Big Itty Bitty News

It's been forever since I've posted anything on the blog. My friend Lindsay Garrison would say it's been a "dang coon's age." I could say I've been busy, which I have. I could pawn my lack of updates off on being tired or not feeling well, which is also true. But really I haven't posted because I had stage fright...I wasn't sure of how to write about our big news in the most appropriate way, being sure to mix the right amount of poignancy and lightheartedness, creating something to look back on and re-read a long time from now with sweet nostalgia. So today I have decided to just jump in with both feet, however eloquent the post may or may not end up, to tell you, our kind friends and family, that we are indeed having a BABY!

Yessiree, Itty Bitty Copp will be here on or around May 15th, 2010. We're about 75% purely pumped, and 25% freaked out. Neither of us has much experience with babies, save for having been a couple about 3 decades ago. In fact, neither of us has ever changed a diaper. We do have a lot to learn, but I am confident in my body and trust my instincts...I have no doubt that I will know just what to do when the sweet little life that we have created arrives in late spring of next year.

We found out about the babe on September 6th. We were in Austin for Labor Day (pun from above most certainly intended). Zac and I were staying with his mom, getting ready to have dinner with his dad and stepmom and a few other family members that night. I kept having a nagging feeling that I shouldn't drink wine that night, which would have been totally conspicuous to our dinner company, but the thought of even one glass felt wrong to me. Looking back, I really knew what was going on...I mean, when has wine ever felt wrong to me? :) I just needed confirmation. And confirmation I got immediately upon reading the EPT tests I abruptly ran out to buy...big, fat, unmistakable, positively positive.

The first couple of weeks were great, but then the 6th week hit and brought with it the beast mistakenly named morning sickness. Unfortunately for me, it has been "morning/noon/night/when I'm too hot/when I'm too cold/when I smell brewing coffee or Mexican food/list goes on" sickness. However, I am happy to say that it has subsided a bit in the past week or so, and not a moment too soon, seeing as how I am almost halfway through already!

In case your inquiring minds need to know:

• We're 17 weeks and 3 days along today.
• We find out the gender next Thursday, Dec. 17th.
• I will deliver in Fort Worth--I couldn't bear to have Dallas on my child's birth certificate.
• The Longhorns will win the National Championship. How do I know? Zac and I got married in February 2006, a month after Vince Young and the Horns won the National Championship. 2006 was an even year and a year in which the Winter Olympics were played, and our anniversary is 02.04.06...each sequential numeral divisible by the first. We will have our first child in 2010. Just like 2006, 2010 is an even year in which the Winter Olympics will be played, and the baby's due date is 5.15.10. Just like 02.04.06, each sequential number is divisible by the first. So, all of that means that we're going to win it all in 2010.

Win it all in 2010, we will. We'll start the "Bump Watch 2010" shortly, just as soon as there is a bump to watch, so check back soon!

Hugs,

sarah, party of 2 :)

Meet Gus

Well, I called it, didn't I? We now have doggie number three. He's a sweetie pie, but it turns out he's in need of a few repairs. No matter, we're up for the task!

Good news first. He's a very sweet boy who is has interacted incredibly well with the other two hood rats. They, too, have taken an interest in him and have seemingly included him in their pack. This is great news! He seems to be potty trained and can "sit" on command. He's quite the little charmer.


We took him to see Dr. Effie yesterday and his heart and lungs sound good and his teeth are pretty good. He is not micro-chipped, which is a Godsend, as it would kill us to have to return him to his neglectful (at best) "parents."


Not-so-good-news. Obviously he has been on his own for a while or at least neglected. Effie says he's malnourished, which is evident in his dull and patchy coat. He's not neutered either. He's got a REALLY guttural and horrible sounding cough, which is probably kennel cough. We did get medicine for it, so it should lessen soon. The worst part is that he is heart worm positive. It's going to take some pretty intense treatment, but it is most likely curable. The treatment calls for serious antibiotics, followed by a 2-3 night vet stay and a whole month of isolated movement. The whole process will take about 6 weeks. But hopefully after that, he will be all better.


HW treatment will commence once he's cleared the cough, or at least until he is finished with the antibiotics for the cough. Effie says that they might actually help with the worms too.

Though a heartworm positive diagnosis is disheartening and sad, we're hopeful that with treatment and time, we can help restore his good health. Nonetheless, he'll definitely be receiving more than his fair share of belly scratches and sugary, high-pitched words of encouragement. That's got to count for something, right? :)

softies

That's what Zac and I are. We got a call at 9:30 last night from our neighbor, Myla, the Dog Catcher Extraordinaire. Given that we had such a hard time with the Scout vs. tiny house/tiny dog/easily bruising Sarah legs, I was prepared to combat any request she had with a gentle let down. Until she said the magic word: Pomeranian. On one of her many dog walks last night, she happened upon an older Pom who looked tattered, hungry and tired. He was very scared of her and tried to get away, but she did end up cornering him on a neighbor's front porch and leashing him. He didn't snap at her; he pulled a Jack move and surrendered belly up so she could scratch it while she put the leash on. Smart boy.

She says she thinks he is in the double digits in age because of his glassy eyes, condition of his teeth, and grey hair. She says his hair is badly matted and unkempt, and that he's got a flea and tick collar on, but no tags.

She's bringing him over to meet us tonight. I have a feeling that this little boy is about to finally find his forever home. :)

Independence Day

Zac and I declared our independence from relaxation this weekend and did some very sorely needed yard work. We put some SERIOUS sweat equity into the Copp Casa...it was like 3 days straight of Bikram yoga in the 100+ summertime heat. We also did lots of re-purposing. First of all, we re-purposed the weekend. We had planned to spend the long weekend with friends at our buddy Wade's ranch. I'm sure we missed an "unprecedented" party (unprecedented in quotes b/c that's Wade's word for awesome...was apropo here), but we did get a ton of stuff done 'round here.

First, we re-purposed an old table and chairs that Tara and I bought for our first apartment together after college. It's made of wrought iron, glass, and solid wood, so fortunately we could remove the old stain on the wood, paint it with outdoor paint (it looks white, but it's actually a beautiful green color called oak moss) and make it usable again on the flagstone patio.

We also stripped the area near the garden with the banana tree and elephant ears of all the Bermuda grass and put filter fabric and mulch down. We also uncovered our flagstone path--the St. Augustine had totally taken over. By the way, we have re-purposing plans for that garage too. Only, unfortunately for the garage, the plans include demolition and putting in a pool. Some day. :)

We also plucked the Bermuda from the driveway and finally planted the planters in front of the garage with Lavender. The planters are re-purposed too...they originally held Italian Cypress plants that we planted at a job site back in January. Horray for free planter boxes!

We carried the Lavender through to the front pots too.

All-in-all, it was a ton of hard work, but so worth it. We officially reclaim our dependence to relaxation.

How awesome is this?

Becoming ba-ba-ba-ba-Bobbye Sue

My mom has certain idiosyncrasies that I noticed at a very young age. I remember sitting in the back seat of our Datsun and watching my mom twirl her hair around and around while waiting for the light to turn green. I also remember her sitting at the kitchen table at my grandparent's house resting her chin in her hand atop a phone book and with the other hand, she'd take the corner of the book and run her fingers along the corner from bottom to top making a "grrrtttttttttttt" sound. These are things that, no matter where I am or who is actually doing them, remind me of her.

These are also things that I didn't do in my first quarter century of life. Even the beginning of my second quarter century. But just in the last week, I have caught myself doing both!

One night last week I was snuggled up in bed reading my book (which is Eat, Pray, Love....so good!), when all of the sudden I realized that I was twirling my hair, and I had been doing it for a while! This might not seem like such a big deal, except that I really have never had the twirling habit and it's one of my mom's signature moves.

Then just a minute ago, as I was reading a complicated bid from a printer, I heard the familiar "grrrtttttttt" sound. My first thought was "what's she doing at my office?" but I looked down and I was the one grrrtttttttting the pages of my notebook.

I guess we really do turn into our mothers. I'm glad I get to be Bobbye Sue...she's pretty swell. :)

The garden's in!

We FINALLY got our summer garden in! We had to hold off because Miss Scout liked to dig, so we are actually late to the game, but we got it done! And we've got the sore muscles and sunburns to prove it.

Here it is before. Try not to judge.

yuck

digging wonderland for our backyard guest

And here it is now.

ahhhh yeah!

We've got two cherry tomatoes, one celebrity tomato, three types of peppers (who likes jalapeno jelly?), one cilantro, one basil and one curly-leaf parsley for the butterflies. We'll add some onions and I'd like to add some New Guinea impatiens for some color, and also for the butterflies.

In other backyard notes, we were able to save the chinese wisteria that Scout decided to use as a chew toy. So we've got that goin for us, which is nice...kinda like Carl Spackler and the Dalai Lama.

We'll keep you posted on the veggies. Hopefully we'll have a bountiful crop this year!

Sweet Scout

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! Well, we have been out of town on the weekends and have been super busy during the week, so the blog has gotten neglected. A major source of busy-ness has been our sweet foster doggie, Scout.

Scout followed a neighbor, Cherie, home two and a half weeks ago as she was walking her dog, Louie. Not having a ton of extra room, Cherie called Myla, the neighborhood dog rescuer. This is where we come in. Knowing that we are dog lovers and rescuers ourselves, Myla sent Scout's story and photos to us. What she did not know, but scored big time from, is that I am physically/mentally/molecularly unable to say no to people who ask favors of me. I am flat missing that chip. (Note to self...must work on that before I end up with more stray dogs than the cast of that "Hotel for Dogs" movie.) So we met the little miss, introduced her to Jack and Fiona, and she came to stay that night. We named her Scout the next day.

The next day we called our vet, also a neighbor, the wonderful Dr. Effie, to set up an appointment to have her examined, scanned for a microchip, and vaccinated. However, since Dr. Effie had been out on vacation, she was very booked and we couldn't get in to have Scout looked at until today. In the meantime, we had learned more of her personality-sweet above all else, vibrant, loyal, good natured and smart as a whip. We taught her to first wear a collar, then to awkwardly walk on a leash, then walk on an extendable leash, and now she can even run on a leash. We taught her to fetch a tennis ball (she retrieves and even drops!), and sit. We worked with her on her already burgeoning "pee pee outside" skills, which seem to be very solid now. All-in-all she is an outstanding dog and we've really grown to love her--even the little doggies. But not a fraction as much as she loves them.

Of course, we have had our "Marley" moments, too. There was the time that little miss chomped branches of our prized chinese wisteria, almost to the point of killing it altogether. It was less than awesome when she was left outside too long, got bored, and decided to push two of my 3 pots off the porch, breaking one into lots of pieces. It was downright scary when she discovered the black electrical wire that comes out of the timer on the landscaping lights...she bit right through and hit the copper. It's a wonder she didn't hurt herself. I had to build a make-shift fence out of dining room chairs around the wisteria (before work, mind you!), and tomato cages and a raccoon trap are moonlighting as a baracade to keep Scout away from the electrical wiring and box, and the last of my porch pots is resting safely on the ground, where it cannot be pushed off and shattered. Needless to say, one glimpse of our back yard right now will have you humming the theme of "Sandford and Son" for the rest of the day.

Over the next two weeks, I sent Scout's story and photos to EVERYONE I know, knew, or even heard of through email, facebook, twitter, you name it. I was pimping out this dog's info like nobody's business because she is just so special and deserving of a wonderful forever family. We signed up with petfinder.com through Companion Animal Network, and several other rescue sites. So far I had gotten two very interested applicants and was even scheduled to have her meet one of them on Sunday. But, that wasn't going to be in the cards.

Zac took Scout (if you are my close personal homie, you know that is not what we actually call her by now. If you must know, her name to me is "scout it, 'bout it, 'bout it" and Zac and I both now pronounce it "skee-outtt." Sheesh.) to the vet this morning and they made a discovery...she has been microchipped! Our feelings about this are bittersweet: on one hand, she was apparently cared for enough to get spayed and microchipped, but on the other, she was allowed to escape from home, sans a collar or leash skills, which puts her in danger of escaping and getting hit by a car and means that she's not getting walked. But, Zac spoke with the owner and he does want her back. So, there's really nothing we can do. Due to the man working until midnight, we can't reunite them until the morning. It's our last night with Scout.

My eyes welled up just typing that. I'm going to be a hot mess tomorrow.

100 Luftballons?

An errant red balloon just landed in my neighbor's backyard. Do you think it was the one that eluded Nena in the 1980s?

rudest. caller. ever.

I just had the most quizzical phone conversation that I have ever had (exclusive of phone calls received or placed in the late 1990s in the wee hours of the morning where 6th Street was involved). I just arrived back at the office from a client presentation when my cell phone begins ringing. It's a number that I don't recognize, so I push ignore. Two minutes later it happens again. And a third time. So I decided to answer and the rudeness ensues.

me: hello?
jerkface: hello?
me: hello?
jf: hello?
me: yeeeeesss?
jf: who is this? (in an annoyed tone with TV blaring in background)
me: Sarah
jf: no.
me: what?
jf: what do you want??? (near-yelling...very aggitated)
me: you called me!
jf: no, I called (unintelligable name).
me: nope, you called me.
jf: what do you want???
me: oh my goodness (as I hang up phone)

What a weirdo. Speaking of weirdos, my dad (a weirdo in the best kind of way) has the greatest trick to play on telemarketers. I was a witness to the inception of this genius trick and have befuddled many a telemarketer ever since.

dad: hello?
telemarketer: Is Bobbye there?
dad: she's here? (as if you're astonished and frightened the thought that she might be there)
tm: Um, IS she there?
dad: she's here?? (heightened drama this time)
changing tactics, the tm asks: may I speak with Bobbye?
dad: she SPEAKS????

And so on and so on. It is so much fun, the old switch and reverse. It almost makes you want to take your number off of the federal "Do Not Call" list. Almost. :)

playing catch-up

This March has been quite the whirlwind! Professionally, both Zac and I have made break-throughs...The Copp Firm is off and running and I have officially become a landscape designer by having a client approve my very own design and estimate.

my first plan

We had lots of fun this weekend, Austin-style. Saturday was Zac's birthday, so we headed south to the celebrate with his family. The weekend started out great; I took off on Friday and got my hair done with Leah first, then we packed up the car and shoved off. We headed to Maudie's that night for a long-overdue queso and Skinny Sheryl's fix with Llanny. Maudie's queso + Sarah's tastebuds = luv 4-ever.

Saturday, after shopping at Aunt Julie's awesome boutique on the Drag (C. Jane), a 4-mile run around Town Lake (a.k.a. my happy place), and lunch with Zac & Uncle Oak at the Tavern, we returned to Zac's mom's for a little visit with her. We ended the day by celebrating Zac's birthday on one of the gazillion decks at the newly-renovated Oasis with his dad and Peggy. What a spectacular view.

careful, you might see some peeps hanging out (uh hum) at hippie hollow

Sunday morning, I picked up some Rudy's breakfast tacos and headed to Lindsey's to hang for a while. I CANNOT believe how big, mobile, and talkative baby Em has gotten! Such a cutie! It's going to get nuts in the Lieneck household in a few months when baby numero dos arrives and makes two children under the age of 20 months!

A bit later, I returned to my happy place for a 5-miler in the chilly/humid Austin air. As I entered the trail under the Mopac bridge, I saw a shiny penny on the ground. Now, I am not the most superstitious person in the entire world, but I figure that life's hard enough without having any crazy cosmic voodoo going against me, so I always stop and pick them up. However, in my haste to begin, I let it lie. Not good. Just a few minutes later, I saw this right in the middle of the trail not 4 feet in front of me:

red and yella, kill a fella

Yeppers, that would be a Texas Coral Snake. As in the second deadliest snake, in line right behind the Rattlesnake. Sweet. I didn't know that is what it was at the time, but I took a mental picture and looked it up when I got back to Zac's mom's house. Luckily for us trail dwellers, it was not aggressive, so some brave runners were able to scare it safely off the trail. Yikes.

Crisis averted, I carry on. About 5 minutes later, I feel something cool hit my right forehead/temple region. It was not rain. It was bird poop. For the first time in my 30-year career, a bird pooped on my head! And not just my head, the face part of my head! Very luckily, I was a few steps away from one of 4 water stations on the whole 5-mile course, so I was able to duck aside and rinse the doo doo off my mug. Gag. But in recounting my story to others, I have learned that getting pooped on by a bird is good luck. So, in not having picked up the penny, I was faced with a deadly snake (but luckily I came out unscathed), and then I was shat upon by a bird (which is considered lucky). You could resonably deduce that by not picking up that penny, I actually gained luck.

Um, yeah...I think I'll pass on that kind of luck. Next time, I'm pickin' it up.

Our weekend in haiku

ON AIR WITH HOWARD GARRETT
was first-time caller
with my gardening hero
too late for corn meal.

FUN WITH ADAM AND MEAGAN
sushi their suggestion
yet order only cooked dishes
why is Fort Worth so windy?

GOOD INTENTIONS
winter wonderland
dad left sprinkler on again
made icicle farm.

dad's icicle farm

hilarious

THE COPP SHOP
worked on Zac's law firm
so many things to do
go copplaw.com!

DOUBLE THE SINNER
was a backslider
from church with mom and dad
saved booth at lunch place.
(hey, it was their idea!)

AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY
faithful listeners
say goodbye to a legend
Paul Harvey...good day.

spring is springing!

I've been on a new kick lately in that I walk the doggies right when I get home from work, as opposed to waiting until after dinner when it's dark outside. I first started doing this because it occurred to me that in their doggie minds, it's probably far more fun to see/sniff/pee on things in the light of day. But our new routine has been a good change of pace for me too. For one thing, the streets of Stevens Park Village in the six o'clock hour is where it's at. Any dog parent who's any dog parent is outside, so it's a great way to catch up on all the neighborhood gossip. And that's some good stuff, y'all. SPV comes correct with the drama.

But more importantly, it allows me to stop and smell the roses a bit. My perception of what's going on with the general landscape of our neighborhood (and every where else, too) is especially heightened with my shiny new career, so I have really picked up on the first blush of spring this year. My favorite early spring stunners include the deciduous magnolia, flowering quince, and of course classic daffodils and tulips.

deciduous magnolia



flowering quince

There was a moment last week when the warm sun was beaming it's last few rays of the day on my cheeks, and as I inhaled the sweet, warm air, a huge smile spread across my face just thinking of the impending springtime.

And then a few hours later a cold front blew in and dropped the temps back down into the 30s. Dangit. Such is weather in Texas, I suppose.

Then last night, as Zac and I were letting the doggies out into the back yard "one last times," we heard one of my very favorite sounds...the cicadas were singing their little songs for the first time this year! Instantly I was harkened back to dreamy thoughts of summer and of swimming in the pool at the Squaw Creek house until way past my bedtime, softball games in the warm nighttime air, picking cherry tomatoes right off the vine and popping 'em right into my mouth, going to the nurseries on Saturday morning with mom and dad and cook-outs by the pool.

Awww, sweet summertime. I'm so glad it's almost here. :)

All I really want for v-day

Forget the stuffed animals this St. Valentine's Day. These real animals are in the news and melting hearts all over the world (at least mine).

Why choose a fake Koala bear that was made in China, when you could rescue a baby Koala bear and give him fresh spring water while holding his little Koala hand?


And how do you show your super-sized love for your Valentine? Certainly not with your garden-variety, regular-sized bunny rabbit. Get to hopping down your bunny trail, Peter Cottontail, here comes Herman the SUPER-sized bunny rabbit!


This furry phenom is a whopping 22 pounds! That's a whole lotta hippity hop. And it's true...I snopesed it.

Alas, I will not be getting either of these guys for Valentine's Day. Oh well. Besides, where would we sleep with two Pomeranians, a baby Koala, and a gigantic bunny all hogging up our bed?

Happy Saint Valentine's Day, loves!

We're three years old!

Yesterday was our 3-year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 3 whole years since we promised forever in sweet little Harbour Island.



I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. :)

Let's hear it for the boy!

My husband rocks. Around the end of November, Zac took on his first really intricate and dynamic case as a solo practitioner. It was a doozy, taking twists and turns, hitting peaks and valleys. It caused Zac several sleepless nights and a few more splashes of salt in his pepper-colored hair. He juggled this case, his full time job, the holidays, a couple of out-of-town weddings, and travel for work, all the while keeping his chill.

Finally, early this morning, before Punxsutawney Phil woke up in his little groundhog bed and came out to tell us that we have 6 more weeks of winter (thanks a lot, Phil), papers were being signed. The opposite side began to wave the white flag! Zac and his client won! And what's more, his client got everything he wanted. Game over.

So, in true cheerleader style, I say G-Double-O-D-J-O-B, good job, good job, ZAC! We are proud of you, say we are proud of you, hey!

Keepin' it weird

If you could hack into the TxDOT digital road sign system, what would you say? Here's what Austin says. Totally worth the $500 fine if you ask me!

OSMF

Yippee...my first blog! I have been toying with the notion of starting a blog for a while now, so I thought that my maiden voyage into the blogosphere should be something of a contribution. A small way of giving back to the world of blogging that I have so selfishly been lurking for years now. So here it is...

The line-up for this year's Old Settler's Music Festival has been posted! Check it out at http://www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org/artists

You're welcome.