This And That and Some Other Stuff Too

For the last couple weeks A and I have been trying to get our butts in gear for a 5K. One of the women I work with did it last spring and afterwards she was talking about how we should do it as an office this year. At the time I said yes and then forgot. She didn't and 2 weeks ago pulled out the paperwork. Holy shit, we've only got 6 weeks (down to 4 weeks now)! Really it's only 3.10685596 miles (I had to look it up) but well I'm just not a runner. I've always believed that the only running I should do is for my life. Since I live kind of low key, that opportunity has never presented itself. I'm more of a speed walking kind of gal. I imagine I'll do a combination of walking and jogging since I'm not in it to beat any certain time; just to finish before time is up. That means I may coast in at 44 mins and 59 sec but damn I will be finished in time and then we're off for Bloody Mary's.

Whenever I think of running, I start feeling that sharp knife pain in my side and I remember those horrible days in gym class when you had to do laps around the football field. I tried every suggestion to stop from cramping but nothing ever worked. It was a miserable experience and then afterwards I would be forced to go back to class and take a math test or give an oral report. My god, I just realized I'm still traumatized.

The weather is finally improving and just this week the snow is finally gone from my yard and most of the world around us. Still there are no real signs of life out there yet but maybe I saw some buds on the trees. This means we have finally started taking LuLu out into the yard, after we catch her of course. 

She's more comfortable but still a work in progress. She will come take food from our hands and lick peanut butter off our fingers. She scratches at my leg when I'm getting her dinner ready. Every few approaches she may let us scratch under her chin or behind her ear for maybe 5 seconds and then she's off again. Catching her means cornering her and I have tried to limit that as much as possible. I see her watching the others get attention and can tell she wants to join in; 9.5 weeks in and only a little progress. I still have hope since it took nearly 8 months before I could touch Orville without catching him.


Around here life with 8 dogs is still kind of a zoo. It has been wonderful to be able to just leave the back door open when we're home and let the crew wander in/out as much as they want. It really is like living in a house with 8 toddlers and no matter how much we try to dog-proof the house, they find things to get into. I mean look at this book. It's been on that spot on the book shelf for months and just today they decided to rearrange the cover. I didn't find all the pieces so I can only assume someone ingested it.

Plus it doesn't help that we bring home exotic new things like a pineapple.

Look at Cassie take that thing down. We watched for awhile and then I asked A if pineapple on the list as being poisonous to dogs. We couldn't remember so took it away just in case.

My little earless cat Tippy watches it all with disgust. I know she misses the days when there were no dirty smelly dogs in her house.

We used that pineapple to make my "This Shit is Gonna Kill Ya" Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Made with two sticks of butter (the real stuff) and topped with a mound of real homemade whipped cream (why try to save calories now) and you can feel your arteries forming a new layer of plaque. 

Saturday A and I went to check out a tattoo artist and made a little side trip to check out the Minnesota River. It's high and there is flooding but it's in the places that it usually flood every year.

In the past they have closed this bridge when the water was too high. Even with all the heavy flooding predictions this year, it's not even close. We wandered along the riverbank and around the municipal campground and as we walked through the playground and back to the car I noticed this piece of paper on the ground. I thought it looked old and flipped it over with the toe of my shoe.

It's army postmarked December 23, 1943 and addressed to Iowa. Such an interesting find and I couldn't believe it wasn't wet, wrinkled or damaged in any way. 

Saturday night we stopped to visit with our friends Faye and Jeff. He had an Elvis show in the town where I work. We had a lot to catch up on since they had just returned from Hawaii a few days prior. This bar isn't my favorite place to go since 90% of the people in there are patients at my clinic. I don't want to talk to people about work or their dental problems and I really want to maintain some professional distance. That means I sit and quietly visit and hope people don't approach me. Even going to the bathroom can be a gamble since I've been cornered in there a few times by people pulling at their cheek and saying "Take a look at this." Ugh!!!

I did have an unexpected encounter with an old friend that I haven't seen or talked to in nearly eight years. We had a falling out; we were both mad and hurt. A and I chose to extract ourselves from the high-drama situation and have kept a distance since. The two of us visited and laughed and after a short time it was like no time had passed at all. I've been "over it" for a long time already but it was still nice to finally put those things fully to rest.

A has been wanting to get another tattoo and I'm planning one for my birthday this year. We had heard good things about this artist and stopped in to check out his work. We didn't have time Saturday but A made an appointment this afternoon and came home with fresh ink on her right shoulder. Isn't it sweet how she sacrifices her body to test things out for me? :)

I took this picture as soon as she came home and I'm glad I did because shortly after it was red and swollen. This is a car decal that A picked up in Key West during one of our trips. We took a photo and she took it in and he did it all freehand. He did an awesome job and I'm getting excited to have him do my first tattoo in just a few weeks. 

So the RV comes out of storage next weekend. Yippee! 

When we first brought it home, we considered doing some painting inside to lighten it up a bit. It's brown paneling and so dark but then we thought we would just keep the retro feel of it. That was until I came across these pictures on an RV blog (Kate and Terry-Travels in Cholula Red).  A really thinks we should do some variation of this paint job.

Love it or hate it? Should we consider doing something like this? 

This one goes to the dogs.

Finally! 
We had a beautiful weekend. There are the faint signs of spring around and even though it was still cool you hardly noticed with all that glorious sunshine. We made it outside to go walking and maybe I'll be ready for the 5K we're doing in 6 weeks. I've fallen behind in my walking/jogging the last few weeks considering both A and I have been under a funk; she had a nasty upper respiratory and I've just been in a blue mood. 


We started the weekend by celebrating Sia's 10th birthday. I know, I know....we baked a cake and added candles for a dog but what the hell, 10 years is a milestone for a little dog. She must be up around 50 in human years. Somewhere I have a conversion chart for dog to human years but I don't feel like finding it right now so I'm just estimating. No matter what, she's my baby girl and she and the others thoroughly enjoyed their cake.  

No frosting but they did get Reddi-Whip. I could apologize for my appearance in these pictures but fuck it! I just came home from an extremely long Friday and was in no mood to try to look presentable.


Friday Gizzy's doggy stroller arrived and we strapped in him for a test drive. With his bad knees he just can't walk as far as he used to. He was a little nervous at first but I think he will enjoy it and A gets to be the one shamed by pushing a dog in a stroller. 

Saturday we had to go do the dreaded grocery shopping. Ugh! There are few things I hate more. A buys me Starbucks and tries to keep me entertained and I appreciate all her efforts. At one point we were in the meat department and I spotted a middle-aged woman with really long hair. You know, the kind that is past their butt, straight and with ragged split ends. Whenever I see hair like that, I have an incredible urge to take the scissors to it. So much so that last year I almost ran a woman down in the Memphis airport to give her $12 and send her to Great Clips. A spotted the hair at the same time and muttered that it "would make a nice nest for 2 kangaroo rats". I immediately started to giggle and the more I did the funnier it got. We received a few odd looks from other shoppers. I mean we are two adults laughing so hard we have tears while standing next to the poultry. I know it was one of those things where you just had to be there and maybe it was all the caffeine and sugar in my vanilla latte but it's those little moments spent with someone you love intensely, who loves you back just the same that are so special. In situations like these, A almost always leans in and tells me how happy she is that at least I find her funny. Yeah, she makes me laugh like no one else.


The grocery store we frequent has a large (and over-priced) floral department and we usually cruise through to check things out. Over the years we've found some cute planters there that we have been able to closely replicate on the cheap. This day I found these beautiful blue orchids at an inflated price. 

I immediately thought of Bethany and how much she would appreciate these. Although I found them stunning, I can just picture one of the dogs running through the house with those blue petals in their mouth. Lets just say it wouldn't end well.


So we have just about 2 months until we go on our first "big" RV trip and Nipples to the Wind is still stuck in storage. It's too wet and muddy to drive it out of the storage shed and we really don't want to get that thing stuck in our friend's yard. Still we're getting anxious because we still need to un-winterize it, change the oil, get new wheels and tires installed and most importantly install a new stereo and speakers. I'm trying to be patient but just don't want to feel rushed/stressed trying to get things done on a deadline. 
Patience....that's what I must keep chanting to myself. Happy Monday.

Thanksgiving Was Here. Winter Returns Too.

Thanksgiving came and went quietly. I woke up early this morning...well actually Orville woke me early by scooting up next to my pillow, licking my cheek and giving me a pleading look. I stumbled upstairs and out into the frigid morning; always the doorman. A slept in for awhile since she has to be up early tomorrow for work. Later we ate breakfast and just did some household chores; very un-exciting, very un-holiday like. In fact with nothing cooking or baking in the house it didn't seem much like Thanksgiving at all. I tried several times to call Dad but was unable to reach him. I left a couple messages instead. My older brother is there visiting and I know they were taking Dad out of the rehab facility for dinner today.

Don't worry we didn't go without our turkey dinner and this afternoon went to the home of A's aunt and uncle and had a lovely time hanging out with the retirees. We were invited to her brother's home but we both didn't want to deal with their screaming, obnoxious, rude children and some equally rude adults. That could be an entire post in itself.

Tomorrow morning I will be up early but NOT to participate in Black Friday shopping madness. NO WAY! I know so many people who look forward all year to this one shopping day but to me it looks and feels like a nightmare. Instead I will haul myself up to put the beef brisket in the oven, start preparing egg noodles and baking bread. That's right, I'm the one cooking tomorrow; alert the fire department. No really I can cook but so seldom do because I don't enjoy it except for the rare special occasions. Mom is coming for a belated Thanksgiving dinner and dragging along her pet, aka well-meaning but annoying boyfriend. They usually don't hang around too long though.

The weather has turned here suddenly and we went from unseasonably warm 60's and sunny to unseasonably cold 2 degrees. Our last nice weekend it was nearly 70 degrees, the collie came to visit, we played ball with the dogs and they chased each other in the yard. There was still some green in our world.

One week later we woke on a Saturday morning to 10 inches of snow. We had to get up and pull out the shovels to clear the deck, stairs and patio just so the dogs could go outside.

Since then it has been nothing but cold, overcast, freezing rain, sleet and snow. I don't give a damn about the snow but I truly hate the ice and I still need the sunshine. I like to sit in front of the window and soak it in, even if it's all an illusion.  This weather means lots of indoor time and I end up curling up on the couch with a book or movie plus several dogs to keep me company. Since bringing in dog #8, the dynamics of the pack have changed and my Sia wants to make sure everyone know I belong to her at nap time. There are also 3 others laying by my feet.

Actually Cassie (dog #8) has been one of the more challenging fosters I've had in a long time. She is a sweetie with people but has problems with other dogs. She is food-aggressive, territorial, and possessive. She doesn't give the warning growl--she goes straight in for the attack. After the first few days she was here, I was ready to send her back! In 5 days I had broken up more dog fights than in the last 4 years I've had Chins. I thought she was going to have to permanently live in a kennel. It's just unusual for this breed to not get along. I was especially pissed when my dogs started acting fearful of her. I will not tolerate my dogs feeling uncomfortable or fearful in their own home. Her former foster offered to take her back, our foster coordinator was looking for another foster home where she could be the only dog (yeah right!) but after I had time to sleep on it (that's when I do my best problem-solving), A and I agreed that we've had worse and would not give up so easily. We came up with a plan to anticipate/remove her triggers and do some training to modify her behavior and help her gain confidence. She's been here 2.5 weeks and is coming along great. She seems to especially love her new best friend Jill.

Last night I had the rare treat of catching a group shot of the whole crew, minus Gizzy who has bad balance and is afraid of falling down the stairs. So here is a picture of 7 out of 8...and they are all looking at the camera for once. A very rare picture indeed.

Left to right: Popper, Jill, Cassie, Orville, Nifty, Sia
Front: Timmy

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

She's got her mother's fiery disposition.

I woke up Sunday morning with freakish swollen eyelids. I mean really, really swollen like I've seen with severe heart failure patients. I tried everything to get the swelling down but the only real solution is time. At least I had no where to go and no one to see, no one that mattered anyway. The plus side is I also woke up feeling much better just as I expected and it was a beautiful, gloriously sunny and warm day here in Minnesota, especially for this time of year. When you get 65 degrees in November you take it as a blessing and soak up every second.

We had all the major outdoor chores completed already so I lazed in our sunroom with all the windows wide open as I sorted through the massive amount of paperwork I brought home from Dad's apartment when we moved him out. OMG he saved every receipt for every loaf of bread and little scraps of paper with phone numbers of who knows who, paid utility bills from the last several years and even old cell phone bills from the carrier he had 4+ years ago. I managed to sort through, organize and condense many boxes into one rubbermaid tub for easier transport. My older brother is leaving next week to go visit Dad and the rest of his family and is taking Dad's belongings down to him. I'm thankful to have the stuff out of my house.

We had a visitor to the backyard yesterday. Sia let out her telltale screaming bark from the deck to announce their arrival. Meet Bliss the Collie who lives over on the next street. She comes to visit on occasion when her family isn't home. I think she just gets lonely.

As you can tell she is very sweet and timid. It still scared the shit out of me the first time I found her and my girl nose-to-nose at the fence.

Today Sia and Timmy led the charge and Bliss just looked confused and whined as they lunged and barked.

She paced the fence line as my crew chased her and barked on the other side.

There was enough ruckus that the old man Giz actually got up off the couch and came outside to see what was happening. He usually only moves for dinner and bedtime and hardly ever holds that tail up anymore.

Sia finally succeeded in chasing Bliss off and watched as she returned to her own home. Really her family pulled into their driveway and Bliss went running happy to see them. We won't tell Sia though since she thinks she's pretty tough. The lazy boys all filed back into the house to resume afternoon nap time. Not my fiery 12 pound girl with only 3 teeth in her head.

For the rest of the afternoon Sia parked herself at the gate waiting for Bliss to dare return to our yard. A just shakes her head like always and tells me , "She's your girl!"

Tuesday Night Ramblings and Monkey Love

I can't believe it's Tuesday night...where did the weekend go?...and I totally missed Monday. Maybe it's for the best. Nothing fun usually happens Monday anyway.

It was a nice weekend; warm and sunny and it actually hit 90 degrees. The last week has been un-seasonably warm but I'm not complaining; just soaking up all the warm sunshine I can. Last year we already had 1/2 inch of snow at this time. A and I spent a lot of time outside getting the yard, house and RV ready for winter. This included loading up the piece of shit truck for trips to the landfill and compost pile. I'm always amazed when that beast of truck manages to make one more trip.

The fall colors peaked this weekend and the bluffs along the Minnesota river were incredible. Last year the trees didn't get to change. It froze and snowed and the green leaves just fell off the trees. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures this year and I could kick myself. Saturday it was perfect but we were rushing around I told A that I planned to take a Sunday drive and get some pictures.  Sunday came and it was overcast and hazy. In the river valley someone was burning something big and the smoke stretched for miles adding to the already hazy conditions. See it isn't even close to decent.

What's that old saying, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today." A and I were on our way to a different location when she received a phone call that she was needed to work night-shift. That meant we had to turn around and come home so she could take a nap. I REALLY FUCKING HATE on-call weekend. As I drove to work Monday afternoon, I noticed the trees have crossed over into the brown and bare stage. The window is closed; I missed my opportunity. Better luck next year.

I probably missed most of Monday since I was still recovering from my Saturday night out with the girls. A graciously offered to be my driver. In my hurry to get out the door (late as usual) I forgot to grab my camera so there is no evidence of the too many drinks, shots and extreme ass-shaking I participated in that night. I so seldom drink that much or cut loose and Sunday morning I woke up feeling the pain in my head and body. The kind of pain where even the soles of your feet hurt. Dancing is aerobic exercise so I think it would be more fitting to wear a pair of Nike running shoes rather than heels or sandals. I'll consider that next time.

As I've been writing all this I've been watching my little foster dog, Nifty, and her "special friend". Several weeks ago she formed a special friendship with one of the sock monkey dog beds and every night they have their special time together; it's dinner, potty, playtime and then monkey love.

I felt kind of perverse taking these pictures but she was really into her monkey tonight. She must have finally satisfied herself and now she's lying on her back on the sofa snoring away. I'm sure she's just over-excited from playtime but it's times like these I'm really glad I don't have kids in the house to explain things to. :) When she gets adopted I'll have to send the monkey with her. I can't be responsible for breaking up the happy couple.

The Best Therapy Money Can't Buy

Thank you to everyone for the sweet and supportive comments. I woke up this morning feeling much better.

I'm looking forward to this weekend when A and I are packing up the RV and rolling out for our annual rescue get-together. I will be receiving some major doggy therapy. We are expecting nearly a hundred dogs. For now I have this many for therapy at home.

Five of the six in this house climb on me when I come home from work.

This morning I woke up and A had already left for work. Instead of cuddling up to the woman I love, I had to substitute this guy.

I guess he will do in a pinch but he does hog the bed, kick, blow "snizzle" in your face and occasionally fart too. I guess no one is perfect.

As long as I have the food I am loved.

Tonight it was a calm feeding time at our house. Every night I get dinner ready while the chins dance and leap and I'm serenaded by my baby girl, Sia. She's hardly a baby since she just turned 9 years old in March. She only has 3 teeth and I feed her softened food but she's definitely grown into a "full-figured" girl (maybe it's all the snacks we share). With the addition of 2 more fosters feeding time has become a little more crazy but the newbies are learning the ropes.

Every night Sia sings, talks and roos. It crescendos until she can hardly stand waiting another minute and then she moonwalks out of the kitchen ahead of me, keeping her eyes on the food bowl in my hands. Of course once I turned the camera off tonight she really started to sing but you get a little taste here.

The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

Last Sunday A and I woke up groggy from my Christmas party Saturday night. We lay there in bed for awhile and A asked if there was something I wanted/wanted to do for Valentine's day. I told her all I wanted was a peaceful weekend at home; no appointments or schedules. That was my ideal Valentine's Day gift and that is what I got. 

Saturday and Sunday I slept in until the dogs woke me around 8:30am then lazed around the house in my PJs until I felt like getting in the shower. This morning A made us homemade blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup and we chased breakfast with Turkish coffee. We did venture out to do some shopping, go to the gym and to take a few photos of the freezing fog we've had the last few mornings. Everything is covered with it and when the wind blows it falls and you feel like you are standing in the middle of a snowglobe.

We got the dogs out for a run too. They have had such cabin fever; its been just too cold for them to spend much time outside. A took the old man down the street for a walk but he seemed a little confused by the landscape.

Orville in his play-stance inviting someone to play.

Tim joins Orv for a lap through the maze in the yard.

So it's back to work tomorrow and although it has been really busy I'm happy to report the bleach-blonde prissy bitch gave her notice and has been gone for over a week already. That makes work incredibly more tolerable; I would actually call it peaceful and pleasant. Now I must add a disclaimer and say I have nothing against blondes, bleached or otherwise but this one would argue she was "natural" when her roots were flashing at you.  It was getting pretty hard for me to restrain myself and stay professional. She was just one of the most truly unpleasant people I have ever known and just not a good person. I could not find one redeeming quality. The final straw was when she asked me if I knew someone she could call to "get rid" of her dog because she was tired of it. I have to admit, I had an almost uncontrollable desire to revert to my redneck, hillbilly roots. I could feel it bubbling just beneath the surface but somehow I held it back, never acknowleged her question and walked away. When she walked out the door for the last time, we looked at each other and sighed with relief. I would rather work harder than deal with someone like that. Here's to a peaceful and pleasant Monday.

Let Me Get That For You...

With 5 dogs and one nagging little cat, this is all I did all day. Do you think it's possible they could all go out together and get things done?

I Wish Santa Would Have Left A Bottle of Pepto Bismol in My Stocking

I feel disgusting, gross, bloated and generally foul! I'm going to have to fast and detox before I can feel like myself again; too much food, too many sweets and too much alcohol. I'm thankful the season for over-indulgence is over. I'm pulling my fat jeans out and looking at the calendar-30 days until I need to be in a swimsuit. I'm still holding out the hope I may contract a good stomach virus.

A and I hosted 2 Christmas dinners this year. Our original plan was to make a small dinner on Christmas Eve and go spend the evening with her dad then Christmas day here with my family. Of course the midwest was nailed with a massive snowstorm and here in Minnesota we were not spared. Dinner with her dad was rescheduled for Sunday. Christmas day my family's dinner went off without a hitch. Whew! Today we had our dinner with A's dad. Our small dinner for 3 or 4 mutated into dinner for 12 which left A and I scrambling a bit at the last minute to make sure we had enough food for everyone. I will admit I was a bit annoyed by the fact that some people invited themselves and didn't offer to help but just kept chanting, "It's the holiday and I will be generous to my GF's family."  It doesn't help that there has been underlying tension between some members of her family and I since the beginning. Those stories are best saved for another post.

A and I set a new record and lasted until December 23rd before we opened gifts. I have to make a confession: this is our 11th Christmas together and we have NEVER made it until the actual holiday. One year we actually opened our gifts on December 19th. Our rationale-we were flying out for vacation on December 26th and we needed time to play with our "toys". Another year we opened gifts before we were finished shopping. The next day we went shopping again, came home, wrapped gifts and immediately exchanged and opened them. Santa was good to me this year and in addition to my computer desk, I received books, movies, clothes and new PJs.

We spent our holiday shovelling and snowblowing. Thankfully the temperatures were pleasant and we could be out working and playing in the snow. I actually don't mind these days when it's the just the two of us with the dogs. The snow is higher than the dogs so there are paths that need to be dug in the backyard so they have an area to relieve themselves. A is such a good mama and actaully digs out mazes for them with little "rest areas" along the way. We had such a blast running the maze and having them chase us. This photo is what happens when you are standing on the deck taking pictures of your gf working and the snow blows off the roof into your face. That's what I get for not being helpful!

Part of the maze in our yard.

A and Timmy out for a run.

Our foster dog on the run in the snow.

Sia tries to help A make snow angels.

Our little girl, Sia, had snowballs in her fur but had an incredibly good time.