Two Big Silly Dogs June 20, 2009

After scheduling showers at various friends’ houses between the last housesitting gig at my Ex’s and this one that started yesterday, I am so happy to have hot water and get to shower at the same place every day for the next week.  

This house is half finished.  No, less than that.  The kitchen is done, as well as the bathroom.  In the bedroom, my friend set up a bed for me and a separate bed for Little Guy in the Master Bedroom closet, which does not have a door.  He also put night lights everywhere.  It’s handy for the 2 a.m. potty trip I make every night.  The rest of the house is 4×4s, floorboard and insulation.  I’m still thrilled to be staying here!

Little Guy also has his own creative corner where he can paint on the wall, play basketball, sit in a little chair just for him, and have the run of that part of the house.  This frickin’ rocks!  

I have two, 150-pound Newfoundland dogs in my care.  They have big, sweet faces and play gently with Little Guy.  What a relief after the April dogsitting adventure.  They remind me of small horses with drool.  They both got on the bed with me this morning when they heard that Little Guy and I had woken up.  I thought it was funny and sweet, even though the male layed his body across mine.  

I have to wonder, couldn’t we just live here?  I know that we can’t and that we have to move out of Girlfriend’s house.  I have an appointment to look at an apartment tomorrow morning.

“Move Out. Don’t Mess Around.” – Yaz June 9, 2009

I moved my schtuff out of Ex’s yesterday.  The house feels a little bare, but lighter.  Maybe that’s how I feel, since I’m only wearing a bathrobe and I just pushed out a #2.  

One of my friends helped me do it.  Of course, I first asked him to join me for coffee in town.  I knew he would help a little, but I didn’t expect him to stay until it was done.  It only took a few hours, and he happened to have a ton of great boxes at his house to use, since he’s remodeling.  

I couldn’t find the list of what Ex and I had agreed on as far as splitting up the kitchen stuff, so that’s left to do.  Everything else is out of here and packed away.  A lot of my resentment went away, too.

On top of moving out, I started the day with a Triple Shot Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream and a peach muffin.  Then, I took the dog for a swim with the two dogs I will take care of later this month.  Next, I packed up my stuff, thanked my friend profusely for his help, picked up Little Guy from pre-school,and drove to Boyfriend’s work for Buffalo Chicken Pizza that he made for us.  (Have I mentioned the perks of dating a chef?)  Then, we three went to Target and the skateboard park.  

I had craved skateboarding all day like I crave caffeine in the morning.  I felt so much better after riding around for a while and trying to get better on the ramp.  Boyfriend told me that skateboarding is good for blowing off steam, and I had a lot of it yesterday.  Little Guy had us climb up to better see the purple sky of dusk before heading home.  

We got home and I put Little Guy to bed.  Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, Boyfriend presented me with a surprise.  I closed my eyes and held out my hands.  Scrabble!  We were too tired to play a round last night.

I can hardly wait to peel the plastic off the box and play the first game with Boyfriend tonight.  Momma, you’re going to get to play when you come to visit, too!

Undone April 14, 2009

Housesitting Week 3

4/14/09

The weeks have passed as I expected, almost.  I missed Boyfriend the first week.  The second week, I adjusted to having him gone.  This week, I look forward to his return, but I have so much I need to get done in the next couple days.  

I thought that being here by myself would motivate me to organized the bags of paperwork that I need to get through.  It hasn’t.

I thought that being here by myself would motivate me to put a good polish on his place.  It hasn’t.  

I thought that having fewer distractions here would lead to reading more than I do.   I brought four of the books I’m in the middle of to finish during my stay, but I have cracked one open once.  I have read magazines and internet articles like I eat hummus.  I just can’t get enough.  

It seems that on my two or three nights to myself every week, I would rather make myself yummy to eat that Little Guy would not enjoy and watch a movie.  

I thought I would stay on top of the dishes, but I let them pile up for days until last night.  I had no clean plates or glasses or mugs, so I bought coffee yesterday morning instead of washing a mug and making my own beverage.  I could have used a dirty one again, but I had done that for three days already.  That applied to my water glass, too.  Tee hee.  Ew.

As much as I have enjoyed having my own space, especially farting whenever I want (Hold it in? Why?), I have missed the daily company of Girlfriend.  I see her every few days.  And damn, it’s an adjustment to go from sharing parenting responsibilities with her to doing it all alone.  

Next week, the restaurant will close for its semi-annual cleaning for a few days.  For the first time ever, I will take advantage of those days off and drive me and Little Guy to see my mom.  That’s where the crunch comes in.  

I want to move all my stuff back to my place before I take the trip.  I also want to wash the dogs.  They STINK!  I have to work Saturday and Sunday, so that leaves me with the next three days to accomplish laundry, the paperwork, the move, packing for the trip, the dog washing and probably a trip to the vet for one of the dogs.  

Looking at that list, I can’t believe I’ve been here two weeks already and gotten so little done.  I also wanted to get my Feng Shui book and figure out why this place sucks all motivation out of me.  I would be happy to lie in bed here more often than usual.  I watched movies instead of doing dishes.  I haven’t walked the dogs every day due to snowy weather.  I suppose there’s nothing wrong with sitting still every now and then.  It just feels weird to me.  

On top of that, I attempted to quit dairy a week ago.  It went well until Friday when I HAD to have cream in my coffee at work.  Then, I worked Sunday brunch, and Boss said she would make me anything I wanted, even Lamb Ribs.  I ordered the salmon and goat cheese omelette.  Ah, welcome to Flavor Bliss.  And how much flatulence would you like with that?  More than I had passed all week.  Frick, it was worth it!

Distraction and Forgetfulness September 23, 2008

I had a typical morning today.  I got up, made my coffee, got my kid up and we got ready to go.  On the mornings when I work from home, I let the dog ride in the hatch during the daycare commute.  Today was one of those mornings.

I got back and started in on my paperwork and leisure reading (no, not porn…today) on the damned, distracting internet.  I rose from the couch to get myself some breakfast, and the cat was sitting by an empty water bowl in the kitchen.  Attentive to his every need, I refilled the water bowl and waited for the click, click, click of the dog’s toenails on the wood floor coming to chase the cat away.  

I heard none.  I looked around for him.  ”Sunshine,” I called.  ”Sunshine?”

OH. MY. STARS.   I didn’t.  Did I?  Anxiety overtook me.  What would Husband say when I told him that I forgot about his beloved dog that he loves more than he loves me?  

I ran to the door and put on my shoes.  No dog on the porch.  Crap!  I kept running to my car.  Sunshine was lying down in the hatch.  (Readers, please know that we live in the mountains where it is not too cold nor too warm this time of year.)  I opened the door for him, and he looked confused before he jumped out.  I apologized and apologized some more and walked him inside.  He seemed relieved to be freed and ready for the next adventure.

Silly Question of the Day – Animals September 21, 2008

One evening while filling up the water bowl with our cold well water for my critters, a dog and a royal cat, I wondered, can dogs and cats get brain freeze?