Sunday, January 29, 2006

My poor little dog

My poor little dog got hit by a car yesterday.


He often escapes from our backyard by digging a hole under the fence. We are constantly repairing the fence in various places because of this. Sometimes he comes home through the back, and sometimes he comes around to the front of the house.

Yesterday, he was gone less than an hour. We didn't even know he was gone. I looked out back, and asked, "Where's Taquito?" My husband didn't even know I'd let him out.

So I looked out the front door, and there he was. But he was leaning against the house in a strange way. I opened the door, and he came up to it, slowly, and slowly hopped inside, with his tail between his legs, like he'd done something very, very wrong. He stopped walking, and turned around to look at me with sad doggie eyes.

I bent down, asking, "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" And that's when I saw the huge gash in his leg. I immediately began changing my clothes, and hollered at my husband that I had to take him to the vet right away. I told the dog to go to bed, to get him out of the way of my 3-year-old. He walked all the way to his bed, and lay down. I changed into clothes as fast as I could, called the vet and told them I was coming, and went to look at the dog. He was closing his eyes, as if to sleep. At that moment, I thought he was dying.

I ran for his leash, which is the one thing that can coax him out of any spot, and luckily, I was correct this time, too. He hobbled out of his condo, I snapped the leash on, then gently picked him up, avoiding the gash in his leg. I yelled for my husband to open the door, then yelled for him to push the button for the garage door. I got my dog to the car, then to the vet. Brought him in. Put him on the scale in the room. And after observing him for a couple of seconds, the tech got the vet right in there.

Now, I thought he had cut his leg pretty bad. I thought a big dog had bitten him. The vet came in, and began examining him. She lifted the skin at the gash. And that's when I almost fainted. The skin flap kept going up and up and up....all the way across his "shoulder" and up to his neck. It was a huge flap of skin that had been ripped right off his muscles beneath. He was, in that section, literally skinned alive.

The vet and tech took him to the back to give him an IV and clean his wound, and also to get him away from me, because I was quickly becoming somewhat hysterical.

The doctor suspected that he had a dislocated shoulder, and as such, recommended I take him to the animal hospital, because if he did need surgery, someone at the hospital would be there for him overnight, but nobody was overnight at my regular vet's. Okay, here we go again. This time we take him in a blanket to the car, with an IV stuck in him.

I drove to the hospital, carried him in, asked repeatedly if my vet had called as she said she would, etc. They took him immediately to the back. I sat down. And then I didn't talk to anyone for about an hour, which sucked. It pissed me off, but there wasn't much I could do. The TV was playing one channel: Some Dude's Wild America. Those wildlife shows with the ultra-mellow narrator. Good god.

After a long time the vet came out and told me they wanted to x-ray him. I knew this was going to happen, so I said, "Yes, yes, do it and tell me what's next. I know you have to x-ray him!"

So she did. And you will not believe this. Bighorn sheep butt heads in slow motion!

No, that's not what I want to tell you. The unbelievable thing was this: NO broken bones. NO dislocated shoulder. Absolutely unreal. So the vet gave me an estimate of what it would cost to sew him up. I paid. I then left, and picked him up at 8pm.

My poor little doggie was walking, slowly and carefully, but walking. Drunkenly, but walking. I took him to the car, and he HOPPED into the front seat. He promptly laid down, but I was amazed.

He's been in his condo all day, resting. I took him out 3 times to pee. Each time he looks better and better. He ate a bit today.

This 9-year-old doggie is now an indoor doggie. I'm so glad he's alive. I can't believe he survived being hit by a car, which is what the vet concluded, with some conviction. He probably got clipped by a bumper, which ripped his skin.

He's so small and quick........I hope the people didn't see him. If they did, they'd better steer clear of me. I'll bitch slap them up the street.


My poor little doggie. He's such a lucky boy. I hope he comes out of this whole thing okay.

More blatant self-promotion.

One purpose of a blog is to let folks know what you're up to. I always wonder about strangers who may read this. Why are you reading it? Do you read blogs for fun? Are you bored? Are you looking for porn?


Or are you just downright filthy?



I have the answer! Olde Crone's Bewitching Bath Soap will cleanse your skin, while leaving it soft and smooth, moisturized and smelling lovely. Don't take my word for it. Read the customer testimonials on the home page.

Are you, stranger reading this blog, crafty? Do you like to make things for yourself? Do you find yourself shopping, and constantly saying to yourself, "Pfft! I could make that, for a lot cheaper." If so, then perhaps you would be more interested in my ebook, Making Soap In Your Own Kitchen. Many others have had the same thoughts as you, and are now making their own soaps. You can, too. It isn't difficult.


Speaking of my book, I recently dropped the price, and I sold triple the amount of books that I normally sell in a week! Hooray! This self-publishing thing is a really good idea. I think I'll do it again, only with a print book. Of course, I could make up some shorter, downloadable reports, on how to make specialty soaps. Hmmm. (I'm giving you a glimpse into my thought processes...scary.)

Gotta run. Gotta do some work for one of my many enterprises. You go see my soapy site, now.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I know, I know.

I know. I haven't written in a while. I've started teaching at the University, and it really blows me out of the water, energy-wise, for about 3 days afterward.

However.

I've gotta let you know--this group of students is HILARIOUS. Many of them know each other, and we played Two Truths and a Lie to get to know each other, etc. and they really got into it! It was hilarious! This one guy just lied for each of his statements, but didn't let us know until after he'd lied again, saying, "Yeah, that's the one that's a lie." But they were all lies! We were rolling. They were elaborate lies, too, involving cranes and cars, and rapping like Snoop Dogg at a wedding.

They've got a lot of energy. To give you an idea of what they're like, our most heated discussion came when we were deciding whether or not we should have a schedule for people to bring snacks.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Somehow hopeful.

I cannot explain why I feel hopeful these days, but I do. And when I say "these days, " I literally mean just the past couple of days.

I absolutely cannot explain it.

I have this hopeful feeling, this feeling that, no matter what, everything is going to turn out ok. Everything is moving in the right direction, and everybody will love whatever I do, and I will get the job I want, and when I publish my book, everyone that I want to will buy it.

It's weird.

When a person hates her/his job, many strange psychological things can happen. Depression. Despair. Bad hair days. But I don't think "hopeful feelings" is one of the symptoms of job hatred.

I just can't explain it.

So instead, I'm rolling with it. I'm taking steps in the right direction every day, and when the opportunity presents itself, I'm gonna jump on it.

Hope you're outta my way when that happens. It could be spectacular.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Back to the green.

Okay, I'm a sucker for pink. But I, too, couldn't take the Pepto quality of it.

Blogger needs to get more template choices, is all.

Monday, January 09, 2006

New Year. New Look. Readers chime in.

So, I'm a sucker for pink.

This is why: my birthday is in February. And whenever I see little tchotchkes in shops, all artfully displayed, and they're all pink and white, with hearts and sweetness, I love it love it love it. And that's because I think of my birthday and get all happy.

Hence, the different look of my blog. Too bad it doesn't have any little hearts.

Lemme know what you think.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

New Year. New Ideas.

It doesn't always happen that I start thinking about money in particular at this time of year. It's just that, well, taxes are due soon, and I need to make sure I can cover them.

We usually have a big ebay selling stint from February through March, in order to cover the tax bill.

In any case, I've already started my taxes. I think this may be the last year that I do them myself. My time is getting more and more valuable. However, I am a control freak about my finances, which I do not think is a bad thing. However, sitting around for hours and hours, adding up receipts does not hold the mystique for me that it used to. I can't imagine that it would cost that much. And I always owe on my taxes anymore, anyway. Harumph.

So, because I'm full of the money-making ideas, I present a list to share. Perhaps I'll help/inspire someone else, as well.

My idea list:

It's difficult to fight this extreme fatigue I'm feeling and have all these ideas, too. I don't know why I'm so tired all the time.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

MASH unit

What do you think would happen to you if you worked in an Army M.A.S.H. unit, for 5 years straight? If your work was constantly an emergency, someone else's emergency, and everything you did wasn't good enough? And everything you did wasn't done quick enough?



And it all just kept piling up and piling up, and there was nothing you could do to make it stop?


Now remember, in this scenario, you did this for 5 YEARS STRAIGHT.


What do you think would happen at some point? Bitchiness? Depression? Bad fashion choices?

You know the answer as well as I do.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Back to work.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!


I am sitting in some "staff development," listening to this woman, go on and on about her agenda. Always her agenda. Always she pushes her personal academic agenda onto all of us. It is so tiring.

And it is also one reason why people leave this profession. Their ears start bleeding and they have to retire.

Oh, and after they sent us off in small groups to talk about an article and come up with some ideas on things we can do in our school, I offered our group's idea. The response? An unequivocal no. Of course.

Don't ask for my ideas if you don't want to hear them!

Monday, January 02, 2006

Vacation Log: Day 17--Last Day. :(

'Tis the last day of my vacation. Baby girl got up at 4:45am, and did not fall back asleep. I got up with her around 6:30am and made pancakes and bacon. They were delicious.

Little monkey played for a long time in the morning, while I read the paper and did some work on the computer. Newsflash! I did my sales tax returns for my soap business, and I have the money to cover the taxes! This is an accomplishment for me, anti-saver.

I called my mom today, and talked with her for a while. Her knee is getting better, and she's been going for walks outside. This is a major improvement for her--that knee has given her trouble for a long time.

*sigh* Did some laundry. Watched some kiddie tv. Now I'm just waiting for bathtime, so I can go to bed.

And go to work tomorrow.


*sigh*

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Vacation Log: Day 16

It's January 1, 2006!

Should I resolve something? Is my life so desperate that I need to "decide firmly on a course of action," to make it better?

How about this: I'll just continue to go to work every day, and make enough money to feed my family, and continue to be a generally good person.


(Am I cranky, or what?)


Okay, okay. I'm just scroogy. I'll stop now. "I resolve to be less scroogy."


How about we make resolutions that are fun? How about, "I resolve to speak in old-fashioned phrases more often." Example: "Fill up the car with petroleum distillate, post haste!" Or "He doesn't have the sense god gave a goose." Yeah. That'll make my life better.

I also resolve to speak my mind more, and care less what people think. That'll improve my life, too. Not that I care too much what people think, but when you work in a school, this thought that everyone is dissecting your words and actions does take over, somewhat. So, I'm gonna speak the truth. There's some life improvement for you.

Truth #1: It's freaking cold in my basement, where my daughter is watching Boobah right now.

Truth #2: I actually love Boobah.

Truth #3: Getting in touch with old friends is awesome! I talked today with a friend who I haven't seen for 12 years. It is so great to find out how he's been doing, and what he's been doing, etc. He's been leading a very interesting life. Except now he lives in Houston. Too bad, that.

Truth #4: Tomorrow is the last day of this vacation. Boo.


Grade for day 16: A+++++++

Vacation Log: Day 15

Well, both of my old friends got back to me. Yay! I'm so happy.


Yesterday was Dec. 31, 2005. Whoopity-shite. I don't make too big of a deal with the calendar change. It's a good excuse to have people over for drinks and snacks and Trivial Pursuit. Which is exactly what we did.

And it was so much fun! Thanks, folks, for coming over and snacking on the snacks, and drinking the drinks, and playing the games! I had a great time!


Grade for Day 15: A+