I do find myself censoring myself on this blog, which keeps me from writing as much, and keeps the blog from being as enjoyable to me as it could be. I don’t intend on many of my entries to be password protected, not at all. However, some (especially work-related entries) may be protected in the future. If you would like to be emailed the password, leave a comment on this post (with a valid email address).

Moose will be six years old on July 13th. He’s never been afraid of storms, but that may be because in Colorado, it hardly ever storms. In fact, the ONLY thing I miss about Kansas are the thunderstorms and rain storms. I could count on my fingers the number of times I’ve heard it thunder in the 6 1/2 years I’ve lived in Colorado.

Wednesday night there was some thunder and lightning (of course it didn’t rain, as my yellow front yard can attest to). For some reason, Moose became very upset by this.

I was lying on the couch watching the best TV reality show ever (So You Think You Can Dance), and I barely noticed the occasional thunder and lightning.

Moose started panting like I’ve never seen him pant before. It was like he had just run a marathon. And his tongue was sticking out - something that never happens in the house because he’s not running around.

He kept leaning on me and trying to shove his head into my arm. So I pet him and didn’t notice. Next thing I know, he had jumped on the couch and jumped ON ME, and was trying to get so close it was like he was climbing through me. I think he was trying to hide his massive head by tucking it in the crook of my neck. He didn’t bark or whimper, but his eyes were a bit bugged out.

I couldn’t get him to settle down, and I certainly didn’t want a 180 pound dog laying on me. So finally I gave him two tablets of Benadryl. I don’t know if it worked or not because I had taken some too so I fell asleep soon after.

It is just weird to me that a dog suddenly develops a fear of thunder at the age of six.

I usually don’t like sweet things served by fast-food restaurants. Example: I had the new strawberry mixed shake that Wendys keeps talking about, and it tasted like a cupful of chemical to me. Same with Sonic fruit smoothies. It all is so chemically tasting.

So I had no hopes or expectations of liking Taco Bell’s Frutista Freeze. But they look so damn good! And I have recently discovered the expensive joy of having the strawberry/kiwi/mango fresh fruit cup from Starbucks, kindling a love of mango I never knew I had. So of course I had to try the Mango Strawberry Frutista Freeze.

It only comes in one size and costs $1.89 in my neck of the woods. It has 250 calories, mostly carbs. It contains no fruit juice but does have strawberries on the top.

At first I thought I got ripped off - hardly any red on the top and only one strawberry. Later I realized the strawberries had sunk into the drink - I got plenty of strawberries, making me happy.

I was delighted that there was extremely little of the chemical taste I’m so sensitive to. It was muy delicioso! It smelled like mango and tasted a bit peachy in the aftertaste. I loved it and would get it again.

It melted a bit, and I decided to see if I could make a mixed drink so I added some vodka. But I added too much, and I only had a small bit of the freeze left in the first place, so I added water and some crystal light yellow lemonade mix. It was FANTASTIC! So even the last few sips of the drink can be reborn into a nightcap of desperation.

Next time I’m trying the strawberry one.

I’m doing so well with all of this, I can’t help but think that someone out there is praying for me, sending positive energy, SOMETHING. If someone is, thank you! It’s working!