No No Bad Dog?

I used to get so upset at the thought that any dog was yelled at enough that they thought their name was No, No, Bad Dog. What kind of life is that? Dog should be nurtured and loved. If they are doing something that wrong, the human has an issue, not the dog! Why are humans so awful to other creatures? This really bothered me.

Then I brought home Sunshine. This dog lives to get into trouble. She will tip toe up to you steal a flip flop out from under your nose, and tip toe away without you even noticing. She's like a little 4 legged ninja! You can holler at her and all she does is blink at you. She is not put on this earth to be a good perfect dog.

It took me a long time to finally realize why she was brought into my life. Sunshine was brought into my life to teach me all about a shy dog. To totally debunk the whole dominance theory that was still rattling in the back of my head. To make me a better advocate at the Vet's office. She made sure that I didn't sweat the small stuff. Learned to laugh at the disasters that don't really matter in the long run.  Houses were meant to be redecorated with stuffy fluff. Flip flops, hats, and used wash clothes taste really yummy and help with itchy teeth. A few holes eaten in the wall can just be spackled and sanded. I learned how to clean up corn oil off the kitchen floor along with the rest of the trash can contents. Did you know that fish food is irresistible?

One of my favorite memories is when BF caught her eating his slippers. He yelled at her, took them away from her, and banished Sunshine to the bedroom. I was reading in the bedroom. I watched while she walked in with him following her to make sure she got to the bedroom. Then he turned to stalk back out in a huff. Sunshine proceeded to tip toe follow him. I have never seen a dog tip toe before and I may have peed a little trying to only silently laugh... BF turned around to make sure she was staying in the room and Sunshine instantly froze with a paw midair. He corrected her again and sent her to her bed on the other side of the room. Turned to walk out and the exact same thing happened. By this time I was howling with laughter and he couldn't keep a straight face anymore.

Then there was the first time I left Sunshine at a close friend's house for the weekend. She's a shy nervous dog so we weren't really sure how it was going to go. It was a house where she had visited often and she was comfy with the people there. We expected her to be a little stressed. Well no one yelled at her the entire weekend, they just laughed at her and that egged her on. I gather that it all started when she cried a little in her crate at night. She was immediately let out of the crate and it all was party time from there! She started out by stealing tissue boxes and escalated, to jumping up and knocking the breath out of people, to stealing toilet paper, and jumping on top of dressers! She didn't stop running around the entire weekend. Oh the naughtiness!

It's amazing how time and experience changes your thoughts and opinions. Sunshine embraces the No, No, Bad Dog title. She's quite proud of it. I now have this proudly displayed on my minivan

Blog Neglect

This poor little blog has been neglected for the past few months. I'm not really sure what I want to do with my blogging. Just doing pictures is no longer holding much interest for me. Neither is typing up long blog entries.

The last few months has been overly stressful. There have been some job losses and career changes in the household. Career changes that I fear may be the thing that sinks us. I ended up being away for 2 months while attending school and the whole household has been functioning on just survival. We are far from out of the financial woods yet. With some recent developments things are going to get much worse before they get better. If anyone has a direct line to Mr. Murphy, could you please tell him that we are crying Uncle?

The goal of a daily blog entry is just too overwhelming right now. My goal will be two updates a week. Please keep us in your thoughts as we are riding out these drama waves!

I can sew!!!!!

 

Here is my drunken pillow case

Pics of the girls

December Blog Challenge… Random Thoughts

I'm a bit scattered today, with a bit of writers block, so I'm just going to list what's flying through my head.

1. It's going to be a very cold winter, I need to find a place to deliver firewood at a decent price.

2. Trying to give myself a pep talk to start job hunting in January. I'm really hoping the job market isn't as bleak as everyone is advising!

3. Trying to decide if Amazon Prime is worth the money.

4. I really need to go for a short run tonight, but we need to finish up holiday shopping. There are only so many hours in the evening.

5. Blue Host sent me an email about some PHP thing... I need to go read that again and figure out what it means.

6. What exactly is google chrome cast? I need to google it!

7. I'm not really missing FB, and am really enjoying my Google + experience so far.

8. I'm torn about how concerned with Internet privacy we should be...

9. Hope we do get more snow on Saturday. Also hope it's a wet snow so I can build a snowman. I need to buy some carrots.

Yup that's all I have in me today folks! Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

 

 

December Blog Challenge… Learning

Today's post topic is again from The Daily Post. What’s your learning style? Do you prefer learning in a group and in an interactive setting? Or one-on-one? Do you retain information best through lectures, or visuals, or simply by reading books?

photo from here

I suppose I'm a unique individual because I have the ability to learn from any method. The easiest way for me to learn is in an interactive one on one basis where I can ask a bazillion questions.  Not sure it boils down to learning methods, or just the teachers ability to communicate in an exciting fashion.

Nothing is worse than a monotone lecturer or a dry text book. Unless you are looking to catch some sleep! If the person teaching is uninterested, impatient, or just tired it can negatively impact the learning experience. Everyone learns easier when the subject is interesting. Great teachers really do love what they do. They have the ability to explain the same thing in many different ways. They realize that catering to their audience is a must. The best example of making sure learning something is entertaining is the Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure. This is created by the Department of Justice and is a hysterical read. They are all true stories that teach important lessons. Best employee compliance handbook out there! It's much harder to teach well in written form. When your speaking you can gauge your audiences reaction and adjust if they are not understanding. When in written form you only get on chance to get it correct for your entire audience. To answer a question about your learning style, it's not an easy answer. It all depends on the teaching skills.

December Blog Challenge… Desire

Today's topic is brought to us again by The Daily Post.

Was there a toy or thing you always wanted as a child, during the holidays or on your birthday, but never received? Tell us about it.

Of course, I always wanted a pony! Never did get one, until I was old enough to lease and pay for it myself. But this topic got me thinking about what I desire at this moment.

Anyone would love more romance in their lives. A stable, exciting job with more money and less bills. A weekly cleaning lady. A newer car or to win the lottery.

To be honest, I'm pretty content with my life. I've reached a point where I am able to surround myself with the people I choose. The past couple years have provided me the ability to mature enough to cut tons of drama out of my life. I've got the best critters! An awesome, stable significant other. We have similar goals and usually work well together.

Life is pretty damn great!

December Blog Challenge… Anxiety

Today's topic is brought to you by The Daily Post.

Anxiety: Write about a noise — or even a silence — that won’t go away. 

Talk about a sobering topic! Very timely since I had a 'not so great' anxiety day yesterday.

There is one silence that I cannot shake. The silence right before you get a phone call. A drugged out of their mind person on the other end of the phone mumbling "Jessica, I did something stupid. I need you to take me to the hospital."

If I could go the rest of my life NEVER receiving a phone call like that again, there would be no complaints from me. There are no guarantees in life, so I must wait. In that awful silence. The silence that causes a permanent lump in your belly. The lump that makes you nauseated all the time.  The nauseousness that makes it so hard to breath.

I try to focus on anything else. Throw myself into a flurry of productivity, which eventually leads to burn out. I'm not sure how else to deal with the silence. The never wavering, always there silence. It has become an unwanted friend. Maybe I need to name him and embrace him. I'm scared that embracing him will be the beginning of my demise.

It's going to be hard to push the publish button on this one...

 

 

December Blog Challenge… 5 Things on a Deserted Island

Today's blog post if brought to you by The Daily Post. We are going to keep the same silly theme of yesterday.

 Picture from here

What are the five items you must have on a deserted island?

1. My puppies. They go everywhere I do. They make any adventure more fun. Imagine how much fun they would have running loose on an island. Rainy could catch birds for us to eat. Yum chicken!

2. Cell Phone! Yes my deserted island has excellent data service and solar panels to charge my phone. I could live without the actual phone calls. I use my cell phone for web browsing, music, reading books, blogging, camera, GPS, and a ton of other functions. My one giant device does it all for me. Yes I am secretly drawn to the new Note 3 that just came out, but I am going to wisely wait for the Note 4 before I upgrade. If any Samsung big wigs are out there... That whole 43 megapixel camera on the Lumia is really nice... ;)

3. King size memory foam bed and my pillows. I hate sleeping in other beds. I love *my* bed. I'm also weird about using other pillows. I always travel everywhere with my own pillows. I even crammed them into my suit case when I had to fly out to CA for work.

4. Fridge/Freezer! I have to get the ice for my coconut drink somewhere.

5. Tanker boat of rum! I could easily read and drink all day

December Blog Challenge… Random Questions Part 1

Today we need some easy to write silliness!

 

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Open, mainly because I'm way too lazy to close them. Also don't trust them... If they are opened and closed often they come off the track and fall on my head. Not a fun time!

2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? I used to. But about a year ago I jumped into the natural hair care and can no longer use them. It's really helped cut the frizz out of my curls.

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? I hate it when people tuck the sheets in! Actually don't even sleep with a top sheet. We just use a blanket. I like to sleep with my feet out at the bottom.

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? Nope. Sounds like a lot of work...

5: Do you like to use post-it notes? I have a love affair with post it notes! My work even orders me the special 4 inch lined ones. It's like Christmas morning them they arrive.

6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? Used to. I stopped couponing at the beginning of the summer. I should start to get back into it, but the Delaware News Journal pissed me off and I don't really want to support them by buying the Sunday paper. They refused to stop calling me. I ended up speaking to 5 supervisors, people listed me as dead in their system, disconnected phone number, etc. Not a great business to deal with.

7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? A bear. At least bears have body language that you can react off of.

8: Do you have freckles? No freckles

9: Do you always smile for pictures? I try to

14: Do you ever dance even if there's no music playing? Not when anyone can see me! The dogs and cats aren't going to tattle on me.

15: Do you chew your pens and pencils?  I do, horrible habit.

16: How many people have you slept with this week? One!

17: What size is your bed? King sized. No way could we ever go back smaller.

18: What is your Song of the week? Luke Bryan Drink a Beer

19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Sure!

20: Do you still watch cartoons? If I had the extra time I would! Does the Rudolph claymation count? I watched that last week.

21: Whats your least favorite movie? Way too many to type out. I'm such an awful movie person. My attention span is too short.

22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? In the backyard at the top of the hill.

23: If you're a girl, bra size? Yeah we are not going to get into my tiny sad boobs!

24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in? BBQ sauce! I miss chicken nuggets... Had to go gluten free about 6 months ago.

25: What is your favorite food? Ice cream

26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Lion King & Finding Nemo

27: Last person you kissed/kissed you? Gary, then I did kiss both dogs before I left this morning. Does that count?

28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout? Girl Scout, what an awful misrun organization. Boy Scouts are not much better.

29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?  You might get me to pose nude for a pic, but I'm not anywhere near brave enough to strip. LOL

30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? High school, when I was grounded for 3 months and my best friend had moved an hour away.

December Blog Challenge… Done

Today's post was sparked by The Daily Post.

Grab the nearest book. Open it and go to the tenth word. Do a Google Image Search of the word. Write about what the image brings to mind. 

Done. The very first google image is

 The image came from this website.

This is such an interesting word. The first thing that comes to mind is the song from The Band Perry. Great song! I don't really love the word though. At work whenever I reply to an email with the word "Done" I always cringe and tell myself I should have typed "Finished." Turkeys are done, tasks are finished. Yet, I always reply with "Done," every single time.

Over the past year I've been much better about realizing when I should be "Done" with something or someone. Cutting drama and extra stress out of my life has provided me with the ability to complete more during each day. This has provided me the ability to be a more effective person in my professionally and personally. I still feel guilty each time the "Done" decision has to be made, but it's needed.

I  have learned to be pickier about which organizations that receive my volunteer time. Volunteering should not leave me anxious or angry. It should not invite additional stress into my life. Some people will not like me and that's alright! Not everyone will love me, but there will always be plenty of people that do.

It takes maturity to fully appreciate the complexities of "Done." Always explore each situation and every outcome before deciding on using the power of "Done."

December Blog Challenge…. Luxury

Today's topic comes from The Daily Post

Tell us about the one luxury item you wish you could afford, in as much detail as you can.

If I could afford one luxury item right now. Financially and have the time, my desire would be to get back into the horse world. I would eventually love the challenge of getting an off the track standardbred and training them to be a just all around eventing and trail career. For now though, I would love an easy fun to ride horse. I've been out of horses for so long, it would be good for me to have a confidence builder.

I would want a mare who is build uphill, with a naturally balanced gait. An easy ride with zero spook. Brave and forward to fences, while being very careful. I would love to get back into low level eventing. It's so much FUN!

I would board at a local full care facility. An indoor arena would be a requirement, along with an outdoor arena, jump paddock, and lots of trails to hack out on.

I was browsing some internet classifieds and just became lost in dreaming for a while.



This little girl who's listed for sale on Equine.com would be perfect for me!

I wouldn't want anything young, 7-10 yrs would be perfect. A nice sane partner that would be satisfied with being ridden a few times a week. Either ring work or hacking out on the trails.



Maybe something like this cute little girl. Look at that nice collection! She's for sale through Equine.com also!

Clearly I could waste all day dreaming and browsing the sale sites...  What would everyone else's one extra luxury item be?

 

December Blog Challenge.... Tattoos

I'm going to take a blog challenge and actually write a post every day in December. I have a hard time opening up sometimes so I'm going to use the Daily Post to help with ideas.  My pictures will still continue every day.

Do you have a tattoo? If so, what’s the story behind your ink? 

I actually do have a tattoo! This should flabbergast anyone that knows me. I have a fear of needles when they are paired with Jessica. This could easily be classified as a phobia.

A tattoo is something I've never had the desire to do.  How can someone decide on anything to go on their bodies forever? The finished tat never looks as great as the original drawing. Lots of bad tattoos out there with sad, old wrinkly people! I was never going to be brave enough... Then I got divorced!

My whole world was thrown into a whirlwind of craziness. The kind of scary crazy that actually has an underlying bit of calm. There is a huge empowerment being able to care for yourself and all your critters. It was very overwhelming at first, but it's not something that you can wimp out on. Bills needed to be paid. Critters needed to be fed. Things need to be done!

We all somehow survived those first few weeks of moving to a new apartment, trying to stay sane, not having the time to curl up in a ball and cry. More often than not, I would have forgotten to thaw food out for the girls and I had to go to McDonalds and buy them dollar cheese burgers. They certainly did not complain! I made sure everyone at least had food in their bellies. Except myself. I melted off 20lbs in that first month. Not eating is the best diet!

The dogs were so confused. We started going for a mile walk at the park in the mornings before I had to go to work. Then another long walk after work. We would all crash into an exhausted sleep. We kept so busy that we didn't mind the teeny tiny studio apartment. Not much room for the two greyhounds, two cats, and the king sized bed.

We all pulled through. I leaned heavily on my pups and they were always there for me. Rainy would cuddle in bed with me very night. She's not a natural cuddler and usually prefers her own space. Sunshine would make sure she would take up any remaining space on the bed. It was never lonely to sleep at night. Actually, I can't remember a single bad night of sleep in that little apartment. Usually new places are a cause for lack of sleep. I slept like a rock every night.

As life was slowly piecing itself back together, I developed a new mantra. Do whatever makes you scared! I needed to have a new braveness in my life. My first step was that tattoo.



It's both Rainy and Sunshine's actual pawprints and tattooed numbers. Yes that is a cat hair in the middle of the photo... Welcome to my life!

On a friend's recommendation I went to Explosive Tattoo and Buz took care of me. It was much less scary than I thought it would be. Everyone there was really nice. Buz did his best to keep me comfortable. Once he started with the needle, saw that I turned sheet white, he started asking me all about my puppies and telling me about his dog. It worked and I didn't pass out!

Step one towards my braveness of my new life = Success!

Step two was jumping off a bridge 30 ft in the air, but that's a story for another day! That may have been more crazy than brave.