I Will See You Soon!

                I know it’s been a long while since I’ve last written about what is going on in my neck of the woods, but I am out and about on vacation and internet access is very limiting.  I had been visiting my nephews, KC, as well as my oldest brother (side note:  I am not sure if many of you know this, but I have 2 brothers.  I am the youngest of the siblings, so for blogging purposes I differentiate between my brothers by saying oldest, who is the first born, and my older brother, the middle child; kind of confusing I know, but that’s what I have always called them), and now am heading up to visit my Grandma as well as JM’s Mum-Mum.  Since both of our grandmothers are in their 80’s JM convinced me to leave JD with some friends.  His reasoning was because she is a rather large dog and the risk of her knocking over one of our grandmothers accidently is imminent, also, we will be spending part of the trip at his parents’ house and they prefer not to have a large shedding dog in their household.  As much as it pains me to take P and leave my precious JD behind, I complied.  However, the preparations for leaving JD behind were exhausting.   She suffers from separation anxiety.  I had her since the day she was born, and I’ll admit I suffer from it too.  Whenever I leave for a trip and I am unable to bring her (which is very rarely, I take her almost everywhere), she tends to go on what I call a “hunger strike.”  JD just refuses to eat.  A trip that lasts less than a week, she can lose up to 10 lbs.  That’s not healthy for a dog, or anyone for that matter.  So when I leave to go somewhere, I make sure of a few things before I leave:

1. She knows and is comfortable with the family/friends I leave her with
2. She gets along with their dogs and/or children if they have any (which is never a question since she loves kids and meeting new play pals)
3. I cook her boiled liver with brown rice.  The doggie sitter mixes about ½ cup in with her food, as an enticement to eat (I don’t want a skeleton of a dog when I get back)
4. I pack her a “doggie survival bag” with her favorite toys, treats, and any medication she could possibly need (JM has severe allergies in the spring and summer months)
5. I make sure that they will take her for walks or play fetch with her so she gets enough exercise to curb her anxiety induced chewing
6. Probably the most important, THEY LOVE DOGS! and more specifically MY dog.

                Seems like a lot of work for “just a dog” (other people’s words, not mine), but to me, she’s more than “just a dog,” she’s family and very much so worth the so called trouble.

A face I MISS! and LOVE!

P.s.  Happy late Father’s Day for all the dads out there.

Expired Warranty?

                My warranty must have been fulfilled.  Leave it to American engineers to make sure everything will last just until shortly after the guarantee of fixing runs out.  The past couple of days have just been rough.  First my car gets broken into, then JM and I get lost on our way to a friend’s going away party, then my breaks go out, then my battery core completely dies, then I got a flat, then I got pulled over being the designated driver to a bunch of drunk friends….I’m scared to see what happens next.

                Let me start from the beginning.  First, our, JM’s and I’s, vehicles got broken into.  Shortly before that, we almost got stranded in the middle of nowhere on our way to a friend’s going away party.  I had already hashed those out, so I won’t go into a whole lot of detail, but those were the start of things to come.  After those two wretched days, I go to start my vehicle to find that it refuses to turn over.  I hear a strange ticking sound coming from the circuit and relay box in the engine.  Being the savvy car expert I am (that was pure sarcasm), I begin to think I may need a new start relay or solenoid relay.  I call my daddy and a few places, and they assure me that it is in fact a bad battery.  I replace my car battery only to hear my breaks making an atrocious screeching noise later that same day.  I make another trip to Auto Zone, and find out that my rear break is cutting into my rotor and is in desperate need of replacing.  I set up an appointment with Midas to have them replaced, and while there I might as well get an oil change.  The morning of my appointment, I exit my house to see that I have a flat tire.  A completely flat tire; it is so flat that it is resting on its rim.  Great (sarcasm again).  I call road side assistance to, well, assist me in changing my tire.  The guy shows up late, an hour late, and begins to go to work on my car.  After a few minutes of tinkering, he stands up, and tells me that my tire is stuck.  Stuck you ask?  Yes, stuck.  Apparently some water got behind the wheel well or something and rusted the bolts or whatever they are that holds the tire in place.  He informs me that he could give it a few good kicks; HOWEVER it may bend my rim.  At this point I’m willing to give it a small shot and cross my fingers.  Luckily the tire comes off with no warping to the rim.  Finally a break!

                After finishing all that needed to be done on my vehicle, JM and I decided to go out with a few friends that were in town for a night of celebration.  I don’t drink, so I’m always the go to sober driver, which I don’t mind.  So JM and his friends proceed to get belligerent, and I did my best to keep four drunk grown men together in a crowded street of bikers (it was biker week, but we did not get the memo), which is easier said than done.  After closing down the bars and clubs around 3:00, it was time to head home which was an hour away.   One of JM’s friends refused to sit in his seat and crawled into the far back of my car for a nap.  JM’s friend being well over twice my size and not taking my “NO!” as an answer and does it anyways; not to mention I’m too exhausted to fight.  With fatigue creeping in on me, I accidentally ran a stop sign.  Without skipping a beat I see a cops flashing lights right behind me.  The officer asks me to step out of the vehicle, asks if I have been drinking, and is ready to give me a field sobriety test, but as luck would have it, he gets called out to a more urgent matter and lets me off with a warning.  These past few days have just been hard to say the least, but I am sure glad they are over!!!  Being the optimistic person I am, it can only go up from here….right?  Let's just keep crossing my fingers.

Kitchen Vessels

                Some days I just loathe living in a rental, but until I have a big girl job, or a career my dream home will have to wait.  Although, I have been eager to make this house my own, I have had to do it in the form of accents.  My newest venture has been the kitchen. 

Since I know most, if not all of you have never seen my kitchen or have any idea of what it is like, I’ll let you in on it.  At first I started out with a café theme which was real dark and had a lot of browns and maroons.  It’s cute, and I may keep with the theme, but most definitely will change up the art I had hanging in my cooking domain and possibly spray paint the frames; a {DIY} project that I am excited to start.  My serving platters and so forth are all white; the only splash of color comes in the form of my plates, which I am absolutely partial to, as well as the kitchen towels.

Aren't they charming?

I have had these containers sitting on my counter for years, and as much as I love them, they just are not practical.  

Sorry the picture's crooked.  

The openings are just too small for a cup let alone my hands to get into, so I have been looking for replacements.  Not actively looking, I kind of figured if I stumble upon a set that I like, then it was meant to be, and sure enough, I found these beauties.  Not only are they to die for, but they were reasonably priced!  Double the awesomeness!!!    

LOVE THEM!

                I know the white lids are a bit of a cream color and do not exactly match the whitest of whites confetti plates I own, but I am willing to over look that small detail because they just seem so perfect.  They look even better once I cleaned and filled them.  

Perfection!

                Now if only I could paint the walls, add a glass tiled back splash, put in new granite or marble counter tops, add an island, update the appliances, and re-tile the floors (because laminate floors stink).  Okay so that's more of an overhaul/renovation rather than just decorating with accents, but a girl can dream can't she?

Best Part of Waking Up.....No Strike That

                Nothing quite beats waking up at the crack of dawn to discover your vehicle has been tampered with, and by tampered with I mean broken into.  UGH!  I am having a streak of bad luck, and I hope it ends sooner rather than later.  As for my vehicle, luckily nothing was damaged, and nothing of value was stolen; mainly because I don’t have anything of value in my car.  However they did nab my owner’s manual books, registration, and proof of insurance.  When I noticed my registration was gone, I jetted to the rear of my vehicle, but {WHEW!}  The thief or thieves didn’t swipe my license plate.  I wonder what this night bandit is going to use my paperwork for.  Is there anything a person can do with just a registration paper?  I called the police and filed a report.  The officer arrived about 45 minutes later, and from what he told me, it has been a busy morning with a lot of similar type calls.  The policeman stated, “These types of things come in waves.”  Hopefully this will be the last of it, and for the rest of my time in this small town will go smoothly.  I’m going to keep my fingers crossed!

It Never Goes As Planned

                Today was a downright disaster, I repeat, DISASTER!  Nothing went according to plan. 

My plan originally:

Go to a friend’s going away party at 11:00 AM.
Go grocery shopping, to get much needed provisions.
Read chapters 15-16 for class.
Take chapter 15 and 16 quizzes.
Read chapters 3-4 for different class.
Take that quiz.
Do case study # 2.
Take the dogs to get their nails clipped.
Go the gym.

                Of course since I planned it, it didn’t happen the way I had hoped.  JM and I tried to make it to a friend’s going away party since he is being PCSed (a military acronym for moving) to Germany.  Unfortunately neither of us had any idea where this going away party was being held.  We were told it was going to be at one of the many lakes, so we set off in search of it.  Little did I know that it was absurdly far away, and did I mention I only had a quarter tank of gas?  Actually that may be exaggerating a tad, it was less than that.  We drove along narrow roads with warning signs that read “artillery testing ahead, proceed at your own risk” and “when flooded turn around, don’t drown.”  That didn’t put my already elevated nerves at rest.  And then my gas light turns on {BING} in the middle of nowhere.  Insert my anxiety attack, right about……now.  JM was strangely calm for being away from civilization with our gas dwindling down into nothingness; in fact, he was so relaxed that he took it upon himself to joke about our situation which didn’t help my anxiety subside.  We finally pass a small town, but of course there was no gas station present.  Having gone at least 20 miles with the gas light on, and more than likely running on fumes, we cross a sizeable river, and on the other side of the hill, there was the much needed gas station.  THANK GOODNESS!  I filled up the car, bought chips and a drink, got directions to the lake and an ETA, and continued on our way.  10-15 minutes later, we found the lake, but our friends going away party was nowhere to be found.  We drove around in circles, but alas, still no party and time was running out for JM, he had to return to work.  Finally we decided to just head back.  What did we get out of our 2 hour journey?  An anxiety attack, chips, a drink, and a scenic route I would prefer to never do again with only a quarter tank of gas.

                I finally made it home around 2:30, but with everything that had happened I just couldn’t concentrate on studying.  Instead I opted to take the dogs to get their nails trimmed.  I grabbed their leashes, listened to P yap out of excitement for probably 5 minutes, and then loaded the dogs into the car.  We get to Pets Mart and the yapping ensued some more.  There just was no stopping him.  I finally was able to herd them into the groomers after the customer before me left (she had a large Labrador/German Shepherd mix I didn’t want P fighting with it).  JD was the first to get her nails cut, which is always a disaster (the motto of the day).  She cried the entire time and jumped off the counter top contraption 8 times, hanging herself with the attached leash.  I’m sure the poor lady trimming her nails had enough, because she gave up and left one of the back ones untrimmed before taking P to do his claws.   He was better and much faster than JD.  Once was all said and done at the groomers the pups and I headed home. 

Off to get our nails cut, pure excitement to be going on a car ride.

After the trimming of the nails.  So tired from all his yapping!

                Now I am at the present.  The plan for the rest of the day is make it to the gym!  Wish me luck on getting my motivation together as well as my concentration in hopes that after the gym, I’ll be able to at least read one of the four chapters and take one of the 3 quizzes I need to take.  As for the groceries, maybe I’ll grab those necessitates later in the night when the store is not so crowded.

Accidents Happen

                NO!  IT CAN’T BE!  We were doing soooooooo well; WERE being the key word in that sentence.  JM is convinced that it was, what he so lovingly calls a “dangle,” but I know better!  It wasn’t a dangle; it was a complete and utter accident.  That’s right!  P had his first accident in months, and yes he hid it like he has done in the past.  I was shocked.  He was doing so well, but this morning when I woke up and got out of bed I smelt a stinky smell; a very familiar odor that should not be in the house, but rather outside in the yard.  I looked high and low, okay, maybe not high, but definitely low for it.  And there it was, lying like an unwanted prize underneath their doggie bed.  Lucky for me, P hasn’t changed up his hiding techniques, because I really didn’t want to tear the house apart only to put it back together again (I have more important things to attend to like homework, UGH! and ICK!).  Once I found this hidden surprise, I was, well, surprised, or more so shocked that P was able to move the sizeable (it’s big enough to fit both him and JD) and heavy bed over on top of the poop.  P is quite the muscle man, errrrm, I mean muscle dog.  So, I cleaned it up, gave P an angry finger shake with the ever so classic “BAD DOG!” line, and now we restart the counter.  How many days, months, or years (if we’re lucky, I'm keeping my fingers crossed) will P go without having a dreaded accident?