What a day...

It started off quite shitty. I went to work 2 hours late due to some major miscommunication (which translated into me staying two hours late to make up my time) and was almost involved in a car accident on the way there. I missed out on washing two dogs that I was really excited to meet... I did, however, see them on their way out. They were Irish Wolfhounds and they were BEAUTIFUL.

But, I got an awesomely pleasant surprise visit from Chocolate Dog - now named by his new family "Choco." 😁 Jim said that he'd been to the vet (he did have a rabies tag on today) and that he's been tested and treated for all the routine stuff and he's doing well. Also, the vet said that he appeared to be a full-blooded lab and that he was probably about a year old. 😀

So far the kids love him and he's getting along with everyone just great. Jim still seemed really happy to have him as part of the family (even though he chewed the corner of one of their couch cushions). We talked for a while and I just feel really good about how the whole situation played out.

Gosh, when I saw Jim walk in front of the salon I'm telling you - I LIT UP. I recognized him right off and I rushed to the window to see if he'd brought my friend to see me. When he had that was it. My day was good.

Also, I tickled a snake today.

Not only that - one of my favorite doggies to wash came in. She comes so often that her dad just sat her down in the floor and she ran right to me. She knows who gives her baths and paints her nails! Her name is Lulu and she's a baby English Bulldog. She's a trip. Every time that I wash her she grabs my zipper charms and unzips my smock. She sometimes even bites the water. She's so playful. ... Ok, I wasn't going to do this, but here's a picture of her & Mo (one of the other bathers). 😁

She is totally winking. 😂

The End. 😊

Daxter

Rats aren't supposed to live alone, you know. 😁

The other one, btw... his name is Jak. 😍

Doggie Christmas 2007

My name must be Tinkerbell...

because all the lost boys find me.

So yeah, he came here tonight in the crappiest of conditions. He'd been left at a friends house (probably on their porch in this cold ass weather) in a 10 gallon aquarium with a wooden board on top with a t-shirt and half a bucket (for shelter, I guess??) thrown in the tank. And his food and water dishes were the bottoms of 20 ounce soda bottles. My friends then brought him to me seeing as how they have a bunch of cats and couldn't keep him.

So uh... I guess I have myself a new man rat.

Chocolate Dog

The other day on my way to work I saw a dog in the middle of Quintard. There was traffic all around and he was just running back and forth across the lanes. Had he not been near a traffic light that happened to be red I'm sure he would've been hit. Anyway, I couldn't just leave him there... so I pulled over and called him to me. He looked scared, but he came anyway. I petted him and got him to follow me back to the car. Then I hoisted him in and took him to work with me. Good thing I work at a pet store.

Well, we arrived at work and I left him in the car while I got a lead for him. (He had no collar so I couldn't just hook a leash to him). I persuaded him to walk as far as the doors, but then he wouldn't come in. We finally lured him just inside the doors with treats (he seemed so hungry that he probably would've done anything for something to eat). But then he still wouldn't walk with me - he was too scared. 😟 He wasn't a tiny dog by any means, but I managed to carry him back to the grooming salon. Our manager donated a small bag of food to him so I set him up in a large kennel with some food and water. Poor thing... he ate and drank so much. 😓 A bit later I gave him a bath. He acted like that was a first... he was SO freaked out. But he did need a good cleaning up.

All day I tried to figure out what I was going to do with him. He had no ID on him... I even had him scanned for a microchip. No luck. 😑 No one else could take him home so he ended up spending the night with us much to Nick's dismay.

The next day he went to work with me again. Before we even made it in the doors good a man came up and commented on what a beautiful dog he was. I told him thanks, but that he wasn't mine and explained the situation. He said that he wished he could take him, but that he didn't think he could. We talked for quite a while and then I ended up giving him my contact information just in case he found anyone who might want him. It wasn't even a half hour later that he called me at work and said that he'd talked to his wife and it was ok with her if he took him home.

Though I very much liked Chocolate Dog I knew that I couldn't keep him. After talking to Jim (the kind man who wanted him), I really felt like that was the best place for him. He said that he had two kids and another dog at home, and two cats, also. Chocolate Dog looked like a lab or lab mix and a vet tech told me that he couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 months old. He was always very excited when anyone came into the salon... he would bounce and bounce like he was saying, "Oh you, please play with me! Come on, I'm ready!" So between the kids and the dog he would have plenty of playmates. Jim also said that he had a fenced back yard, though Chocolate Dog would be living inside. No more wandering in the road for him, thank goodness. 😌

Later that day Jim called to let me know how things were going (which made my freakin' day). 😁 So far Chocolate Dog had made friends with Jim's other dog and they'd been playing and playing. 😀 His kids weren't home from school yet, but he was sure they'd be excited about having a new puppy. He was going to let them pick out some names seeing as how "Chocolate Dog" was just one of many nicknames I'd given him (along with "Lost Boy", "Fella" and "Brownie"). He said that he'd be going to the vet this coming week and also that he'd bring him in to the salon to see me from time to time. 😄 So needless to say I'm very pleased that Chocolate Dog lucked up on such a happy ending. He was such a sweet boy and deserved so much better than wandering hungry in the streets. I can't wait to see him again. 😊

Yay! :D

We bought Rock Band the other day and I can't not play it. That is the MOST AWESOME game EVAR! 😁😁😁

Shadow's our front man and I LOVE to hear him sing. When he's not singing he's dancing. Nick plays bass and guitar (I think - but not at the same time) and I'm on drums. It's SO much fun. I don't even care what songs we play; I just want to play.

It's great because I haven't played anything drum-like in YEARS. You probably can't even imagine how much I've missed being in the high school band... mostly marching band. That was more fun than concert band (although that was cool, too). But anyway...

I own a set of drums, but I never had a clue as to how to get all my limbs to work together... so playing this game was sort of challenging at first because it has a bass pedal and all that jazz, but I'm catching on pretty quickly, I think. I'm scoring pretty good, (like in the 80's, AT LEAST - even on the harder songs). I think I've done as well as 97 on some of the less hard ones, though. It makes me excited because, hey - maybe one day I'll actually get un-shy enough to wail on my real-life drums. That would be nothing short of exhilarating.

Also, you get to create the rock star you play with so there's a bald drummer with taped up glasses and a skinny guitarist and a cute little mohawked singer in our band... which is called "The Sneak" btw. I wish I could put up a picture of our characters... I'll have to find a way to get our images - even if I have to somehow photograph them from the TV.

Now that you know what a dork I am I guess I'm done. Laterz!

Work...

Well, I'm working a whole lot. If I'm not at PetSmart, I've got books to do for a small company on the side, and also another project coming up after Thanksgiving. Needless to say - I'm busy, but things seem to be going pretty well. I'm still loving PetSmart... I feel like I'm learning a lot. Yesterday I did anal glands for the first time and I'm also getting better about trimming black nails (though they usually still end up a little long). I just really, REALLY don't want to quick a dog and with black nails it's just so hard to tell when you're close.

Anyway, the company I'm doing books for currently is pretty awesome; I'm SO excited to be helping them out. The man who runs the company is a big animal lover... he has a 14 year old German Shepherd who's back legs stopped working and since she doesn't seem to be in pain and is in good spirits he just carries her butt around for her with a harness. I like that he would do that for her... she goes everywhere with him so I know it's not an easy task. It's just nice to see that some people have it in them to care for their pets so much. And I know - some people would say that it's cruel to not put her down, but I say that it's no worse than the elderly in wheelchairs. Hell, I'd do it for any one of my dogs.

Well, I can't think of much else going on right now... it seems like all I do is work lately. I guess that's ok... no time to spend my money, right?? 😂 More later... 😊

I’m blawgin’ it.

Punniest Thing I've Done All Day... 😂

I'm Blu. 😂

I Kiss Girls.

Honestly, did you not see that coming?? 😀 And hey look - my psoriasis looks like a paw print. I don't think I've ever been more ok with having jacked up skin. 😝

Emma’s trying to catch a moth. 😂

Yeah... you can expect the rest of this blog to be that random. 😝

So... I've been sick. Feeling pretty terrible...

A little bit of nausea in my life

A little bit of snot dripping by my side

A little bit of TheraFlu is all I need

A little bit of tissue is what I see

A little bit of cringing in the sun

A little bit of cold sweats all night long

A little bit of coughing here I am

A little bit of flu makes me feel bad 😓

And yes - I totally just made that up. 😀

Anyway, I went to work Friday feeling terrible, but I didn't stay long. The manager called and I squeaked and croaked into the phone and he sent me home. I was RELIEVED. I needed to rest and so I did. And it helped. ... BUT... he didn't send me home before I got myself bitten by a Shih Tzu named Larry. I was totally out of my head from feeling so bad so I was an easy target. He didn't break the skin, but my thumb is still aching and he left a red mark in my nail. If I remember correctly all I said was "shit" and stood there gawking like an idiot.

Moving on... Saturday, we had a LOT of cute dogs. One, I shit you not, looked like an Ewok from Star Wars. And we had a Chinese Crested come in and she was SO cute and warm. Her name was Diva, but her hair held a striking resemblance to that of Cruella Deville. 😄 Do I even have to say it?? I want one of those dogs - if only to keep me warm.

Sunday we rearranged the house with the help of our good friends Jajuan and Janet. This is the first time since the flood (which happened in JULY!) that I've been ok / even remotely happy to be in this house. We've pretty much given a room to the pets (so me and Shadow can play with the dogs - Yay!) and made ourselves a new living room. Hopefully we'll put our new flooring down soon and in the mean time figure out who to go after for the damage to our other room. That would be nice. Now if only we could manage to afford a fence, life would be grand.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good today. Not at first... at first (and by at first I mean 6:30 A.M. - I had to get Shadow ready for school), I felt like shit. For some reason I woke up with a migraine. Then I took some Ibuprofen and laid back down since I didn't have to be at work until 11. But then I was woken up by the dogs going straight NUTS and someone banging on the door. It was the cops. Apparently, we Trick-or-Treated in the wrong place at the wrong time... there was a robbery in the neighborhood and someone said that our car was out there until 11:00 that night. That was complete bullshit... I told the cop that we headed home at 9:30 (which was wayyy too late in my opinion, but hey - it was HALLOWEEN!) because my kid had to be in school the next day. He asked if anyone could back up my story and I was all "Yeah, plenty of people could."

So... Back to what I was saying - at work my headache faded at some point. I'm glad about that. But I almost got bitten again. She put her teeth on me, but it didn't hurt. I'm sure she could have hurt me and damn if she didn't try. She's so grumpy that her owner even calls her "Pissy Missy." And yep - she was another Shih Tzu. Those little critters just are not happy. 😕

Pissy Missy

threw a hissy

and tried to bite me and Jennifer

but I hugged her tight - not without a fight

and we finally finished her

Oh, I am SUCH a poet tonight. 😂😂😂

Anyhoo, I'm really glad to be home (it feels like home again!) - and that in itself is a damn good feeling. It was great to come home to three wagging tails and lots of kisses. It also smells really awesome in here... there are these things that you can put in your air vents to make the house smell yummy... ours smells like spice cookies or something. I'm digging it. 😀 And I can't wait to put on something comfy and curl up on the couch with Nick and a blanket and some Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cocoa (that shit is the shit - [I'm serious!] - but only if you share it) and watch some Scrubs. All is right in my home tonight.

So here it is:

Tomorrow is my last day at Artisan fucking Magnetics.

😁😁😁 I am STOKED! 😁😁😁

I know that probably sounds terrible, but I've been walked upon and shat upon for long enough. Three years is long enough, right?

For those who have somehow missed out on my periodic rants, let's recap: I worked my ass off and received virtually nothing (except the experience I'm walking out the door with) in return.

When I started the office area was in shambles. There was no organization, no method to the madness, no files set up (except for those that my co-worker created and used). But that's it. There were piles and piles of paperwork - in boxes or just stacked somewhere. Guess who had to organize all of that, and figure out what was in the accounting system or not, and what had been paid for or not? Me. And I did. And I did it well considering that this was my first bookkeeping experience straight out of college. (The teachers pretty much expect that you'll get a job working under someone with experience... but that didn't happen in my case. I was pretty much on my own and I think I handled things well).

Anyway, I've endured:

• being laid off at inopportune times
• the company randomly shutting down and re-opening
• Nick being laid off out of spite (because I stood my ground one day)
• stress and anger almost daily due to terrible management decisions
• being lied to
• watching the boss's family and friends getting paid outrageously and promoted

... and that's in addition to steadily taking on more work (including two other people's jobs) and not getting a raise IN TWO YEARS. There's (unfortunately) so much more that I could say, but I just don't want to get into the specifics. Not today, anyway - I'm in a fairly decent mood. So yeah... you can probably only imagine how fed up I've been. My main goal this year was to leave this place and I can't express how excited I am that tomorrow I get to walk away and not look back.

I know I probably sound really terrible for saying all of these things (and I realize that this is wayyy unprofessional - hence this being a preferred post), but this shit was affecting me. It was affecting my mood daily, and thus, my quality of life. Nobody wants to come home angry every day (or dread their days before they even start, for that matter). I know that I sure don't.

Things weren't always this way, though. When I first started I was excited and happy to come to work. As time went on I saw more and more ridiculous things happen and my "happy and excited to be here" started fading until it pretty much turned to contempt over time. I just couldn't do this anymore. I'd rather work part-time, or two jobs, or something - ANYTHING - to get away from here. And so that's what I'm doing - stepping out of my comfort zone and going for something better.  Things are changing and it's scary, but it will just have to work out.

P.S. If you have any odd jobs or hear of anything part-time or flexible - send it my way. I'm good at cleaning, laundry, bookkeeping, and handling animals. I'm not quite getting enough hours at my part-time job for the time being... hopefully that will change soon, though. 😊

Scruffy

Well, again with the new additions to the family. This is Scruffy - an adorable, sweet little fella who was thrown out at least twice that we know of. He was fortunate enough to cross paths with Shelby, (the groomer who has taken care of him for the last four months or so). He was brought in to the salon to be groomed and was never picked up. The owner left a disconnected phone number with us and later returned and left his rabies tags. Shelby at some point found out that this was not the first time that he'd been dumped out. Between the two of us we can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want him... he's house trained, sweet, good with kids and other animals, cute, appears to be neutered already...

Anyway, he needed a family that could keep him indoors and once I met him my heart just went out to him. I brought him home to see how he fit in and what everyone thought of him and it was like he just belonged. So as of last night he's our new baby... even though he's grown.

He and Shadow have become fast friends if you can't tell. Shadow likes him because he's cuddly and because he can walk the little fella without him pulling him all over the place. They're very sweet together.

Still haven’t been bitten...

but today, I had my lip busted at work. By a dog. 😂

I was trying to put a collar on a Great Dane who was very ready to go home and she was bouncing around a lot... she jumped up and her head hit me in the mouth. It busted my bottom lip pretty good. It's gashed open and bruised and swollen. But I'm ok. 😊

The bad to my good...

Due to the amount of hours I'm working lately I'm never home. Before starting my second job (which I'm still enjoying, btw) I was home every afternoon with Shadow. Well, this morning he informed me (with tears in his eyes) that he didn't even feel like he had a mom anymore.

I felt like I could vomit.

Having two jobs is temporary... even if I wanted to I couldn't do this forever. But I still feel guilty and bad. That's not all, but the rest is nothing I want to get into right now... When I think about it, though, I just want to run away.

Today...

Today, I am now in the system at work so I can sort of have appointments (for baths and stuff). How awesome is THAT??

Also, I washed a Great Dane today... he was a baby, but he was HUGE. Very sweet, though. I liked him.

AND, I was almost bitten today. By a pug. 😂  He wasn't fond of bath time or getting his nails trimmed. Brandy, bring me your bath-loving pugs any day. 😃 Anyway, he just touched me with his teeth so it was a warning. Shelby saved my day. Too bad I didn't save hers. Yeah, she got bitten today. 😰 But that's all part of it so I imagine it's only a matter of time before I'm inducted in... with TEETH.

Anyway, goodnight. I'm pooped and tomorrow's another full day.

Miss me?? I miss you. :[

I have been working. SO. MUCH.

Right now I have two jobs. One is supposed to be full time, but since I started the second one I don't really get to put in all 40 of my hours. The other is definitely part time, though I wouldn't be surprised if I put in nearly 40 there. This is a typical day for me as of late: Wake up before 7 AM, get Shadow ready for school, feed my animals, go to work at my bookkeeping job. Leave there at some point and work at PetSmart until 7 or sometimes 9 PM. Whew! As you can imagine I don't have much time for anything else... so if I'm slow to respond to a message or call or whatever - that is why. Either that or I'm up to some dumbassery - like locking myself out of my house twice in the same day. Seriously, I did that this week. 

Don't get me wrong, though... while I do miss Shadow and my pets (A WHOLE LOT), I'm having a blast working at PetSmart. I'm a dog bather in the grooming salon and I have so much fun. Yeah, it's wet and messy and dog hair gets in my nose and mouth - but I love being around the animals and my new coworkers, too. I like it so much that it's hard to believe I'm getting paid to do it. 😁

Anyway, aside from that I guess there's not much else worth mentioning. Just wanted to let you all know what I was up to. So what's new with you??

Little Bird

Sooo... yesterday when I got off from work I stopped by my mom's house to pick up my son. She handed me this:

She said she found it on a mound of dirt. We looked for its nest to no avail. She has cats and dogs so leaving it out there would have meant certain death. Plus it was sort of chilly that evening... so, I took the little shit home. I have heat lamps all over because of our reptiles and spiders and also various kinds of food because of our array pets.

Anyway I took it home and tried to feed it. It appeared not to be interested. It was the late evening so I imagine that the poor baby was tired. I just put it near a lamp and hoped for the best. Morning came and it still wouldn't eat. Knowing that I couldn't feed it every hour or so due to my jobs I began looking for someone to take it. I called the Museum of Natural History and they gave me the names of a few people who rehabilitate wildlife in the area. I called around and a police officer in the area met me at around 9:30 am. By then the baby was opening his beak - he was ready for breakfast. 😁

The officer said that he had an incubator and some different things to feed him so I sent the little one with him. I figured he had a better chance of survival with someone who knew what they were doing. I'm wishing him the best!

To Puppy:

I'm sorry. More than you will ever know.

Tonight as I was coming home I saw a dog running in and out of the street. He was small and looked scared to death... it made me sad. Me and Shadow wanted to help him so we stopped the car and tried calling to him. He just kept running... so we hopped back in the car to try to get closer, but that didn't work. We lost sight of him. Shadow was really sad... he said that he hopes that dog finds its way home. I really do, too.

As we were riding home Shadow said he wondered whatever happened to Puppy. Puppy was his first dog and we got him when we were living at my grandmother's house... Shadow was about two years old then (he's 7 now). One day the old neighbor lady had walked down and asked if we wanted to see her new puppies... and of course we did. She then offered one to Shadow, who of course wanted one. So we took him back to our house and Shadow named him Puppy.

Seeing as how I was in college at the time (which = dead broke) and probably pretty dumb he never went to the vet for any shots or to be fixed... so thanks to me he wasn't off to the best start. He lived outside and he ate dog food and scraps. We had no fence, although we had a huge yard, so he ran free. He'd run over to the neighbors house and steal their toddler's toys... he was always bringing something home. My grandmother hated him for that. Oh, and for being on her porch for any reason, whatsoever. But anyway...

One evening when me and Shadow came home we saw Puppy in the yard. He wasn't jumping all over us, happy to see us. He was lying really close to the side of the house, breathing hard. Upon closer inspection he was bleeding profusely from the neck. I was scared to get too close, but I wouldn't leave him to die alone. I sat outside with him for quite a while. I ended up calling my mother who loaded him up in the back of the hearse that she drove and took him to the vet. He lived... but apparently someone had shot him and it went straight through his neck. So his days after that were spent in a pen (a pretty huge one, at least), to keep him from wandering off and getting shot again. But I still felt bad about that.

He grew up and moved with us when we moved out on our own. We rented a trailer down the street from my grandmother and he could still have a yard to play in (no fence or anything to keep him safe, though). Luckily, he never got in the road much. Not long after moving into that shit hole we were offered a really nice apartment in Oxford... affordable, and closer to my job and Shadow's daycare. Though I couldn't take Puppy I could not turn that down. So I sent him to live with my brother (who lived next door to Nick's grandmother), and that way we could still see him.

Well we saw him pretty often still, but he had no fence... just ran about. A few months later my brother moved... and Puppy just hung around at Nick's grandmother's house. Nick's uncle (who lived very nearby) still fed him so we just left him there. No one seemed to mind and we still got to see him... until one day when he just wasn't there. I heard that he'd been picked up by animal control, but for some reason I didn't go look for him. I wish I knew why I didn't, but I can't remember. I do know that I was in no position to take care of him because the apartment wouldn't let me have him there. I was probably hoping that he'd find a better home that what I could give him. Unfortunately, I doubt that happened.

*sigh* I hate that. I really and truly do. It haunts me (and Shadow, obviously) to this day. I should've done better by him (and Shadow), and I deeply regret that I did not. So as we were riding home tonight Shadow was thinking of Puppy and crying. I was, too. "Mom," said Shadow, "I hope he found what he was looking for." (I think when he didn't come back home we told him that he'd run away because we didn't know what else to say). All I could say was that I hoped he had, too.

"I wish I had a picture of him" he said between sobs. I honestly didn't think that we did, but Shadow found one. ONE. He hung it on the refrigerator.

Puppy disappeared a few years ago... Not knowing how he is or how things ended up for him haunts me. It should.

I feel like such shit right now. I should.

Puppy, I am so sorry.

Nervous...

So today Emma had to go to the vet for her tooth. I had to leave her there and that really sucked. I hate leaving my animals places... it's not like with a kid where you can say, "I'll see you this afternoon." She doesn't know that I'm coming back. She's never been to that strange place before. For all I know she thinks I've ditched her and I hate the thought of her thinking that. I hugged her and kissed her and told her "I love you"... I also told her I'd be back just in case she understands.

She couldn't eat anything late last night / early this morning so I know she was hungry and thirsty when we left. I felt bad about that. Then she was nervous in the car... she seems to like to get out once in a while, but trips in the car always make her nervous. She shakes... she used to shake and drool (drool a LOT), but she doesn't do that anymore. I still feel bad for her, though.

Anyway, hopefully this will all be for the best. She's getting her teeth cleaned and one looked at. This one tooth is sort of brown... the rest of her teeth are white, though. It looks like it might be hurting her and she's been chewing EVERYTHING she can get her mouth on for the past few weeks. The gum around it sometimes looks inflamed, but not always. I'd rather have it looked at than for her to be in pain so... she's at the vet. And I'm nervous for her.

Today has the potential to be super-good... I have an interview at a place I really, REALLY want to work. And so yeah... I'm nervous about that, too. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't feel like I have so much riding on getting that job... but I do. Interviewing is a nervous process for me... it doesn't help that my boss told me a while back that I'm a terrible interview. Now it's always in the back of my mind whether it's true or not.

I'm not so great at dressing up so I always scrutinize what I wear... but, I feel pretty good about what I'm wearing today. I don't think it's over the top dressy, nor do I appear slouchy... well, once I take off my jacket, anyway. Then I scrutinize my face... too much make-up?? Not enough? Is my psoriasis apparent? I should've painted my nails. Fuck. My glasses are broken and I just re-taped them together... but it doesn't look as nice as it did last time. Damn it. Damn it! What if my lens falls out?!?!

Then, oh then... what if I forget to turn my phone off and there's some emergency with Emma? Or Shadow? Or Nick?? Worse yet, what if I do turn my phone off and I don't know about it??? What if my car won't crank? It keeps turning off a lot lately. What does that even mean?!

So yeah... this is me today. I'm trying to look on the bright side - as in "Hey! I have an interview! 😀" The place where I'm interviewing is somewhere that I go all the time. I'm usually very comfortable there - hopefully that feeling will return once I walk in. Or I might just be wayyy apparently giddy. Hey, who doesn't want an enthusiastic employee?? 😂 I would just say the name of the place, but apparently I'm suddenly superstitious and do not want to jinx it. Do not guess - I will not answer you (until it's over with, at least). So anyway, I feel like I have a good chance of this working out in all honesty. I may or may not know the person who's interviewing me... if I did it would probably make things easier. Or not. I might have performance anxiety. 😬

Well... I'm shutting up now. I think I just needed to let some of my frantic thoughts out... better to let it out than keep it stuffed in, yes? I guess I do feel a bit better. Wish me luck! 😊

[Update: Emma's ok - and her teeth are all sparkly. She just has an antibiotic for her tooth. It was gingivitis, they say.]

[Update: I think it went well! No emergencies, no freaking out... and they want me to take a drug test tomorrow. 😁]

The End Times Must be Upon Us...

because tonight I cooked. ON PURPOSE. And it was PRETTY DAMN GOOD.

Yep. I got this fancy-pants rice and vegetable steamer so I think that might've inspired me a bit. As if this is a big deal here's what I had: black beans and rice, fried cabbage, sliced cucumber and tomato, and cornbread (this is my third attempt at making that this week... I suppose the third time really is charmed. It finally turned out right).

And yes - this was totally blog-worthy... it was a big deal for me. But that is not all. I've kept the housework up and have been cleaning out and rearranging like crazy. I scrubbed the shower for over an hour the other day and now that shit practically sparkles. I'm turning into a regular Martha Stewart. How creepy. 😳

I probably need your help.

So I have this little problem. It's called, "Some Assholes Altered the Drainage Ditch Behind My House and Caused it to Flood Two Weeks Ago and I'm Getting Nowhere." There used to be some railroad tracks that ran straight behind my house and someone decided it was a great idea to convert them into part of the walking trail. So the railroad company (Norfolk Southern) hired some apparently stupid contractors (Allstate something or other in GA) to take up the tracks. Well, they did. But they left cross-ties in the ditch and also a piece of machinery broken down in my yard for over a week - which collapsed the ditch in. So when it rained on July 23 my yard flooded and so did a room of my house... ANKLE DEEP.

Yes - I've been going in circles since then trying to find out who to contact over my damages and broken ditch. I'm guessing that the contractors who did the work should be the ones to fix it... I've called the City of Anniston, they say I'm County... the County says that the trail isn't theirs... I have been put off and put off and put off. Oh yeah, and put off. So I've been talking to the contractors and they keep blowing me off... they told me three times last week and once this week that they were coming out to look at the damage and they've stood me up EVERY time. I'm kind of tired of being nice to people. We can't get our house in order until someone repairs the ditch and I'm pretty tired of my house being a wreck. I don't take kindly to that shit.

I spoke to a lawyer today and he said to print the pics I have of my yard and my damages. He also told me to get an estimate and then come and see him. Someone came out and looked around today... he said he'll get my estimate written up ASAP. But we have to do a lot more than we thought... I thought we'd just need to replace the carpeting and baseboards... nope - walls and insulation, too. He said that if the water was as deep as we said (and we do have pictures) that the insulation would suck up the water and cause mold and also cause the walls to buck out. So great.

I'm nervous and upset... I've never had to sue anyone before, but these people aren't listening to my polite requests to not fuck up my house. The only thing I don't have pictures of is the machinery broken down in my yard... so what do you think? If the property has never flooded before and then suddenly after all this "taking up the tracks" business it does, does it sound like I have grounds to sue? I do have pics of cross-ties in the ditch and also where the ditch ceases to be a ditch. Oh, and all the standing water and everything. I'm going fucking nuts here, people. Is there anything I'm overlooking?? Anything else I should do?? Thanks to Jennifer mentioning it I'm also considering going to the media with this shit. What do you think?? Won't ya help a brother out, out, out, out, oouutt??

Rest in Peace

I chose this picture of Cleo because Shadow remembered that she was a good momma... the first thing he said when we found her was "Will her babies be ok?" (They're grown; they will.)

Goodbye, my little fat hammy. 😭

Sammy, I've dreaded this day since the day I met you. I wish you were not gone, but I know you needed the rest. Time was starting to wear on your old bones and it showed. Sleep peacefully, love.

Li'l Photo Dump

Li'l Photo Dump

Freak Flood

For anyone who somehow missed the panicked bulletins over the last few days - let me fill you in. The largest room in our house flooded Monday.

Nick and I had taken vacation days on Monday to finish putting down the flooring in the front room. We'd moved everything from the front room into the living room, aka: the room that flooded. Not only that, but being the obsessive mother that I am every year after school I sort through everything that Shadow has brought home, organize it, then pack it away. There were stacks of his schoolwork and art all in the floor when it happened. Not to mention that that's where Nick kept all of his gaming systems, the television, DVD's, etc. So in short - that really fucking sucked.

Monday morning thunder woke us up. I knew that Emma was probably freaking out so I went and let her out of her crate and Scooter out of my room. Then I grabbed some apple juice and joined Nick on the couch. He was playing a game and we were talking about all the crap we needed to do that day. The dogs were being quiet so Nick decided to check on them. When he came back in the room he said "The floor feels wet." I stood up and much to my horror - it certainly did. We started looking around and noticed a water line rising against the wall. We promptly panicked. The floor went from "damp" to "Holy shit - the carpet is floating!" in a matter of moments. It reached ankle deep before it started receding.

We found where the water was coming in. Nick went to the door... we knew there was a storm because we could hear the thunder and rain, but we weren't prepared for what we saw. When he opened the door water poured in. He screamed "Oh shit!" and slammed the door. The water was pushing in from under it. There was a water line about halfway up the tire on my car when all was said and done.

We've been there for over a year and nothing like that has ever happened despite the amount of rainfall. The city is working on the walking trail behind our house and I think they may have jacked up the drainage ditch. That - and we have a neighbor two houses down who damns up his yard so that any rainfall pools in our and our next-door neighbors yards. 😠

We spent our vacation day NOT finishing the floor in the front room. We spent it moving stuff and taking up wet carpet. Nick moved stuff and I hacked up the carpet with a box cutter and drug it out. My fingers hurt... looks like I nearly worked my fingerprints off. 😩 The room is still damp, but we used a wet / dry vacuum to suck up most of the water and we've had heaters and fans running in it non-stop. Hopefully, we can get it dry before it molds or anything horrible like that.

We also replaced the weather-stripping under the door. We're even considering getting some sand bags until we can get something else more permanent done. Oh, and we did call the insurance company... my agent said that a homeowner's policy does NOT cover floods. If a pipe busted or something it would be different. He also said that you have to live in a flood zone to get flood insurance - which we don't.

On the bright side at least we were home. If we hadn't been everything would've been ruined for sure.

Needless to say, our house is in total chaos right now (not to mention the yard). I hate that... I usually have trouble sleeping on an average day if the house is out of order so this shit is really stressing me out. We took yesterday off to get more stuff moved and to work on getting things dried out... luckily - we got a lot accomplished. But we went in to work two hours late today.

When I woke up I had a migraine and my neck and shoulders were tight and my stomach was upset... I think the stress finally caught up to me. I called the boss and told him I couldn't drive right then, but that we'd get in as soon as we could. I took some Excedrin and laid back down... my head's not hurting and I don't feel as bad as I did when I woke up so we made it in. I actually think that two hours did us some good... Shadow had been with my mom while all of this was going on and he always seems tense when he gets home, Nick was tired and sore, too... I think we all just needed that extra little bit of rest. *sigh*

Now to get things straightened back out. m(_ _)m Also, more crap from the last few days:  Emma will normally chew anything she can get her mouth on. Over the last few days it seemed to be getting worse. I thought that maybe she was just stressed with so much changing going on. But I checked her mouth... she has a tooth that looks like it might be giving her trouble so I'm making a vet appointment today.

A light bulb exploded yesterday. It scared the hell out of me.

It's been a really fun time around here.

Boring. (Can't say I didn't warn ya).

I've not posted so much in the last two months or so... I've been really busy with all this "real-life" business and I think that may become the norm for me. I actually feel a good bit better when I don't let myself get bored enough to wander to the computer... It always goes like this: I'm waiting for my laundry to finish drying so that I can fold it, or waiting to bring the dogs back in, or waiting for SOMETHING to do, and so I think "Well, let me check my email / myspace / other things I like to read / etc. Then I get sucked in and put a bunch of things off. Then it all piles up and I get all frazzled and crazy because I hate it when things pile up and then I rush around to get it all done. Moderation is the key here and I suck so horribly at it. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of girl... I don't want to start something today and finish it tomorrow. Too bad that goes for things like reading blogs or eating all the ice cream instead of JUST the things I really need to do. Oh well. That gives me something to work on, I suppose. Anyone know of a way to hurry up and be good at moderation?? 😜😁

Before I forget let me mention something about my last blog... only one person commented it which is fine. I have a feeling that it had something to do with the video being so long and also the political nature of it. Psh... I still don't know much about politics, but I'm learning. Mostly, what I was trying to convey is that Jello Biafra opened my eyes and made me care about something I should've cared about all along. I know we're not all going to agree with each other's views on politics and everyone has their reasons for believing what they do. I hate to admit it, but I've never cared enough to have a "side" and I'm really glad that's not the case anymore. I'm not saying that I do have a side (I don't know enough about anything to have a side at this point) - I'm just saying that I am (for once in my life) paying attention. It feels nice to finally have my head out of the sand.

Anyway, here's what all I've been up to:

I recently removed most of the carpet in my bedroom. I left a square because I EXTREMELY didn't want to move my computer armoire, nor unhook, remove, and re-hook the computer and all the other stuff back up inside it just to get that piece up. Not only that, but my little Scooty likes to hang out under the chair that goes with my armoire so I left him a little to lay on under there. So now I have this really 70s-looking linoleum in my bedroom (it's orangey brown-yellow... sort of like this blog). It's not in bad shape; it has some paint on it, but I'm not worried about that for now. I'm thinking I'll probably paint my room before I put new flooring down, anyway. Also, the linoleum is a LOT easier to clean up when Scooter pees. And yes, unfortunately, he still pees in the floor. I bought him a litter box, thinking that he'd use it. But no. The sound of the dog-litter when he steps on it scares the shit out of him (of course).

More on that... never in my life have I lived with a dog in the house until I got the two I have now. My mother would not allow it although I would've loved to have a dog indoors with me growing up. So Scooter was a first for me. When we first got him he did really well with his housetraining. But then he ended up in the hospital for about a week with Ivermectin (a vet-prescribed drug) in his central nervous system. On top of that he was on morphine for several of those days to control the seizures. To make a long story short:  My little fuzzy boy has never been quite the same. When we first brought him home he had to be in a crate with a pan in the bottom to keep him from having to lay in his own waste all day (he still couldn't walk). It was rough. It's been just over a year since all that and we've never been able to get him housetrained again. He still seems smart - just weird. He WILL go outside, but I'm pretty sure he can't hold it as long as he was once able to and that's where the problem is.

Since I'm not willing to throw him out I thought a litter box might help him. But that's not going to work. When I sit him in there he just tenses up and breathes really shallowly. The sound of the litter scares the hell out of him and I don't have the heart to keep putting him in there. Same thing with the floor... if his nails click too loudly when he walks he'll panic and run backwards and fall. I mentioned it in a previous blog, but we're not really sure if he can see. The vet said that they were not positive he'd make a full recovery and I'm starting to think that he hasn't.

I guess my next course of action for Scooter will be puppy pads... he did ok with those way back when - he just liked to shred them. I'm going to get one of those things that hold them down and see if that helps. So, anyone need a dog litter box?? They're supposedly great for smaller (less neurotic) dogs... I ordered Scoot's off the internet because PetSmart didn't have his size. His is for dogs up to 35 pounds. I'd get rid of it and the rest of the litter for $15 (I paid $30 for it) and it's never even been used. If you're interested check it out here so that you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, we saw Transformers today. It was really good. I'm not much of a movie-goer, but it actually kept my attention the whole time. Also, we went and paid for the flooring for the front room... it's this really pretty red wood flooring. It'll be available for us to pick up Tuesday. I'm excited about putting it down. There's carpet in that room, for now. Emma chewed up a purple bottle of paint on it about two months ago and the other night she ate my green ink pen on it. Not to mention that Scooter pees on it regularly. So yeah... I'll probably start pulling that up this week. Carpet just doesn't work for our lifestyle. Much like hair and fingernails I feel dirty just having it around.

And so... I guess that's all.

Now I'm shaken, but at least I can see.

For those who don't know I've never really been into politics. Never voted. Even thought Bush Cheney was one person (I wish I was kidding).

But Friday we went to see Jello Biafra speak and that man has changed me. Thank you, Jello, for opening my ignorant fucking eyes. I cried through the whole performance... my brother on my mind the entire time.

All I can say now is that the world is one scary, fucked place. More than I ever knew.

Banana Hammocks and MaMaw

So tonight was the night. The night that me, my mother, and my grandmother went to watch the Chippendale's show. All I can say is that I had a freakin' blast (in a LOL kind of way - I found all of this to be quite humorous). I think MaMaw did, too. 😁 We got there and mom saw someone she knew. She spoke to her briefly and MaMaw asks "And who are you?" to this lady she's never met. Then she turns to my mom (her daughter) and says the same thing. Poor MaMaw. Barely in the door and she's already lost. But anyhoo, we got a table and had a seat.

(I always cut my own head off when I try that... oh well.)

So I looked up on stage and noticed someone I know (Becca) sitting up there getting ready for something naughty to happen.  I went over to take some pics and saw another friend (Jen - who the first friend was with) and grabbed Becca's seat since she was on stage anyway and not using it. They had damn good seats; they were right up front.

So I was sitting there chatting with Jen and looked up and saw a dude dancing on stage. No sooner did I see him than he was all over me. Yes - I got a lap dance and didn't even pay for it (didn't even want it, honestly). It was SO gross. I'm a big fan of personal space and not so much a fan of big muscle-y guys. Plus he was all smeared in baby oil (eeew!) and got my glasses all greasy. Anyway, instead of rescuing me Jen took pictures. So I'm sure we'll see them. But haha - he got her next (though she probably enjoyed it). 😜

Btw, Becca and Jen - I have some pretty naughty pics of you two...  I didn't blog them because I thought you might want to.

But anyway, they went on to perform a few interesting-looking tricks...

Me and Jen got a picture together.

I put this up just because I thought it was cute. 😍

Then I decided to go back to the table with my mom and MaMaw.  It was at that point my Mom decided that MaMaw needed some action. (Hence the money being held over her head).

So this guy came over and took a few pictures with her. He was nice enough not to dry-hump her.

Alas, nothing's for free so she had to stick some money down his pants. 😂 It took some convincing. In this picture he was telling her that he doesn't bite - he just licks a lot. I'm sure that helped. 😂😂😂

She finally did it.

And then he kissed her cheek (I missed that shot, but this is her face right afterwards).

She said she wasn't going to wash that cheek again. 😄 But then she forgot what had happened so I showed her the pictures. This is what she looked like:

She couldn't believe it happened... said she must have been asleep. 😕 By the time we got her out to the car she'd forgotten again already. Mom gave me a little cash to hurry up and print these pics. MaMaw needs a reminder I suppose. She did say that she'd always wanted to go to one of these things, but just never did. She even said that if she'd known where we were going (which she did - until she forgot) that she wouldn't have gone. But she said she had a good time and that makes me happy. I feel like even if she doesn't quite remember it, the happy will stay with her. I hope so.

So there ya have it. MaMaw's night on the town. 😁

My Pitiful Dogs

If you live in the area you know that a thunderstorm just passed through. There's a warning siren right near the house and when it went off of course it hurt the dogs' ears. So Scooter started howling and Emma commenced... yodeling. Yes, the dog yodels. Well, maybe not exactly, but that's the best way I can describe it. I've never heard a sound like that come out of a dog before.

When it finally started the announcement instead of making that terrible noise Emma sat down beside me. Close. Her body felt tense and she was shaking in terror. I felt so bad for her. Little did I know that it would get worse once the storm actually got here. She tried every way possible to get in my lap (and yes - I did hold her for a while) and the few times she'd been adventurous enough to get more than a few feet from me that all changed when the thunder clapped. She would run back to me - tail tucked every time. She is the biggest baby. Gotta love her, though. 😍

Well, Scooty was fine during the storm. He didn't seem all that bothered by it. BUT... Nick brought up something that I hate to say I think might be true.

For those of you who don't know:  Scooter is a strange little fella... more so now than before his stay in the hospital. He was knocked out for a week with Ivermectin Toxicosis which affects a dog's neurological system. It was a vet error that caused it and there was nothing they could do besides sedate him to stop the seizures and put him on an IV then hope that he survived long enough for that ONE dose of Ivermectin to work it's way out of his system. Well, it FINALLY did (that was the longest week of my life, I think). But they said that he may have some long term effects... though they did not say what they may be. So he's developed some strange mannerisms in the time he's been home (about a year), which we didn't think much of. Things like walking backwards a lot, running into things, not wanting to go outside, biting when you try to feed him treats... *sigh*

So back to what Nick said... he thinks Scooter might be going blind. It makes perfect sense though I really hope that's not the case. It's time for a checkup, anyway, so I suppose I'll ask the vet to check him out when we go. From what I've read dogs get along fine even if they do go blind (as long as you don't move the furniture around much) so hopefully if that's what's wrong with him then he'll adjust, too. I just don't wish that on my little buddy. He's been through enough. 😕

Well, according to Emma it's time to end this blog. Between her grabbing my hand in her mouth, and petting me with her paw, and wedging her head into my lap, and trying to sit in my lap - I think I get the hint. I know it sounds obnoxious, but I love the attention. She's one of my furbabies. She needs love, too. (Especially after a night as traumatic as this one).

June 2007

Marriage and Pregnancy - You asked for it.

I've had a lot of questions over the last few years about having more kids and getting married and such... Recently, a friend of the family called me up pretty much to ask if I ever planned to marry Nick since we've been together for so long and live in the house together now. So uh, here are the answers. These are only my opinions and my feelings that apply to my life... so as always - do your thing and I'll do mine (whatever it is), and we can still love each other anyway. 😀

On more kids... is that what the world really needs? Honestly?? I don't feel that it does. Not only are there wayyy too many children without homes and families, but there are wayyy too many kids who are in terrible homes and that the system simply cannot take care of. On a more personal level I don't know that I'll ever have any more... At one point I wanted nothing more than to have another child. Now, that is not the case. But I suppose that could change again. Nothing is set in stone.

First of all, FOR NOW, I don't want the wear and tear on my body; despite the fact that I've had a child I'm pretty happy with my physical appearance and I want to enjoy that for a while. Second, I don't want the responsibility; Shadow's FINALLY old enough that I don't feel guilty and evil for letting him spend the night away from home once in a while if I want to take some time to myself. Third, babies are a lot of trouble. I've been contemplating going back to school off and on... right now I feel like I need to focus on myself and where I'm heading more so than anything else. A baby would probably jack that up. While I do understand the urge to make one together with someone you love I'm just not having that urge right now. We have time; there's no rush.

Don't get me wrong - if I ended up preggers I'd be just as happy as I was with Shadow. Not only that - I really enjoyed being pregnant. It's an awesome thing. An inopportune or unplanned pregnancy is not the end of the world to me, simply a surprise that I would embrace and welcome with open arms. That doesn't mean that I'm a kid person, though. I'm not fond of the little buggers, honestly. And you definitely will not find me old and saggy with a litter. That's not my thing. Unless I somehow have twins I wouldn't want more than one more.

On to marriage! My first thought when that is mentioned is "Why?" Do you not think that in this day and age of casual sex and constantly changing minds that it's sort of an outdated concept?? I certainly do. From what I understand nothing really changes once married these days unless you've been abstaining from sex and not living together (which seems to be rare). So all that you're really gaining by getting married is the expense of a divorce in the event you no longer want to be together, which happens A LOT. Wtf? Who wants that? Not me.

I dunno. Not only that, but once you're married it's no longer your choice to be with someone... it becomes your default. I'd personally rather know that the man I love chooses to be with me every day - not that one day he chose to be with me. I mean, truly, if I'm in a committed, loving, trust-filled relationship with someone then what more do I need? What else IS there?

Aside from that I HATE hearing how about how "you're now joined as one" and all this "forever" bullshit. What is that? I wasn't a whole person before I bought this expensive ass piece of paper? Wow. It must be magical or something. And no one knows how they'll feel later down the road. I'm sorry. I'm not afraid of commitment, but I find the idea of pledging yourself to someone "for better or worse" just bogus. If I were to marry a guy who just one day started beating my ass daily I'm promising to stay in that situation? Gnaw man. Not me. No one should have to. Which brings you to divorce. So what does that say about the whole institution of marriage? It's just flawed.

Anyhoo, I don't have anything against married people. If you're married I wouldn't chase your man - but I wouldn't do that to my unmarried friends who are in relationships, either, so don't think you're getting special treatment. 😜 All in all I'm not even saying that I would never do it, but I don't feel that it's likely to be something I'm very interested in doing. If the man I was with joined the military or moved to another country I would marry him so that I could be with him if he meant that much to me. And other junk like that. But just, you know, on an average day it's nothing I desire to do.

So I guess that's it. There you have it. I feel lucky to have found Nick (we share very similar if not the same views on these subjects) because I know not many other people share them. But oh well. To each their own. Feel free to share your feelings on the subject. Yes, this is MYspace, but I'm open. 😊

My First Week of Bald

As of yesterday my head's been mostly naked for a week. As I guessed would be the case I've gotten a lot of "What made you decide to do that?" type questions. Not many people were very shocked (that I know of), which is cool - that means my friends know me. 😂

As for the answer to that question, here it is: I've wanted to do it for years, but never had the balls. It's not like I was having one of those crazy Britney moments or anything... I've been working up to actually doing this for the last two or three years. Either my concern for how ugly my head might be, or how cute my current haircut or color was is all that stood in the way most of the time.

As for why I wanted to, well, there's a few reasons for that. One is that I just don't like having to deal with hair... there's haircuts, color, combing, brushing, drying, styling, worrying about how it looks all the time... I mean, seriously, (not that I'm much of a girly girl), but if my hair looked bad or felt gross that would be enough to make me not want to leave the house. I don't like that shit. It's just too much, which is why my hair hasn't been colored in over a year and also why I'd been keeping it pretty short already (so that it didn't require much styling).

Not only that, but I feel a lot cleaner. I tend to feel dirty with too much hair (same thing with fingernails - I keep them cut off, too). I dunno. And I guess I was just curious to see what it would look and feel like (which I'm pretty happy with on both accounts). As for how long I'll keep it this way - who knows. I may grow some back for the winter, but then there's always hats. 😊 I'm really enjoying it so far, though. 

However sappy this may sound, it's the truth - the breeze, the warm sun, getting your head rubbed - all that feels a lot different (and much much better) without hair in the way. I'm definitely digging that aspect of it. And honestly I don't feel unpretty without my hair, which is a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about myself once I looked in the mirror. But I'm not disappointed with it at all. So that's cool. All in all, if you're thinking about doing away with the hair - I say give it a try. If you don't like it - you can always grow it back; so no worries. 😀

Oh, help me! My inappropriate laughter has got me in trouble again!

For those of you who know me, it's nothing new that I laugh at almost all the wrong times. Uncontrollably, even. But today I think I may have offended someone. And I feel sort of bad about it.

So here's the story: We have an ad in the paper that we're accepting job applications at work... and so this lady came in to fill one out. When she handed me back the application she noticed my hand. For those who didn't know - I've got a GNARLY rash covering my whole right palm. It sucks.

Anyway, she asked about the job, etc., and then she left. But then she came back and said she had a few more questions. So we were talking about the job some more and then before she left again she asked if she could pray for my hand. (I'm sure you can see where this is going...)

Caught completely off guard and not knowing what to say I was just like, "Uh, sure." So she came and got my hand and I'm all, "You might not wanna touch that." She said that she wasn't scared of it so I was just like, "Ok." And then she started praying. And then I started laughing. 😬

Trying not to sound like a complete ass I was all "Thank you. I hope it works." (After the fact I realized that that might not have been the right thing to say...) She just said, "It will" and walked straight out.

I feel really bad. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings because she was only trying to help. I've thought about getting her number from her application and calling to apologize... but I don't know if that would be too weird. Plus, I'm not 100% sure that I upset her, but I think I did. So what do I do now??

R.I.P. Lily

So yesterday Lily was acting a little weird. I didn't think too much of it because honestly - she's a strange bird... always has been. Well, when I noticed her in the bottom of her cage again I opened the door to touch her and she didn't move. Normally she is not ok with being touched. So I called AMC who told me to call Birmingham who told me to call Auburn... no one had anyone who knew anything about birds in the emergency office. I fell asleep waiting for the Auburn clinic to call back and when I woke up this morning Lily was dead. And no they did not call. *sigh*

Honestly, one of the worst things is knowing that one of my babies are in pain and that I'm helpless in the situation... so I guess I'm relieved to know that she's not suffering, at least. I'm sad, though... I'm gonna miss her. She was something else. I really liked her silly ass.