Pics of the backyard.

Pics of the backyard. It's not 100% completely done, but it's getting there.

Shaun wants a few more rocks, we need to put our plants in the ground, we have to decide on a bridge, we might want a few more decorative items, and the greenhouse won't arrive until Monday, but the major stuff is done AND I AM GRATEFUL.

Peep the new gates. We had to have taller gates that automatically lock per the city code because of the pool. We have a neighbor who does iron work so we got some custom-made. I'll describe them under the captions, too.

Also, HUGE, MAJOR shout out to my beautiful, wonderful, creative husband for designing the yard and the gates. He drew everything up for me on his tablet so I could see his ideas. I'm not a great visualizer, unfortunately. But we are both so pleased with how everything turned out.

I'm putting captions under the photos because everything is easier to explain that way.

This is the main space in the yard. I can skate, I can swim, I can play on the grass with the dogs. I. Am. Happy.

This is the side of the house where my plants are. The black square is where the greenhouse is gonna be. The area to the left of the green brush will have a bridge (over the big rocks). The house came with a bridge, but it's falling apart. We liked the idea so we're going to replace it. We just need to find one that Bear can't easily get hurt on.

I don't know if it's easy to tell, but that decorative stone heading into the back corner is actually drainage away from the house. It was already there with the bridge, so we chose more river rock to outline the pool/give it a more natural-appearing shape and tie it all together.

This is my succulent kennel which is blocking up the patio. I can't wait to get this area more cleaned up.

This is our passenger gate. We wanted the Tree of Life to represent us since that was our wedding design. The New Mexican spin on that is that it's windy as fuck here, and we love it. Also, the roadrunner makes my day.

This is the ugly pool equipment and the metal building we built. We are thinking about putting a shower under the pergola so we can quickly rinse off after swimming. We might enclose one side to hide all of this. I don't know yet.

Between these 2 trees, Shaun would like a Japanese Maple. This is an area that was full of weeds. It's cleaned up now and pretty much a blank canvas. We don't know what we're going to do with it yet.

This is our larger gate. It has a Yucca/Agave plant, hot air balloons up top, and a quail family along the bottom. My only regret here is that we didn't put the quail going in one direction rather than coming towards the middle, but that's ok. If you know about quail families, you know the parents lead a whole-ass train of babies. Missed opportunity. I didn't think of this until it was too late, but I like the symbolism of coming together, too.

Also probably gonna put my swing set over here.

My not-fully-planted succulent garden. I love looking at this and can't wait until it fills in a bit. There's yucca, agave, prickly pear, cholla, and a barrel cactus. I think I'm gonna get some of the clumping beauties for behind that wooden bench. I am so excited!

I'm literally crying.

I'm literally crying. I just had my video appointment with Midi Health and SHE LISTENED TO ME about the hormonal symptoms I've been having since 2022.

I start HRT today. Hopefully I can sleep again. I would love to get rid of this brain fog. Maybe my bones will heal. She's sending in a referral for a DEXA scan to see where I am. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia in 2015 when I was having trouble walking due to Psoriatic Arthritis. HRT should help protect my bones. I kind of need those.

I tried to get treated in 2022 when I was in Cincinnati. She tested my blood and said since my periods were regular that I am fine. Both of those "tests" are outdated and inaccurate.

Midi is making a difference for us by taking the symptom-based diagnostic approach. WE ARE HALF OF THE POPULATION. WE MATTER. Life isn't over at 40. Or 50. Or 60. It's over when you die. Live your best life until that day comes.

Here is Bear being his chaotic, goofy self. 😂

Here is Bear being his chaotic, goofy self. 😂

He stole my hat, jumped into the back of my head, and snarfed deep in my armpit (he's in my armpits every chance he gets).

He's getting around really well. I think he enjoys being able to run and jump because he just looks so happy while he's doing it. I'm pretty sure his arthritis meds are making a difference.

An inspector came to the door today and saw Bear. He said that Bear looks ornery. I'm like, "He's sweet! He's just a baby!" That's not the first time I've heard that he looks grumpy (or some other negative emotion/personality trait). It's so funny because he's simultaneously the most laid-back and excited dog I've ever met. He's either chilling or running. On or off. I wouldn't describe him as ornery or grumpy at all. ❤️

Cubba's doing ok.

Cubba's doing ok. He's acting pretty normal, but definitely not in the mood to play - which is fine because he should be resting and healing.

Toebean is rolling around and purring a lot. He's on the same pain meds he's been on for the mouth pain we haven't figured out yet, but his behavior is a lot different. He seems to be feeling MUCH better. We have no idea how long he had bladder stones before he started showing symptoms (bloody urine outside of the box), but I'm glad we were able to get it taken care of. We gotta have Harley's bad tooth removed and his teeth cleaned, then the plan is to get Tobi to the specialist about his mouth. It's always something when all of your pets are up there in age.

Anyway, we need to start Tobi on a special diet to prevent more stones, and we also have to wet it to make sure he gets enough water. We're still waiting for his lab results, though. The vet said it could be a few weeks. But I'm glad he's feeling better, in any case.

This is not a Zoom, but look at his happy, bad self.

This is not a Zoom, but look at his happy, bad self. He 100% knocked me over, and he did it on purpose, too. 😂😂😂

Look at this good dog and look at this bad dog. 😂

Look at this good dog and look at this bad dog. 😂 Can you tell them apart?

Cub has been resting most of the day, as he should. He's got the "I just woke up" ears going on in this photo. He's so precious. ❤️

Bear just doesn't understand that he shouldn't try to play with Cub right now. He's being put in Sky Jail pretty regularly the last few days. 😂😂😂 That's the face of a hardened criminal, y'all. 😂

Other than that, things are going ok. I got Cubba's emergency vet records transferred to his regular doctor. He needs a follow-up appointment and stitches removed in 2 weeks. Since Toebean has to be checked in 2 weeks because of his surgery we got them scheduled back-to-back so that will save us a trip.

We got Ash's lab results back today. Everything looks great. I guess her occasional carpet poop is behavioral. I feel like I can't even blame her at the moment. Everything is so chaotic, maybe I wanna say "Fuck it" and dooks on the carpet, too. 😂 I'm kidding, but I'm still not upset with her. Maybe she doesn't want to go in the sunroom where the boxes are because it's 1000 degrees during the day. Maybe she's getting senile. Who knows?

Anyway. That's my super exciting update for the day.

So the last couple of days...

So the last couple of days we've had to try extra hard to tire Bear out so he won't try to play with Cub.

We got lucky that on Saturday they laid the turf out to flatten, so even though it's not installed it's nice to walk/run on.

Apparently, Bear is so excited by this that if I just sit on the ground and cheer for him, he'll happily zoom around until he's tired. 😂

I'm gonna have to get some video for y'all. He's definitely putting his new knees to work. ❤️