09.13.2009 My apologies...

Sorry but it has been awhile since I posted. Not much to say. I was trying to buy a house... note the word was. Not going to happen in the near future. So I continue to be a renter for now... I will be moving at the end of my lease though. Looking for a house with a yard versus the crappy apartment where I currently reside.

Pearl has been sick. Just a little IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or something similar anyway. She was vomiting off and on for about a week then got the diarreah (or however you spell this damn word). She started to worry me and of course the vet wasn't open on Labor Day. I took her to the vet last weekend and after almost $300 I was told she just had an upset stomach and irritation in her bowels. So a gabillion pills later and special dietary food, Pearl is much better. Or so I thought.

Before I took Pearl to the vet, she was stung by a scorpion. She cried out one evening and jumped on the bed favoring her paw. She was licking her paw and would wimper when I went to touch it. Of course the next thing I know, Pearl is barking her fool head off. After I told her to shut up several times and wouldn't stop barking her gob, I got up to see what the dealio was. And that is when I saw Mr. Scorpion walking around the apartment like he paid the rent. I quickly informed him he didn't pay rent and he had to go. Away he went down the water highway to the sewer as quick as I could flush. I did tell the vet about the scorpion and she didn't think it was any big deal.

So the day after I took Pearl to the vet (Tuesday), I come home from work (Wednesday) and Pearl's face is swollen form her eyes to her muzzle. She also had a big swollen know in her armpit. While my heart was broken seeing her like this, it was also quite humorous. Unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture of her all swole up like John Goodman. But the worry kept at me. I tried calling my mom several times to no avail. Mom is the next best thing to a vet... Luckily she called me back after an hour or so. In this time, I did see there were a couple of welts on Pearl's face. I explained to my mom what had happened... maybe it was an allergic reaction to the meds or the scorpion or something else. My mom thinks it was a spider bite. She prescribed Benadryl and to watch Pearl for any changes. Luckily for me and Pearl, her face was back to normal the next morning.

We will be having a house guest this week that will be staying for a good week or so. A friend of mine is having surgery and I will be babysitting his dog. Ranger is a 3.5 month old mini weiner (or a Vienna Sausage as my sister describes him) and is cute as a button. And it is a good thing this dog is so cute because he has the energy of a Tazmanian Devil. He is a wiggle worm, whether you are holding him or not. I don't have the energy for Pearl let alone a crazy baby weiner named Ranger. My hope is that Pearl and Ranger will wear each other out playing so much...

I have been super busy at work. We have been working crazy overtime this month preparing to close out the fiscal year. If you work for the federal government (or any government) and work in any part of Financial Management, then you know my pain. Luckily the fiscal year will be over in a couple of weeks and I can get back to normal. Okay the money will be a nice bonus but the overtime is killing me. I am exhausted. It would be one thing if I actually slept at night but I don't.

06.06.2009 Dog Farts

I know. Dog farts are like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. Well I do. And now. One day I was watching the show "Dogs 101" because it was talking about Boston Terriers. The show mentioned that Bostons are a gassy breed. Did you know that? Well I can testify to that fact. The fact that Pearl is under my desk farting while I am online brought on the subject of this blog post. Again, I know the elephant in the room. But let's face it folks... dogs fart. And it is not nice. At least Pearl's aren't nice. I can't vouch for all dogs, just my own.

Now sometimes Pearl's gas is rather comical. Not the smell. The sound. I love it when one squeeks out and Pearl looks are her butt like "What the hell?" Usually she goes in a circle trying to catch her heinie to figure out what that sound was. Hilarity ensues.

Off to find some air deordorizer. NOW!

05.18.2009 Pearl in Pictures

Bad cell pictures of a bad dog named Pearl.
Pearl getting her nap on.

My new hat that I shall name Pearl.

Pearl lounging on my lap looking up at me while she is on her back. Ridiculous!

05.18.2009 Pearl

So I am getting ready for a road trip home this long holiday weekend. I am taking off from work Thursday and Friday so it really will be a long weekend. As you know it is at least an 11 hour trip one way from El Paso to College Station, Texas. I don't believe I have told the story of Pearl on my last trip home.

My plan was to gas up the night before (as well as load) so all I had to do was take off in the morning. Of course that didn't happen. I went home and planned to gas up when I got something to eat for dinner. Needless to say I didn't go out again once I was home. So that left gassing up in the morning. At the end of my street there is a 7-11 and the cross street is an extremely busy street. I stop at 7-11 and before I even am out of the car (the unfamiliar rental from the last trip), Pearl is out of the car and doesn't know what to do. There are a gabillion smells that need to be smelled. And Pearl does not mind let alone come to me when called. I am chasing her all over the parking lot. Pearl starts chasing cars up the busy street. She is smelling everything. Finally I am at my wits end, my nerves are shot, and I am at the point of tears. With no help of any the strangers staring at me, I was finally able to grab Pearl by her harness. Luckily I had her harness on her. Once I caught her, I became furious. She got a good smack on the heinie and then I felt pretty bad for getting so upset with her. She rode the rest of the trip as well as the return trip with not only her harness but her leash as well. I warned her not to choke herself because I wasn't going to be in any hurry to loosen up her leash. She must have heeded my warning because she didn't get caught up on anything in the car. On the road trip back, she tried her escape routine once again. And that leash was a lifesaver as I was able to step on it as she ran out the car.

After my road trip, I was convinced Pearl and I were making a trip to an obedience school. That hasn't materialized yet but I did take a suggestion from one of my co-workers and invest in a seat belt type thingy. I went to Petsmart this afternoon and bought this thing that hooks to Pearl's harness and to the seatbelt. It will severely restrict her movement in the car. She will be able to move but probably just stay in the backseat. We'll see how this works. As the headrests in the backseat as well as the door lock knobs are chewed up due to Pearl's wild abandonment, limiting her mobility isn't going to do any more harm.

Keep your fingers crossed!

(Picture of Pearl waiting for her Whataburger order this past Sunday morning.)

12.07.2008 El Paso

So I am finally settled in El Paso. Okay not really unpacked but I am in my new apartment. The best thing I can say about my apartment is that it is cheap and close to work. Super close. It takes about 5 minutes to get to work. The apartment is just old... it will work for a six months. At that point I will start looking for a new place, probably a rental house so I can bring Sugar. Baby had no issues adjusting to a new home... now Pearl on the other hand has had it rougher. She isn't used to being confined inside the house or on a leash outside. She also isn't used to all the noises an apartment brings. So she tends to bark a lot at people taking outside or the upstairs neighbors. She is getting better though.

Pearl has learned a new trick on her own that was rather impressive to me. We were eating a cheeseburger and fries the other day. I threw a fry and she caught it. Three times even. This isn't anything we have really worked on. I don't necessarily throw her food to get her to catch it. She just did. Well... it did help that I threw the fries right at her mouth. Regardless I was impressed.

You should see Baby play with Pearl. Pearl is always going up to Baby and putting her paw on her or nipping her butt to start some shit. Normally I get Baby away from Pearl to protect Baby... since she is a senior as well as blind. Now Baby is starting her own shit with Pearl. Baby will start to search for Pearl to play. It is the cutest... so I guess I dont' have to protect Baby anymore.

I have got two weeks on the job minus a day and a half for the Thanksgiving holiday. And it has been a great two weeks. Kind of laid back since I am the new girl and don't have too many responsibilities. The ladies I work with are great. We are a three and a half person office. Two other full-time staff and one part-time staff besides myself. They have been great to me... plus I think I have impressed them a little with the skills I bring to the office.

I have ate some great Mexican food since I have been here. I have now ate a cream of green chile soup twice this week... it is wonderful. My friend Maria and her office buddies took me to Rosa's Cantina, the famous one from the Marty Robbins song. Just a small little dive that was super busy. We all ate the Mexican plate special. I ended up in tears the damn chile relleno was so freaking hot. My face turned red from the heat and literally tears were shed from the heat. Never again!

I saw Four Christmases last weekend with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. What a disappointment. The two leads have a rather weird relationship. And the funniest parts you have already seen in the trailers without even going to the movie. It was an okay movie but considering who is in it... it was disappointing.

Not much new other than the job and move have been going on. I am shopping for new living room furniture. I have found one set that I like but want to keep searching. I might go today to another furniture store. What I really need to do today is unpack some boxes. Coure my apartment is so small with very little storage I don't even know where I am going to put everything. Much of it is my scrapbooking junk that needs to be organized. Even with all the stuff I threw away before the move, I probably have plenty that needs to be discarded still. And I probably need to do some laundry today too. Not fun in a laundromat. Luckily there are some washers and dryers on site. The problem is finding enough quarters. Plus I need to find my dryer sheets!

I went to one of the three scrapbooking stores in the area. This one, unfortunately, is closing at the end of the month. They really dont' carry anything except A-Muse stamps. It didn't stop me from making a rather large purchase. I still don't know how I spent that much money for what I brought home considering everything was 25% off. I did pick up some supplies to make a few Christmas cards. I only need to make about 10.

03.12.2008

As promised, here are some pictures of Pearl.

This is a very, very tired Pearl obviously because I was able to take some good shots of her sitting still. Anyways, this is a very, very tired Pearl after spending the day playing with this dog:

This is Lucky in his snooze mode. Get your rest on Lucky dog!

03.11.2008

I know it has been awhile since I blogged last.... especially since I was on a roll and posting daily. Frankly I haven't had much to say let alone report in the last couple of weeks. My dream job didn't come to fruition but that hasn't stopped me. I am still submitting applications... already submitted another four, I believe. And I am working on several more. This will consume me until I get a Federal job!

I am considering applying for another Design Team. I resigned from my DTs at the end of the year to focus of myself and get my life in order. Not much has changed... still working at getting my life in order. Baby steps. Really baby steps. But I have noticed that I miss scrapping. Without deadlines, I really don't do anything. I just haven't been motivated. But I am feeling the itch... we'll see. Of course I will keep you posted.

Haven't gone to the movies in awhile. Might try to go see something this weekend since E will be in town. As you may or may not know, every other week (payday weekend) E goes to Shreveport to visit his kids. Well basically to visit his youngest, who is now 15. I hate it because I do miss him terribly even if just for the weekend. But it is good for him and his kids. At first, I really bitched and moaned to him about it. Then I realized I only made myself miserable because E wasn't going to change. So now I just deal with it. When I need him to stay home, I ask him. Most times he does stay home when I ask but that is not very often that I ask.

I will try to post some pictures tomorrow of Pearl. I got my camera in an attempt to take a picture of Sugar because she was on the couch sleeping like the slacker she is with her tongue hanging out a good three inches. Of course by the time I got the camera ready because I had to get the battery off the charger and install it, Sugar was off the couch looking at me like I was the crazy one. Well Pearl was relaxed and sat perfect for some pictures. She didn't always look at me since Sugar was right there. But I finally got some pictures of Pearl where she wasn't running around like a kid with ADHD! Seriously!

So since I don't have any pictures of Pearl or Sugar to post right now, I will introduce you to another family member. Meet Peanut.
Peanut is another stray that we adopted. She is of the Lab family. She has a beautiful honey colored coat and the hyperness of a Lab. She has yet to settle down. Peanut showed up at the Pleasanton (TX) warehouse one day. I was in the office and all the dogs started barking. This wasn't necessarily not normal but they wouldn't settle down. So I went outside to see what the ruckus was... and there was Peanut wagging her tail on the other side of the fence. Peanut was about 6 months old with a collar. She was the only female in a world of males. So I brought her inside the fence to see how the other dogs would act. The other dogs being Convict, Blackie, Cowboy, and Buddy. They were fine with her... didn't really even bother with her. So she became another member of the family after trying to find her owners with an ad in the local paper. Nobody claimed her. Peanut is now probably 2.5 years old. She is a pretty good dog. She is definately Type-A, Alpha Dog. She races the other dogs and has to win. She is also pretty aggressive when she wants to be and is usually in the middle of a fight, if they are fighting. But all-in-all she is a good dog. I took her to the vet a couple weeks ago for a regular annual exam and shorts. The doctor told her she was a little on the heavy side even though she runs at least four miles a day with our commute - runs two miles to work and two miles home. I stopped a long time ago giving her a ride since she has to bark all the way with this loud and piercing bark. My hearing has to be affected by that somehow!

02.19.2008

Why is it that....
when I am trying to nap
I have a 20 pound dog
that insists on sitting
on my head and
licking my face
approximately 10 min. after
she has been outside
chewing on a dead mouse.
Thanks Pearl!
Awwww, life in the country!

P.S. I called on my application to check on the status and all I could do was leave a voicemail for a person that will be out the rest of the week. Nice.

02.15.2008

Pearl had to go to the vet today for the third set in the series of her puppy shots. Not only that but she had to get treated for mange. She was dipped today and on Monday we start a series of oral medicines along with vitamins. The vet warned me that she would be lethargic for a day or so.... seriously, Pearl needs to be dipped every day! She has been the sweetest lovingest pup evah! Except for when she peed on me when I picked her up from the vets and when she tinkled a little on the sofa cushions when I can in from running up to work for a minute. The excess peeing is not so cute. She pees a little anyways when she gets excited and this isn't the first time she has peed on me, but it is a little much today. But I feel so bad for my baby because she just seems so blah, not herself. It is much nicer than crackdog but my heart hurts for her. I just hope she gets rid of the mange. (Note: This photo is from the Craigslist ad from where I got her... so no those are not my feet. And I haven't been able to get a good clear picture of Pearl yet. Maybe tomorrow. I haven't taken a photo of Pearl in awhile and I have a freshly recharged battery ready to go!)

I got this fabulous ring in the mail today from this fabulous Etsy store. I am not a big jewelry wearer but I fell in love with the simplicity (and the gree) of this ring. I will definately be ordering more jewelry from this shop again in the near future. And the prices! You cannot beat these prices!

This posting a little every days isn't bad. Just when I think I have absolutely nothing to talk about, I ramble on about anything and everything. Time to go smuggle (read snuggle) with Pearl again. Goodnight.

01.08.2008

Meet Pearl.

Pearl is the newest member of my family. Pearl was born 09.19.2007 and is a Pug/Boston Terrier mix. CKC registered even. I saw a listing on Craigslist for a Pugston. I have been needing (not wanting) a Pug. So I took the chance with this listing and gave Pearl a visit. Well I gave Mimi a visit as this was her name at the time. Pearl's previous family stated Pearl was a gift for their son but their 10-year old cat did not get along with Pearl. So I bought their story, hook line and sinker! I even paid cash for Pearl. This obvious was a back alley transaction. Now I know the real story of Pearl aka Mimi. This dog is the Devil in disguise. Oh not the cute, catchy Elvis song. This dog is truly demonic. Well... maybe not necessarily demonic as much as I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. You see, a Pug/Boston Terrier mix may look cute on the outside with her saggy lips, bug eyes, and all round cutie patootie self. In real life, this dog has to be on the crack. Seriously. I don't know where she is getting her money to buy crack. I am not missing anything from the house so I know she isn't selling my stuff for the drug. But she has to be on crack to have as much energy as she does. This dog can go and go and go and go.... you get the picture. I am a napper. Sugar (white boxer pictured with Pearl) and Baby (yorkie) are nappers. We are a napping family. Not so much anymore. Now when I try to take a nap, rest assured Pearl will be napping on my head soon enough. Yes the dog sleeps on my head when she considers napping. Not so cute. She also farts and snores. Really not so cute. I guess Pearl can stay for now. I mean, I really couldn't punish another family with this Devil dog. Somehow I will manage. Somehow.