The Elephant in the Room.

You would think at my age I would quit being so naive. Alas, I am not. I always think to the good side of everything. People included. I need to stop doing that. It only leads to getting hurt.

Even when you think something won’t hurt you, guess what? It has a sneaky way of popping up and doing just that. I came to the conclusion that I am a human. I feel things. Too much sometimes.

But it is ok. Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today. William and Kate got married. Fairy tales do happen.

Moving on. I woke up this morning and put on a pair of jeans and since I am sick of everything I have been wearing I tried a form-fitting tee. OMG! The muffin top has left the building!!! And my hips. I was like ok the inch that was still there last week must have followed the rest of my body and took off. Maybe it was lonely without the other inches that left. I don’t know. I don’t care. It is gone and that makes me happy. Need the happy.

So, Lucifer Lucy my big, red dog is about to get a rude awakening. She is going in for a lobotomy training. I found a trainer here and she is going to learn that I am boss. I am alpha and she will bow to her mistress. She has not even gone yet but I started implementing some of the techniques I learned on the trainer’s website and damn. It works. So I will update that progress as well as the fitness goals. Stay tuned because the next couple of screams you hear will be:

1. Lucie staying at my open front door.

2. Me zipping up my size 5 jeans.

Both coming soon.

As for the elephant. I can see him now.

Don’t You Just Want to Pinch Those Cheeks?

I received this photo of  D.D., my youngest grandson last night. He is sitting without assistance for the first time. Yea, he has his eyes closed but he is still cute as a bug! Check it out! He has man boobs! This kid is four months old and weighs 16lbs and is 26″ long. They done birthed a giant.

I think that me and Cinderella are going to be the only midgets in this family. At least there will be plenty of people around to get those cans off the top shelf.

But those cheeks. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I want to eat them up!

Check out my giveaway on Life’s a Box of Chocolates. Especially if you like pizza.

Gitting Fit – The Beginning.

Well I have been working out, eating better along with walking Lucie my big, red dog everyday. It has been a little over thirty days now and I was going to post pictures but even though I can see a difference I do not think I am quite ready for that. I think I will wait until I get where I want to be. Too embarrassing for me. I will post the stats as they stand.

March 21st

Weight 127 lbs

Waist 35″

Hips 37 1/2″

Thighs 21″

Bust 35″

————————————————————————————————————————

April 21st

Weight 124 lbs

Waist 34″

Hips 37 1/2″

Thighs 20″

Bust 34″

I would have liked to keep the inch in the bust and not the hips but oh well. Since I am doing a lot of strength training I am sure I added muscle weight which is why I am only showing a three pound weight loss. For those of you that think  127 lbs is not much just know that I am a 5’3″ petite person that until freaking menopause weighed between 100 and 110 most of my life except of course during pregnancy. So the extra almost thirty pounds really showed on me. Plus, it went right to my midsection causing a co-worker to actually ask if I was pregnant at one point. Yea, that really happened.

So besides feeling better this is keeping my free time, which I seem to have a lot of lately, occupied. That and the freelance writing. I literally do not have time to think about things and do other things that are detremental to me. Lucie is getting a lot of exercise too. Now if I can figure out how to stop Buddy from howling when Lucie and I go on our walks life would be perfect. Almost.

Anyway, I have work to do so I will update next month on my progress. Maybe I will be brave enough to post some pictures then. Maybe.

You Capture – Spring.

It has been awhile since I participated in You Capture. That is what happens when you work too much. I’ve been seriously neglecting my blogs and that is not something I want to do. I am going to workn o posting most days. I decided to sit aside part of each day for that.

Anyway, I like the subject Spring. I also have been neglecting my camera so I am killing two birds with one stone today. I started walking Lucie, my big, red dog everyday about a month ago. I also started working out to Jillian Michael’s 30 day shredd DVD. Just must loose the Meno-gut. I already eat pretty good but I did add some veggies and fruit just for good measure.

I weighed myself when I started and took measurements. I plan to do that again on Friday. I do know that I put on a pair of jeans the other day that have not been worn for awhile. So I know it is working. Anyway look for a post real soon about my progress, pictures included. Did I just say that?

Ok, on to Spring. These are some pictures of cacti and desert vegetation that I took on one of my walks with Lucie. The desert explodes in color in the spring. I might have to take a drive to photo some of the wildflowers. They are truly incredible. I still envy all of you with grassy lawns and gardens full of flowers but I also do not shovel snow.

This is a Green Feathery Cassia. It is not in its full glory yet as it will bloom more flowers and look like this.

This is an Opuntia. As you can see there are more buds that will open.

I love this. You see a lot of enclosed front yards here with gates. This is just one southwestern style house that I admire on my walks.

These wildflowers grow everywhere. Last year I lived by an open field that was full of them. For months I had bouquets of these in my house.

This is the most amazing yard. It looks to be painstakingly landscaped and in the yard is pots and pots of aloe vera plants. I want to say it is aloe farm but I am not sure. This is just a small part of the yard. I hope to go back someday and photo the different parts. Lucie and I make it a point to walk by this house everyday.

This is a Mexican Bird of Paradise. It will bloom a little more too. This one is in the common area where I live. The cactus on the right is a Prickly Pear. I loathe these. In the area of town I live in they are a common landscape plant in yards. A couple of months ago the temperature got down to 17 degrees. A lot of them froze and just fell over making them even more ugly then they already are. I say we need a few more freezes.

This is my favorite plant in the desert. The Ocotillo (pronounced Oc-tee-o)  grows up to twenty feet in height. During the winter it is dormant and looks brown but in spring it turns green and blooms the red flowers at the top. I just love the simple lines and too me it is a sign that we do have seasons here.

Well Lucie, it is time to go home now. She tries to spring ahead when we get close to home because hey it is the desert and that is where her water bowl is.

You can see more spring at Beth’s.

Update on the Dog Situation.

Well, I took Buddy to his new home on Saturday. I explained about his meds and the diaper. I even demonstrated how to put it on and off. I said put it on him before bedtime and then there will not be puddles in the morning. Buddy is nine years old, sixty-three in people years. Plus his bladder must be the size of a peanut (No, I am not goggling that.) Anyway, I got an angry call at 3am saying the the person fell in a puddle of pee.

Ok,  question.

“Did you use the diaper?”

Answer.

“No, I threw him outside!”

Literal answer people.

Needless to say I went that next day and picked up my dog. Buddy did not even get his meds. Lucie my big, red dog and Buddy seem to have called a truce. I could tell that Lucie missed Buddy and I think Buddy is trying to not be such a bad ass. I have to make this work. I missed that little dude and could not live with myself if I thought he was being abused.

So this is a continuing saga and I realize I must be more vigilant especially about food. It is my job and I will be happy to do it.

Welcome home my little Buddameyer, Budster. Budda, Budmeister…sleep tight.

Want the Good News or the Bad News.

This is starting to become a theme around here. Well. I will start with the good news. I won a prize at the Ultimate Blog Party! I could not believe it. I never win anything. Maybe I should start playing the lottery. Anyway, I won an American Express Visa Card worth $100.00. Yes and just in time to replace the initial vet costs last Friday night. I cringe every time I open my mailbox because I am just waiting to get hit with the rest of the bill. I hope they take payments.

I now can officially eat and pay rent next month. Nice to know huh? When things like this happen I get stressed about what to do but some how they always work out.

Now for the bad news. But first an update on Buddy. He is doing fine in his recuperation. No sign of infection and he is getting around ok. I no longer have to carry him outside to potty. Good thing because using my floor is just not an option.

I also found that Velvetta Cheese is great for hiding medicine. That and refried beans. I took him off the pain meds because I just could not deal with the psychotic Buddy. At one point he was lying on my couch and his back was to the back of my laptop. All of a sudden he jumped up and put his mouth over the laptop lid and let out a gutteral growl. I jumped up and carefully removed my laptop from his jaws. Other times he would rare back like a coyote howling at the moon and this sound would emulate from deep inside him. grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrg…..

Scary crap. He did it once when we where all outside and he was on the porch in front of the back door. Lucie, my big, red dog and I decided to hang in the backyard for awhile. This is what ended me carry him anymore. I only help those that do not bite me.

So on to the bad news. I knew I had to make a decision about this situation because if Lucie gets anywhere near Buddy he starts a fight. So for his own good he is going to a new home. A home with no other dogs and no children. This breaks my heart as I have cared for him for nine years. But, it would be wrong of me to put him in danger even if he did start the whole thing. He has never been tolerant of other animals and children. I can not even have him around my grandchildren. Lucie on the other hand would love it if I had a kid. But that is not an option. Hmm, wonder if I can rent one. For now she will have to settle for visits with the grandkids.

I just hope Buddy’s new home will work. I will be able to visit him so it is not like I will never see him again. Just wish it did not come to this.

See, they were friends. Love you and will miss you Budda.

Can It Get Worse?

I came home on Friday expecting to have a nice weekend at home relaxing and staying warm with my dogs because a cold front was coming through and luckily I have an electric fireplace and space heater since they shut down my furnace and started up the cooler.

I sat on the couch and ate my dinner while throwing a french fry or two to my dogs. I got up to wash my plate and all hell broke loose. My big, red dog Lucie and my Chihuahua Buddy started fighting. I pulled them apart and noticed blood coming from Buddy’s ear and what looked like a puncture in the back of his neck.

Buddy was running around crying and I feared internal injuries. I let him outside and Lucie walked up to him and another fight started. Now, this one I witnessed first hand and I do believe Buddy started both of them. I once again broke it up and put Lucie in the house and tried to pick Buddy up but he just tried to bite me. I went in the house and called a vet and told them what happened and told them I could not pick Buddy up. They instructed me to catch him in a towel and then put him in his crate and bring him in.

I managed to do this and we were off to the vet. I spent four agonizing hours there and thank goodness Buddy only had the puncture on the back of the neck and a laceration in his ear. I am sure Lucie only meant to hold him down. The vet said that if Lucie wanted to hurt him she would have. I really can not blame her for protecting herself.

So, I finally got home at 10:30pm with a freaked out Chihuahua and a freaked out Lab. Needless to say I did not get much sleep. I did get pain meds for Buddy and finally made a concoction of peanut butter and milk that he would eat without knowing what was in it.

Of course it rained all night and most of the next day so Buddy had to use puppy pads in the house. At one point I caught him relieving himself all over the space behind my couch. Yea, that was fun cleaning up in the middle of the night.

So now, today 2 days post attack I am worn out and Buddy is finally starting to take it easy. Saturday I had to basically build a blockade and keep them separate. I think Buddy’s pain  meds are making him a bit psychotic. This morning he was laying on my couch behind my laptop and he stood up and tried to attack my computer. Sorry, teeth on the screen does not work for me.

So I am taking tomorrow off to get some rest and figure out how to keep them separated. I guess I will keep them in different rooms when I am not home. Don’t know what else to do.

Signing off, tired, grumpy and in need of a shower.

Just a Little Bored Here.

My article writing is on a one or two week hold so I am finding myself with a lot of time on my hands. I got used to the pressure of deadlines and forgot what it is like to just go home and sit down. Well I do not just sit down. I walk Lucie, my big, red dog and then I come back and workout to a DVD, take a shower, make lunch for the next day then I sit down.

Well, I just got an email and guess what? Articles are back!!! Yea!!

This weekend is supposed to be cold and rainy here in the Desert Southwest. That is ok because I will be behind my laptop making the $$$$.

Ultimate Blog Party 2011.

It’s that time again. Time for 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party. I was in last year and I am back again this year. It starts April 1st and runs until April 8th. Thousands of Mom bloggers link up in the ultimate blog carnival.

You can win great prizes, donate prizes and make alot of now friends. This is a great way to get some new traffic to your site and it is a lot of fun.

My name is Juliannah and I am a mom of three and grandma of five. I work in the advertising research business and I am a freelance writer on the side. I blog here and on Life’s Like a Box of Chocolates because hey, one blog is just not enough! I write about my life, family and my big ,red dog Lucie and cohort Buddy the Chihuahua.  I love to do reviews and help my readers get great deals.

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook if you like and I will follow you back.

So, welcome to all my 5 Minutes for Mom visitors. Please leave a comment so I can visit your blog too! Good luck to all the participants!

P.S. Are you a military family? Did you know you can get a free homecoming banner or jumbo card for your loved one in the military? Go here and show your patriot how much you care.