2 out of 4...

Roxie has successfully managed to injure herself. Not once, but twice. A leg each time, and a different leg at that.

For anyone that really knows me, you know that I'll laugh at most things before stopping to realize the severity of a situation. Not all of the time, but most of the time. I've been fortunate enough to never see truly terrible things, and have grown up with a goofy set of friends and family that allow laughter to come so easily. Not that any of this is an excuse, but still...

Last Sunday night, Rusty and I were on the way home from the grocery store and saw some storms to our east, so we hurried to get home and let Roxie out before they moved in. The lightening and thunder were pretty bad, but it never really rained here. Well, as Roxie and I were outside, and before she went potty, a bolt of lightening struck near by (I swear it was at the park/field area right behind our house). It scared me half to death, so you can only imagine how terrified poor little Roxie was. She took off running for the back door, only to run right smack into.

Of course my heart was sad for her being so scared, but I managed to get out a good chuckle before finally reaching her to calm her down. I picked her up to let her know it would be ok, as Rusty was coming outside to look for the cause of the commotion. I set her back down, and we noticed she was limping pretty badly and wouldn't put any weight on her back leg. Fortunately, it was nothing more than maybe a little puppy bruise (or maybe just a good jarring of her leg as she hit the door) but thankfully within 24 hours she started to use her leg fully again.

Four days later, Roxie was chasing after Satie (this is quite normal for them now, in case you are wondering) around the kitchen and entry hallway. (Our house is set up nicely for the animals/Rusty to chase each other in circles up the entry hallway, to the kitchen, back to the entry hallway, etc.) I was only halfway paying attention when I heard something strange, and then saw only Satie come trotting around the corner into the kitchen with Roxie nowhere in sight. I went around to find Roxie and sure enough she was just sitting there. Immediately I knew something wasn't right, because this is not in her nature. This time, I don't know what she did, but she did something to her front left leg. She didn't recover from this one quite as quickly, but she's working it out quite nicely and is resuming her normal regimen of Rusty/Satie chasing.

Hopefully we won't make it to 3 or 4 out of 4... I'd be happy with just the 2. Only time will tell.

The pup is doing wonderfully, though, other than that. She is in full puppy mode, which gets tiresome, but its also fun. We've learned the secret to really wearing her out is to take her over to my parents and let her and Belle play together for the day. She slept for almost a day and a half afterwards!!! It was great! :)

TTFN!

Roxie's Tail

Things I've learned from owning a dog:
1. Everything is edible
2. Sleep is a luxury
3. I'm not ready for children.

Roxie is the first puppy (or dog for that matter) that Rusty or I have ever owned. (Rusty claims his mom's old dog, Sugar, doesn't count because he said that dog hated everyone except his mom...) Needless to say, the last two weeks have definitely been an adventure for us.

We got her the Thursday before July 4th, so we had all day Friday through Sunday with her. She got to make her first visit to One Oak on that Saturday, as that is where we spent our 4th of July with a few friends. Our first weekend was surreal, in that we were both just having so much fun. The middle of the night poo breaks weren't that bad (we got to take naps during the day) and the daytime was fun because we got to play all of the time.

Then came Monday... that was when I realized (although deep down I always knew) that I require 8-9 hours of sleep a night. It's not an option. Period. As Rusty and I were trying to adjust to owning one dog, my dad calls and arranges picking up another pup from the same litter so he can surprise my mom with a puppy for their anniversary. Rusty and I picked her up and kept her for the longest 3 days of my life. The breeder we got them from said, "Having 2 puppies is no different than having 1." He seems like a nice guy. I trusted him, until we got home that is.

Everything that we worked with Roxie on for the 4 days prior to "the other one" joining us was undone by the unexpected arrival. (Not to mention, the cats were TICKED.) They were both always in a "pedal to the metal" mode when they were awake, which was very exhausting. The first night of having Belle I only got 3 hours of sleep. Please refer to the prior paragraph to understand why this was a problem. All in all, having both pups was an adventure, although I was happy when my parents came to pick her up. My mom was super surprised and loves her little Belle.

The afternoon after Belle left, Rusty, Roxie and I slept and laid around all afternoon. Of the three of us, I'm not sure who was the most tired. The next morning we started working with Roxie again to rid her of the bad habits her sister made her pick up. She does really good about not pooping in her kennel, which is a huge plus to me. I can deal with the pee. The poop, not so much. I've actually thrown up a little bit in my mouth from having to pick some up once. Not a fan... So not ready for kids.

Roxie is growing alarmingly fast, but she's so adorable. She's pretty good with the cats, although they aren't fond of her. She likes to chase them, but won't actually bug them. She knows where "home" is. On her walks, once around the block is enough for her. As soon as we get to the corner across the street, she plants her little bottom down and pulls her leash the direction of home. I try everytime but there is no fighting this. It's really annoying, but actually really cute.

The good news is that nothing valuable has been destroyed yet. She's found some "weak corners" of the carpet and has managed to pull those up. Everything else is going really well with her though. She knows how to sit, and she knows her name (when she wants to that is). Rusty and I adore her, and can't wait for you all to meet her and to share more "tails" with you.

Here are some pictures of her...

TTFN!

Ever herd of spel chek?

I will be the first to tell you I'm not the world's best when it comes to spelling, punctuation and even grammar. I do use my resources when it matters, though. That's more than I can say for some...

There is a CVS near our house (I know, it's a shocker...) and it has one of those LED advertisement signs where they promote their current specials. It has turned into a ritual that whenever I'm sitting at the light at that intersection, I always watch the ads as they come and go. (I sit at that light at least 5 times a week, so I have a fairly large sample...)

I can count at least 3 times from memory over the past 6-8 weeks that a word has been misspelled on the board. Seriously? We have several options to choose from here, so let's start using our resources. First, there is always spell check. I would find it hard to believe that there isn't a computer with some sort of word processing program that could run a spell check for you. Second, there are more than just two people that work there. Have a co-worker run through it. Third, find a dictionary. Yes, it seems old fashion, but hey - I bet you sell them...

The most recent word I found incorrectly spelled was "gratuation." I would think this one would be a no brainer because I can only imagine how many promotion and special items are all throughout the store, considering it's June and everyone is "gratuating" right now... **Sigh**

Oh well. I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round. I'll keep you posted as I find more. :) It's like a scavenger hunt now for me.

TTFN!

Date Night Catch Up

Something new that Rusty and I are doing is going on a date night every week. We've gone twice, thus far. Both times we made the short drive down 121 to Lewisville for some good ol' Raising Cane's chicken and a not-so-new movie at the dollar theater. Cane's is right by our old apartment, and we've missed not being able to go there whenever we want. We also miss the dollar theater... (ok, $1.50 theater) but still! We went to AMC by our house now and a movie cost us almost $30 after tickets and a drink!!!!! Ridiculous!

Anyway, going during the week is nice, because there are not a ton of people out everywhere. It also breaks us of our boring nightly routines of house work, dinner and bed.

For our first date night, we saw Taken. We both really enjoyed this movie - and I recommend it. Both Rusty agreed while it was definitely worth our $3, we probably wouldn't buy it to add to our collection. I do, however, think it would be worth any rental fee from say Pay-Per-View, the video store or Netflix. It's a pretty violent movie - definitely not for the kiddos. It's not bloody or gory, but there is a lot of violence, and the subject matter is definitely mature.

This week, we saw Knowing with Nicolas Cage. It was alright. We both enjoy Nicolas Cage, as he usually does a brilliant job in whatever he is in. He again did a good job in this movie, but the movie itself was kind of out there. I don't like what the story line developed into. I think they could've gone a different route and had a more suspenseful, thrilling movie. Again, not a bad movie, but not the best. I don't think I'd care to ever see it again.

Not sure what's on tap for next week yet... we'll just have to wait and see!! :)

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend!

TTFN!

Where Does Time Go?

I know, I know... It's been over a month since I last posted. I guess since Rusty and I got back from vacation (umm, three weeks ago...) I still just haven't gotten back into a normal routine.

I blame it on the weather. No, I really do! While we were away, we had the MOST awesome weather... 80-85 and perfectly sunny everyday. When we got back in the big D, until this week, we have seriously had no sunshine. Even this week, the sun barely makes an appearance before ducking away behind the clouds again or setting for the evening. All the gloomy greyness has just put me in a rut.

I'm trying hard to get back into a normal routine... I should be considering 3 weeks have come and nearly gone. Oh well... maybe this weekend. :)

TTFN!