First things first: Kenny Chesney was *awesome*. Now, it’s not the best show I’ve seen (and his show last summer was a bit better than this one), but it was still great. We had fantastic seats (thanks, Jen!), and I’ll get some pictures up on Flickr a little later today. We had a great tailgate, too!
Oliver *loved* the puppy hotel (and here’s something totally off-topic: the pet hotel is located *exactly* where the sheriff’s office is looking for Caylee Anthony. Creepy). He loved it so much, in fact, that I’ve booked his stay for next weekend when we head up to Tallahassee for a little foozball (and more tailgating). There was somebody there overnight, so he didn’t have to be by himself, which he hates. Also? When they went to put him in his room, he started crying and trying to break down the door (shocker), so they let him out to run around the place. He immediately calmed down, and got even more attention than he gets at home, which is damn near impossible. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. Thanks, DogMaHall!
Yesterday was the kick-off of a new season of college football, which means I’m officially a football widow once again. The bright side of this was spending the day with Patricia and Rob, who made it super easy for me to not want to tear my hair out in a football-related rage. We had a great time hanging out with y’all! Can’t wait to do it again (and next time we really will play some Wii!).
Errands and chores today, followed by a bonus day off for Kevin tomorrow. I love long weekends!
On a serious note, we’re sending out lots of love and heaps of prayers to all of our friends in Louisiana and East Texas. Y’all take care and get out of the way if you need to (and if you haven’t already).
It’s Oliver’s first night away from home. We’re heading over to Tampa for the Kenny Chesney concert (woot!), and while the big dogs will be totally fine on their own for a few hours, Smalliver wouldn’t be, so I made the decision to board him. After *extensive* research, I finally settled on The DogMaHall. Now, some would say that I have a tendency to go a little bit overboard when it comes to my dogs, and that’s probably true. Then again, we don’t have kids, so my maternal instincts need to be directed somewhere else. I really don’t like the idea of boarding our dogs (and I wouldn’t board the older ones, just because, well, they’re old and do really well with a pet sitter), but we get a fresh start with Oliver.
The most important thing was for him to not feel like he was too confined (he HATES his crate, and he literally makes himself sick if he’s isolated), so that automatically ruled out more than half of the doggy day cares since they use kennels. I asked my vet for recommendations, but those were all a bust, too. I must have looked at every single boarding facility in the greater Orlando area, but I *finally* found one that seemed to fit the bill.
Oliver has a little bit of separation anxiety. Kevin has a hard time with him on the weekends, since I try to sleep in but Oliver just scratches at the bedroom door and cries. Rigley was bad when she was a puppy, too, but Oliver is definitely a mama’s boy. I was certainly apprehensive about leaving him behind, since he is a sensitive little man. Turns out I had nothing at all to worry about. He was soooo done with me the minute we walked in the place, and of course, he charmed everybody there.
I have a feeling he may not want to come home tomorrow, in which case I’m totally booking him for next weekend when we go to Tallahassee, only next time I’ll throw in some extras. The boy does love his massages….. 😉
So it turns out that Oliver may not be such a pain after all. In fact, he may just be a hero. You may have heard that we’re having a little bit of weather today. It’s no big deal; just a little wind and some rain. But…..the ground is already super-saturated from all the other rain we’ve had, and our yard floods pretty badly. Again, no big deal, since it drains off pretty quick. Unless it rains for 12 straight hours.
Now, we did the right thing and drained some water out of the pool, so we weren’t really worried about it overflowing. In fact, the lanai didn’t look nearly as bad as it has in other thunder storms. But then Oliver started going CRAZY tonight. I mean, he was going crazazy even by his standards. Howling, baying, barking, digging at the floor (and not just where food has been, either). Since I thought it was cute, I started shooting video of him. And then he headed for the corner of the room, still baying, still barking. I’ve had him long enough that I know that when he does that for so long he’s trying to tell me something, and boy, was he ever.
The drain that runs across our lanai was clogged. Big time. Water had started seeping into the house. Behind the TV, and right underneath where our massive surge protector is. You know, the surge protector that our TV is plugged into. And the laptops. And the AppleTV. And the Wii. And the AirPort. Basically every important piece of electronics we own (minus the tera station). We were able to run outside and clear the clog (well, enough to get through the storm), and we shop-vac’d the water out of the carpet.
So thanks, Smalliver. You just saved our whole digital lifestyle.
We’re officially getting a Bath & Body Works just up the street. This is going to save me a bundle in shipping (which is still cheaper than the gas I’d use going to the next closest one). The downside? I just bought a year’s supply (no, I’m not kidding) of foamy soap online because they were having a sale.
And a quick word about stupid Fay: It looks like she’s coming for us for sure. We’re not awfully concerned, however, since we have everything we need (including a generator). And maybe I’m naive, but I just don’t see how hurricanes can be worse than North Texas storms. At least with a hurricane we get a warning; not so much with tornadoes. Just sayin’.
First, let me make this perfectly clear: I am NOT IN ANY WAY one of *those* dog people that dress their dogs up. Really. I mean, I love my dogs, but I would never subject them to this kind of humiliation.
Unless it was a very special day. You see, Oliver graduated from Puppy Obedience School today. He was at the top of his class (of course), and by the end of the six weeks, he’s learned to sit, stay, not jump when meeting new people, roll over, shake, high five (at Kevin’s request), come, leave it, drop it, bring it, lay down, and wait at doors until given the okay to go through. He also goes to the door now when he needs to go potty.
I’ve worked with this dog every day since we got him. For hours. So you bet I’m proud of my little man, and I’m proud of myself, too. Which is probably why I subjected him to the extreme humiliation of a cap and gown. You go, Smalliver!
There is not a whole lot in this world that I want for. Kevin does an *excellent* job of taking care of me (and that’s a big fat disclaimer for the story that follows).
It’s a pretty well known fact that Sunday is my big housework day. Kevin can chill and watch some NASCAR while I do laundry, iron, clean bathrooms, change sheets, fold towels, clean the kitchen, make dinner, put the groceries away, scoop poop….and the list goes on. Today was just like any other Sunday (and a huge thanks to Kevin for helping me out by vacuuming the living room). It was only after I finished dusting the baseboards and scrubbing our toilet that I started to daydream a little.
Me: “Gee….I sure wish I had a third toilet brush for the third bathroom.”
Kev: “Well baby, just put it on your Christmas list.”
Me: “And maybe a little trash can for the back porch to hold the poop bags”.
Kev: “That’s an awful lot….I’ll tell you what. I’ll take you to the mall and you can sit on Santa’s lap and ask him for it”.
Me: “Yeah! That’s it! I’ll ask Santa for a shit bucket!!!”
Some women want diamonds, some women want fancy cars. Me? I just want a toilet brush and a shit bucket.
The fact that the dogs played long enough for me to eat breakfast. It’s the first time that’s happened since we got a new puppy. Did I mention we got a new puppy?
