C, giving me a kiss, then going upstairs :) Nonetheless the house is clean!

Update

I haven't blogged in a while and unfortunately I don't have a cute excuse, just been busy. So what's happened in the last week or so... I am still loving my job, it is quite a surprise, but I guess when you finally listen to the Lord and follow through with his plans, people tend to be happier.

Ted's dad Robert went into the hospital last Sunday (9/7/08). He had been not feeling well for a couple days prior, with one visit to the ER in which they thought he was dehydrated. But on Sunday they were able to diagnose another problem, his gallbladder was no longer serving him well. So on Monday they went in to clean out his bile duct and on Tuesday the gallbladder said "Adios". He went through the surgery well. I know many people have said, "it's just the gallbladder". But with Bob's poor health, any time he goes under the knife we worry about the recovery from the anesthesia. He went home Friday. I think we will pay them a visit today.

Ted and I closed my "Private Practice" office on Friday (9/5/08). It was nice to close that phase of my professional career, but hard to realize I failed at that endeavor. Knowing that if I had more resources, I would have been more successful. But I can accept it didn't work out. I enjoy working for "the man" and getting benefits, paid sick leave, paid vacation and paid holidays. I didn't have those things in my own practice.

Saturday (9/6/08) we enjoyed watching the Husker game (well, not really, it was pathetic until the fourth quarter) at Buzzard Billy's with Ted's brother Mike (aka Butch) and wife Kelly. Then it was a family birthday party for Phyllis and Bob whose birthdays are 9/4 and 9/6. I won't mention the frustration that surrounded that gathering, lets just say these people don't plan, and I come from an event planning family.

SURVIVED!!

Well, we survived the first Husker football game, luckily they achieved success, which leaves me a much happier wife. We had a good time shopping for our husker gear Friday night. Ted settled on the Team hat and a basic red husker shirt. I opted for a red/white Herbie hat and a black Nebraska shirt. We didn't attend this game. I had no desire as it was a warm day and my sweet husband decided he would rather spend that time with me. So we went to the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln and enjoyed the festivities there. We couldn't believe the cost of the festivities ($10 plate of nachos!). We haven't sat down yet to budget and see how many games we are going to attend. My favorite games are the early fall games when it is cool enough to wear a long sleeve shirt but warm enough you don't need the heavy artillery.

I took Ted to Shogun's Restaurant in Lincoln. It is a Japanese Hibachi/Sushi restaurant (much like Kyoto's for you Salemites) and to Ted's wonderment he liked the food. I believe his response was "it tastes normal". He wasn't too keen on the California Roll, I didn't mind, more for me!

I have been enjoying this labor day weekend getting the house cleaned and went for a bike ride this morning. My knee is finally feeling better and thought biking would be gentle as it was.

Please be praying for Brian Nicklaus' sister Deanne's daughter, as she fell from the top bunk while at Brian's house on Saturday. She is in ICU as they have found some blood on her brain.

6 days and counting!

Yes, the beginning of college football is only 6 days away. The Olympics finally came to a close this evening which tells me my husband will come to bed at a decent time, but only for 6 days. We went hunting for our Husker gear, trying to find the perfect hat for Ted which brings the team luck of course, so we must search high and low for that perfect hat! No, we did not make any purchases, we will resume the hunt on Friday, hitting a few more stores. All in all I look forward to college football, it is a fun time of year!

We went to the Nebraska State Fair on Saturday. We had purchased arm bands for the rides, thinking this would make up for our inability to go to Worlds of Fun this last May. Boy were we WRONG! Ted and I could not stand the mouthy teenagers. Now I know I was a typical teenager, whom was mouthy and so forth, but something has happened to these teens. The fowl language, king/queen of the world syndrome and archaic rudeness to adults is absolutely mind boggling. Teens these days have a sense of entitlement, there is no need to be polite and/or respectful. I was amazed. I think I was amazed because I work with teens! And I have never seen such a display of pubescent hormonal attitude. And as always, girls are much worse than boys. The problem seems to be with the 13-16 year olds, whom cannot keep their tongues in their mouths. Arghhh...as you can see this was quite a disappointment. It seems that we as a society are letting our youth down, by allowing them to be this way. What is the future going to look like? Cheers to all the parents who believe in disciplining their kids and not allowing them to become a sore on society.

Our Baby Plans

I have quite a few friends whom are pregnant or new mothers, which obviously makes me think about babies, much to Ted's dismay! I ask him frequently "Don't you want a baby?" He always says "Of course, but lets wait a little bit". So we have agreed that when we have been married a year, I will go off birth control (welcome to the world of Brienne's amazing hormones!)

I know it makes sense, the logical part of me says wait for 2 years, all the studies show waiting 2 years before children secures the marriage as well, we want to pay off bills and not have so many when we have kids. But the logical me and the emotional/nurturing me do not communicate often and thus I have these intense desires to have children. It is so bad sometimes that I go to the stores and walk up and down the baby aisles. I know I am pathetic. But I am truly glad to be married and enjoy this time before another kid shows up :)

Baby Maisie made her debut!

My dearest and bestest friend Jackie (her husband is Ryan) had little Maisie today(10/20/08) at 3:45pm, she weighs in at 7lbs 8oz. We are so excited to watch Maisie grow (meet her of course, too). I know Ryan and Jackie are going to be fabulous parents!

2 Weeks and Counting!

College football is now 1 week and 6 days away. We look at this as a time when many wives, maybe some husbands become widowed while the other spouse devotes time, money, and energy to the pursuit of college greatness! Fortunately I enjoy watching the games and celebrating the victories, however I do not look forward to the football prep where one must chant the various collegiate songs, go through the ritualistic behavior that accompanies the time of year, and participate in the day long mourning if said team does not follow through victoriously.

We do salute the unfinished projects that our attention will be directed to, the pot of simmering chili on the stove, and the entrance of fall.

On a final note, I must end this post: GO BIG RED!!!!!

PAIN!

Many of you know that I started a new position working as a therapist for the Dept of Corrections, a long with that I have had to complete self defense training, pressure point moves, defense tactics and today was knife defense. Each day that we have had this rigorous training I have been bruised and swollen beyond belief. Today was our last day of training with emphasis on Knife defense. My forearms are in so much pain, not to mention bruised, it looks like I have been in a fight. But the training is over and I begin my career tomorrow. I had on the job training last week which went well, I am excited to jump in an go!

Please be praying for my friend Sarah S. whom is going through testing for possible medical conditions. Jackie is due 8/13, so be praying that all goes well with her impending delivery of Maisie. Sarah K. is still experiencing pregnancy sickness and she is well into her 3rd trimester. Becky is on bed rest, please pray that she will find things to do that she can do, I know she likes to stay busy! Also, Molly is expecting a little boy and seems to finally be through morning sickness, be praying that she has a delightful pregnancy!

Weekend Fun!

I wish I had pictures of our weekend to accompany this post, I will have to get more savvy on how to get pictures on the computer, that is if Ted remembers to take the camera with us when we go on adventures!

This last weekend Ted and I went to the Seward County Fair. I really like county fairs because they remind me of fairs when I was little. The best thing at the fair was the Figure 8 races. In the words of Ted "it's so redneck!" For those who don't know what I am talking about, it is a dirt track with a tractor tire on each end. The "cars" (look like demolition derby cars) drive a figure 8 around each tire. It is really a hoot! They collide and dirt flies. I think what I enjoy most is watching the gaggle of high school girls prance around the ring annoyingly getting the attention of any boy in the area and the "city" girl whose boyfriend sits her in the front row and gets mud/dirt on her every lap.

We also enjoyed looking at the exhibits in the 4-H barn and the adult exhibits in the Ag Pavilion. I was amazed at some of the hand quilts submitted, they were beautiful. Ted is thinking about entering in some of his photography next year, he would really like to go on to the state fair.

We had a good time. We didn't make it to Rib fest in downtown Lincoln, the first time since we have been together. But poor Me kept falling asleep and Ted is too sweet to disturb his sleeping beauty!

Blogging Info

I have realized that for some of my family the idea of blogging is quite new. So I want to take a chance to explain it a little better. Blogging is kind of like a diary (except the really personal stuff is staying locked up) it is a chance for me to communicate to friends and family about what is going on in my life. I have friends and family from all over, this is a local spot for everyone to see what is going on. I decided to create a blog, after seeing a few of my friends and seeing how it commuicates to their friends and family. After seeing how few of my family member's attended our Oregon reception I realized that since I have moved to Nebraska there has been a disconnect, a gap has been created. This is simply an opportunity to bridge that gap. I welcome comments and advice, but know that my typing is a form of processing, getting it out and understanding my own life events.

The Sweetest Thing!

As many of you know, my husband and I have quite different hours. He works 2pm-10pm and I work 8am-4:30pm. He has Friday and Saturdays off, I have Saturday and Sundays off. So as you can imagine this adds a sense of stress to our marriage on the premise that we hardly see each other. My husband knows the kind of stress this puts on me and how much during the week I miss him, so this last Friday, I awoke to breakfast in bed and being told he made my lunch. Isn't that sweet! Sure the food wasn't what I normally eat, but the gesture and thought was so sweet! I am one lucky gal!

Newly Wed Bliss or Blues?

I have been married for about a month and a half, I love being married. But let me tell you, it isn't easy. I am thankful that I have parents who I can discuss marital issues with and get real responses (meaning they always take his side :) ). Whenever it hits about a day or two before my time of the month, I begin to get impatient and highly critical of my spouse. Now I am not blaming my menstrual cycle, however it is an understanding of why I react the way I do.

Before getting married my husband has been living on his own for a long time (he's 37) as well I have been living on my own for a quite a while. So you have two very independent beings, trying to mesh into a cohesive marital unit. And to add on top of it all, I know that I am not a good roommate. I have a certain idea of how things should be. As my mom would say "Brienne you have very high expectations for yourself and those whom live with you." Now I would argue that my high expectations are a learned behavior from my mom, but her wisdom is greatly sought and appreciated. So putting all these factors together: my time of the month, two independent beings, and my high expectations, what do you think happened? My poor unsuspecting husband got the brunt of my frustration this weekend. Granted there are areas he needs to work on, as well as there are areas I need to work on, but instead of approaching him with my therapist tone and patience, he got a snippity wife with emotions flowing!

Thankfully, God made my husband perfect for my emotional state. He understands my emotionality and embraces it as a part of who I am, but doesn't discount the root issue at hand.

My dad also gave me some good advice, he pointed out that since we both have been independent that I need to give it more time. Changes don't happen overnight, it could take a few years. As my dad is telling me this, he says "after all your mom and I have been married for 36 and we finally have each other figured out...for the most part."

So what have I learned? That I have little patience for my personal life and need to work on that area. That I have a true reason for having "super" emotions for a couple days each month. My husband loves me and is committed to our marriage (and change) and that I need to let myself off the hook. I have such high expectations, that even I can't meet them.

Initiation

As most of my family and friends know, blogging is new to me. Before the blogs of my dearest friends, I would have associated blogging as something you did in the marshes wearing wooden shoes and standing under a windmill in a little european country. So why am I giving blogging a try? Well, I really enjoyed having a wedding website and see that it is a great tool to allow family from across distances share in the day to day ongoings in one's life, so here is my attempt at sharing my life and thoughts with all of you.