Puppy Love

I visited Jennifer of Mama's Minutiae today.  It was the puppy pictures on her blog that got me. She had mentioned that lots of people have been coming by to visit her EIGHT ADORABLE CUTE CUDDLY-WUDDLY PUPPIES, and I thought, "Hey! The girls would love to visit puppies!" So, in a very uncharacteristic move, I invited myself over.

Hey, I've read her blog for years, people.  So it's sort of like I know her, right? Maybe?

Seriously, who could resist this?

Luckily, that was good enough for her (she reads my blog also, so I'm not a complete stranger asking to come play with her puppies - almost, but not quite). She said sure, Saturday's good, and I put both girls and a bunch of snacks in the car and drove 2 hours into a more rural (and beautiful) part of the state. At one point, we passed a house with clothes hanging on the line to dry.  "Oh, wow," said Rachel. "Living here is like camping every day!"

So yeah, my kids ARE very suburban and sheltered.  Sue me.

You know, I've met other bloggers before; sometimes it has gone okay, and sometimes it's been a tad awkward.  I have had one blogger say to me, "You're NOTHING like I imagined you." And I've had another insist, "You are EXACTLY like you sound in your blog." So go figure - you can't predict how these meet-ups will turn out, and that knowledge gave me a small panic attack when I woke up yesterday morning and remembered that I had invited myself to a stranger's home.  What the heck had I been thinking? I wondered. But I had already promised puppy-cuddling to the girls, so there was no turning back.

People, I am so glad I made the trip.  Jennifer is exactly as she sounds on her blog, and we talked for over 3 hours straight while her kids showed my girls around the farm and introduced them to all the animals. My throat hurts.

And PUPPIES!  So CUTE, and Jennifer didn't even get upset when Rachel (completely unaccustomed to squirming baby animals) dropped one on the ground almost as soon as we arrived. Or if she was upset, she hid it very well.

So I headed home just before dark with 2 very tired girls and a newly fueled enthusiasm for homeschooling, cooking, and life in general.  Not bad for a 3-hour chat, eh?  My only regret is that I didn't request the recipe for those cookies Jennifer made for our visit.  All that food she photographs on her blog?  Apparently, it tastes as good as it looks.

So there you go - take risks, step out of your comfort zone. You just might end up being glad you did. Many thanks to Jennifer, for her hospitality and kindness and cookies, and to her kids, for putting up with my rather citified girls.  Anyone need a puppy? There are still a few available, and I promise they are as cute as they look in that picture up there.

Is citified a word? I thought it was, but now I'm not too sure.


[Puppies image: Mama's Minutia]