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I've heard it is quite something.
No, I didn't camp out to get one. No, I don't have one.
Yet.
I will admit, I'm feeling mighty tempted. And I'm not the kind of girl that gets tempted by geeky toys.
At least not often.
But I am a big fan of Apple. And so far the complaints that I've heard about it are being spoken in a geek language that I don't even speak!
But I am wondering how quickly the next version will be coming out...Christmas??
On Tuesday, the day of our anniversary, DearSweetDave and I were walking Buddha and Stella in Arana Gulch. The very fact that DearSweetDave was with me on this walk with the dogs is a testament to how special the day was, that it was not just an ordinary day, that we were perhaps sharing the day and celebrating something special! DearSweetDave so rarely comes with me to walk the dogs that even Buddha and Stella try to commemorate the occasions when he joins us by doing something extraordinary just for him.
On Tuesday they decided that would be chasing a skunk!
I'm sure that Stella, in her infinite wisdom, thought it was a cat. Or a squeaky toy. Whatever she believed it to be, she definitely thought it was something that must.be.chased. And caught. And Buddha, because he is Buddha, simply galloped along behind his sister like the big oaf that he is, doing whatever it is that she does because to have an original thought takes far too many precious brain cells and he has already learned that it is much easier in this life to allow Stella to do all the thinking!
DearSweetDave and I were wandering along quite a few paces behind the dogs having ourselves a genuinely dear and sweet moment when I noticed that Buddha was WRITHING on the ground. And that his eyes were watering. And that there was a tell-tale striped tail making its way into the bushes.
This tail was quickly followed by the tell-tale stench. Both dogs had gotten sprayed. Both dogs that were supposed to accompany us on our planned day trip to Berkeley. Both dogs who together now wreaked so badly that DearSweetDave and I were certain we were going to vomit.
DearSweetDave was ready to capitulate and give up on our anniversary plans, but I think he forgot for just a brief moment that he's married to Nakedjen. Who does not give up very easily at all. Especially when it is a special day. A day when she's got her DearSweetDave all to herself. A skunk is not going to ruin her day. No way. No how.
We threw both dogs into the car and I drove directly without passing Go, without collecting $200 (although the $200 certainly would have come in handy) to PetSmart. I walked into their grooming department and pleaded my case. I was on my way to Berkeley. Buddha and Stella had been SKUNKED! Could they possibly squeeze them in, bathe them, de-skunk them, and have them ready for pick-up later this afternoon?
I want you to know that this is where living in Santa Cruz for the last twenty years pays off. Those fabulous folks at PetSmart didn't even bat an eyelash. They just looked at their books, rearranged some bathing schedules and then said, "Bring in the dogs. We'll take care of everything. Go to Berkeley and have a WONDERFUL anniversary!"
Now that, dear readers, is service. Really. We had no appointment, we had no business being there, in all honesty. And yet, they just made it all better. All better.
So I left the dogs, arranged for their pick-up by my dear friend Shannon, and DearSweetDave and I went to Berkeley. Where we celebrated our seven years of marriage.
And the dogs? Let's just say they're smelling like happily ever after!
It's been a few weeks since I mentioned here that I was going to attempt to complete two marathons in the coming months to raise important funds for cancer. I promised then that I would keep all of you updated on my progress and I have not forgotten that promise.
So here's an update.
I have been training. The good folks at Team in Training have been making sure that I have been moving my body in all kinds of directions and at the ungodly hour of 7:30 in the morning. Yes, I realize that 7:30 in the morning is a normal hour for many of you to be up and moving about. Yes, I realize that I sound as if I should be wearing the mascot uniform for our local Santa Cruz Slugs by even beginning to complain about having to move my body at 7:30 a.m. But seriously? I don't move so quickly or efficiently at 7:30 a.m. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
I've also had to explain to the folks on my team exactly what it means to be Nakedjen. They were all quite curious about my moniker and wanted to know if I was going to run the marathons naked? I told them that I wasn't going to do that. Imagine the chaffing? I could see that some of them were QUITE RELIEVED that I was going to keep my clothes on. Big sigh of breath really relieved!
Still, I will admit that I am having fun. And that is at least what part of this is all about, right? Having fun? We're up to six miles in our training. I'm meeting with the team for training twice a week and am doing other training on my own with those lovely dogs, Buddha and Stella on other days. I will admit that the dogs are most definitely enjoying all the exercise.
There are many of you whom have already very generously donated to my marathon effort. I can't thank you enough for pledging your dollars and for helping out in this very important cause! I am humbled by all of your generosity and especially by your very good wishes and your faith in me.
I still have a long way to go, however, to reach my goal of $7500. Yes, I realize it is a very ambitious goal. But let's remember that it is going towards Cancer Research. And Cancer Research is a very ambitious undertaking. We all stand to benefit from this important research. So I am determined to reach this goal, to cross both finish lines and to help those who are fighting these insidious diseases every single day.
If you want to help me by making a donation, you can do so very easily on my donation website. I know that getting up at 7:30 to go to my training sessions sure will get a lot easier when I'm no longer also trying to figure out creative ways to raise more money. I am hopeful that I'm going to get my fundraising efforts finished soon so that I can truly just concentrate on my training.
One foot in front of the other. Step by step. Moving forward. And yes, the goal is very much in sight.
Seven years ago today, I told DearSweetDave, in front of a beautiful gathering of all our closest family and friends, that love meant wearing your seat belt when you drove your car.
Until I met DearSweetDave I never wore my seat belt. Ever. It was just one of many reckless things I did in my life, but it was quite a poignant and important moment for me when I actually got in the car and reached for my seat belt and put it on not for me, but for him. Because it was very important to him that I wear it. I knew then that I truly loved him.
I know it sounds rather silly, a seat belt of all things, as a declaration of true love. But there you have it. Seven years later I still wear my seat belt when I drive. And I'm still very much in love with DearSweetDave.
This past year of our marriage certainly has not been easy. I haven't written the long and drawn out tomes about it here as much as I have in the past, but I will share that we've both spent a lot of time this year working on ourselves. Individual work that has lead to some introspection and important growth. It has also opened the doors of very valuable and naked and heartfelt conversations. Conversations that have been so helpful and important to both of us reaching a new understanding of what "us" and our marriage truly means.
Our marriage, by our own definition, is not forever. It is for today. Each day when we awake, we choose to be married. In this way, we make a conscious decision each and every day to be married. To commit. To love each other for one more day. In this way, our marriage is always present.
I have to give a sweet and loving thank you to DearSweetDave today for choosing me as his wife. For loving me. For being so very gentle and patient and loving with me this past year. For loving himself enough to go deep inside and really face himself and to work so hard and diligently to live a passionate life in integrity and love. I must also thank him deeply for always being my biggest cheerleader, my very best friend and my greatest lover. I can't imagine my life without him in it. I can't imagine me without him.
I'm going to keep wearing my seatbelt.
We've been over this before. I just got the results back from my mammogram that I had on Monday. According to the folks who read it, I have very dense, but very healthy breast tissue.
My massage therapist, Shannon, could have told them that. I've been getting regular breast massage from her and she keeps telling me that I have very healthy tissue, especially for a woman who is 43.
Good to know, huh?
But I will encourage all of you to go and get a breast massage. It isn't sexual. It is a really healthy and loving thing that you can do for yourself. And it feels really good. Plus it releases lots of toxins! That might otherwise not be released. Our bras that we wear don't really do us any favors, you know.
So if you're not going to be like me and just not wear one? Then you owe it to those beautiful breasts of yours to go and get them massaged!
This is interesting. I wonder exactly what kind of pictures he ends of getting. I'm sure they're not like the kind of pictures one finds on Nakedjen.
Smoke machines and fireworks?!
I wonder if the models get burned?
Here I am in Baltimore. Visiting Albert. So far, we're both still breathing. I haven't killed him yet. And he hasn't killed me. Isn't that a miracle? Praise, Jesus.
This is especially fortunate, because I'm at Panera (free wireless) attempting to teach him how to blog! Imagine that? He doesn't even really understand how to use a computer and he tells me that he agrees with Andrew Keen that the Internet is ruining all of us.
Stay tuned.
If I'm still breathing tomorrow, I'm headed to St. Andrew's for my 25th high school reunion.
Yes, I really am that old.
But apparently not too old to eat my lunch out of a cute, pink Bento box with bunnies. Thanks, G! It made the flight that much more fun.
