April 30, 2004

Roll Call Question

I haven't done this before, but I'm really curious about who stops by here to read me. I've seen other people make posts like this so that everyone that stops by can comment. That's what I want! Please, please, please everyone: Leave a comment on this post!!! I'll even give you a question, so you don't have to think of what to say.

the Rock Star likes his ice cream kind of melty (even puts milk on it sometimes to melt it more). I say YUCK!!! I like mine frozen solid. I eat it from a mug that I keep in the freezer just for ice cream. What do you say? Melty ice cream or frozen?

Thanks for playin' !!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 02:58 PM

April 28, 2004

Take Aim. Fire!!!

Have I mentioned lately that Mark Morford is fucking brilliant? Well, yes, I guess I have. But here's a paragraph from the latest column. I actually laughed out loud at this delicious example of his sarcasm...

"Upshot: Your porn is safe. Mostly. Ashcroft will file his suits and blare out his headlines and make many loud Bible-thumping sounds, the politicians will scowl and the never-ending cry will continue to wail right through November: "Who -- pray, who -- will save the children?" (My God but children need a lot of saving these days, don't they? The poor dears. It's amazing they're not all depressed and rebellious and forced by their parents to become addicted to prescription meds. Oh wait)."

(emphasis mine)

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 02:55 PM

April 27, 2004

Well, Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck.

FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK!!!!

Thought I had some new business on the line...turns out not. fuck.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:08 PM

Yoga! It's What's For Supper!

Two friends gave me a copy of the same pre-natal yoga tape and I have been totally loving it lately. I've had yoga classes in the past and liked 'em ok, but doing it at home when I want and with no self-consciousness whatsever is a million times better. I feel energized and rested at the same time. I've been trying to do it at least 3 times a week in addition to the walks we try to take everyday. We actually only manage about 4 or 5 times a week, but that's pretty good I think. I've been shopping for a post-natal yoga tape with baby and found one I think looks good. Seems like a cool idea to exercise with baby. I wonder if that'll actually work out?

Happy Tuesday, people. It's a good day when you don't step in dog poop. :)

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 04:34 PM

April 26, 2004

Got Monday?

I dealt with a real bitch on the phone today. I was shaking with anger and hurt feelings when I hung up. I called her back a moment later and confronted her about how badly she had treated me, with no cause. She gave the typical not really an apology answer, "Well, I'm sorry if I came across that way. I didn't mean to." Very un-satisfying.

and then I went outside and stepped in dog poop. *sigh*

Happy Monday, everyone!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 07:24 PM

Preggo Strip Tease

OK, this takes a minute to set up, so bear with me. It's 41 degrees here today. The only long pants that still fit me are my denim bib overalls (with only 1 of the buttons done on each side). To cover the belly that shows (with the buttons undone) I have on a longsleeved sweatshirt tucked all the way down in there, then the bib hooked up over it. I have a neoprene pouch buckled around my waist (which is just under my boobs these days) to hold my tape player (I listen to books on tape constantly while I'm driving and walking). The headphones snake out of the pouch and around my head. I have my over the shoulder purse strap on too. Over all this I put on my fleece jacket because as I said (about 14 layers of crap ago), its 41 degrees out.

Anyone see where this is going yet?

Well I'll tell ya'. A pregnant woman needs to pee a lot. Everytime I walk into a clients house or a store I waddle to the bathroom as fast as I can. In order to actually get my bare butt on a toilet I need to (cue the stripper music):

1. Take off the jacket.
2. Take off the purse.
3. Take off the headphones.
4. Take off the neoprene pouch.
5. Undo my bibs.
6. Unbutton the side buttons.
7. Pull up the sweatshirt.
8. Finally push down my britches.

I'm seriously considering adult diapers. :)

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 02:47 PM

April 25, 2004

Heartless?

Am I? I don't know sometimes.

I had to have a difficult conversation with my mother yesterday. There's a lot about my relationship with my mother that I won't put in here, it's too long. For the purposes of this post I'll say that she struggles with Bi-polar Disorder and her meds haven't been well adjusted for a long time, she is stubborn and our relationship has always been a difficult one, mainly because I was forced by her bad parenting choices to become independant very early on. I haven't felt the need to acknowledge her as a mother figure since then. She is someone I care about and feel sorry for. I feel a duty and responsibility to try to help her, but I don't like her personality, and don't enjoy spending time with her.

There have been a number of things working themselves to a head recently and this week was the big blowup. She rents the basement apartment in a house owned and lived in by a little old lady. This woman has called me a couple times to talk about problems she has with mom living ther, because she is too uncomfortable to get into a confrontation with mom. Last time (a month or so ago) it was because mom's apartment had gotten so filthy that the lady was worried it would attract vermin. I went over to check it out and was not surprised by the condition, this is the way my mom has always lived. This poor lady, though, is totally bothered by it and didn't know how to tell mom about it, without setting her off. So I called my sister and my sister arranged to come over and clean it. She spent one whole Saturday cleaning and organizing the apartment for my mom. I know it was wrecked in a matter of days.

This time the lady called because mom told her she was getting a dog. She had promised that the dog would never mess in the house (something you can't promise) and would never bark (another thing you can't promise) and that she would take the dog to work with her. My mom works as a home health aid for an elderly woman with Alzheimer's. She wouldn't be able to take the dog into the house with her, but the dog, she said, could stay in the garage while mom was working. The lady asked her what would happen if there were an emergency or something happened to my mom, and mom told her that I would take care of the dog. She had never even asked me if I could or would. Mom had no intention of letting my sister and I know about this dog until she actually had it, because she knows we would have forbidden it. She's done this before, you see, and I can barely stand to think of how that poor animal was neglected before she finally got rid of it.

I told the lady that my mom was not getting a dog, there was no way I was gonna let that happen again. I asked her why, as the "landlord" she didn't just say "No Pets"? She'd be well within her rights...She's too soft hearted and kind, though, and since mom seemed to have all the answers, she relented. But really felt uncomfortable about it. Plus mom's apartment was filthy again already.

There was other stuff going on, too. My own patience with trying to deal with my mom and her problems runs low sometimes and I was at that point. Also, I've been terribly concerned for awhile now about her relationship with my baby. Mom has no self-esteem whatsoever, and has no understanding that we all have to make our own lives worth living. She has always depended on my sister and I to define her and love her and make her life whole. It was a terrible burdon, and one we've both managed to not shoulder. There's a lot more to that part of it, but I won't go into it here. I'll just say that my sister feels a lot more guilt about it than I do. Regarding my own son, I won't allow my mom to burdon him with her need, but I don't want to withhold him from her, either. She has already said things that make me worry that she is putting far to much hope for her own future happiness on the shoulders of my as yet unborn and unformed child. I don't trust her to be alone with him as a baby, because her judgement is so bad and I won't trust her to be alone with him as he gets older because he won't understand her psychosis. Yet I know that she will be helped by being able to love him and maybe his love for her. With grandparents being such a valuable commodity, I don't want to deprive him of one of his completely. I'll just have to find ways to shield him from her crazyness. I have a great deal of apprehension about all of that.

So anyhow, this conversation... I had to tell her she needed to clean up her apartment and keep it this way in order to maintain this housing situation. She had already called me and told me she wasn't getting the dog, very angry that the lady had called me. I still had to tell her that it was her underlying thought process about the getting the dog that was a problem. I had to remind her again that she lives on a fixed (very low) income and has no extra money to spend on things. Any extra money she throws away, will end up coming out of my pocket (and therefore my family's) and so yes, I do have a say in how she spends her money. I had to say lots of other difficult things to say and to hear and she cried and was hurt and she wonders if I ever think anything good about her, and sadly, there was nothing. That's the nature of this relationship. I feel duty and responsibility and pity and a form of love, but no like, no enjoyment, no good things. She cried and she was angry and belligerant, and I don't have much feeling that it did any good. Sometimes the best I can hope for with these conversations is feeling better about getting it off my chest, but not this time. Only sorrow and guilt and wishing I would not have to deal with her at all. It's sad, really. So sad.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 03:33 PM

April 24, 2004

More

Another story about waddling. We went for a nice long walk yesterday and at the end were crossing a very busy street to get home. We decided, since there was a break in the traffic, not to cross at the corner. He got ahead of me and turned around to say "Waddle faster!!" and we were laughing about that. I said I was jay waddling as fast as I could and we both cracked up. I wonder if there's an ordinance against jay waddling?

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:55 PM

My New Nickname...

...the Rock Star is soooooo funny. He's taken to calling me...

...the Waddleizer. and Grunty. sigh.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 02:12 PM

April 22, 2004

Anger Management

OK, so normally I wouldn't post something that I got in my email. It's probly all over the internet. But this made me laugh so hard I nearly wet my pants and I think it's good insight into my sense of humor. Seriously, I could not stop laughing!!!

ANGER MANAGEMENT

When you occasionally have a bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know.

It all started one day...

... when I was sitting at my desk and remembered phone call I had forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed. A man answered, saying "Hello." I politely said "This is Chris. May I please speak to Robin Carter?" Suddenly, the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude. I tracked down Robin's correct number and called her. I had transposed the last two digits of her phone number. After hanging up with her, I decided to call the 'wrong' number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled, "You're an asshole!" and hung up. I wrote his number down with the word "asshole" next to it, and put it in my drawer.

Every couple weeks when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an asshole!" It always cheered me up. When caller ID came to this area, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this is John Smith from the Telephone Company. I am calling to see if you are interested in the Caller ID program?" He yelled, "No!" and slammed the phone down. I quickly called him back and said, "That is because you are an asshole!"

One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I had been waiting for the spot. The idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his car window, so I wrote down his number. A couple days later, right after calling the first asshole, (I had his number on speed dial), I thought I had better call the BMW asshole, too.
I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?"
"Yes, it is"
"Can you tell me where I can see it?"
"Yes, I live at 1802 w 43rd Street. It's a yellow house, and the car's parked right out front."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"My name is Don Henson ." he said.
"When is a good time to catch you, Don?"
"I'm home every evening after five."
"Listen, Don, can I tell you something?"
"Yes?"
"Don, you're an asshole."
Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too. Now I had a problem, I had two assholes to call. But after several months of calling them, it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. So, I came up with an idea. I called asshole #1.
"Hello."
"You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up)
"Are you still there?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Stop calling me," he screamed.
"Make me, " I said.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Don Henson."
"Yeah, where do you live?"
"Asshole, I live at 1802 W 43rd Street, a yellow house, with my black Beamer parked in front".
He said "I am coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers."
I said, "Yeah, like I am really scared, asshole."
Then I called asshole #2.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hello asshole," I said.
He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are!"
"You'll what?" I said.
"I'll kick your ass," he exclaimed.
I answered, "Well asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now."
Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 1802 West 43rd Street, and that I was on my way over there to kill my asshole lover.
Then I called Channel 3 News about the gang war going on down on West 34th Street.
I quickly got into my car and headed over to 34th Street. There I saw two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six squad cars, a police helicopter, and a news crew.

NOW, I feel better. Anger management really works!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 11:37 AM

Fine. How Are You?

I had to get up at 7:00 am, I slept funny and got a crick in my right shoulder blade and can't move without severe pain, I have a hemorroid and I'm constipated. How's your fucking day going?

Actually this all happened yesterday, but it was too funny to not blog about. Today I got to sleep in til 8:00 am, and my shoulder feels a little better. No good news yet on the other stuff... :)

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:31 AM

April 21, 2004

Mr. President?

Listen to this man. For the love of humanity, please, just listen.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 12:45 PM

April 20, 2004

Pre-Natal Appointment #4

I had our fourth prenatal appointment today. Details in the extended entry...

Talked to midwife about the pain in my pubic bones. She explained why this was normal and why it seemed worse when I've been stationary for a period of time. Apparently the muscle/cartilage connecting the pubic bone feels the strain as the hormones in my body start telling my pelvis to change to give birth. I can walk it off and it feels better, but if I sit or lie down for long periods of time, it feels stiff and sore. Not debilitating, just uncomfortable.

She said it was ok to be taking a prenatal Yoga class.

I've gained 11 pounds since last visit and measure 23 cm. Everything is very normal...

I'm feeling very good about the pregnancy these days and giggle every time I feel him move. Last night, the Rock Star held his hand on my belly so he could feel the baby move, too. It was the first time he could feel it. We both smiled.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:14 PM

Stress Day

This must have been national Pile on More Stress Than You Will Believe You Can Take Without Screaming and Crying and Possibly Committing Violence day. Super fun details in the Extended Entry.

I took Big dog to a vet appointment today. She needs her teeth cleaned but we can't do it at our regular vet, cuz last time we tried, she had a bad reaction to the pre-anesthesia meds, went into shock and almost died. So I'm taking her to the U of MN Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She was scheduled for a dental exam (precursor to the actual procedure). The exam was going well, until the student who was doing a routine physical exam palpated her abdomen and thought she detected a suspicious mass. The actual Dental Vet and a Surgeon felt it and told me we'd better have an xray to see what was going on. This is scary shit, people. I was doing a good job of staying calm, til my best client called on my cell to tell me that the p*et s*itter I'd set up to pick up her dog had never shown up. WTF?!! She's supposed to be picked up no later than 10:30 am and it's 12:15 pm now. This call came in while the doctor is telling me Big's mass is suspicious. I called the p*et s*itter, who was freaking out because she'd forgotten about doing the dog today. OMG. I had very little time to listen to her profuse apologies, I just said get over there NOW and we can talk about it later. While I was waiting for Big to get her xray, I called the client and apologized, called the cleaning woman to say I wouldn't get home in time to let her in, and called another client, whose dogs I was s'posed to walk before 1pm, and spoke with the forgetful p*et s*itter. I was calmly and quietly freaking out during this whole thing!!! Big finally got her Xray at 2:00 pm and by 2:15 the doctor was telling me that nothing could be seen on the xray and that was good news. They'll palpate her abdomen more thoroughly when she is anesthetised for her dental work. While she is under, she will also have several impacted and swollen sebacious cysts removed by surgeons. This whole thing cost me $250.00 today, and the surgery may cost more than $1200. I'm hoping her insurance (yes, I have my pets health insured) will pay for the non dental parts. The dental is considered routine care and not covered. Oy Vey!!

On top of it all, Little dog was scheduled to have her teeth cleaned tomorrow morning at 7:45 am, but her vet called to say some machine is on the fritz and we'd need to reschedule...

The Rock Star's car was in the shop so I'd driven him to work and needed to go pick him up. His job is causing him lots of stress lately... I don't know how to help him.

I have about 400 business calls to return and I'm not touching them til tomorrow. I'm a week behind on the latest set of invoices.

I feel buried under an avalanche of stress and all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. I know its hard to believe, but I'm in good spirits. Just wondering if I'm gonna snap under all this pressure...

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:05 PM

Kicking Puppies

Yelling at my mom is like kicking a puppy. She has no idea that she is so utterly irritating that I finally just snap at something she says... Then she cries and I feel like shit. I fucking hate that.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:43 PM

Cover Your Eyes

Sunday was fun too. We went to a retirement party of someone the Rock Star used to work with. I barely know anyone there, but everyone was so excited for us and the baby. I can totally get into this being the center of attention thing...huh? It doesn't last, you say? What do you mean, once the baby is here, no one will even notice me? Oh, they'll notice everything I'm doing wrong, you say? That sounds like fun. Well, I'm just gonna enjoy it now then. The best part of the party is in the extended entry...

At the retirement party... We got to try out a gadget that is the new business this guy and his wife are going into. It's a, get this, chocolate fountain!!!! I'm not shitting you!!! I could not believe this delectable, nummy thing. It's a metal base and apparently melts up 6-10 pounds of chocolate and it comes out of three tiers and flows down and then back up again. A chocolate fountain!!! There were piles of strawberrys, banana slices, pieces of fresh pineapple, cookies and other tasty bits there to put on a skewer and hold under the chocolate!!! OMG I swear, I wanted to put my whole head in it. It was delicious. Imagine a never ending flow of lovely chocolate and everyone is encouraging you to "Try it!!" Oh, yeah, baby, I tried it. and tried it and tried it. I tried it til it was seriously tried. It'll never forget how I tried it!! And, no, I couldn't help moaning in pleasure every time I'd bite into a succulent fat juicy strawberry with chocolate dripping down my chin... It was like chocolate porn. Bowm-Chica-bow-wow!!!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:40 PM

Who Ya' Gonna Call?

Surprise infestation of NoDaks on Saturday! We'd slept in and had the phones turned off (like we do every weekend). At 11:30 am there was a knock on the door and Little dog went wild (she barks like there are roving bands of rapist/murderers out there)! Looking out, I found friends from North Dakota smiling on the porch! I love seeing them, but the first hour or so is always spent rushing about getting dressed, explaining why we were still in bed, apologizing for the shit-hole looking house, etc. Once we got that all done, it was a very fun day of chatting in the yard (the weather was absolutely gorgeous) and barbequeing.

The dogs loved being in the yard with us all day and were completely exhausted by the end of the evening. We barbequed hamburgers and brats and the Rock Star made a huge, delicious tossed salad. Everyone else drank lots of beer and it was a lot of fun to catch up. Old friends are the best friends!!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:36 PM

April 16, 2004

Wrong Impression?! Me!? No Way!?!

The name ***** creates a dual nature in that you can be very generous and understanding, but you can also be so candid in your expression that you create misunderstanding. You struggle with the requirement to soften your expression with tact and diplomacy and to consider the feelings of others. Difficulty in accepting advice or admitting that you may have made a mistake causes you to appear to be stubborn and set in your ways. Thus, you have too often created the wrong impression, and friendships have suffered.

Analyze your name here.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 01:40 PM

Halle-Fuckin-Lu-Ya!!!

Mark Morford is back. Oh how I missed him. This man's mastery over and artistry with and use of the language is just so fucking perfect. How he can so perfectly pin a perspective down so as to display it's finer points with deft words is inspiring to me. Agree or disagree with his point, it doesn't matter. It can't be denied that he is a spectacular writer. OK, enough from me. I'm just so fucking happy he's back.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 01:15 PM

Better Today

Whew!! I'm glad my hormonal storms don't seem to last very long. This one started building up night before last and blew itself out sometime while I slept last night. I feel ever so much better after a good night's sleep and much love and understanding from my truly amazing husband!!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 10:39 AM

April 15, 2004

We Interrupt This Cranky Day...

...to bring you something kinda funny. My husband told one of his co-workers about me being able to feel the baby move. She laughed and said something like, yeah, it's really cool til they figure out how to land a kick right on your bladder. Well, I think his little legs might be too short for that yet cuz all day today it feels like he's just tickling it with his toes.

Back to our regularly scheduled crankiness.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 04:05 PM

Fuckity Fuck Fuck!!

A deal I was working on to buy another P*et S*itter's business has fallen through and I'm really bummed about it. It was a good deal and would have expanded my business considerably. The details are boring, but suffice to say I'm kicking myself. If only this, and if only that.

Fucking pregancy hormones aren't helping.

I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I'm too upset to take a nap, I tried laying down, but the dogs barked and woke me up and my head just keeps grinding away at all the things I wish I could do better. So I'm gonna try to knit a bit and see if that relaxes me, or just makes me want to tear my hair out cuz I keep messing up a simple baby blanket.

It's a suck day and I'm frighteningly cranky.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 03:03 PM

April 14, 2004

The New Homestead

Well, I'm feeling much better to be moved into my new blogging home!!! My very own domain!! Whoda thunk?

Thanks very much to my wonderful husband, the Rock Star, for buying me this domain name and a year of webhosting for xmas last year!! Thanks very much to him also for installing Movable Type!! It rocks!!

Thanks very much to Lilly at Happy Fun Blog for making a skin out of "Flaming June", a painting I just love and for throwing in the beautiful Periwinkle skin for free!! Then she made the whole site skinnable and I am so very happy with it!!! Lilly rocks!!!

And since I haven't said it lately: Thanks very much to those of you who care enough to visit and then miraculously, keep coming back. Every time my little hit counter goes up a notch I still get a warm fuzzly feeling. Bloggers rock!!!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 03:13 PM

April 13, 2004

Calling on the Experts

I seriously need help importing my Blogger archives to the new site. I've tried to follow the instructions provided by MT, but end up with blank entries instead of my archives. Any help would be appreciated.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 10:48 PM

Big and Little

Big and Little dogs went in for their yearly routine exam and heartworm test last week. It went well, but it is finally time for me to swallow my fear and have their teeth cleaned. I'm afraid because the last time I took Big in to do it, she had a very bad reaction to the pre-anesthesia meds, went into shock and nearly died. There are no words to describe how afraid I was that day. I've avoided the dental work ever since then. Well, I can't anymore. It's become obvious that their teeth are bothering them and interfering with how they eat. Little needs her food softened in water now, and she didn't before. Big has a spot on her gumline that has deteriorated terribly. I feel very guilty about this, but I'm still so terrified that something'll happen to them on the operating table. Little will be done at the regular vet's, but Big is going to the University animal hospital. While she is under the anesthesia, she'll have her teeth cleaned, then surgeons will also close up some sebaceous glands that have erupted and caused big sores for a couple of years now. There has been nothing to do about these cysts before because they required surgery to close the gland that kept opening up the sore, causing it to be unable to heal. The only way to fix them would have been surgery and with such a big dog it's a risk neither I or the vets were willing to take. Now that she has to be under for her dental, we'll fix the cysts, too. I can't help fearing for both of them, but I know it's finally time to get it done. We're waiting on an appointment call back from the University for Big, and I'm calling Little's vet today to make hers.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:50 AM

Baby Update

This past Saturday I spent an hour making a giant calendar to put on our wall. I cut apart a hanging calendar and taped all the months together side by side (4 across and 3 down). I've done this so we could have a visual reminder every day of just how little time is left before the baby comes. It'll help both of us get going on any one of the bazillian things to be done before the little guy gets here. We made special marks on particular days (Prenatal visits, Ultrasound, told the family, etc). On April 8, we're able to write that I felt the baby move for the first time!!! I lay in bed each night, concentrating to see if I can feel him and finally I felt something that was NOT a gas bubble or my stomach rumbling. I definitely felt 4 kicks, then a long pause, then a few more. For the first couple days after that, I could only feel him when I was laying still, concentrating. The last couple days though I've felt him while I was driving once, once last night while sitting at a bonfire with friends and many times while I've been seated at the computer typing. I think the way I lean in while I type makes him more active, prolly cuz he gets squished some. It's not a strong enough feeling for the Rock Star to feel it yet. It's a very nice feeling and makes me happy. I'm enjoying this part of the pregnancy so much. It feels like a time to dream and hope and wonder about the life of this child...

Update: I've added a baby due date countdown to the About me sidebar (near the top) at the request of Suzy and with the advice of Zam. Yup, I'm 20 weeks this week. Halfway there!!!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:41 AM

They Were All My Friends...

Last week I got word that one of my oldest and dearest clients went to dog heaven. Theo was a grouchy old Shar Pei when I met him back in 1997 and he remained so to the end. By grouchy I don't mean mean or anything. This was a dog who just wanted to get out there and sniff everything, then pee on it, and keep on going. He wasn't interested in having people pet him, something they always wanted to do when they saw him. He had the wrinkly face and stubby body of a Shar Pei and passersby always wanted to touch him. He tolerated it, but really just wanted to be on his way. It's hard to explain how you end up truly loving some of these dogs that don't make themselves very lovable. We had a very companionable relationship and I walked him every day for several years. When I took over the business, I passed him over to another pet sitter and she came to respect and love him the way I did. A couple of weeks ago, his dad called to say he'd been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but was on meds and the prognosis was fine. I had deep forebodings that this was the end for good old Theo, and on Tuesday of last week got the message that his parents had taken him in to be put to sleep. He'd lost a lot of weight, and had none of his old appetite for life left.

Theo was a good old dog and I loved him. I will truly miss this dear old friend. Please spare a thought for the life of a fine dog and wish him Fare Well with me. *crying*

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 09:30 AM

April 08, 2004

Hellboy

Rocked!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 11:11 PM

WoofDa!!

Sorry I haven't updated since Monday. I've been totally wiped out by doing a full dog walking route every day. It has been fun, seeing so many dogs each day, but it's tiring. Getting in and out of the car, walkies, trying to keep to a schedule, etc.

The bird feeders are starting to get lots of traffic. The first day a pair of purple finches were the biggest customers, but the last couple of days the sparrows have been flocking around. The finches are a lot more skittish and will fly off if some one walks by on the sidewalk. The sparrows are much more cheeky and don't let sidewalk traffic scare them. There always seem to be 5 - 10 of them around, either on the feeders or on the porch rail. They also seem to like the suet feeder, while I haven't seen the finches touch it. The thistle feeder has seen no takers yet. I'm hoping for goldfinches and wrens there. I've seen no cardinals or humming birds. Cardinals I know are here because I see them in the back yard all the time. I wonder if they like another kind of food better. No matter what I am very, very happy with my little sparrows and especially the finches. The male purple finches are all rosy right now, cuz it's mating season. Regarding the poop on the porch problem, I just figured I'd go out there and hose it off once a week or so. It's really not to bad right now after 5 days of being up, so maybe I'll only have to hose once every two weeks. I'll definitely have to sweep up the sunflower seed shells, though. A lot of the shells and poop drop down into the yard outside the porch and that's the dog's potty yard anyhow, so it's ok. Once we move upstairs, I'm moving all the feeders to the back yard, but for now, this is where I can watch the birds while I'm at my desk.

Ok, well, time to get out there and bring happiness and joy to the dogs of Minneapolis...Hope you all have a great day!

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 10:09 AM

April 05, 2004

Birthday Revisited

Since my brakes didn't need replacing, I asked the Rock Star for bird feeders for my gift. We went on Saturday and picked out a suet feeder, sunflower seed feeder, thistle feeder and Hummingbird feeder. We bought poles to plant in the ground outside one of my desk windows to put them all on...but as soon as he put them up I realized that anyone could just walk up in our yard and steal the feeders. This is a decent neighborhood, but it does get a lot of traffic and neighbors and I have had things stolen before. To solve the dilemma, we bought hardware on Sunday and hung them on the porch, where I can see them from my other desk window. Now if someone wants to steal them, they have to actually walk up on our porch to do it. Somewhat less likely, but still possible. It makes me sad to have to worry about my birthday gifts being stolen, but that's city life sometime.

We also bought a garbage can with a tight lid to put all the bird seed in, so it's outside and nice and handy to fill the feeders. It made me happy, happy, happy to hang them up. Now I keep looking at them to see if I have any visitors. There have been none yet that I've actually seen, but this morning I went out there and there were some discarded sunflower seed shells underneath, so I know some birds have found it. I love to watch the birds. Any birds'll do. Sparrows, finches, wrens are all common and maybe even the cardinal that hangs around in the back yard will make his way to the front for some free food. Here's a pic of my set up in the extended entry. I'm so very pleased with it.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 10:26 PM

Tired

Holy Crap, I actually had to work today. Whew!! I'm worn out. Not that I don't work every day, but this was different. One of the p*et s*itters who works for me has the week off and I did her whole route today. I'll be doing it all week. 14 visits today altogether. I'll make more money this week, but I'll pay for it in sore feet. I'm planning a nap, a shower, a big ole dinner and an evening of catching up on blogs...oh wait, I still have all my regular work to do...damn. Oh well.

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 10:25 PM

April 02, 2004

Sad and Funny

Dumbass!!!

Snagged the link from The Sarcastic Journalist.

"Xu claims he used the money to invest in a questionable Nigerian business offer he received via e-mail that promised a $50 million profit. "

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 02:00 PM

April 01, 2004

Bright and Beautiful Is the Day

Ohhh, what a beautiful morning...I feel like I'm walking on clouds today. My worry hung over me like a gray day, and now it's all sunshine. Really, that's how I feel. Totally corny, I know...

So the Rock Star has to think of another birthday gift for me. The brakes were fine! 80% left on the front, and 50% left on the back. No one knows why I heard that grinding brake sound. But I did get the oil change!

I forgot to mention that he also gave me a PowerBall ticket for my birthday and we won $31 million!!! OK, that's an April Fools...but wouldn't it have been tooooooo cool if we had won on a ticket my husband gave me as a birthday gift. Yeah!!!!

I'm in the mood to get lots of shit done today!! And I have lots of shit to do, too!! Wish me luck!! :)

Posted by The Procrastinatrix at 08:41 PM