Molson, eh?

I'm often asked if I'm from Canada because I load my groceries into cooler bags with this logo on them.  I'm also asked where I got such great coolers, because they really are the perfect size!  Here's the story so you all will know.  My hubby is a beer snob... that's probably why we're such a perfect match, I'm a bit of a food snob and well, it just works!  Every summer when my hubby would go to his family's camp on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York, he would (and still does) cross over the bridge to Canada and makes a large (LARGE) purchase at Duty Free.  It's usually a mix of Canadian brews to enjoy for a year, and well, these large purchases add up over time, and when you're a "frequent shopper" at Duty Free, they show their appreciation by rewarding you with  cooler bags for your purchases! 
If you know my husband, you also know that he's a big hockey fan, and well, Canadians do like hockey moreso than most Americans.  I assure you he IS an American.  What is my point here?  Oh yes, so when we decided to get a puppy we bounced around ideas for a name.  I wasn't partial to anything and Kevin thru out things like; LaBatt (as in the beer), Molson, Stick, Puck, etc.  I don't know about you but the only one of these that sounded good when calling it over and over and over again was Molson.  And being that we got a Golden Retriever puppy, it seemed quite fitting to call him, Molson Golden, just like the brew! So there you are, that is how we named our dog. 

Molson is no longer just a Canadian beer. 

Molson is THE puppy!

Anticipation

Anticipation is defined as hope or expectation.  I was first introduced to the word as a young child via the lyrics of a Carly Simon song, and it wasn't until recently that I really tuned in and listened to the lyrics with deep concentration. Have a listen for yourself....Anticipation by Carly Simon
Lately I've been anticipating what it will be like to have a puppy in our house!  People do it everyday, right?  Here's the deal, I never grew up with animals IN my house, and animals we did have certainly never felt like part of our family.  My sis and I had cats growing up, and a dog briefly, but they seemed to be more of a lesson in responsibility rather than another member of our family.  When we were forced to give up the pets, neither one of us suffered from separation.  My hubby had a different experience.  He had a family dog, Jingles, that later in life became HIS dog.  He trained the dog, looked after it in old age, and even had to do the unthinkable when life wasn't enjoyable for the pup. What's the difference between having a child and having a pet? That's a good question to ponder, and since I don't have either yet, I'm not sure my opinion counts, but I'll give it to you anyway.  Both are a huge responsibility (or so I think).  A child will learn from you, grow up and hopefully be a productive member of society, it's like you're trying to make the world a better place when you have a child.  A pet might learn a few tricks from you, of course it will grow, get bigger and older, but will it make the world a better place? Also, I think the biggest difference between the two, is you can take a child with you (most of the time), it might not always be easy, but most places allow other humans!  So yes, I have agreed to get a puppy, and I'm anticipating bringing it home in about 2 weeks, but there are things I'm still pondering as we jump into this "adventure".  Most of all, I hope that this little fur ball will bring even more happiness and love into our home.  I'm sure there will be some new dynamics for us, but maybe this is someone's way of really  making sure I'm ready for the next step.

Writer's Block

School let out not even a week ago and I'm already restless being off from work for the summer.  This is probably why I have always worked during summers, and of course last summer I traveled with Bop, so I was hardly idle.  I fear that if I allow myself to just relax and hang out, read books, sit by the pool and be "lazy" I will become a lazy person.  And lazy I am not, yet for some reason I can't seem to get this fear out of my head.  Sometimes I think maybe the reason I keep busy all the time is so that I don't have to think about my worries, my dysfunctional relatives, my problems (yes, we all have them).  I have family and  friends that would love to have this kind of free time right now, all my friends that have small children, jobs, and traveling husbands, what they would give for just an hour of time to be by themself... and yet, I somehow can't get comfortable with this time I've been given.  For whatever reason, I have been given this time to enjoy life, be at peace, be independent, do basically whatever I want without anyone else to worry about during the day and it bothers me.  Do I feel guilty that my husband gets up every morning and works hard so we can have this wonderful life? Do I feel guilty that my sister travels like a maniac and is constantly stressed? Do I feel guilty that my father burns his wick every day and hasn't had a day off (atleast a real day off) in over 20 years?  I don't think it's guilt as much as I wish I could help the people I love in some way since I have been given all this free time.  I'm sure as you read this you're thinking, "What I could do if I only had the time."  I have those thoughts too, usually during the school year when I'm running around frantically and booking my evenings solid for weeks.  But now that I have all this time, I don't know quite what to do with it.  I've had lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a while.  I've done some professional training. I will clean my house, but other than that I feel like I've got to get a PROJECT to work on.  My projects usually consist of cooking up a fancy meal, but with temperatures in the 90's the thought of turning the oven on really isn't appealing.  One project I've always wanted to do, but "haven't had the time" is to write a book.  My problem now is what would I write about?  Hence the title of this entry.  Do I write a fictional piece? A children's story? A cooking piece? A memoir or some crazy story about my life?  The possibilities are endless, and yet I can't begin this project.