Snowbird

We spent a week at Snowbird Ski Resort. Bob’s kids were here a couple of days and a few members of my family visited as well. It was fun and relaxing. I enjoyed listening to podcasts and running the stairs while everyone hit the slopes. The hot tub and steam room in the evening were a good way to end each day.

We did break away from the mountains one day this week in order to visit the orthodontist. I finally got my braces off this week! I had to deal with those awful things for three years! I feel like eating loads of corn right from the cob, chewing caramels, chomping on popcorn…etc…you get the idea, right? Finally I feel like I have my mouth back. I’m so excited to be able to floss like a regular person now. My teeth feel so smooth and I’m totally kissable again.

Dog Names

Over the past year or so as I contemplated applying for a guide dog, I read the following books about people and their guides. I cried and laughed through all of these stories.

Long Time No See - Finke, Beth

Beyond The Bear: How I learned to live and love again after being blinded by a bear - Bigley, Dan

Breaking Barriers: Working and loving while blind - Altschul, Peter

Two Seeing Eye Dogs Take Manhattan! - Burlingame, Lloyd

Thunder Dog: The true story of a blind man, his guide dog, and the triumph of trust at Ground Zero - Hingson, Michael

Confessions of a Guide Dog: The blonde leading the blind - Mark Carlson

 

I am filled with anticipation to meet my dog in March. As the time draws near I go about my day with  thoughts creeping in:  How will it feel to take my dog shopping? or How will the dentist office react when I take the guide dog to my appointment?

I don’t get to pick my dog’s name. He or she has already been named and is formally being trained right now. I am constantly wondering what the name might be. I speculate out loud every night about crazy name possibilities. Bob teases me and says I am more concerned about the name than about the hard work and care that will go into providing for this dog. My daily routine will change immensely. I can’t wait!!!

Books in 2014

I read 34 books in 2014. Here are 6 titles that I either enjoyed or they just really made me think. They weren't necessarily published in 2014 but that is when I discovered them. The first three are fiction and the latter three are nonfiction.

1. The Circle

Eggers, Dave

2. The Silent Wife

Harrison, A. S. A

3. Delicious!

Reichl, Ruth; Whelan, Julia.

4. Empty Mansions: The mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune

Dedman, Bill; Newell, Paul Clark

5. Twelve Years A Slave

Northup, Solomon; Gates, Henry Louis

6. Secret Gift: How one man's kindness--and a trove of letters--revealed the hidden history of the Great Depression

Gup, Ted