Things Blu did today:

1) Woke up and took both dogs out (at the same time 'cause I'm stoopid) because I was being nice and didn't want to make Nick get up and go out in the cold, too. Turns out it wasn't very cold, but it was the thought that counts.

2) Had a great time building a giant pen with my dad for my doggies to run around in safely. It took most of the day. I like my little daddy. 😀 He's fun to work with.

3) Came in and took the doggies out to try their new pen. Emma pooped 3 times in about a half hour's time. She hasn't done that even once since she's been here regardless of how many walks we've taken her on. Luckily, she'd only been here about a day...

4) Cleaned 3 ferret cages while ferrets ran about stealing my paper towels. The third cage wasn't even dirty, really (because it's not in use anymore... they could totally get out of it), but it still had bedding in it and I wanted it empty.

5) Totally cleaned and vacuumed the living room and Febreezed the fuck out of the carpet and sofa. You have to take those kinds of measures when you have 6 ferrets in a room, you know.

6) Brought the doggies in and tried to juggle these things, (quite successfully, I might add): loving on them, emptying the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, and making dinner. Ta-da, I'm the fucking best.

7) Ate dinner with my little kid and chatted with Nancy-Pants then proceeded to get him ready for bed. He had to have his hair washed which always drenches me in the process somehow so then I was cold and changed shirts. After a not-nearly-long-enough sit on the sofa I removed my kid from the shower, waited for him to brush his teeth, and then with Emma's aid, tucked him into bed.

8) Folded two or three loads of laundry while hanging out with Nancy-Pants.

9) Caught up on some emails since I haven't been on the computer much today and then starting writing this.

The End.

Meet Emma J. (n_n)

W.O.W. 😁 I met this dog last month at the PetSmart doggie thing they do and I fell for her. She was SO beautiful and unique looking and had the best temperament. I wanted her SO bad, but didn't try to pursue it. I really thought that we could not handle another dog. Before I left the store that day I made sure to get a picture of her. I showed it to Nick. Well, the other day out of the blue he said something about maybe being ok with it if I wanted to get her. I was like, "WHAT?!?!?!?"

So anyway, I took Nick and Scooty to meet her and I knew Nick liked her right off. Scooty took a minute to loosen up, but before we left he was playing with her and looking like he was having a great time. SO... I went through a little panic trying to get everything in order and get her adopted before someone else got her. Today when I went to volunteer at the doggie thing at PetSmart I turned in all the paperwork and shortly after they told me I could take her home! And I couldn't be happier with it.

She is the absolute SWEETEST thing. She's so gentle and mild mannered. She stands on her hind feet a lot and will reach out and lightly touch you with her paw. I do believe she thinks she's a lap dog, but you look at her pic standing beside me and tell me what you think about that. 😂

For some reason she doesn't want to be away from me today... I went into the bathroom for just a short minute and she tried to go in with me. Well I shut the door before she could. I kid you not - there was a paw under the door in no time and she was out there whimpering until I came out. She also won Shadow over in no time because she sat down as soon as he told her to without him even having to bribe her to do so. And she's so easy with him, unlike Scooty, who just wants to wrestle with him all the time.

Ooh, one more thing, and then the pics. She's a very unusual looking dog and has won herself the nickname "Ugly Dog." Of course we all think she's beautiful and don't call her that, but most of the other people I know do (thankyouverymuch, Mary Beth.) Ok, so here they are:

WATCH OUT FOR THE BEAST!!!
(I'm totally kidding, of course. She was yawning when I took that.)

Here she is smiling:

This is an up-close shot that I like a lot for some reason:

And these last two are of me and her. She's totally a lap dog, right?? 😂

Speaking of...

Geez, where to begin?? How about with:

Today was hectic, (but I'm not complaining). We went to work today and that was fine. Then I went to PetSmart to do my Saturday routine of cleaning up and caring for the kitties that are there waiting to find homes and that was more eventful than usual. There was a cat named Snickers who was kind of new there. She is SO pretty. She's Siamese with long hair and the most beautiful BLUE eyes I've ever seen on a cat. She acted a little weird when she first got out to stretch and play, but I think that's probably because she's not used to the new place yet. Then there was Cotton who's a thick white man cat. He's beautiful and has a ton of personality to boot. Really pretty green eyes, also. Today when I let him out to clean his little kitty apartment he kept getting back in there and playing with my cleaning supplies and swatting my hands and stuff. It was so cute. 😊 When he wasn't busy playing with me he was loving on me... you know how cats do - with their faces all over you and purring. I LOVE THAT. 😍 It makes me feel all gooey.

Then I had a little surprise. There was another new kitty named Adrian. I can't remember if that one was male or female, but whatever. It was really shy at first seeing as how it was new, also. But you just give me a few minutes on the ears and that seems to loosen them right up. 😉 So I was petting Adrian trying to get it at ease enough to come out of it's cage and after a moment it got up and walked toward me. It walked straight through it's litter box and climbed up the front of me (literally), all the while the litter from it's paws going all down my shirt. Ehh, I didn't care. I also didn't care when it slipped and instinctively dug a claw into my neck drawing a little blood. I kept petting it. Those babies don't get all the loving they deserve. It was so sweet... it was walking back and forth on my shoulders while I awkwardly reached back to pet it... it would nuzzle my face and drool on my cheek and stuff. 😍 Anyway, it stayed on my shoulders for a good 15 minutes, at least, before I decided I had to go ahead and get back to work. It seemed really angry when Nick got it off me. 😞 Poor kitty... I wanted it to stay, too. ... I love cats. If I could have any I can think of a few I'd adopt right off.

Speaking of adopting... yeah, we might be sort of thinking of adopting a dog I fell in love with... She's gorgeous. Nick has never met her, but he's seen pics of her. I think he'd like her a lot in person so we're going to set it up where he can meet her. I guess if she passes the Nick test then she'll move on to the Scooter test... and if she passes then we'll make a decision. I'm surprised Nick would even kind of consider this, (I haven't even been bugging him about it, I don't think), but I'm really excited. We really don't need any more animals, but I feel terrible for Scooty. He seems so lonely. And she needs a home. (She's in a foster home right now so I should say, rather, that she needs a permanent home).

Speaking of foster homes: We got two ferrets that we're fostering for a friend today. I think we're supposed to pick up a third tomorrow... that's all fine with me. I've never fostered an animal before so I would imagine that it would be hard to give them up after a while, but at the same time I know deep down that they're not mine so maybe that will prevent me from getting too attached. Plus, they're going to an awesome home where they'll be loved and well cared-for so at least I know they'll be taken care of. That seems like it would make things easier, (the peace of mind, that is.)

After we picked up the ferrets we determined that they desperately needed a nail trim. So I did it. In fact, I trimmed all the ferrets nails today, plus Scooters, and his foot fur. Scoot-Scoot can't walk when he's on a slick floor because of all the hair on his feet - he slides around and while it's hilarious it's probably not good for him. Plus, he chews it a lot so I'm guessing it bothers him to have so much there. Anyhoo, I felt proud after I groomed everyone. I had fun and no one got hurt. What more can you ask for??

Speaking of having fun we got a Wii today. Speaking of what more you could ask for, we had the most delicious dessert at IHOP yesterday. It was a cheesecake banana crepe with caramel and whipped cream on top and ice cream on the side. It was TO-DIE-FOR, which, as bad as it probably was for me just might happen. But I hope not. 😁 Anyway, that's it. I'm off to watch "28 Days Later" with the Nick in my life. ❤ to you!

Thursday was awesome. :D

It SO was. Normally I'm not all about late nights when Shadow has school and we have work the next day, but it was completely worth it. Went went to this little place in Birmingham called The Bottletree and it was tons of fun. We went to see Bobby Bare, Jr. play (an artist Nick LOVES), and it was a great show at a really cool venue. His music reminds me somewhat of Modest Mouse... who I love.

The venue was small and there was no smoking and they served a lot of vegan food. They had meat stuff, too, but they advertise being vegan-friendly. We had a green apple quesadilla with soy sour cream and it was SO yummy. All the people who worked there were SUPER-nice... the bartender spoke to me as if his words would break me or something. It was sweet. He called me and Nick "ma'am" and "ladies"... I don't know why. But whatever.

I talked to one girl who was interning there... she kind of helped me figure out what the place was about and stuff - she was even nice enough to grab us some menus and tell us what was good. And I wanted a Bobby Bare, Jr. poster like they had advertising the show and so I asked one guy if they had anymore... he looked around then said, "Well, we have at least one" as he took one off the wall for me. I've never been so impressed with the staff at one place. It had a really laid-back, comfortable atmosphere... we're definitely going to have to go back.

Anyway, we got pics with the band and I took two of Nick and Bobby Bare, Jr. One just wasn't enough for him, I suppose. He also got two autographs... one was on the poster I got for us made out to both of us and the other was on a set list Nick snagged off the stage made out to him only. He was such a fangirl. But this guy was really an awesome musician... I found out when he and Nick were talking that he was nominated for a Grammy when he was freaking 7 years old. Isn't that crazy?? Anyway, here are the pics.

A majestic glitter-deer they had on the wall.

Nick

Us with the band.

Nick with Bobby Bare, Jr. himself.

Sort of an update here...

Expect a longer blog later, (with pictures, even) of the awesome time we had last night.

BUT FOR NOW - hear this:

So things are pretty ok around here... still feeling the burn of being laid off so much in the last quarter of the newly-ended year, but I think things will be back to normal soon. I'm not sweating it too much I guess.

Tiny Alice, (our female veiled chameleon), is not doing well. From pet stores, talking to other owners of chameleons, and lots and lots of reading we've found out that they usually aren't fixable (even under a vet's care) if they ever get sick. They're very fragile creatures and I don't know how they ever survive in the wild. *sigh* ... Unfortunately, Tiny Alice seems pretty sick. She's normally the more hearty of the two (so much so that I nicknamed her "Hogzilla"), but she hasn't eaten in a while. She looks like she really wants to, but one of her eye's is all jacked up (I think Nick read that that's a sign of respiratory infection) and she can't focus in on her food, I guess. I feel really bad for her... We were told to feed her chicken baby food and Pedialyte to help her get some energy back, but we can't get her mouth open. I really hate this... I think it's hitting Nick harder than me because Alice was his girl. As bad as it sounds I think we both wish it would go ahead and be over with... it's really hard to see her and know that you can't help.

Anyway, on to a lighter subject - we're pretty sure we're having a baby. Yep, Yorda has a wiggly little lump in her pouch and I couldn't be more stoked. For a while there she went through a phase where she wasn't very nice even though she's normally the sweeter one of the pair. Then she started being nice again and got all fat. Now she's back small again and there's an obvious lump on her belly. Sounds like a typical sugar glider pregnancy to me. Yay! Of course, we won't know anything DEFINITE until we see a little head peek out, but I feel certain. Male or female I think me and Nick have decided to call it "Wander," pronounced "Wanda," in keeping with the name theme from Shadow of the Colossus. (Yorda, Ico, Wander).  Unless you're a video game nerd you probably don't get it. But whatever.

Well, I'm pretty disappointed with myself lately... I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to. I've actually had a few good ideas and not forgot them... I'm just not motivated. I don't know what it is... maybe I just have too much other stuff going on... *shrugs* I dunno... but it bothers me.

You know what else bothers me?? My damn shoes won't stay tied lately. It's like somebody greased my laces or something. What the hell?? What's up with that?? I'm clumsy enough without having to worry about tripping over my laces all the time. ...

Guys, beware...

for I may show up in your restroom at any time. I've been pretty fucking sleepy, (read: out of it) all weekend... and last night I inadvertently wandered into the dude's bathroom at Wal-Mart. I just went in there to wash my hands because I got some paint or something on me while pumping gas just a few minutes earlier (yeah, still don't know how that happened).

Anyway, I grabbed a few paper towels first, (I always do that and then hold them between my knees while I wash so that I don't have to touch anything else), and then happened to look over. The feet under the stall were quite manly so I went back out and looked at the sign outside the door. Sure enough, the little person on the sign was not wearing a skirt so I proceeded to blush and go into the ladies room.

A few guys who were sitting on the benches outside the restrooms saw me and I just shrugged and kept walking. Oh well. It made for a good laugh... I giggled at myself all the way through the store and until I got home. People (even the ones who didn't see what I did) probably thought I was nuts. ... Well, I may be.

Putting my heart out there once again...

but it's ok. I am becoming so attached to Sammy... she's the eldest of the ferrets we got this past weekend. She's also the one who had cancer. As I mentioned before she's very small and I don't know if that has anything to do with her previously being sick. Luckily, the people who gave her to us said that she was doing fine (health-wise) right now - she tends to sleep a lot.

When I let them all out to play the other two take off running and sneaking and playing together... and Sammy just walks around investigating the environment, mostly. Sometimes if she finds something that catches her interest she'll play for a minute... last night she found a ball with a bell in it and pushed it around with her nose for a while; she also likes to climb up on the couch in hopes of getting to the end table or just to play in the blankets. She still has a little skip in her step, though - don't get me wrong. She doesn't tend to play much with the other ferrets unless one of them harass her into it, though.

Speaking of harassing her, Static (her housemate from her previous owners) harasses her endlessly. The previous owners said that they played together a lot, but I don't know if that's such a good thing. He gets her by the back of her head, (or even her face sometimes), and twists and drags her around. Sometimes she'll make sounds and that's when I've started intervening. I'm not really sure what's considered "normal" for those two (but I think I might ask soon). Luckily, since Stella's so young she can handle Static and his roughhousing and it probably gives li'l Sammy a break. But I do feel bad for her. It seems to take a lot out of her to try to fight him off, (especially with him being about twice her size). Usually, when I "rescue" her she'll let me hold her for a few minutes while she recuperates and sometimes she'll even love on my cheek while I'm doing so.

*sigh* I'm already dreading the day she leaves us, though I have no idea when that might be. I went in Critter's yesterday and they had to put one of their ferrets to sleep because his cancer came back. I, uh... I don't really know where I'm going with this. But I hope she knows she's loved.