Thanksgiving

Happy late Thanksgiving to everyone.  I hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend as much as I am.  I got the Christmas trees up, and the lights on the balcony.  Our cousin joined us for the turkey dinner yesterday.  Knowing that I will never cook as well as my grandparents, I still think I did okay for the dinner.  And he brought the pumpkin pie (which was super delicious).  I had no idea how much I love pumpkin pie until I tasted this pie.  Thankfully, he gave us the leftover pie.

And now I leave you with Gizmo's annual stuff-in-a-stocking-and-snap-a-photo picture...

Organic

Jared and I decided to read the nutritional labels while grocery shopping.  And wow, there's a lot of sodium and bad stuff in the food out there.  Needless to say, we bought a lot of organic and healthier stuff.  It was an expensive shopping trip.  Let's see if the food tastes better or the same.  Can I handle organic food?  Can I handle healthier foods?  Hmm...

I'm enjoying my three day weekend.  I've been running a lot of errands and cleaning the house.  It's nice to do almost nothing.  It's supposed to get really warm this weekend.  Mid 60s to lower 70s.  Exciting.  I'm glad to be home.

Gizmo got his Spring cut today.  I didn't do anything too severe by saying chop all of his hair off.  So, he still has quite a bit.  And I'm beginning to think they didn't use a shaver but actually cut his hair with scissors.  The groomer said I did a good job maintaining his hair throughout winter.  In other words, he had absolutely no mattes, and his hair was very smooth to the touch.

Last Saturday, my coworker and I went to Virginia City, Nevada.  It's an old ghost town turned tourist town.  There were a lot of older buildings and shopping areas.  It was also very windy.  Anyways, I had lots of fun learning Virginia City's history and window-shopping.

Where we ate lunch.  It was an old saloon.  I didn't get a picture of the bar.  Thought of that mistake after the fact...

I believe the name of this church is St Mary's in the Mountains or something like that.  It's one of the oldest Catholic churches in the US.  I got to attend mass in it.  I enjoyed it.

Plants

I'm so excited for spring!!!  I bought a few seeds a while ago to plant around my house.  And I barely planted them today.  I'm so excited for flowers!  And the awesome thing was, I noticed my current plant (that I planted the day after Christmas) has just sprouted from the ground.  And Jared was worried that I lost my green thumb...

Gizmo had to go into the vet's and get his last shot.  This shot is the one that will form a big knot under the skin.  So, Gizmo was in pain and not feeling well for a day.  It was pretty pathetic.  He was super clingy to me as soon as I got home.  And every time I moved, he'd give me this look, "Please let me stay on your lap.  Please, please just hold me..."  He normally likes to cuddle, but this time, he was way too clingy.

We ate Indonesian food yesterday.  It was super yummy.  Also, I have found out that getting the restaurant deals off of Living Social are super sweet.  And if you're like Jared and me, you only eat out once a week, then you can pretty much save $15 every time.  And it's nice to try the local stuff.  We never would have found this Indonesian restaurant without Living Social's awesome deals...

Tonight, I get to wear my prom dress from high school.  How can I weigh the same as in high school, well I don't.  This is actually the first year that I have gained weight since my growth spurt from middle school (I used to have pants from elementary school that I still wore in college).  Anyways, the dress still fits me.  Work's doing an anniversary dinner, and I'll use the excuse to dress pretty.

Normal

Let me say, last week was the best birthday ever!!  Seeing my family was so fun and refreshing.  The only drawback was the flying standby business (as always).

Thursday - 24

Jared, Gizmo, and I flew from Madison to Minneapolis.  I saw the Mall of America in the air and told Jared, "If we get stuck here, we're so going there!!"  We couldn't get on the first flight to Salt Lake.  For those who don't know, Salt Lake is the western hub for Delta which makes it very hard for standbys to get on these flights.  The second plane, I got on easily but Jared barely made it on.  So, the fact that we got on the plane together was a good start.  Picked up the rental car in Salt Lake.  Thanks to my membership (that work gave me), they upgraded my car and gave us something nice.  Renting a car for a few days for only $80 was completely worth every buck.  Anyways, we had a big family get-together at Cafe Rio for my birthday.  Why Cafe Rio?  Because it's awesome (and not in Wisconsin).

Friday - 25

There was a big surprise right next to the Winco store; a Culver's opened up in Utah.  We're like wait a second, I thought we were in Utah.  Culver's is Wisconsin-based, so we were very surprised to see it opening in Utah.  We went to see a lot of family members including our brand new nephew.  Restaurant choices include Carl's Jr (Hardee's just isn't the same) and Sconecutter.

Saturday - 26

I took my siblings shopping.  They were so happy to see me.  And it was fun hanging out with them.  It's also a nice reminder that I'm still not ready for kids.  I like being selfish and only thinking of myself (I really do), and that mentality doesn't go well with having kids.  Anyways, we also talked Jared's brothers into trying out Culver's.  Who'd have thought we'd be eating at Culver's in Utah??

Sunday - 27

We saw all of our grandparents one last time.  I really don't remember all of the specifics of my trip other than I loved it.  Granted, it did snow a bit.  And I do have to say, Utahns are very spoiled with their snow.  Someone said there was ice on the ground, and I asked where.  She pointed out a small thing of ice.  Yeah, that is ice but I don't think a two-inch piece of ice should be scaring everyone into saying there's ice everywhere.  Trust me, after living in Wisconsin, I know what ice everywhere looks like (the ground turns into a solid block of ice that never ends)...

Monday - 28

The most disappointing day of our trip.  We got to the airport at 5 in the morning hoping to get on an early flight to Detroit.  Turns out everyone with money flies out to Utah over the weekend for skiing, and then they fly back on Monday.  Yeah, we didn't get on any of the early flights.  The one we did get on was a very delayed one going to Minneapolis (arrived in Minneapolis at 10:30pm).  Since it was so delayed, we missed our connecting flight.  And we figured renting a car would cost the same as trying to find a hotel with a low dog fee.  So, we rented another car to drive home.  Initially, they told us there were no cars available.  But thanks again to my job's perks, we got a car to drive home with. The only drawback is it cost more than the one we rented for the weekend (one-way rentals cost a lot).

And now I'm trying to get back into the normalness of my life.  It's hard going back to my long days at work.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job.  The hours (~7:30-~5:30) just take a lot of getting used to.

Gizmo went to the vet dentist on Wednesday.  His teeth are still too crowded.  Another tooth was pulled.  And they sent us home with antibiotics.  Apparently, the antibiotics don't taste very well.  He jumps up and down when we pull out his pain medication (arthritis), but he tries to hide when I pull out the antibiotics.  Other than that, he's doing well.

Finally

I finished my second scarf.  I used thinner yarn this time and had to double it up.  So, there were a couple of mistakes in it, but I think it turned out well.  It's a red scarf for the UW Badgers.  And it's for Jared.  He's been asking me to finish it for the last three months.  It took me almost four months to complete.  I definitely took a while on it...

My pictures of the scarf turned into pictures of Gizmo.  He wouldn't get out of the way.  He likes attention...

7x

We ran out of dog food last weekend and were down to the last little bit.  Gizmo does not eat a whole lot as it is.  A lot of vets have warned us that small dogs tend to overeat and get fat.  And Gizmo is not allowed to gain weight because it wouldn't be good for his arthritis.  Anyways, the only bag in stock that the vet had was a 27 pound bag.  About seven times heavier than our dog...  Needless to say, it'll last us a couple of years.

We got our Christmas present from Jared's brother.  It was a five pound gummy worm.  Again, heavier than our dog.  I was surprised with how heavy it was.  Cherry and blue raspberry flavored.  The cherry side tastes like cough syrup.  I prefer the blue raspberry side.

Anyways, we are two months away from paying off our first credit card.  It's super exciting!!  We're getting out of debt.. ...slowly.... and our first milestone is coming up...

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...

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...

Haircuts

Did you know we spend more on Gizmo's grooming than we spend on our own combined?  Other than the shampoo and conditioner, I really don't spend money on my hair.  And Jared has a do it yourself approach when it comes to cutting his hair.  I thought about getting a haircut today, and decided I didn't want to go anywhere...  So, only Gizmo got a haircut today.  And he was super happy afterwards.  He can now see.  He's a lot cuter when you can see his eyes.  But he loves going to the dog groomer.  He shows off his new do afterwards, and thinks he's king of the world.

Why yes, Gizmo frequently mistakes his canine species for a feline one.  Sunbathing on the couch. 

Before the haircut.  We couldn't resist it.  After realizing Gizmo would fit into a stocking, that's where he went.  He wasn't too happy with us.  Oh well, it was completely worth it.

The infamous tongue sticking out.  Almost all pictures we have of him, he's got his tongue sticking out.

So far, I have very little Christmas shopping done.  Probably about fifty bucks worth which equates to some-odd 8 people.  And if I can help it, I'm solely shopping online for Christmas presents.  And I wait until I have a coupon before I shop (yes, still a major bargain hunter).  I will probably get a lot more done next week once Jared gets his discount.  And then I have to ship all of the gifts off.  Better hurry up with this non-shopping...

Last Minute

So, I'm doing what I always do when preparing to jump on a plane and take a mini-vacation.  I procrastinate the packing.  Never fails.  So, this post will be short.  I'm excited to go to Wisconsin, but I think my nerves have finally caught up with me.  I talked with Career Services to help me prepare for this interview, and I think it just helped me feel even less prepared and more freaked out.

I also got a hair cut.  And I'm still trying to get used to it.  Sure, I like trying new hairstyles.  But trying to feel like me with my new hair is kind of hard.  And I need to feel good and confident pretty quickly.  I'm sure I'll get over my hair soon anyways.  It's not like I'm someone who always has to have the perfect looks all of the time...

I took Gizmo to the vet's yesterday because he's been acting like his leg's been hurting.  Long story short, he has arthritis in his leg.  His diet is being changed to special food that helps improve the joints.  And he is now on anti-inflammatory medication (kind of like ibuprofen for dogs).  Anyways, I could tell he knew what the meds were because he's been on then before.  He got super excited.  My dog's addicted to pain killers, haha.  Anyways, he's been doing a lot better since.  He's now running around again and enjoying his walks instead of forcing me to drag him onwards.

Anyways, gotta go.  Got to prepare for everything.  I don't think I'm getting a lot of sleep tonight...

Weekend Fun

So, I took Gizmo on a walk today.  Lately, I've been walking him everyday, and we've been walking about two to three miles everyday.  Sadly, he doesn't get that tired from it all.  Every time we're going outside, he's begging to go walking again.

Anyways, on the walk, we encountered another dog.  It was a Golden Retriever.  And Gizmo got all huffy and had to act like he was a big shot.  And when he does that, I'll let him do that instead of protect him (however, I won't let him bark or growl, only excitement can overtake him).  And then Gizmo realized the other dog wasn't on a leash.  And then the dog came running at us.  And Gizmo ran and tried to hide behind me.  The other dog only wanted to say hi like almost all other dogs, but Gizmo hates saying hi to big dogs.  So, I grabbed Gizmo and he crawled up my arm like a friggin cat (claws and all).  Without thinking, I told the other dog to sit.  Funny thing is she listened to me.  She sat, and let me pet her.  And then a girl came to get the dog and scold her for running off on her.

That's one thing I like about my dog.  He listens when he wants to run off, and we tell him no.  Sometimes, he wants to say hi to small dogs, but he waits for our approval (which usually doesn't happen since he rarely lets another dog say hi to him).  When he wants to say hi to people, he'll usually get excited at a distance.  And then he'll stay in step with us.  Typically, he doesn't run off to another person until he knows they're talking to him.

So, my weekend was overall enjoyable.  I made piña coladas on friday.  And they were awesome.  Rum is probably my favorite alcohol.  And then we experimented with mixing drinks on saturday.  The drink consisted of a few citrus fruit juices, some orange liqueur mixers, and vodka.  It was surprisingly pretty good.

Now I need to go finish my homework and prepare myself for another monday.  But at least life has been good lately. 

Cute vs. Care

So, my family told me that they're going to steal Gizmo from me because he's so cute.  I just laugh because I know they think he's cute, but they don't have the time and patience to take care of him.

My dog is super-high maintenance.  And it's not really that he's spoiled; it's more that there's a disconnect in communication between me and him.  He suffers from major anxiety when left at home by himself.  And I believe a lot of this stems from his upbringing.  When, he gets anxious, he pees in his kennel (and will sometimes poo).  This behavior stems from the fact that as a puppy, he lived in a box with the other pups and momma.  This box was their bed and toilet.  So, while normal dogs do not associate their toilet with their bed, my dog kind of learned that they're one and the same.  And let me tell you, it took a lot of untraining and retraining to teach Gizmo that the potty is outside and not inside.

So, when I am home, Gizmo is the perfect dog.  But when I leave, he's left in the kennel and falls back on his first instincts he learned as a puppy.  He deals with his loneliness by peeing.  And since I'm still trying to work on fixing this behavior of his, I still have to deal with the mess he leaves.  The mess I come home to probably once a week (it used to be everyday, sometimes twice a day).

So, when people tell me they want my dog, I just laugh.  Sure, he's super cute, but he requires a lot of responsibility.  And if you're not willing to take care of him, then you're not ready to have a dog.

And in my case, I don't think I'm ready to have a kid.  Sure, they're super cute, and I want one.  But I'm not ready to devote my life to someone else who has a million needs that must be met.

And so I will settle for my dog.  Sure, he's a crapster sometimes, but I'm willing to give the time to take care of him.  And most of the time, the rewards are far greater than the time I put into taking care of my dog.

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm not ready for kids.  Gizmo is my kid.  He's my high-maintenance kid.  And as crazy as people may think I am for saying that, I really don't care.  I'm happy calling my dog my kid; the kid I can put in a kennel and leave alone for a few hours, haha.

Gizmo

So, we took Gizmo to Utah State University yesterday.  We played with him out on the quad.  We were running quite a lot trying to wear him out.  And it's just so much fun watching him run.  He definitely doesn't let his missing leg stop him.  He loves playing tag.  And he'll actually let us chase him unlike some dogs who will only chase you.

Anyways, we decided to walk around campus.  That was when Gizmo found his friend in the Eccles Conference Center.  And he just couldn't figure out why his friend kept following him or why he couldn't play with him...

Oh man...  My dog didn't know what to think of the reflective walls.  But Jared and I were definitely amused...  He actually cried because his reflection wouldn't come out and play even though he knew it wanted to.

Easy Day

So, I was kind of excited for today because I knew it would be kind of relaxing and boring...  Gizmo went to the veterinarian dentist today.  He had three teeth pulled.  And he's been laying down the whole day trying to get over the anesthetic and his sore mouth.  I feel sorry for him.  He sounds like a gerbil at some moments because he's making so many noises with his mouth.  He just doesn't want to be bothered right now.  On another note, Gizmo is one expensive dog.  I spent way too much at the vet's today.  But at least he's healthy.

So, Jared and I decided to set a goal with our job hunting.  We've decided to apply to at least one company a day.  It's an easy way to keep myself actively looking for a job, and it's not going to overwhelm me.  I hope we're able to find something...  Maybe I'll just look for an internship somewhere.  I don't know.  I think I will start looking into other graduate schools also.  I don't know.  One day, I may know what I want to do in the near future.  Until then, I'll ask God to guide the way and maybe throw me into the right direction (otherwise, I may go the wrong way again).

San Jose

I'm going to San Jose, California tomorrow.  Exciting.  There's a bowling tournament.  And even though I am absolutely horrible at bowling, I am going.  I got a new ball also.  It's heavier than my other one, and I haven't quite figured out how to perfect it.

So, I had a test this morning in my general chemistry 2 class.  The class is taught at 8:30 am; so I rarely go to class just because I enjoy my sleep.  Anyways, I spent probably four hours last night (10 pm - 2 am) cramming four weeks worth of stuff into my head.  And let me tell you, it works for me.  Although I'm pretty sure my prior knowledge in physical chemistry, biochemistry, and organic chemistry helps.  I missed two questions on the test. 23 out of 25.  Exciting.  I just might be able to pull an A out of this class without ever really attending it.  Sweet.

And then one of our friends came to our house to look at the dryer.  He fixed it.  I'm so happy.  There were quite a few things wrong with it:  a spring was loose, the drum was off-centered, and there was six inches of lint inside.  The lint had some nice scorch marks; I'm assuming that was the culprit of the burning smell.  But our dryer works now.  Yay!

And then I had to drive down to Salt Lake to drop off the Gizmo.  He wasn't too happy about it.  Whenever we go down, he tends to stay at my mom's while me and Jared go to other places.  So, he probably had a feeling that I was going to leave him.  Oh well.  He'll survive.  But I miss him now.

I also filed my taxes while in Salt Lake.  A very pleasant surprise occurred.  We are getting a big tax return back because of our student status.  Apparently, the American Opportunity Credit will give you money back just for paying tuition.  It was an awesome surprise.  And it's helping to alleviate some of my financial worries.

So...  Today was a good day.  A very good day.  I should probably go to bed now...

Two Weeks

So, it has been two weeks since we moved in. And I'm still unpacking stuff. Kind of pathetic. But considering this is actually the first day I've almost had off in a long time, I finally have time to unpack.

My day's been relaxing and kind of boring. And I loved it. I definitely couldn't do it every day, but I like the offset of working 24/7. And I did get out of the house and go to work for an hour. It was nice that I spent the majority of the day inside my house. And I took Gizmo on a long walk after bathing him and brushing his teeth (not an easy feat). So, Gizmo loves me today.

I've unpacked quite a lot. I unpacked most of my picture frames. We bought some sticking tape stuff that doesn't leave holes or residue to hang stuff up in the house. And after messing some frames up a few times, I found out that the sticking tape really does work when taking it off of stuff. Some of my frames have the hanger right in the middle, so I kind of hoped if I put the tape to the side of the middle, it would be able to hold off the gravitational force as well as the momentum force that the tape to the side would cause. Boy was I wrong. One of the frames broke. And after a few hours of trying to super glue it back together, I got the awesome idea of using the tape to hold it together. My frame is all better and now stuck to the wall... I also bought some putty stuff that goes well with attaching paper/posters to the walls. Apparently, a small mirror is too heavy for the putty as I found out the hard way. But not everything has gone against me today. While accomplishing almost nothing, at least I unpacked a little...

Oh, and did I mention I found one of Gizmo's toys? I found his squeeky bear. He spent the next hour running around like a maniac squeeking the brains out of his bear. He was so excited.

Stir Crazy

So, Gizmo's going a little stir crazy as of late.  And I have no idea why.  Well, I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm at work/school for 8 to 10 hours everyday isn't helping...

1.  He has now decided that pooing in the kennel is his norm.  Now, I know he has anxiety issues when being left alone, but he knows pooing in the kennel is not the answer.  It's only going to piss me off.  So, he should probably fix that problem soon...

2.  He follows me like a lost puppy every time I get up and move.  And every time I am standing, he paws at my leg to try to get me to hold him.  And when this is done every ten seconds, it just pisses me off even more.  And then he gets yelled at.  Clearly, he is having some attachment issues with me.  And because of my long work days, he probably feels abandoned by me.

3.  While going outside to go potty, he happened upon some gum that I didn't see him take.  I'm sure he loves the neighbor kids who believe the stairwell is their garbage can for their unwanted food.  A half hour later, I'm doing homework while Gizmo's on his bed making some kind of noise.  At first, I thought he was grooming himself (much like what a cat does) because I heard licking.  And then I looked and realized he was making some kind of chewing/chomping noise.  Yes, he was chewing on gum.  Kind of horrified, I tore it out of his mouth, and he got punished for bringing in gum.

4.  Gizmo has decided he wants popcorn while watching the movie.  As soon as he sees Jared grab some popcorn, Gizmo goes for Jared's hand.  This is out of his norm because Gizmo is usually a well-behaved dog. He'll sit right next to you and beg (because he knows it's effective).  He won't go for what's in your hand (because he knows he'll get punished and not get any food).  Anyways, Gizmo was pushed aside and told no.  So, what does Gizmo do?  He sees Jared about to eat the popcorn.  And I guess Jared's not very effective at putting the whole popcorn piece in his mouth.  Because Gizmo ran up to Jared's face and grabbed the piece of popcorn out of his mouth.

Yeah, I think Gizmo's having some major issues as of late.  And the fact that I can't find his toys because they're packed somewhere in one of the boxes we haven't unpacked yet, he's had to make use with what's available to him.

I may just have to kill my dog...  (Sarcasm at its best just in case it doesn't pass through the computer.)

Gizmo

Milestone of our move:  Gizmo is now beginning to call our apartment home now.  The first few days, we couldn't get him to go potty outside.  It wasn't his territory nor his comfort zone.  Also, I've taught him to not go potty when he's on his leash.  A leash means he's going on a walk not going to the bathroom.  And since we're in an apartment complex, they want dogs on leashes at all times.  But I've kind of let that slide with Gizmo since he is trained very well and doesn't run off.  But, after three days, he is now beginning to go potty outside regularly.  And let me tell you, that is so much better than seeing him hold it in and having to sit outside for 30 minutes trying to coax him into going potty (it's below zero at night and above 75% humidity here).  So, happy note for me...

Oh, and we finally have internet...

Moving

Did I mention I will be moving in a week?  We're moving back into an apartment complex.  That way, we won't have to deal with the crazy landlord here.  The thing that will make moving so difficult is the fact that our apartment is on the third floor.  I've never lived on the third floor in a 3-level apartment complex.  I have always lived on the second floor (and I've lived in probably 10 different 3-level apartments).  Wait, I think I have to take that back.  I did live on the third floor for two months when my mom dragged us to Missouri.  I try not to remember those memories.

Anyways, I'm hoping Gizmo will like the new place.  Hopefully, he won't freak out too bad since his life will basically be a little upside down once we move.  Oh, and he's not allowed on the balcony or on the stairway without a leash.  The space between the bars isn't small enough for Gizmo.  And knowing his luck, he'd have one of his clutzy moments right next to the bars and fall off the balcony.  But that's not going to happen...

I've been packing up stuff today.  I think I did quite a lot of packing even though there's a lot more to do.  I just hope that this new place works out for us.  And I'm really hoping our neighbors aren't too noisy.  Geez, this is going to be a difficult transition.  But it's for the better.  I'll be closer to school and stores.  So, preparing for a different home journey...

Service Dog

So, we are now in the process of training Gizmo to be a service dog.  Now, what on earth can Gizmo do that makes him a service dog you might ask?  Well, let's just say I'm going to use my hands as an excuse to make him a service dog.  Now, anyone who knows me knows I would never call myself disabled or not able to do things because of my hands.  But let's face it, I do have a harder time catching things or picking things up off of the ground with my right hand (whether that's due to my klutziness or my unfeeling, small fingers is not the question). That's right, Gizmo's going to learn how to pick things up off of the ground and hand them to me.  So far, we've been working on it using his chew sticks (which he never chewed with anyways, so I thought it'd be okay).  He figured out he gets rewarded for picking up the stick.  And then he figured out he could chew the stick.  So when he gets bored of you, he runs off and chews the stick...  Soon enough, he'll be picking up pens...

From what I've been told, it's very, very easy to get a doctor's note stating your dog is a service animal.  But I decided I'm going to make my dog legit.  He is going to be able to pick things up for me and hand them to me.  Whether I need the help or not know one will have to know...  And honestly, this beats having to get rid of him because stupid rental places don't like dogs (smaller than a cat, can use a litter box like a cat - well, we're working on it anyways, and a lot funner than a cat)...

Gizmo is my other species kid.  And that's all there is to it...