5 Strands of Hope: dog

Showing posts with label dog. Show all posts

Sunday, March 3, 2013

From Book to Shirts

Hi all!
Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Between the death of my beloved Opu, Super Storm Sandy destroying my parents' house and my father-in-law becoming ill right before Christmas, things have been crazy-busy around here.

The death of Opu, my first baby and a black labrador retriever in September, didn't only greatly sadden me, but also my children. Funny, but it was my three year old son, Owen, who wanted me to bring him home from Kevin's house (clearly didn't understand that I was saying that Opu was in "Heaven" and instead that he was at Kevin's house in the clouds).

This was the genesis of my idea of putting "Opu" on a shirt for my children. It was much harder and easier than I thought it would be. I hadn't sewn since Home Economics class in Junior High and let's just say that anyone who knows me knows that I cannot draw. However, I strongly believe in the age-old saying that if there is a will there is a way and well...I found a way to make the shirts for my kids. I have gotten so much joy out of creating the shirts and positive feedback from people that I decided to open an Etsy shop. We'll see what comes of it, but I've definitely have had fun making, not only the Opu shirt, but also the pirate ship, hammerhead shark and butterfly for my kids.

Here is a link to my shop KooCoo Say, if you would like to look at or purchase a shirt.

The name comes from my kids' favorite saying, "Koo Coo Sock." Brian and I don't know where they got it from, but basically if you are being silly, they will call you a "Koo Coo Sock!"

My kids are giving me multiple requests each day, so by the end of the week I'll should also have a tiger, flower, whale and octopus up on Etsy.

I wish you all the best,
Laura

Friday, July 13, 2012

Ode to Opu

My First Baby - Opu

Opu Summer 2011 - Enjoying the Sprinker

Opu is our very much loved black labrador retriever. I got him when we was 40lbs and 4 months old. Now he is eleven years old (yikes) about 90-95lbs. He has arthritis in all his joints, but his right shoulder is the worst. He started complaining (moaning and refusing to go up and downstairs) in January.

My veterinarian, my beloved cousin, Jen, prescribed him some medicine and it seemed like I had my puppy back. However, at the beginning of this week, he started yelping, crying and moaning again. Dr. Jen let me double up his medicine and he seemed ok for an afternoon. The last two nights, he woke Brian and me up with his cries and moans. It's sad and breaks my heart, because I know additional medicine is only going to pro-long his life by months - not years.

Opu has seen me through tough times. He dealt with my single life in NYC - the ups and downs of dating. The death of my Godmother, who meant the world to me. He listened to me when we were planning our wedding. Helped me deal with my migraines when I was pregnant with Gavin.

Opu and Me (pregnant with Gavin)

Opu, much to popular myth, loved Gavin from the moment we brought him home. Opu would sleep right under Gavin's crib and curl up next to me on the couch when I was feeding Gavin.

Opu - Love at First Site

Opu sat next to me and kissed my legs, when I cried over a miscarriage or failed IUI. He consoled me continuously through the triplet pregnancy. Always sitting right next to me and giving me encouragement.

Opu and Brian enjoying the Pool

My beloved lab shares the trait of most labs. He is happiest near food and drink. At this very minute, he just finished moaning, so he could walk over to the to the deserted plate of waffles.

I'm hopeful that the new medicine he is on will help him enjoy the summer - probably his last summer.

I will always love you Opu, my very first baby.

**Opu passed away on September 24, 2012 - exactly two months before his 12 birthday. I started a new post about all his crazy adventures during his. However, his death is still too painful - maybe next month.

My Book at Amazon: Five Strands of Hope

Happy Friday the 13th!

Good morning!
Well, in light of the fact that our dog, Opu, is really struggling and keeping me awake at night, I feel wide awake (could be the mocha) and recharged. Life feels full of possibilities (could be the babysitters coming this morning to give me some free time) and full of happiness.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday the 13th and that you feel light and springy too.

I have written half of a fictionalized book that is somewhat of an epilogue to my first book. I've had some fun and scary moments with the kids during their first two years of life that I wanted to capture in a book. However, I needed an over-arching story, which is the part that is fictionalized.

Don't even ask me how this happened? (Liam)

I worked best with deadlines (HATE to be late, which is enough to get me to sit down and work), so I decided that I'll commit to publishing the first chapter of the new book (Four's Enough - tentative title) by the end of September. I'll be honest, I'm cheating a little bit. The first chapter is already written. In fact, I've written the first few chapters and the last few chapters and some sporadic ones in the middle. I don't know why I write this way, but I find that I write what I am in the mood for writing. Some chapters have deep emotions in them, which makes me get all emotional. I'm not always in the mood to deal with such emotions, so I write lighter chapters. However, I do need to edit the chapter and I find that takes a lot longer than writing the first draft.

Owen: Too tired for comfort!

Wish me luck with my next book. I enjoy writing and hope that some of you are enjoying reading my writing. Maybe one day my writing will get good enough that I can find a traditional publisher for my book(s), but if not, then...oh I don't know, life continues as it has been, which for me has been wonderful!