Hustle & Bustle, Oh My!

Oh my Christmas craziness! So remember how I’ve been posting and constantly talking about how much I love Christmas? Well, I still love Christmas because it’s a beautiful time of year. A time of year where people all over the world are reminded of the amazing gift of love that God gave us in His son, Jesus. We’re reminded of the beautiful story of faithfulness that Mary & Joseph had in God and what a blessing it was for God to choose them to bear His son, who would grow up one day to save the world from the sin & suffering we inevitably incur. I love that this opportunity is such a wonderful reminder to give back to others. To take care of the orphans and the widows, the less fortunate, the hungry, the sick, and the poor. So many of us are so blessed. It’s also a time of friends & family coming together and sharing their Christmas joy, the joy that Christ instills in the hearts of all of his children. How could you not love Christmas, right? Well, I certainly do…but amidst all of my optimism I have also been reminded what a QUICK & BUSY season it is! Holy moly, are there enough hours in the day during this one month to accomplish the decorating, baking, cooking, gift buying, visiting, spending quality time, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, and Christmas parties?! (Taking a deep breath!) Don’t get me wrong I love it, but I think you have to stay seriously organized and focused on the true meaning of Christmas to not let the hustle and bustle of the season get to you! I can’t say I’m perfect at this, but I want to be and I’m working toward it. I also want to remember and soak in all of the amazing memories, so I can look back warmheartedly about the “remember when’s…” As I sat down to write today, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I told my girls in book club the other day that I’m feeling like a whirlwind lately with the craziness of the Holiday’s. So, I hope you don’t mind my therapeutic moment of reminding myself to slow down, take a deep breath, organize my thoughts & plans, enjoy & soak in this special time of year and most importantly, remember what this time of year is all about…Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

My dog, Tiger, the superhero!

It's been a couple days now that we've been living with plastic covered floors! Yesterday when I got home, I rolled up the ones Tiger had pooped on and threw them out and replaced them. I promptly noticed that he was feeling even worse than before. He was moping, not really wanting to move. He felt very unsettled and couldn't lay in one place for very long. He wouldn't eat ANYTHING. I even tried making his favorites tuna fish and edamame...nothing. I cried and told Bryan I didn't want him to die, but if he was then I wanted him to know I loved him. So I laid on the floor with him and held him. Would blow dry him off every time he went outside and got wet in the rain, the whole nine yards. I made Bryan get out his stethoscope and take his heart rate. I'm quite the worrier. haha

Then all of a sudden at 11 p.m., after trying to coax him to eat ALL night, he went over to his food and ate all of the boiled chicken I set out, the tuna fish, AND his treat! I couldn't believe it! However, he was still pretty mopey.

We went to bed unsure of what the morning would bring us.

Bryan woke up first and tried to get Tiger out of bed to go to the bathroom, but Tiger was not wanting to get out of bed. I told Bryan to let him be, that he probably wasn't feeling well. A couple hours later, I woke up and he jumped out of bed, wagging his tail and went outside. I could immediately tell he was more chipper! I made him his boiled chicken and he gobbled it up! He did poop and pee in a couple of spots, but no where near as bad as it has been and it's gaining consistency. (Thank God for the plastic I laid down!)

As Bryan and I are cutting away the plastic that has poop or pee on it, Tiger goes over to his toys and starts playing! He does this thing where he wrestles with his toys and whips them around. He will even throw it over his head for himself to fetch. You can tell he's been an only child for the last 15 years, lol. When we let him outside, he started running after and barking at the dogs that were walking by. As I'm sending a friendly, apologetic wave to the neighbor walking his dog, I said to Bryan, "Well, I think he's feeling better!"

As we are watching him do this, we are in disbelief. After last night, we did not think this was going to get better this time. Bryan said, "He's a miracle dog!" He's totally right! Every time we think, okay this is it....Tiger turns around and proves himself to be the superhero dog!

I'm still going to keep the plastic down for a little while to be safe, but I sure am glad to see my happy, playful Tiger feeling so much better! Oh and note to self, I discovered that Walmart's plastic tablecloths are cheaper than the Dollar Store. Walmart has them for 97 cents. Every penny counts! Oh and somehow my mom was able to score some free plastic from Lowe's, that was even better!

Superhero Tiger getting his toys out of his dog house

Man of a Thousand Hobbies

My husband is a man of at least one thousand hobbies. Whenever I turn around, I think he acquires another hobby. He has more energy than any person I know and somehow finds time to participate in each hobby he has. As much as I tease him about this characteristic, it is also a characteristic that I know will make him an amazing dad one day. He is the epitome of  a "jack of all trades". Bryan's hobbies range on quite a broad spectrum: exercising, running, bicycling, motorcycles, guns, hunting, fishing, golf, cooking, computers, gaming, making wine, guitar, making music, and his latest...home brewing. Here's Bryan enjoying a few of his many hobbies.

Bryan after getting 2nd place in a 5k

Bryan on his Suzuki

Shooting at the Cabin

Enjoying one of his many tech gadgets

Bicycling

and Cooking one of his many delicious recipes

Keeping up with all of these hobbies can sometimes make my head spin! I do my best to keep up and to encourage his endeavors, which brings me to what I came home to today...home brewing in action.

I couldn't even begin to describe to you the process of what the heck he was doing, but he was pretty excited about it and whenever he tells another guy about it, a very enthralled discussion is sure to follow. The talk of hops, cascades, fermenting, and siphoning is far over my head.

I suppose a part of me is a little jealous of his many hobbies and all that he's really good at! I mean I have SOME hobbies like reading, shopping, taking pictures (even though I don't know how to be artistic with it, I just like to), decorating, and now blogging! And as far as his one thousand, I do try to participate in most of Bryan's hobbies which is fun for us both.

Do any of you ladies out there have any fun hobbies that you recommend? Or does anyone have husbands/boyfriends that are men of a thousand hobbies like mine?

I know one thing for sure, Bryan has opened my eyes to so many wonderful and exciting things. Life with my hubby is never a dull one! Just one of the thousands of reasons I love him so much! :)

Us after running a 5k together :)