Trauma

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It's a Dog's Life

So I go home at lunch and cheerfully call out, “Molly! Want to go for a ride?”  She does the helicopter spin and races into the living room to get her leash while I grab her favourite toy.  And we get into the car and I start crying. (I’m such a wuss!)  I told her that she was going to stay at a really nice place for 4 days, and they’d take really good care of her while I’m gone, and I promised to go as soon as I get off work on Tuesday to pick her up.  Of coure she didn’t understand a word of what I said, but it made me feel better. Not really. I cried a little bit, and as soon as we got onto the exit ramp she started crying.

Okay, it just rips my heart out when my dog starts crying. And what I want to know is, how did she know where we were going when she’s never even been there before? She cried all the way down the street, cried in the parking lot, but she did calm down when we got inside. I was able to get her onto the scale and get weighed, and then they took her down the hall. I think she started crying again as I got out of sight, but I left as quickly as I could singing “la la la” inside so I wouldn’t have to hear her.

So as soon as I get off work on Tuesday, I’ll go pick her up and take her to Petsmart, because she needs some more treats, and I’ll get her a new toy, and take her to the park and play, because I feel so frappin’ guilty over taking her to the kennel.

Soleil had very kindly offered to dog sit, but my house is gross right now. So as much as I appreciate her offer, I couldn’t take her up on it.

So yeah. Big hairy guilt.

Friday Fill-in

If you play, please link back to me and leave me a comment letting me know you played, so I can come visit!
1. The last time someone flirted with me it was so unexpected that I wasn’t sure he was really flirting with me. But he was! And it was fun!
2. I am SO glad this month is about over. It’s been super high stress at work this month.
3. Where in the world is my sanity? I miss it, and would really like to have it back. Okay, that’s a lie, because I’m not sure I’ve ever been totally sane. I’m used to being a freak, and it’s kind of fun.
4. Long weekends are still way too short. I wanted to take extra time off but couldn’t get it because I had to be here yesterday and today to finish off the month, and I have to be here Tuesday and Wednesday to get started on the new month stuff.
5. Coming up next: I’m finishing my edits on Quo Vadis so I can (finally) get it to the publisher!
6. I adore my Molly-girl. She was so snuggly and cuddly this morning, and I’m having big guilt over taking her to the kennel while I jet off to California.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to hanging with my awesome Izzybella, tomorrow my plans include flying to San Jose, going down to San Francisco and Chinatown and Sunday, I want to go to Santa Cruz. I don’t figure on getting much sleep this weekend, because we’re trying to pack a 5-day vacation into two days, but it will still be nice. I’ll sleep on the airplane coming back on Monday.

Don’t forget…have fun!

Book Review: In the Serpent’s Coils

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Books

I met Tiffany Trent, the author of this fantastic book, at the World Fantasy Convention last November. She did a reading from the book at one of the sessions I attended, and I knew I’d like it.  It was finally released this past Tuesday (8/28), and I got a copy of it last night.

Wow!

I liked it even better than I had expected. And trust me, that’s saying a lot, because I had high expectations for the book. Set in postbellum Washington D.C. and Virginia, Corrine’s father is presumed dead after a battle. She and her mother had gone to Washington where her mother was working as a nurse.

Corrine wakes up to learn that her beloved mother is dead, and the locket that bears her parents’ pictures is gone. She is her uncle’s home, from whom her mother had been estranged, and her whole world has turned on end. She’s still recovering from a serious illness, and she wants her mother’s trunk that her uncle refuses–for the time being, at least–to give to her. But one day the mysterious creatures under the hawthorn tell her that they will grant her wish if she brings them a stone that reposes in her uncle’s study. She complies, and is given in return two doses of something that resembles a dried sparrow’s heart. Not only does she recover from her illness, but her uncle’s den has been ransacked and her mother’s trunk forced open. 

When Corrine tells her uncle about the creatures under the hawthorne, he is shocked and angered, and sends her away to a reform school for young ladies.  The school is like nothing Corrine could have imagined, and she very slowly begins to make some friends. But she’s also having dreams and visions.

She doesn’t know who she can trust, and when her missing locket is returned to her, she makes a choice.  The repercussions of that decision send ripples of shock throughout the school and Corrine’s life is altered in ways she could not have imagined.

This is the first volume in a series of ten; the next is due out in December of 2007.  I can’t recommend this any more highly.

Shoe Week – Summer 2007, Day Five

These are my favourite new shoes. Extremely cute, albeit rough on the heels. I bought them on Saturday and wore them on Sunday and ended up with a huge nasty blister on one foot. Right now I have those nice big blister Band-Aids on my heels to protect them; I need to go get some moleskin or something. But they’re just too cute not to wear!

Here’s a close-up of the pattern. Skull and crossbones, and little hearts. I like.

Shoe Week–Summer 2007, Day Four

Aren’t they great?  I really like this pair, but they’re so bold that I have to wear them on days that I’m wearing all black, like today. You can’t see it in this picture, of course, but I’m wearing black cropped pants and a black tee. Keeping it simple. Mainly because I haven’t done laundry and most of my clothes are dirty. Considering that I’m leaving for San Jose early Saturday morning, I really should do at least a load of wash. I keep telling myself that, and yet it keeps not getting done.

Anyway, about the shoes, I don’t think this picture does them justice. They’re cuter than they look in the picture.

Quizerday

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi 70% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 65% Chekov 60% Beverly Crusher 60% James T. Kirk (Captain) 55% Uhura 50% Will Riker 50% Geordi LaForge 40% Worf 40% Data 37% Spock 30% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 25% Mr. Scott 25% Jean-Luc Picard 25% Mr. Sulu 0%

You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people’s emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.

Click here to take the “Which Star Trek character am I?” quiz…

Okay. I can buy this, I suppose.

You Are a Carousel

You are young at heart and a truly playful person. No one would ever accuse you of taking life too seriously. You are definitely in things for the fun. You find joy easily, and you are often building up anticipation for your next adventure. In relationships, you tend to want to be babied and taken care of. And while you may be a bit high maintenance, you are incredibly loyal. Your life is simple and satisfying. Each day you treat yourself to something you enjoy. You have a lot of emotional attachments, and experiences are extra vivid to you. You tend to be nostalgic and sentimental. The past is important to you. Comfortable around all living things, you have a special connection to animals and children. At your best, you are whimsical, free spirited, and creative. Even if your schemes seem a bit strange, they usually work out wonderfully. At your worst, you are spoiled, demanding, and impossible to satisfy. You’ve been known to act like a brat if you aren’t getting your way!

What Carnival Ride Are You?

This actually seems pretty much on target. Although I don’t think I’m spoiled, demanding, or impossible to satisfy.

Your Intrapersonal Intelligence Score: 92%

Your Intrapersonal Intelligence is Very High You’ve spent a lot of time introspecting, and it’s really paid off. You are comfortable with who you are, and you have a life philosophy that you are happy to live by. And you’re always re-evaluating what you believe. Because you learn something new about yourself each day!

How Does Your Intrapersonal Intelligence Rate?

Okay then.

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you’re going back for seconds… no matter how full you are! You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren’t exactly your downfall. Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next. You belong to a class that’s all your own. You resist rules and traditions of any sort. You are a tough person who isn’t afraid to live life fully. There isn’t a lot that scares you. Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You’re definitely a perfectionist.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

I’m stopping now.

Squee!

Yesterday I was looking at Regina Spektor’s tour dates. Why? I dunno. Vain hope that she would come to Dallas or Fort Worth, I suppose.  Well, it turns out that my hope wasn’t in vain: she’s going to be at the Dallas House of Blues on November 8th.

My wedding anniversary is November 8th.

So Joe said yes, of course we could go, and I just bought the tickets, and I’m super excited!!

Now if Dar Williams and the Weepies would also head out here soon, I’d be really blissed. (They may be, for all I know, I haven’t checked their schedules lately. But last time I checked they weren’t.)

That is all. You may now return to your regular scheduled life.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

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It's a Dog's Life

I don’t want my health/weight loss issues to take over this blog, so if you’re interested in seeing how the whole vegan thing is going, please visit Faith’s Journey.  Chicory left a very thought-provoking comment in my post about Skinny Bitch, and I shared my thoughts about what she said in my other blog.

Last night I had a really bad headache, and ended up sleeping from about 8:00 on.  I had work-related nightmares, which wasn’t fun. I mean, it sucks enough that I spend 8-9 hours a day up here anyway, and then to go home and dream about it? Please!  I didn’t hear the phone ring when Joe called me last night, and I didn’t hear my alarm go off this morning. So when I reluctantly pried my eyes open to see what time it was, I was shocked to learn that it was 6:30. That’s when I usually leave. Yeah. Really hasty getting ready for work ensued, and I was more than 15 minutes late, which means I get a tardy. Major suckage. Well, actually, I was about 14 minutes late, but then it took my computer more than 2 minutes to boot up so I could clock in, so I still get a tardy even though my body was present within the allowed time range.

I learned last night that while some things I enjoyed in my childhood are still pleasant, others, well, not so much. I got one of the Archie comics DVDs from Netflix, and put it in. I fell asleep after 2 or 3 episodes, but it was so annoying! The voices are horrendous, especially Jughead’s, and the stories are so inane. I used to love this show, and had been really excited when it came out on DVD. I’m so glad that I got it from Netflix instead of just buying it, because I am sending it right back and never watching it again.

Molly was being very affectionate yesterday evening, and I felt so guilty knowing that on Friday afternoon she’s going to have to go to the kennel for a few days. She loves going for rides in the car, but when she realizes that we’re going to the vet or the groomer’s, she starts to cry. Since we’re going to a different kennel this time, she won’t start crying until I try to leave her there. But oh my gosh, she’s going to howl when they take her away from me.   And she’s already traumatized from Joe being gone for so long. I’m really sad about it, but there’s just nothing else I can do. She’ll be there until I get off from work on Tuesday, because I won’t get home until around 8 p.m. on Monday. Even if they were still open that late for me to pick her up, I wouldn’t do it–it seems too cruel to pick her up, go to bed, and then leave for work the next morning. So after I pick her up on Tuesday, we’ll go to the pet store and she can get some more treats, because she’s almost out, and a new toy, and then we’ll go to the park and play. And Joe’s coming home that Thursday, so she’ll have him around for 4-5 days before he has to go back to California. He could take her with him, as his hotel will let him have pets there, but I think she’d be even more miserable there because he’d still be gone all day, and she wouldn’t even have her familiar surroundings.

I’m really tired today. Hence the babbling. So I’ll stop babbling now.

Shoe Week – Summer 2007

Here are today’s shoes. They’re not new or anything, and I seriously need to replace the insoles, but I am very fond of these shoes. The heels are high and stacked, so they’re stable and comfortable to walk in. And they’re the colour of chocolate chips, a nice rich warm brown.

Shoe Week – Summer 2007, Day Two

Okay, so these shoes don’t necessarily look all that cute from the first angle. Trust me, though, they are. And they’re very comfortable–wide enough for my Grawp-sized feet.  Oh, and yes, my socks match today. Here’s another shot that shows the whole shoe from the side: