A Productive Week, for me anyways

I almost had a weekend off but fell a bit short to 'most of Sunday'. It actually worked out well thought since the only walk I had was at 7:30ish a.m. so I went in my p.j.'s and did not change the rest of the day. I got some of my dishes and laundry done and watched a lot of X-files episodes. Since then I have had a semi-productive week which for me is a huge deal. My schedule is back to normal (no extra vacation stuff) so it has been an easy week which has allowed me to catch up on my todo list. Of course it is a GIANT list, which I now organize into categories so it's not as overwhelming like "ASAP", "Before such and such", "Kitchen", "Living Room", "Yikes". One tactic I now use is to deal with easy things, so that I can feel better about myself, in the hopes that I can carry that positive energy on to the "Yikes" category eventually. I also prioritize, so if for example I am out of knives or spoons (usually both) then dishes is the #1 priority, if I run out of underwear or towels (or both) then laundry is #1, if a bill or payment is due than that is my # 1 priority, and so on. I have to say that the kitchen is a continual problem for me BUT I am proud that I have been maintaining my laundry quite well (by this I mean my socks get matched and folded and things actually get put in drawers and the closet regularly).

My other easy todos have included booking a much overdue oil change (including switching back to all-seasons), returning some shoes I bought online that did not fit, uploading videos to my business youtube channel, using a gift card up, ordering the last couple seasons of Supernatural online (I am almost done X Files so need something else a.s.a.p.), buying paper (I go through a lot for my business), and a few business related things that at least help prepare me to tackle a couple of the 'Yikes' todos (like download the business Turbo Tax...but don't tell my mom and I don't want to talk about that - per usual). It makes me feel really productive and so as long as nothing weird or dramatic happens I am hoping to continue on this course of semi-productiveness before my schedule goes nutty again at the end of the month. I realize that the average person can take care of these things all in a Saturday afternoon but I no longer place those unrealistic expectations on myself. I keep reading crap about 'loving yourself' or whatever positive people go on about so lets just call this my way of doing so.

Of course there are so many things I should do, must do, and have to do NOW, but if I let myself get too worked up about it I completely shut down and am insanely unproductive. It is a fine balance to keep my sanity. Part of me of course blames my parents, just as I use to blame my last job, but the reality is I am a very low-energy person, perhaps 'lazy' could be applied. I think I do work hard, but when I am not working I like to 'relax' for an unspecified amount of time. Part of the problem with my new work life is that sometimes my schedule is really full so I legitimately do not have more than an hour or two a day to get anything home-wise done and therefore that time is used for the 'relax' portion of my day. My mom is the complete opposite of me, which is why I think I am the complete opposite of her, and will get all her chores done and then relax, so her relax time usually ends up with her sleeping because it's close to bedtime. She also gets mad at me if I read a book or play a video game on my phone when I visit her - because I am not paying attention to her. This always irks me because I could be out 'gallavanting' as she puts it, doing crack, drag racing, having promiscuous unprotected sex, but no I am hanging out with her, reading, and that gets on her nerves. But, I digress, this is not meant to be a mom-bashing session.

Another almost done todo is getting to Lee Valley tools. I came across their catalogue and found a few items that I think I really need, not just want, so when I checked into it I found a store not too far away. I called today to confirm if they have the items I need and they do. This includes replacing my broken 'carabiner' watch (I call it 'clippy' watch) for my dog-walking purse, a handcrank flashlight (so I don't have to worry about batteries, and my last functioning flashlight has died), a boot scraper (a traditional boot scraper is surprisingly hard to find and I step in poop often so feel it's a must have) and a few other items. I am also looking into a crab-apple picker for my Mom. I double checked with her and she is not against it if it really works, so I will take a look when I'm there and see if I can get some more feedback on it. I also want a solar radio they have that you can also use to charge your phone BUT that is definitely a 'want' so will likely wait for a while.

I feel like I have gone on and on about boring stuff only I care about, though I suppose that's my whole blog really so whatever. If anyone wants to get me a gift the solar radio is $41.00 plus taxes and shipping...

A series of unfortunate and silly events

I am currently house sitting so I am typing this out on my phone. I apologize in advance for the spellcheck because it may get weird. 

I have had a few crazy weeks and some ridiculous incidents have happened that I thought were funny enough to make note of for posterity, or whatever. One of the silliest was that I burnt the tip of my nose in my boiling hot tea cup. It was not a serious burn BUT I was convinced at the time that I am the only person on the planet who would do that. The cup was too full to pick up so my intention was to take a small sip to remove some of the liquid but I guess I was at a weird angle and I stuck my nose in it instead. Ouch. And dumbass. 

I went to deposit a couple of cheques the other day and realized I was missing my bank card and credit cards. The last time I could remember using them was about a week ago so I panicked. Some thief could be racking up charges and I am screwed. My only hope was that they fell somewhere in the car. Now my car unfortunately looked similar to my hoarder kitchen so searching it was no easy task. I cleaned up a week's plus worth of fast food packaging, tupperwear, granola bar wrappers and so on at my favourite car cleaning spot and felt ashamed but hopeful. The cards had fallen between the seats. Thank goodness.

I lost a cat and dogs this week. All came back eventually but it was a first, professionally at least. Sissy, Clyde, and Hal all ran away from home at various times. Sissy was missing for maybe a week during winter once only to be found finally under the neighbour's stairs. Clyde tried to run away as soon as I got him and was a wanderer at heart. I think the worst time was maybe 5 hours. Hal was gone for 5 days and has not been let out since. But back to my work. I am house sitting and I leave the kitchen door open for the dogs to go in and out of when I get in. The cat must have sneaked out at some point and after not seeing him all day I began to worry that he was not just napping somewhere inside. The next evening I saw him on the shed roof. Luckily he was interested in my attentions and eventually climbed down so I could get him back in. Phew! The dogs then got out of the gate that  evening. It got quiet and I thought 'wow it is so quiet, how nice'. After several minutes I thought 'wow it has been quiet for a while, I wonder what the dogs are doing' . When I finally investigated they were not in the yard at all and I found the gate opened. So I wandered down the road yelling their names and after a few minutes they came running back, tongues hanging out. It was maybe 10-15 minutes but I was a little stressed out. I used a bungee cord from my car to secure the gate so hopefully I won't have to deal with that again!

Another client called me in an emergency because on of their dogs ran off on a hike and they needed me to get to their place to deal with the other dogs and bring a crate and and water dish to the park for them. But I didn't have the key to get through the gate so I thought I could scale the fence. All the dogs were barking and I was trying to scale the fence with no success. Then I saw a pile of boards on one side in the neighbour's yard so I walked around through  all their junk and blackberries and climbed up that but couldn't figure out how to get over the barbed wire at the top without tearing my pants or falling over and breaking my neck. Just as I was about to try to swing my leg over I got a call that they found the missing dog and were on the way home. Phew! I am not exactly agile. I felt like a really lame and slow version of The Office parkor scene. 

My new rain shoes are tearing. This is heartbreaking but I should expect this based on my recent track record. Shoe manufacturers  seem to make shoes to look at instead of making shoes that you can actually walk in. Granted I walk way more than the average person but why should I be discriminated against. It's the same thing as the hat industry inky making hats for people with tiny australopithecine

 heads. Jerks.

There are more mundane occurrences but I am tired of typing with 2 fingers so I will spare you.

Curling, hockey, ski cross and my couch

I am exhausted. It is tough work watching all the Olympic coverage I possibly can. Luckily it is the last few days so there is not much left for me to do. This is a very typical cycle for me. I get super excited about the Olympics and then for the first week I skimp on sleep and other activities to maximize my t.v. watching time. Then as the second week continues I start to give up, sleep more, and just watch more of the prime time highlights. Then when it`s over I feel an immense sense of loss and restlessness because I am not sure what to do with all of my `free time`. I also get frustrated by how lame regular television is after all the excitement. The same goes for the world cup. The problem with that event is that I have to commit a whole month of my life. I usually give up by the quarter finals, especially if I am not pleased with the teams that are getting to the final, which is usually the case. Poo on Christiano Ronaldo, that`s all I will say. It is really unfair of the sports world to schedule the winter Olympics and world cup in the same year. Can`t they spread this stuff out better? Anyways, after the women`s curling team won gold my mom called me. After the women`s hockey team won gold I called my mom. After the men`s curling team won gold my mom called me. I never thought we would be such sports nuts. Let`s hope I make a special call about the next hockey game, but I don`t want to jinx anything so that`s all I will say. I did get a bit emotional when Patrick Chan and Tessa & Scott skated. I can`t help it. And I really enjoyed ski cross and the new slope style events, but I have to say that I think the athletes are totally crazy for doing those sports. I am pretty sure I would break into pieces if I even attempted them. Go Canada Go!

On a more personal note, I almost killed one of my plants. I tried to transplant it but only a few little sprouts are currently surviving. I made such a huge mess doing it too. It seemed like a good idea at the time but in retrospect I should have just let it be and die naturally. Maybe it will pull through but I am skeptical. Remind me to not do that again if I start thinking about it.

I forgot the funny stuff I wanted to post. Typical. Ummm, yeah I can`t think of anything else. Maybe I will remember later, though it is doubtful!

Grandbabies

I realized I forgot a very monumental development in my last post - my grandbabies! They are just 2 months old as of Friday and the loves of my life. For those of you who don't know me well you may assume I would be talking about homo sapiens but for those that do know me well you should realize I am speaking about a more furry variety. And, yes, you are correct I am referring to my dear dog friend Hannah's puppy litter of 7. They are the most beautiful, adorable, sweet, amazing, wild, vicious, chewy, klutzy, fast-growing, sharp-teethed grand babies in the whole world. There are 2 girls and 5 boys: Ripley (the eldest), Holden, Cooper, Parker, Badger (the sharpest teeth, though that wasn't why he got that name), Claire, and Francine.

I was pet-sitting when Hannah gave birth so had to play 'midwife' during the event. It was terrifying and amazing and it is why I feel I have the right to call them my 'grandbabies'. Ripley came out paw first so I freaked out a bit but luckily had a helper that was able to google info and keep me calm. Hannah had a really hard time pushing Ripley out but eventually he plopped out and was just fine. I got a little teary of course. There was one more that came out foot first, but the rest were the proper way (coming out with the sac intact). Hannah did all the hard work of course, eating the sac and chewing off the umbilical cord, so all I really did was sit by her with a worried expression and try to keep her as calm and comfortable as possible. It was a long stressful experience for all of us, but the puppies were all good and have been growing like weeds. I can't believe how big they have gotten already. And they all have very unique personalities already. They all love running and playing and eating and attention. But, a few of them are much bolder and more confident, particularly Francine. Badger was named badger because when he came out he had a dark stripe on his butt that reminded me of a badger, but now the stripe is gone and he is honouring his name by being a big biter. Cooper is the biggest and he watches his surroundings and seems to think about things before he acts. Claire is the smallest and very sweet, she is the biggest cuddle monkey. Parker can be very sweet too but he also gets a bit bratty and will play rough, though that really applies to them all on some level. Ripley tends to go off on his own the most, exploring and is one of the more bold ones. Holden can be cuddly but will scream bloody murder if he does not want to be picked up and taken somewhere (Badger does that too). I have bites on my nose, cheeks, neck, and especially my hands. They also love chewing my hair. If you have to be mauled by anything I think puppies are a good option.

That's about it really. They continue to grow and it makes me sad but is also exciting to see. I hope they all find good homes so I can avoid the temptation to adopt one myself. It is sometimes very very hard to work with dogs and not have one (or 7) of my own!

Game of Thrones and chia seeds

I have been meaning to post for a long time now and have finally gotten to a point where I have the time and subject matter I wish to go on and on about. So here goes...

First the chia seeds.

I eat very poorly when I am busy and have been looking for a better way to keep up my energy throughout the day without giving in to fast food and chocolate. Juice makes me have to pee so that didn't work well because on a long dog walk the only place to pee is in my pants. Fruit snacks and granola bars are fine but don't fill me up. A good friend mentioned the Holy Crap brand of cereal as an option. But, instead of getting the cereal which is a little pricey she gets just the main ingredients in bulk. So you add just a couple spoon fulls split in equal amounts of a  1/3 each of chia seeds, buckwheat, and hemp seeds. You don't need much, and just add some milk or add it to yogurt. The chia seeds need to soak for a bit before you chow down though. I have been adding it to oatmeal which is working really well as my 'second breakfast'. I am finding that I am still hungry at lunch time but if I eat something I am good till dinner so it is helping me to keep going and avoid temptation. The only time it doesn't work is when I am menstruating. Nothing but chocolate and burgers work then so I don't blame the chia seeds at all.

Now for Game of Thrones.

I just finished watching Season 3 this morning and WOW! As some of you may know I hate spoilers but man do I want to break that personal rule. However, I won't. I will say though that it is bat sh$% crazy and the most awesome show ever. The closest I can think of is maybe True Blood. I couldn't stop watching it. And, WOW! And, I didn't see that coming! And, crazy!!! And, OH MY GOD! And, AAAAAHHHHHH! And, hands in front of face. And, that's all I will say. Except that I hope the dragons kick butt, or at least set it on fire, when they finally get to Westeros. Or at least certain butts, other butts I would like to survive. But, that is all I will say. I can't wait for Season 4!

Work stuff.

Well, the Fall and holidays were crazy busy which is a good thing overall. I got a bit lucky and had mostly cats to take care of over Christmas which makes things easier (Dogs are a lot more work). It got a little crazy though because some regular clients were only off work certain days so I had a few dog walks throughout. Some clients just needed me a few days, and others a few weeks, some came home early, and so on. I had to write it all out so I could make sure I didn't forget anybody. My greatest fear work wise  is forgetting to go (personally it is drowning and sharks), as well as dealing with a medical emergency. Overall though the year was pretty successful. I exceeded my initial projections a little bit and that is a really positive thing. Hopefully this year will be as good or even better.

Personal stuff.

Don't tell my mom but I actually need underwear and socks, among other things. When I mention I need something she always goes a little above and beyond. I am totally broke right now though thanks to Christmas stuff and a plethora of bills all due in January. Until things recoup over the next few weeks, hopefully, I am making due. I have thrown out several pairs of socks that have worn through the heal and a few toe holes. My ankle is really hurting as well. I often have to wake up in the middle of the night to reapply Absorbine Jr. I also soak my feet in hot water with some epsom salts when time allows. I really need to go to the doctor. Luckily the next few weeks are not too busy so hopefully I will get my crap together and call for an appointment. Can they actually help though? I am doubtful, but maybe something will help.

That's it I guess. I will try to post more often, but you know me. Good intentions and all.

'Solo' and other stuff

I just finished reading this amazing book called 'Solo' by Rana Dasgupta and I had to share it before I forget everything. When I go to the library I usually check the staff pick section and then wander the fiction isles looking for something interesting. It satisfies my shopping urge, but I don't have to pay anything (unless I return it late) which is wonderful. Anyways, the cover had this black silhouette of a man and the top half is a flock of black birds flying away. It caught my attention so I thought I would check it out. Essentially it is about an old man reflecting back on his memories. It is set in Bulgaria mostly, which made it more interesting since I know nothing about Bulgaria other than they seem keen on water polo, and has that historical aspect that I love. About half way through I got a bit lost and I struggled to continue, but by the end I was just blown away. I think what makes a great story for me is when you feel complete loss and sadness when it's over, some things are resolved but the ending isn't too neat and tidy, the future is open and there is a glimmer of hope. 'Solo' really did that for me and I guess I was really surprised. It is the best book I have read in a quite a while. I recommend it, if you get a chance!

Other than that, I am now dog free at home. Murphy has been adopted and Zayda is back home at the rescue. Hal is ecstatic and has been spending most of his day napping on top of the kitchen hutch. It has been nice to have that extra couple of hours every day not spent walking to do other things. I am of course not always as productive as I should be, but the kitchen is now hygienic and the house cleaning is coming along.

I ordered some new shoes online and am awaiting the shipment. Unfortunately I think I have to pay duty when they arrive because the company (Shoebuy) didn't include that at the time of purchase like Land's End does. However, I think it is still a good buy and I did it through my new Lyoness membership so you get really good benefits. Hopefully they fit great and my feet will be super dry through all the rain this coming winter.

That's pretty much it. Other than that I am waiting for the new T.V. season to start - particularly the new Agents of Shield show, and Hannibal whenever it starts. Since So You Think You Can Dance is over I haven't had much to watch. Though I would like to give a shout out to Camp. It was surprising really good and I hope it gets a second season for next summer.

Ok, bye.

Update for Cousin Mikie (and whoever else is interested...)

I have been spending what little spare time I have lately playing Temple Guardian (addictinggames.com) or Sims Free Play (phone app) so I apologize for not sharing my very interesting and exciting stories. My hoarder kitchen continues to develop, though I did manage to get a load in the dishwasher on Canada Day (a real full day off!) so I have had plates and knives for peanut butter all week. Previous to that load I had been using the other end of forks and spoons for peanut butter and Tupperware lids for my toast at breakfast. Sad. There have also been a few days where I have had waffles for breakfast and dinner. I really need to get my sh&% together someday.

Life has been very dog oriented and therefore I have been walking a lot. It is now at a point where walking for leisure seems insane to me. I do however still love my work and the dogs and would take it over an office job any day. I am an unusual dark creamy colour now, at least on my arms and feet. I guess this is what they call 'tanned', with freckles on top. I am usually very good about using sunscreen due to some very horrific blistering I experienced as a kid, but I have been terrible this past week and have consequently burnt a bit. Is there such a thing as a 'dog-walker tan'? If so that's what I have. You can totally tell which sandals I have been wearing the most, due to the weird pattern on the top of my feet. My wonderful new canvas shoes have totally disintegrated and I can no longer wear them without getting blisters. They were cheap though, so you get what you pay for. My ankle/lower calf pain is developing nicely. I now use generic Aleve (naproxen) or ibuprofen daily, as well as muscle cream or Absorbine Jr. repeatedly throughout the day. It wakes me up at night flailing which Hal does not appreciate. I really need to go to the doctor's.

My secret (don't tell my Mom!!!) foster dog Murphy is still with me, and I am kind of, almost, considering the possibility of maybe keeping him more permanently. Several months of fostering is tough, since now the idea of life without him is extremely sad. I am waiting to see if Murphy and Hal can eventually cohabitate safely before I can truly commit 100% in my mind. Things are still questionable with that, but every once in a while I have a bit of hope. The problem is that Murphy wants to chase (and eat?) small animals, particularly bunnies, and cats are kind of small too so are on the line between wanting to maybe eat it and being scared of it as well. I guess we'll see how it goes. Maybe he will suddenly get adopted and then me and Hal will be all alone...:(

Other than that, I don't know, I guess I should mention my increased usage of fast food - in particular either the Mama Burger combo or a Junior Whopper Combo. These are really keeping me alive, along with yogurt, waffles, and peanut butter. What I really want however is a Salisbury House Nip, fried onions only pure burger. I even swear I smelled Salisbury House one day while I was on a walk. I do love my Mom but getting a Nip is definitely a primary reason to visit home. I think she would totally understand if I told her that since she likes a Nip once in a while. Perhaps I will get healthy next week, after I do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Sure, that's totally going to happen.