5 Reasons I Love Jazzy

I can't begin to describe how much love and sheer happiness my dog Jazzy has brought into my life.  But, for blogging's sake, I will try to put into words the top 5 reasons I love her.

1.  She acts like I'm the best, most wonderful person in the world.  Now, I have a background in elementary education, and kids can do a pretty powerful job of making you feel special.  But that is nothing in comparison to how Jazzy makes me feel.  When I come home from work, it's as if I am Beyonce to her. 

2.  Jazzy cracks me up.  I'm sure everyone thinks their dog is the cutest, but Jazzy really is the cutest dog in the world.  I can't handle it when she carries her dental bones around in her mouth so it looks like she's smoking a cigar and then buries it in the throw pillows on the guest bedroom.  Sorry if there's dog hair all over your bed when you visit, Mom and Dad!

3.  I'm never lonely anymore.  I used to come home from work to an empty house.  When Adam would do something with a friend, I would be home alone.  Not anymore.  Jazzy's always there to keep me company and give me someone to talk to.  This conversation with Adam is further proof:

After walking into the kitchen from the living room, where I just spent half an hour talking to my mom on the phone...
Adam:  What have you been up to?
Me: I was just talking to my mom.
Adam: Oh, I thought you were talking to Jazzy.  
Me:  You thought I just spent the last half hour talking to Jazzy? 
Adam:  Well, you do like to talk to her.

Fair enough.

4.  I have something to say when people ask if I have kids.  I hate that question, but being close to 30, it's one I tend to get asked a lot.  So now, instead of having to say, "No, I don't have any kids," and then halting the conversation to an awkward pause, I can say, "No, I don't have any kids, but I do have a dog."  And then I can tell about the latest cute/sweet/funny thing Jazzy did.  

5.  Jazzy has helped fill a hole in my heart.  Since losing my baby, I literally feel like a chunk of my heart is missing.  Nothing will ever completely replace that chunk, but Jazzy sure has made a dent.  

I Didn't Know I Needed A Dog

Adam and I had talked on and off about getting a dog for the last year.  At first we wanted to wait until we had kids so they could be part of the dog-finding process.  Once we figured out we were reproductively challenged, we decided to bite the bullet.

We thought we wanted a hypoallergenic puppy that didn't shed.  So I started scouring PetFinder everyday, looking for the perfect puppy.  We found some possibilities and inquired with the various shelters about adopting.  It turned out to be quite a process for some of the organizations.  One organization wanted to do a virtual home tour after asking 3 references to fill out page-long recommendations.  We just wanted to give a dog in need a home, not adopt a kid!  

Another organization informed me after calling and emailing several times without any response that the puppy I was interested in was adopted by a nice family with kids to play with.  Ouch, thanks, Lady.  I guess you didn't read the part on the application about us wanting to adopt a puppy because we were having trouble getting pregnant.  

Eventually I broadened the search to include "young" dogs, in addition to puppies.  One result was a 2 year old Shih Tzu mix.  Adam approved and I filled out an application.  I was expecting to have to jump through more hoops, but the gal at the organization surprised me by emailing me back right away.  She said we were welcome to come see her and if we liked her we could adopt her.  

So, giddy as a kid on Christmas Eve, we drove two hours away to meet her.  As soon as we walked in the door, she went right up to Adam and gave him a big ol' smooch.  Adam claims she must have known he would be the hard sell.  I'm pretty sure Adam knew we were coming home with that dog before we even left our house.  

Sure enough, we brought her home with us.  She seemed to like the name her foster parents gave her, so the name Jazzy stuck.  Our vet thinks she's more in the 4-6 year old range and she sheds like crazy.  She's not the puppy we set out to find, but I couldn't imagine her not being a part of our life.  She's perfect.  She's my baby.  I had been hoping and hoping for a baby and I ended up with one.  Now I will have to be more specific and hope for a human baby.

Jumping on the Blog Bandwagon

I've decided to jump on the blog bandwagon.  I have a slight obsession with reading blogs and figured actually creating a blog would make me feel more productive.  

When trying to decide exactly what ground to cover on my blog, I had lots of ideas.  I adore diy blogs and thought I could try my hand at documenting some of the projects I (and by I, I really mean my handy husband) have worked on for my home.

Or I could share the craft and organizing projects I adore completing in my spare time.  

I could also create post after post about my dog Jazzy.  Hello, look at that face! 

And then I thought about sharing the utter despair of losing my baby girl and the ensuing infertility issues I've dealt with.  There are a sad number of women who have to deal with it and perhaps blogging about it would offer me free therapy or even help someone else out.

It was too hard to narrow my focus so I've decided to blog about it all.  Besides, I'm sure my mom will be the only person who ends up reading this blog and she loves everything I have to say.  Hi, Mom!