QOTD

"Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you least expect happens. I don't know - you meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person and your life is changed forever."

- Jaime in the movie Love & Other Drugs

Homos, A Threat to Humanity's Future

Hide your kids, hide your wife, hide your husband...because according to the Pope homos are a threat to humanity!  I don't really know how my relationship with my husband affects you, but those are just silly details...

From Reuters: Pope Benedict said Monday that gay marriage was one of several threats to the traditional family that undermined "the future of humanity itself."

Sunday Lunch

For lunch the husband and I ate Cajun crawfish tamales, Mediterranean curry couscous with fresh tomatoes, and Texas broccoli salad.   DELICIOUS!

Love & Other Drugs

Is there anything greater than an unexpected delight?!  Last night we watched Love & Other Drugs and it was a delightful movie.  It's definitely worth your time.  Anne Hathaway has never looked more beautiful.  Her performance in this film is stunning.  And Jake Gyllenhaal, like his sister, is a superior actor.

Jamie: "...I have never known anyone who actually believed that I was enough. Until I met you. And then you made me believe it, too. So, uh... unfortunately... I need you. And you need me."
Maggie: "No I don't."
Jamie: "Yes you do."
Maggie: "No I don't."
Jamie: "YES, you do."
Maggie: "Stop it, stop saying that."
Jamie: "You need someone to take care of you."
Maggie: "No, I don't!"
Jamie: "Everybody does."
Maggie: "I'm gonna need you more than you need me."
Jamie: "That's okay."
Maggie: [crying] "No it's not! It isn't FAIR! I have places to go!"
Jamie: "You'll go there. I just may have to carry you."
Maggie: "...I can't ask you to do that."
Jamie: "You didn't."

I loved that moment in the film.  My husband and I first met in 2003, and even after all this time he still makes me feel like I am enough.  It frightened me at first; I thought my husband would eventually discover my many flaws and he would become disillusioned.   That hasn't happened.  My husband loves me unconditionally, flaws and all, and it improves my self-esteem to see myself through my husband's eyes. 

I know I'm a better individual today because of my relationship with my husband.

Lots of Love for Lucy

Grief is upon us once again!  My parents had to put down Lucy yesterday.  She hadn't eaten for days, and the vet said she was suffering as her body began to shut down.  Lucy would have been 16 years old in May.  When I turned 16 years old Lucy was my birthday present.  She is the one that started my family's love for Jack Russell Terriers.  She was the first dog my parents let us keep in the house.  I still remember the after-lunch road trip my mother and I took to a distant town to pick out a puppy after my father told us not to get a puppy!  I picked Lucy because she was the most adventurous one in the litter. 

Lucy was smart.  I taught her to sit-stay-come within a few minutes.  I had to give away my pet ferret to my friend Stephanie because at 8-weeks-old Lucy's only goal in life was to hunt Rascal.  From the beginning, Lucy insisted on sleeping in bed with me; including the night she started giving birth to her puppies in my bed!  Once Lucy found a mouse inside my grandparents' cabin, and she killed it immediately.  I was so shocked at the ferociousness my loveable Lucy displayed.

It was impossible (maybe even cruel) to keep Lucy as an apartment dog; I went to college and she stayed with my parents.  I missed Lucy so much at college, and after reading online that French bulldogs were great apartment dogs I adopted Martha Fauker.

The sting of Martha's death in 2010 lasted for so long that I slowly began to emotionally disconnect from Lucy these past few months.  I was trying to prepare myself.  (Are we ever prepared for death?) We spent two weeks at my parents' house in December, and I knew Lucy's days were numbered.  She was an old girl.  Her fantastic life was winding down.

What I love to think about most is all the wonderful things Lucy added to my life for almost 16 years.  She had a bit of elegance to her.  She could be aloof at times towards other dogs and people, but she was a wonderful dog.  I love Lucy.

Free Tickets

We got free tickets to the Dallas Stars hockey game.  Attending a sporting event with really good tickets is a lot of fun.  I think hockey needs to slow down a little bit, because I had a hard time seeing the puck go into the goal. 

When I was in high school (in the 1900's) I worked at a video store with Meg, who was a few years younger than me.  Meg was the biggest Dallas Stars hockey fan.  I can still remember how thrilled she was when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999.  She died a few years ago in a car crash.  I couldn't stop thinking about about Meg at the hockey game. 

Double Date

We went on a double date with our friends Dave and Myranda to Reunion Tower in Dallas.  It was the first time we had dined in the iconic Dallas ball in the sky.  It was expensive, we had a four course meal, but it was worth it.  I loved the slow rotation of the dinning room.  It was one of those things everyone needs to try once.