ANA Y3 D125

Well, we had a much better night but that's because we caved in and let her sleep in bed with us. We were always going to let her sleep in bed, we've just been worried she's too small and won't stay asleep all night. She did just fine. She's still in bed right now even though she knows I am up. 

Had a boring day. C got home at 2. Went and ran some errands. While we were out C got some bad news. One of her cousins died. 19, suicide. She doesn't have all the details but he was in with a bad crowd - Republicans. No for real. He got caught up in the Jan 6th bullshit, found himself on a no fly list at 18, was heading down a horrible path. She doesn't know how to feel. He wasn't a good kid by any stretch but he also didn't need to die. She was in a weird headspace as a result and I totally understand.

Made little chickens for dinner, watched some tv, went on a walk. 

I teach this week. 9:30-5:30. I've missed it.

ANA Y3 D124

Went back to bed after C left. We had another rought night. Doglet does not like being in that crate. We have created a dependent dog and it's our fault. She can handle it if we put her in it and leave, but if she knows we're still in the same room, forget it. 

Quiet day, busy evening. Since C didn't get home until 4, we didn't get anything done until then. When she got home we went to the grocery store, the vape shop, and home depot. Made chicken quesadillas for dinner. Replotted a plant she brought home. A couple of her friends were in town so they stopped by to pick up some guitar stuff C had for them. We socialzed for a while, made pretzels, and she got into bed around 10. I followed at around 12:30. Dog then kept us up until 4. Ugh. So yeah, I went back to bed this morning. 

C gets off at 2 today and I teach next week. We cannot have a repeat of last night. Just can't.

ANA Y3 D123

Had therapy, picked up a prescription, got groceries, paid bills, mowed the lawn, gave presentation to another 100 people, sat through a lunch and learn, made pizzas for dinner, watched some tv, went on only a mile walk. Not bad. Lot accomplished. We've been working on getting doglet over her fear of the stairs. Going well. I just realized, this is the 3rd dog I have written about in the last 15 years. The corgi I had before I moved, sausage dog, and now doglet. Wow. In the same time, how many fucking cats? Beep, Aggie, Marble, Chili, Belly, Merlot. Can't forget the fish with legs. Or the regular fish. Wow. Lots of animals have come and gone in my life. It's both a blessing and a curse sometimes. We're talking about doing some house rearranging. Let's see what comes of that.

ANA Y3 D122

Only had a little over 100 people yesterday. I am hoping for the same numbers today which will mean over 200 people in total. Down from the first session but that's okay. Still a good turnout. Better than my typical numbers. 

Went on a three mile walk last night. Today is payday. Need to do bills. Need to pick up a prescription. Need to get ready fro therapy. A lot going on today. Need to do yard work. Too much to do and not enough time to do it.

ANA Y3 D121

I had a full night's sleep finally. In three hours I will be presenting to over 200 people again and needed the sleep. When C got home I basically went to bed. I don't know what time she came to bed but damn if I didn't need all the sleep. 

Nothing exciting yesterday. Some fighting with a sales person. What else is new? Made leftovers for dinner. Watched some tv. Dealt with dog. Got to go get ready. This is a big presentation.

ANA Y3 D120

Fuck this dog right now. We were up all night with her whining about being in her cage. At one point C even slept on the fucking floor with her to try and make it better. I am so tired it's not even funny. 

Had a moderately boring day. Went and had cold stone. Made tuna burgers for dinner. Got a preview of my next hair color. Just the dog. Only thing worth noting.

ANA Y3 D119

We had a good time last night and C really needed it after the day she had. The first part of the day was pretty shitty. She was turned away from her doctor for being poor. Seriously. Earlier this year the state cancelled her state insurance erroneously by including my household income towards her eligibility. We do not claim each other on taxes, therefore my income doesn't count. She has been trying to reach a human being to discuss this for months. Where we live, this is impossible. Their website is its own dumpster fire, they won't talk to people face to face at the main office, and they are open for phone calls basically only during regular people's working hours. In the meantime, she has needed to go to the doctor for refills of prescriptions. Last time she went, three months ago, we explained what was going on and paid for the visit out of pocket. This time they flat out said "this visit is an annual so you can't afford it". They wouldn't even give her an estimate. I would have paid it. Or at least I would have wanted to know the amount so I could try to pay it. But they refused and said we will reschedule you for next month "so you can figure it out". WTF is wrong with this country when it comes to health insurance and people's lives??

But regardless, this put her into a huge downward spiral of depression. She basically spent the day in bed crying. I did some research for her and can help, but I can't fix this no matter how much I want.

We left for the concert around 4, took us an hour and ten minutes to go 19 miles because of construction and accidents. Ridiculous. I was already tweaked when we got there. Luckily, the venue was very nice, parking was included and easy to deal with, and we got pretty close to the entrance. They had food trucks and we had some good Mexican food. Our seats were nice, the crowd was chill. 

Concerts are very different when it's not heavy metal rock and roll. It was a very chill concert. 2 hour set, drinking just water, crowd was mellow. All in all, it was a good time. I knew none of the songs, but I appreciated it nonetheless. C had a great time and that's all that matters. B and A came over to dogsit and they had the time of their life. I got so many videos and pictures it was hilarious. Doggo was safe, everyone had fun, we got home around 11:30. Not a bad way to spend a Monday.

ANA Y3 D118

We have to do something about the "backyard issue" as I call it. Yesterday it started raining around 4pm and didn't let up until very late. Which means we couldn't go on a decent walk. This dog needs walks. At 11pm last night I was outside letting her run laps to try and burn off energy. It didn't work. She had us up until midnight even though we tried goingto bed early. She just has a ton of built up puppy energy. 

When C got home from work yesterday I handed off dog duty and did a bunch of stuff. I got up on the roof and cleaned the gutters. Just in time too. I did backyard work. We gave the dog a bath. I started ribs. From 2-4 I was just like in 100% go mode. 

Today we have to go to the doctor for C at 8, then the concert tonight. B is coming over to dogsit. It's going to be another long day.

ANA Y3 D117

It is the morning. C is back at her normal 6-2 so we've been up a little while. One of us is going back to sleep and it is not me. 

Not a horrible day yesterday. C worked 10-4 which sucked but I managed to get a few things done around the house. Did some yardwork. Made shawarma for dinner. Watched some TV. Went on a walk around 9pm. A basic day but not a bad day.

ANA Y3 D116

Once again I am tired. We managed to get into bed a little after 11, but someone was very wound up still and didn't want to go to sleep. We rearranged the bedroom yesterday to make her new kennel fit better and she is now farther away from the bed. This did not go over well with her. We ended up being up until midnight despite our best efforts. We tried.

Had a meeting with my boss around 11:30. He asked to meet earlier because "I am taking a four hour lunch and pretty much not working today". Fair enough buddy. Made burgers for dinner. Tonight I am making shwarma.

A friend was asking about this blog yesterday. I almost shared the first year with her. But I went through and started reading it before. I don't recognize that person any more. The casual self destruction. The wasting of money. The arrogance masking depression. It was sad to read to be honest. I don't like that person. I like who I am now, not who I was. Growth, eh?

ANA Y3 D115

Can I have one night where I go to bed early? Just one please? Was so close last night. But no, we ended up losing 2 hours of our life at the Animal Emergency Clinic from 10pm until almost midnight. Not one of of ours even. Remember I told you about MM? Well, he came back last night. He also decided to be super friendly. Friendly enough we got him to come inside the house. My sister's cat recently went missing and she was going crazy with worry not knowing what happened. That story ended positively as he was found and they were reunited. This all of course was driving me crazy. I couldn't imagine someone out there not knowing where there cat was. Which means at 10pm we bundled up MM into a carrier and drove him to the AEC. At first it looked like they weren't going to find a chip and we were about to have a new cat. But then DING! Chip found! The nice people there made some phone calls, got the owner's info and set out to call her. Well, here's where our story twists. She was upset we were calling about her cat, Blaze. Apparently he is an outdoor cat. Who does that in this day and age especially with how close we are to a busy road??Are you nuts?? She was annoyed she had to drive to come pick up her cat. I was ready to throw down if need be. First off, it's a 15 minute drive to this place, we waited nearly 40 for her. She shows up, no carrier, nothing. I am going to write this off to cultural differences, but still. She was a tiny eastern european woman who saw nothing wrong with cats being outside animals. Argh! She literally took the cat, whom she clearly loved and loved her, and they drove off. That's it. Very anti-climatic. She did ask what she could do in the future to avoid this. She also asked if we had a cat and maybe hers just wanted to "play". Lady, it doesn't work like that. I was so annoyed and exhausted by the time we got home. We ended up being awake until almost 1am again.

In the land of our nut jubs, we had to replace doglet's kennel. We've been using that wood one that used to be Pip's. Mistake. We went to the grocery store yesterday in the morning to give doglet some alone time. She spent the hour tearing the wood apart trying to get out. Lovely. We now have a giant metal crate in our room taking up way too much space. I have to rearrange the room today. Somehow, someway. She was being a major butt all day too. The excitement of MM, the anxiety of us going to the store. It was all just a tiring day. I would be excited for the weekend, but guess who fucking works all weekend? Yep. Good times.

ANA Y3 D114

This staying up past midnight shit has got to stop. I am getting nothing done in the mornings as a result. I am oversleeping and it's throwing me off. I am going to bed early tonight come hell or highwater. Tired of it. Not the dog's fault either. It's C closing three nights in a row. She doesn't get home until 9:40 or so, then needs dinner, we talk, we spend time together, and the next thing you know it's midnight. Killing me.

Nothing exciting going on. Finally have some teaching coming up but not yet. Should be busy starting next few weeks though. End of year and all that. Can you believe we're almost through another year? Feels like it was just Xmas. Here we are again. It just never stops.

ANA Y3 D113

I am so fucking tired. Just exhuasted all over. I need sleep. Lots of it. Help.

ANA Y3 D112

Last night around 11pm we both had a scare. We're in the office and we hear a blood curdling scream from Merlot in the other room. It sounded like she got stuck somehwere and was hurt. Turns out there was another cat outside and she didn't like it. Nearly made us poop our pants. Said cat was back this morning as we left it a bowl of food. We're thinking about catching it and seeing if it is chipped. But wow that was scary.

Worked on a rewwrite of one of my classes yesterday. C ended up working 5-9. Didn't get home until almost 10pm. Not much else going on.

ANA Y3 D111

As promised, the three day update:

Friday - we left on time around 11:30 as we needed to get gas first and we knew we would have some hiccups. 45 minutes in, the first "hiccup" happened. We threw up. I had tried to puppy proof the car as much as possible but like a baby, if one thing is uncovered, bodily fluids will find that one thing. All good. We pulled over at a weigh station and took care of it. Our one and only issue on the drive there. Got to the hotel around 2pm, room ready, unloaded our piles and got situated. We then set out for poutine. 14 places this year, but we added some rules. Nothing with tater tots was rule number one. From there it was things neither of us liked. Of course it didn't matter as the only remaining 8, only 2 were ready to go. We ended up having 2 poutines. Both were excellent and we got the t-shirt this year. One of the places had outdoor seating and we took advantage of that later in the night to have dinner there. The doglet did wonderful. She got to meet her first tiny human which went well. We got back to hotel, relaxed, went out for walks, went to bed. We do not like elevators or automatic doors yet we have learned. We did however figure out how to jump on the hotel bed.

Saturday - got up early, had breakfast, and headed downtown for art. Sadly we didn't see as much as we would have liked because we had to take turns going in places. Plus it was day one, early, and not much was setup yet. That's okay. Again, it was a good learning day for pupper. We ended up walking 4.5 miles in total. She was pooped as were we. We all took a nice afternoon nap. We did find an italian place next to our hotel which also had patio seating. We ended up there for dinner and it was wonderful. Food was great, service was excellent, everything was perfect as our anniversary dinner. Was very happy with that. We decided to try something out and let dog sleep in bed with us. That was also a success.

Sunday - got up around 6 and loaded the car. We were home by 9:30 and settled into to take care of house stuff. Got bills situated, cleaned, did laundry and dishes, and settled back into our normal routine. A good way to end the long weekend.

Things of other note - the kid is coming to visit in October!! I used my expiring miles on her and got her a flight out here. She will come from Weds-Sun and spend some time. Very excited about that. The backyard is covered in walnuts and we have to clean that mess up as well. We ended up having pizza because we didn't want to cook. I have a busy work week ahead of me and C goes back to work tomorrow.

ANA Y3 D110

Time to head home. Full weekend recap tomorrow.

ANA Y3 D109

This has been quite the adventure so far. We've seen no art, but had lots of good food! Plenty of poutine. It's been tricky doing this with a dog but we're trying our best. She is doing her best too but she is a puppy. More when I get home.

ANA Y3 D108

Our anniversary is Sunday but we decided to exchange gifts last night. Mostly so we didn't have to bring them with us this weekend and so we didn't have to wait until we got home Sunday and we were too tired. In addition, C was bouncing off the walls to give me mine because she wanted me to have it this weekend. Okay. I am intrigued now. She went into the bedroom and came back out with something behind her back. My heart stopped when she revealed it to be a ring box. She bought me a ruby and diamon ring. According to her "it's not an engagement ring, but it's not NOT an engagement ring". That actually makes perfect sense to me. I understand what she means by that. I spent the next half hour crying. This is the first time truly in my life where someone has bought ME a ring that I in one way or another didn't pay for myself. She liked my gift but I couldn't come close to what she gave me. I am still giddy. 

We're heading out around noon today. Taking our time, enjoying Art Prize and having a wonderful 2 year anniversary. Where did the last two years go? If someone knows, please share it with me?

ANA Y3 D107

I massively overslept this morning. We were in bed by 11:30 but I just needed the sleep. I also didn't fully fall asleep until 1:30. I had a horrible dream which woke me up around 3, and then finally at 7:30am. Too late. i feel rushed and behind. Luckily doglet stayed asleep too. Just took her out and boy did she need it. 

I am very proud and impressed with how C handled herself yesterday. She went in to talk to the store manager about the issues and handled it like a professional. It sounds like her store manager felt the same way. From what she was telling me, not only did he offer her full time, it sounds like she may be offered an assistant manager position in the near future. Look, if C falls into a career at corporate as a result, there's nothing wrong with that. I honestly fell into what I do. I never sought it out, I never studied for it. It just happened and evolved over the years. If this is her path, then so be it. The end result is he gave her the rest of the week off to decompress and she will be back for her shifts on Monday. She's getting a much needed respite from things.

On another note, I have been thinking how her and I have been going to bed at different times lately. This is something new for us. Overall for the last two years we have been going to bed together. But because of doglet walks, we've been a little apart. This is much different than when B and I would go to bed separately. In this case, we both know it's temporary but we both hate it. Last night we did go at the same time and we were so happy. Obviously it still messed me up, but the joy we both had going to bed together was nice.

Tomorrow we leave for grand Rapids for our 2 year anniversary and art prize! An exciting weekend lies ahead!

ANA Y3 D106

As I anticipiated C's store manager called her yesterday. Asked her to come in, talk things through and see what they can do to not lose her. Basically he said she's one of the best workers they have and they don't want to lose her. She's going in today to talk to him about some of the issues He suggested she take a few days off to decompress and come back next week. i second this. I also told her to go in, talk to him, and explain why she has been so frustrated. Go back, keep a paycheck coming in, but continue to look for something else. We will see how this unfolds today.

We got the doggo stuff for this weekend's trip. Seatbelt harness. Better training leash. I am really nervous about taking her this weekend but C says it will be okay. I don't agree, but we will see. Had lefttovers for dinner last night as neither of us felt like cooking. Only two more days and we're out of town for Art Prize. It can't come quick enough.

ANA Y3 D105

Well, the shit hit the fan last night. After being pushed to the edge once more, abused by customers yet again, the final straw came last night at 9pm. C has quit her job. She was scheduled to be off at 9. At 8:50pm a cleaning crew shows up that was scheduled to do a deep clean of the freezerz, deli cases, and cold cases. Which needed to be empty. Which no one told C about. That is a multi-person, mult-hour job. She got home around 11pm. She managed to do it all in 90 minutes by herself. But that was it. That was the last straw of incompetent management. She left a note on the manager's desk, left her name tag, and was out. This of course fucks our household budget until she finds something new. We will figure it out. I always do, right?

ANA Y3 D104

Nothing exciting to report for yesterday. C worked from 6-3, me and dog had the house to ourselves all day. We spent a few hours outside, we went on an after dinner walk, watched some TV. I girlled tuna for dinner with a bunch of veggies. It was how a Sunday is supposed to be.

ANA Y3 D103

Yesterday was a hard day because of two things. One was news from a friend, the other the neighbors causing me to now feel unsafe in my own yard. Let's start with that.

I come home from my hair appointment to find the neighbors have gardeners working in their yard. I could see they were doing some trimming of the trees and foliage. I asked him to please be careful and not trim too much and not go over the property line. He acted like he understood. An hour or so later, I go outside and there is now NOTHING between our two yards. The worst part is they chopped down the other side so there is nothing between us and the fucking street. You can be walking down the street or driving by and see directly into our yard. I don't like that. There is absolutely zero privacy now. Nothing. We are fully exposed to the world. Anything in our backyard, anything we're doing is on full public display. I was so pissed off. I yelled at the gardener and their response "It will grow back", yeah in like 5 fucking years. I need out of here. I can't live around these fucking people any more. I filed a second complaint with HHS about them. They have medical patients in their care who now have ZERO protection if they go out in the yard. Plus they can now stare directly into our yard. I am tempted to put up a sign on my side of the property that says FUCK YOU. Fuck these people.

The other news was much bigger and puts my little yard issue into a much different context. The other day I invited my friend over to meet the doglet. She told me she'd love to but was dealing with an "incident" regarding her daughter. The use of that word set off alarm bells in my head. Pregnant? Drugs? Her daughter is 14. I didn't pry though. I respected her space and privacy. Yesterday when I went in to see her for my hair I was honest and said I don't want to pry but it's driving me nuts not to pry. She then broke down in tears and started losing it. The first thing she said was it was nice to not have to pretend everything is okay for the first time in weeks. Girl.

The "incident" started when the daughter came out of the shower and mom noticed a hickey on her neck. Thinking young teenage fun, she was like yo, what's that hee hee. Well the daughter freaked out and the WHOLE story came out. Turns out she has been seeing this MAN for months. She has been with a pedophile and sexual predator. They met online in January and for at least 6 months been meeting up for sex. The daughter swears she hasn't had sex but. This guy was driving from Chicago, the daughter sneaking out the bedroom window, then they would go to another town over to get a motel room and have sex. At least once a week. Now they are involved in a multi-county, multi-city, MULTI-STATE situation. Who has jurisdiction of what is becoming a nightmare. He had full on nude pictures of her on his phone so the local main police were able to get him on child porn charges. Sadly he was out in 24 hours on a bond. He has missed one court date so far. She knows where he lives and his name. I told her just tell me what you want done. We will make it happen. She doesn't know yet but knows that I am serious. You don't get to sexually assualt a 14 year old who thinks she's in "love" and get away with it. I was all over the map with my emotions when she was telling me all this. I offered her whatever she needs, whenever she needs it. 

Yeah, makes my foliage problem seem tame in comparison doesn't it?

ANA Y3 D102

Nothing eciting yesterday. Worked on some different things, met with my boss to plan out the rest of the month, had chinese food for dinner, went on a 2 mile walk, went to bed at a reasonable time. Had therapy. Was a good session. Got some stuff off my chest and shifted my perception of things bothering me back to a proper level, All in all, a good friday.

ANA Y3 D101

I overslept. I have therapy at 7:30. I was supposed to go to the grocery store. Can't now. Have to go later which sucks. I just can't do this anymore. Can't stay up so late and be up so early.

Worked on presentation, got it finished. Made salmon for dinner. Talked with friends. Watched tv. Went to bed at 11:30.

ANA Y3 D100

Wow. 100 days in. Been an adventure so far for sure. Life changes. New doggo. Divorce getting to finalization. The world around us going crazy. Never a dull moment on this planet eh? Spent the day dealing with the security thing. I eliminated every saved password for the bad email. Changed over the ones worth keeping, don't care about the rest. I had 130 accounts using that email. It was always meant to be a throwaway, just took me 15 years to actually throw it away. I have 3 things left using that email. Two of which I can't change. One I need to figure out how to change. I also discovered I still have an Apple ID and email. Go figure. I haven't used it in god knows how many years but it still exists. See this is the problem with computers. Nothing is truly ever gone, is it? Made chicken for dinner. Nothing exciting. Basic dinner. Watched TV. Played games. C and doglet went on a 2.5 mile walk. Gave me some alone time. She's off today finally and I should catch a break. But then I have all weekend where it's just me again. Sigh.

ANA Y3 D99

I went to bed at 10:30pm but was up at midnight because of an email. Seems someone was trying to get into my Microsoft account. I checked the recent activity and holy shit. From all over the world people were trying to brute force their way in. I need to spend some time today updating that account, changing the email, etc. I did change the password last night, but still. 

Spent the day working on my next client presentation. Had the fence people come over for an accurate measure and quote. $4500. Not horrible. I may move forward with that. We will see.

Made hot beef sandwiches for dinner. Nothing exciting. Watched some tv. C got her updated schedule and oh look, working the whole weekend AGAIN. Fucking tired of it. Just done with it.

ANA Y3 D98

Of course I wake up to asshole sending emails over a holiday. Of course. Well, guess what? You'll get a response during normal business hours, not before. Fuck them.

Mostly enjoyed my day off. Mostly. Tired of C's job. Not going to complain about the same shit yet again. Not worth it.

Had leftovers. Dealt with dog. Welcome to another week.

ANA Y3 D97

We finally all slept in!! I mean granted we didn't to go to bed until 12:30, but it was nice not waking up at 3am. I woke up at 6, she was still sound asleep so fell back to sleep for an hour. So nice.

Had a mellow day. Lots of outside time. Made lamb for dinner. Watched some tv. Today is a holiday and I don't plan on doing much today either.

ANA Y3 D96

Yesterday was rough. C had the stupid shit. 10:30-6:30. You all know how I feel when I have to teach that schedule. I spent the whole day dealing with dog. Spent more time outside than I have in the last six months. Then when C got home, Sandy missed her so much she was peeing in the house. Which frustrated C. She ended up going to bed at 8:30. I stayed up until midnight. Now she has to work again today 6-2. Plus tomorrow 2-9. I am not mad at her, but I am mad at her job. She needs to tell them this schedule doesn't work. Sigh. It's complicated. Made tacos for dinner.