dogs

Get off my lawn!

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I think I’m getting old.  My back hurts (lower back – it’s felt achy and a little twinge-y since my last Muscle Blast class two Mondays ago).  My left arm was tingling off and on for almost a week (it’s stopped now) because I think I pinched a nerve doing a handstand in yoga class (a week ago Wednesday).  I make grunting noises when I lunge to get over the dog gate at the bottom of the stairs, and worst of all, I was SO over Halloween after about the tenth group of kids.  I lose patience for that quicker every year.  All we were doing was handing out candy to the kids who came by.  I can’t imagine how the parents of 8 or 9-year-olds must feel, trailing their kids down block after block.  I mean, when they’re 3 or 4 or 5, they’re totally adorable, they need your help, and they get tired fast (very important, that).  Beyond that age, can they even get tired out?  It’s exhausting just thinking about it.

I missed the very beginning of the evening because I had to take Roxy to the vet.  Once again, her paw was bothering her and she licked it so much she made it worse.  Yay for obsessive dogs.

Here’s my sweetpea last night at the vet:

And here she is today, completely miserable in her Cone of Shame. The sock just wasn’t working this time.

Still here!

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We made it through the big storm unscathed.  Well, I haven’t been outside yet, so I guess there could be some damage, but we didn’t hear anything, and John went in to work both days, so he would have seen something.  Last night was the only time the winds really picked up.  Even the rain is finally letting up.  That’s very good news, since Riley is a little stir-crazy.  He spent a lot of today gazing longingly out the front window.

I did a bad, bad thing today.  I opened the giant bag of mini Snickers.  I kept it in the other room, but that didn’t stop me as much as I was hoping it would.  I will be doing my best (over John’s objections, I’m sure) to give away every last bit of this candy tomorrow night.

Can you believe it’s almost October? What the hell is that about?

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I took Riley with me on my run the other morning – huh.  Feels like several days ago, but it must have been just yesterday morning.  It’s only Tuesday.  Shoot me.  Anyway, a deer got really close to us.  I think he wanted to play.  It was cute, but Riley was a little freaked out.  The deer was following us down the trail, and Riley kept checking it out over his shoulder, ears pinned back.  It eventually ran ahead of us, and he calmed down, but it made for a very exciting morning.

We don’t get out much.  Actually, part of why I’ve been MIA is because I did get out over the weekend.  Went home to visit Mom and Dad and Corey and Mindy and Mark and Gaby and Candy.  Watched a gaggle of six-year-olds play soccer, found that I’m a natural at soccer myself (when one of those six-year-olds is the goalie), picnicked by the lake, played catch, flew a kite, got sunburned, went for a run – and that was all on Saturday.  It was a whirlwind weekend, but I got to see everyone (for not long enough, but it was better than not going).

And now it’s the work week, the last week of the fiscal year, when everyone freaks out, and I have to go to DC every day.  Here’s hoping next week is better.

Did you know…

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…that if I don’t drink coffee/tea/something with caffeine in it on the mornings I drive to DC that I will be struggling to stay awake by the time I get to the GW Parkway?

…that Riley doesn’t like it when John plays his guitar?  He gets all nervous and whiny.

…that we’re putting off watching the 2nd season of Sherlock so we’ll still have it look forward to?

…and that we’re doing the same thing with Doctor Who because of how freakin’ long we have to wait between seasons?  We’re two episodes into season 6 and afraid to watch any more.

…that we haven’t watched the Downton Abbey Christmas episode yet because it seemed weird to watch it when it’s nowhere near Christmastime?

…that once I start thinking about TV I really like I apparently can’t stop?

…that Roxy can tell time and is nudging me because she knows it’s time for her medicine?

I’d better stop before I reveal too much. I’ve gotta keep some secrets.

I need to just let it go

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I think I’m going to save all my vacation time so I can take the entire month of September off next year.  The weather is perfect, the sky is this beautiful September blue, and I can’t enjoy any of it because I am STRESSED OUT.  Like, to the max.  Totally.  Roxy is sharing my stress because Riley stole her toy filled with peanut butter.  She got most of the peanut butter out before he took it, so I’m not really sure what she’s complaining about.  Still, it’s nice to have someone else around as stressed as I am.

Prepositions

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Roxy is gazing at me sleepily (and adorably) from a square of sunlight on the floor in the other room.  That sentence reminds me of an exercise we had to do in Language Arts class in middle school.  I think we had to write a poem describing…something…using a ton of prepositions.  My friend Nicola’s was the best.  It went something like this:

To the house
In the front door
Up the stairs
Down the hallway
Through the door
On the toilet
…relief!

Something like that.  We thought it was awesome that she wrote a poem about peeing and got an A.  Mine might have been (hypothetical) directions to my (imaginary, totally made up on the spot) secret place.  Kind of an over the river and through the woods kind of thing.  (I was not the most original child.)

My skin is glowing

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I had my first facial ever today.  And a massage.  It was a very nice afternoon.  John got me a Massage Envy gift certificate for those services for my birthday (WAY back in February).  I don’t know why it took me so long to use it.  It was wonderful.  I am seriously considering making this a regular thing. (I like being pampered.)

I had a really annoying song stuck in my head earlier today, and a friend of mine at work asked me which one.  It was “I Love You Like a Love Song” by I don’t know who, and I told him that the part where she goes “beep beep beep beep beep beep” wouldn’t get out of my brain.  I got corrected immediately.  He said it’s by Selena Gomez, and she’s actually saying “repeat repeat repeat” there.  We had a minor battle over who was more embarrassed: me for not knowing the words or him for knowing them AND being able to name the teenybopper who sings them.  I let him win that one (he’s around my age).

Roxy just came over to say hello and would I please give her the crumbs from my sandwich.  At least she said please.  She also told me that I have no unifying theme today, so I should quit now.  Smart dog.

Only a little spooky

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The gym at night is a peaceful place.  I know I won’t work out tomorrow (going to visit Jess and Chuck – yay!), and Sunday will depend a lot on when we get home, so I figured I’d squeeze in an extra workout tonight.  Especially after IHOP for dinner.  The gym is open until 10pm on weeknights, and most nights there are still people there pretty late.  Not tonight, though.  I walked in at 8 and I had the place to myself.  It was kinda nice.  None of the TVs were on and neither was the music, so the only sounds were my own.  I could pretend it was my own private gym.  No annoying people allowed.

As if on cue, Riley came over and shoved his dripping head into my lap just then.  (He’s a messy drinker.)  I’ve got to pay him some special attention to make up for boarding him overnight tomorrow.

Good night!

The Cotswold Olympick Games – seriously, that’s a real thing

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Here’s a little bit of randomness to end your day.

First, a video of Riley running across the yard.  I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Roxy lately (she hurt her leg while staying at the kennel two weeks ago, and we’re babying her), and I think he’s feeling neglected.

Check this out!  The shin-kicking in this video happened in Chipping Campden, the village we stayed in.  (Source and article.)

Last, can someone please explain this fortune to me?

Love is the first feeling people feel, because love is nice.

Was it written by a four-year-old?

It’s that time again

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What to read?  I think I need help.  I started a book of short stories by Harlan Ellison before we left for England.  I left it behind because it’s hardcover, and I didn’t want to travel with it.  The stories are all somewhat depressing, so I’m not in a hurry to get back to it.  I started Little, Big on the plane ride over, but it’s hard to get into and I’m thinking about giving up.  Has anyone read it?  Should I keep going?  I finished Coming Home (this was my second time through) late last night.  I love that book.  The book club I may or may not be a member of read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks this past month.  I missed the meeting because of our trip.  I have it, but I don’t think I’m anywhere near in the mood for something like that.  That would mean branching out, and I just don’t feel like doing that today.  Maybe it’s the stormy weather, but I want comfort reading.  Wait – I think I have the solution.  I haven’t read the most recent Dresden Files book, and from there I may move on to Jim Butcher’s fantasy series.  Hooray for decisions!  You guys are so helpful.  🙂

We had a request for more dog videos, so here’s one of the dogs in the rain.

Hey, I didn’t promise it would be interesting.  They don’t do much that’s interesting…

Why did it have to end?

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We’re home, and it was wonderful, and can I please please please go back?  The last couple of days at home were so peaceful and restful.  I avoided my work email and managed to wake up this morning still feeling somewhat serene and would you believe it?  A day at work with lots of catching up to do and one crisis (that I couldn’t get resolved today) did NOT get to me.  I still feel pretty good and not at all stressed.  Except for the headache.  It’ll go away.

Bicycles in Oxford - Everywhere I turned, there were people riding bikes. Some with robes flapping behind them, some in skirts, some in casual clothes. Then there was the one guy riding down the street on a unicycle, but I didn't get my camera out in time to catch him.

Here’s a video I took today of Roxy eating peanut butter. Because you’re worth it, and gosh darn it, I like you.

Yay John!

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I’m not sure it’s possible to cram more things into one weekend.  They were all good things, all fun things, but – what happened to my weekend?  We got up Saturday morning and met Erik and Margaret (and Corinne) for brunch.  Totally fun and very good to see them.  We got home Saturday afternoon, cleaned up after the dogs, and mowed the lawn.  Then we went out to see The Avengers (SO much awesome) with Will and Christina, and then, since we hadn’t seen them in a while (we’ve seen Will pretty regularly, but I haven’t seen Christina in nearly two years), we stayed out with them until nearly 1am.  This morning, we got up at a reasonable hour and headed to the George Mason campus for John’s graduation (from Virginia Tech, not George Mason).  Finally, it’s official.  John has an M.S. in Computer Science.  (I failed big time in the photo department.  Too blurry, too dark, too late – missed him.)  We met John’s parents and sisters there (they drove down for the ceremony and dinner after), so we had a very pleasant afternoon and evening with them.  Now we’re home, thoroughly exhausted, with dogs that wonder where the hell we went all weekend.  I only wonder where the hell all these ants came from.  We leave town in four days.  It’s be nice to solve this ant problem before then.

Gotta close the windows

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We can’t sleep with the windows open anymore.  Actually, we rarely leave the bedroom windows open because the early morning chirping bugs the hell out of John (as I may have mentioned before).  We usually just leave the downstairs windows open all night.  Not tonight.  Not happening.  Last night, on at least 4 (maybe 5) separate occasions, Riley scared us awake with crazy barking.  Maybe something scared him awake, but then he wouldn’t shut up.  He is not our favorite dog right now.

Count to ten and breathe deeply

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Statistics is over and John’s thesis has been turned in (his defense is Friday evening).  I should be able to relax a little now, right?  Why don’t I feel relaxed?  Relax, dammit!

Okay, yelling may not be the right approach.

Let’s blame it on work and leave it at that.  Actually, let’s blame it on getting up at 5 in the morning three days a week to get to work.  I can’t handle 5am.  6am is fine.  Maybe it’s a mental block, but it’s one I can’t (and don’t want to, to be perfectly frank) get past.

(I have one thing to say to all of you who are just itching to tell me what to do about it: I KNOW.  I will do something about it.  I have a plan.  You don’t have to tell me again.  So shush now and let me vent.  Thank you for your time.)

In other news, I got to hang out with a most adorable puppy (and Jess and Chuck, but let’s get our priorities straight here).  See?

His name is Rashi and he is the snuggliest puppy ever.

You want one, don’t you?  (I do.)

The quick update

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We’re home, safe and sound, and so are the dogs.  Nothing happened to Roxy this weekend.  (Thank you, Jess.)  We had a  highly successful Passover seder Friday night, I drank all the wine in the house Saturday night (Mom assures me I most certainly did NOT drink all the wine, but I felt like I had by Sunday morning), and we spent much of Sunday stealing books from Mom and Dad’s basement, all of which now live in OUR basement.  The drive home was much better than anticipated (mostly because we listened to a fantastic book the whole way, but I’ll have more on that once we actually finish it – we have about an hour left), and when we arrived, we unloaded the books in about 30 minutes and picked up the dogs just before the kennel closed.  Busy, but quick and over and done with.  Details tomorrow.  Maybe.  I’ll think about it.

She’s going to be fine

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Roxy had a seizure yesterday morning while John and I were out running.  It had been two weeks since the last one, and her recovery time was really quick.  Nothing to worry about.  Then she had one around 10:30 last night.  Again, short seizure, quick recovery.  Then she had another one around 11:15.  A little worrisome, but super fast recovery again.  Then she had one this morning just before 7am.  Fast recovery (she’s still a little woozy, but she answers to her name and begs for treats, so mostly normal), but that’s four in 24 hours, so I made an appointment with the vet for this evening.  There’s not much they can do beyond increasing her meds (again).  To make matters worse, we have to kennel them this weekend.

Repeat after me: Nothing is going to happen to Roxy this weekend.  Nothing is going to happen to Roxy this weekend.

Rationally, I have no reason to think anything would.  Yes, she had four seizures in 24 hours, but she’s done that before (well, 3 in 24 hours).  This could have been caused by me, since her meds weren’t exactly right Tuesday morning.  (She takes three different medicines.  Tuesday morning, we were short one pill and I didn’t get the refill in time, so she only got two meds that morning, not three.  Fixed by evening.)  Is it possible that missing one pill one time would cause this sort of reaction the very next day?  Is the balance of meds in her system that delicate?  If so, this is my fault.  But if this is because of her medicines, it should even out since she only missed the one pill two days ago.  Which would be good.

If it just happened because it happened, then a visit to the vet and a dosage increase might be all that’s needed.  Her quick recovery is encouraging, and she really does seem fine now.  Of course I don’t know when she’ll have her next seizure, but judging by her history, she’s just as likely to have one in the next few hours as she is to wait another two weeks before the next one.  Worrying is pointless.  Doesn’t mean I won’t do it (try to stop me).

It helps to know that the kennel we use is in the same building as our vet, who will be open all but one of the days she’ll be there.  They know her and love her and they’ll take good care of her.  If they have to, which they won’t, because nothing is going to happen to Roxy this weekend.

That's my sweet pea, napping in the sunlight

Idiocy

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I had a hard time getting moving today.  I needed to do laundry.  I thought about it several times throughout the day.  All I had to do was get up and do it, but my butt stayed in the chair.  It’s not hard.  It takes very little effort on my part.  I just didn’t make the effort.  (I did eventually get the laundry started.)

I’ve had a headache for the last, oh…3 hours.  Have I taken anything?  No.  Because that would be the smart thing to do.  And it would mean I’d have to move.  Get up, get water, get pills.  Put the laptop down…eh, my headache’s not so bad.

Riley is going to get stung one of these days.  Every time a bee or a wasp gets near him, he leaps for it and snaps at it.  I keep telling him he’s got it all backwards (“Buddy, it’s not a good idea to antagonize flying insects with stingers.  Trust me.”), but he’s not listening to me.

Maybe Riley can fight our battles for us.  He can wrestle with the developers who leave me hanging.  He can argue with the administrators who are running John’s paperwork in circles, and he can twist the arms of John’s committee members so they’ll show up for meetings.  Maybe all that fighting for us will take his (tiny crazy little) mind off trying to catch bumblebees in his mouth, and he can be spared the sting he’s heading toward.

Hey, I think my headache is going away.

I love spring

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Every day should start like today.  We slept in a little (letting the dogs sleep upstairs = not a good night’s sleep), and then we took the dogs for a nice stroll around the neighborhood together.  The weather was perfect, we weren’t in a hurry – if it hadn’t been for work, it could have been the perfect morning.

This is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Strike up the band

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Stand back, people, history is happening.  This post, this very special (not all that special) post, is my 1000th post. That’s a lot of zeroes.  That’s a lot of inanity.  I always miss little milestone like this.  It’s only dumb luck that I happened to look at the number of posts this morning.  I missed my car’s odometer passing 100,000 miles when we drove to Long Island to visit John’s grandmother on Christmas Eve, even though I knew it was coming because I noticed how close it was the day before.  I remember birthdays (usually) and anniversaries (sometimes), but even though I try every year, I blow right by the smaller things (like the anniversary of our first kiss, or the anniversary of adopting Roxy and Riley).  I remember it a few days early, think to myself “don’t forget this year”, and then I remember again a day or two after it’s passed.

My point is that the fact I noticed this and am doing something about it (however little) is as momentous as the fact that this is post #1000.  Where’s my musical episode?  I should have had ten of them by now.  I guess I’ll have to settle for these.  The last one isn’t from a sitcom, but you’ll have to forgive me because 1) it’s awesome, and 2) it’s my special blog day!