And again!

BBS is really on a roll! We're going to have a better turnout than we anticipated at the upcoming event for The Arc and our caterer is not prepared for so many people. I was relaying this to BBS and of course she came up with an amazingly simple and effective idea. I'm so lucky to have such an awesome sister, who is so supportive and CLEVER!

Corny close call

Wolfey likes to eat treats on the couch.  Generally treats are small, relatively clean and eaten in a few bites, so I don't mind (though I do vacuum my couch at least once a week).  Last night I had corn on the cob with my dinner and gave him the cob when I was finished.  He trotted toward the living room and I immediately realized I should have sent him outside with it, since it would make a huge mess on my couch.  I called after him, "keep it off the couch!" and I heard him stop dead in his tracks, flop down (on the hardwood floor, thankfully!) and start gnawing on his cob.  When he finished chewing on it, I picked up the cob, wiped up his mess and you can't even tell he was there, whereas if he were on the couch I would have had a sticky, corny mess to clean up.  I'm so lucky my boy listens!

Crazy lady

My friend introduced me to her husband this evening. I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced as "so-and-so's cousin" as opposed to "that crazy lady I know who cooks for her dog" ;)

Cast offs

I make a point to not feed Wolfey anything I couldn't eat myself.  Meaning, he doesn't get spoiled food, things that are super spicy or the gross bits I cut off of foods (dried ends of the broccoli stem, bruised parts of apples, etc.).  He does, however, get a lot of things that I just don't want to eat.  Meaning fruits and veggies that are on the verge of spoiling that I just don't feel like eating that day and know they won't be any good if I save them any longer.  Mom and Dad have been saving food for Wolfey for years.  As long as I can remember they have sent home meat scraps and bones in zip close bags.  Wolfey comes running when he hears me pull a zip close back out of the refrigerator, because he knows there's a good chance it's a treat from Mema and Papa.  Now my friends and family are catching on to this and have started sending food home with me whenever I visit.  The last time I visited my grandparents I was sent home with a whole grocery bag full of leftovers Grandma claimed they wouldn't eat.  While visiting an old friend last week, she was trimming up some veggies from her garden and sent me with all the "undesirable" bits (mostly broccoli stems).  Even BBS has gotten in on it, sending me with food that isn't enough to feed her huge family, rationalizing that if I don't want it, the dog can eat it.  I knew that cooking for Wolfey was going to save me money, but I never anticipated everyone else chipping in and saving me even more.  How awesome that Wolfey has so many people looking out for him.  Now if only I had enough room in my fridge for all this food!

Technology terrors

I can't decide if the group is led by my digital clock (which I know is set wrong, but should still know that there are 60 seconds in a minute) or my HE washing machine but my technology is definitely ganging up on me.  This morning I woke up early enough to do a little housework before going to work, planning to strip the bed and wash the sheets, make a batch of dog food, water my poor thirsty flowers and then throw the sheets outside on the line before leaving for work.  I put the sheets in the washer at 9:02 (according to my several-minutes-fast digital clock) and my high tech, high efficiency washer told me they would be ready in 53 minutes.  Perfect, since I had to leave around 10:00.  I went about the rest of my chores, got ready work work, had a little Wolfey time and a few minutes after 10 (according to that same clock), I went downstairs to pull the laundry out of the drier...only to find that it still had 10 minutes left!  Meaning my clock told me that over an hour had passed while my washer was trying to convince me that it had only been 43 minutes.  Now, either my clock is on hyper drive, my washer is on super slow motion, or they're conspiring to throw off my timing for the entire day.  I had big plans to get the sheets on the line before I left for work so I could make the bed real quick when I stop in to pick Wolfey up for our evening walk with our friends and then fall into bed when we get home.  Now I'll have to put the sheets on the line when I pick Wolfey up, toss them in the drier when we get home to finish the process (since they won't be outside long enough to get completely dry) and get to bed much later than I anticipated.  Okay, I know in the grand scheme of things this is SO not a big deal, but I really wish my washer would be nice to me!

Oh, and for the record, the reason I had to leave early was to stop at Green Acres Canoe Rental on the way to work to pick up a donation for the silent auction that will be done at our upcoming event for The Arc.  So awesome that they donated a gift certificate for a tubing trip for 4, as well as 4 rounds of mini golf!  If you're in the greater Cincinnati area, Green Acres is an awesome place to spend a summer afternoon.  Check them out at www.greenacrescanoe.com or on facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/#!/GreenAcresCanoe Be sure to say hi to my family while you're there ;)

Doin' the dance

I have the best pup in the world!  I left for work around 8:45.  While I was at work, a friend texted me and asked me to come over for a movie after work...I didn't get home until around 12:30.  Almost 16 hours and no accident!  I feel horribly guilty for leaving the dog that long, but I'm so amazingly proud of him for being such a good boy!

BBS strikes again

Yesterday after camp officers of The Arc held a planning meeting for next week's event.  BBS called with some information about one of the vendors, with whom she happens to be friends (our Velata vendor also happens to sell Scentsy!  Bonus!).  I filled her in on the meeting and the fact that a few of our service providers have backed out on us.  In under two hours, BBS called back to let me know she had made contact with several of her friends who do hair, nails, etc. and asked them to participate in our event!  I don't know how any of them will turn out, but I love that she is so willing to call in her friends to help me out! 

A break from our regularly scheduled programming

I'm involved in a really amazing non profit organization called The Arc of Dearborn County (check us out at www.dearborncountyarc.org or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Arc-of-Dearborn-County/) which is a group of families and supportive people who aim to build a truly integrated community for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  We partner with various community members to heighten awareness of people who have developmental disabilities and to provide opportunities for enrichment and dignity to occur within their lives.  This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, as I have a cousin with Down Syndrome and my younger sister would have had some pretty severe disabilities, had she made it past her first birthday.  The next two weeks are jam packed with events and activities for The Arc, so it has been on my mind even more than usual.  For the next two weeks I am participating in our summer life skills camps, where we take 10-12 15-25 year olds with intellectual and developmental disabilities into the community to work on practical and social skills for life.  At the end of these two weeks, we are hosting "Spice up your Summer," a ladies' night out style fundraising event.  It's sure to be a good time, but it has been lots of work to put it together (check out the event on our website or our facebook event page, at https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/289049704513334/).  Yesterday was the first day of camp and it was a great time, but absolutely exhausting.  I know by the end of the two weeks I will be more than ready for a break and to get back to my routine, but for now I'm really enjoying getting to know the kids and hopefully making a difference in their summer!

It's not easy being green

My neighbors probably think I've completely lost it but it just doesn't make sense to me to load my recycling in the car and drive the 2 1/2 blocks to the recycle center, so Wolfey and I went for a walk this evening!

Garlic

When Wolfey came to me, he had had such bad fleas he had scratched most of his fur off.  The shelter told me they had to do several flea dips to get rid of them all.  I pride myself on the fact that Wolfey has been with me for eight years and I have only ever found one flea on him.  Did you know that a sprinkling of garlic powder over your dog's dry food will help prevent fleas?  I tend to cook with garlic a lot anyway, so it was natural to me to incorporate it into Wolfey's food, as well.  What a yummy way to prevent fleas!

Disturbed?

Why yes, that is a hand emerging from my back seat. No, my car is not haunted. Last night after bowling Buddy wanted something that was in the trunk. Since we were stopped at a stop sign I told him to pull down the back seat and grab what he wanted. He ended up completely in the trunk! What a goober!

Happy Father's Day!

Knowing I was going to have a couple long days in a row, I took Wolfey to my parents' house to hang out the past couple days, then just stayed there so I could visit with them and snuggle with pup without having to drive there and back every day.  Bonus: I got to tell the best dad in the whole world "Happy Father's Day" in person this morning before work :)  I hope you're all enjoying your Father's Day and remembering those who are not fathers, too.

I literally made him into the bed. Lazy dog!

Cooking for my dog

This is getting frustrating.  Just when I thought I finally had Wolfey's food issues figured out, he has started chewing himself again.  The problem is, I am suddenly working more (i.e. being away from the house more) too, so I don't know if the issue is with feeding or with anxiety.  I wish he could talk to me and tell me what is wrong!  I have started integrating some of his old dog food back into his diet, thinking that maybe there is something missing from what I am cooking but I hate the idea of returning to processed food, plus it's SO expensive!  I'm only giving him a little bit each day, in hopes that it will be just enough to cover whatever deficit there is in my cooking until I figure that part out.  I'm also making a point to do special things with him and make sure if I am going to be gone for an extra long time, he has someone else to hang out with.  We have gone to the park twice this week and today, since I have plans after work, he is hanging out with his Mema.  He was so excited to see her when I dropped him off this morning!  I hope to get this all figured out soon, because I really do enjoy cooking for him, but I also want to make sure I'm giving him everything he needs!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I came home this evening to find that despite the fact that he was supposed to do it Sunday the neighbor boy had not mowed my yard.  Because you taught me that if I want something done right I better do it myself the importance of taking care of myself and never putting my responsibilities on anyone else, I realized I should stop paying the kid and do it my own damn self! I needed to mow my own lawn and immediately headed out to do so.  I'm sure the neighbors thought I was a little crazy, mowing in my nice clean work clothes and my scummy old yard-work shoes, but it was getting dark, so I figured I better get my butt in gear and get out there as quickly as possible took a page from your playbook and did what needed to be done.  Thank you for teaching me such determination.  When I started the mower, it made a funny rattling sound, but my mower has always made funny noises, so I didn't worry too much; however, the longer I mowed the worse the noise became, until I ran over Wolfey's bone and it jarred the mower it made a weird banging noise and the blade stopped spinning.  I remembered that the neighbor boy was supposed to sharpen the mower blade the last time he mowed, so I decided to make sure he had tightened it completely.  Mom, I credit you 100% with my can-do attitude and I am so glad you taught me to be fearless.  I threw a little hissy fit flipped the mower on its side and got right in there to see what was wrong.  The blade was so lose I could tighten the bolt by hand!  I know you sometimes get frustrated with Dad for forcing me into encouraging me to buy the heavier ladder, the longer drill bit or the bigger socket set, but last night I was so thankful for those extra sockets!  I about broke the bolt trying to get it as tight as humanly possible tightened the blade and kept right on mowing.  I didn't stop until it was pitch black outside I mowed until 10:00pm and still didn't finish, but you taught me to persevere and I resolve to finish mowing tonight when I get home from work.  Thank you for molding me into the capable, self sufficient, socket set owning woman I am today!
Ever indebted,
Karen

We (Wolfey and I) walked last night with friends (my friend and his dog, with whom Wolfey gets along famously).  It's amazing what the outdoors and a little activity can do for the body.  I slept better last night than I have in a week, and I actually feel refreshed today!  Of course, Wolfey looked beat this morning, but he and the other dog were chasing each other and really wore each other out, plus I gave him a bath this morning, so that may have had something to do with it!  Either way, I hope we can keep up with a routine of walking regularly because although I really like this feeling, I'm really bad about making myself do it when it's just Wolfey and I.  I love having someone who pushes me to get out there.

I realized this morning that Wolfey is almost trained to a fault.  When he was still a puppy, I took him to my grandparents' house with me for a family gathering.  My cousin, who was just a toddler at the time, was walking around with a cookie and Wolfey took it right out of her hand.  I decided then and there that Wolfey needed a command that let him know it was okay to take food, so that if he didn't hear that command, he would leave the food, no matter how tempting.  It took a while of working with him, but he now knows that he can't take food from someone, eat a treat or even lick a plate without me saying "okay."  It seems that he thinks his homemade food is a treat, because he has taken it upon himself to apply this rule to his dinner, now, too.  I'm good with that, so I play along.  This morning, though, I got distracted and forgot to say okay.  I was doing other things around the kitchen and noticed that Wolfey was standing there, staring at his food and panting (probably drooling all over his breakfast!).  It took me a second to figure it out, but finally I said, "okay" and Wolfey just about inhaled his food.  Poor guy probably thought this was some new form of torture!

A brush with neurosis

One of Wolfey's many oddities when he came to me was the fact that he was terrified of his brush.  I could lay his brush on the floor with a treat on top of it and he would act as if there were a three foot barrier all the way around it.  Pick up the brush, however, and the treat would be gone instantly.  And you want to brush him?  Don't even bother trying!  Just the sight of me picking up the brush would be cause for whimpering, cowering and, if I wasn't careful, peeing himself.  I thought if I left the brush out all the time with a treat on top he would eventually break down, take the treat and see that there was nothing to be scared of but that darn treat stayed there so long it got hard and dusty, plus it made it hard to vacuum!  I tried many different methods but it finally came down to tough love.  I put Wolfey on his tie-out and went at him with the brush, feeding him treats the entire time.  I was gentle and loving but let him know he wasn't going to get away or get out of being brushed.  Strangely, I only had to do that once.  It was almost as if it clicked for Wolfey: "she hasn't beaten me yet, why would she start now?  Shoes are safe now, so maybe the brush is, too."  At first I only brushed him when he really seemed to need it; I didn't want to push my luck too far.  I always rewarded him with a treat when we were done.  Then I began brushing him more and more frequently, still giving him a treat every time, until it just became part of our routine.  It seems odd to me now, when I just say the word brush and he bolts toward the front door (the only time we use that door is when company comes or we sit out on the front porch to brush him), that this is how we started, but it's also such an awesome reminder of how far we've come!

Fail

I had a streak going of posting every day.  I was pretty happy with myself for keeping up with this so well!  Yesterday, I broke my streak.  I was just too busy; there was too much going on.  Honestly, I didn't even think about blogging until I was laying in bed, wiped out from the day, and realized there was no way I was going to get back up to do it.  It was an awesome kind of tired though.  I had taken the day off work for a meeting.  I got up at a decent time and got stuff done around the house, then went to the meeting where, DCS finally listened to some of the problems we (myself and a foster mom friend) encountered while fostering (I doubt they'll actually do anything about it, but at least they listened!).  After the meeting, my friend and I had a late lunch, went shopping and spent the evening at a local day spa to pamper ourselves.  I had a gift certificate and she had birthday money, so despite the fact that it was an expensive day, neither of us actually paid much out of pocket.  Bonus!  We treated ourselves to Orange Leaf (which I had never had before - YUM!) on the way home.  It was a great day.  I really love days when I can have so much fun but still feel like I got something done, and I went to bed exhausted but blissful.  What a great way to end the week!

Where's Wordy?

Professor Wordsmith seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.  Our communication has always been odd, but one day, he just stopped calling.  Okay, it's more than that.  One Thursday he asked me to go to Chuck E. Cheese with him and his son that weekend.  I agreed but needed to get off the phone, so we decided to talk Friday to make plans.  I called and texted several times with no response.  Same thing Saturday, and at that point I started to worry.  I admit - I'm a worrier, so I was already worried on Friday.  Still.  Sunday I was too frustrated to even attempt contact.  I figured if he was the one who wanted to get together, he could contact me.  He finally called a little after 9:00pm Sunday.  A little late to be calling for plans for the weekend, but I was hoping maybe he had a good explanation.  He cut things short after just a minute and asked if he could call me right back, knowing that I was already in bed, watching TV.  Of course, I still wanted to give him a chance to explain himself, so I agreed.  When he finally called back over and hour and a half later, I was sound asleep and let him know it; he said he'd call the next day.  That was over a month ago. 

I'm so torn as to how to feel.  I know after a few days I should have been the bigger person and called him, but I'm just so tired of being everyone's mother.  I hate to admit it, but the first week or so was like a vacation from this stress I didn't realize I was carrying around.  I'm worried about what's going on that has kept him from contacting me, but I'm also so tired of feeling like I need to check up on him.  It's such a weird combination of emotions that I feel when I think of him.  I miss his ability to talk about anything but I'm relieved to not feel the need to try to focus his ADD energy so I could follow the conversation.  I crave the way he made me feel on the rare occasion I could actually get his undivided attention, but I'm thankful that I no longer feel the need to fight for that attention.  I'm worried about whether he's taking care of himself and if he's letting his ex-wife tear him down even more than has already happened, but I'm comforted by the fact that he is not my responsibility.  It's very similar to the feeling I had when my foster kids left.  There was such a weight off my shoulders that I was no longer responsible for this troubled little life, but it still ripped my heart out to see them go.  I'm not really sure why I'm writing this for the blog.  It really has nothing to do with most of my blog, I just feel the need to put it out there, to get it off my chest....I don't know what I hope to gain from it, other than finally saying something I haven't said to anyone, which is...it doesn't really matter how much he frustrated me or stressed me out; I miss him.

Spoiled boy

I'm working an extra long day today due to having to be in early to meet a repair man.  Not wanting Wolfey to have to be home alone so long, I dropped him off to my mom this morning.  As if that isn't spoiling him enough, she called me earlier to let me know she was headed to the farm...with Wolfey in tow.  Love it!

ADD dog

Typically Wolfey loves to be brushed (although getting to this point was a process, too.  More on that later) but this morning he just couldn't focus.  As soon as I picked up his brush he stared dancing and couldn't get out the front door fast enough, but the neighbor's cat was outside and apparently barking at the cat was more exciting than getting brushed.  I had to call him back I don't know how many times and I'm sure my neighbors must have thought I'd lost it.  I kept yelling, "If you want your cookie you better get back here and let me finish!"  Wolfey would come running, I'd brush him for a minute, then he'd be off like a light again.  After about four times of this, I finally said, "If you run off again you won't get your cookie!"  I'm not sure I've ever seen him sit so nicely!  And they say dogs don't understand English.  Ha!

The upside of working six days a week

I'm learning to really make the most of my days off. Today I slept until my body was ready to get up (7:50. I usually get up at 7:40) and had a relaxed but super productive morning. I made two crockpot meals, ran the vacuum, did the dishes, did a couple loads of laundry and some general tidying. Then I met my mom for lunch, kept an appointment at the bank to discuss refinancing my house, visited my grandparents, did some shopping (I had a $10 Kohl's card that was about to expire!) and had dinner and snuggle time with BBS and the monkeys (okay, I didn't snuggle with BBS!). Now, at 9:30, I've just arrived home from a busy and exhausting but productive and incredibly enjoyable day! Working so much overtime is really wearing me out, but if the past two weeks are any indication, it's also making my days off really incredible!

PSA

If you happen to be home on the day the neighbor boy is coming over to mow, make sure you put a bra on as soon as you wake up. You may get busy doing chores and/or he may show up earlier than you anticipated and it can make for an awkward encounter!

Behavior modification

I've mentioned before that Wolfey used to flip out if I left my hand resting on him when I was done petting him, but never really explained what was going on there.  When dogs put their paws on each other, it is a show of dominance.  It's not always the same with people; for example, I visited a friend last night whose dog stands on her and it really is just a display of affection, but I do wonder if Wolfey was just so terrified of what I might do to him (after all, at that point his experience with people had been pretty negative) that he couldn't bear for me to show any dominance.  It was a long process to get him to allow me to linger after petting him.  I started by petting him super slowly, but always having my hand moving, progressing to leaving my hand still just at the end of a pet, but still touching him very lightly.  With time, I increased the pressure and duration, but always paid attention to Wolfey's reaction and as soon as he seemed uncomfortable, I would move my hand and continue petting.  This process took many weeks and lots of patience, but Wolfey is now to the point where I could use him as a pillow if I really wanted to.  In fact, the other night I woke up to find that I was half laying on top of him.  It wasn't very comfortable, and I can't imagine that he was really comfortable either, but he certainly didn't seem to mind.  I love that we've come such a long way, and I'm so lucky that we were both patient enough to make such progress!

Doggy radar

Me: (hearing a dog howling) "I hear an upset puppy."

Employee: "It's probably five miles away and you can still hear it!"

She's right, it's pretty unlikely that I would hear it.  We have the doors closed and the radio on, but hey, I'm in tune with dogs and I hate to know of one who is hurting or upset.  For the record, I checked it out and I legitimately did hear it.  There's a husky in an SUV parked a few spots out from our store.  So, there!

Multiple personalities

I sit here at work and there are so many thoughts swarming my head I don't even know where to start.  Half of me wants to complain about how exhausted I am from working so much overtime but the other half is thrilled that I can overpay my bills and still have money left over.  Half of me is frustrated beyond belief with The Girl and the situations she puts herself in but the other half is just so happy she's safe and healthy that I don't even care how she behaves.  Half of me hates going home to an empty house every night but the other half is thankful I have a comfortable home and space for "me time".  Through all of this, all of me knows that I am lucky to have awesome friends and family to support and love the many halves of me!

Conversation with BBS

BBS: "My sister-in-law's dog is really active and playful.  He loves to chase a tennis ball."

Me: "Wolfey gets bored with a tennis ball pretty quickly but he'll play soccer for a long time.  He even carries his soccer ball around and curls up with it."

BBS: "Does that make you a soccer mom?"

Be warned, darling sister - BBS could just as easily stand for Brat Big Sister!