Meet Jewels

Sorry for the lag in posts for the those of you that regularly read my blog! I've been super busy at work and pretty busy at home as well. I meant to post this Monday when I had the day off but the day was spent cleaning and getting adjusted to the new dog - which brings me to the point of this post. (Chill out Mickey, I'm getting to it. Some of us have work to do...sometimes anyway!)

So as you can tell from the title, we did not get Sherwood. When we brought Sadie to PetSmart to meet her, things didn't go over so well. Let's just say Sherwood's description of being good with other dogs was apparently a fib. Sadie is great with all things living, but the minute she approached Sherwood, the big black Shepherd-mix growled, snarled and barked at my baby. We tried walking them around the store together. At one point they were almost friendly, but then more barking and growling and Sadie creeping behind Chris' legs. We took them into the training area to see how they would be without distractions, but that proved even worse. When Sherwood started her usual "I'm the dominant one!" Sadie replied this time with a nice "back off bitch." The trainer observed them and said that in another five minutes, a fight would most likely ensue and one of them would be hurt (I'm guessing Sadie since she's pretty much a sweet little wuss). So that was that.

Well, the lady helping us said they had another dog who was a sweetheart but no one had adopted her yet because she isn't really pretty. So she brought her in and the tension in the room lowered. Sadie and Jewel (who everyone was calling Jewels) played great together. So we watched them for a while, learned a little more about Jewels' medical background and decided to take her home. She had had the mange but is on medication. The lady assured us that mange is not contagious, and she really has recovered quite a bit - before we got her of course. She's pretty much a puppy. She's 8 months old and still as spastic as a puppy.

So far, we've only had one accident in the house. She needs quite a bit of obedience training though. She jumps a lot, especially on people and onto our bed. Chris REALLY doesn't like the jumping on our bed thing, understandably. So we have our work cut out for us.

At first on Monday, we were wondering if we made the right choice. Sadie wasn't too sure about sharing her territory with another dog. Just today for lunch I put the little one (she's 35 pounds and Sadie is 55) in the crate because Chris and I would both be gone and reassured Sadie that I would never love that dog more than her. She's such a sweet girl! She put her face on my face and we cuddled for a while before I headed back to work. But she really does like the new dog. They play so much it wears them out. She isn't liking the sharing of attention too much, and the other dog is having to learn she can't jump on Sadie or take her bed. It's kind of nice seeing Sadie as a take-charge kind of dog, even if it's only for a minute or two.

Oh, so here are some photos of the new addition, along with her big sis.







So, she's not the most beautiful dog in the world, but at least she doesn't look like this dog:



Right?

New Addition to the Family

I love freaking people out! No, I'm not pregnant (that I know of), but we are, in fact, adding another member to our clan. Her name, for now, is Sherwood, and she's a one-year-old black German Shepherd mix!

That's right boys and girls, the dog population in our home is growing. Here's how it happened:

Saturday, I took by BFF to Atlanta to see "Annie" at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. She's an elementary school teacher that loves theater, thus the classic children's production. On the way down, we had to stop and pee, so we stopped at the Barrett Parkway exit. You know, the one with all the restaurants and shops. We pulled into a gas station on the right, and she was all like "You don't want to pee in this place. I have before and it's gross." So I continued through the parking lot to a row of shops. I knew there was a PetSmart in the row, so I suggested we stop there. I don't know why I thought peeing in PetSmart would be grand, but whatever.

What we didn't realize is that PetSmart has adoptions out front every weekend. So we, of course, got out and had to see all the pretty pooches. All the dogs seemed sweet, but there was one in particular that grabbed my attention. She was pretty laid back and when people would come up to her little fenced-in spot, she would get up and let them pet her. When I went up to do some petting, she got up and then jumped up. She started teething a little on my hand, and I began reading her information. She was found is some not-so-great conditions by a person with the last name Sherwood (so they named her that). It said she gets along with kids and loves dogs but does not like cats. Considering this could also be a description of myself, I got a little excited! I spoke with one of the ladies there who said I would have to fill out an application. I called Chris and told him about her and asked if he thought I could just call Monday and see if she had been adopted, and if not, go back down and let him see her. He agreed.

Well, this morning, I called. The lady said Sherwood had not been adopted and said she wasn't sure why. "We've had her a while, and she's a great dog. We can't figure out why anyone hasn't adopted her yet." So I told her I was interested. She had me fill out an extensive application online, complete with references, and e-mail it to her. So I did. She wrote back and said she had talked with one of my references (thanks again Sevy!) and said she was going ahead and approving my application. They only do the adoption thing on Saturdays and Sundays at that PetSmart, so we'll be going there this Saturday to pick up our new kid!

Chris and I have been talking about getting a companion for Sadie for a while. She loves hanging out with us, but she will spend an hour staring Chris down every morning, waiting for him to play with her. She does it in the evening sometimes, too, even though we take her on frequent walks. She just needs someone to play tug and to chase her, so we really hope it works out. We have reservations, of course. We'll have to train this dog not to pee and poop in the house and to stay with us like Sadie does (if that's even possible). But she's about the same size as Sadie, so not too big and not a yipper!

This group, called Mostly Mutts by the way, has already taken care of her being spayed, her shots, heartworm meds and even a microchip! We have to pay a fee, but it's way better than having to do all of those vet costs on our own. I'm pretty pumped, and Chris seems as pumped as he gets, with a little more reservation than I have. Here is a photo of her from the group's Web site, although it's not a very good one:



Don't worry, there's still going to be room for anyone to spend the night if they need to!

The Need to Read

I've been visiting goodreads.com lately, surfing through what other people have read and listing a few more books I have read, and have realized a truly amazing sadness. I don't read enough.

And why don't I read enough? Because I'm too distracted by my house or TV and obviously don't realize how much more I would love to just get away from reality and be completely engulfed by someone else's imagination, with a little kick from my own. I come home and sometimes grab a book while waiting on Chris to finish up work, but usually, I grab the remote. And I should know better than to grab the plastic contraption that leads a wasteland of nothingness. Since this writer's strike, our $10 cable package has been a little less than lacking. To get channels that might actually have some value, like the Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, the History Channel, etc., we'd have to dish out another $35 a month. And even though we can probably afford it, it's the principle of the matter and the fear that even more laziness would ensue that causes us to reject this idea.

But I digress.

I believe my love for the written word began at an early age. My mom is an avid reader. Now, she doesn't read the things you and I read so much as those awful, pulsating-member induced romance novels. But the woman goes through about three or four a week, if not more. But nonetheless, she always encouraged us to read and actually taught my siblings and I how to read before we ever stepped foot into a kindergarten class. I distinctly remember one other girl and I reading from the Weekly Reader aloud while sitting "Indian-style" on the rug in class. When I got to first grade, we had one of those read-a-thon things where you see who can read the most books in a certain number of weeks. I won, out of the whole school actually. But then again, how complicated is "see Jane run?" Ha! Well, some of them were a little more complicated, but you get my drift.

But then it happened. My mom's obsession with reading went too far when she made my brother and I read every one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's tales of the prairie. Oh my freakin' gosh! For some reason, I LOATHED these books. I think if I had read them as a teen or was just not forced to read them, things would have been different. But such was not the case. After that series, I didn't pick up another book for probably about a year. Then I got into my mom's almost complete collection of the Nancy Drew series. I only seemed to find the time to read about three of them, but the series has been passed down to me and I plan to complete the reading - even though the level is probably about middle school at best. Of the few I read, I absolutely loved! I love anything having to do with solving a case. This, and the fact that my writing skills are far from any John Grishom, is why if I ever wrote a book, it would probably be a middle school-level mystery.

I, like any of you, had to read plenty books in school, many of which I enjoyed. I even included some of these in my list on goodreads.com, but only ones I thought adults would enjoy as well. I mean "To Kill A Mockingbird" is a great book, but I read it when I was in elementary school or early middle school. So I figured I'd leave that off the list. Who hasn't read that? But my friend Kari, who invited me to the site in the first place, has about 170 books listed - most of which she has read in the past three years. Now that's a reader! And Kari is just as busy as I am. Granted, she didn't spend every spare moment for a year and a half renovating an old house, but if I know Kari, she was plenty busy with other things!

So now that I have a job that allows me to lead a fairly normal life (as opposed to 60-hour weeks, most of them spent reading), I vow to pick up those hard- or soft-back bundles of wonder, excitement, intrigue and intellect and put down the black box of iniquity! I'm looking forward to reading my mystery that includes dogs (mentioned earlier as a Christmas present from my hubby). I also vow to try to read it as just a reader and not an editor - I tell ya, once you've been trained to do that, it's tough shaking it! And I won't wait until vacation to finish the book!

Now if I could just get motivated to work out... or find a way to read and work out at the same time...

Do books on CD count?

Oh Christopher!

Over the past few months of blogging, I have noticed a pattern in the friends my husband acquired in college who now keep up with him through the blogosphere. I believe they may all want to bed him.

Now hear me out on this one. I absolutely love my husband more than anyone else on earth and know, more than anyone, just how special, wonderful, kind, intelligent, handsome and hard-working he truly is. But I’m a little concerned that many of his friends are on the brink of obsession and are possibly blinded by their affections.

Many of you have penned a need for more material from Chris on his blog, which I completely agree with. He truly is a great writer. He doesn’t ramble on just to show how much he knows or use big words just to show the array of his vocabulary, but people, he’s not frickin’ William Shakespeare. And he's not Zeus or something. He’s human, just like you. I know, it’s a shock. Maybe you should read that sentence one more time. Here, I’ll write it again: He’s human, just like you.

Like I said, if anyone knows how great he is, it’s me. Some of you may not think I’m good enough for him, and you know what, I don’t think I am either. But he’s mine! You can’t have him… let go! It’s OK, I’ll get myself together here…

The even better thing about Chris is that when we all compliment him, his head doesn’t grow to the size of Mount Rushmore (or the heads that are on it). But I’m concerned that if this behavior continues, it may start growing. And frankly, Chris’ head is already huge (literally speaking – have you ever noticed? Another reason I’m concerned about childbirth!).

Also, I am actually really sweet and nice to him because he’s my favorite person in the world, but if you guys continue to dote on my husband, I may be forced to my regular evil ways in an attempt to keep him grounded. Capeesh?

Oh, and reality check. You think I’m mean? I am just more verbal about it. He’s just as mean. He tells me a lot of the mean things he’s thinking. Don’t worry, they usually aren’t about you, so there again, he may continue to sit on the pedestal you have all created for him. Bring him down, I say!

OK, OK, in all reality, I didn’t get to dote on him myself during the whole December Dedications thing, so I’ll just say this in seriousness: Chris is the best friend I have ever had and think I will ever have. (I love you, Shannon and Steph, but you girls understand, right?) He knows me inside and out (stop thinking dirty things…), and he loves me anyway. I say anyway, because my faults are pretty obvious.

He is someone I can talk to about anything, and I enjoy being that for him as well. Though we have many of the same interests, it’s some of our differences that allow us work well together. When I can’t think of how the gutter system will work, he can. When he can’t think of how the kitchen sink plumbing will fit together, I can (you think I cuss like a sailor?!). Where I think creatively, he thinks more technically. He is not ultra masculine and I’m not ultra feminine. When one of us is pessimistic, the other is optimistic. He’s a great supporter and a great kisser (had to throw that in)!

I know that I haven’t mentioned my beliefs much on here, but I truly believe Chris is a gift from God. I guess he’s a gift to you all as well!

I could go on, but the head might be enlarging at this point, so I'll stop!

(Sorry this ended up sounding sappy. I could only carry on the sarcasm for so long!)

Update

We now have back-up gas heat! It's really warm when it's on, not quite so much when it's not on. But that's OK! Oh, and I said the F-word accidentally while on the phone with my mom last night. She didn't say anything and I'm not sure she really cared. (shrugs shoulders) Eh! I really need to work on the trash talk...

Buuurrrrr!!!!!

I could have sworn I lived in Georgia. You know, the state directly above the Sunshine State! There's just no other way to say it. It's fucking cold outside, my friends.

This all began around Monday. We took Sadie and Chris' mom to the park for a walk. Though sunny, the wind was biting my ass off as I strolled along in my big Stay Puft Marshmallow coat, hood over my head. Sadie ran along, every breath visible. Chris' mom even commented that she looked like a smoker.

It's times like these when I realize just how drafty our house is. The poor thing was so ignored by the previous owners that we have spent more time fixing bigger things and leaving the cracks as they are. Additional insulation needs to be added to the attic and possibly under the floor in the crawl space (if that's possible and OK to do... hmm, note to self). And both doors have a gush of air coming in around them. But the big kicker is our heating unit. Now, the unit is working but it also has a furnace that has a gas back-up for when it gets really cold (aka right now). Said back-up has not been providing any back-up all winter. Until now, it hasn't been a big deal, but with the temperature outside at about 12 degrees, it's kind of a big deal. So here we go, calling the heat and air guys again. They got lots of money from us this summer when the AC gave us problems (first the blower, then the coolant leaking out). I think it's a conspiracy. I think they clipped some wire or did something to the unit the last time they visited in the summer in order to be able to come back out in the winter. I hate being at the mercy of repairmen. I may have to become an air conditioning and heating specialist... yeah right!

This morning, when I pulled my arm out from under our down comforter to turn the alarm clock off, I was immediately hit with about a 15- to 20- degree difference. "Yeah, like I'm getting out of bed," I thought. After calling Sadie up to cuddle (poor dog, her ears were cold!), I hurried out of bed and to the shower. Tile floors are beautiful, but they are like ice in times like these. Maybe this is really all Chris' doing. It has been a lot more nipply around the house lately! Ha! Just had to throw that in there!

Then I had the bright idea to walk down to the Bean'ry for some coffee at work this morning and convinced my boss to come. I'm surprised I still have a job, to be honest with you. I thought our faces were going to fall off!

Now, I know what you're thinking. It could be worse, and that's true... for Colorado! But that's why I live in Georgia! While all you mofos are complaining about the heat in July, I'm a little bit uncomfortable. Blame it on my days in Florida or my low blood pressure, but frankly, I just HATE BEING COLD!!!

And thus concludes the bitching...

Recap of the Last 10 days

Because of my new awesome job, I was off for the holidays from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, which is why there were no blog entries through that time period. I wanted to count this week and a half as a vacation of sorts, and so going with my philosophy of leaving anything work-related behind, I got on the Internet a total of about five minutes. I like having days and days where I don’t even look at a computer screen. Many of you might think that’s weird, and that’s fine. After all, we’re all weird in our own little ways, now aren’t we?

So on to the recap:

Dec. 22
Slept in and then got ready and drove an hour and a half to have Christmas with my family at my brother’s. We had finger foods. My oldest brother showed up after being in Florida for a few months, and my sister-in-law announced she was pregnant with their second and last child. Now, I am in full support of this because my brother and his wife have been the BEST parents EVER to my little niece. Honestly, if I knew my kid would be just like Kylee, I wouldn’t be so scared about having a baby! Sadie was invited to this gathering because Kylee LOVES “cousin Sadie.” We then drove an hour and a half back to Rome.

Dec. 23
Got up a bit earlier than normal for a Sunday to go with our Sunday school class (well, we’ve never actually attended a class – they’re just in our age group) to sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home then came back for church. This was a bit strange. I felt really bad for all those people in there. We just kind of sang and left. I made a mental note to get more serious about finding a way to bring Sadie to the nursing home to cheer them up. Chris and I celebrated 10 years as a couple (that’s right, the poor guy has put up with me for this long!) by eating a meal at Red Lobster. (Hey, it’s no Grammercy Tavern in New York, but it’s about the best thing Rome has, plus, I had a gift card.) After getting home, I saw a story in the paper about a local group of people and their pets doing a program just like I would like to do with Sadie (jackpot!). Chris and I decided that the rest of the week was going to be really crazy, especially Christmas day, so we opened our gifts to each other. These included:

For Chris
Willy Nelson CD (I REALLY love my husband)
Paul Simon (so I bought him some REAL music, too)
Express dress pants
Neon Bible (but he’s already read it!)
The North Face jacket (yeah, I’m awesome)

For me
Chris Daughtry CD
Two shirts from H&M in New York
Another shirt
Starbucks coffee (yum!) and a mug
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz (mystery + dogs = me with a smile)
Record Player - awesome but my dad’s records are mostly all scratched up so we may have to take this one back :(


Dec. 24
Went to Chris’ mamaw’s house on his dad’s side (Did I spell mamaw right? Whatever happened to grandma?) We ate, watched kids open presents, watched older kids who are in show choir sing and dance (wow…) and played Chinese Christmas (I know it’s wrong, but that’s what they call it). So, another three hours in the car…

Dec. 25
Merry Christmas! We picked up Chris’ mom and drove back to Cleveland for lunch with Chris’ other mamaw at Golden Choral. Yep, that’s right! She had fallen and broken her hip, so she couldn’t cook. I suppose no one else in the family can cook or maybe they just don’t cause that’s her thing, but either way, we ended up at Golden Choral. Then we went to her house and opened presents. It was a great visit for his mom – progress, yay! Then we drove his mom back and went home. Another three and a half hours in the car.

Dec. 26
The day I’ve been waiting for! Chris and I dropped off Sadie at my BFF’s house and headed to Amicalola Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We first stopped in Dawsonville to shop a bit at the biggest outlet mall ever (I’m talking more than 100 stores). He got some shoes. I bought a few shirts at my favorite store (White House Black Market – and no, it’s not THE black market, they pretty much just sell black and/or white clothing that is really classy looking. It’s usually pretty expensive, so the outlet part is key here!) We met up with Chris’ brother and his family because they were vacationing nearby as well. During lunch, I was asked by my sister-in-law if she should keep her maternity clothes for me… Sure, I mean, if it happens, it happens and I’ll need clothes… Then we traveled up the mountain and saw the BEAUTIFUL lodge where we stayed. The place was super nice and they gave us a room with a view of about 8 to 10 other mountains in the distance!

Dec. 27
Took a short trek down to the top of the falls. Beautiful! Took a long trek down 450 steps to the “bottom” of the falls, then another 150+ steps to the real bottom of the falls. Trekked up 600+ steps back to the lodge. Legs. Hurt. Jello. Sweat. I’m. Out. Of. Shape! We drove back down to the Dawsonville area to eat lunch at a local Italian/sandwich shop. Spent the rest of the day chillin’ and watching cool shows on the Discovery Channel (which we don’t get at home). We also did other things you don’t want to know about. Then we ate salad and soup in the lodge restaurant.

Dec. 28
Woke up with pain in the legs. I knew that was coming. Got ready and packed and headed to Calhoun to pick up Sadie. We stopped in another little town and ate breakfast at Waffle House, which is always fun (and that may be another post). Went home and repacked and headed out again, this time to Huntsville to see Chris’ dad for the weekend. Weekend in a nutshell: babies, three-year-olds, screaming, hugs, Sadie looking at me like “where the hell did you bring me,” no sleep on an air mattress, cooking, cleaning, Scrabble, laughing with Bryan and Stephanie, more food, family photos and Chris singing “On the Road Again” when we got back in the car (Oh, Willy…). Total weekend hours in the car: NINE!

Dec. 31
I am a vegetable! I must sleep! Chris cleaned the gutters and checked a leak in our porch (great, more home improvements to make!). I did about five loads of laundry. More sleep. Made dinner, watched "SNL in the 90s" show and then watched the ball drop. No party this year. Back to bed.

Jan. 1
We took Chris’ mom to the park to walk. Sadie came and provided the entertainment. It was frickin’ freezing. Then we went home and did more house stuff. Oh, and we watched “Waking Ned Divine” before heading to bed. Good movie!

Jan. 2
Back to work…