Overdue Post Part 1: Life Outside of the House

I'm a total slacker. I made a goal of posting at least once a month last year, and totally failed. On the months that I missed, I said I would double up the next month and I didn't. Sue me. Part of why I haven't posted is because I've been so busy being blog worthy. So busy in fact, that I'm splitting this into a 3 part post- Part 1: Life Outside of the House, Part 2: The Not So Surprise Renovations, and Part 3: A Home for Cuddles- titles are subject to change. I'm hoping to get these 3 parts written and out before life creates a part 4, but, based on my track record, no promises will be made.

The past few months have been exciting! We discovered that Fozzie loves kayaking...

He also loves running...

Derek is a fabulous truck driver, but I am a superior go cart driver...

Our niece is quite the fashionista...

She loves the dress up box we made her for Christmas!

I drank around the world...

But mostly I just read...

...and read...

...and read.

And when I wasn't reading, I was running...

Disney Princess running costumes for Halloween!

...and running...

...and running.

That is until I hurt my foot...

Sexy shoe!

But never fear, I got back to running...

The best thing that happened in the past few months though was.... CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

The spread at the Goodfriend Annual Christmas Brunch

Brunching!

Did I mention I did a of of reading?

Every boy goes through a homeless beard phase.

Daddy! <3

You are never too old to play with remote control toys with your brother

January was fabulous too! We got to ring in the new year together...

Happy New Year!

I went strawberry picking...

Gotta taste test while strawberry picking

I went on a '90s pub crawl!!!

Hey Arnold!

And I went on an awesome girls trip to 3 different wineries and a brewery...

Where I discovered that there IS a benefit to being an adult- souvenirs are WAY better!!!

And I had WINE ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!

Life outside the house has been pretty busy and really awesome, but, unfortunately, life isn't completely out of the house...

To Be Continued....

Part 2: The Not So Surprise Renovations

Livin La Vida Corporate

Two years and a few months ago, I was teaching 3rd grade. I was a miserable, grouchy, forever complaining wench. I hated my job which was my life. People ask me all the time if I miss it, and people who haven't seen me in a long time are always shocked to hear that I left teaching. It's true, there are things that I loved about teaching. I loved every moment with my kids. I loved seeing them succeed. I loved making them laugh and learn at the same time. I loved knowing that I was making special memories for some of them, and that some of them would remember me for the rest of their lives. 

But there was a lot I didn't like. I didn't like that I had been teaching for 5 years and never got a raise (but did get a pay cut, thanks again Rick Scott). I didn't like that my job was impossible without my monetary contributions. I didn't like the politics, the women, the budget cuts, the bull. There was so much about it that I didn't like, that it completely eclipsed the small parts that I did like, and without even knowing it, I became the curmudgeon I never liked and never imagined I would become. 

I decided it was time to make a change, and I ventured into a career I knew little about and was scared I would hate, but I struck gold. I got hired by one of the best companies anyone could ever work for, and, despite all my fears, despite leaving a career that I spent my whole life dreaming about, I love my job. I work at a place that believes in me. A place that respects my life outside of work (I actually have one of those now!!!). A place that sees my potential, and is willing to take risks by betting on me. When I started working with my company 2 years ago, I was making the exact same amount I was teaching. Two years later, I've gotten 4 promotions, bonuses, hundreds of dollars in prizes (just for doing my job! And no, I don't sell anything or have commission!), and $15,000 in raises. $15,000... that's a lot of money in raises in just 2 years, and they're not done with me yet. They have me in a developmental role where they're focusing on developing my skills with the intention of promoting me to the big leagues in the next 14-24 months. 

Switching careers was the best decision I ever made. I'm a totally different person. I have happy stories to tell, and pleasant topics of conversation. I have the time and the money to have fun with my friends and have adventures. My entire outlook on life is different, and it's rather shocking. For a while, I felt like I was waiting for the glow to wear off. I was waiting for the lover's glow to fade, and to become the curmudgeon again. But I realize now why that hasn't happened. When you spend 40+ hours a week in complete misery, it's hard to be anything but miserable for the rest of your hours during the week. Now, no job is 100% paradise or they wouldn't pay you to go there, but when your job is 80-90% pleasant, it's a lot easier to be pleasant when you leave. And when you leave and there is still time left in your life to live, and you don't have to continue working off the clock, and you have a little extra in your pocket, it's a whole lot easier to be happy. 

The craziest thing is, this happiness must be apparent because people I barely know, people who I taught with, are contacting me like crazy. They heard that I got out and actually made it. That I got out and not only survived, but thrived, and they want to know if they can too. And it's not uncommon. I know of several former teachers in my office alone. I guess the point of all this rambling is, if you're unhappy, you can fix it. You don't have to stay miserable. You are not stuck anywhere, with anyone, or doing anything. Find the source of your unhappiness and get rid of it, no matter how scary that thought may be. Take a leap because it's worth it. That one change may just change your entire outlook on life. Take a chance because happiness is worth it.

My Vote Goes to Whomever Eradicates Opossums

August was such a busy month that I forgot to make my August post before the month ended... oopsie daisy! Never fear, September will just be a double feature.

Let's start with some home improvement, shall we? I mean, that's what this blog was initially intended for anyway. A while back, Derek installed a dog door in the wall that goes from the house to the patio. He did not; however, install one from the patio to the yard. So, for the past 3 years, the dog door, ready to be installed, has been sitting against the wall in the living room, and the screen door has been left open so the dogs can get from the patio to the yard. This is why we had the delightful pigeon incident. During Derek's most recent visit, we had another, much more scary, incident.

Have you ever seen a pissed off opossum before? I had never seen one at all, other than on TV, but during Derek's last visit, I learned that opossum's are essentially rats with horrifying alligator mouths.

Exhibit A (from google)

One night while Derek was here, he saw Fozzie go through the dog door and pee on the patio (a delightful habit I'm working on correcting), so he got up and went to correct him when he saw that Fozzie was going nuts over something in the corner of the patio hiding behind our fire pit. Seeing that it was an opossum, he called for me to come bring Fozzie in the house, and attempted to get the creature off of our patio safely. The opossum; however, had no intentions of leaving gracefully. Derek used a broom to gently try and guide it towards the door, and the opossum, with it's horrifying alligator mouth, was hissing and lunging at Derek. Getting more aggressive, Derek wacked the vile creature with the broom repeatedly moving it off of the patio, but the creature wanted more. Even when off the patio and no longer trapped, he still kept coming after Derek.

Eventually, Derek got it to go away, but I was absolutely horrified. What if it came back when Derek wasn't here? What if it was rabid- I mean, aren't they supposed to "play opossum," and not attack you? What if it got my Fozzie bear? I instantly decided we needed that second door installed, and I would be calling someone in the morning to hire them to put it in. Derek asked me to wait and let him do it, and even though I had heard this before, I decided to give him 1 day. When I came home, I saw this...

Alas! One more thing knocked off the endless home improvement list. But never fear, I didn't make Derek work on the house the entire time he was home. While he was here, we took a trip to Gainesville to help my brother get settled into his very first college dorm...

and while we were in town, we got to hang out with our fabulous niece and nephew.

Sadly, his time home was not as happy of a reunion as he would have hoped. Our first baby, Lucy, hasn't been doing well for a while, and it seems as if she held on just a little bit longer to see her daddy one more time. After one last day enjoying the park as a family, and many tears, we said goodbye to our baby. Lucy was an amazing dog, and will always be our first baby and our first love. We feel lucky to have had her in our lives. We love you Lucy.

#puppylove #WakaWakaWaka

Derek's last visit was great! We went to Legoland...

and we celebrated the 4th of July.

He even trusted me with power tools!

Clearly he's been gone so long that he forgot that this was a mistake, but I was happy to remind him...

Oopsie daisy!

But the problem is, it was a visit, and visits end. I haven't been taking being a trucker's wife so well lately. It's weird to say that I've been lonely when I'm out and about with friends all the time, but I was, and it was making me grumpy, which didn't help the situation. He's working on finding something where he will be home more, but for now he's back on the road.

 

In the meantime, I'm still home, mostly alone. Just me, Lucy and the cat. The cat likes me and attention for about 3-5 minutes a day, and Lucy is about the same. She's super sweet, but she's an old gal and likes to sleep and do her own thing. Derek and I have been talking for a few months about getting a second dog. We know Lucy wouldn't approve, but we love doggies, and we feel like if 1 is awesome, 2 must be incredible. Derek wanted to adopt another older dog, and I wanted a puppy (although I would never buy a dog- adopt only!!). I just felt like we missed out on so many fun years by adopting Lucy when she was older, and the greedy B in me wants every single moment of her life to include us. We've been in no rush. We wanted to make sure we found the perfect fit- a dog that would get along with Lucy and Charlie and would fit into our current lifestyle, and we wanted another cocker spaniel.

We follow several cocker spaniel rescue groups on FB (don't you love the flooding of cockers on your feed because facebook thinks that you need to see what all your friends like? lol), and an add came up for this handsome man.

He will be 2 in November, and was described as "all puppy." I fell in love! We applied, and got him!! His name was Baxter, but he only had that name for a short time (they don't know what his name originally was), and he didn't respond to it. I wasn't a fan of the name and came up with a few ideas, but decided I wouldn't make a decision until I saw him in person. 2 weeks ago today, I drove to Sarasota and became a double dog mommy.

Because he was so badly matted, they had to shave him down. When I met him, I thought hmmm..... he looks oddly familiar...

And his new name was born! We named him Fozzie, and he is a crazy bundle of fun! He loves his new yard...

He loves car rides...

And, in true puppy fashion, he loves DESTROYING toys at lightening speed (but, thank goodness, nothing else, mommy's shoes are safe!)...

When they said he is "all puppy," they weren't kidding!! He's potty trained (AMEN!), and he doesn't destroy the house (Woot woot!!), but he has an endless supply of energy and happiness. He brings such joy to the house. He loves everyone and everything, and just wants to be friends and play all the time. Fozzie and Charlie are working on a friendship...

They're about 80-90% there. Fozzie is slowly learning that he can play with and be friends with Charlie, but he has to approach Charlie slowly and cannot chase him. Shockingly, Charlie is learning that his new brother doesn't want to eat him, just play with him, and he humors him from time to time and will play along with his crazy puppy antics. I never expected Charlie to do anything more than tolerate/ignore a dog.

Lucy is tolerating him. They will never be like those cute FB pictures of piles of doggies snuggling, but they get along, and that's as much as I can ask for all things considered. She will still put on a classic smile when she gets back from the groomer though...

Fozzie gets a 1.3 mile walk every day (weather permitting), lots of snuggles, and lots of toys (which he immediately destroys), but he is still a total puppy. This is what he does every evening when we get in bed, and usually again in the morning after the alarm goes off the second time (he's learned to let mommy snooze once, but does not allow mommy to hit snooze twice).

We're working on obedience training (he's got a very alpha personality- TOTALLY opposite of Lucy), and he's catching on fast. He shows some signs of previous abuse and neglect, so some of his training may take time and trust, but he is already totally in love with me, and I am totally in love with him.

He brings a new energy to the house. He's exhausting and crazy, but he's loving, energetic, and fun. Sometimes I like to just sit on the porch and watch him play in the yard, and every single time I'm laughing out loud as he chases lizards and then butterflies and then his tail and then back to lizards. 

Welcome to the family Fozzie! I cannot possibly imagine how anyone would ever give up, abuse, or neglect animals as sweet and loving as Lucy or Fozzie, but I'm happy to provide them with a happy, healthy, safe home in exchange for puppy snuggles and tail wags for the rest of my life. <3