Bear just won me third place...

Bear just won me third place in a work Halloween Zoom background contest with this video. It didn't have audio - it was just him looking crazy. 😂

Love my little @BearTheWerePuppy. ❤️

Greenhouse (more or less) complete.

Greenhouse (more or less) complete. We still want to run water and electricity out there (not just with an extension cord), but we're good for now. Floor is down, plants are cozy, and I'm happy.

I have 2 more shelves that will fit nicely in there. I may not put them in and instead give myself a work/sitting station in that mostly empty corner. I love to just chill with my plants, prune off dried leaves, and check for bugs. As you can see, my shelves aren't full, so I still have room for me in there if I want. 😂

We moved 48 pavers yesterday and 60 today.

We moved 48 pavers yesterday and 60 today.

I was fine yesterday, but today I must have gotten some dust up my nose. I'm sneezy. I'm about to take an allergy pill and crash out.

We have about half of the floor down in the greenhouse.

We have about half of the floor down in the greenhouse. We are using square stone pavers for the stability of my shelves. The auto-opening windows are in and working, and I have a heater/fan out there.

We're expecting our first freeze tomorrow, so it's in working order just in time! We'll finish the floor sometime this week or this weekend. It's not urgent, just a nice thing to have completed.

I'm so excited to post some pictures once it's done!

Bear. 🤦🏻

Bear. 🤦🏻

This dog knocked some nail polish and a hat off a table, laid down, forgot he made a mess on the floor, then 15 minutes later got UPSET about the mess on the floor. 😂😂😂

Look at how brave he is, though. He said "No one's got my back? I have to check this ALL BY MYSELF!?" His little trembling legs as he confronted the hat on the floor just about took me out. 🤣😭

I'm sorry my table needs wiping. The animals lay and play all over it. It's past due for a wiping. We got vaccinated this weekend so we slacked on chores.

Look at Cub's paws.

Look at Cub's paws.

Yes, we need to trim his nails. They get filed on the concrete, but they could be shorter. He just hates it when we cut his toes off. 🙄😂

I really love how he's holding them. Like, what even is that!? 😂❤️

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh. Now he's finally trying his basket.

Gonna be honest:  I really thought he'd cinnamon-bun up in that bitch, but do you, Houdini. ❤️

We tried sunglasses on Bear today.

We tried sunglasses on Bear today. I don't think he minds them too much. He's taking it better than Cubba did.

My heart!

My heart! He just jumped up here and gave me kisses, then laid down. I know it won't last long, but I love it. ❤️❤️❤️

He's like "You and that camera. 🙄" 😂😂😂

Why is he so cute!? 😭

Why is he so cute!? 😭 I just wanna kiss him! ❤️

She bloomed! ❤️

She bloomed! ❤️

Y'all see this yet?

Y'all see this yet?

My heart. ❤️

https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/comments/1g9yjif/eminem_introduces_barack_obama_in_detroit_tonight/?share_id=csDZOAfHwKRK5jzqhLLA6&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=5&rdt=64824

I went to the dentist this morning.

I went to the dentist this morning. I have been having pain behind my back right lower tooth.

I was pretty sure I got some food (probably popcorn) stuck between my gum and back tooth. Over the last 2 weeks I tried flossing it out several times. I took my metal hook tooth stick and tried to scrape below the gum line to get it.

I feel like all I managed to do was make it worse. The gum started swelling and pulling away from the tooth and hurting more.

I went to see my dentist and he blasted it out. It already feels much better. I knew there was something there that I couldn't get to.

I've honestly never had this happen before, in all of my years of eating. That's crazy.

Kira made these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins...

Kira made these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and they are really good! She's got fall dessert plans. I'm excited to see what all she makes. ❤️

The colors. The blooms. The buds. ❤️

The colors. The blooms. The buds. ❤️

Aging with Shaun like:

Aging with Shaun like:

Shaun:  When do you want lunch?

Me (with my non-hearing ass):  Yeah.

Shaun:  *falls asleep in the recliner*

😂😂😂

The results of my CT scan came back normal.

The results of my CT scan came back normal. The report was very thorough and the only thing found was a cyst on my cervix. That explains the central position of the pain.

Those are apparently very normal and nothing of concern. So I'm glad that it's nothing scary, but at the same time random bouts of intense pain with nothing to be done about it are not very fun. 🤷🏻

Just chillin' like this.

Just chillin' like this.

Head in the Hide = Hidden. 😂😂😂

I checked the temperature of the greenhouse...

I checked the temperature of the greenhouse on my phone and it said 101°F. It's 60°F outside right now.

Shaun said there's no way it's that warm in there today.

He took a thermometer out there and guess what. It was.

We opened the end windows. I guess we need to put the auto-opening ones on pretty soon. Just in case. 😂

We made it to Lowe's, but came home empty-handed.

We made it to Lowe's, but came home empty-handed. They only had decorative gravel.

It's whatever. It's raining and I feel like garbage, anyway. I've been fighting off a migraine since I woke up. It's all I can do to stay awake.

Thank goodness the cold snap won't last long. And the plants are safe and dry, even if the greenhouse isn't perfect yet.

We're trying to go to Lowe's...

We're trying to go to Lowe's so we can finish the greenhouse floor, but look at this sweet boy. He's sleeping against Shaun and we don't want to disturb him.

He's so precious. I just want to eat him up.

I love how much he loves his Papa. ❤️

Look at this gorgeous photo of my Gramson, Leon.

Look at this gorgeous photo of my Gramson, Leon. Shadow took it.

He looks like a model.

Shaun and I worked super hard today.

Shaun and I worked super hard today. The greenhouse is strapped down and tied down and the bottom is attached to the ground. Everything is tightened. We didn't get to the floor, but hopefully tomorrow. I have shelves coming on Monday so I would really like for it to be ready to move into by then.

The only thing that's not complete besides the floor is the two windows (the OTHER two windows), but we don't need them right now so that can wait. We have two windows that will auto-open if it gets too hot. We'll have to cut the space for them out of the sides and it might not be hard to do, but we're TIRED. Other than that, we'll probably run water to it, but that's also not urgent.

Here is a picture of it completed. Also, some of my plants are blushing beautifully, so I got a few photos. They are not edited at all besides cropping. Oh, and I found a little lizard sleeping in one of my empty pots. He was definitely sleeping and not dead because he'd moved later. ❤️ I also got a few more blooms from two of my cacti. I just love them all so much! ❤️❤️❤️ I hope they like their new home!

I love his hair! 😂😁

I really don't know what's growing under this cactus. I'm gonna wait and see what it is. It doesn't look like the same thing as the cactus, but I could be wrong.

The colors!

Sleeping friend. ❤️

Blooms! ❤️

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

When we were eating dinner, the wind kicked up pretty hard (not unusual for here), but it also started raining hard.

I ran outside and started moving my plants into the greenhouse because I really hate for them to be watered from the top. If water remains on them, it can cause rot and the leaves can also get burn spots if the water is still there when the sun comes back out.

The roof and walls of the greenhouse are up, but the floor isn't done, my shelves aren't in, and in general, moving plants quickly in the dark and the rain is not ideal. Not to mention that I really, really wanted to clean the dust, bird poop, and any possible pests off of them before putting them in there, but at this point I'm just glad I had somewhere dry to put them.

Shaun came out to help me and about the same time we were done moving them, the rain had passed. Of course. 😒 What I didn't know was that there was more on the way. By the time I went to bed, it was raining again. It rained for a long time. I fell asleep listening to it.

I woke up this morning to two funny messages from Shadow. One:  We have a little roof leak in the stairwell. He put a cup underneath to catch it. (This one's only funny because it won't rot my house like it would've in Alabama. It'll dry fast here. We'll get it checked out/repaired and it'll be fine.)

The second message, well, see the image. 😂

This is funny because we ordered a microwave from Best Buy several weeks ago, but it never came, so Shaun called customer service and they sent out another one. We got the second one according to the tracking numbers. But just the other day, the one we ordered first showed up after being lost in the mail for weeks. We assumed it had been stolen. But anyway, it's been sitting in the living room, new in the box, because we didn't know what to do with it. I guess that sorted itself out. 😂

I haven't been awake for long. It's cool and cloudy, so very tempting to stay in bed with my weighted blanket and the cats. But I guess I need to get up, see if we can finish the greenhouse, and check on my plants.

Happy Saturday, y'all. ❤️

That was neat. 😊

That was neat. 😊

They purposely had me thirsty...

I'm accidentally awake too early.

I'm accidentally awake too early. SUPER thirsty. Can't eat or drink anything until after my CT scan in a few hours (I moved it from Wednesday to today).

I can go days without food, but water is LIFE. 😫

Look at these dogs:

Look at these dogs:

Construction Bear and Supervisor Cub have been working hard today.

Cub is really good at observing from a distance when we're busy... but Bear is up in EVERYTHING we do. 😂

We got the top and sides put on the greenhouse today.

There are paw prints and scratch marks on a few of my brand new walls. (It's fine - it has character now.) When Shaun was up a ladder stretching to screw in some screws, Bear stood up against the wall, too. When Shaun climbed the ladder, Bear walked through the bottom rungs. When I was grabbing the nuts to the bolts that Shaun was screwing in, there was a purposefully placed paw in the parts box. When Shaun went to look out of the window, Bear followed like "What are we lookin' at?"  😂😂😂

I've had dogs who are interested in what we're doing, but never one as interested as Bear and certainly never one who seemed to try to imitate our moves like he does. He's so interesting. We love him to pieces. I am so, so thankful that Shaun has so much patience for this pup (and all of the animals, really).

I could've had a ton of cute photos of Bear today, but I was helping on breaks from work and I know that Shaun is sore and tired of working on this greenhouse. We just buckled down to get as much done as we could.

We need to do the straps over the top and attach it to the ground. We also need to finish the floor and get some shelves set up. Then it'll be ready for my plants! 😁

I think I missed my Monkey Tail bloom.

I think I missed my Monkey Tail bloom. Also, I've missed this other cactus bloom - again. It bloomed twice this year and I didn't see it either time. 😒

Shaun has been slowly but surely building this greenhouse. Today he got a good bit done because it was cloudy and cool. It just rained, so he's done for the day. We have both ends/doors up; maybe the top/side pieces won't take too long. Hopefully, we'll have it pretty much done by the weekend.

Also, here is a rainbow.

Me: Working and minding my business.

Me: Working and minding my business.

Bear, making his rounds and checking on me: "What doin?"

I love this goofy child. His face just makes my whole day. I got some sweet, toothy kisses, too. ❤️

I don't think I could ever go back to not working from home. My life is infinitely better because I get to be here with the ones who love me. The short breaks to pet a kitty, cuddle Cub, and kiss Bear's lip are the biggest perks. ❤️❤️❤️

My sweet Shaun has nurtured this poor cactus to death.

My sweet Shaun has nurtured this poor cactus to death. I didn't know he was watering it every morning.  😳 He showed it to me yesterday and I had to break it to him that it was rotted.

We chopped the green pieces off. They're disinfected and drying. I guess we'll see if we can propagate new plants from those.

He dug up the rest and threw it away.

All the other succulents we planted in the yard are doing well. Most of them have drip irrigation going to them. They're nice and fat for winter. We're gonna decrease the water to the plants slowly through this month and next to prepare them for the cold weather.

I think the main problem with this one is that it's a clumping type and he was watering from the top and water was getting into the crevices where it couldn't evaporate easily.

Poor plant. Sweet husband.

Bear, astonished to learn...

Bear, astonished to learn that he's not allowed to chew the shoes while they're still on our feet. 😂😂😂

Story Time:

Story Time:

Around 15 years ago, when Shaun and I were dating, we were hanging out at his apartment and sharing a large Dr. Pepper from Sonic.

When the Dr. Pepper ran out, he (without my knowledge) refilled the cup with Root Beer, which I extremely dislike.  I took a big sip and found out in the worst way possible what he'd done.

To be fair, he didn't know how I felt about Root Beer and it wasn't malicious.

Today, we are running errands and we ordered Fiiz to pick up. They are out of bubbles, so my soda is flat (they informed me before they made it, and I was fine with that), but Shaun ended up just getting a drink card for his drink.

He asked for a sip of mine to try, and asked if it was Vanilla. As I handed it to him I said "Yes, vanilla and co...", but he'd already drank some. It's Vanilla and Coconut. He does NOT care for coconut. The frown he frowned. 😂😂😂

I didn't do that maliciously. He admits he rushed and got a sip before I was done speaking.

But we're even now. 😂😂😂

Apparently, it's not a deal-breaker...

Apparently, it's not a deal-breaker for Shaun if I drink rotten milk in his car.

I'm not saying that's what I'm doing... But he seems to think it is.

One of us has a messed up sniffer and I don't know who. 😂😂😂

Edited to Add:

Shadow was the tie-breaker. My milk isn't bad. I knew it. 😂

Shaun and the kids are in Best Buy.

Shaun and the kids are in Best Buy.

I'm alone in the car with an opened, 3-week-old bag of Chex Mix.

Yes, I'm eating it. It's not even slightly stale.

Desert life. ❤️❤️❤️

I know there are much better photos out there, but...

I know there are much better photos out there, but we saw the Northern Lights. I couldn't see it with my bald eyes, but somehow Shaun could track it. He would point and I'd photograph. Teamwork!

We saw on the news that it would be possible to see, but we forgot and went out late. I don't know if it will still be there tomorrow, but I'm gonna check it out earlier just in case.

If you have a Crumbl Cookies near you...

Bear has been wild today. 🤪

Bear has been wild today. 🤪

We haven't opened the pool in a few days because it's cool out and I haven't felt well and Shaun's been busy with the greenhouse. Bear expressed his displeasure about this deprivation and abuse by dumping the water bowl and playing in it this morning. 😂

I told Shaun he was gonna have to open the pool for him today. Bear's been in and out. Even when he's not going in he likes to dangle his paws... As I said, he's a participater, and he sees me sitting with my feet in all the time, so he does it, too. That's how he winds down after a hard day of being a menace. 😂❤️

He's so funny. He's a creature of habit and apparently, he's bougie, too. 😂 He needs his pool time or he throws a fit. 😂😂😂

It's nice he got some energy out and settled down. ❤️

Shaun and Bear are working on my greenhouse....

Shaun and Bear are working on my greenhouse. Bear gets a little distracted, but gets his head back in the game sometimes. 😜 He's such a participater, for better or worse. 😂

I love how Cub just stays out of the way and supervises. 😂😂😂

I would really like to know why Bear "got" the glass door. He's so random. 😂

Oh my gosh, y'all.

Oh my gosh, y'all. Look at this fish on my TV. How did his teeth get so fuckin' white!?

I'm dead. Ain't no Crest WhiteStrips in the water. That's amazing.

This is my favorite picture right now.

I just looked over at my phone and this was the screen. 😂

I just looked over at my phone and this was the screen. 😂

Google, are you UPSET?! 😂😂😂 Nobody was talking to you!

CT scan next Wednesday.

CT scan next Wednesday. I've never had one before, so that's kind of exciting.

I feel mostly normal today. I'm at work. I didn't walk on the treadmill this morning, but I've been getting my hourly steps in gradually, so that's something. I got some good sleep last night, too.

So far, so good.

I took off work today...

I took off work today because I was still feeling fatigued. I mostly just rested, and I think I needed it. I'm tired now, but I'm supposed to be because it's bedtime.

My primary doctor told me to go to the ER if that pain happens again, and I told him that I would. He has ordered a CT scan, but said it may take some time to be set up. That's fine. I feel better with having a plan in place.

I'm going to work tomorrow. My only question at the moment is whether I will get my morning walk in. I didn't today. I'm just gonna play it by ear and see how I feel.

Goodnight, friends. ❤️

I think I'm taking off work tomorrow.

I think I'm taking off work tomorrow. I napped, but haven't been able to shake this fatigue.

Possible TMI:

My pelvic muscles cramp when I pee. I'm still tender and sore from the cramping yesterday. It hurts to sit certain ways. I'm bloated. And it feels like I have some heaviness in my abdomen.

I've emailed my doctor to see about a referral for some diagnostics. This is definitely not normal for me. I am concerned it's not ok.

I don't know how accurate it is, but WebMDs symptom checker says diverticulitis or colon cancer are strong possibilities. I don't think I want to have either of those, so hopefully my doctor will help me figure it out.

Goodnight, y'all. ❤️

We're almost done with our errands.

We're almost done with our errands. I'm a stupid amount of tired from just being a passenger in the car.

We decided to get some food before heading home. It was really good and we had a very nice waitress.

Tell me why, when I thanked her, I did squirrel hands at her. 😂

Photo for reference. 😂😂😂

Some chewed plants, some blooms...

Some chewed plants, some blooms, and some REALLY DETERMINED prickly pear pads.

I don't know who's been chewing my plants, but there are quite a few who look like this now. I'm sure they'll be fine. I guess they have character now. 😂

Sweet little buds. ❤️

This is the first time I've ever had a Monkey Tail bloom. I'm so excited!

These two pads started rotting a few months ago. I had their pots in a tote that wasn't draining. I knew better, but forgot to dump it after some rain.

I cut the rotted part off of them both and put them on the patio table to callous. I left them there for probably a good 2 months, ignoring them completely.

Look at the roots they've put out! I planted them today and I hope they continue to grow for me.