Friend or Foe?

Trey and I have a dog named Winston. He is a Border Collie, and if you know anything about the breed, they are great at herding sheep and known for being the "smartest" dogs around. We were in college when Trey decided to get him. The conversation went something like this:

"Meade, I think I want to get a dog."
"Awwww...look at this dog for sale in Albertville Alabama. You could get him Friday when we go visit my parents. He's a Border Collie **quick google search** aww, look Trey, Border Collies are the smartest dogs in the whole world. You should name him Winston."

So I must admit, although I'll only do it once, I am partly at fault.

I was instantly drawn to the cutest dog there and scooped him up in my arms. The owner said, "That one has the personality to make a great working dog. I can tell he's smart. I don't know if he'd make a very good pet."

BUT I'm a woman. And if you missed it, he was the cutest one there. Enough said. "We are going to go with this one, thanks, pay the man Trey." And that's how we got the "smartest" dog in the whole world. Man's best friend. Right? I'll let you decide. Here is an account of memorable moments in our frienemy's life.

1) At 5 months old- Winston swallows a beer bottle cap. We call the vet who tells us to look through his poop and if it doesn't pass in 2 weeks, bring him in. We look through poop. We are PEOPLE looking through a DOG's poop. And I don't want to get stuck on the poop because this isn't that kind of blog, but do you know how much puppies poop? Evidently every time you go outside, if you're Winston. So about 4 times a day I would go over to Trey's house (Trey is an engineer and had class pretty much all day and night) and I would examine the poop. 2 weeks of this. Nothing. When Winston started throwing up, we took him to the vet, and they stuck an endoscope down his throat and pulled it out. $550. FOE.

2) At 7 months old- Winston can already: sit, lie down, jump, roll over, play dead, shake, high five, turn around, AND turn around the "other way". Good boy Winston! FRIEND.

3) At 8 months old- we took Winston to the dog park for the first time. We got lots of comments about how well behaved our dog was. People petted Winston and he loved it. He even played with the other dogs. It exhausted him, and he slept for 2 full days afterward. Thanks for making us proud Winston. FRIEND.


4) When he was a year old- we took him to Bear Paw (my parent's cottage in North Carolina). We trusted him because he had been so great with people! "He doesn't need a leash," I remember saying. Soon after, Winston was chasing a man down the hill, biting his ankles. Trey chased after Winston, as the man shouted obscenities at Trey. Something about "getting our dog under control." Thanks Winston. FOE.

5) When he was a year and a half old- my grandmother passed away. As I sat by the fire and cried, I remember Winston coming over, curling up in my lap, and licking away my tears. We sat and cuddled. With every tear that fell from my eye, Winston answered with a dry tongue. He wouldn't even let a tear get to my cheek. This eventually made me laugh, and I genuinely felt better. FRIEND.

6) 4 months ago- I had an awful stomach virus and felt like I was going to die. Winston took every step that I did. He would lie at my feet, run to the bathroom with me, follow me back to bed, and lie at my feet again. He was like my little nurse. It was so sweet. FRIEND.


7) 3 months ago- Trey and I decided to go shopping. Normally, we would leave Winston outside, but it was very cold, and we felt sorry for him. So, we thought we'd leave him in our bedroom. After "doggy-proofing" the room, we left. We were gone all day. When we returned, we opened the door to find our sweet dog asleep at the foot of our bed. WOW! We can do this more often. FRIEND.


8) 2 months ago- It was supposed to be one of the coldest days of the year, and since Winston proved himself a month ago, Trey decided to leave Winston inside for the day. I was the first to get home, and opened the door to find...no dog. Oh no, Winston is hiding under the bed. And then I see it, a pile of poop so large that my first thought was, "Ok, who let the horse in?" Not only was there poop all over the floor. Winston stepped in it, ran around the room, jumped up on our comforter, pushed the comforter away, and walked across our white sheets. Oh, crap. Literally. FOE.


9) 2 weeks ago- It had been 2 months since his screw up, and I was sure that Winston had learned his lesson. The grass was wet, and I was just running to Chick-fil-a for a biscuit...he will be fine. I was gone exactly 8 minutes. When I returned, Winston had chewed my glasses in half and licked clean, a whole tub of Vicks Vapor Rub. Is that even safe? Evidently it's fine because the dog lived. FOE.


10) Today- I came home from the grocery store, threw the groceries onto the stove, let Winston in, and went to the mailbox to get the mail. When I walked back inside, the whole kitchen was filled with smoke. "Where is all this smoke coming from? Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What's on fire? Trey's going to kill me. Oh my gosh." Turns out Winston had curiously put his paws up on the stove to get a closer look at the groceries, and turned on one of the eyes. The plastic bag had completely melted to the stove and the potato at the bottom of the bag was completely black. In one minute, the dog almost burned down the house. Thank goodness it was the bag with the potatoes and not the lighter fluid. FOE.

Winston definitely keeps us on our toes, but I can't imagine life without our little man.

Meade.

No Technology Thursday

Opening Scene: Woman enters. Pours a glass of wine, plops down on the sofa, puts her feet on the coffee table, turns on the television and finds Bravo. Man enters. Woman acknowledges him briefly. Man responds, opens a beer, plops down on the love seat, opens the computer, and reads sports blogs. No one moves or talks for three hours. End scene.

So you're thinking, pretty boring movie, right? Really, pretty boring life, because this is exactly the situation Trey and I found ourselves in last Wednesday. After three hours of mindlessly letting technology control our evening, we looked at each other and said, "This is ridiculous. Something has to change."

So Trey shut his computer, I paused the t.v.(what? it was a good show!) and we talked. We decided that our dependence of technology had gotten out of hand. But how do we break this addiction? Ban sports blogs? That's a great idea! That could make everything better. I wouldn't have to compete with the computer. Yes, Meade, novel idea. Bravo. Bravo! The second Bravo was too much. Trey and I looked at each other and I followed his eyes straight to the The Real Housewives of America (it doesn't really matter what city they are in anymore, I still watch it). It only reminded Trey that he is not the only one with a problem. I knew where this was going...Cancel Direct t.v.? Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's really think about this before we do anything drastic!

Solution: Trey and I have decided to implement No Technology Thursday every week.
Rules:
1) No television
2) No computer
3) You cannot initiate a phone conversation. (ie-someone texts you first, you can write back)
4) No electric wine bottle opener (ok, this one is silly, but Trey loves making rules).

We started last week and all was well. It was so nice to have an adult conversation and really not be distracted. It's also easy to commit to on Thursday because none of our favorite shows are on! We forget how much technology rules our lives until we really isolate ourselves from it.

So here is my challenge to you readers. Every Thursday night, put down the phone, turn off the t.v., close the computer, and talk. I promise that you won't be thinking about how much you miss it all. You might even find yourself saying, "Wow, this is nice."

Meade.

It's time..

There comes a time in every Blogger's life where they must promote their most recent endeavors. So for those of you who have missed it on Facebook, check out my recent project, and email us your orders.

www.artisticmishaps.com


And for those of you disappointed in this blog, be on the lookout for a New Year's blog in the next couple of days. It will definitely meet all your expectations. *spoiler alert* It may even include a few pictures.

Meade.