Riding

My friend Ashton took this photo of us biking Saturday morning. What a nice ride!

Later I hopped a ride on the back of a friends Harley. We had the best time. I am in big trouble folks...I have feelings. (don't lecture me I am not a child)

Ramone's boyfriend moved out. I am overjoyed.

I ran into Rocco's wife while out running Sunday. Happy to report I was not triggered and it wasn't a big deal. Sorry to report my euphoria from above mentioned bike rides contributed to my lack of concern over chatting it up in person with "The Wife".

I love Birdie's belt in the tree!

I bring my dog to work almost every day. This is what happens in between her naps.

Weekend Getaway was GOOD

POST TO COME

Weekend Recap

My dog running along side the 4 wheeler.  Note she is on the left side....trained to heel properly!

Friday after work:
Drove the Bean to the meeting location and passed her to the grandparents. Then I headed to my friend Brent’s farm for some good old fashioned outdoors fun. We grilled, drank beer, rode the 4 wheeler and let my dog go nuts. FUN

Saturday:
Picked up Uwe and met 8 of our friends at a winery about an hour from home. From there we did one hell of an awesome 62 mile bike ride; beautiful countryside and some big old hills. When the ride was over we all had some wine and relaxed outdoors and enjoyed this amazing July weather.

Elevation chart recorded on our bike ride.  see that dagger at the end....that was a killer hill!

Sunday:
Met about a dozen of my running buddies to run some single track. Had the pleasure of running with my ultra running buddy Shawn who is one heck of great guy. I brought my faithful pooch along and she attached herself to Uwe and they had so much fun. I found them after my run wading in the creek together. After the run we all lingered in the parking lot for over an hour. The weather was just so damn nice we could not leave. Eventually we all went to the bagel restaurant for breakfast. I didn’t get home until noon.

new railroad tie retaining wall is on the right >>>

Husband was just finishing up his project, this retaining wall. It looked good and he said he was about to come in and take a shower. I had every intention of jumping in the shower with him until I figured out he had already “taken care of business” while I was gone. That actually made me angry so I took my shower real fast before he came in so I would be sure to get the hot water.

Next he went to pick up our daughter and I just puttered around the house doing my weekly chores. Overall it was a pretty great weekend!

***the new photo at the top of my blog was taken at the winery with my phone!

Total Meltdown

First thing this morning, the puppy barked and I exploded into tears.  I sat in my new lounge/reading chair and sobbed uncontrollably….husband just looked shocked.  I then (feeling like the world was about to end) began ranting, as I continued to sob, about how I am such an idiot that can’t do anything right ever!

Except the kitchen sink…it rocks.

We have had our new puppy for about a week now.  This new puppy and I are getting to know each other and learning each other’s expectation.  There is potty training and chew control and a whole host of things that I am dealing with.  Hardest of which is the fact that if you kennel her, she whines like you are pulling her toe nails off slowly one by one.  I have never had a dog do this before and I am completely unequipped to deal with a vocal dog.  I like my dogs quiet.  I HATE dogs that bark.  If I want to listen to someone complain I have the rest of the family already subjecting me to that.

I am stressed out…this is hard…..much like bringing home a newborn child.  I have only been getting three or 4 hours of sleep at night between Beanie, my husband, the puppy and the rooster who wakes up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 or 4 to start his incessant crowing.  Oh and I also have a head cold so I am run down and stuffy.

Add to that, from the start, I have been on edge because….well….because….at the last minute the breeder’s husband met us at a Sinclair gas station to give us the dog.  So we never did see her parents or the conditions she was living in.   Also, since then, the breeder has had three more litters.  Basically, because I am slow and should have figured this out sooner, I bought this puppy from a puppy mill and it is making me feel terrible.  Terrible to give them money, terrible that I was so naive, worried that my dog is not OK, stupid for not insisting I see the dog and facility or no deal.

I read two BBB complaints on the breeder this week and I have been having huge regrets that I did not do my homework BEFORE I brought home the dog.  See….I really am just an idiot.

Yesterday afternoon I realized that the diarrhea my puppy was having was getting worse and there was actually blood in it.  I took her to the vet ASAP and they wormed her.  Something the breeder should have done and said she did.  I guess we will never know for sure if she even tried to or not.  I also got some antibiotics for the puppy who has some weird parasite too.  What a mess! Poor thing. 

This dog has pooped in my bed….not once but twice.  I was up at 2 am changing the sheets and washing the bedspread.  I have never had a dog do that before and was feeling helpless as to what to do next.  This was before I knew she was sick and it was just freaking me out to deal with it.

Oh, one more thing, I still needed to finish preparing the house for the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa tonight.   I am so stressed that they are coming to this mad house to actually see what a mess the place is.

See, I didn’t crack up for no reason!

After my mini breakdown, mainly due to lack of sleep, Husband offered to drop Beanie at school and I was relieved to only have the sick puppy to care for.  I decided to put her outside while I got ready for work.  Normally if I can’t watch my puppy I kennel it, but I was in no mood to listen to the whining.  I hoped the fresh air would be enjoyable to her. 

Guess what the puppy did out there….YUP; she whined and barked the whole time.  I started crying again and this time, with no one to see me and become alarmed, I just could not stop crying.  I don’t want a barking dog and I can’t deal with a barking dog.  I have owned 4 other dogs and they did not bark. I am freaking out.  I am tired and sick and overwhelmed.

I decided to call my boss and discuss options.  I was already destined to be late for work so I might as well just see if I could call in sick.  I needed a break …or at least a nap.  I left him a voice message and he texted me back and gave me the day off.    That helped a ton.

I then ran some errands with my nose all red and no makeup on, something I would NOT normally do.  I just didn’t care.  Next I ate a big breakfast and went back to bed.  The puppy and I took a HUGE nap and then, finally I felt better.  I did get the house in order and felt much better by the time the grandparents arrived just after supper.  The dog was quiet the rest of the day.  Husband says we will train her.  I am not sure if you can.  I am still sad but with enough sleep now, I won’t be crying uncontrollably.

Still No Name

This morning Husband watched the puppy for 2 hours so I could go run and he also made shims for my dog gate so it would fill the wider than normal doorway we need to secure.   He also talked to me about dog names some more.  We still can't figure out what we want to name our new little girl.  All of these things I would not have even dreamed he would do a few months ago.  It is great.  It's the way people should work together.

But I do have to say, I had forgotten how much work a new puppy is.  She has sharp teeth and tries to chew EVERYTHING and she can sneak a pee in the house if you turn your back for one second.  Worst of all, she is whining like crazy if I try to crate her.  That makes me nuts.  If I can't watch her because I need to do housework or whatever, I want to put her safely in the crate.  But then she whines so loud that I worry the neighbors will come over to complain.  I have never had a dog so noisy before.  This concerns me.  I can't stand yappy dogs.  :(  I sure hope she grows out of it!

We Did It

This morning all three of us piled in the car and drove the 3+ hours to pick up the puppy.  On the way back we stopped at a state park where there is an old burned down castle.  It was a much needed break from the car. 

On the way down, the 5 year old made it about an hour before she got ridiculously bored (despite all the toys she had in the back seat) and made the ride unpleasant.  On the way back, she had to hold the puppy.  Luckily the puppy didn't mind at all.

Puppy was asleep.

Best of all, Husband stayed calm and pleasant through the whole day ordeal.  I can't say we had fun, but I can say it went well considering we had 7 hours in the car with a 5 year old and an 8 week puppy to deal with.  Oh and the breeder lady turned out to be more shady than I thought....long story, but lets just say some odd things happened.

I really can't even begin to say how much I appreciated him driving and being so helpful.  I am so glad he is not being moody, negative and distant lately.  Of course, the minute we got home I told him to go do his own thing because I knew he needed some alone time being the Introvert and all.   He was more than happy to disappear.

Baby

The new puppy has been selected and a down payment paid.  We will go to pick her up on November 3rd.  (3+ hour drive each way.) It has been hard to purchase a pup without actually meeting it first.  BUT, if you want a certain breed this is often how it is done.  So, lets hope it all works out for the best and she does not turn out to be a big barker!   Can't stand dogs that bark all the time!