Today is the day...

Today is Austin's birthday!!!  She is 1 year old. 

She is getting a new collar for her birthday but it has not come in yet.  Maybe tomorrow!

Introducing Princess Austin Taylor

As everyone knows, our most beloved wedding present was from my Dad in the furry form of a puppy.  I could go on and on about how we cannot imagine a day without her and what a blessing she has been.  While I certainly do not advocate every couple getting a dog as soon as they walk down the aisle I can speak to the joy and happiness she has brought into our lives.  Everyone asks us how we got her, and so this is the story… 

We had discussed getting a lab for quite some time.  Specifically, we agreed that when we did get a lab we would get a female because my Dad has handsome boy of his own and we would have the option to breed if we chose to do so.  Unexpectedly, my Dad called us up a day after we had gotten back from our honeymoon to go “look at” some puppies.  He hinted at the notion that it was a late wedding present.  I suppose now that I look back on it he must have been planning it and I certainly give him major props for thoughtfulness. 

On the way to the breeder I was more than a little excited, I was euphoric.  Deep in my heart I have always wanted a chocolate lab.  They look so adorable with that deep, lush coat you just want to burry your face in.  Snuggling up to a chocolate lab, in my mind, simply makes everything seem right in the world.  Not to mention they are called chocolate!  What bad thing has ever stemmed from chocolate?  Aside from big hips…egh, so what?  Anyway, we get to the breeder’s and there are five little yellow puppies running around and one big fat chocolate puppy.  SQUEAL!  This little fleshy bundle was the same age as the rest of the puppies but was easily twice their size.  He fit perfectly in my arms and I could see my dreams of chocolate lab ownership beginning to materialize.  The fact that he was a boy was negligible to me because he was so plump and cuddly.  This puppy lived to be held and he wanted to be held by me!!!  One tiny problem though…he was someone else’s’ puppy.  Even after the breeder explained to me that another family had already purchased him and had decided to wait until the weekend to take him home I was still attached to this puppy.  I wanted him, I had waited for him, and couldn’t everyone just see that this puppy and I were meant for each other?  Apparently not!  So once I came back to reality the breeder separated the available puppies so that we could just focus on the cute little yellow females.  We asked questions about each puppy’s personality and individual traits.  We discussed the size of the parents and compared the puppies in stature and proportion.  We ran around and played with the litter of stumbling balls of fur looking to see who appeared to be the most energetic, alert, keen and eager.  Knowing we did not want a shy and reserved dog, we chose the most tenacious and energetic one.  A pistol from the get-go, she trotted right on up to my husband and enthusiastically licked him in the face.  I am pretty sure this little exploit greatly boosted her likelihood of coming home with us.  The feisty one was the puppy for us.  She had bountiful amounts of energy and was full of zest. 

In many ways she is still that carefree little puppy.  Her eagerness to please us has always been a defining characteristic.  She is incredibly smart and very social.  She still loves to lick faces (though we are trying to break that habit).  While puppies are cute and furry and pull at your heart they do grow up and that is wonderful as well.  Sure, she has chewed a few things and she can be easily distracted by butterflies or floating pieces of dust but she is our “Baby Girl” and she is a huge part of our family.  I’m sure we will get another lab one day (it better be a chocolate!) but Princess Austin is our firstborn, our first love and will set the standard for all our dogs to come. 

Balance

How does one find balance? Better yet, where do I even begin to look for it? I wouldn’t say I struggle to keep everything in my life balanced but I definitely strive for stability. I cannot seem to find the time to work, keep the house clean, cook dinner, do the laundry, play with the dogs, balance my checkbook and do the grocery shopping. That of course does not include scheduling an occasional girl’s night and above all, being a good wife. Assuming I had the time, where does the energy come from? While I am enthusiastic about performing all of these tasks the time vs. energy debacle inevitably appears. How does it all fit together? Then, when I do get it all together how do I keep it all together?