One-eyed Jack
(formerly known as Harlow)

edit:: She still has two eyes and they will be just fine. One is just has a whole in it still. It’s not as gross as it sounds. We just call her “one-eyed” so we don’t feel sad.

One-eyed Jack
(formerly known as Harlow)

edit:: She still has two eyes and they will be just fine. One is just has a whole in it still. It’s not as gross as it sounds. We just call her “one-eyed” so we don’t feel sad.

One-eyed Jack
(formerly known as Harlow)

edit:: She still has two eyes and they will be just fine. One is just has a whole in it still. It’s not as gross as it sounds. We just call her “one-eyed” so we don’t feel sad.

One-eyed Jack
(formerly known as Harlow)

edit:: She still has two eyes and they will be just fine. One is just has a whole in it still. It’s not as gross as it sounds. We just call her “one-eyed” so we don’t feel sad.

Last night when I got home I noticed that Harlow’s eye looked funny. It was all cloudy and kind of greyish and watery. So of course I immediately panic. I’ve only seen something like that with our older dogs as they get cataracts and lose their sight. So I get on the phone with the Emergency Vet since my vet’s office was closed. They reassured me that as long as she was eating and drinking normally she’d be ok if I took her to the vet this morning. Since I have to work today my mom said she’d take her to Dr. Dean’s for me. She called me after they went to the vet and told me that Dr. Dean said she has a hole in her cornea. What the heck?! My poor sweet puppy has a hole in her eye??! He told my mom she’d probably scratched it or ran into something like a twig. I can imagine her scratching her eye but she doesn’t go around running into sharp objects… at least as far as I know. But maybe. So $120 later she has eye drops she needs twice a day and a cream she needs 4 times a day. And I’m going to take her back to the vet on Tuesday since I’m not working. I think I’m going to bring her to work with me on Monday. And they gave her one of those cones to wear around her neck to keep her feet out of her eyes. I’m sure she’ll be fine but I’m sad for her. Especially since she’s been so good and sweet lately. I know if I had a hole in my eye I wouldn’t be so nice about it.

Poor Harlow. :(

In other news I’m saving my pennies for these:

Jumping on the survey bandwagon thanks to Alexa, Agata and Ronni. Yay.

—

1. What are your nicknames?
Vaness, V, VDawg, Nessa, Nessie. And if you really hate me and want to get your eyes poked out: Ness or Fanessa. Ugh.

2. What do you do before bedtime?
Read some scriptures, brush my teeth, take my dog outside and more often than not check Facebook.

3. What magazines do you have subscriptions to? What is your favorite line from a movie?
Magazines: Good Magazine, Vogue, The Paris Review and Nylon.
Movie Quotes: Um, off the top of my head… “I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls.” – 10 Things I Hate About You

4. What is your favorite scent? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Favorite scents: Vanilla and clean laundry.
Favorite ice cream: Cookies n’ Cream.

5. If you had a million dollars that you could spend only on yourself, what would you do with it?
Buy a car and a apt/house.

6. What is your theme song? Do you have any custom ringtones set on your phone?
Theme song?? Uh… My current favorite song is Bethany Joy Galeotti’s “Leaving Town Alive”.
Ringtone: Right now it’s crickets chirping. On my old phone it Feist’s “Mushaboom”.

7. Do you trust easily?
The opposite actually. I trust only a few.

8. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
Definitely an overthinker.

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Nope, these are happy days.

10. Do you have a good body-image?
There are a lot of things that I’d change.

11. Is being tagged fun?
Sure, but I wasn’t. Ha.

12. What websites do you visit daily?
Facebook, LJ, iGoogle, my bank and credit card accounts and the NY Times.

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Smoothies from Blenders in the Grass… soooo much better than Jamba Juice. Sorry!

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I wasn’t but I like the girls that did the survey too!

15. What’s the last song that got stuck in your head?
Concrete Bed by Nada Surf.

16. What’s your favorite item of clothing?
Hoodies and cardies. I guess I like layers.

17. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
Mmmmm boy!

18. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? Which Beanie Baby is your favorite?
Pick it up and I don’t do Beanie Babies.

19. What items could you not go without during the day?
My phone, the internet, lotion, water, lip gloss, bobby pins…

20. What should you be doing right now?
Working.

So I am sitting at work right now doing nothing. Literally. Nothing. Well, ok I’m obviously blogging but that is hardly work related. I hate being bored and I have a huge list of things I’d like to be doing right now and sitting at my desk staring out the window is not one of them.

It’s almost lunch time and I’m off to Blenders in the Grass for a smoothie.

So I am sitting at work right now doing nothing. Literally. Nothing. Well, ok I’m obviously blogging but that is hardly work related. I hate being bored and I have a huge list of things I’d like to be doing right now and sitting at my desk staring out the window is not one of them.

It’s almost lunch time and I’m off to Blenders in the Grass for a smoothie.

beware the long rambling post… (mostly for journaling purposes)

No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child.

On Monday I called the family I nannied for in England to wish Tara a Happy 8th Birthday (and to wish Sean and Erin a Happy belated 5th and 11th Birthday.) I try to stay on the birthday ball but sometimes it gets away from me.

I call them every … oh … 4 or 5 months or so. Not too often but kids don’t really have a lot to say on the phone anyway. You know, a lot of “How’s school?”…”Good.” “Did you have a nice summer?”…”Yes.” “Did you have a fun birthday?”… “Yes.” You know the drill. But I can’t just not call. I love these kids. Also I think it’s strange for a child to have someone that is a part of their life every day and then to just be gone with no contact. That’s weird right? I think especially for younger kids. I’m not saying that I was so special and that they can’t live without me. But it doesn’t seem fair to spend pretty much every single day with them, take care of them, play with them, love them… and then just bail on them?? Then all the smiles and hugs and laughs and love are a lie. Maybe I’m making a big deal of nothing… probably. And maybe I won’t stay in touch forever, but I hope I’ll do my best. And it’s fun to catch up with Mary and David (the parents) and hear what’s going on with them and their families.

Could I have found a longer way to say “I love these kids”??? Probably! So count yourselves lucky!

So I call and Mary says “Oh Vanessa!” and immediately general mayhem ensues on her end. I can hear Tara asking her if I’m calling because it’s her birthday and Mary says yes and passes her the phone. I wish you could hear the way she says “hello”… it’s so cute and so English. I listen to her tell me about her party and she says proudly that is was a make up party. She’s a fancy 8 year old. And then she tells me that “Erin wants a quick word” (again so English… Erin’s five.) Erin gets on the phone and and says “Hello Vanessa. When are you coming back to my house to see me?” It’s still a trip for me to hear her speaking in complete sentences. A few weeks before I left them she started saying: “Nessie going airplane Utah. Erin talk phone Nessie. Come back Nessie!” ♥ I die! She didn’t have much to say but what she said was cute.

And I talked to Sean for a few minutes. He told me about school, football and that he no longer has to go to Kumon. Score! Mary filled me in on her family and her sister’s kids and the news from Denham Green. She asked if I had plans to come visit and of course I do but the timing never seems to work out. She tells me everytime we speak that I’m always welcome (“oh whenever!” as she says) and that I can come anytime. That means a lot to me. They are so generous and kind. The called ended with Tara and Erin shouting, “VANESSA… IS… THE… BEST… NANNY… IN… THE… WHOLE… WORLD… EVER!” Which was followed by:
……………..crash
………………………………………………………“ouch”
……………………….“I fell”
……………………………………..“Erin get off me”

Oh kids!

So yeah, I talked to “my family” in England. It was a total warm fuzzy high for the day. And of course it sent me on a little trip down memory lane. You’re welcome to join me….

Tara and I would watch Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen over and over and we’d sing the songs from it any time, any place.

After watching the aforementioned movie repeatedly, we’d always say “Goodbye my chicken” to eachother when I’d drop her off at school. I love that little chicken.

Sean was the easiest kid…so mellow and good. He got a Monopoly game based on the Chelsea Football team and we’d play it over and ooooover again.

Painting Tara and Erins nails… adding little rhinestones and flowers and whatnot. I got really good.

One night we were all home and I was getting the kids’ dinner (or tea if you’re in England) ready and Tara asked me if she could have some juice please. As I was getting it Mary told her how nice it was that she said please to which Tara replies, “Vanessa will do almost anything for a ‘please’.” And I said that that was right. Then Erin chimed in with, “Nessie like it say pleeeeeeeease!” (which translates to “Vanessa likes it when you say please.”)

Sean telling me every Monday that Kumon made it “the worst day of his life.” Silly kid.

The kids forever wanting to have “parties” in my room.

Erin announcing one morning out of the blue that “Erin best friend Nessie.” Again, I die! ♥

Letting the kids run wild at Zoom and Odd’s Farm.

Erin telling me “Bye bye buh-fly” as I was getting ready to leave for the airport to come home. (That’s “bye-bye butterfly” for those who don’t speak toddler)

The point of all the rambling? I need to get my passport renewed (if finally expired) and go back for a visit!!

beware the long rambling post… (mostly for journaling purposes)

No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child.

On Monday I called the family I nannied for in England to wish Tara a Happy 8th Birthday (and to wish Sean and Erin a Happy belated 5th and 11th Birthday.) I try to stay on the birthday ball but sometimes it gets away from me.

I call them every … oh … 4 or 5 months or so. Not too often but kids don’t really have a lot to say on the phone anyway. You know, a lot of “How’s school?”…”Good.” “Did you have a nice summer?”…”Yes.” “Did you have a fun birthday?”… “Yes.” You know the drill. But I can’t just not call. I love these kids. Also I think it’s strange for a child to have someone that is a part of their life every day and then to just be gone with no contact. That’s weird right? I think especially for younger kids. I’m not saying that I was so special and that they can’t live without me. But it doesn’t seem fair to spend pretty much every single day with them, take care of them, play with them, love them… and then just bail on them?? Then all the smiles and hugs and laughs and love are a lie. Maybe I’m making a big deal of nothing… probably. And maybe I won’t stay in touch forever, but I hope I’ll do my best. And it’s fun to catch up with Mary and David (the parents) and hear what’s going on with them and their families.

Could I have found a longer way to say “I love these kids”??? Probably! So count yourselves lucky!

So I call and Mary says “Oh Vanessa!” and immediately general mayhem ensues on her end. I can hear Tara asking her if I’m calling because it’s her birthday and Mary says yes and passes her the phone. I wish you could hear the way she says “hello”… it’s so cute and so English. I listen to her tell me about her party and she says proudly that is was a make up party. She’s a fancy 8 year old. And then she tells me that “Erin wants a quick word” (again so English… Erin’s five.) Erin gets on the phone and and says “Hello Vanessa. When are you coming back to my house to see me?” It’s still a trip for me to hear her speaking in complete sentences. A few weeks before I left them she started saying: “Nessie going airplane Utah. Erin talk phone Nessie. Come back Nessie!” ♥ I die! She didn’t have much to say but what she said was cute.

And I talked to Sean for a few minutes. He told me about school, football and that he no longer has to go to Kumon. Score! Mary filled me in on her family and her sister’s kids and the news from Denham Green. She asked if I had plans to come visit and of course I do but the timing never seems to work out. She tells me everytime we speak that I’m always welcome (“oh whenever!” as she says) and that I can come anytime. That means a lot to me. They are so generous and kind. The called ended with Tara and Erin shouting, “VANESSA… IS… THE… BEST… NANNY… IN… THE… WHOLE… WORLD… EVER!” Which was followed by:
……………..crash
………………………………………………………“ouch”
……………………….“I fell”
……………………………………..“Erin get off me”

Oh kids!

So yeah, I talked to “my family” in England. It was a total warm fuzzy high for the day. And of course it sent me on a little trip down memory lane. You’re welcome to join me….

Tara and I would watch Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen over and over and we’d sing the songs from it any time, any place.

After watching the aforementioned movie repeatedly, we’d always say “Goodbye my chicken” to eachother when I’d drop her off at school. I love that little chicken.

Sean was the easiest kid…so mellow and good. He got a Monopoly game based on the Chelsea Football team and we’d play it over and ooooover again.

Painting Tara and Erins nails… adding little rhinestones and flowers and whatnot. I got really good.

One night we were all home and I was getting the kids’ dinner (or tea if you’re in England) ready and Tara asked me if she could have some juice please. As I was getting it Mary told her how nice it was that she said please to which Tara replies, “Vanessa will do almost anything for a ‘please’.” And I said that that was right. Then Erin chimed in with, “Nessie like it say pleeeeeeeease!” (which translates to “Vanessa likes it when you say please.”)

Sean telling me every Monday that Kumon made it “the worst day of his life.” Silly kid.

The kids forever wanting to have “parties” in my room.

Erin announcing one morning out of the blue that “Erin best friend Nessie.” Again, I die! ♥

Letting the kids run wild at Zoom and Odd’s Farm.

Erin telling me “Bye bye buh-fly” as I was getting ready to leave for the airport to come home. (That’s “bye-bye butterfly” for those who don’t speak toddler)

The point of all the rambling? I need to get my passport renewed (if finally expired) and go back for a visit!!