Choices and the Aftermath

I am between wallowing in self-pity, guilt and anger at making stupid decisions.  After much agonizing thought, tears and a long discussion with the Animal Behaviourist I made the decision to return Dash the Wonder Dog to the shelter.  I have gone through the whole emotional roller coaster and debated on if I was making the correct decision and who this decision was for. 

You see, he would not leave the cat alone.  Not in a mean or aggressive manner, it was playful but to the point of pinning my poor Meow-man to the ground and play nipping. Of course Meowy responded the only way he could which is to scratch and bite..........then it would start all over.  Meowy was to the point of staying in the basement, behind the tv or under the kitchen table, not fair to he who has been around for seven years.  It was extremely hard and I probably looked like an idiot as I fell apart while dropping him off :( 

The upside (if there was one) was they complimented me on the job I had done with him in the month we had him, his coat is full, soft and shiny, no more hip bones or ribs showing and he is house trained using a bell.  I was asked to consider fostering where I would socialize/train either dog or cat.  Something to look into but not in any hurry at the moment.

How do I know I made the right decision?  Am guessing that I have as my Meow-man is free to wander the house as he has in the past sleeping in his favourite spots.  He is already coming back around us no longer worried about being pounced on by an exuberant dog who just wants to play (or use him as a play toy). My wish with all my heart is that Dash the Wonder Dog finds a loving forever home very soon, he deserves it and is a real treasure.

Think I am going to not make any decisions for a few days as it seems what I think is a good idea is not necessarily so. 

Catching Up

Hmmm, let's see what has been going on this past week?  Well I have been on a real Pinterest kick and pinning recipes like no tomorrow.  This then inspired me to break out the slow cooker AND actually plan meals...........yes me, planned ahead!  I was so good and even shopped to what I planned (a $200 grocery bill, ouch!) but I did purchase large packages of meat and then split them when I got home.  My two large package of ground beef split into four and large tray of Italian sausage split into three and the chicken into two.  When I look at it this way I have nine meals right there, makes the actual cost of my groceries not bad as that is not adding in the other stuff.  As usual off topic I go, lol.

Meal planning this week was fun as I actually stuck to it and we had a meals prepared (including leftovers). Our menu this week was homemade chicken noodle soup, BBQ Pork Tenderloin (in slow cooker), Italian meatball and cheese tortellini soup (again for leftovers), Parmesan chicken and Taco Bake.  Broke out the slow cooker twice and just loved being prepared in terms of knowing what we were having for dinner.  We also had some sweets this week with cinnamon buns (or as we call them sticky buns) compliments of Pilsbury and I made Peanut Butter Cheerio bars twice, once with Honey Nut Cheerios and again with MultiGrain Cheerios.  We also had a potluck lunch at work, so I made a Pasta Salad. This week I am going to try to make Potato Soup and Crap Stuffed Manicotti...wish me luck!

Meal Planning

Dash the Wonder Dog is causing me some concern.  Separation anxiety big time when we leave, I mean barks, whines, bangs on his crate the whole gamut. I may add the ONLY time he is crated is if we are not home.  I hope that after he hears the car leave he quiets down....haven't heard from neighbours (I live in a condo) so either that is the case or they are not tired of it yet.  Not sure how to stop this.  We also had a bad dog situation and proof of why he is crated when we are not home.  The boy came home from writing his exam and promptly texted me this picture......of course there was also a 'present' but thankfully he didn't text me a picture of that, lol.  Ahh, the joys of puppyhood!

Bad Dog

Oh Boy!

Ever have one of those days where you wish you could crawl back in bed and put the covers over your head?  Or that you could pack a suitcase and run away to an island and be alone?  How about reinventing yourself, starting a new life in every aspect?  Yep, I have had one of those days!  Seems like it has been one of those weeks and it is only Wednesday, today was the worse though.

Having a hard time with this staying positive thing, am so on edge.  Angry, verge of crying the whole ball of wax.  I need to fight it and look inward, be positive and grateful, not look at the negatives but the positives.  My grateful items are; I have a comfortable home to live in, a job that I enjoy and I have a fantastic kid. OK, so now for the positives (self); I have been very good at taking Dash the Wonder Dog out for walks, until this week I have been good at not being negative (some improvement there) and I have thought ahead and had dinner prepared (love my crockpot).  Whew, not as hard as I thought :)

Dash the Wonder Dog is doing really well.  He now rings the bell when he wants outside, we just had to make the cord the bell is one shorter and away he went.  Granted he does ring it to go outside and then just sniff around or eat ice..............he liked getting a treat to ring the bell so figured it out.  He is also only in his crate when we are not home and will go in there when we say 'bed' as he knows he will get a 'cookie' and be told how awesome he is.  So me who wasn't going to let the dog on the furniture is presently curled up on an afghan next to me on the couch.  He is also sleeping at the end of my bed, lol.  

Trying to take pictures of general everyday things and even include a picture of me........not into this selfie thing, hard to get used to.  So here are a few snapshots from last week.

So Far So Good

I know we're only three days in but I am doing pretty good in some of the personal goals I have set for myself.  I want to work on 'self' as I stated in previous blog posts, and right now I am trying to work on positive self talk and just generally remaining positive.  No complaining or 'poor me' crap are the goals for January. 

My positives for today; windshield wiper flew off as I tried to bang the ice of it (I might add we were driving down the road when this happened).  I was able to laugh about it, not get stressed but actually laugh.  Looked over at B and we just started cracking up. So after dropping him off a trip to Canadian Tire to buy a new one was in order.  While I was in the parking lot trying to figure out how to put the stupid wiper on (they give you 18 different clips) a gentleman came over and offered to help me, I was so grateful.  It felt so good to smile and be happy. 

Took Dash the Wonder Dog to the groomers today for a bath and nails clipped.  Now he is a wash and wear dog (Boxer mix) but he still had a bit of what I call shelter smell on him and rid of that.  He did very well with the nails she said and also commented on what a sweetie he is, I seem to get that a lot from people who come in contact with him.  More proof of the love a rescue dog can give you, also that hidden beneath outside appearances is a gem waiting to shine.  My Dash is definitely shining, putting on some weight, fur growing back, shiny and soft and what a little ham.  If you're looking please consider a local shelter or rescue.  My PSA for the day.

The snow has stopped with a total accumulation of 35 cm (almost 14") in two days!  The sun was out today and that helped in not seeming as cold as the -12C it was (10F feels like -14F). No walks for us again today, hopefully tomorrow we can get out for at least a short one. 

My pics for today!

Happy New Year!!

A brand new year and we are celebrating with lots of snow.  I mean say WHAT?! It was snowing some last night when I went to bed but when I woke up and looked outside I couldn't believe it.  It has been nonstop all day and looks so pretty out. Granted I didn't have to drive far today only down the road to pick the boy up and that was our venture for the day.

Here I am, the first picture of the year.  One of my goals is to actually appear in more photos....as well as take photos.  I don't think I've used my camera in months and I need to get back in the habit of using it.  I have turned like everyone else, snap them with my phone.

From the DASH-board; our newest family is doing well.  Although he is a notorious counter surfer, proof was Saturday afternoon.  We left and I apparently didn't latch his crate and came home to find he had demolished a Terry's Chocolate Orange....thankfully I was only gone 5-10 minutes.  Let's just say things were a little explosive for a few days, and the one day it was both ends.  Yes I began question why I wanted a dog again.  We have all survived and the leftover Christmas chocolate is kept waaaay high.  Have to find a way to stop my little Dash the Wonder Dog from this behaviour, Dog Whisperer website here I come!

House is de-Christmassed, we watched the Winter Classic--Leafs won in a shoot out and I decided (begrudgingly) that maybe it was time I did some laundry.  Tomorrow is dentist and then dinner with some friends. 

Christmas Past and The Now

Another Christmas is in the books and I would say this one was hard.  While I had the adoption of Dash that really made it special I also had some down moments. 

This was my first Christmas not having my son with me for Christmas dinner, he was with his dad. For six years it has been us and my parents or us and my whole family.  This year it was just me and my family, it hit me harder than I expected.  I contemplated just staying home and putting my jammies on, but after a meltdown and tears I sucked it up and went back out to my brothers.  Glad I did as we had some laughs playing games and such.

Fast forward to the now........

Dash is doing well and we have gone out for a walk every day.  I feel myself being more at peace and calm, animals are amazing creatures aren't they?  The Meow-man is handling a dog in the house very well and is over being angry with me.  Matter of fact I have cat curled up beside me and do is curled up at my feet.....life is good.

Avoidance is in full gear, I have done nothing!!  There is laundry, dusting, vacuuming and sweeping to do as well as a good fridge clean out needed but I am content to sit and watch whatever marathon is playing on the Comedy or Space network as well as catching some World Junior hockey action (still in mourning over Canada's shootout loss yesterday).