"Scotland.... Texas?" Ha. No.

How many people begin this by saying, "I've never written a blog before?" I'm not so naive as to believe that the world cares to have a play-by-play of my life. However, I'm about to leave behind many friends and family members whom I would normally share things with, and communication is about to become a bit more difficult. Thus, the blog.

The latter know who I am. All you other people...not so much. I'm from a small Texas town. It's your typical Texas small-town story where football was about all there was to do other than the Pacman machine at the laundromat. I wasn't popular, I was the nerd that made good grades (I'd like to say that I believe those characteristics are unrelated to each other...coincidence or just my good luck?). Anyhow, to make a long story short, I went to college, met a great guy, went to grad school, married the great guy, got a dog, bought a house, worked at a coffee shop, taught high school, got another dog, and then finally got a job doing what I really enjoy and went to school to do. A few weeks after being offered a full time position there, I turned in my two weeks notice and told them I'm moving to Scotland. My friend Stephen Ross' response: "Scotland.... Texas?" Ha. No.

So we have 1.5 months to sell our house and two cars. We've met two realtors and two landscapers and have to pick which ones we like best to do the job. One day has been bad so far. I called one company that handles international pet travel out of Houston to ask how to transfer my french bulldog, Frog, and my Frenchbo, Angel. She said she couldn't help me. She told me that no airline would transfer that breed and that they are a weak breed that pose a risk to other dogs. Moreover, she informed me that Scotland is very humid and poses significant respiratory risks to snub-nosed breeds. My thoughts... Do you know where we live right now? So I cried. She told me repeatedly that she couldn't help me. I have to leave them?

No. She was either (A) giving me a load of crap to avoid working a difficult case, or (B) was VERY mistaken out of ignorance. We found several places that could make it happen... but boy is it EXPENSIVE. $4,000. Yep. Digest that... I thought about buying a bigger purse and making my husband carry one too. We even conspired with one friend about how to make Frog look like a very furry baby. We would need to somehow convince all the other kids in front of us to crawl on all fours (not likely Jonathan, but thanks). Lesson of the day: Seek a second opinion.