Warm Moments

So, the snow is really melting.  I went out this morning and was completely shocked to see the grass...  We've been dealing with a lot of fog lately though.  So, visibility has been down by a lot.  I'm looking forward to the new year and possibly going window shopping (worth the free truffle from Godiva) and being super lazy...

Did I mention I have awesome friends who really know how to cook?  And they gave me a couple of their recipes.  I'm so excited to make the almond-flavored looking bar treat (reminds me of marzipan which I'm very much addicted to)...

My New Year's plan will be coming up shortly.  I kind of gave up on New Year's Resolutions since I rarely attempt to implement them...  So, instead I'll write down my future plans and where I'd like to see myself in the future and call that good for a resolution.  Last year, I wrote about what happened to me in the last decade instead and talked about how I wanted to exercise more (relative to 2009, I did exercise more in 2010 - haha).

Family

This will be the very first Christmas that we spend without family.  It's also the first time I will not be around for my sister's birthday.  But she opened her gift while I was on the phone with her, and she seemed to like it.  I'm just a little sad that I won't see family tomorrow...

For Christmas Eve, we're spending the evening with friends from church.  We'll go to the Christmas Eve service tonight and then to dinner with our friends.  It'll be fun.  Also, a great way to remember the reason for the season.

So, I was ranting over the week about how I wanted a house to call my own.  And I've come to the conclusion that the first home we buy will not be downsizing from our apartment.  Since we live somewhere very cold, an apartment is super nice because I rarely go outside (except to take the dog out).  I go to the underground garage to my car and then to the underground garage at work (effectively never going outside).  So, my requirements for our first house which will probably be the next place we move into will require a two car garage and more than one bathroom.  And if that means I have to wait another five years before I can afford that kind of home, then so be it...  I will just be thankful for the nice apartment community I have now.

Anxiety

I've mentioned this before, but Gizmo suffers from anxiety when left home alone.  He is such a people dog (more specifically, he is a major Amanda dog).  He wants to be around people, sit on them, cuddle with them.  He can't handle being alone or having to sit by himself.  So with Jared getting a job, he hasn't been handling that all too well.

It took him a while to get used to the fact that I'm rarely home anymore on the weekdays.  Instead, he got to spend his days with Jared.  And now, he spends some days in the kennel.  And he's not coping well at all.

Gizmo is potty trained when around people.  But when left alone, he could care less where he goes pee and whether or not he has to lay in it for hours (this is not typical dog behavior for those who don't know much about dogs).  So, needless to say, his kennel can get quite dirty.

Also, he's beginning to go back to old behaviors that he had when he lived with my mom.  And those behaviors involve peeing on the carpet in the morning or middle of the night.  So, he is now back to being kenneled at night as well to keep him from going potty when he shouldn't be.  He's not happy about it; he can't cuddle with someone in the kennel...

Some days, I wish he hadn't learned these bad behaviors.  Maybe life wouldn't have been so difficult if his mom didn't teach him to eat poo and pee where you lay.  If he still had that sense of understanding what a den (or dwelling) is and how you don't relieve yourself within it, maybe he wouldn't be so frustrating...

Needless to say, I am super frustrated with him.  And he is feeling a lot of abandonment.  My woes for the week...

Miscellaneous

So, it's been a mixture of rain and sleet today.  There's snow on the ground, but it's too warm for the precipitation coming down to take snow form.  There might have been a minute or two of light fluffy snow, but it didn't last.  It'll probably turn into snow once the sun goes down which is any minute now.  Yes, the sun goes down before 4:30 here...  Depressing, I know.

My car went into the car shop to get looked at and fixed.  Turns out the place that replaced the tires last year never balanced the tires.  Makes me really mad because I had to cough up $200 to replace the now warped tires.  It really urks me that people try to get things done as quick and as cheap as possible without taking a moment to make sure they're doing it right.  Oh well, I live.  And I let go.

I watched a movie today that I don't recommend.  But the story of it went along the lines of how living by the law and doing the right thing doesn't always return the value you can get when taking shortcuts in life.  It's based on a true story.  A guy who had just gotten released from prison was trying to stay sober and get back on track with his family. Out of desperation from his son not talking to him, he asked, "What do you want from me?"  His son replied, "I want you to stay sober.  And I don't want you to leave us again."  Then his bad-influence friend talked about a armored-car heist that would let them retire rich.  The guy backed out of it in the end and went back to his can't-even-make-ends-meet job while his friend robbed the car.  So, it was a little sad, but I'm happy the guy did the right thing in the end.  It shows that his son mattered more to him than the money and 'easy life.'

And I finished my Vampire Academy book.  The series is over.  I'm a little sad.  I felt a disconnect with this book.  Granted, I'm a full time worker and had to read the book in the evenings when I was super tired.  And instead of reading it in a day like I could with the other books, this one took me four days.  The book did not end how I wanted it to end, but I'm okay with the ending I guess.  It didn't all wrap-up in the end and there was no honky-dory happy ending to wrap it up either.  And then it was over.

I love reading books, and I always can't wait to finish them.  But once they're over, I get a feeling of, "That's it?" And then I'm a little depressed because I'm done with the book and it's over.  But then I find another book to read (which I need to do).  I think the moral of the story for me is "It's not the ending that matters but how you get there."

Off to the next book.  Maybe I'll pick something up right away (or take another big break like I've been doing recently).

Snow

The snow has finally come...  It snowed Friday night and Saturday morning.  Gizmo was not too happy Saturday morning.  I had to uncover a little bit of grass, so he'd do his duty.  And it's funny watching him walk.  He's already missing a leg.  But when there's snow on the ground, he avoids it as much as possible.  That means holding one leg up and walking with two the whole time.  His left legs getting wet are definitely worth the sacrifice to keep the right hind one dry...

I took Gizmo on a walk today.  He was excited to go outside because it meant relieving his bladder.  But then I put his coats on (yes, two coats for Gizmo).  And he glared at me.  When he realized I was taking him on a walk in the cold with the snow out, he wasn't happy.  I had to drag him at first.  He wouldn't budge.  Finally, he started walking although it was a slow walk.  Once we got going, he was super happy.  His tail started wagging. But every time we encountered a bit of sidewalk with snow on it, his tail went between his legs, and he walked very slowly and with a lot of caution.  It was funny...