5.31.2011

good will hunting?

last week, after hearing about the tornadoes up north and in the mideast, my little brother posted on facebook that he would love to go help out with the disaster relief effort. after a couple of phone calls, i decided i was down for going and we planned a huge trip to go out and aid the folks of el reno and piedmont, oklahoma. needless to say, the trip didn't happen. i don't want to go into detail because i am still a little bit heartbroken that we didn't get to go, but i must say :

*it completely renewed my faith in the inherent goodness of people*

on another note, since this is my blog, i am allowed to write on here WHATEVER it is that i want. and if you don't like it, you do not have to read it. you can simply click that little red X in the corner and pretend that i don't exist. not entirely sure anyone reads this anyhow, but since it is mine, i don't have to apologize for what i will write, either. this blog is not directed at anyone specifically, but everyone generally. if you do feel like this is directed at yourself, then go look in a mirror and perhaps heed the advice offered this time.

alright, so here it goes. i am SOOOOOO tired of people complaining about other people because they believe differently or think differently or act differently or dress differently . . . or anything differently. THIS IS AMERICA, folks! wake up! and if you wanna play religion, then it is called FREE AGENCY. people are allowed to do what they want, when they want, how they want and if it isn't hurting you, then quit complaining about it to me. sometimes i think the only reason i am around is so people can call me and complain to me about what dick or jane did or didn't do or will do or said they would do. cuz honestly, I DON'T CARE.

and it's not that i truly don't care . . . it's just that i have enough going on in my life that i can't worry about someone else's salvation or someone else's actions. what dick or jane do has no direct bearing on me or my happiness. what i am concerned about is the welfare of my (step)children, and how their mamas do their best to keep the kids away from their daddy. and how much his heart hurts cuz he doesn't get to see them, and how much my wallet hurts cuz of child support.

and don't get me wrong, i know that i do my fair share of complaining, but i can also say with great conviction that it's never over someone's physical appearance or what someone said on their facebook status. sometimes, when i get phone calls, i want to ask a pre-screening questionaire to the caller:

a) does this conversation have anything to do with me?
b) are you even going to ask me how my day has been going?
3) do you want a miniature pinscher?

okay, so really -- i don't always wanna ask that last question. only when inspektor or lucky are getting on my nerves. but the first two are always relevant.

however, being the good friend that i am, i rarely say anything to anyone about this. i just let them complain, offer my advice that is often -- if not always -- ignored and take a day off my life for having listened to the negativity. and maybe that is what all of this boils down to . . . negativity.

folks, believe it or not -- i try to be a positive person. i try to uplift and help whenever i can. some days, i admit, i am selfish, but most days are spent looking after the welfare of others. and i honestly don't mind. it's who i am. i enjoy it. but i think everyone reaches a breaking point. and really, i reached that breaking point a few days ago. instead of focusing on the negative in someone, try focusing on the good things they do. focus on their heart. to me, that is the most important thing we can not only do for ourselves, but for others.

**try to see the inherent good in others**

and if you just can't bring yourself to do that today, if everything has you in a crappy mood, if everyone is less than perfect compared to yourself, then give me a call or shoot me a text. i will be there to listen. and offer unwanted advice. but please do me one favor when you call to complain and whatnot:

*ask me how my day is first.*

5.23.2011

one more about dogs . . .

*and so the saga of the dogs continues . . . *

first of all, we found brutus' real home. when we got brutus off of craigslist, the lady said that they had done all they could to find his owners. i took his to mean that they checked to see if he was chipped. apparently that isn't part of "all we could do to find his owners." here's how it all went down.

i arranged for a lady and her two kids to meet brutus on saturday. turns out they didn't want him, so i asked my dad to take brutus up to the second chance shelter (which is a no kill shelter) to see what we should do with him. it's not that i thought he was a bad dog or anything; he just wasn't a good fit for our house. he was whiny and barky and a little aggressive. i felt horrible about taking him to the shelter (which is why my dad took him) -- and i even cried after he took him. i just imagined him going to some horrible home where they abused him and starved him to death (i don't know why i always think about worst case scenarios).

*turns out, brutus was chipped.*

the lady working at the shelter wouldn't give dad the owner's number, but she did inform daddy that brut's real name is phat phat, and that he is an english toy terrier. yes, folks . . . you read that right. phat phat. anyhow, daddy brought him home and i was getting ready to take him up to the animal control shelter (because second chance said that would be our best bet cuz they would get him home) when i got a call. the lady on the other end was phat phat's owner. she told me she had been looking for him and that he got out of a friend's backyard when she was in new jersey for a funeral. we met up at big lots in killeen and she got her dog back. everyone won in the end.

*fast forward a day to sunday . . . *

the roommate, nephew and i went to meet up with a lady who had the one-eyed dog i blogged about last time. we met at a place in salado called pace park, which turned out to be an awesome place (we're thinking of taking the kids there for memorial day weekend). here are some pictures of it :

**view to the right**


**view to the left**


**col and inspektor hanging out in the creek**


anyhow, the lady who we were getting the dog from -- who from now on i will refer to as lucky -- showed up about 15 minutes after we did and we chatted quite a bit about lucky. she wanted to hang out for a bit to make sure lucky got along with oma and inspektor. and he did. and he was so adorable! he has the softest coat and is quite handsome (although i must admit, inspektor is the most handsome). he was friendly and came up to us after he sniffed us and got to know us. here is a pic of him that i snapped by the creek:

**don ciclope luciano d'occhio**


we decided that we would take him home with the understanding that if he wasn't a good fit with us or the dogs, we would be able to return him and they would find another home for him. i don't think we'll have any issues with him, but it is really too early to say that for sure.

we got him home and let him walk around the house, to get a feel for his new surroundings. i am glad this one is fixed, but that sure didn't stop him from humping the bed! it was quite hilarious and colby couldn't stop laughing whenever lucky pretended to "take care of business" . . . but he was wearing a "belly band," so there were no accidents. here are a couple of pics i got of lucky with the dogs. i couldn't seem to get them all together in one and it was hard to keep them still long enough to even get these. these are the two best ones :

**oma and lucky**


**inspektor and lucky**


anyhow, our first night was a success. he had a bit of trouble figuring out where he was supposed to sleep and kept trying to jump into my bed. i would put him firmly into his and say "bed." by the end of all of this, he got the hang of it. when i would say bed, he'd run and jump in his. i just hope that he continues to be as good as he was yesterday.

*if so, we might have to keep him!*

5.19.2011

dogs in diapers . . .

as the title suggests, this post is about dogs in diapers. to start off, the reason the dogs were in diapers is because oma is in heat. and because i didn't want her "leaving a trail" behind her wherever she went (you know what i mean), i decided to get her a diaper. she looks so cute in it, as you can see :





well the diaper i bought was a two for one deal, one pink and one purple. the roommate came home last night and we got the bright idea to put inspektor and brutus in the purple one. it was hilarious.

here is inspektor :



at first, he was a little annoyed by it. he wasn't sure what to do with it on and kinda ran around for a few second, nipping at it. but then, once he figured out he wasn't going to be able to get it off, he jumped up on the couch and laid down by oma, who was wearing hers. it was quite adorable.

and then there was brutus :



he looks like a bodybuildin' beast in this pic, doesn't he?!? it was so funny. first off, once we got the diaper on him, he just stood there, frozen. i kept calling his name and i could tell he wanted to move, but wasn't quite sure how to. and then when he did walk, it was the most awkward thing ever! he walked about 3 steps and decided that was enough and he was ready to get rid of the diaper.

all of the sudden, we had brutus the german gymnast in our living room! he was throwing himself all over the floor, doing flips and turns. everything he could think of to get this diaper off of him. we were seriously crying it was so funny. after about two minutes of him doing this, i got him calmed down enough to take the diaper off of him and i could tell he was still mad. so how did i solve this?

i took oma's diaper off and put she and brutus outside for some alone time. that seemed to have worked. when he came back inside, he was happy as a clam (and the only time i will ever advocate brutus humping oma).

5.18.2011

doggy day care . . .

so we started off with one dog. his name is inspektor phinneas von owens, III. by now, all of my loyal blog readers should know this.

**inspektor phinneas von owens, III**


practically overnight, we added two additional dogs to the family : a miniature dachshund and a rat terrier.

**frau olga von hundsen**


this is oma. okay, really her name is frau olga von hundsen. but she goes by oma. she is the sweetest little miniature dachshund a person could want. she is lovable and cuddley and calm. we "rescued" her from a friend who found her dropped off in the country. i didn't know i was actually looking another dog until i got her. originally, the friend dropped the dog off at my parents' house, cuz they were taking her up to my sister's house to keep. when i saw her at their house, i took her home to have her play with inspektor. she didn't play much, but i loved her instantly. and so i decided to kidnap her and claim her as my own. we just got her vaccinated again and she will be spayed next month. she is so much fun to have around.

i really didn't think she'd make it this long. when we first got her, she was really sick and halfway dead. i thought she might live a week or two, at most. she puked every single time we fed her and she was so weak that she couldn't even walk from her bed to the backyard. i had to literally carry her and put her on the grass so she could go to the bathroom. it was sad. one day, the beau and i went out to petco to get something -- i can't remember what we actually went for -- and i talked to a dog trainer out there. when i told him about oma, he told me that it sounded like she had a food allergy and he recommended we immediately change her dogfood. we picked up some wet food -- we weren't sure her stomach could handle dry -- called natural balance LID (limited ingredients diet). we also gave her 1/2-tsp of pepto, 3x daily, as recommended by a vet friend of mine. it took her a bit of time, but after about a week or two of eating the new food, she was as good as new! i bet the reason she was abandoned was because she was always throwing up. if only they knew!

i took her to the vet today to get her vaccinated. they recommended we just get her the distemper/parvo, rabies and one other shot. only cost me $40. the other reason i took her was because i thought she might be pregnant. turns out, she's between 9-10 years old, and that is too old for her to have any pups. the vet told me that she is going through a "false pregnancy," so she is displaying all the symptoms of pregnancy, but not really going to give birth to any puppies. i am taking her back in one month to have her spayed (she has to complete her heat cycle and be done with it for approximately 2 weeks before they can spay her). the doc said that on the off chance she is pregnant, they will terminate her pregnancy during the surgery. if they don't, oma will prolly die trying to give birth. all in all, she is a very sweet dog.

and then we have the rat terrier . . .

**baron brutus von bergenstein**


this is brutus . . . full name is baron brutus von bergenstein. we rescued him, too. found an ad on craigslist and decided to have him meet inspektor. they seemed to like each other and neither one barked when meeting the other. we took him home and he has been with us for about a month now. and sadly, i do not like him. it's not that i don't, i guess. it's just that he is a constant barker/whiner. it drives me absolutely crazy! he is always whining about something. it's gotten even worse since oma is in heat and he isn't fixed. they have been humping everywhere. see?



and i hate it! and i hardly get any sleep at night because brutus is on oma all night long. they wake me up and i always catch them before they start doing it, but it is seriously driving me crazy. and it's just not the humping. really, he isn't a good fit for us. i listed him on craigslist a couple of days ago and so far, i have only had one text about him. i am supposed to meet up with the lady on saturday. let's hope she still wants him. i'd hate to have to take him to an animal shelter, but that may end up happening. we will see.

but because we are giving up brut, we are on the hunt for another dog. the beau has decided he wants to stick with either another min-pin or another mini dachshund. they both have the best temperaments. i went onto craigslist-killeen and looked for both, but couldn't find any that i really liked. i decided to look on craigslist-austin to see if there was anything there, and i found one. this is him.



yes, folks . . . he has one eye. i don't know why i think he is so cute, but he is! i think it's cuz he reminds me of inspektor. i emailed the owner and asked about him and found out that he lost his eye to an internal infection. he is 3 1/2 years old and fixed, as well as up-to-date on all his shots. his name is zephyr, but you know i can't keep that name. we decided that he will be italian this time, instead of german. we already have a name picked out : don ciclope luciano d'occhio. in italian, ciclope means cyclops and d'occhio means eye. and since the beau wants to call him "lucky," we went with luciano as the middle name. i think it fits him perfectly!

anyhow, we are meeting with lucky and his owners on sunday in salado. i really hope that inspektor and lucky get along. i will keep you posted and if so, i will take more pics of our newest family member soon!

5.05.2011

not a lot to talk about . . .

well it's been a month since i last blogged . . . i guess it's a little better than i had previously done, cuz it was like a year between before. i guess that sometimes i just get so caught up in facebook that i don't remember to blog. not that i really have anything to talk about. my life is still boring and pretty monotonous. but i am happy to report:

*i start back to school in four days*

i am a little nervous, but a little less than i would be if i hadn't helped the beau through this last semester. helping him gave me the itch to finish. i took a trip down to a&m in college station last week to find out what i needed to do to finish up my bachelor's of arts-english (poetry). all in all, i have about 19 credits left til i graduate. i will take most of the classes at the local college here, but 6 credits have to be taken through texas a&m in college station. i am looking to knock out most of the credits between now and next spring, and finish up by driving down to college station twice a week (at night) to take my 6 credits, if they offer night classes. otherwise, i'm not sure how it will work out. 3 of the credits can be taken online, but the other class isn't offered online. so we will see.

i'm also going to the local college to pursue an AA-computer science. i am actually really excited. the beau is going for the same thing. i am fortunate that the classes i am taking this summer are the classes he just finished up. i will take 15 hours during the summer 1 session and hopefully 15 more during summer 2. that will all depend on work, of course.

*speaking of work*

i will be in el paso for the second half of this year. i have to take a few trips out there before my long deployment (15 august-12 december). the beau leaves 9 may and returns 9 july from el paso, too, but for a different test than i am. i am sad that he will be gone, but him going will help us reach our goal of getting out of debt completely in two years. i am looking forward to reaching that goal, but wish he and i didn't have to be apart. we have done it before, so i know it can be done again. plus, having my sister and her family in el paso will help a lot. i am glad she decided to stay there for paul's deployment instead of going to killeen since the beau and i will both be there at some point between may-december (hilary -- this means you *have* to cook sunday night dinners now so that the beau can get a good meal every once in awhile).

what else? our garden is growing! i am so glad we decided to plant it. there was, at one point, a time when we thought it wasn't going to make it. but we have eaten a lot of the lettuce and we have TONS of squash and zucchini growing. our bell peppers are still struggling to grow, but we have tomatoes and jalapenos that will be ready to harvest soon. our watermelon plants are even doing well. i am pretty happy and satisfied with the growth and that we have managed to not kill off everything! i will post some pics of it later, i suppose.

and i gues that's about it. not much to report.