Headache, headache go away...

I've officially had a headache for 1 week. I take some meds, it settles down but is just there simmering below the surface until the meds wear off and it comes back. Just had my eyes checked, saw the chiropractor, tried sleeping, watching my diet, not wearing my contacts, massage, sex-it keeps coming back. I'm dreading next week because it will be time to put in my new aligners for my clear braces. (I probably never mentioned that I started braces 3 months ago and have 3 months to go.) Then I will have an incredible pressure in my head for 2-3 days until I adjust.

Thursday I stayed home from work. No, I wasn't playing hooky; my schedule was just slow so I decided to take the day off. I was actually feeling better this morning and had the dogs out in the yard playing and trying to get some video of the newbies for Petfinder. The neighborhood was quiet; no one around, just the way I like it. I stepped in the back door to grab my water bottle and the dogs start barking and race to the gate next to my house that faces the street. I figured maybe they were just barking at the mail woman and hurried back out to calm them down. There stands 2 census workers counting my dogs. A and I completed our census stuff months ago so we wouldn't have to deal with anyone knocking on our door but now they've showed up to question me about the empty house next door. Right away she's saying "whoa, are all those yours?! what kind of dog are they? are they for sale?"  I'm in panic mode and quickly muttering about rescue and fosters while sending my crew into the house and gathering up the newbies (they don't know any commands yet) and telling them the house next door was foreclosed on 2 years ago and trying to get away as quickly as possible. The census workers had no longer left my yard and I felt the vise on the back of my neck and the stabbing pain coming back into my head. At that moment I realized the headache started when I received the call last Friday about one of our foster homes getting busted for being over the city's 4 dog limit.

My city's limit is actually 3 dogs, so when we adopted Sia we knew we were over the limit. Then came a foster and that added up to 5 and then these 2 emergency fosters which brings my number to 7. Some cities/counties offer hobby kennel licenses or other special circumstances permits but this city doesn't. We've talked about and planned to move out into the country but that's not happening right away. We know our neighbors fairly well and they know that A and I are involved in rescue and fostering. Some of our neighbors even come over to see the pups and I've always considered it good since it exposes them to more people and goes a long way to rehabilitate them. Now I feel I have to be secretive and protective of my area. A talked to our closest neighbor earlier this week, introduced him to the newbies, told him how they came to be here, and expressed our fears of the same thing happening to us. He told us not to worry, we do good work and some people should mind their own damn business. The foster that was busted was purely accidental. A complaint had been filed against one of her neighbors so a cop was going door-to-door questioning people and came across her house and her dogs. This woman is not a hoarder-she actually shows Japanese Chins and now has her own champion showdogs on the line.

So now I have pinned down the cause of my headache/anxiety/stress and need to find a way to deal. I'm sure I will calm down in another week or so. Maybe A and I will go and pay a visit to more of our neighbors. All I do know is that someone telling me that I had to give up any of my "fur-kids" would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me. It doesn't matter how well fed and cared for they are or how clean I keep my home and yard-I'm breaking the law. And the sad truth that keeps running though my head is the fact I could sit in this house and have 12 babies and no one would say a word.

Sometimes a girl needs a makeover.

This one is going to require a lot of PhotoShop and creative lighting to get her adopted.

A little of this and that...

I'm glad my readers enjoyed my guest's post. A really enjoyed doing it and now I feel like I'm constantly being watched...she's just itching to dish some goofy thing I do. :)

First I have to share that A and I did buy ourselves a cute, retro RV. We picked it up 2 weeks ago and then had to give it a full and complete cleaning. My OCD ass was NOT sleeping in there until it was cleaned and disinfected! It is a 1987 model so it has the most awesome seafoam green upholstery. At first we considered covering everything but I think we really have to embrace the retro feel. The one thing that had to go is the carpet. Not only is it filthy (who in the hell has carpet when camping) but if I'm travelling with 5 dogs I need easy clean up. Today I ripped out that old nasty carpet (another major germ-phobic attack, especially the bathroom-YUCK!!) and started laying the new vinyl flooring. Once that is done, the Winnebago will be ready for her first trip. We are not planning any major trips this summer-just some weekends at state parks. We will see what the future holds.

Last weekend we moved my brother and family to South Dakota. For two weeks prior everytime I saw my brother and sister-in-law they talked about how they were getting the packing done. Friday night I went over to help load stuff and discovered they were not nearly packed. I went to bed at 1am and got back up at 8am on Saturday to go help more. We finally finished and left town early afternoon and drove 5.5 hours to their new house, unpacked and then drove 5.5 hours home. I got home at 5:30am Sunday after being stopped by the cops twice for speeding and I was lucky to get away with a warning both times. Whew!! As if things weren't stressful enough my mother thought our packing/moving days would be a good time to bring along a bottle of brandy and act like an asshole. That's a whole other issue that I'm not ready to get into in this post.

I went to bed at 6am Sunday, got back up at 9am and took my foster puppy to meet a potiental adopter. That was another 1.5 hour drive each way. They had offered to come meet me, but I wanted to be able to spend some time checking them out too and making sure Jayna was comfortable. I'm happy to report that Jayna stayed at her new home that day.

Of course I cried but managed to (mostly) hold it together until I made it out of their home and into my car. I was crying so much I actually missed my exit and had to drive around a bit to get home. This was the first time I've ever done this by myself; usually A is always there with me and so then I crumble easier since I know I have her there to be the strong one. Instead I went to Starbucks and ordered the largest Java Chip frappachino I could get, the barista looked at me like I was nuts, and buried myself in 800 calories.

Then last Wedensday I came home from work, turned on my computer and after a few minutes got the dreaded blue screen. It's been doing it more and more recently and I've been telling A the computer was on its last leg. I would just pull the power, re-start and it would come back to life. I've been staying on top of my back-ups and waiting for the end. This time when I tried to restart there was nothing. It was done. But now we have no computer and of course we do EVERYTHING online these days. I have been planning my switch to a Mac but I'm just not prepared yet. Off we go to the electronics store to purchase a computer fast. We bought another PC just to get us through for awhile but I've had it with the PC bullshit!!

Finally, just when I thought we could slow down a bit I got a call Friday night from the woman who runs our rescue. One of our foster homes got "busted" for being over the city limit for dogs and now we have to move dogs to other homes fast. It's a desperate moment so A and I agreed to take two more fosters. Today I'm meeting the foster mom and it will be a surprise who I'm bringing home. Looks like I'll be travelling with seven this summer. Holy shit!!

The Rummage Sale...by Guest blogger, "A"

Since I'm too tired mentally, emotionally and physically from this past weekend, I invited my sweetie to share a story about yours truly. When it happened Friday she told me I should make it a blog post but I don't think I could have described myself as well as she can. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: In no way did Melissa influence or have control over any my posting..I won't let her.

Hello, Mels way or no way friends.......I really feel the need to share my experiences of this past weekend, especially of the big rummage sale. Now mind you, my sweetie, Mel and I have discussed having this event since last fall.  It was time to get rid of some shit so we can BUY more new shit that we can sell 5 years down the road.  We had planned to set up Saturday, but since our plans for Friday evening changed, it was decided to set up early for Friday sales. As soon as I set out the first few items, it sparked interest with people DOWN THE BLOCK. I was waiting for Mel to bring out some more stuff, needed to run in and get some change, AND grab more stuff to set up....needless to say, we did get most of our shit out there. We were both standing in the yard and quietly conversing during a lull, when a gentleman approached us, asking about a surround sound system. Mel immediately backs up and let's me handle the "sale". No problem. A few minutes later, I needed to grab something from in the house, and I ask Mel to "mind the store":
ME: "Hey hon, can you keep an eye on this stuff?"
Mel: (Eyes widen, pupils dilate, nostrils flare.)  Suspicious voice: "where are you going?"
ME: "just in the house, I gotta grab blahblablah"
Mel: "what if someone comes?!?"
ME: "handle the sale..."
Mel: "What?!? I can't negotiate! You're the negotiator!"
ME: " Well, I'll be right back"
Mel:  (hissing)"Don't go  away!!!! There's people coming!"


Well. They say you marry your parent, and Mel has tendencies my father has. Key word is tendencies.  I just realized then and there she's full bore Dad. Totally dislikes people, hates dealing with them. Will tolerate them, but after 8 hours of dealing with people, would prefer to cocoon into his personal space. Will occasionally fuck with their heads for his own personal enjoyment. That is my sweetheart.  Now, I like to have a little fun, and here was an opportunity to see how far I could push her buttons.

Me:  " Hey, I'm gonna run in and grab my coffee"
Mel:  (alarmed look) "what am I supposed to do?!?"
Me: "nobody is coming-you're ok"
Mel: "Well HURRY UP!"
I come back just in time to see a very wired looking Mel, wild eyed, breathing heavily.... in my yard, ready to bolt.... I see the source of her distress....2 people looking at the Mountain Bikes. I'm beginning to enjoy this....
....a few minutes later, I make the comment about putting a beer in the 'fridge and head towards the door. She walks rapidly up to me, very stiff, and says thru clenched teeth..."there'speopletherespeoplecomingthey'recoming!!!!!" and "I'll put the beer in the fridge!"
Hmmm....what else can I do....I like this, because she's willingly doing stuff for me.....
Me: "hon, I gotta run...." which is cut off by Mel looking like a wild animal:
Mel: "Youcan'tgoseetherearemorepeoplecomingYOUNEEDTOTAKECAREOFTHIS!!!Seethepeoplethere'speopletehpeople!!!"

Which kind of reminds me of that movie Sybil...when Sybil is freaking out in her shrink's office and is walking on the furniture intoning "thepeoplethepeoplethepeople....."

Awhile later, she's completely disappeared. Then I see her, hiding in the camper, trying to look busy. I'm so onto her.
She's my freak, and I love her.
And that my friends, is the REAL Mel.

(Most Of) Our Trip in Pictures

A and I started our trip out early Saturday morning. It's a 3 hour drive to Duluth and we wanted to get there early so we could have a little time to ourselves. I'm sure A can hardly stand it when I'm driving on our little roadtrips. My goal is to get in the car and get from point A to point B. I don't need to eat, stretch, or stop for bathroom breaks; I'm completely focused on "making good time". We did make good time (even though I did have to stop and give A a bathroom break and we hit the drive thru at McD's) and I dodged a few speed traps to boot. We arrived in Duluth to absolutely beautiful weather. I don't think I've ever been there when it was so warm and clear. The elevation drops sharply as you come into the city and there have been times it was 75 degrees and sunny at the top of the hill and 55 degrees and overcast at the bottom. We stopped at the top of the hill and I took some pictures of Duluth bay on Lake Superior.

A holding my purse-it just doesn't look right to me.

Bitch Rock-a Duluth landmark. :)

We decided to head up the north shore since we had not been up that way for several years.  Maybe it's being "home" or maybe it's her Viking ancestry, but A just loves to be near the water and seems the most content there. As we always do, we looked at these beautiful homes on the shore and talked about if we could ever live there. On beautiful days I could but I think my tune may change when the "gales of November come slashing" (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald). We stopped along the shore and walked for awhile.

Searching for agates.

 Trying to coax me down that steep hill.

When A gets the camera she takes pictures of me tying my shoe-lucky me.

Showing off...

Just like a mountain goat!

She was trying to get out to that huge rock just because I told her not to.

We stopped for lunch at Betty's Pies-a true north shore landmark. They have the greatest homemade pies and this great rye bread that doesn't compare to any other.

 Bumbleberry pie-strawberries, blueberries, and raspberrries. We shared one slice and took another for the road.

Silver Creek Cliff-as you drive up the shore you pass through a series of these tunnels.

  Split Rock Lighthouse

"Look, thars a lighthouse!"

A insisted I pose too.

Everyone should have a car made to look like a walleye...I think I'm going to do this to mine this summer.

We then headed back to Duluth, checked in at our hotel and met up with friends for dinner, drinks and dancing. We just had a lot of fun and I laughed so much my cheeks cramped and my stomach hurt. Now that's a good time!

Stay tuned...in the near future I may have a guest blogger. I've invited my sweetie to share a little about what it's like to live with yours truly...

Run Away With Me...

That's what A has been whispering to me all week. This weekend we are running away to Duluth on Lake Superior. Actually we are meeting friends there and will be spending time visiting. It  is long overdue! There will be food, drinks, dancing and lots of laughter. A is a Duluth girl, born and raised and she gets a special light when she returns to her "home". Duluth is special to us too since we were there when I made my confession to A that I had feelings for her. That is actually the day we consider our anniversary. The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny and I'm hoping we will get a chance to get out and take some pictures. We are leaving early since we have a 3 hour drive and will get there before everone else. That gives us a little time to ourselves before joining up with the group.

A and I have been discussing the possibility of buying a small RV for several months now but had not planned on it right away. Last weekend we were out biking around town with my brother and sister-in-law. I pointed out an RV parked in front of a house and told my brother that A and I were looking at something about that size. When we rode closer we noticed a "For Sale" sign and rolled up to take a look. It's an older model but the mileage is low and the price is exceptional. Of course A was curious and made an appointment to check it out and she is now in negotiations to purchase it ( I lack negotiating ability). Nothing is for sure yet but if we buy it we may be running away more often since the dogs can go along.

Otherwise there is not too much going on here except work, work and more work. I finally submitted and joined Facebook (I'm sorry Queen of Ruckus). My sister-in-law convinced me to join so I can stay in touch with her and my nephews easier once they move. No matter what, I'm striving to keep it low-key. Any tips to avoid getting "sucked into" the world of FB?

Around here even dying easter eggs is hard...

Yes, how complicated is it to dye eggs? In this house we seem to be challenged even in that department. A insisted we should dye just a few so she started preparing. First there was a mishap with the food coloring.

Then she kept insisting on trying to wrap those eggs with rubberbands and onion skin to make "cool patterns". We ended up with cool patterns alright. She kept dropping eggs on the kitchen counter and cracking them. I found some cool patterns later when I peeled them.
My egg was the coolest though. It's a self-portrait.

Another challenge around here is communication. A and I were making the ham and potatos and we were told dinner was a 3pm. At 2:30 I come out of my bathroom wearing only a towel to be met by my mom, her boyfriend and another friend bringing food into the house. While I scurryed back to the bathroom, mom informed A we were having dinner on our patio since the weather was so nice. WTF!! We weren't prepared for a house full of people! We had only just pulled the patio furniture out of winter storage yesterday. We hustled and made it work but we were searching for extra chairs and tables. I was complaining at the time but everything turned out okay. If I'm going to have people over I am glad it was nice enough to be outside since our house is just too small to accomodate everyone comfortably. A even pulled out our rainbow umbrella and proudly put it up. Mark this date down: Easter outside in MN is unheard of. It's usually still really cold and rainy or snowing.

We did have a fabulous time watching the dogs play and chase their cousin, Buddy the pug, around the yard. Poor fool didn't know what to think when he had 4-5 other dogs chasing him down.

Oh, and a puppy loves to roll in the dirt after their bath and make mud. Little bugger can't get adopted soon enough!