awaiting

i've thought about not blogging anymore. and not using webshots. just facebooking. but i don't really do that. we'll see what happens in the new year. right now i'm sick. a girl at work was nice enough to stay and let me leave early last night. now i have all weekend off to get better. too bad i'm too sick to do anything else. maybe tomorrow. but that gives me time to catch up on my past. we had a really nice christmas this year. mom, although sick herself, was well enough to enjoy it this year and had put her magic mom touch on everything. i was the last to leave this year. dad and i went out orb hunting after dark and found a few bright guys out. i had a lovely bday the week before out with the girls in the family. we went to the salon for haircuts and out to lunch. then mom and i went to see the descendants. it was a pretty good movie. i have some great news. gareth got a job. it's a writing job with a two year training program. not sure the name of the company. it starts the end of january. very exciting. i decided to sign up for the math drug dosage class this semester. it's just eight weeks and doesn't start until the end of january too. it's online. i hope it's not too hard. my brothers and i got a snowboarding trip for christmas. we're going next week. it should be awesome if i'm not sick. i haven't gone since i broke my back. hope i can still keep up with the guys. i got to go horseback riding a couple months ago. the same girl at work has a horse and she let me ride. i hadn't ridden in ten years but it was like i'd never stopped. just like riding a bicycle. i got money to buy some riding supplies for christmas and hope to start taking lessons soon. an exciting year ahead.

awhile

my blog has tried desperately to not let me log in but twenty minutes (and a few months) later here i am. it really hasn't been a fun few months but there's been some highlights i'll try and remember. i've been officially full time for some time now. and i'm on my way to an a in chemistry. all i need is a b on my final next week (which i should be studying for right now...). gareth still hasn't found a job. he's getting ready to be off unemployment so that's pretty scary. but having the place paid for makes that a little easier. i'm looking forward to having some free time after this class is over. not sure yet if i'm going to sign up for one next semester. i had a real problem with my lab teacher this semester. she was pretty terrible so i gave her a bad review. she read said review and started giving me really bad grades. so i had to go to the dean. got my grades reevaluated. didn't get much better of a score but at least it was fair. everyone here has stayed healthy with no major incidents. kitt even stopped peeing as much since i got her a plug in pheromone diffuser. probably the biggest event we've had was my brother's annual fund raiser. i'd actually found a cat the day before and brought it in to work. it was microchipped and we found the owner who was so grateful she gave me and my clinic's rescue a reward. i spend my reward on raffle tickets for the fund raiser so it went to helping more animals. yay. i'm really looking forward to enrolling in the vet tech program next year. not sure how that's going to work yet money-wise with going to school full time but i should at least be able to get loans. i've been working on getting caught up with my pics but i've only gotten to the point of when i last wrote. i had thanksgiving off and will have christmas off this year. it's the first time i've had them both off since i can remember. makes up for having to work both last year. hopefully i'll have more time soon to write and post pics.

balance

my weeks have been quite busy lately. this chemistry is taking up most of my time now when i'm home. the first week we had 3 online quizzes due, a total of 86 questions, with most having 4-6 parts each. this past week was just one 20 question quiz but also our first actual lab that requires a prelab write up and post lab discussion. we had our first test yesterday too. it turned out to not be nearly as difficult as the quizzes so hopefully all my overstudying got me a good grade. it's just a lot of work and a lot to learn. i'm having a hard time balancing working full time and all the time class requires. i should find out soon if i'm actually full time at work. part of me hopes i am and part of me hopes they drop my hours when it comes to the 90 days where they have to start giving me benefits for my full time hours. i've said i want to be full time and i've worked the hours every week so it's up to them at this point whether they want to have me on or not. in the midsts of all this i ended up bringing home a puppy over the holiday weekend. i'd been in contact with a client at work for a few weeks who had a family member who had puppies she was trying to place. it didn't work out due to me not having the time to care for a puppy and colby not really liking her. it was sad to give her up though even after only having her a couple of days. she was super cute. we watched rio that weekend with her asleep on my stomach. the movie was entirely too silly. we also saw company men a couple weeks ago. it kinda hit home for gareth who's been unemployed for a while now. he had an interview a few weeks ago. a former coworker of his dad's gave him a recommendation but he didn't get the job. he's thinking of taking a technical writing certification program. i hope he finds something before his unemployment runs out in a couple of months. he's been stressed too but it's the opposite stress from what i've had so it's hard to sympathize with eachother. we wish we could help with the other's stresses. maybe balance the load a little. colby's had a mild skin infection for the past week. i brought him in to work over the weekend and had a skin scrape done to make sure it wasn't something picked up from the puppy. it's just allergies or sensitive skin we think from all the rain and resulting mold or blooms. it requires me to bring him to work to give him medicated baths every few days. today should be his last. he's scratching a lot less now and off the benedryl. poor pup. alright. i should go do something with my day off besides blogging and chemistry. perhaps i'll head outside.

quickly

things got even crazier outside. hurricane irene passed by last night. just a lot of wind and rain here but i'm glad we weren't on the coast for it. then there was the earthquake earlier this week. we all felt that. nothing even got knocked down here but in louisa at my brother and sister's houses a lot did. everyone's ok though. just shook up. literally. gareth thought the dryer had fallen on it's side and colby burst into the laundry room when he opened the door ready to attack. haha. my first day at class was great... we didn't have labs the first week and i didn't know so i showed up for nothing. my actual first class wasn't so great. we dove right into scientific notations, coefficients and significant numbers. i had a hard time keeping up in class but was able to go over the lesson online after and catch up. i honestly don't remember anything from this class a decade ago. hence the d. we watched a few netflix this week. just go with it wasn't so good. rango was weird but pretty visually stunning. i'm sitting in front of our frence doors now watching the clouds pass by quickly above. it's turning out to be a nice and sunny (be it windy) day out.

alright

i've been feeling discontent lately. especially after catching up with the daily coyote blog. she's spending the summer up on a mountain with her "family" of animals. i've been missing the great outdoors. it's been nice to spend my free mornings sitting in the yard having coffee with colby. and evenings if i'm home before dark playing outside with my boys. but we haven't gone anywhere since we've been here except places indoors. hopefully as it cools off we'll make more plans to be outside. i wish i'd started a garden when we moved in but it would have been hard to establish and thrive in the horrible heat we had. we've had some bad storms here lately. even a crazy swirling cloud above us after i got home the other day. i was awaken by lightning striking close by the other night and actually setting car alarms off. crazy stuff. indoors we've had some problems with our cable lately. we're thinking of getting rid of it all together. since signing up for netflix we realize we don't watch much of anything especially on cable anymore. i start chemistry class tomorrow. not really looking forward to having a busier schedule but i'll be alright.

animals

not too much going on this week. i worked a lot the beginning of the week so now i don't go in until three pm. kinda makes for a long day but worth it for a short shift. we got to see the movies we wanted last weekend. cowboys and aliens took itself a little too serious but was still fun. rise of the planet of the apes was enjoyable but you could tell james franco didn't really enjoy making it. blue valentine was good but not as emotional was we'd expected. we saw some old friends from r'mond last night. they moved to nova this summer too. nice to know someone in the area. we had a nice dinner with them. colby got his monthly super deluxe bath yesterday. i brought home a bandana from work for him. kitt's still having her urination issues. i've tried a new litter box and litter and nothing's really helping. the foil didn't keep her away for long. it's frustrating. i'm glad we put the plastic down so she didn't ruin the carpet here. oh animals.

time

more busy weeks for me. i don't know where the time goes. i'm lying on my stomach on the floor downstairs now. trying to stretch my back out. i'm constantly surprised at how physically and mentally difficult my new job is. i'm either on my feet or on the phone with my head cocked to the side. the mental part is not only working in a sometimes stressful and most of the time quite busy environment but also constantly learning how to do my job. i like it and i think i'm doing a good job. but it's pretty exhausting. i'm off today. yay. we just signed up for netflix so we're going to sit down and watch blue valentine today. i signed up for the chemistry class today. it was kinda a mess having to get transcripts sent and everything. but now i'm on my way. i went home this past weekend. it was my mom's bday and my brother's surprise 30th bday party. it was nice to see my family and some of my brother's old friends. we saw captain america a few weeks ago when it came out. it was really good. we want to see cowboys and aliens and the rise of the planet of the apes. too bad there's not enough time to do everything in my spare time. but i like to keep busy. so maybe we'll get to go.

busy

it's been another good week. i've been working a lot. got off early today so i can be in early tomorrow to shadow in the kennel. i got to be in surgery and treatment this week to see what goes on. it was interesting and i got to talk to the owner about my past experience and future ambitions. i hope it all works out for me to move up there in the future. i still need to sign up for a chemistry class this fall. i had to take colby in to work with me today. we were out in the yard before i left and he had a bee in his mouth so i brought him in for observation. i got the bee though and they noticed there that it still had it's stinger on it so he didn't get stung. thank goodness. there was no charge to bring him in. and i got a free exam for my cat last week for her six month check up. she'd been going outside the litter box again and i took the vet's advice and took the top off the box. i also put foil where she was going and between the two she hasn't gone outside again. i hope that's solved the problem. gareth had his first job interview today. it turned out to not be a good job but at least he got some practice. and he signed up for unemployment so he'll be getting that soon. we went to see the final harry potter this weekend. it was a good ending to a fun series. we also had a nice dinner with all his family for his grandmother's bday. so it's been a busy week. goodnight.

happy

things have gone well since i last wrote. the move was difficult but definitely worthwhile. we love our new place. colby loves all the space here. especially having his own yard. i got the job at the vets. it's a receptionist position. i like it so far. it's a pretty busy practice. especially coming off of the holiday weekend. i worked almost forty hours this week and i'm scheduled for the same next week. i'm happy i got the job. gareth's still looking but has a potential job through a friend he's going to see this week. my parents came up to visit today. i got my favorite olive garden meal. it was nice to see them. colby especially enjoyed their visit. he actually squealed with excitement. we're all pretty tuckered out now. it's been a long week. especially for me. but i'm happy here.

bumpy

i'm sitting in my parents' garage right now. it's the second day of my yardsale. i've made $2 today. it rained all morning so i moved it inside. i'm guessing that's what's keeping people away today. only a few neighborhood kids have come by. i made $115 yesterday. but i spend about $50 on all the supplies. and a park ranger came by yesterday and gave me a $95 ticket for posting signs on park property. my mom said she'd pay the ticket for me. i'd be in the hole if she didn't. my brother made $150 yesterday for the bird rescue so that was helpful. his girlfriend and i made cookies and muffins and contributed by having an accompanying bake sale for the rescue. so it's been a semi-success. at least we're getting rid of a lot of things we don't need anymore. we got the rental townhouse i posted last. we're getting a moving truck tomorrow. it's been pretty hectic with packing and it's about to be even worse actually moving. at least gareth was left to finish getting things ready to go this weekend while i was doing the yardsale. this is the longest i've been away from colby though. i miss him pretty terribly. oh and gareth. the vets called me back and they want me to come in and shadow someone for a day the end of this week. so that's a good sign. things are coming together now. it's just been a bumpy road to get where we want to go.

saga

we didn't get the house. and instead of pursuing our other option we're now waiting to see if we got a rental place today. i hope this will be the end of the housing saga. i had an interview at a vet's office yesterday. it sounded very promising. i hope to hear back from them monday. my nerves are pretty shot right now. it's the waiting that really gets to me. but there's nothing else i can do right now. we don't have any plans this weekend. gareth wants to see super 8 but i'm not sure if i'm up for it. x-men was pretty awesome. thor wasn't very good. the hangover 2 was fun but not great. i just found out that lola's getting adopted today. i'd already said my goodbyes but it's still sad to know she's gone. at least she's hopefully going to a good home this time. i'm having the yardsale next weekend. it should be profitable with other family members contributing and helping sell stuff. i hope the rain holds off but that it cools down for it. it's been too hot to do much of anything outside lately. and i'm just about done going through all my stuff inside here. i went out to my brother's sanctuary to help clean cages and aviaries this week. it'd been awhile since i'd been out to help so that was nice to do. i also got a nice haircut this week thanks to mom. her hairdresser did such a nice job fixing my last bad haircut. budd finally laid her last egg. i brought it in for show and tell at my last snip. i'm going to miss some of the life i had here. but i'm looking forward to the next step in our family's saga.

passes

we haven't heard back about the house yet. i should know better by now. any time they've said we'll know anything by a certain time we haven't. but that still gives me hope we got it. if not we have another option now but i won't even go into it unless i have to. i hope i don't have to. i started sending out my resume this week. so i've got another thing i'll be anxiously awaiting a response to. i've gone to mom's to help with yardwork a couple of times now to make some extra money. and i've started planning my big yardsale. it will either be next weekend or the following one. it's been hard to plan anything not knowing when and where we're going. and i'm definitely a planner. even with my days off now i've been making plans. today we plan on going to see the new x-men movie. we're looking forward to all the big summer movies coming out this month and having time to actually see them. colby's had an upset stomach for the past week. not sure if it's the stress we're unintentionally passing on to him or the new rawhide we tried. i told the vet at wellness this week and she sold me some probiotics for him. that's what our regular vet always prescribes so it was a lot cheaper this way. besides that everyone else is doing well. budd's still got an egg. i hope this all passes soon. i got this shot at miller's farm. it was too pretty to pass.

soon

things are all up in the air again. the place they said we got we didn't. at least not for some time. and we don't have time. even though it was advertised as a short sale already approved it still had to go back to the bank for their approval. so we went up and saw a bunch of places and ended up putting in an offer on a place we didn't even see. it looks nice enough on the internet and gareth's mom said it looked good to her in person. they're taking everyone's best offers now and we should know next week if we got it. if not we're really running out of time to figure something else out. so i hope this works out. i started writing this a few days ago. it's been a busy week and weekend for me. friday was my last day at bbuster. yay. i found out that day that my reputation over the years there has been that i'm outspoken to the point of annoyance. i'm glad to be known for being outspoken but it's too bad i'm also known as being annoying. oh well. it's not like i'm listing anyone there as a reference. there's no managers left i've worked more than a month for. tomorrow's my last day at the kennel. and i get paid time and a half today. i'll be sad to leave the dogs. but happy i won't be working there in this summer heat for long. we went to see the new pirates last week. unfortunately we saw it in 3d and could barely see half of it since it mostly takes place in the dark. we finally got new releases at bbuster and i got to see a few before leaving. the green hornet and the dilemma weren't very good. no strings attached was actually entertaining. i haven't sent my resume out yet since we don't know where we're going to be. i hope to have that and everything else figured out soon enough.

brink

they accepted the offer on the house. it should be closed by june ninth. less than a month away. i'm looking forward to the fix up and hope we can get it all done before officially moving in. i've been watching hgtv and becoming inspired. i'm almost ready to send my resume out. i found half a dozen places within just a few miles to apply to. only one is actually hiring but most at least say they're always accepting applications. i got to take colby with me to work this past weekend. it's probably the last time he'll go there. he got to play with lola. i don't think it will be an option to get her any time soon. i can't believe she's still there though. budd's down to one egg left. there were eight all together. last time it was a total of six. her chin's healing well but slowly. i've gotten to watch some movies lately. bbuster hasn't gotten anything new for about a month now so nothing new for me to see. i'd never seen the pirates of the caribbean movies before. they were alright and entertaining but much too long by the end of the series. i'm not too excited to see the newest one coming out. we haven't been to the theaters in quite a while. gareth went to see the opening of thor though. he really liked it. i guess there's not a lot else going on again. i feel like i'm on the brink of a lot about to be going on.

eggs

one decision has been made in the past week. i didn't get into school. a decade ago i didn't get a good enough grade in chemistry. if i'd never taken it i could just sign up for it as part of the program. it's kinda bs but i now have to take it before being accepted. maybe next year... there's been yet another twist in housing. gareth's aunt backed out of buying anything so now his mom is trying to buy us a townhouse in centreville. i saw it yesterday and it has great potential. she put in an offer and we're waiting to see if it's gone through. not to put all my eggs in one basket but i'm excited. again. i went home for mother's day and got a nice meal out with my family. we celebrated dad's bday early too. he's going on a rv adventure to rhode island for a few weeks. budd's been laying eggs for the past few weeks. there's been six so far. these were all laid in one night. i'm taking her in today to get an x-ray to see if there's any more and also to get her chin rechecked. i'm not sure how a turtle's skin's supposed to heal so i want a professional opinion on if it's healing correctly. not too much else going on. having some extra days off is pretty nice. i'm looking forward to june.

home

i needed this

anything

we're back from our vacation now. it was much needed and a lot of fun. i just finished uploading all the pics on webshots. it'll be a little while until i'm able to edit and caption them all. i go back to work tonight. i was going to be back at least volunteering yesterday but the clinic was cancelled. it was nice to have an extra day off. and in the past few weeks there's been a change in management at bbuster so now i'm not being scheduled all the days i'm available like i was before. so i have two more days off this week. i'm glad this is my last month here and there. we still don't really know what's going on with our housing situation. i haven't gotten my rejection letter from the school yet. and there's a house in annandale apparently that has been deemed pretty perfect. we weren't planning on being that far away from the school. but i have no idea if school's still an option this year. or if online might be an option next year. or anything. so a week away didn't help decide anything. but it was nice to not have to actively worry about all that. kitt's been better since the day after her episode. we decided to leave budd home and she's doing ok. the cut didn't get any worse but it still needs to be tended to now to get better. colby had an amazing time in florida. he did scratch up his paws and leg running around and jumping into and out of the pool though. i think he thinks it was worth it. i'm glad we all had a good time.

up

it's been another stressful week. they're still having people come by to look at the apartment. but we haven't been harassed anymore about it's presentation. our future housing situation is completely up in the air right now. apparently gareth's aunt is a landlord who frequently purchases townhouses and rents them out. so right now she's looking for a place in centerville for us. but that wasn't so clear cut a week ago when we went up to sterling to look at houses. we found a great place with a nice yard but the trip was pointless because she doesn't want to buy in sterling... so we're giving it until we get back from florida to decide if this is actually going to happen or if we should be looking at rentals again. and we have no idea where to look ourselves at this point. i should have gotten my acceptance letter from the school by the end of last week and i didn't so now i'm waiting for my rejection letter by the end of the month to see if i've been wait-listed. if not i think i'm going to wait on school for another year. to find a job to qualify for the online program by june 15th is not only going to be hard to do but also not what i really want to do. so i guess once we figure out where we'll be living i'll just look for a job in that area full time and wait until next year to go to school. we've had pet issues this week too. kitt started peeing everywhere a couple of evenings ago and had bloody mucus in her urine. so we took her in right away and she got a shot of antibiotics and pain-killing pills for a possible uti. we're waiting to hear back from the lab the sample was sent to to make sure it's not something worse. hopefully she'll be off the pain killers by monday when we leave for florida. budd probably won't be as lucky. she got a cut on her chin over the weekend and it was getting worse so we brought her in this week. she was prescribed a scrub and ointment and needs to be out of her water tank for most of the day. she laid an egg in her dry tank last night. i had no idea she had more eggs... so she'll need an x-ray soon to see how many more she has. she'll probably need to board at the vets anyways while we're gone so her wound can be tended to. that's an expense we weren't expecting. we're hoping we don't have to cancel our trip again this year due to injuries. every thing's really up in the air at this point. and i don't like it.

together

the stress of the summer has begun. they started showing our apartment last week. that means if we aren't able to be here to take colby out we have to put him in his crate the whole time we're gone. he must have been ok the one time we were gone and we've been here the other times they've come. including the other day when they called to say they were coming when they were on their way here. so we took him out but didn't really have a chance to pick up the place. and when the landlady called to say they were coming next she said to make sure to have the place picked up including no dirty dishes in the sink. she even said she knows there's not much we can do about the mess since we have so much stuff here but to make it as presentable as possible. this was reiterated in an email sent to all tenants saying if apartments weren't presentable we would be charged to have them made presentable. wow. sorry but i'm frustrated. we do have a lot of stuff but i'm a very clean and organized person and i've never thought of our place being that bad. they must have forgotten how disguesting the place was when we came to look at it. anyways. gareth's in nova today to look at two places. one i really like and one he really likes. we'll see if anything comes from it. as long as we're all together : ]

patience

it's another nice day out today after some weird weather this week. i think i'll take colby to the park before wellness this afternoon. i haven't had a day "off" in over a week now. and i won't have one until next week. at least these are volunteer days and i got to sleep in today. yesterday at snip there were only three cats so i got out in just two hours. just in time to meet up with my dad who was in the area anyways and have a nice lunch together. this is gareth's last week at work. and tomorrow's his bday. we should get to spend the evening together at least. i can't wait to give him his present. seriously i tried to give it to him last night. he has much more patience than i. i finally finished the book i got from his parents for christmas yesterday. animals make us human by temple grandin. now i've started on the daily coyote. an artistic account of a girl who actually raised a coyote pup. it's a good one so far. not many movies worth mentioning lately. i did get to see the original tron on blu ray that was just released. it was pretty cheesy but interesting to see how the whole story began. and anything with the dude is worth the watch.

bundled

it's turned back into winter now. it snowed yesterday morning and we're supposed to get more today. it was probably cold enough to snow on saturday at our shelter's event mardi paws. but we all bundled up and it was a really fun day. i brought colby and he had an amazing time. i think that's the most dogs he's seen at once. an old friend came to hang out too. she made the day even more fun. gareth got some terrible news yesterday at work. apparently the new company that owns bbuster now has suspended severence payouts. and he can't put in his two weeks to just quit because the store closes in two weeks. the only reason he's stayed on this long is because of the severence. and now he's not getting it. did i

say this was a bad company? i meant it's a horrible company. we did get our payout event at my store for our online drive. dinner at a steakhouse. can't complain about a free meal. i'll be getting another tonight. i think this is the first day gareth and i have had off together all month.

ready

the weather can't seem to decide if it's winter or spring yet. we had a lovely weekend. on my day off i took colby to the dog park. it was the first time we'd gone since our injuries last year. he had a blast. on another day off my parents came to r'mond and i got to join them for a nice lunch at mom's favorite place carinis. now it's cloudy, cold and wet outside. a good day for giving colby a bath before wellness clinic tonight. not a lot else to do which is fine with me. i've gotten to see a few movies lately. two documentaries; countdown to zero and outrage. the first about the history and current status of nuclear weapons. the second about gays in government. both interesting. the first scary the second kinda sad. never let me go i thought was pretty good. gareth didn't think so especially since it had already been done twice. the second time in the island which got sued

by the original creator. gareth's been having a hard time at his closing store. the manager got another job and left with no one in charge. he's been working a lot and can't wait for the store to close in less than a month. all the other stores in our area are closed or in the process of closing now. so my store has been busier than ever and everyone coming in is annoyed about their store closing. it's a bad ending for both of us working for this bad company. i'm glad we're getting ready to move on.

antics

i got this great shot of colby the other day after getting home from bbuster. apparently he's become bored with my antics. but i have not. we went home last weekend for a visit. it was the first time i brought colby since christmas. he had a great time until he ran into both neighbors' yards. no more off leash for him. mom seemed to enjoy our visit too. the surgeon officially declared her healed this week. we're all happy to hear that. gareth and i watched the oscars last weekend. the king's speech won big. i guess gareth and my dad were right about it being so good. i finally saw 127 hours. it's really good but really gets in your head. i got the book it's based on. we went to the borders that's closing and gareth bought us a bunch of stuff. the spay and neuter clinic was cancelled this week so i got a day off. we did have wellness last night and i always go visit the dogs at the kennel while i'm there. there's a bunch of new ones that should be posted on petfinder soon. maybe i'll get to take some pics.

wandering

yesterday was colby's first adoptiversary. to celebrate we brought him to the "puppy store" and got him some goodies. the day before i'd taken him back to the shelter we got him from for a visit. they were thrilled to see him and he was absolutely ecstatic to see them. i told them that i was working at a shelter myself and applying for vet tech school. i gave them hugs and a donation. then we went to my shelter and he got microchipped. i hope it's never necessary but a good thing to have just in case. i watched the phoenix lights documentary about some strange lights that have been seen in arizona. i'd seen it years ago but after seeing my own strange lights i was reminded of it. now after seeing it again i know these were the same kind of lights i saw. what are these lights so many people have seen and even documented? i don't know if we really want to know but i'm certainly intrigued. the weather tunred back to winter this past week. we even got some flurries the other day. i think i'm one of the few people who actually enjoy winter but i'm always excited to see spring emerge. i'm really looking forward to what this year's warmer months will bring. a trip to florida and a whole new experience up north. i can't wait to have some time off work as well. my mind's been wandering today...

expensive

i couldn't even sleep until seven today. gareth came to bed about an hour ago and that got colby whining at the door. i got about nine hours of sleep so i can't really complain. i'm just looking forward to the day we both have normal jobs with normal hours. we found out gareth's store is going to close in april. it's pretty convenient since he was planning on quitting around then anyways. and now he gets severance. i finally got everything for my school application. just putting the finishing touches on my essay and i'll take it to the post office in the next day or so. we've had a glimpse of the coming spring this week. i spent one of the warm (but windy) days cleaning out my car. it had passed inspection but some small things ended up costing almost four hundred dollars. colby's vet visit was almost three hundred. there goes my tax return. gareth took me out to dinner for valentine's day sunday night at olive garden. my favorite. and i got some more chocolates from him on monday. i'd just opened the ones i got for christmas. good thing i like chocolate. not a lot else going on here. yesterday and today are my days "off" volunteering. maybe i'll bathe colby before the day is through. that's about it since gareth will be sleeping until he goes to work tonight...

strange

my mom finally got her wound vac off yesterday. it's healing nicely and doesn't look like she's going to need the other surgery. we're all very thankful she's finally had some good luck with the situation. i got to see her yesterday when i went back home for my dentist appointment. i've made this week my annual appointment week. colby's got his shots this afternoon and i'm going to get my car inspected. along with an overdue (no it hasn't been a year) oil change. it's nice to have a few days off this week even if i'm busy doing other things. i did my taxes the other day and will be getting a big chunk back from federal. i hope to put some of that away. it's been hard for me to save anything lately. i saw why while doing my taxes. even though i work more than ever now i'm making a lot less than i used to. isn't that ridiculous? i'm glad i have gareth to pick up the slack. so that gave him the authority to say no again last week when the dog i had wanted to bring home a few months ago came back to the shelter. apparently she had too many issues for the owner to deal with. the only issue i could see is that she came back overweight. gareth's promised me that if we get a place big enough, have jobs that pay enough and a schedule that gives us enough time we can get another dog after we move. i'm sure she won't still be around then but i understand where he's coming from. it's just sad to see her again and know i can't have her. isn't she adorable? something else strange happened the other day. i really think i saw a ufo. i've been checking out other videos from around the same time and there was definitely something strange in the sky. i don't know how no one else in r'mond saw it. i know it's not the best video but it was amazing to see in person.

started

this week hasn't been too exciting. i've actually watched more movies than usual. the secretariat was exciting. nowhere boy wasn't what i expected but a good watch. crimson wing was interesting but a little long. never knew there was so much to a flamingo's life cycle. gareth and i have been spending the little time we get together watching how i met your mother. we got some snow the other day. had fun playing in it with colby. i got to take him to work with me yesterday. he had fun playing in what was left of the snow with the new lab mix daisy. while he's all tuckered out i still can't sleep past seven. it's cleaning day before i go to work though so it's good i got up early. i should really get started on all that now.

sleep

mom's been home about a week now. they decided to wait on the surgery to see if she can heal on her own. so far she's doing well. dad's been her nurse since she was sent home with a vac on her chest and an iv. i'm going home tomorrow to take her out for a haircut. not sure how that's going to work with all that hooked up. hopefully she'll have a nice time out. yesterday was the first spay and neuter clinic since the beginning of last month. it was nice to have a bit of a break from that and wellness. i got my first letter of recommendation and documentation of my observation hours from the vet there. i hope to be getting the rest soon. it's due march first. we had five dogs adopted from the shelter this week. that's a record at least since i've been there. i got to do some baths. i'm sure the dogs appreciated it and are hopefully in happy new homes now. today was my one day to sleep in this week but i couldn't sleep past seven. as you can see everyone else got to sleep in at least a little.

full

mom's back in the hospital. it's been almost a week. she got an infection in her chest and had to have another surgery to remove it. they're waiting now to see if she's going to need muscle from another part of her body put in her chest. we're all hoping she doesn't need another surgery. she's not too happy about the setback but she's doing well and we're all hoping for the best. it's supposed to snow today. it sleeted a little earlier but no snow yet. i'm going back home for a visit so i hope it holds off for now. my brother came out last week for a visit and took me out to eat at sticky rice. it was a nice meal and good to get to hang out with him. not much else going on but between work and visits my days are pretty full.

off

i had to work every day this week. i'm really looking forward to having the next two days off. at least i got paid well. i got time and a half both new year's eve and day. i'm going on a shopping spree at walmart tomorrow with the gift card my parents gave me for my bday. gareth took me on a super spree for my xmas present. i got some new pants and shoes and some other things along the way. i managed to stay up until midnight on new year's eve. watched a few minutes of dick clark's rockin' eve and the ball dropping with gareth. his parents came to r'mond this week and took us out. we went to the cheesecake factory and saw true grit. it was a really good movie and a nice night. they met colby and loved him. some warm weather has come through and with it rain. so all the snow's gone and everything's turned to mud. definitely not as much fun for me or colby.