This dog. 😂😂😂

This dog. 😂😂😂

I love me a secure man!

I love me a secure man!

Nail polish is for everyone. ❤️

Fresh out the shower, fur intact...

Fresh out the shower, fur intact (for about the last 20 years), feeling myself.

Y'all like my shirt? It says:

"Seize the day with the unearned confidence of a mediocre white man."

Y'all know how I know Shaun isn't mediocre?

Because when we started dating and he did the thing that almost all men do where they state something as fact without knowing for sure and I called him on it, he fucking stopped doing it. ❤️

Call. Them. On. Their. Shit.

Happy Saturday!

I know that many of you will think this is gross and that's ok.

I know that many of you will think this is gross and that's ok. I love puppy kisses, and I did wash my face immediately after.

Note the nose honk, though. He always knows how to make me laugh. 😂😂😂

Free Snake Relocation Directory

This seems important to share:  Free Snake Relocation Directory

Even if you don't love them, please understand that snakes are an important part of our ecosystem. Please don't hurt them.

Bear got a new brush today.

Bear got a new brush today. We have to brush his neck really well because he gets nappy under the collar if we don't.

Watch his face, y'all. 😂😂😂

He looks so handsome this morning.

He looks so handsome this morning. The prickly pear really brings out his eyes. 😊

Why is Toebean looking so disappointed!?

Why is Toebean looking so disappointed!? Is he upset that the Chewy order isn't for him? 😂😂😂

The cake Kira made...

I love it when he sleeps.

I love it when he sleeps. He snores so lightly. It's precious. He also periodically does a little snort snuffle that melts my heart.

It's so hard not to go disturb him with a thousand kisses. I just want to eat him up! ❤️

Bear has a surgery consultation next month on the 18th.

Bear has a surgery consultation next month on the 18th. It's with the same skilled surgeon who operated on Oreo. I felt very comfortable with her and her team.

They won't be doing same-day surgery like they did with Oreo. Oreo was a special case and everyone was trying to save him. Thankfully, Bear's knees aren't threatening his life. They're just a thing we need to get fixed. The sooner, the better, obviously. I'm glad to have that scheduled.

Today is Kira's birthday. She's a whole 24 years old.

Today is Kira's birthday. She's a whole 24 years old.

She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake for her birthday, but I think there was some confusion on whether she was celebrating today or this weekend.

Long story short:  She has all of this cake now. 😂

Unbeknownst to us, she made the 2 smaller cakes for herself last night so she would have a cake today. Me and Shaun went shopping this morning and found a slice of Strawberry Shortcake, but not a whole cake. We also found the other strawberry cake which looks really good, so we snagged it, too. And cakes pops, just because. 😂

So... Looks like we'll be eating cake for the rest of the week. 😂

She wanted dinner at Cracker Barrel so we did that and it was good. She also wants to go thrift shopping this weekend, so that's our plan. I hope she's had a good day! ❤️

Bear just came in growling.

Bear just came in growling. Not roaring like he does when he's excited - growling. We've heard him do it maybe once before, but it's not a thing he does often... Probably because he gives zero fucks about people or other dogs or vehicles or anything. 😂😂😂 Everything is great and happy inside Bear's little noggin. 🍃

So it takes a lot for him to growl (he doesn't usually bark), but growl he did. I asked Shaun to check on the dogs since I was in a meeting. He and Bear went outside. Bear got his tail hung in the doggie door, but did not react. He had FOCUS, ok? He looked in the direction of the offending sound until Shaun found it.  He did not help find it. He needed an adult to address this danger.

The offender? A plastic shopping bag caught on our gate, waving noisily in the wind. 😂😂😂

When I tell y'all Bear was so proud of himself... This child came in and tried to take the shoes off my feet. Then he barged into Shaun's room. Then he pulled the whole shoe rack over. 😂😂😂 He gets a really sassy walk when he's feeling some type of way and he was definitely pumped up after that. He SAVED us. He knows he did. 😂

He's politely requesting some lovings from me...

He's politely requesting some lovings from me, specifically. He's usually Shaun's boy, but Shaun called him and he sat down by me. 😂 What a peaceful protest. 😊❤️

It makes me feel special when Cub wants my attention. He's the sweetest boy. ❤️❤️❤️

I took this photo around noon.

I took this photo around noon. I guess that neighborhood in particular got a little blizzard. 😂

Not my photos, but this is who I'm expecting today. When I say that I shopped, I meant it. 😬

I don't have plans to order anymore for whatever that is worth. Several sellers on Etsy were having a spring sale + free shipping if you purchased at least a certain dollar amount. I made the most of it. If anyone wants to know the sellers I can post links.

I'm gonna be busy potting plants after work today. I'm excited! ❤️😁

Left to right:
Echeveria Domingo, Pachyphytum Little Jewel, Echeveria Esther
Aloe Pepe, Graptopetalum Blue Bean, Mammillaria Elongata

Left to right:
Echeveria hybrid Cubic Frost, Monkey Tail cactus, Woolly Senecio
Old Man of the Andes cactus, Echeveria Perle von, Echeveria Afterglow
Baby Toes, Variegated String of Pearls, Echeveria Dusty Rose
Echeveria Opalina Moonglow, Mouse Tail cactus, Echeveria Ghost

Left to right:
Sedeveria Dark Elf, Golden Ball cactus, Ice Plant
Graptopetalum Purple Delight, Echeveria Setosa Mexican Firecracker, Echeveria Dusty Rose
Echeveria Orion

*Most*...

I had to a take a nap...

I had to a take a nap because I had a bad headache. I really thought I was about to get a migraine, but luckily I caught it in time.

I was about to get up and I looked down and saw this. Bear still isn't a couch person, but he's napping under my recliner. He napped with me and that kind of makes my day. ❤️

I'm very proud of this boy and his impulse control.

I'm very proud of this boy and his impulse control. The cats are having their morning wet food and he's patiently waiting to lick the plate after they're done.

Sounds still rile him up - mainly the ice dispenser. 😂 But he doesn't bite when we get ice anymore - he jumps, runs, roars, and body slams - but no biting. We'll take it. We're proud of his progress. Handsome smart boy! 😊❤️

Since I am particular about my nails...

Since I am particular about my nails I try to avoid using them as tools. It helps a lot to prevent damage and breakage if I don't use them that way.

I saw a smaller version of the Tab Buddy recommended on reddit, but it was made more for drink cans, not soup cans or cans of cat food. I bought another device from Amazon for lids with larger tabs, but it's clunky to use so I find that I just don't.

I emailed the team at Tab Buddy asking for a larger version for different types of cans and they actually made them! They emailed me once some were available for purchase, so I snagged 2.

These XL ones have been amazing. I didn't even realize that they were magnetic until Shaun stuck it to the fridge. That's great because it's always right within reach.

I think these are a wonderful idea. Even if I wasn't super picky about my nails there have definitely been times that my hands have been sore and uncooperative when my PSA flares up. I know this might seem like a dull thing to be excited about, but I don't care. I love things that make my life easier and our cats get wet food 2x daily as a treat (not to mention that I'm a fan of soup), so I am using this thing daily.

They have some super cute designs. I'm linking them below because they really earned my business by taking my suggestion seriously. ❤️

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TabBuddies

ICYMI:

ICYMI:

https://visdeurbel.nl/en/the-fish-doorbell/

I saw some last night and one today so far. ❤️

You can't see it, but...

You can't see it, but there's also a dog fart in this photo. 😂😂😂

Am I dying? Everyone is being so lovey today. 😂

Am I dying? Everyone is being so lovey today. 😂 We have sweet babies, but this is next-level.

Still sharing my seat with Toebean and now Cub's on my feet.

This is probably boring, but I don't care.

This is probably boring, but I don't care. Sharing it anyway. 😂

Shaun had been trying to stack those balls for like, 10 minutes before Cubba came in. He is so patient and focused. I don't know how he didn't give up when Bear came in. Shaun is not a fan of being licked, but Bear seized the opportunity. 😂😂😂

P. S.  Shaun is still at it. 😂

Toebean's still sharing my chair.

Toebean's still sharing my chair.

Booger Bear came in from under his bush to get some love and say "Hello." Sometimes he does a drive-by kissing. Some days he's more cuddly. I got toothed in the nostril and then he laid down for a bit. You never know what you're gonna get with him. 

He also had to inspect that box before heading back out. 😂❤️ Look at his face. He looks like he's saying "I'm not in trouble" while doing something "bad." Total Kira move. 😂😂😂

I was sitting here minding my business...

I was sitting here minding my business when there was a meow; it sounded like someone calling out. I turned around and said "Are you ok?" and Toebean came trotting. It was so precious. He's not the most social of our cats, but he came and got some petting and he played a little bit. He even left me a whisker!

He's sitting near me purring now and that makes my heart happy. I feel like we just had a moment. ❤️

Updated:  Sharing my chair. Still purring. ❤️

Just laying there upside down...

Just laying there upside down with his mouth open, making squeaky noises. 😂😂😂

The boys are locked in this morning...

The boys are locked in this morning because we're having our wall raised again (a certain black dog keeps proving he can still leave if he decides to), so they're bored. Poor, abused doggies. Just look at Bear. He'd rather be outside under his favorite bush, but no. He's banished to the couch instead.

The most exciting part of his morning was when I got ice for my water. Feel bad for him. 😂😂😂

Shadow didn't see a difference...

Shadow didn't see a difference in Shaun's teeth before we pointed it out.

Kira saw Shaun's teeth and was like "No offense, but you're teeth were ugly before, like in a unique way. Like a rat." 😂😂😂 Then she said she could tell that they were shorter.

(We value honesty and Shaun's feelings were not hurt and she didn't say that hatefully or anything. Shaun and I both cracked up.)

Before Kira went back upstairs she asked me if I was going to be ok. I didn't answer (not to be a jerk... I think my head was elsewhere at that moment) and she paused and then repeated herself, but as a statement with a stern face looking directly at me. 😂 Yes ma'am. 😂😂😂

I love my little family. 😂❤️

Phew. Not me having a full-on MELTDOWN...

Phew. Not me having a full-on MELTDOWN at 9:30 in the morning because the dentist shaved a little bit of Shaun's front teeth.

Wait, no. That's me. Complete with 2 hours of crying and an email to the dentist.  😬

Look. Teeth and hands are two of the features that I'm really attracted to. I LOVE some strong hands and long nail beds and great grooming (cuticles pushed, etc). I also LOVE me some natural, "imperfect" teeth. And Shaun's teeth were some of my favorite. I found them to be sexy as hell.

Shaun chipped a front tooth a few weeks ago and I loved that, too. Today he went to the dentist to get a different one filled and without asking, the dentist filed the chipped tooth. So then it was shorter than the other front tooth, so Shaun asked for him to make them match (which is fair. He should like his teeth, too).

But the moment he walked in the door I noticed. And I tried so hard to rationalize it, but I ended up crying for 2 hours and honestly, I am still probably not done.

I dramatically emailed the dentist expressing my concerns about his teeth being filed without his consent. He called us. He explained about Shaun's bite and how his bottom teeth were punching into his top teeth, which is why it chipped in the first place. I get it. It makes sense. But I hate that he didn't ask Shaun before grinding it because it wasn't causing a problem and that should have been Shaun's choice.

He's offered to add amalgam to lengthen it back, but Shaun has had some pretty serious dental trauma over the course of his life so there's no way I'm entertaining the idea of putting him back in the chair over something cosmetic. Also, if his bottom teeth are just going to hit the tooth / amalgam, it seems like a bad idea to do that. I feel like that could end up causing more damage.

Shaun's fine with his teeth (he said he probably couldn't even pick them out of a line up, which is insane to me).  But it's even worse because I've basically insulted him by my reaction and I hate that. He's chill. We're fine. He knew I'd have a reaction when he got home, but he thought it would be anger, not sorrow.

I've calmed down a bit and we talked and I compared it to that time I got eyelash extensions (Shaun's an eye person), and I was like "What if I did that without you knowing and it was permanent?" He said that he probably would have cried, too. (Since it wasn't permanent and a choice I made, he roasted me instead. 😂 It was fine. Neither of us are super sensitive.) But now he understands where my big feelings came from. The shock. The change. The acceptance that it's permanent and it wasn't his choice.

I know that our appearances are going to continue changing as we age. Gradual change is a lot easier to accept, though. Showing up back home with 2 shorter, blunt front teeth was a big shock for me. He's still my handsome husband, but he'll never go to the dentist without me again. (He would prefer to not go alone, and I would have been with him today if we hadn't had someone scheduled to do work on the house this morning). I'll ensure the schedules work out so that's possible next time.

I swear I'm not a dental Karen, but you HAVE TO tell me everything you're doing and why before you do it. I have all of the questions and I need to understand. As a kid when I had braces put on, the orthodontist filed my fangs down without consent and I just don't play that shit anymore.

If anyone would have ever told me...

If anyone would have ever told me that I would be awake in the middle of the night, wiping a sleeping Cub's ass, I'd've thought they were crazy.

Yet here I am doing just that. Balthazar threw up on the sleeping Cub's tailcrack.

Color me as shocked as Cub. 😂😂😂

Current Situation:

Current Situation:

Protecting Cub from Bear's "I'm tired, but I'm not going to sleep" shenanigans. 😂😂😂

Earlier, we couldn't find Calypso. We found her in the cubby of the dog's toy box. 🙄

Toe-booty just for fun. Tobi sleeps in this bed with his butt hanging out every time. 😂

❤️❤️❤️

I've been a little bad...

I've been a little bad. I've been missing how large my succulent collection used to be. I've ordered a few of my favorites that didn't survive in Talladega. I'm not going crazy. I'm most doing Echeveria-types with a few weirdos (for flavor). 😂 I just miss how beautiful they were and how happy I felt about them. I'm ready for their arrival. I guess I'm excited about spring!

We're not sure what happened, but...

We're not sure what happened, but Bear just had a little snot/reverse sneeze/snort fit. He spit up some mucous and was drooling a good bit. He hasn't seemed sick or anything. Nothing unusual preceeded this. He was playing with one of his treat-dispensing toys and it happened suddenly.

I guess I'm hoping he sucked something itchy up his snoot and that was his way of clearing it out. But it looked pretty intense. I don't know if that could have been a different way for a seizure to present. He remained standing. It's not the usual timing of when his seizures happen, which is usually when he's asleep or falling asleep.

He's doing ok now. Just chilling at the moment. But this boy is keeping us on our toes.

I have 2 Instagram accounts.

I have 2 Instagram accounts. One is for my nail art and I follow other nail artists and different types of artists. The other is my personal one and I used to have a few pics of my pets on there. I emptied it a while back and now have a few more pet pics up, but I will probably empty it again soon. I just don't have the energy / will to post the same photos over and over to different places. It feels redundant.

I got off track. 😂 The point I was trying to get to was that if I see something I would like to follow on one account while on the other account, I send a link to myself at the other account to follow it from the appropriate account.

I don't have Instagram notifications on at all. But I just went on there and I had a message from myself. Tell me why I didn't even want to open it. 😂 "What does this bitch want now?" 😂😂😂

The smoke alarm chirps like, once a month as a test.

The smoke alarm chirps like, once a month as a test.

Cub is scared every time, no matter what.

He's currently trembling in Shaun's lap.

Over a literal "chirp" sound.

Why is that so scary? It's not even too loud, and I hate sounds. 😂

Oh, wow. It's gorgeous out right now.

Oh, wow. It's gorgeous out right now.

Ash is so pretty.

Ash is so pretty. Shaun definitely has a type when it comes to cats. Sindar was beautiful, too. ❤️

This sweet, handsome Cub is being a baby today.

This sweet, handsome Cub is being a baby today. He needs all the petting! 😊❤️

Shaun says Bear has been a menace today.

Shaun says Bear has been a menace today. I just can't believe that (said as Bear raids the shoe shelf and starts shaking one of Shaun's boots). 😂😂😂

Shaun put him in time-out on the couch and also tried "sky jail." He's now napping outside so peacefully. I guess he's resting up so that when he comes back in he'll have the energy to cause a ruckus. 😂

I love this goof. I'm glad he's feeling well enough to be trouble. 😊❤️

Sweet, innocent Bear visiting me while I work

Time-out on the couch

Sky jail. Bear is so unbothered by anything. 😂

Today is our 6 year marriage anniversary.

Today is our 6 year marriage anniversary. Shaun bought this neat custom wall-hanging for the house. I love it! Shaun tries to keep it with the theme of traditional gifts, which is supposed to be iron this time. 

He also took me to Lowe's and we got another Ponytail Palm since I have shelf space where the cats can't reach it. We also found a clearance Echeveria "Love's Fire" that has been severely over-watered and under-sunned. It's got rot on it, but I see signs of life. I'm going to do my best to get it back to health. It should be beautiful if it survives.

We're currently stuck in the Pizza Hut drive through. We've been here for over 30 minutes and we can't back out because the line continues behind us.

Shaun said it's his fault for ordering pizza. I told him maybe it's my fault for deleting the email saying you get a free pizza today (so he didn't realize how busy they would be). We came to the conclusion that we both goofed together, and that's pretty much the story of us summed up. Whether we're goofing up or goofing off, we're in it together. 😂😂😂

We did have a nice morning, though. We had a feast of a breakfast and drinks from our favorite coffee shop.

I guess the "worst" thing that has happened today is that Bear busted my lip with some overly-enthusiastic kisses. 😂 I'm not upset. I love hard, too. I guess it runs in the family. 😂❤️

Taimi sent me this beautiful canvas of our boy.

Taimi sent me this beautiful canvas of our boy. I'm gonna find somewhere special to put him up.

❤️❤️❤️

Bear heard my afternoon meeting start...

Bear heard my afternoon meeting start and came for the plug. Thankfully, he couldn't get to it. But I think he's done with me being at work by the end of the day. 😂😂😂

We're watching The Crow.

We're watching The Crow.

It's just started.

Those are literally Ravens.

What the hell?

Edited:

We discussed watching this, like, last weekend. It's my first time.

Shaun was like, "Remember Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son died while making the movie."

I was like "I hope Bruce Lee is ok."

That's when I learned that Bruce Lee was also no longer with us.

Edited again:  He literally quoted "The Raven." What even. I think they misnamed this movie.

Edited again again:  Bruh. His name even has "raven" in it.

Last edit:  I'm done. It was fine. Still think it should've been called "The Raven" though.

You really never know what Kira's about to be into.

You really never know what Kira's about to be into. She has Shaun looking up The Phantom of the Opera. We're doing YouTube videos, but might end up renting it before the night is over. 😂

I love this girl. 😂❤️ She keeps life interesting.

What in the world.

What in the world.

Bear just unplugged the whole Internet while I was in the middle of a meeting. Not just a "listen" meeting; I was literally speaking and everything dropped.

We've made sure he can't do that again, but my gosh. How unexpected and what terrible timing. 😂

Tired baby. ❤️❤️❤️

Tired baby. ❤️❤️❤️

It's been a day.

It's been a day.

I had a 6:30 meeting this morning and will have a couple more this week. I know it's a great start to the day when I'm up before the sun. /sarcasm

We woke up to Balthi diarrhea in the dining room this morning. Shaun stayed up late last night playing a game and accidentally locked Ash in his game room, where she also left a dooks.

Bear had a vet appointment at 9. It went fine. He's going back for bloodwork in 2 weeks. Meanwhile, they're doing a referral for his knee surgery so we can get that ball rolling.

Balthazar had an appointment at 11:30. He's on some steroids and will be moving upstairs tonight. His diarrhea is out of control at the moment and when we were working on the sunroom we moved a litter box temporarily to the dining room. Despite us having moved it back, he's decided that the dining room carpet near where the box was is an ok place to shit. It's not.

We're wearing our little hand-held carpet cleaner out trying to keep up with him (but are thankfully taking that carpet up soon, anyway). The only way we broke Scar from doing the same thing is by moving him to a new space entirely. We're hoping that will work on Balthazar. We're also hoping that since he'll only have access to special, easy-to-digest food he'll feel better and his poops will improve. Paws crossed.

I am so tired and sleepy. Shaun is tired and stressed. I don't know how it's only Tuesday, but I could use a weekend NOW. The last 2 days have been a bit much, but we got a lot done. Hopefully, the rest of the week will be chill. That would be nice.

Kira made these brownies with Dr. Pepper.

Kira made these brownies with Dr. Pepper. I can taste it a little, but it's interesting and good. I've never heard of that before.

She also has chunks of chocolate in there and I really dig the texture.

I just got off work and got some ice water.

I just got off work and got some ice water. Bear and Cub were sleeping in the living room. Bear heard the ice dispenser and woke up so fast. He ran to the kitchen and drifted around the table. He was definitely excited and roared a little bit, but he didn't bite me this time. He is learning.

Any kind of rumbling sound seems to get him hype. Wheelbarrow being moved, trash can / recycle bin being moved, anything like that. Maybe it sounds too much like a herd running. 😂

He's such a weird guy. He doesn't bark at things, really. He's not super cuddly, but will come through every time he enters the room to greet me / give me kisses. He still prefers to sleep on the floor over the couch. He roars when things excite him and growls when he wants to play. He LOVES shoes and will try to sneak them away or off of you.

We've noticed he doesn't bend his back legs unless necessary. He rarely sits unless it's to get into a laying position. He's very front heavy and if he doesn't eat from a raised dish will often fall on his face.

He is a whole mess, but a sweet one.

He's being seen tomorrow so we can hopefully get a surgery consult on his knees and talk to his doctor about his seizures starting back.

Y'all ever wake up exclaiming with the dog?

Y'all ever wake up exclaiming with the dog?

I must not have been deep in sleep. Me and Cub heard a noise outside. He jumped up barking while I simultaneously sat up and said (far too loudly for it being the middle of the night) "What?!" 😂😂😂

We woke poor Shaun up. We caught the noise on camera, but don't know what it was. We just know it wasn't Bear.

Good luck to me on getting back to sleep. 😂

Y'all. The weather is nice, so the sunroom door is open.

Y'all. The weather is nice, so the sunroom door is open.

For the 3rd time in the past 30 minutes Bear has walked into the doggie door, which is blocked by the stationary glass pane of the door. After he bounces off he proceeds to walk out through the open sunroom door.

We really didn't foresee that being a problem, but I guess this boy does better with consistency.

This Booger napped with his donkey today.

This Booger napped with his donkey today. It's cold and wet and gross outside.

I'm off work and ready to snuggle in, too. We're picking up his seizure meds first, though.

It's been a long week. I'm ready to get cozy and comfy and chill with Shaun and the ani-pals. Hopefully this weekend will be chill and I can catch up on my rest.

Door upgrade!

Door upgrade!

Look at that sweet boy showing off his accessible door! 😊❤️

We got it huge on purpose because you never know who I'm gonna move in. 😂😂😂

We tried those door inserts like you can get from Lowe's and Home Depot that just sit in the door frame with a pet flap at the bottom. We returned it after about 2 days. Shaun could barely fit through the door sideways with the insert in there. Forget taking out the trash or anything with almost half of the open space used like that. It just wasn't pleasant and made life harder. Since Bear is a family member now, we thought that a more permanent solution was in order.

Having the custom glass made was more expensive, but worth it. Now we can close the sunroom again since it's not as weatherproof as the rest of the house. There is a panel we can use to lock the pet flap if we need to. We can all use the door. Humans can slide it fully open, and the dogs, cats, and even the tortoise can use the flap.

It was also really easy to change the glass out ourselves. I never knew that was a thing you could do before we decided to do this, but you definitely can. There is a YouTube video showing you how. It's pretty neat. I'll have Shaun share the link with me if anyone needs / wants it.

Y'all ever been a whole ass adult...

Y'all ever been a whole ass adult and ate so much candy for breakfast you upset your stomach?

In my defense I've been at meetings since 7 this morning and haven't had time to make food. I've been sat at my desk snacking on whatever is around for the last 3 hours. Ugh.

Happy Friday, though! ❤️

Aww. Bear just had a seizure.

Aww. Bear just had a seizure. He finished his seizure meds about a week ago. His Heartworm prevention meds from February 1st should be out of his system by now, so I don't think that is what is causing them.

Guess we're getting his seizure meds refilled tomorrow. 🙁

Poor boy. He seems super disoriented right now. That was scary to witness. I'm glad we could be here with him through it, despite him not seeming to take much comfort in that.

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment.

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment. It's not beautiful or interesting, but I do think it's a pretty neutral and looks nice with my skin tone. I could do nail art over it with gel or regular polish. I just haven't had time.

So this is just structure gel, which could possibly be considered an overlay. But it's not as thick as polygel and (in my opinion) much easier to apply. It takes a fraction of the time to create an apex in the correct position and get a nice glossy finish. With polygel I was using pop-its to get my apex and smooth finish, but there was always an issue of shaping/filing the free edge and creating a smooth transition at the cuticle. By the time I was done with that process I was no longer interested in doing any sort of nail art, which is the whole reason I ever want to do my nails.

This gel also removes faster and easier than polygel. You can buff the surface and soak off with acetone. To make it faster you can use an e-file to take down the bulk of the product. This is similar to removing polygel with an e-file, but takes a lot less time. My polygel overlays were always on the thick side.

Here's hoping this is a good solution for growing out the damage I did to my natural nails. It would also be nice if it worked as a reinforcement for them once they grow out. I don't like to grow my nails super long, but I really hate it when they break. Who doesn't, I guess. 😂

So far they feel nice. Not thick or heavy, but somehow strong. They aren't bending at all. Hopefully, my application was good and I won't get any lifting for a couple of weeks. We shall see!

Day 2 of ugly crying.

Day 2 of ugly crying.

I guess I'm gonna feel my feelings today.

Who DOESN'T love having sandpaper eyes? 🙄

Thanks. It was me. 😂

Thanks. It was me. 😂

I'm having a hard day.

I'm having a hard day. I know I don't talk about him anymore, but I'm still mourning the loss of Oreo. I just carry this deep sadness in my heart. It's heavy.

I finally got around to mailing some of his remains to his Aunt Taimi. Maybe that's the reason I'm struggling today. It's like the last thing I can do for him - send him to rest at the last place he was happy. The only place he ever gained ground. The only place he ever played.

I've got a paw print and a lock of his fur. I don't need anything else. It's just hard. I've been avoiding my grief instead of processing it. There are things about him that I miss, like the goofy way he held his ears out and trotted back to me after he realized we were friends. That was my favorite shit. ❤️

It's an odd situation, though. He was only in my home for a few days before he left us. I barely had a chance to get used to him being here before he was gone. I feel like that makes it easy for me to push it to the side, like a dream. There aren't reminders of him everywhere like if he'd been here for months or years.

In this regard, I feel like I got off easier than Taimi. I left him in the most capable hands I knew. I was optimistic. He made progress. She nurtured him and cared for him and shared her space. Then like a hopeful idiot, I took him and wanted to get him well and if I got slapped in the face by his outcome, then I know it was a beat down for her.

And yet. Here I am a blubbering mess over a pup who's BEEN gone. On days like this I don't know what to do with myself, but it's a relief to cry. I should do it more often.  It's just tricky to mourn with so few reminders.

Do any of you ever think about him anymore?

Toebean playing with Shaun's toebeans.

Toebean playing with Shaun's toebeans. I don't know what has gotten into him. 😂😂😂

This is Tort Baby's new home.

This is Tort Baby's new home. I think he will really enjoy it here.

So he's not on the bare floor. We used our scrap flooring to make a floor for him, as well as flaps on his hidey areas to hold the humidity/bedding. We rolled the flooring up in the main area of his cage so that no one will bother him and he won't hurt himself trying to get out.

He's got grippy stones so that he can drink his water without getting in, or he can have something to grip to help him get out if he goes in. The stones will also keep him from dumping out his water and it will be good for his nails. He's got his food plate easily accessible to both of us, and I'm hoping he'll do his dooks on the vinyl so it'll be easy to clean up.

Inside his enclosed area is more things to climb, which leads to a box of dirt he can bury himself in. Every time we put him outside in the kennel he buries himself, so I hope he'll make good use of this. When the pool is put in this summer his kennel will be concreted in so he won't be able to to do that anymore.

We've hung his heat lamp. The only thing I have left to do is set up his humidifier. We'll get that done either today or tomorrow.

I love this kid, but tortoises are surprisingly noisy and determined little creatures. When he's hungry or wants out to exercise he scrapes and bumps into things to let us know. I definitely want to meet his needs, but now that my office is downstairs I can't handle the noise when I'm in a meeting or otherwise concentrating. I hope this much larger space will give him plenty to do without us having to carry him in and out so frequently. We used to leave him free-range in the sunroom, but Bear wants to play with him so those days are over (for now).

Thankfully, he seems quite happy so far! ❤️

Bear is checking out Tort Baby's new digs. 😂

Also, that is not poop. Just bedding from the other area that fell out of the flaps.

Fancy dig area that we hope he loves.

Sunroom, from left to right.

Sunroom, from left to right.

We are exhausted, but we got everything moved out, the floor put down, and everything moved back in yesterday. We even built Tort Baby's house, but ran out of steam before getting it finished and him moved in. Final picture of that in another post.

I don't know if vinyl sheet flooring is really going out of style everywhere or if it's a New Mexico thing, but it was hard to find here and that's specifically what we wanted for this project. For one, when we bought this house there was no sunroom; there was just a concrete patio with a roof for shade. The first modification we made here was the sunroom because that side of the house is South-facing and we knew that my plants and the cats would love it. We also didn't want litter boxes in the main part of the house.

I got totally off track here. 😂 So the concrete patio wasn't perfectly even/flat, and we knew if we wanted to put rigid flooring down we'd have to smooth it out, which we didn't want to do. We read that newer vinyl tile/plank flooring did better with spills and messes than it used to, but I felt wary about that after having it in my first house, and the rigidity was a problem, anyway. This isn't a bougie room. It's one that we fully expect to get messy and I wanted something easy to clean and that we won't freak out over if something does happen to it. So we used gap fillers and different flooring methods to smooth out the lumps and bumps and fill the gaps, then slapped this stuff down.

The one thing I didn't get to do was paint my plant shelves. The timing isn't right. It's super windy here right now so that would make it hard to spray paint anything. Not to mention that I had to rush getting everything back on the shelves because Bear decided he was going to "help" me clean the dead leaves and whatnot off my plants. The problem is that he didn't know what to pull off and just started pulling all kinds of leaves off. 😂 The boy even full-on mouthed a prickly pear pad and that didn't stop him. He gets an A for effort, though. 😂❤️

I am so, so happy with how it came out. When the floor was just concrete I'd have to use a Shop Vac to clean it and that was so hard on my back and sinuses that I avoided cleaning it as often as I should have. Now I can sweep and mop it so easily. I do need to get a few litter mats to help with litter tracking, but for now this is so much better. 😁

Tort Baby's mansion to the left. Beyond that is the dog food and water plus food bins and their door to the outside. Against the window we have this raggedy cat tower that the cats LOVE. You can see Calypso's little back feet hanging out. 😂

Next to that is a litter box box with the cat fountain and feeder on top.

View from our kitchen table:  Wood holder and heater that keeps the plants from freezing. On top of the heater is a bunch of prickly pear pads that I need to pot up. Nothing tall that could obstruct our view into the yard.

The one thing I wanted to do but didn't get to was paint these shelves green. They remind me of bamboo and I think they would look great in green. They were Shaun's mom's shelves and I love them.

To the right is some of my planting stuff. I might see if I can find a rolling storage thing that would suit my needs. I just kind of stashed that stuff there for now. You can also see the Litter Robot stairs. I'm really happy to have those over there instead of in the middle of the room like they were.