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I am not a crazy dog person. I love my dog, but I don’t dress him up or carry him around with me all day. Especially since I would need a wheelbarrow to do so. But despite what people might say, he’s part of the family. My big furry baby.
I got home late last night and noticed Kodiak was licking his paw. It didn’t seem too unusual since he does that occasionally. I put him in his crate and went to bed.
This morning I went downstairs and just like every other morning, I went to let him out. Usually he’s up and wagging his tail and will run at me with kisses as soon as I open the crate. Today he was lying down and licking the paw. A lot. I practically had to drag him out of the crate.
I tried to look at his paw in between him nosing my hand out of the way so he could continue licking. I thought it might be his dewclaw, the nail on the side of the paw. It seemed long to me. Could he have caught it on something? Is it stabbing him? My poor dog!
I went upstairs and woke up Michael. The two of us spent the next 15 minutes in our pajamas on the kitchen floor trying to figure out what was wrong. Michael trimmed his nails and we hoped that would fix the problem.
I felt awful. We had failed as parents. We didn’t keep up on dog maintenance and now he was hurt. He had big sad eyes and my heart ached. We didn’t take care of our dog! What about when we’re parents? Are we going to forget something with our babies?
I spent the next 15 minutes petting him and brushing him and telling him he was a good boy. Then he went outside with Michael and from the way he was running around and fetching his ball, it seemed we had fixed the problem. I felt so relieved.
So maybe I am a little crazy about my dog.
I don’t usually do these, but Domestic Goddess tagged me and she rocks so for her, I will.
Six weird things about you:
1. I’m right handed, but I carry my bag on my left shoulder and hold my cell phone in my left hand.
2. I love to watch operation shows but pass out when I have blood taken.
3. When I was little I used to put baby wipes over the tops of lamps and would melt plastic figurines on light bulbs. This had nothing to do with being a pyro, I just liked the way the wipes and the plastic smelled when they got warm. This didn’t last long because my mom caught me and flipped out. Something about how I could burn the house down…
4. Speaking of smells, I also used to love the smell of my mom’s deodorant.
5. I love cleaning under my finger nails. There’s something really satisfying about it.
6. I think sometimes dinner tastes better if you’re eating standing up in the kitchen.
Because I totally spread a rumor faster than you would believe and it’s only 10 a.m.
When I was in college sites like Friendster and Facebook became popular. At first it was really cool. You’d become “friends” with someone you know from college or you used to hang out with in high school. You can read their profiles and see what they’re up to, look at their pictures and assess the person they’re dating. Fun.
And until Myspace came along, it wasn’t too stalker-ish. You could only see a profile of someone who chose to be “friends” with you. Now anyone can see what you put out there and it’s pretty freaky. Anyway, rambling…
I still like to look at Facebook because you can choose your privacy settings and still see how everyone is doing. So that’s what I was doing this morning when I noticed a family friend (background: the girl is the daughter of my aunt’s close friend) had changed her relationship status from “single” to “engaged.” I was so surprised! So I emailed my dad and asked him if he had heard anything.
Within minutes there were emails from my dad, my aunt and both my cousins.
“I just talked to her mother!” my aunt exclaimed. “All she said is that she had a sore throat!”
The emails came at rapid fire full of speculation and doubt. And maybe because I have a severe case of Wedding Brain, I wanted to think it might actually be true.
So I went right to the source. Because she’s in college and I knew she’d be on IM. I signed on and sure enough, there she was.
Her response? (And this is an exact quote) “HAHHAHAHAHAHAH! NOOOOOOOO it’s not true hahahah that is sooooooooooooooooooo funny though Omg I love you! hahah I am not engaged…I dont even have a boyfriend hahahah.”
The writer in me cringed reading this. The punctuation! The capitalization! The….oh, wait. She’s not engaged? Time for a little damage control.
Out went another email. This time from me saying oops! Just kidding!
And calmness once again resumed. I better start keeping my mouth shut.
Or my fingers quiet. However you want to look at it.
This long weekend was so nice. I spent time with my family, ate lots and lots and lots of food, visited with Dani California and almost completed all my Christmas shopping. It was great.
Getting to NY, however, was not so nice. A trip that should have taken me two hours from work took FOUR. I even left early to prevent getting stuck. But no. I should have known. I-84 is pure hell. I sat in stand-still traffic for almost two hours until I couldn’t take it anymore. After getting alternate directions from my mom I got off the highway, drove 10 minutes…and got stuck behind an accident. At this point my blood was boiling. I was tired, I was hungry and my butt hurt from sitting so long. I said, the hell with it, I was two exits away from where I needed to be. I’d just get back on the highway and deal with it.
So that’s what I did. And wouldn’t you know that not five minutes later the traffic broke and I was on my way. The cause of the traffic? NOTHING!!!! No accident, no exit, no merge. Nothing. I hate I-84.
As for shopping, I got gifts for Michael’s mother, the children she’s fostering, my aunt and gifts for Michael to give to people. I even got something for me. I’ve wanted a reed diffuser forever but couldn’t find one. I thought it would be so nice for my desk at work. And this weekend Pier 1 was having a big sale and had them! Yay! And I bought new pillows for the couch because I am oh so domestic.
All and all a great weekend. And it was so nice to come home to Michael and the big dog yesterday. Kodiak nearly knocked me over with kisses when I came in the door. So cute! And Michael was full of I love you’s and hugs and kisses and I know he missed me.
And now that Thanksgiving is over it is officially time for Christmas music, candles in the windows and a wreath on the door.
I love the holidays.
In less than three hours I will begin my trip home to NY. I’m crossing my fingers that by taking a half-day and leaving way before rush hour I will not get stuck in boat loads (car loads?) of traffic.
I’m really looking forward to the trip. I don’t get to see my family often and I miss them a lot. My mom has lots of Hawaii pictures to show me, my sister has a new hair color every time I come home (I think it’s dark blue this time) and it’s THANKSGIVING which means one of my favorite foods of all time: stuffing. In abundance. All weekend. The gym and I will reconnect after Sunday.
I’ll also get to visit with some high school friends that I haven’t seen in forever. There are the select few that I’m really excited about seeing but then there are those random people that you know you will run into at the bar and the general feeling is eh. The ones that no matter how many years it’s been since you walked those halls together still ask you what your high school boyfriend is up to (no clue) or if you remember that time so and so said so and so and it was SO FUNNY! (Um, no, sorry. I don’t recall that.)
Michael and I have spent the last four Christmases together but we’ve always split up Thanksgiving. It’s easier with work schedules and then his mother doesn’t feel slighted. (If we don’t travel we spend Christmas with my family.) I will miss him lots and lots but then it will be so nice to see him again on Sunday.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and think of me when you eat lots and lots of stuffing.
For the first time ever I’m taking down a post. The last one I wrote. Because once again I was complaining about not being engaged and you know what? That’s enough.
At least it’s enough for this week. Because I’m sure I’ll complain about it again. Even though I’m going to try really hard not to. But the whole post was about it. The. Whole. Thing.
Because the thing is, I don’t want to be the girl that whines and asks over and over again “when are you going to marry me???” That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to become. And I don’t want Michael to propose just to get me to shut up!
I’m not going to pretend and promise that it won’t come up in posts again. Because it will. Because it’s on my mind A LOT and that’s what this blog is for. Plus, Clink and I have to stick together now that Ms. Sass is going to be Mrs. Sass! (Congrats again!) And it’s fun to be impatient with Clink. She gets it.
So, again. Enough for whining for this week.
All in due time. Right?
And no, I’m not talking about Christmas.
I’m angry. I’m not only angry, I’m flabbergasted. Somebody stole my lunch. Stole my lunch right out of the fridge at a professional business where adults work.
Stole. My. Lunch.
And the thing is, it’s not an isolated incident. Stuff has been stolen out of our fridge before. I just can’t understand why anyone would go into an office that doesn’t belong to them and steal someone’s lunch. Specifically, MY LUNCH.
And I’m hungry. And fuming. And…HUNGRY.
Secondly, I’m jealous. I’m jealous because a girl I know (who let me say is a really big sweetheart and deserves this happiness a ton) just got engaged to a guy she’s been dating for a year and a half. I’m happy for her in the sense that she is in love and will be getting married but jealous that I’ve been with Michael and in love for almost five years and want this more than anything.
This Monday is definitely not starting the week off right.
I survived IKEA. And thank you for all the tips because I really did eat the granola bar and drink my bottled water. And broke out the one pair of non-gym sneakers I own. (Cute little red ones that Michael calls wrestling shoes, if you were curious.)
As we approached IKEA I was still undaunted. Sure, it was big, but we snagged a parking space easily and headed towards the Returns entrance. Once inside, my friend returned a rug quickly and smoothly and we were off to the main entrance.
Here’s where it starts to get complicated.
The airport-like signs direct you to two different locations: Showroom and Marketplace. Where to start? Look, all those people are getting in the elevator. We’ll get in it too. DING! Ooooh look! The Showroom! With every available room set up you could imagine. Bathrooms, full kitchens, bedrooms, offices! But wait, how come I can’t go over to that bedroom? I can see it…I. Just. Can’t. Get. There.
No. You have to stay on The Path. The Path that winds around and around and around and AROUND until you’ve seen every single set up in the showroom. It’s a great marketing plan. It’s a pain in the ass. I looked longingly at the exit doors that warn you ALARM WILL SOUND. It’s all a ploy. I bet the alarm wouldn’t sound. They just want to scare you so you’ll stay on The Path. It worked.
Oh, did I mention we had also already grabbed a cart? Yeah. We did. So we pushed it, empty, around and around and around….
We finally made it to the end, hopped on the elevator and arrived at the Marketplace. I was tempted to buy a lot more than I did. After looking at every imaginable piece of glassware, kitchen gadgets and storage containers, we made it to the rugs. This was the real reason for the trip and I’m not kidding when I say we spent almost 45 minutes in this section alone.
While looking at rugs there was an odd woman who appeared to be following us wherever we went. She even made a comment that she wasn’t following us, which makes it even more evident that she was. And she was following us holding this in the air and saying out loud that one was more yellow than the other and it was probably because the sheep rolled in something. Great.
Overall, the IKEA trip was successful, albeit a little overwhelming. And that granola bar tasted great between Lighting and Home Decor.
What did I buy? I bought a Marienta Ruta, a Signe and an Alvine Satin. That’s two rugs for the kitchen and a duvet cover, respectively. I didn’t eat any Swedish meatballs, but the cinnamon buns did smell tasty.
Truth be told, I don’t think I’ll be going back any time soon. I needed a nap when it was over!
I woke up this morning to a text saying that Christmas music was on the radio. (Thanks, Jen!) I know it’s a cliche, but this really is my favorite time of year. There’s something about Thanksgiving through New Years that’s so warm and cozy and happy. I love it.
So despite the fact that it’s 60 degrees out, I listened to Christmas music the whole ride to work and now have it playing at my desk. Yay! Michael (a.k.a. Scrooge) will cringe when he reads this. He doesn’t want to hear Christmas music until the week of Christmas, and even then he thinks it’s too much. Too bad he lives with me!
I’ve already bopped around my desk to Mariah (“All I want for Christmas is yoouuuuu!”) and am currently being serenaded by Frosty the Snowman. Love it!
On to some randomness, because really, it’s Friday.
I confessed to Michael that I look at wedding stuff and that I might possibly (i.e. absolutely) have found the place for a reception. As in, I started drooling all over myself when I found it. And we could afford it! And…hi, I’m not even engaged.
His response? He wasn’t surprised. Or freaked out. He laughed…and then smiled. He’s so cute.
I really pushed myself at the gym last night (yes, I did go!) and as a result I am not wearing heels today. Legs = ow. But a good ow.
Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow I am going to Ikea. IKEA! The magical store that goes on forever and has stemware, couches, beds and meatballs! Couches and meatballs! In the same store! Oh those crazy Scandinavians!
I’ve been given some tips to survive my first experience within the window-less blue box. Bring a granola bar. Follow the signs. Charge your cell before leaving and always have a buddy. With these tips I’m sure popping my Ikea cherry will be a fun adventure. Details to follow.
Happy Friday!
“Siillllleeeent Niiight. Hooooooly Niiiight…”
My plan was to go to the gym last night. But when I got home we had nothing for dinner so we had to go grocery shopping. You know how I feel about grocery shopping.
But Michael was home so he came with me and his company makes the experience tolerable. So we’re in the store, adding things to the cart that we really don’t need, (salsa flavored tortilla chips?) and it was getting late.
I made a reference to this as we were standing in the frozen foods aisle and suggested that I might just go to the gym in the morning.
This is where Michael started laughing.
“No you won’t!”
“I will too! I’m motivated!”
[Laughing] “Who are you kidding. The alarm will go off and you will roll over and go back to sleep. I know you!”
This is where I began huffing and puffing and pouting. I almost stomped my feet. I am not above doing that in the middle of the grocery store. I was furious! Oh ye of little faith! I’ll show him.
“I will go in the morning. I bet you. How much you wanna bet?”
“900 dollars.”
“You’re on!”
I was so mad at him. How could he doubt me? I made a commitment to myself to go to the gym at least three times a week. I was going in the morning. What was his problem? I was mad at him the whole way home, while I was putting away groceries and as I prepared dinner. I was right, he was wrong.
The end.
P.S. Anyone got 900 bucks I can borrow?
These Little Moments 