This might be a surprise to some of you, but Joel and I have been looking for a puppy for a couple months. Last week it came together when I discovered Molly on Petfinder.com. Our adoption application was approved on Saturday, April 5. The problem for us was that Molly was in Indiana at a rescue. We made tentative plans to go to Kokomo, IN on April 13 to meet Molly. The representative from Pals for Paws, the rescue that saved Molly from a Amish Puppy Mill in Indiana, said that there were a few families that were looking at Molly. We really felt that Molly was the dog for us, so we rearranged our plans for Saturday evening and Sunday to make the trip to Kokomo, IN. There we found an adorable giant schnauzer puppy named Molly with a wonderful temperament and calm attitude. The puppy mill that had Molly intended to use her for breeding and retire her mother. We feel blessed that we were able to save her from that life, especially after seeing Oprah’s Puppy Mill episode on Friday.
We were able to take her home that day. She has been a wonderful addition to our family, although Cammie may disagree. She has lived with us a week now. I am constantly trying to be one step ahead of her. She has a taste for good shoes and bags, especially my camera bag. When we first picked her up, the rescue hadn’t heard her bark, but she discovered her bark once she got comfortable at our house. She seems only to bark when she is trying to get Cammie to play. Cammie hasn’t taught her the bad habit of barking at people as they arrive at our house…yet!
For more photos of Molly, you can see her on flickr.
Joel and I grew up in Tomah, WI. We even lived within a block of each other the first two years of my life, but we wouldn’t meet for a few more years. For this week’s writing prompt…from The Book of Myself
My best friend during childhood was:
The responses for this prompt will be found on our personal blogs She… and Journey by Joel. When we are writing about our life together the responses will be found on this blog, but when we are writing about ourselves you will find them here. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can read about in my previous post: We write…Our Rech Story…I hope.
So, the big question of: “If this had not happened, we would never had met…”
Well, I think if I would not have decided to go to Kate’s birthday party and call to RSVP, Becky and I would never had an extended conversation that led to us hanging out most of the evening at the birthday party. The RSVP call was the event that kicked it all off … and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the beginning…
If Joel and I hadn’t both had Kate as a friend we would not have met. Joel and I both attended Tomah High school in Tomah, WI where we failed to make our love connection, but in time that would change with the help of our friend Kate. Kate and I met in grade school at a mutual friend’s slumber party. She will tell you I did somersaults off the couch which might be true, you’ll have to ask her for the story–I just can’t seem to remember. Kate attended the local Lutheran School, along with Joel who she dated in middle school, but I’ll leave them tell that story. I attended the public school and did not hang out with Kate on a regular basis until high school. We eventually ended up working together, along with many of our other friends at Jellystone Campground and Resort in Warrens, WI. The summers at Jellystone helped to ensure that we would be life long friends.
In the photo: Carrie, Kate and I in 1999 when Kate transfered to UW-Stout…we look so young.
21st Birthday Bash
It was not until college when I hosted Kate, Julie and Carrie’s 21st birthday bash in Eau Claire, WI where I attended college that Joel and I “officially” met. I sent out the invites and eagerly awaited the RSVPs. I got one, Joel called and we chatted for nearly an hour. We knew of each other and could get by with small talk, but we didn’t know each other. If I hadn’t planned the party and Kate hadn’t invited Joel we wouldn’t have “officially” met when Joel attended the party in Eau Claire, WI a mere 30 minute drive from Menomonie, WI where he attended UW-Stout. There is more to the story, but that will have to be saved for another day.
A few years ago I found a book, The Book of Myself: A Do-It-Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions. I didn’t buy it then, but the idea of it has stuck with me over the years. A couple of weeks ago I found it again, along with The Book of Us: A Journal of Your Love Story in 150 Questions. This time I bought both. My hope is that both Joel and I write–using these as our guides. I am not looking for any award winning memoirs only Our Rech Story, life as we live it for us to look back on and share with our families.
To get us started, I have challenged Joel (and myself) to respond to one of the writing prompts each week here on our blog or on our personal blogs Journey by Joel or She…. If you would like to respond or comment please do. If you would like to participate in the challenge with us please support the authors by purchasing their books. I found my copies at Barnes and Noble and they are also available on Amazon.com. Also, if you want to participate in the challenge with us post a link to your blog in the comments or let us know how it is going…we can inspire one another. You can also participate with the authors’ online group.
This week’s prompt… “If this had not happened, we would never had met…”
I had an idea for a series of photos for this week, starting with Sunday’s of Joel and I, the second is just me and bribery was needed for the third. Cammie wouldn’t sit still without a treat. Now, I know what to do next time I want Cammie to be in a photograph with me–I am not quite sure why I didn’t think of it before.
Cammie and I have been hanging out quite a bit with Joel being away during the week. Joel always said that Cammie liked him better because he fed her, but now I am feeding her, letting her out, hanging out with her even when Joel is home and she still likes Joel better!! I guess I just need to keep working on her, maybe homemade dog treats and more walks would help.
This evening I remembered a time when Joel and I were spending more of our nights together then a part. Joel started a new job in February in which he travels during the week. The last two weeks he was training in Chicago and the next two weeks he will be training in St. Charles, IL (outside of Chicago). For the most part it has been going very well, but there are some moments when I think, “What are we doing?”
Joel and I “met” in 1999 about three months before he moved to Denver, Colorado. He was graduating from UW-Stout and I had at least another year at UW-Eau Claire. I use the quotation marks around met because we went to the same high school and “knew” (there they are again) of each other, but didn’t “know” each other. We dated for a year and a half while he lived in Colorado and I in Wisconsin. In 1999 and 2000, we used ICQ, email and talked on the phone, but it was a time before cell phones and unlimited long distance was the norm and I didn’t have my own computer either. Now, we have unlimited talk time between our cell phones, we both have laptops and a wonderful thing called Skpe and we get to see each other most weekends…so whats the problem…I’ve gotten used to seeing him every day, sleeping in the same bed and just being near him. The last two weeks is the longest we had been a part since 2001 when we got married.
I know this is the best thing for Joel’s career right now and I know we can do it, but there are moments when I wish we didn’t have to. I love this man and want whats best for him and us.
On a lighter note, you can follow our separate adventures on our blogs, Journey by Joel and She…. I have committed to updating at least one of the blogs every week and am trying to convince Joel that would be a good idea for him too.
I have been thinking about a New Year’s Resolution or two, but I was hesitant in doing it. Instead I have created a list of 101 tasks I am going to complete in 1001 days. My official start date was January 11, 2008 and it is 1001 days before my 33rd birthday, October 8, 2010. I discovered the idea for this at Day Zero. I look forward to the challenge it presents, the goals I will accomplish, along with the personal growth that is bound to happen. You can check out my list here.
I have been watching Brotherhood 2.0 since January and almost everyday Hank or John says something that makes me smile. John Green is an young adult author and Hank is an environmentalist author/blogger. They committed to each other not communicate via text in 2007 which meant no emails or notes. They’ve shared their life with people all over the world via their video blog. They asked the world to share their “happy dances” with them…here is the result…”happy dances” from all over the world. I hope it makes you smile or maybe even do a happy dance of your own.
This might be a surprise to some of you, but Joel and I have been looking for a puppy for a couple months. Last week it came together when I discovered Molly on Petfinder.com. Our adoption application was approved on Saturday, April 5. The problem for us was that Molly was in Indiana at a rescue. We made tentative plans to go to Kokomo, IN on April 13 to meet Molly. The representative from Pals for Paws, the rescue that saved Molly from a Amish Puppy Mill in Indiana, said that there were a few families that were looking at Molly. We really felt that Molly was the dog for us, so we rearranged our plans for Saturday evening and Sunday to make the trip to Kokomo, IN. There we found an adorable giant schnauzer puppy named Molly with a wonderful temperament and calm attitude. The puppy mill that had Molly intended to use her for breeding and retire her mother. We feel blessed that we were able to save her from that life, especially after seeing Oprah’s Puppy Mill episode on Friday.
