The Pup and The Kid

First off - I have decided to spell the pups name Chrissy!  She has certainly made herself at home here - she's very comfortable and has figured out how to jump on and over the furniture!  She is moving all of the time.  She has made friends with Buffy - she is very rough and tumble - I sometimes worry that she's going to get hurt because she bites Buffy a little too hard - lots of growling and hissing - so it's hard to tell if they are play fighting or if one of them is really getting mad. 

Chrissy's Milestones in her first week -

• In one day she figured out how to jump up and over the couch
• The first night in her crate she did great!  No sleeping problems with her.
• She went from barking for 4 solid hours on Monday to being able to hang in the kitchen while I was at work and only barking off and on.
• She weighed 5.8 lbs last week and yesterday weighed in at 6.2 lbs!
• Wednesday marked her first day peeing outside!!  Yay!!  Mornings were the only time she did this up until today!
• Saturday we went on our first actual walk out along the sidewalks.  She was a very tired, drenched pup by the time we got back.  A rainy Saturday was probably not the best choice for the first walk.
• Her favorite toy is her squirrel - which she carries in her mouth and finds hiding spots for.  She's very funny
• She loves to jump off the couch.  She looks like one of those dogs that jumps off a dock to catch a Frisbee.  No Fear!

Well - as of today my life as I've known it for the past year and a half has changed.  L has moved back in to the condo.  I have reservations about this - I am nervous about how this is going to work.  I worry that she won't ever leave again.  I've gotten use to having this place to myself - I like not having to worry about someone else being in my home.   Well - it will probably give me some blog topics!  First one being that all her crap smells like her apartment which everyone smoked in - so it is now making my living room smell like smoke.  Yuck!!

Well - I need to go get some cleaning supplies for L so she can clean out the spare shower for herself and then I need to find the remote for the TV in her room.

De

Repeat

Ever feel like your life keeps repeating itself . . . . kinda like Ground Hog Day . . . . keep reliving a certain part of your life as if you didn't get it right the first time around. Not sure why this part of my life keeps repeating though - I'm not the one having the issues! Have you guessed yet what I'm talking about . . . . if you guessed homeless L then . . . . . . . .you guessed right!

Synopsis - E & L are subletting the apartment from one of their friends. In order for them to afford it they had another friend rent out the other room - splitting the rent into thirds. They chose this person because he had a full-time job which he had held for awhile and he was someone they both got along with. Well - once he moved in he decided to stop going to work - just hung around the house doing nothing - eating all their food. Funny when L started complaining about that I had to say "Hmmm . . .kinda irritating isn't it L!" Well - the roommate has never gotten his act together - his Mom paid for his May rent but said that was going to be it so he is leaving and L & E are not able to stay on their own. E is moving to his Dad's so . . . . . . . . yup . . . . . . . looks like L is moving in with me.

As much as I know she has changed in the past 6 months I'm just not sure how this is going to work. When I finally broke down and told her fine I was actually crying . . . . not tears of joy but tears of frustration and sadness . . . . . I just didn't feel like I had any other options. I was down in TX when I first heard from L about the issue . . . just after the TX Family had said I didn't have any drama in the blog! I was stressed and then got even more stressed when someone piped up with . . . Well, it's between you and L! You know what . . .I understand that my family is probably tired of all the drama and me asking for help and guidance but you know what . . . . . I'm tired of this too . . .tired of being the sole person in L's life that she turns to to fix her problems . . . . tired of being the only person that has to make this decision . . . . tired of being the one to decide whether to say yes or no. Just once I would like for someone else to step in and tell L yes or no. In a perfect world her other parent would step in and start helping out . . . . . yeah . . . . . not gonna happen.

So far the only plus I can come up with for her moving in . . . . . . I'll have someone who can watch the puppy during the day.

Chrissie has settled in OK. Her and Buffy are getting along great . . new best friends.

I have been thinking about changing the spelling of her name . . . thoughts . . . . .suggestions . . . . . Chrissy . . . . Crissy . . . . . Krissy . . . . . Krissie . . . . . or keep it Chrissie!

This is how comfortable she has gotten ! Happy Pup!


De


Miss you Mup!

Arizona

Last week I tried to explain my point of view regarding the Immigration Law passed in Arizona.  Today while I was listening to Dori Monson on KIRO 97.3 FM he read an email he had received - not sure who the writer was but this is a great explanation of my view point on this topic:

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration.  Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into the country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Do I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests? 

Let's say I break into your house.  Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave.  But I say, "I've  made all the beds ad washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors.  I've done all the things you don't like to do.  I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).  

According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family's insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part). If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be there.  It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do and I'm just trying to better myself.  I'm hard-working and honest, um, except for, well, you know.

And what a deal it is for me! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudiced, and being anti-housebreaker.  Oh yeah, and I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me."

De 

Miss Chrissie

OK - so yesterday was the big travel home day with Chrissie.  She did really well on the airplane - except for when we were landing in Albuquerque - it was a rather bumpy ride and she figured out how to unzip part of her bag and she started climbing out!  Luckily I was paying attention and grabbed her before she got all the way out and decided to run up and down the aisle!  I then discovered you can lock the zipper on the bag so we didn't have any more of that! 

Her first night in the house went fairly well - especially since she had spent all day sleeping!  Tonight we are going to try the crate for the first time - wish me luck!

Our first full day at home together has gone OK - she is very curious - loves the cats - likes to chew on everything!  Oh - and in one day she has gone from not being able to jump very well to being able to jump on the couch and the barrier I had put up in the living room to keep her in one spot!  I have spent most of this evening saying No Chrissie and climbing over the ottomans to chase after her.  She is a bit more agile than I am! 

Potty Training - yeah not going so well.  I need more patience and she needs to have more bladder control!!  Any advise anyone can give me - besides getting rid of her Jason - will be greatly appreciated.  I am reading The Puppy Whisperer right now but I don't think she's read it yet!

Well - night 2 is about to start - wish me luck.  Thank goodness I took this time off from work.  Tomorrow - in addition to potty training - we will be working on separation.  Need to get her used to me being gone so I can go to work on Monday.

De

Shopping Day

Shopping!!!  Today was our shopping day!  Did we go to the mall . . . . . . Nope!  Did we hit stores they only have in Dallas . . . . . Nope!  It was a day of going to Wal*Mart, Best Buy, PetSmart, and Target!!  I got a collar, leash, and toys for my new Pup!  I get to go get her tomorrow!  I wonder what her personality is going to be . . will she be hyper . . . laid back . . . . kissy . . . shy . . . so excited to meet her!


Tonight we are hanging out and watching the finale of Survivor Heroes vs Villains!!  Best season ever!  We have a small group of us at work that choose which girl and which guy we think will go the furthest in the game and which one will win overall.  My gal - who I also had winning it all - was the second one voted out . . Stephenie!  My guy then got voted off shortly there after - Boston Rob.  I was the first in the group to lose both my players.

***SPOILER ALERT***


The winner in our group was Honey Phillips!  Her first season playing - first one to lose a player - her final player standing was Russell!!  Who knew he would last so long in this game yet again.  No one in our group had the person who won which was . . . . . . . . . . Sandra!

Tomorrow is our last full day here and it is New Puppy Day!

De

Graduation - Birthday

Today was a day of driving!  We left the house at 630 am to head on up to Wichita Falls for K's graduation.  Of course - as with any Musielak road trip - we had to make a stop at Starbucks!  I decided to try a Spinach Wrap Egg sandwich - it was OK - not something  I would order again.  I think it was the sun dried tomatoes on it - Good thing I ordered a 3 Pack of the mini donuts to get the taste out of my mouth!  I then settled in to my book for the 2.5 hour drive.  I read for an hour and then took a nap.

Graduation was nice - a little long - and the southerners and skinny people thought it was cold in there - I was actually very comfortable.  I brought along my iPod and caught up on episodes of Lost during the ceremony.  The graduation program listed the graduates in the order they would be presented so I followed along with the list while I watched Lost so I didn't miss K walking across the stage - She graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.  We are all so proud of her.

The ride home seemed shorter - then at 630 pm we headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Love this place!  You can't make reservations so you have to just get there - get a number - and wait!  So worth the wait though.  This night was especially fun because it was also Colleen's birthday and Linds' bf Jim was able to get the waiters to bring over the saddle and get Colleen to sit on it while everyone clapped and said Happy Birthday!!  How - you may ask - was he able to do this!  Well - he told the waiters it was her birthday but Tony stepped in and told them that they really didn't want to do that.  Tony said it would negatively impact the waiter's tip potential!  Jim said he would double the tip - Colleen agreed that if Jim gave the waiter and extra $40 she would ride the saddle!!  I took pictures but I don't have my connecting cord with me so I will load them up when I get home.

Overall - a very fun day!  Not sure what we are up to tomorrow - Monday I get my new puppy!

De

I'm Baaaacccckkkk!!

Wow . . . take some time off from blogging for mourning the loss of a loved one and to deal with some stress that I can't blog about due to some of the causes being blog readers . . . . readers can get a little pissy!  Arrived in Texas yesterday and I got an earful from the Musielak readers about the lack of writing on my blog!

I am in TX for K's college graduation and to get a new member of my family . . . . a cute little puppy whom I think I will call Sophie!

Having a new puppy in the house will definitely give me something to write about.  I am sure life is going to get exciting!

I have tried to keep my blogs posts about what's going on in my life and to not get on a soapbox about issues in the world but . . . . a topic was brought up last night and I realized that I have a bit of an opinion about it.

What do you think about the decision made in AZ to allow the police to stop people to make sure that they are here legally?

I don't have a problem with it.  There is a specific way to come in to this country and to be a legal immigrant.  Is it fair for the legal citizens to pay for benefits for illegals?  They don't pay into taxes and yet they get benefits of government subsidized medical care.  On the news last night I saw people protesting the new law and they were holding signs that said "We Are All Immigrants"  It's not the same thing . . . .we are Legal Immigrants!  Our ancestors came over to America and followed the laws on how to become citizens and to stay here.  The people that this law effects are the ones who are here illegally!!  Why should they get to stay here when they have broken the law!!

What do you think?

De

What Puts You In A Good Mood!

Month End started today - I just got home - and I'm not stressed out!  It could be that I am taking 2 weeks off starting next Monday or it could be that I listened to N*SYNC on the way home tonight!  Yup - I found that I had 2 of their CDs in my car and decided to listen!  My favorite is POP!  I still remember when L and I had the dance from the video memorized and we "performed" it when the Musielak kids were up here - I believe that Linds' comments were -  she looked at L and said that's cool and then looked at me and said that's so wrong!  I don't know what it is about those boys but they can just put me in a good mood!




This is the best version I could pull from the Internet. It takes some time to buffer.

De