We Do Not Kill Bunnies in This House, Mister!

We do NOT kill bunnies in this house, Mister!

These are the words my neighbors heard me screaming across the lawn at my dog, Milo today. We have a little burrow in our backyard where a bunny must have given birth because there are a bunch of baby bunnies in there.

Milo found it. A couple of days ago he kept sniffing a patch of dead grass and jumping back in surprise. I watched it for a little bit until I went over there.

Pity sake Milo! Stop being such a drama queen! It's just a patch of dead... oh.

He's been crazy about going into the backyard ever since. I've been trying to keep him away from it. I took him out today and let him near enough to sniff it (which is all he did last time).

This time he stuck his stupid nose in and pulled out a tiny, little baby bunny. I started screaming and swatting Milo's rear end until he dropped the bunny. I threw his butt back in the house grabbed a towel and went back outside to return the bunny to its burrow.

Poor bunny tried to get away from me, but it couldn't hop properly yet so it just sort of flopped around in a circle.

After I came back inside, Milo and I had a long conversation about how killing bunnies is not what we do in this household. I don't think much of it sunk in. He's standing at the back door trying to get me to take him out as I type. Bad dog. Poor bunny.

That's Love

This is Milo. He's my dog. My littlest dog, my baby. We went for a walk together tonight. He gets so excited when he knows that he's going to get to go. His feet prance. It's adorable. 

He's a tough little bugger, but sometimes he gets tired when we go on walks together. Sometimes, he just needs a little rest. So, sometimes I carry him for a little bit. 

People may laugh at us, but that's what you do for the ones you love. You pick them up and carry them when they are tired. 

And, of course, when they wiggle their butts you know they're okay to carry on by themselves again. 

Thankful

In honor of the day and to spread a little good karma around, here are a few things I am thankful for:

1. Our home loan

Sometimes it takes my breath away to think how close the husband and I came to being caught up in the current housing crisis. Buying a house is hard and confusing. We made a lot of mistakes when we were buying our house, but the one mistake we didn't make was taking out an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) on the house. Our loans are fixed rate, which we decided on because I am suspicious of anything that is "adjustable." Looking back, it could have so easily gone the other way. 

I'm thankful to have a home that I can afford to pay for. 

2. My job

Times are hard economically. People are being laid off. Jobs are hard to come by. Good jobs are even harder to find. My job is not my passion. It isn't something I ever thought I would do. That being said, it's a good job. I'm good at it. It's a job that makes use of a lot of my natural talents and gives me an outlet for some things I really enjoy doing. It's stable. 

I'm thankful to have a job I can count on. 

3. My Gym

I don't know what I would do without the gym. I don't know what I did before the gym. There are so many benefits. It relieves stress. It's part of living a healthy lifestyle. It makes me feel good about myself. All of the ladies at the front desk know me at the gym. I think if the husband ever tries to do away with me and cover up my murder, the ladies at the gym will be the first to notice and alert the police. 

I'm thankful for my gym and everything that goes with it.

4. My iPod

I love my iPod. I've told the husband on several occasions that if anything happens to it, that we will have to find the money to replace it because I'm not going back to an iPod-less life. It has introduced me to so many new songs and artists. It entertains me on the way to work. It helps me block out my co-workers. It keeps my ass moving on the treadmill. 

I'm thankful for my little red buddy. 

5. My co-workers

I know. I should be grateful for my family and friends before I'm thankful for my co-workers, but frankly I spend 40+ hours with them every week. They have the ability to make my life miserable. The great thing is that they don't. The Saint shares my workload. FancyTalker is helpful and makes me laugh. GameBoy listens to me and is a good collaborator. JR just plain old rocks. Even the Hammer is supportive and a good co-worker. 

I'm thankful for the people who hang with me in the trenches. 

6. My sisters

It's strange. Sis-C is nothing like Sist-A, and yet they are two of the closest people to me. I have always said that Sis-C and I are different sides of the same coin. We are so different in our tastes and outlooks, but at our core we are much the same. She knows me better than anyone else. It's good that we have each other, because there are very few people who get the jokes we have for one another. Sist-A, on the other hand, is my little grasshopper. It's often strange and eerie how much we have in common. We've really gotten to spend more time with one another this year and grown a lot closer, which makes me really happy. 

I'm thankful for two awesome ladies who I love very, very much.

7. My dogs

My dogs make me happy. They are sweet, loving and cuddly. There is not a mean bone in any of their furry little bodies. They are naughty and spirited. They trust me to take care of them. All they require from me is food, water, being taken out and a few belly scratches. I adore my rotten angels. 

I'm thankful for my doggies who give so much and expect so little in return. 

8. My friends

I pay attention to people. Some people find it disconcerting because I pay attention when people talk and I notice what they do and remember what they say. So, when I say that all my friends are really good people in their own way, I mean it. I'm not just saying that because we are friends. There are these little moments when they do something kind or sweet or generous and it makes my heart melt, just a little bit. 

I'm thankful that a really great group of people continues to hang out with the likes of me. 

9. My family

My grandfather sends me cards every so often because I send him cards every so often. They kind of break my heart. He is really trying to make an effort because he wants me to know that he appreciates the effort I'm making. My dad is brave, taking on a new mortgage and a new business in unsure economic times and to my knowledge hasn't had a complete melt down about it. My step mom is always taking care of everybody but herself. My mum is supportive, always. 

I'm thankful for these people were in my life by fate, and are in my life by choice.

10. The husband

Always the husband. My playmate and partner, I never appreciate you as much as I should. We've been together so long sometimes I forget what it's like to see you. I'm really a terrible wife and marrying me is not evidence of good decision making on your part. Yet, for whatever reason, you seem to love me anyway. Sucker. You're stuck with me now. 

For what it's worth, I'm thankful for the husband, who I love endlessly. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! 

Puppies!

Puppies, puppies and more puppies!

That was our house this weekend. 

I'm not going to lie to you. I love puppies. I have a giant soft spot for the soft and furry, but even I thought it was going to be crazy and awful. Instead, it was crazy and kind of fun.

This is Bunji (pronounced "bungee") who we dog-sat this weekend for one of the husband's co-workers. He was an absolute sweetheart and I think he might be Emmy's new boyfriend. Plus, I think he might have been the softest dog I've ever petted. 

He was a really well-behaved dog.  Which led the husband to look at me repeatedly and say, "We are not getting another dog."

But the husband should know better. This experience didn't make me want another dog (much). Milo and Bunji loved to play together, which is awesome. I'm glad they had fun, but at the end of the day I want Milo's attention where it should be... on me. Another dog would just be competition, so BAH to that. 

Poor Bunji. He loved to attack little Milo. They were pretty evenly matched. But, when the big dogs, Joe and Cash, came out he was scared of his wits. He suddenly got very cuddly when they were around.  

Poor big dogs. They are so friendly and sweet. They just get a bad name because of their size. 

See! This is the husband and Cash right now. They are two of a kind. Constantly napping. 

On Saturday, the newlyweds came to visit with their dog, Emmy. Can you do the math on that one?

Yep, that's right. We were a 5 dog household for a little bit this weekend. 

This is a picture of the three little ones. Notice Emmy sitting nicely. Notice me holding the other two down and forcing them to stay for the photo. 

The newlyweds came up so we could go to the Badger-Michigan Tech hockey game, which was awesome. Badgers won 6-0. Let me translate that for you if you aren't a hockey fan, that's what we call an ass-kicking. 

How long do you think it would take for four college graduates to figure out how to work a digital camera on a timer? 

Hint: This took several tries. 

 

Why would you do that?

The husband talked to our friend Fatty the other day and delivered this bit of news to me, they got rid of one of their dogs Tanner and are looking to get rid of their other dog Shag. Both golden-doodles.

I have never been so annoyed with Fats.
Are you kidding me?

Let's be clear upfront. I have three dogs.
I'm pretty soft on anything soft and fuzzy.
I'm pretty soft on animals in general.

This is the second time Fatty and his wife have gotten rid of dogs they've owned.
This really pisses me off and here's why.

1. Dog are not DVDs.
You don't pick them up and play with them every once in awhile and then trade them away when you get bored with them. They are a responsibility. In return for agreeing to feed, water, take them out and put up with some degree of naughtiness, you get complete and total devotion. It's a pretty damn good trade.

My 3 are not angels to be sure, but they are all so sweet in their own ways. It takes so little to make them happy. Hell, half the time all I have to do is walk in the room.

2. Dogs are not children.
They do not grow up. They do not develop higher reasoning skills. They do not leave the nest.
If you leave them alone in a room with stuff they can chew up, they might chew it up. They are fucking dogs. They aren't going to "learn not to do stuff like that". They don't know. Some dogs are smarter than others, but at their core they are still animals. They are going to do what dogs do.

If they do something bad, most likely it is your fault, not theirs. If they chewed up your book, then next time, keep your book where they can't reach it. You have logic and reasoning skills; use them.

Dogs don't understand you are in a bad mood today. They don't understand why you are yelling at them. They don't remember stuff that happened more than a few minutes ago.

They got rid of their first dog because Fatty thought he was annoying.
This time I guess the dogs chewed up some stuff, so they wanted to get rid of them.

Here's a promise for you, if Fatty gets another dog, I'm going to have to hurt him.
I rarely ever threaten that, and carry it out even less.
But, he gets another dog and you can bank on it.

Butt Out!!

Our Dog Walker Lady won't stop harassing us about Milo's food dishes. 

She has explained (and drawn diagrams -- see below) several times about dishes that won't turn over. 

She is very concerned that Milo turns his food dish over on a regular basis and then eats his food off the floor. 

I would be very concerned about this if Milo was our child and not our dog. 

Since he is a dog, I really would find it difficult to care less about whether he eats his food out of his dish or off the floor. 

Plus, he doesn't just dump it on the floor in a little pile and eat it. He scatters it everywhere before he eats it. Sometimes I find a couple of pieces on my pillow... maybe he wants to save them for later? I like to think he revels in it when we're not around. That he tosses it up in the air and rolls around in it. So, why should I stand in the way of his fun? 

Is there a polite way to tell the DWL to fuck off and stop harassing me about my dog's food dish?

Oddest Drive By Comment

Today I went for a walk with Cash. (Joe was naughty, so she didn't get to go. Plus, she would have been a nightmare with all the Cheese Days goers.)

As we were walking down the street together, a dude leaned out his car window and shouted, "You stole that dog."

What?
Huh?
Alrighty, I guess.

Ouch!

Was that my hip or my pride?

Yesterday, I was out walking the big dogs when they suddenly lunged to the side and back of me. This caused me to spin, trip over their leashes and land hard on my left elbow and hip. It was dizzying and terrifying. I don't think I've fallen like that in all my adult life.

I was so fucking pissed at the dogs.

What were they so upset about?
A large, threatening pack of dogs?
A roving band of rabid cats?
Terrorists?

No, an elderly couple walking on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET!!!

She was nice and asked me if I was okay.
He was kind of dick and laughed at me.
Whatever, grandpa...

I can't hold a grudge against my pups. They were so penitent on the rest of the way home. We passed a dog, kids playing in the street, a guy mowing his lawn and a couple who walked dangerously close to them and there was nary a peep from them. They walked docilely by my side.

This leads me to believe they can behave, they just don't want to.
Understandable. Me either.

Today, my hip hurts. It hasn't turned into a big old black bruise yet, but it will.
So, I have that going for me, which is nice.

What a let down

I got home a little early from work today.
I ran upstairs and opened the door, expecting Milo to do his usual happy, crazy, jumping dance I was home.
No such luck.
He just sat on the end of the bed and looked at me. All lazy like, "oh your home are you? oh well"
What is the world coming to if you can't count on your dog to be excited that you're home.
What a let down!
Little bugger better be excited to see me tomorrow or....
C'mon we all know "or" nothing.
Or... I'll be annoyed he wasn't happy to see me two days in a row.
Boo!
:(

Sleep Deprived

Up until 2AM last night.
Then, Milo was up shaking and whining until 3 when I dumped him on the husband to watch.
Who promptly dumped Milo back on me as soon as I had fallen asleep.

So, so tired.
But, you can't abandon ship when you're on the verge of cracking the top 100.

Bending the Universe

Stupid rain!
I wanted to take Cash out on a walk this evening, since I'm ditching the poor fellow for the weekend.
Before you protest, Joe is on the DL until her injured hindquarters heals, so it has to be Cash. But, it's been so nice out recently, I really wanted to get out for a walk with one of the dogs. But, I'm not going out in this disgusting cold rain!

I guess I'm still not able to bend the universe to my will.
Rats!

Me, Myself and Three Crazy Dogs

Well, it's Friday night and I'm flying solo.
The husband ditched me to hang out with his work people. They are always having these team building events. Those people can't get enough of each other.
So, anyway, I wasn't sure what the hell to do with myself for an evening alone, so I actually went to the gym tonight. I never usually go to the gym on Friday nights.
It's usually date night.
But since, my darling love is missing and I bought some new shoes (another pair... what? they were on sale buy one get one 1/2 off) and I wanted to see how these would do on the treadmill since the other pair caused some soreness in my shins. I do NOT want shin splints. (I think the other pair will work better when I'm on the elliptical)
This pair worked MUCH better on the treadmill. I was finally able to stay at 6 mph for the entire 28 minutes I ran.
Shut up! I know that's not really that fast, but it's fast for me. I am a s l o w runner. I have some short term speed, but I'm not usually much for stamina. This was my first goal. It was painful and I had to talk myself into every minute after 14. Oh I'll slow down once I hit 17 minutes... this isn't so bad, I'll just slow down at 18 minutes... and so on. It was not easy for me, but I finally managed to do it! I'm exhausted now though.
Let's see if I can do this the next time I try the treadmill though (goal #2, not sure what goal #3 will be when I can do this consistently)... you have to take the highs with the lows.
Now, I'm just chilling at home with the pooches. It sure is fun to take care of 3 crazy dogs by myself.
Ha! Don't buy this self pity act...much! The dogs are crazy for about the first 15 minutes, then they settle down. Right now all the dogs are just laying down. They are so sweet once they've got that first burst of energy out of the way.
Still not sure what to do for the rest of the night. I've got Doctor Who on Netflix and the husband usually just sleeps during episodes of that anyway, so maybe I'll go down stairs and watch some of that.