3 FUNNY DOGS

Oprah's Coming !!

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In May of 2001, I had heard that Oprah was going to be traveling around to different parts of the country to speak on Live Your Best Life.  I got so excited because I thought that would be SO MUCH FUN to go see and hear Oprah.  I found out when the tickets would go on sale, and I called my 3 close friends and told them "We are going to go see Oprah!! I'm going to get the tickets and it's a go, mark your calendars! We are going on our trip of a lifetime!" Everyone was excited! I had convinced my friends that we were going to see and hear Oprah!  I'm the one with all the great ideas and they usually do turn out quite well. My friends knew they were in good hands and this was going to be fun!

 Because I have problems sleeping at night, I am not a morning person.  I  usually wake up  at  4 AM and have trouble going back to sleep. Therefore 6 AM is not the time I desire to be awake.  
But, it was ticket purchasing day and I was willing to do whatever it took to get tickets to see Oprah. I knew the tickets went on sale at 6 AM my time and I got myself up and ready to dial that phone at 6AM!

 I think I really did believe that I would be one of the first people to connect and buy our tickets to the San Francisco Event, after all, my dialing finger hit the keys exactly at 6AM.  Okay, first try, the line was busy. It's okay, it's okay.  Second try, busy again!  Still okay.  I'm going for my third try, it's now 6:07 someone answers. Here we go!  Wait, it sounds like a recording.  It was a recording!  It said, "I'm sorry but the tickets for this event have sold out."

" WHAT? WHAT? It's 6:07 HOW CAN THE TICKETS BE SOLD OUT?"  This just couldn't be true! Please God, please don't let this be true!  How can the tickets sell out in 7 min?  I was appalled! I was devastated! I was sad, then angry, then disappointed. Then I just couldn't believe it.  I HAD WANTED TO SEE OPRAH! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO SEE OPRAH!  I had convinced my friends we would all see and learn from Oprah. It was going to be our trip of a lifetime and now I had to call and tell them I had failed. No Oprah!  No trip of a lifetime!  Nothing!

But then. . .  :)  Oh I'll tell you in the next post.

That's my Dog!

Saying goodbye to Buff was one of the hardest things I've had to do in life.  I loved that little dog with my whole heart. I had lost my mom just two years before, and that too, was my greatest loss. 

I was very torn about getting another dog. No dog could take Buff's place or even fill that hole.  I had never picked my own dog. Every dog in my life had just come to me.
After two years of missing Buff, I went on a spring vacation to Calistoga CA. As I was browsing through the very fun stores of that town I ran across a book. It was just all pictures of puppies and dogs, as I thumbed through it I was giggly about how cute  and adorable these dogs were, I throughly enjoying myself!

  But then, I turned the page and there he was!  This was a bit of a weird experience for me.  As I looked down at this dog on the page tears filled my eyes, my heart started to beat fast and I wanted to just scream out with joy, I just knew that was my dog! The dog I had drawn over and over throughout my childhood, the dog that had lived in my heart for all these years. The dog I had dreamed about.
I was having one of those moments, where you have no idea why you are having a certain reaction but you know you need a moment alone to take it all in.  I was in a store though, with other people, and here I was just looking at puppy book and doing all I could to hold back sobs of joy and not be noticed by anyone.
 
I was hoping my close friend that was with me wouldn't notice cause I knew I couldn't explain all that was going on inside me. I knew I needed that book though, I needed that picture!  I had no idea what kind of dog this was, the book didn't list a single breed. I pulled myself together enough to make my  way up to pay for it. I took that book home and looked at that picture of that dog over and over and kept having the same teary, heart racing reaction each time I would look at him.
Finally, I cut the picture out of the book and put it in a frame and put it in my living room area.  People would come over and say whose dog is this?  I'd tell them "that's my dog!"  "I didn't know you had a dog!"  I'd hear that over and over from friends.  "He's not here yet."  "Oh did you order him or something? What kind is he?"  I would begin to explain to them that  I didn't know what breed of dog he was but I did  know he was my dog!  And,that I'd find him someday or he would come to me.

I know people probably think I'm goofy. But my friends have come to expect it from me. And, I always encourage others to dream and believe in big crazy dreams.  I still keep it in a frame by my entry way cause I love it, it represents so much to me. Cause wait till you hear what happened! :)
Okay, so I'll post that picture I found that day. Here he is! :)