The New Bed

9.27.2010

I recently upgraded my bed from a full to a queen.  It's a fabulous bed, but I think Guido may be liking it more than I do.

The very first night I had the new bed, Guido left his hiding spot under the bed and slept in the bed with Daisy and I.  He's slept in the bed with us ever since. (I realize I used the word "bed" a lot in that sentence, but I really couldn't think of another way to write it).

He is quite funny about it, though.  He refuses to sleep anywhere near Daisy.  Being the enthusiastic burrower that she is, she's always under the covers.  She's tiny enough that she sort of blends in; there is no tell-tale lump to see where she might be.  So Guido puts his nose to work.  He sniffs around in the air until he locates her scent, and promptly lays down on the other side of the bed!

Someday they'll be friends, Daisy and Guido.

What Dogs Are For

9.16.2010

It’s been a heckuva week at work.  Not a bad week, just one of those incredibly busy and emotionally exhausting weeks.  First, there was this.  I’ve been at the college all week with coworkers, assisting with the emotional fallout.  Throw in a couple of client crises, and 6 hours today spent sitting in the emergency room for purely red tape purposes, and I am fresh out of coping skills.

I have to admit that I wasn’t the nicest mom to the puppy dogs last night.  I wasn’t mean; I just had very little patience and didn’t give them the attention they wanted.  Tonight I got home 2 hours late from work.  I did my chores.  Took the dogs out for a walk and fed them.  And then I went into my bedroom to collapse on my bed and have my mini-breakdown, or what one might euphemistically call my attempt to “decompress.”

Before I had a chance to really wallow in my self-pity, both puppy dogs came racing through the apartment onto the bed.   I got a few kisses in the face before they raced off again.  They raced back into the bedroom, gave me a few rambunctious kisses, and raced off again.  Rinse and repeat about 6 times.

It’s really kind of hard to maintain a bad mood when the puppies are so excited and happy and energetically demanding that you join in the fun.

And that’s what dogs are for.  Well, one of the reasons, anyway.

Determining the Alpha

9.07.2010

I think Daisy and Guido are still negotiating who will be the alpha dog.  Guido is the more obnoxious one, but Daisy has a way of quietly worming her way in until she gets what she wants.

When it comes to toys, Guido rules the roost.  The bed, however, belongs completely to Daisy.

Guido continues to spend the night underneath my bed, and Daisy continues to spend the night in the bed, burrowed under the covers.

*She gets SO EXCITED when she has an opportunity to burrow under any sort of cover.  It’s quite comical.*

Last night, I discovered Guido curled up in Daisy’s doggie bed, looking quite cozy.  He also loves to burrow under covers (although not with the exuberance that Daisy does), and I’ve felt quite guilty that he has given up his cozy human bed to sleep on the floor.  So I thought it was nice that he was using Daisy’s bed.  I laid a throw over him so he could burrow.

Well, apparently Daisy’s exuberance for burrowing extends to any blanket object anywhere in the room.  She immediately jumped down from the human bed and kicked Guido out of the doggie bed, and took his place under the throw!  Guido didn’t even take the opportunity to claim the human bed while Daisy was out of it.  He went right back underneath the bed.

Poor Guido.

She's Playing!

9.06.2010

Okay, I am no expert on rescue dogs, but anyone who has ever adopted an older rescue dog will understand my joy and excitement about the fact that Daisy has started to play.

Daisy was home a couple of weeks before she and Guido started playing.  At first it would just be bursts of chasing each other that would last a few seconds, but gradually increased from there.

The first time they played, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, and didn’t even realize it.  But then I noticed that both dogs had raced by the bathroom door several times, and when I realized they were playing, I almost squealed with delight.  Hard to do with a mouthful of toothpaste.

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to get Daisy to play with me.  She would just look at me like I’d lost my mind.  I started trying different ways to play with her, thinking that perhaps I just had not discovered “how” she plays with humans.  And then I started to think that perhaps she has never played with a human and didn’t know how.  (silly, right?).

About a week ago, she started to respond when I’d play with her feet, or touch her on the nose with my finger.  But barely.  And then, oh my goodness. The other night, Daisy and I were on the bed and she really started playing with me.  Full on feinting, play snapping, bouncing around playing!!!  And if that weren’t enough, Guido joined in!

Guido would be on the floor, ready to be chased.  He’d look at me, I’d tap Daisy on the hindquarters, and she’d take off after him.  They would run through the apartment and then back to the bedroom, Daisy would jump on the bed to play with me, and Guido would wait on the floor for his turn again.  This went on for at least ten minutes.  Guido tired out long before Daisy did.

And that girl can fly!  I wish I could have videotaped her flying off the bed after Guido.

I cannot put into words the joy in my heart to see her playing like that, not just with me but with Guido as well.  I think she may have decided to adopt Guido and I after all.

Who Have I Become?

9.05.2010

Daisy gets her teeth brushed almost every day.

Daisy has also gotten a new hoodie for when the weather turns cold.

I swear, as I would say at work, these things are due to “medical necessity.”

Guido is not jealous at all that he doesn’t get his teeth brushed and that he doesn’t get to wear doggie clothes

Daisy Update

9.04.2010

One of the challenges of bringing a rescue dog home is that it is hard to tell if his or her behaviors are quirks, or if they might be health-related.

Turns out, Daisy was so sensitive about her ears because she had an ear infection.  Well, at least the vet thought it was an ear infection.  Her ear hurt so bad that she wouldn’t let the vet take a good enough look.  The vet prescribed some ear drops that Daisy absolutely hated, but that seem to have helped.  And it turns out she is not sensitive about her ears at all!

She is rather jumpy when you reach down from above to pet her around the head and neck areas.  I don’t know if that is a trust issue or if it is a result of being hurt in some manner in the past.  She is the calmest, sweetest, most well-behaved dog I have ever met, and it makes me very sad to think that she may not have been treated very well in her previous life.

The vet also examined her mouth and the rod on her left lower jaw.  He wasn’t so happy to see that it was exposed, but said that everything looked very healthy.  He even chuckled a bit about her wonky teeth.  (They really do stick out everywhere.)  He recommended a referral to a specialist who might be able to reconstruct things in a way that the rod would no longer be exposed.  However, that would be very expensive, and cause quite a significant amount of stress for Daisy.  We decided that as long as there are no complications, there is no sense in fixing something that is not broken, so to speak.

Daisy got a new boo boo her first week home.  I felt like such a horrible mom.  She got in Guido’s way while he was playing guard dog to a dog across the street, and his toenail took a bit of skin off her hip.  However, I am happy to report that both this boo boo and the boo boo on her back have healed quite nicely.  I’ve also noted numerous other scars on her body, so I’d have to say that Daisy is quite the daredevil!

Daisy's Gotcha Day

7.24.2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010, was Daisy’s Gotcha Day.  In the adoption world (people and pets), Gotcha Day is the day your adoptee comes home.

I had planned out Daisy’s Gotcha Day very carefully.  My IG-Min Pin mix, Guido, is not the most social little dog in the world so we had a visit with the behaviorist and a visit to Daisy’s foster home a few weeks ago.  So you can see that I wanted to be very intentional about how Guido was introduced to his forever sister.  I was going to leave a bit early from work, run to the apartment to get Guido, drop him off at my mom’s apartment, and then drive up to St. Joe for little Daisy.  When I got back into town, I planned to go straight to my mom’s place so Guido could meet Daisy in a somewhat neutral but familiar setting.

I didn’t get a chance to leave work early.  I got to the apartment, switched out the big work bag for a more manageable purse, loaded up Guido, and headed to my mom’s place.  It wasn’t until I pulled into her place that I realized my key to her apartment...was in my work bag!!

My mom was a savior.  I called her at work in a mild panic.  It was a few minutes before she was off the clock, but I knew she had a doctor appointment after work.  I knew I didn’t have the time to wait for her to get home and let me in.  Besides, we are currently in the midst of a heat wave, and my choices would be to wait in the car or to wait outside.  At this point, I was all set to throw my thoughtful plan out the door and take Guido up to St. Joe with me.  However, my mom very generously offered to skip the doctor appointment and come straight home from work.

When she arrived at the apartment, I apologized for her missed appointment.  She said it was okay, she’d just tell the doc she had a “family emergency.”  After all, she said, we were adding a new member to the family tonight!!

All in all, I was only a half hour behind schedule when I arrived at Daisy’s foster home.

Daisy was a little shy, but gave me lots of kisses.  I think she remembered me from my visit a couple of weeks ago.  She also gave her foster mom lots of kisses.  I could tell they would miss each other very much.

Daisy was (and so far, still is) the quietest, calmest dog I’ve ever seen in a car ride!  She cried a little bit on the ride home.  After all, I imagine she was very confused.  But she was quiet overall.  Every once in a while I’d look back and I'd see these huge, dark, iggie eyes peering at me from the crate.   She was so precious I just wanted to pull the car over and give her big hugs!  But at this point, it was already about 8:00 in the evening.  It was time to be home.

We got to my mom’s apartment around 8:30.  Guido came outside, smelled Daisy, and decided he would be okay if she came inside.  My little Guido was so good with Daisy!  It only took about half an hour before I was comfortable letting them both off-leash and wander around the apartment at will.

That first night was a late one.  We got home around 10:00.  By bedtime, Guido had decided he’d had enough of this new dog, and spent the night sleeping on the floor under the bed (in a location that I’ve come to call his “safe spot”).  Poor guy.  Unless he is not feeling well, he always sleeps under the covers at the foot of the bed.  Daisy, however, wasted no time in making herself at home.  She immediately burrowed under the covers and claimed my body pillow for her own.  Guido came to join us a few times in the middle of the night.  However, once he realized Daisy was still there, he’d jump off the bed and go back to his safe spot.  He did join us around 5:00 in the morning, but was careful to sleep far far away from Daisy.

Daisy's first evening at home went by very quickly.  However, I don't think I could have asked for a better transition for her.  I already feel so lucky to be Daisy's mom.  I think that she will have a lot to teach Guido and me.

A New Direction

It's been a while since I last posted.  Okay, it's been a LONG time since I last posted.

Fear not, friends.  I have new inspiration!  I recently (like, two days ago) added a new dog to the family.  A Carefree Mind of My Own will now be a place to share stories, the ups and downs, of adding a rescue dog to the family. 

You can read a little bit about Daisy in the profile at the right.

HAPPY SPRING!!

3.20.2009

City of Fountains??

3.18.2009

I'm a little late posting on this one.

The City of Fountains will not have enough money to run ANY of the fountains this year.

If given a choice between turning on the fountains or funding the police force, or keeping the community centers open, I'm all for not running the fountains this year.

I just think it is sad. And a bit worrisome.

Rubber Rooms

3.10.2009

I subscribe to the This American Life podcast, a radio show produced by Chicago Public Radio.

Last weekend's episode, which I just listened to yesterday, was titled "Human Resources." For those who don't know, This American Life is separated into Acts--which means stories. An episode has three Acts, it has three different stories. Act 1 on this particular episode left me flabbergasted.

And I will tell you why.

I think that my local school district is pretty darn dismal. Most people living in the area would agree. And, based on my professional interactions with the school district, well, I've had first hand knowledge of the dysfunction that exists on all levels. However, I think the New York Board of Education has them beat, hands down.

It's not easy to fire a teacher. When a teacher in the New York district is reprimanded, accused of something, etc and so on, they are "re-assigned" pending an investigation. The kicker...is WHERE these teachers go and HOW LONG they stay there. New York has 12 "Re-assignment Centers." There's a euphemism if I've ever heard one. Sounds rather Nazi-like, doesn't it?

Re-assignment centers are affectionately known to the locals as "Rubber Rooms." Re-assigned teachers spend the entire school day in the Rubber Room until their case is resolved. From what I can gather, it's basically an empty room with a bunch of chairs or desks. Kind of like an in-school suspension. The teachers sit there, all day, every day, doing absolutely no work. And still getting paid. The culture of the re-assignment center, as described on This American Life, closely resembles the cultures that develop in prisons.

Teachers are rarely told why they are re-assigned. Many are able to deduce the reason they were sent to the Rubber Room, but many are not. The best part? Due to the massiveness of the New York Board of Education and its apparent lack of organization--teachers often remain in these Rubber Rooms for months, even years. Granted, these are teachers awaiting an investigation related to disciplinary action. But they haven't exactly been found "guilty."

And remember, they are still collecting their full salaries.

I gave Time Warner the boot: Pt 2

3.09.2009

On to the firing of Time Warner.

I was going to wait for a few other things to fall into place before I tried living cable-free. But then Time Warner pissed me off. My special pricing in exchange for a 15 month commitment had expired. They were going to automatically enroll me into another 12 month commitment. However, for various reasons, I could not make a 12 month commitment. I called Time Warner before my 15 month contract was up (like a good consumer) to see if I could get a price break without getting into another contract. The very nice lady I spoke with said that she could get me a deal where my cable/internet package would only increase by $15 instead of $35. Only thing is, she can't do that for me until my 15 month contract expired, and that I would have to call back in a week.

Groan.

I KNEW that if I called back, only to get a different CS rep, that I would probably get the runaround. So this very nice CS rep gave me her name and direct extension.

A week passes.

I call back.

After speaking with about three different people (meaning I was transferred and placed on hold three different times), I reached someone who said that they are not able to connect me with a direct extension, but she would email my very nice CS rep and ask her to call me back. That was last weekend.

Still no call.

So, I decide, that's it. I make my preparations. I get my new router. I disconnect my DVR box and clean up my cable remote, prepped and ready for return. Over my lunch hour today, I called Time Warner to get price quotes for their very basic cable package (I do not have a digital television, and refused to buy 3 converter boxes for my 3 televisions when in all reality I will probably have a digital television within 6 months). I lost track of how many times I was transferred. Once, I got transferred right back to the beginning of the automated system. Another time I got stuck in a tech support loop where none of the three options applied to my situation. Tech support? How did I even get there?

I FINALLY get connected with the right department, and I downgrade my digital, DVR cable to plain ole' basic. The whole process took 45 minutes, 5 of which was spent talking to the real-live human who was finally able to help me.

This whole experience has made me feel rather good about giving up (sorta) cable.

Now--just keep your fingers crossed for me that my replacement router is still working. And pray for my easy adjustment to a world without live pause and rewind.

I gave Time Warner the boot: Pt 1

Almost, anyway.

I had been thinking for some time about giving up my cable. You can watch (almost) anything online these days, so it's really hard to justify the extra expense. I took the plunge this weekend.

For many many months now, I have been having the most aggravating problem watching streaming video on my laptop. This weekend I managed to narrow the issue down to the router. Given that the router was a base model, and was almost 2 years old, it comes as no surprise that it crapped out on me. So, step 1, I bought a new, mid-range router. Got it set up, no major problems there. Tested out streaming video on my laptop, and WOW! I can't remember the last time I could watch video without ANY glitches!!

I can't really communicate how excited I was about this. ELATED! I had been struggling with the video issue on and off for about six months, usually taking up at least half of my day resulting in no solutions and with me in a very foul mood. So, on Saturday, after I installed the new router, I watched--on my laptop--an episode of The Simpsons. I watched an hour long episode of Saving Grace. It was a beautiful thing.

Then it stormed Saturday night. The "home" computer was turned off to protect it from power surges. Which means the power was cut to the cable modem and the router as well. On Sunday, my laptop wouldn't hold the wireless connection longer than 15 minutes. Honestly, I was lucky if I could hold it for 5 minutes. Four hours and a very foul mood later, I concluded the router was faulty. Dear mother ran to the store for me and exchanged it for a new one.

It's been 24 hours with this new routher.

So far so good.

Things to Be Thankful For

3.06.2009

I did not write this. I would cite the source on this if I had one. If anyone does happen to know the origin of this piece, I would love to give credit where credit is due.

1. The mess to clean up after a party, because you have been surrounded by friends.

2. The taxes you pay, because it means you are employed.

3. The clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means you have enough to eat.

4. A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because that means you have a home.

5. The last open spot at the far end of the parking lot, because it means you are capable of walking.

6. All the complaining you hear about our government, because it means you have freedom of speech.

7. The lady behind you in church that sings loudly and off key, because it means you can hear.

8. The piles of laundry and ironing, because it means your loved ones are nearby.

9. Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means you have been productive.

10. Your huge heating bill because it means you are warm.

11. The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means you are alive.

BEL-LY LAUGH!!!!!

3.04.2009

You may have seen this, it's making the rounds. This video makes me belly laugh, and it takes a heck of a lot to make me belly laugh. If you like it, check out YouTube and look for Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog.

Okay, embedding the video isn't working. Here's the URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BgjH_CtIA

PSA on the evils of credit card companies

2.01.2009

I have heard in the media that various credit card companies are closing down accounts with $0 balance and no activity for a certain length of time. I've gotten two letters in the past few months; one notifying me that my account was going to be closed unless I requested by a certain date that it remain open, and one notifying me that my account had already been closed and there was nothing I could do about it. Nyah Nyah Nya-Nya Nya.

Everyone knows that you can request your credit report for free once per year, right? www.ftc.gov/freereports

I have mine set up on a schedule so that I request one report from each of the three companies every four months. I just checked my report from Equifax (the other two are Experian and Transunion), and was quite surprised at what I found. No less than 6 of my credit card accounts were closed in 2008, all but one since August. These were some of my longest standing accounts. These were the accounts contributing to my healthy credit score.

We all know that having credit you are not using, and having credit that has been established for several years, is good for your FICO score.

Two of these accounts were opened in 2005; Three were opened in 1999; One was opened in 1996.

Did you hear that? That was my FICO score taking a nosedive.

If you are curious about the offending companies, 2 cards were from Chase, 3 cards were store cards through GEMB (G.E. Money Bank), and 1 card was from Discover.

I am not a financial planner, and I am not offering any financial advice. However, I have read in various places that if you would like to prevent these types of accounts from being closed, it may be helpful to use the cards periodically to make purchases (THAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY MAKE--gas, groceries, etc), that you will then PAY OFF before the grace period ends.

*No need to incur more debt just to keep the accounts open*

PRK: 6 month update

1.17.2009

I just renewed my driver's license, and was able to have the corrective lens restriction removed. That felt like a major milestone! It's my first driver's license without any restrictions!

Not much has changed. My vision is still 20/25 in the left eye, 20/20 in the right eye, and 20/20 when I'm using both eyes. There continues to be a small amount of astigmatism in the left eye, but it's so slight that they don't even make a lens with a small enough prescription to correct it.

I haven't had the double vision for some time now. In fact, I couldn't even tell you when it disappeared. The only "artifact" (to use PRK-LASIK jargon) is starbursts at night surrounding lights--car lights, stop lights, street lights. It's worse than it was with contacts, but not really all that bothersome.

My expectation going into this was not perfection. My expectation was not to need glasses or contacts to see. I think my results are better than I expected, especially since that buggersome left eye has straightened up its act! If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't hesitate. Undergoing--and paying for--laser vision correction is not for everyone. But for me, it's been nothing short of a miracle!

Google to the Rescue!

12.30.2008

In case you don't already know...

You can send a text to Google containing a search term and they will respond back, almost instantly.

For example, on Sunday I had the good fortune to get a flat tire. Lucky for me, my car insurance includes roadside assistance--so instead of trying to change the tire myself (all covered in grime and road salt--the tire, not me), I wanted to call a tow truck to come out and change it for me.

Oh right. It was Sunday. I couldn't exactly call up my agent and ask him for a tow number. What was a girl to do?

Google to the rescue. I simply sent a text message--"tow truck [zip code]"--and got three responses back with addresses and phone numbers. I could even scroll down to the number within the text and dial it directly.

The number for texting Google is 466453 (Google, spelled out on your number keys).

Who needs AAA?

Cool Whip's got nothing on me

12.26.2008

I tried my hand at making homemade whipped cream yesterday. You know, those folks at Food Network are always talking about how easy it is to make, and how superior it is to that store-bought stuff.

They were right! It WAS easy. And I don't think I can go back to ready-made whipped cream. I just don't. Okay, so here's how it's done:

Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. I wouldn't recommend whipping by hand.

Whip on high one cup heavy whipping cream until it starts to get stiff (but not whip creamy yet).

Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla (I splurged on the real deal). Whip on high until it looks like whip cream.

Enjoy!

Was Santa good to you?

A good friend of mine asked me yesterday if Santa was good to me this year. My first impulse was to respond immediately with a list of the cool presents I had received. But I paused, and thought about it for a minute.

It’s been a difficult year.

My weight has fluctuated, 15 pounds either way. Aside from feeling uncomfortable in my body, I know that it is incredibly bad for my health for my weight to yo-yo.

The recession has directly affected me in that the new year will bring a pay cut, and I am becoming ever slightly more fearful about the stability of my job and my bank accounts—oh—and my retirement.

The dry weather has been wreaking havoc with my sinuses. Seriously. In an almost-can’t-function sort of way.

We had two deaths to cap off the end of the year. One was somewhat expected, but still very sad. The other death came just three weeks later and was a complete shock.

I had all these things in mind as I was reflecting about whether or not Santa had been good to me this year.

But I realized…Santa HAS been good to me this year.

I still have a job. The pay cut is slight, and prevented the company from making any layoffs. I would gladly donate that small portion of my salary if it means that someone else can keep his or her job.

Santa brought me eyesight.

Santa brought me knowledge on eating whole foods.

Santa brought me a fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive car.

Santa renewed my childhood fondness for the Legend of Zelda.

Santa brought me a new nephew.

Santa brought me a mind open to new possibilities.

Oh—and Santa brought me fabulous presents on Christmas Eve!!

Was Santa good to you?