Just Breathe

I’ve been telling myself this a lot today.  I have struggled, successfully mind you, to hold my temper in check.  There were several times it was touch and go.  Once I can’t vent with a temper tantrum, I want to cry instead because all that excess adrenaline has to get out of my system somehow.  So while I’m still terribly annoyed, I’m also very sad and oppressed.

I need my vacation. I seriously need to get away from here for a while.  I haven’t had one since 2007 and I hardly count that as it was a trip home to see my son.  Really need to get away.  I know I am depressed and blue but part of that is work too.  Unfortunately, the dogs get it taken out on them the most because they want to go frolicking through the longer trails and I don’t feel like taking them.  It doesn’t help that humidity levels are in the 90%.

Hate feeling like this.

Walks yesterday and today

We went out to the reservoir yesterday – it was nice but hot.  The dogs went into the lake – Bennie loves to plow into the deep end but Baxter won’t go higher than the tops of his legs. 

Today, because it is drizzling, we went on a mile walk on the bike trail near my house.  It is where we would normally walk before we started going to the reservoir so not much new there.  However, I did see some beautiful flowering trees so took a few pictures there.

This bloom is on a tree – anyone know what type it is?

White starshaped flowers

Small purple flower is everywhere now.

Baxter stalking a squirrel

My very dirty hiking boots

Leaves on the BIG trees now!

Pretty aren’t they?

Blooms on the tree

Rogue

I’m watching Rogue while uploading pictures and cooking brunch…who says I can’t multi-task?  I love Radha Mitchell – she should do more movies that are either American made or released to America like this one was.

Today I want to run away.  Surprisingly not to a small cabin in the wilderness but to some place with more cultural things like museums.  I feel like going to a big museum like in chicago or New York.  Someday I’m going to be able to go where I want, when I want.

Our walk today was chilly and gray – I don’t know if it is suppose to rain today but it feels like it could.  There must be a good chance of it with the clouds being as thick and dark as they are.  I say bring it on.  Rain means people will stay inside so I won’t be that busy at work.

The pics pretty much speak for themselves so I won’t go into a commentary on what each one is.

I took this door off the entertainment center for him – cute huh?

Baxter is hiding under the cover – it drives Bennie nuts!

Cold

The snow might of missed us but obviously the cold did not.  It is 30 degrees out right now making me wish I had checked the temp before I took the dogs out for a short walk wearing only a light jacket and no gloves.  The sunshine was so deceiving.  My fingers were so frozen it took several tries to unleash the dogs when we got back.  I’m about to wrap them around a nice toasty cup of tea so that should help.

I’m glad the weekend is behind me now and I just have two more work shifts to work till my days off.  It was a wickedly crazy weekend with little sleep when we were so busy.  I have to admit I’m going to make breakfast before I go to bed – normally I make it when I get up the first time but I am starving! I didn’t get my first break till after 3am and then was too busy to get my second one so haven’t eaten in 14 hours.

Wow, I’m so very tired….

Raining

It is a nice, sleepy, rainy day outdoors today.  I know we get a lot of rain in the spring and I love it except, of course, the dogs coming back from our walks covered in mud.  But hey, that isn’t much different than a child coming in all muddy so I deal with it.

I was ever so disappointed we didn’t get the “severe” thunderstorms they were warning us about since Sunday night.  The thunder barely rumbled at all and the rain has been quite gentle.  I love thunderstorms – they are so soothing to me.  I suppose that is strange considering they make most people anxious.  The extremely loud booming ones I like but prefer a more solid, constant rumble a bit softer than say…a freight train.  I think I developed this love of storms from my mother but that is another story.

I would have slept later today since I took a sleeping pill about 6:30 am, but Bennie sat at my door whining because he wanted to go out to go potty.  The little dear has gotten so much better about not pottying in the house – he hasn’t had an accident in weeks.

I so do love both my dogs – they are so sweet.  I love their little characters and even Baxter’s stubborness.  Baxter makes it so obvious that he thinks he is the master and I am the pet.  LOL.  I tell him every now and then that he needs to go get a job if he wants to be lord over the castle.

Freaked Out

Was a little freaked out this morning when the internet wouldn’t work when I got home.  Remnants of the last time sprung to mind making me want to jump in and try several different things but I refrained.  I tried calling the cable company but they weren’t open yet.  Rather than sit and fret, I decided to go to bed and hope it was fixed when I got up – which it was.

I think this hand problem I’ve been having is God’s way of reminding me to be patient.  If I lose my cool I end up invariably doing something stupid that hurts my hand again.  Like just now when the dogs were rowdy and I told them several times to stop.  Then I hear Bennie squealing and find that Baxter had bit him.  Well, I pounded my hand once on top of my desk in frustration that they weren’t listening to me and now it hurts again.  I’m going to have to go to the doctor I guess to see why it reinjures so easily.

Usually if I threaten to put them in the kennel, they will settle down but today they wouldn’t so they are spending a time out in the kennel – neither of us are happy about it.  I hadn’t planned on putting them in the kennel till I left for work because I like them being out when I’m home.  Their general play doesn’t bother me – it is when they start growling and barking at each other in fun that it bothers me.  They run around knocking things over and are too loud.

Anyway, the next couple days are suppose to be spring-like weather in the 40′s and 50′s so I will take them out for more exercise – that always helps settle them down.

Sigh

I didn’t get done half the things on my list and here it is already 6:30pm.  The community center closed already so no laundry chances now – I have a key so I suppose I could still get in but don’t feel like it.  Think I will go to the laundromat tomorrow or the next day – not like I have to go just yet – still have clean underwear.  LOL

I was going to make chili but haven’t gotten to that yet either.  I probably still will but maybe a bit later as I’m not hungry right now.  I wanted it to take for suppers at work this weekend anyway.  I do need to straighten up the kitchen and probably vacuum yet though both of those things can wait until tomorrow too.

Bennie is whining at me.  They were just out so I know he doesn’t need to go potty – the dog food bowl must be empty.  He hates it being empty even if he doesn’t want any right now.  LOL – he is such a character.

Guess I best get as many more of these things done as I can before Psych and Monk start.

White Stuff

Who ordered this white stuff? When I walked out of the house at 3pm there was no snow to be seen.  By the time my son and I got out of the movie “Pink Panther” the snow was so deep it went up over the tops of my tennis shoes.

We did have several other errands to run but when I slipped into a curb after sliding across two street lanes we decided it was best to go to his house to wait out the storm.  We got there about 7:30 pm and watched tv a bit before deciding to walk the three blocks to Kmart so he could get his girlfriend a Valentine’s present.  It was very slick and cold – my feet can’t get dry.  We went back to his house and still couldn’t get dry.

At 10pm I decided I would try to drive home.  Had a huge truck almost hit me as it slid haphazzardly along after going too fast on the snow covered rows.  I almost slid into a light pole too which was rather hair raising.  But I made it home driving 40mph on the interstate.  I passed nine cars in the ditch on the way but I made it fine.  Helps having God as my copilot – I was nervous enough but decided it was in His hands…I might not have made it if I hadn’t.

The dogs were confused and upset when I took them out for their nightly constitution.  Neither of them was very happy that there was so much snow on the ground – they kept delicately picking up their paws as if they could tip toe through it.  They both finally did go potty though.

I do think Bennie hyper-extended my thumb again.  It wasn’t healed from the last time he did it – it is all swollen now and hurts to be used.  He takes off so fast and I was holding both leashes in that hand, his jerked sideways and pulled my thumb all the way back.  Darn that hurt.  My index finger and back of my hand hurts as well.

The Boys

Took the boys on a nice walk down the bike trail by our apartment. It wasn’t as nice as it was day before last – I had to wear a jacket – but it was still nice. Baxter and Bennie loved it as usual. They ran as far ahead as their leashes would allow – sniffing the grass, watching squirrels and jumping up in the air. Both of them love to jump and are quite good at it.

Baxter is still my best bud though I adore Bennie too. I was crying last night and Baxter jumped up on the couch beside me and proceeded to lay his head on my shoulder to comfort me. It was so sweet.

They are both so good on the leash – I rarely have problems with them twisting their leads up.

Right now Bennie is trying to get me to pay attention to him because Baxter has sequestered himself in a corner where Bennie can’t reach him. He knows if I start paying attention to him, Baxter will come up too so then Bennie can pounce on him again. I’m just his bait.

I’m off to go to a movie at the mall. I’m going by myself – something I have never minded doing. Gives me something to do to get out of the house for awhile. I will be so glad when spring is here and the ground dries up enough for hiking.

God Fixed It

It may sound a little crazy but it is the truth none the less. When I said my prayers this morning, I asked God to please fix my computer. I have tried everything as had several “experts” and no one could figure it out. I was frustrated beyond belief. It has been over a month since it worked correctly.

So I’m writing a letter on the computer and a little window kept popping up saying it needed to restart my computer. I kept telling it “later” because I didn’t have any updates scheduled and couldn’t see why the computer needed to restart.

After putting up with the little window for over an hour, I decided it was time to walk the dogs. The window popped up again saying it needed to restart the computer and I said “go for it stupid” and walked away.

The dogs and I froze outside for over a half an hour before Baxter finally cooperated in going potty. When I came in the computer had rebooted itself and the window now said “one catastrophic worm removed” – it didn’t identify what program had scanned the computer to find this worm…I don’t have a virus program on my computer at all. I had run the diagnostics program at least fifty times in the last month with no luck whatsoever.

Well, I sat down and my internet worked just fine. Now, hours upon hours later it is still working like a charm. Thank you God for reaching inside to fix it. I can’t think of any other way the computer could be fixed – it can’t be a coincidence that I asked God this morning to do it and within hours it was fixed after everyone else said I’d have to buy a new computer.