Look at my handsome Gramson

Look at my handsome Gramson, Leon. Precious little baby.

I'm not trying to be mean, but...

I'm not trying to be mean, but I think Rose might be the dumbest dog I've ever met.  I consider myself to be a dog person but I've never encountered anyone like her and I need help.

It doesn't matter if it's below freezing or if it's raining; she sleeps out in the open (usually in the middle of the yard).  She has a heated dog house not to mention a doggie door to actually come inside the house.  She knows how to use the doggie door but sometimes stands there slapping at the flap before she'll actually come in.  The other day when it was raining and I wanted her inside we had to coax her in and I sat with her on the couch for over an hour; but when she got tired of that she went outside anyway and not under any sort of shelter.

She doesn't eat much unless we coax her to do so; she was thin before she was lost for 2 weeks, but much thinner when we got her home.  The people who'd found her said that they couldn't get her to eat (or eat much eventually), either.  I don't understand this.  Does she not feel cold or rain or hunger?  Does she just not care?

I've said before that she likes to be up Cubba's butt and if he's outside that is still true.  Only once or twice has she followed him indoors.  Before we had a doggie door she slept in the dog house with him, but now doesn't even go in there (and the blanket inside should smell like him still, but she keeps dragging it out into the middle of the yard to lay on it - weather be damned).

I guess the simple conclusion would be that she's not uncomfortable and doesn't feel hungry too often, but when I see her literally shivering while rolled up in a tiny ball out in the open in the cold it breaks my heart.  I tried to make her stay in last night by "closing" the doggie door, but every time I checked on her she was sat in front of it whining.

I'm not trying to be funny when I say this but I feel like she might have special needs and I just don't know what to do for her.  Please advise me.

Update:  I ate with her and Shaun pretended to. That's the most we've seen her eat in one sitting.

We've been giving...

We've been giving Rose more calories and supervising her eating... It's the weirdest thing, but I gave her a weiner the other day and she laid on it - then left it without eating it. I've never met a dog who didn't by default want people food. I handed it to her again and she finally ate it, but that was so weird. Anyway, she's finally showing some weight gain.

I had a bunch of chores to do today, but when I went outside the weather was so nice and the dogs were so happy that I spent more time than I meant to playing with them. Shaun came out and played, too. It's all good, though. We all needed that.

I hope you all are doing well. I felt like turds for the last 2 weeks (PMS and then I don't know... just run down, hence the lack of posts), but I've been better the last two days. I slept like crap last night but made the most of today regardless. Hopefully, tomorrow will be pretty good, too.

College math...

College math was so much more fun for me because of the discussions and explanations; it was beautiful and interesting and I fell in love. I started school with an open mind; I told myself that I would go as far as I could go and see where that takes me. I don't even have the words to express how much mindset affects performance. I felt like I was having a life crisis through several years of schooling because I was learning things I never thought I'd comprehend.

Attitudes and preconceived notions about math / math abilities need to change. Discussions need to happen. Math deserves better - and students do, too.

I'm not up for shenanigans today.

I've got PMS and I feel pretty cruddy so needless to say I'm not up for shenanigans today. It took me all day to muster up the energy to feed the animals and water a few desperately thirsty succulents. While I was in the sun room, (which is now split between the cat / reptile section and the dog / plant section), Rose came in from outside to get some treats. While in, she decided to bark and growl at a cat which we've been trying to break her from doing.

I'd just come to the dog side of the room and had a plastic box of greens in my hand from feeding the reptiles. Let me note up front that it's the thin, crinkly plastic and not hard in any way. Well, she barked and growled and I loudly said "Ank!" and whopped her muzzle with the greens package which also made a sound. This happened before I could even think about not doing it. I know I didn't hurt her, but this photo is the result of Rose getting in trouble; I guess this means I'm the bad cop. 😂😂😂 

Also, she's still thin. She was thin before she got lost and was thinner when she came home but has gained some weight back (and she's back to her old self). She doesn't have parasites and eats as much as she wants. She's just very athletic and never sits still (I'm familiar with unhealthy dogs thanks to my time volunteering in rescue; I'm fairly sure that she wouldn't have as much muscle as she does if something was wrong). Our next shipment of dog food is going to be a sports mix and hopefully that will put some more weight on her. But anyway, look at that pathetic little lap baby. 😂😂😂

Quick Update about the Lume Deodorant:

Quick Update about the Lume Deodorant:

It's now been 3 days since I showered and applied it and legit - I do not smell gross (well, not in the armpits, anyways).  🤪  I had a PMS fever-sweat yesterday; one of those "I'm cold so I curled up in a blanket and fell asleep but now I'm awake and hot and sweating" type of deals and that didn't even phase it.  I've spent all day sniffing my pits and I'm just now catching a very slight sweaty smell.  I'm exhausted and feeling pretty "blah" so I'm about to shower and head to bed.  But yeah - color me impressed.  The difference between this and anything else I've tried is like night and day.

I don't know if y'all are seeing advertisements...

I don't know if y'all are seeing advertisements on here for Lume Deodorant, but I have been for months and I finally tried it.  I'm about to tell y'all about this stuff.

First, though - some background:

Either my armpits have been stinkier than average or most people are better at hiding it.  I know it doesn't help my case that I wear sleeves and hoodies year-round in this hot, humid weather (I have a sun allergy), but for the most part I'm indoors in air-conditioning and cold.  I don't think I sweat an unreasonable amount, but it's stinky to me and that makes me self-conscious.

I've used all kinds of deodorants and antiperspirants over the years - even trying some clinical strength ones.  Eventually with the strong stuff I started getting a rash and had to stop using them (not that they were stopping my funk, anyway).  So then I looked into "natural" alternatives.  I tried stuff like Lavilin and Primal Pit Paste and even that expensive Native stuff from Wal-Mart.  I never had luck with those, either.

Looking back I think that part of my problem was that my clothing was stained in the pits so that any dampness or sweat reactivated the stank.  Hopefully I am not exceptionally stinky, but between me and Shaun I am definitely the smellier one.  😂😂😂  I have recently learned that an enzymatic detergent will likely help that so my next personal project is to go through my shirts and properly clean them all.  Apparently just washing regularly when wearing aluminum or wax-based deodorants isn't always enough.  I don't know if that is common knowledge or not, but I somehow didn't know it.  Now I do.

So... I tried Lume Deodorant because supposedly it works differently than regular deodorants.  Their commercials can explain it better than I can so I'll leave it to you to look if you're interested.  But I will say that I showered and put it on 24 hours ago and I only smell half-bad.  That is a joke.  One of my armpits smells honestly just fine with a hint of the warm vanilla scent if you sniff up close.  The other armpit smells a bit like sweat, but not as strong as usual.  Maybe I put it on that one before my underarm was completely dry or maybe I didn't use enough - I don't know.  But I am impressed because I've never had a product keep me funk-free for this long.

One thing I will say is that it's a deodorant not an antiperspirant so if you're not ok with sweating then this is not for you.  I don't mind sweating; I just don't want to smell bad.  Another thing worth mentioning is that this stuff does NOT smell pleasant straight out of the tube.  It smells to me a bit like burnt plastic and feet, but I don't smell it unless I raise my arms.  That bad smell does fade as the deodorant dries (it has a lotion consistency), so if you can get past that then I think it's worth trying.  They advertise that one application can last for up to 72 hours; I haven't tested that because I just got these yesterday and I washed and reapplied right before making this post.  I didn't want to sit around with one semi-stinky armpit.  😂😂😂

Anyway, I wanted to share this with you all because I am feeling so happy and un-self-conscious and I want all of my friends to be able to feel that way, too.  I hope you all are doing well!  ❤