Dogless

Well, it happened. I mentioned in my last post that the Good Dog Rescue people had recieved a couple of applications for my dogs. The applications were processed just as I was going on my vacation, so the woman from GDR worked it out with my boarding kennel to take the dogs out and have them meet the applicants. Well, that happened last Saturday. I got a call while at Shore Leave letting me know that both dogs had been adopted, separately. I got an email this morning letting me know that they're both doing ok, although it's still an adjustment for them. It's a bit of an adjustment for me too--I do miss them. Although, I don't miss them enough to think I want them back. One friend said that this was probably a good thing, to help me know just how much I want a pet, or if maybe having a pet isn't the right thing for me. So far, I'm adjusting ok to not having my little buddies around, and it's nice to think I can just go where I want after work and not worry about getting home to feed and walk the dogs before they explode. This really is for the best. For them, and for me. They get one human a piece to love and care for them, so they don't have to share attention or water or anything.

I'm once again alone and selfish, but still entirely too busy to think about it too much. Maybe next week. Plus, I now have my 'breathing' baby, so that's comforting.

Pivotal Day

Today is the middle of the year. 2007 is half over, we only have 6 months remaining. So the question of the day is, how are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions??

Of course you don't have to answer, but as for me, I think I will. I keep dropping the number of resolutions I make each year. This year I think I had three. One: to lose weight. And guess what?? I've lost 10 lbs since January!!! Yay for me! Two and three I'll have to go look up, but I would guess I'm not doing so well since I can't remember them. Oh well.

I had quite the weekend. My 5-year-old niece came to visit me for the weekend as a part of her birthday gift. The other part was her quiet book that is still not finished :::sigh::: We went to Port Discovery, and after about two hours (which included leaving to get lunch at the McDonalds next door) she was exhausted and so was I. So we went back to my house. She wanted to play with the dogs, but the dogs were scared of her, so all they did was bark and lay around. They wouldn't relieve themselves outside, either, but would wait until we were both upstairs and then make puddles in the house. On top of that my niece was coughing a lot, so although she claimed she felt fine I suspect she really wasn't feeling well. Sunday morning was ok as we played games and watched some morning Disney shows, the dogs were mostly ok but I locked them up when we went upstairs to play dolls (yes, I played Barbies with my niece!). We tried going to church, but that was a fiasco as she had a meltdown in the car before we even went into the building. I suppose I should have just bagged it right then, but taking the Sacrament is important, and I was fasting for Fast Sunday so my dogs will find a good home. We did go in, but ended up in the lobby until after they passed the Sacrament. We went back out to the car, only to find that I had lost my keys. Fortunately I was able to find them again quickly, thanks to my friend for noticing that I had left them in the chapel! We made it home and changed, where she had another meltdown, but we managed to get everything in the car and on our way to meet up with my sister who was coming down from PA to pick her up. The best part was that my niece slept all the way to the park near Hershey. :::sigh:::

So the weekend was rough, with a few good spots. The dogs did allow Malena to walk them when we went out for our morning and evening walks. She did enjoy going in the drain at Port Discovery--I went in after her the first time, and it really is kind of interesting, entering in from the kitchen and coming out the bathtub. It's very dark, you have to feel your way through it. Malena really enjoyed doing that, particularly after she found a glow stick someone had dropped. We watched Cinderella, both Toy Story movies, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and she helped me with her quiet book (which I will finish hopefully soon--it just needs sewing).

Weekends and colds

I simply cannot be sick. I had a tickle in my throat last night, and today I'm blowing my nose and sneezing. But I simply don't have time to be sick. The Seneca Single Adult conference is this weekend, and I am on the committee. I am in charge of the music, I am leading the music, and I am leading the choir. I simply must be there. So, vitamins and large bottles of fruit juice, along with some cottage cheese and pineapple (and maybe some mac and cheese since that's very good comfort food) are my new diet. For now.

Last weekend went fairly well. Saturday morning was quiet, and the dogs and I just hung out. I took them to an adoption event in Arlington--the very place where I first met them, in fact. We had fun, meeting all the other dogs and the people who had come by to meet them. There were several people interested in them, but couldn't commit to adopting at this time. There's another event on July 7 that we'll go to--third time is a charm, they say. Either they'll get adopted or I'll decide to just keep them since they are doing much better and I don't have to lock them up so much. I'll be gone a lot in July, but at least I found a good place for boarding. I think I still need someone to help me with them for MDRF weekends, but that's still in the future.

Sunday--Father's Day. A holiday I don't have to dread or simply survive. Yay! Dad actually called me before I could call him, and we had a nice talk. We were able to settle more plans for the week when he comes out to visit me. I also got to talk to my oldest brother, Blaine, who was visiting Dad with his family. It was very nice. He was making noises like he and his family may come see me sometime :) That morning I allowed the dogs to roam downstairs while I got ready for church, and they pulled all the throw pillows off the couch. Then when I came downstairs to check on them, they had to tell me about it. This is the first time they've barked at me, but it was a happy sort of 'we were playing, mom!' bark. So I think it was ok. I taught in Relief Society on Sunday too, but with everything else that was going on only got about 15 minutes to teach. Which is fine--although I hope I didn't go so fast the Spirit got dizzy. Fortunately the lesson was on something I could talk about, and was able to flex my lesson so the important parts got in. I tend to be a less-structured type of teacher anyway, to allow for comments and the need to expand or contract a lesson.

So this week I need to prepare for the coming weekend, and my doggies get shipped off to the Preston Country Club for Pets (sounds pretty nice, huh? and not as expensive as you might think). They do like it there.

My brain is fuzzy...

What a week!


Note to self: staying up late to read when you want to be up early to get to work on time the next day is NOT a good idea! I don't care if Harry *is* still stuck with the Dursleys!




Monday blew off FHE--actually not as bad as it sounds, because the family that signed up to have us come over forgot they'd signed us up, and I forgot to call and remind them a week before, and so since everyone forgot, I stayed home with my dogs. They liked that.



Tuesday some friends came over and we worked on quiet books. The dogs were funny. I tried to confine them in the kitchen, because it seemed cruel to me to lock them up downstairs, and they jumped through the barrier and joined us. Fortunately they like to lay on the couch and just *be* with us, so it was fine. My friends didn't mind, either. Silly doggies.



Wednesday I again stayed home, only this time I worked on my front yard. Heeding warnings that it was going to be hot and yucky I decided to mow, trim, cut, and sweep. The dogs were in the back yard for part of it, which makes me nervous because if they try hard enough they can get out of the gate (they've done it before). Then they were in the house, which makes me nervous because who knows what they'll get into if I'm not there to watch. But they were good, both places, and now my front yard looks like someone cares about it.



Thursday I went quickly home after work to walk and feed the dogs, and make a quick supper for myself. I had a Chiropracter appt, and I didn't want to tease the boys by coming home and then leaving again, so I went to PetSmart and spent another $70 on the dogs. I got them 'Gentle Leader' harnesses, so maybe I can break them of their pulling habit. At least when we're on walkies. I also picked up a couple more toys. Then I went to book club and read more in my car until time to go in (I'm still only about 1/2-way through the book). The book was "A woman in Berlin: 8 weeks in the conquered city". Very interesting, well-written, and tasteful description of the atrocities suffered by women in the city after the Russians conquered it in 1945. Definitely need to finish it. The discussion started out by the other women discussing potty training, then we talked about the book for a while, but when the conversation turned back to potty training I knew it was time for me to leave. Should I ever need a discussion on potty training, I'm sure there will be someone willing to discuss it with me. So I went home and let the dogs out, and they played in the back yard for a while. Obi-Wan is getting really rambunctious, while Qui-Gon has a much milder temperament.



Well, the rest of the week was filled in with work and sleep. sometimes at the same time (I fell asleep during a meeting on Tuesday--unfortunately it was a small meeting, and the guy running the meeting noticed, but he wasn't offended. He just teased me about it).



Since I've had the dogs my diet has been a bit out the window. However, I have managed not to gain any weight. I'm sure the additional exercise is helping with that.

15 mintues and too much to share...

It's been a while since I've written a 'journalistic' entry. In that time, I've managed to offend a few family members (since I have a blog I seem to feel that they should read it to find out about me), went to a Single Adult conference, had an epiphany, and met a family that might be willing to take my dogs.

So my family makes me crazy, but maybe I'm the one just going crazy because they don't do what I want them to. When they freely admit they don't read my blog because they don't have time then send me a silly 'spam' email I tend to think they're just not interested in my life and times. Why shoudl they be? I'm pretty boring, but I still manage to organize millions of ions about it.

I went to the Liberty SA conference in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, over Memorial Day weekend (instead of Star Wars Celebration IV--I guess my priorities have changed? Or maybe I just had no desire to stand in line all weekend (side joke--Celebration III was "In Line", Celebration IV was "Still in line"). Anyway, I'd been feeling like I lost my testimony of the Single Adult program, and really hoped that this conference would help me get some of that back. (The epiphany was about a week later when I realized it wasn't my testimony of the program that was suffering, it was me having to do all the work for my ward and for the stake. But that's a different story.) I went to the conference with my friend Tess, who wanted to stay an extra day and tour Philadelphia with her friend Nick, which we did. The conference was good--I've been the last three years, and it's always good. I wasn't feeling well so I didn't get what I was hoping for--in fact, I spent almost the whole time wishing I could just go home and lay on my bed. But I managed, and I also manged to get the guy I have a slight crush on to agree to come play piano for us at the Seneca Single Adult Conference so I get to see him again there :) He may think he's too old for me, but I don't think so. I think he's just right. Course, he plays the piano so wonderfully, I think that's where my crush started. Ah, but I digress. Tess and I had official Philly Cheesestakes at the same place where Sylvester Stalone filmed the movie Rocky (Nick told us we should be impressed), and we even went up the steps that he ran up in the movie and jumped in triumph. Yeah, I wasn't too impressed by that either. But there was a cool building nearby that kept changing from white to blue. Impressive, as Darth Vader would say. Oh, but the cheesestakes were everything I'd hoped they would be. YUM!

I picked up my dogs from the place where I had them boarded for the weekend on Wednesday, and they were like different dogs. Friendly and outgoing and basically cheerful. I started feeling bad that I may not be taking good enough care of them if they can go to this place over the weekend and come back so different. I seriously thought about letting the Dog Rescue place take them back to the Farm where they keep most of their dogs, but I did find out that place really isn't a good place for them. They're cared for, but there's almost no human interaction. So I still have them. I took them to an Adoption eveng on Saturday, and there was a family returning from a trip to the pool that met them. The family currently lives in the apartments above where the Adoption event was taking place, but they're having a house built, and have apparently discussed getting dogs. The girls, probably 10 and 8 or so, really loved my boys. They went right upstairs and looked them up online, and the older one started crying because the mom kept saying she had to talk to their dad first (he was away on business). I ran into the mother a little later, which is when I found this out. She was quite taken with them as well, and would like to take both of them. If I can just hold on until they can take them, I think this would be a good family for them.

Ok, I'm out of time so I can't pull out all the minute details and go through them at length, but truthfully I was quite the emotional mess last week, and this week I'm doing much better. Plus I got to hold Felicity's baby on Sunday! Yay! Baby-holding always helps!

Things that go THUMP!

One day my dogs were learning to go up and down stairs. They were getting pretty good at it, and would practice running up and down. To keep them on the same floor where I was, I shut the door at the top of the basement stairs. When it was time to go upstairs, I went up the stairs to open the door, but Qui-gon rushed ahead of me. Since it's quite dark in that particular stairway, you guessed it, THUMP!!! He turned around and ran downstairs tail between his legs. Took a few minutes (and me laughing all the time) for him to be ready to try THAT again!

Yesterday morning I decided to set up their pen around their crate to give them more room. I tied the pen to the crate, hoping they wouldn't chew through the twine I was using. I went upstairs, thinking to put my lunch together for work, listening to see if they would be ok. A few minutes went by, and then I hear this THUMP!! I go downstairs and both dogs had jumped over the 30-inch high pen, and were running around the downstairs, thinking themselves quite clever.

Dogs. Dogs definitely go THUMP!!

A sad tail

I really wanted a dog.
Or dogs.
I wanted a friend to greet me when I come home from work.
I wanted someone who would encourage me to exercize and eat properly
I wanted someone to take care of.
In return for affection I would exercise, feed, and play with my new friend or friends.

So I adopted two year-old beagles.

(Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan)

I didn't really realize just how much time I spend outside of my home.
I didn't sit down and figure out that 3-4 times per week, sometimes more, I come home to eat only to leave for another couple of hours.
I expected to crate the dogs whenever I couldn't be with them.
I didn't realize this meant they were in their crate 20-22 hours per day.
When I did, it broke my heart.

So I called the woman from the rescue I've been working with, and told her my problem and concerns.
She agreed that it wasn't healthy for the dogs to be crated so much.
Better than being in a kennel, but not better than being with a family, which is what they really need.
They need a place where they can run and play.
They need a place where they are not in their crates so much of the time.
They need someone who can work with them on their chewing issues.
They need someone who can be with them more often.

So my little beagles will be moving to new families.
They'll be with me until a new family or families are found, but they will be leaving.
My poor little guys will probably not even realize why they have to go.
I hope they will be happy.

For now I will concentrate on my garden and my house.
Maybe some day I won't be gone so much.
Maybe some day I won't have to go to all the single adult activities (80% of why I'm gone so much)
Maybe next time I will get a cat.
At least a cat won't need to be crated while I'm gone.
I hope.


PS I do know this whole dilemma was created because I wasn't listening to the Spirit. I prayed about getting dogs, about getting these dogs, and I couldn't really make up my mind. I had so many doubts and concerns but I decided to go ahead with it anyway. Every day with the dogs I seemed to revisit whether or not I should keep them. The stress was undoing all the good the exercise was doing. Once I decided to give them back, all the doubts and questioning and concerns just stopped. I grew depressed thinking that I was so unfit as a mom I couldn't even take care of dogs, but then I realized that I had it backwards. If I was a bad mommy I would selfishly keep them. Or I wouldn't care that they have to be confined so much of the time. I need to give them up, and hope that they are better for the experience.

Huge sigh of relief!

I checked with PetSmart/PetsHotel and with my vet, and both were fully booked for Memorial Day. My vet gave me two references, and the first one had space for my boys! What a relief! I may end up paying an extra day to give me time to get home and settled (and because I know I won't be back in time to pick them up when the place wants me to pick them up), but I think that's ok.

Yes, I am going away Memorial Day weekend, to once again go to the Liberty Single Adult conference in New Jersey (just across the river from Philadelphia). I am so crazy. My friend Tess is coming with me, so this will be better than the last two years when I went by myself and stayed by myself but at least was able to get some sleep. This should be fun. And I don't have to worry about my dogs.

Who are still in their crate most of the time. I tried letting them out and they chewed up my couch in the basement. I think they may be ready for some more freedom, though. I'll be borrowing a baby gate from a friend and see how they do in the kitchen with food and water and a place to snuggle. If they're really good I'll only take them down to be in the crate for night time.

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks! I hope they forgive me for putting them in a kennel next weekend!

Another Mother's Day survived

I have a really hard time with Mother's Day. I used to be somewhat ok with it, but ever since my Mom passed away I just can't seem to deal with it appropriately. Some years I avoid church altogether, one year I went to my sister's for the weekend, a couple of years I had responsibilities so I went but tried to avoid the treat the women get handed--sometimes successfully, sometimes not. It seems to be the little gift we get that tips me overboard, not sure why that's such an issue for me. Probably didn't help that we sang funereal hymns in Sacrament Meeting, either.

This year I thought i would be ok--I have my doggies, I have more friends than I have had in the past, and I was substituting in Primary, so I thought I'd be distracted enough I'd be ok. Alas, I still found myself out in my car sobbing. It's not Christmas, it's not Thanksgiving, it's not even on her birthday or the day she died, but it's Mother's Day that I miss my mom the very most.

I'm thinking next year I go back to hiding under my covers until the day is over. I really don't enjoy being honored for something I'm not, and reminded of something I no longer have. Both on the same day is just too much.

So I went home after church, carried my dogs upstairs (they are scared of stairs), and we watched a sappy girl movie (In Her Shoes). My dogs will bark at other dogs, even if they're on the TV. Silly dogs, can't tell a real dog from a pretend dog. Or maybe it confuses them that they see a dog but can't smell one?

Alas! Poor FUSE, I knew it well...

I got some saddening news today. Some of you may remember that I used to work on the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) program. FUSE had a hard life, losing three of four reaction wheels, failing gyros, and torquer rods that weren't built to do the job of three reaction wheels. It was managing, when I left, but it was hard, and stressful for the systems engineers. And the planners. And the RT controllers. You know, everyone who was needed to make it work. The science was still very good, though.

Today I found out that it's fourth and final reaction wheel got stuck on Tuesday. They're not throwing in the towel, they're going to do everything they can to save the satellite, but quite honestly, the 8-year old spacecraft may have reached the end of its life. NASA already put an end date on its funding (Sept '08), although they were trying to appeal that decision. However, with this new development, NASA may decide to pull funding now--a few people will be needed to clean up and turn off the lights, but after that the bird is target practice (re: satellite folklore where the Air Force took out a science satellite they thought wasn't being used anymore).

It's sad to think FUSE might be ending--after all, XTE, my first mission, is still going, not strong, but functional. I'm also quite glad I no longer work there. It's a shame for the guys they just hired out of school, though. I don't know what will happen with them, they haven't been there long enough to even be trained properly.

In other news, my dogs have decided they like the taste of my futon in the basement. So they don't get to be on it while I'm not home anymore. They knew I wasn't happy, although I didn't yell or even say anything. I just cleaned up the mess, and they hid in their crate. If they're bad today I'll move them back into the laundry room. I would love to give them free reign of the house, but I just can't. Not yet. Too much too soon makes doggies think they're in charge. I'm just glad they know not to potty in the house.

I still feel bad about being gone so much, though. I've had something every night this week, including tonight. Tomorrow I want to try to take them to the pet store to find some better chew toys (they don't seem to like the ones I already bought them), and maybe car harnesses so I don't have to take the crate everywhere we go, but we'll see. Maybe we should just stay home and try grooming (they've been shedding a lot!).

I'm a mommy!

Well, I did it. I'm not too sure about this still, but I have a brace of beagles. They're not too happy yet, having lived most of their lives in a kennel (they're only a year old), but I'm hoping they warm up to me soon. Pictures, you ask? Why, yes!

go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julia0925/

I also have pics of my house in winter and early spring. I need to take another picture before all the flowers on my tree fall off.

Wish me luck! (with the dogs)

Huzzah!!

I'm going to get my doggies this weekend!!! I'm getting a brace of beagles, and I'm naming them Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. We are going to have so much fun! It's still a little scarey, when I think of how much my life is going to change, but all the changes are good ones. It will be good for me to take care of something other than myself all the time, and it will be good for me to excersize more.

In the meantime, I've been on my diet for three weeks and I've lost FOUR POUNDS. Yay for me!!!

And I'm totally--what's the word?--jonesing about Faire. I've started planning out what I want to do and who I want to do it with. Which is really crazy since they don't even have the schedule up on the MDRF website yet!!! Me and two friends are going to VARF in June, though, so that should help. Too bad I can't bring my dogs, though. I've been reading up on beagles, and apparently Queen Elizabeth had beagles (or at least small hunting dogs with melodious voices), so they're 'period' :D

Happy day to all of you!

MDRF: Maryland Renaissance Festival (see link ->)
VARF: Virginia Renaissance Faire

My tree bloomed!

I was afraid my tree wasn't going to bloom, with it trying to bud before winter was completely finished, but I looked out today and there are white blossoms everywhere! I will have to take a picture :D

Last night I spent about an hour or so outside, mowing my lawn and attemting to chop down the weeds. I got a little clipper, thinking that since my yard was so small I really didn't need a full-size trimmer. Turns out I ought to have bought a machete. The clipper kept jamming. Oh well. I'll take out my Pampered Chef kitchen shears next time and just cut all the grasses and weeds down. My clipper should be able to handle it from there.

I went last Saturday to meet the Beagle Brothers, Lenny and Lloyd. They're younger than I had thought, only about 1 year old. They were overstimulated at first but then quieted down and we had some time just sitting. They're both handsome little guys, both white and tan, one being lighter than the other. I'm not sure which is which, and I intend to give them new names if they come to live with me, but the lighter one is more adventurous and comfortable with new situations. The darker one is more shy, so may have the tendency to act out a little more. Neither are housetrained at the moment, so that will be something I need to work on. The rescue group is sending someone to do a home visit this Saturday, and I'm thinking I may have to go shopping and get some doggy supplies. I have a pen I ordered from PetSmart coming either today or tomorrow (depending on when UPS deliveres it), but I need to get a crate, bowls, leashes, toys, brushes... time to dig into the portion of my tax refund I've been saving just for this occaision!!

I'll be picking up my dogs on May 5, which should be interesting given that I have about three other things to do that day. After I get them home, though, they'll have to go right into the crate for a while. Or maybe out in the back yard to play. Since I'm having company, either one would work. I don't want them overwhelmed by too many people, so they'll be downstairs while I teach my quiet book class upstairs. If all goes according to plan and I can get my dogs. So exciting!!

Leader of the Pack

A new diet...

I'm officially on my diet now, the South Beach Diet, Phase 1, Day 2. I did have a little fall last night (that could have been avoided if I hadn't stayed up to watch The Riches), but overall I'm doing good. So far. And fortunately I signed up to host for our upcoming ward activity, so I'm in charge of what gets served. It will all be renamed something Star-Wars-ish, but basically we're having Day 5 on the South Beach Diet *eg* I may have someone bring rolls for everyone else, though, so they don't think the meal is too unbalanced. But the food is all very yummy, so I don't thinnk they will complain. And I have to make ryshcate, a Corellian delicacy, like a chocolate cake only with a gingerbread mixed in. So yummy. I won't be able to have more than three bites, but that should be ok.

Oh, on another note, I will be going to meet some dogs this weekend, to see if they and I will get along. A pair of beagle twins that are very sad, which will promptly be named Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon if they decide to come home with me (although I don't think I'll be allowed to take them home just yet--I haven't had my home visit yet). They have checked my references, though (thanks, Jann!). If we decide that we're a match, I can start getting crates and doggy treats and signing up for obedience school and stuff like that. My home teacher leant me his 'Dog Whisperer' series and the book "Ceaser's Way" so I can learn more about how to treat my dogs. I get to be the leader of the pack! That will be so fun! They'll still run circles around me, though, I just know it!

dogies dogies everywhere!

Went to a Pet Expo last weekend with some friends in VA. It was fun, and now I want my doggie! Or two! I'm going to get a small dog, probably a Llassa Apso or a Westie. Since I'm gone so much, I may get two dogs, so they can keep each other company. I'm going through either a Shelter or a Rescue group, and I'm getting an older dog (I really don't have the time or patience for a puppy). So many applications to fill out! Anyone want to be a reference for me? I have my friend from VA and Charlie Miller, but they typically want three references. They can't be family members, either (which is kinda bad, since my family are the only ones that have seen me with dogs).

And then I'll have fun 'child' stories to tell!!