Punching My Dog in the Neck

Grrrrr. Aaaaggghhhh. Uggghhhh.

Let me first thank everyone for your wonderful comments and support on my previous post. I really do appreciate it. It truly does mean a lot to me.

But speaking of support, I need a damn dog nanny. Dex is less settled anyway when it's just one of us (just Joe or just me), but lately it seems like his energy is endless. I even got out my tennis racquet to be able to hit balls to him repeatedly in the backyard. I've done that two or three times since I've gotten home from work today, and I stop when he starts panting like he's going to have a heat stroke. Still, after ten minutes or so of rest he's ready for whatever is next. Bahhhhh. And imagine that with me continuing to try to unpack (yes, still). He is wherever I am. His head is always shoved in whatever I am doing. And on top of all that, I tried to trim his toenails tonight. I've only done it myself once before, but he was chill. Today, he flipped shit, and I had to tackle him multiple times and give him a timeout between toenails. DAMN DAMN DAMN HIM. Currently, he's laying down next to me, with one of his paws resting on my propped up legs, and he's staring at me. What a creepo.

In other news, it's been a whole week since I last posted. Work was hell. We were receiving a diversion, meaning another hospital was full and sent us all their new patients they couldn't fit in. DAMN YOU, AUGUSTA!! Of course we had everyone from our catchment area also, so it was a super fun week. Somehow, though, I still managed to get stuff done at home - BY MYSELF. I got the lawn mowed (even after the self-propelled lever quit working), hauled all the clippings to the curb, got our master bedroom and bathroom completely unpacked and cleaned, finished clearing out the kitchen and mopping/scrubbing the last half of the floor. However, I believe my crowning accomplishment was finally writing and submitting the letter that got my roof fixed. Booya. Of course, the maintenance man's way of fixing it was to ask roofers re-roofing a neighbor's house for an old shingle so he could put it on this roof. (I haven't been able to bring myself to actually lay eyes on the dude's handiwork.) However, the irony in finally getting the roof "fixed" is that now the dishwasher nearly falls out of its cubby when I start loading dishes into it. Fail.

Hmm. I have done absolutely nothing fun in the past week, though I aim to change that this week, hopefully. I did get to hear from Joe quite a bit last week. Of course I didn't hear from him today, after having a dream last night that he died...by falling out of a roller coaster. Wtf. The feelings were so real, though - the devastation and nonstop crying. Also, exact things we've talked about in real life were in the dream - the specifics of what one would do if the other died. Gah. I was so upset - it took me a little bit to finally wake up and realize everything (as far as I know) is okay. Whew.

On a final note, I'll share something light-hearted. The other day when Dex and I were on a walk, some little kids on their bikes came riding up to us as they tracked the ice cream man by listening for his music. As they got up to us, I told the leader that the ice cream man was actually on the next street over (to which there is no passage from our neighborhood). The kid was distraught and then began surveying backyards and wooded areas for a cut-through. He then turned to me and said he could cut through some of the woods, and I told him he might have to scale a fence or two as many of the properties are fenced in. This six(ish) year old boy then turned to me very seriously and said with his thick southern drawl, "I've got experience in the woods; I'm from Alabama." Touche, young man, touche.