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Several years ago when we lived in a rented apartment, we had a mixed bag of neighbors. There were a few problem people, such as the drunk who lived behind us, whose daily vomiting we could hear through the bathroom vents and who had either the fire department, paramedics or police showing up at least once a week. Or the girl up and over from us who regularly beat the crap out of her boyfriend. There were some people who were great neighbors, always looking out for each other, making friendly conversation, and lending a helping hand whenever it was needed. And there were a few who just kept to themselves, which is okay, too.
When we bought the condo, I didn't expect things to be much different - or at least I didn't expect them to be worse. I thought that, if anything, people who owned a piece of the property would take pride in doing their part to keep it a pleasant place to live. What I didn't count on, was that so many units would be owned by people who live elsewhere and rent them out, with apparently no better standards than the large real estate corporation that owned our old apartment, or that many of the neighbors who do own their units would be more interested in making it a pleasant place to live only for themselves, not for anyone else.
The first clue that we had arrived in neighbor hell came when one neighbor, less than a week after we moved into what was supposedly a "pet friendly community", welcomed us with a complaint to the condo board that our dog barked. Well, no kidding! She was adjusting to new, strange surroundings, with new sounds and new people walking around outside. And even without all that, dogs sometimes bark. It's what they do. So it's a pet friendly community, as long as your pet doesn't do what pets do? This person never came to our door to make introductions, welcome us to the neighborhood, or even give us a heads up that the dog was having some issues when we weren't home and we might want to confine her somewhere where she wouldn't be able to see out the windows until she got used to her new surroundings. Nope, they saw someone new move in and went right into "what can we find to complain to the board about" mode.
To be fair, we weren't completely surrounded by neighbors as bad as that one... at first. The lady next door to us when we first moved in was great, actually... about as perfect a neighbor as one could wish for. She was quiet, never complained about anything, kept late hours and didn't mind if things got a little rowdy when we had company. She always tried to be friends with Chiquita, even though Chiquita wasn't interested in being friends with anybody. And when Chiqui passed away and we got Brooskey and Vixen, she welcomed them as well. Unfortunately, she too passed away, about two years ago.
In her place, we now have pretty much her polar opposite. This woman is a complete fruit loop, has regular screaming matches with her daughter-in-law, her sons, her mother, and yes, even herself... she yells out her front door when there's no one outside she could be talking to. She's a compulsive liar, leaves nasty notes on people's doors, goes up on people's porches to scream at their pets (and I mean she has done this to several people, not just us), all while letting her own cat roam the property freely, tormenting our dogs and crapping on our decks and walkways.
Add to this a neighbor above us on one side with small grandchildren whose idea of a good time is leaping off of furniture onto the hardwood floors, while she and her daughter scream and whine at them, teaching them to scream and whine back. And newly moved in on the other side, a family of four in which the mother and daughter have screaming, dish throwing fights on nearly a daily basis. Oh yes, we are in neighbor hell.
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![[photo of our nine year old sofa set]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/oldcouches-thumb-200x150.jpg) The ol' couch and loveseat. And Chris in the background on the phone... LOL. We bought our first brand new living room set back in 2001, a year after we moved into our first apartment. I remember what a frustrating process it was, finding something we both liked which would fit into our existing color scheme, which we were not interested in changing. The set we were replacing, which had been handed down to us by Chris' parents, as a result of its age was extremely low to the ground, and having recently developed arthritis in my dominant right knee, I was no longer able to stand up from it without help. So the new furniture needed to be nice and high, both to facilitate healing in my beat up knee, and to prolong the time before it, too, would become too low for me to stand up from. Any visible wood would have to match the finish on our TV cabinet and coffee table. And the material had to be something we'd both be comfortable on. No leather, as it's too cold. Nothing with too high a friction factor, so it wouldn't be hard for me to shift positions and my hair wouldn't constantly be standing on end with static electricity. We hunted, and hunted. And hunted. For weeks. We were about to give up entirely when we walked into one last furniture store... and there it was. The couch and loveseat that fit all our criteria straight off the showroom floor, including price, expressed our personalities perfectly, and would serve us faithfully for the next nine years.
Time has taken its toll, and these pieces have gradually reached a point where I'm having a hard time getting up from them, just like the old hand-me-down set. They also took quite a beating during Brooskey's puppyhood. Two of the throw pillows have had the decorative buttons in the center pulled out, and one cushion had its zipper totally obliterated and much of the foam torn up and spread around the house. And the armrest on one end of the couch, where Brooskey sits all day long, has taken on a much darker hue than it had originally. So, we knew it was coming to be time to replace this set, now that Brooskey has matured and is no longer destructive, with something that would be easier to keep clean and be more ergonomically sound for both of our aging bodies.
It was again a long, tedious hunt to find something we liked and could afford (thankfully, we had some help in the latter department from Chris' parents, as gifts for Christmas and Chris' birthday). Amazingly, we found ourselves once again, nearly at the end of our rope, walking into that same furniture store where we ended up nine years ago... yet again confronted, in almost exactly the same spot on the floor, with our next sofa set. Why we didn't start in this store to begin with is beyond me! This time it was something similar to several sets we had looked at in other stores, but nearly half the price. And this time the floor model wasn't quite perfect: we needed a slightly different configuration (it's a sectional) and a different fabric, so we custom ordered it.
We're expecting the new couch in any day now, so we have precious little time left with the ol' faithful "first" living room set. It is moving on to help out Chris' cousin and his girlfriend, who recently got their own place, and if they get that zipper fixed I'm sure it will serve them well until they are ready for their first brand new set. In the meantime I am getting pretty anxious for the new one to arrive!
This post inspired by a writing prompt from the Imagination Prompt Generator: "What are you saying goodbye to?"
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I am so ready for a vacation. I have a week coming in July, but I could use a whole month off. Not only do I wish I had more time off, having the money to afford a real vacation would be nice, too. I wish I could take a whole month off with a magical unlimited vacation budget. Oh, the things I could do with that time and money.
First, I would rent a private jet for the whole month. Brooskey and Vixen would of course come with us, and with a private jet they could ride in the cabin with us instead of being checked like baggage.
Our first stop would be Alaska. Chris has always wanted to go, and although I'm not a fan of cooler weather destinations, a few days in the summer, while knowing we're headed for more sunny skies later on, would be all right. We could rent a cabin with lots of space outside for the dogs to run around.
Next we'd head down to Arizona to visit a good friend of mine who relocated there from Oregon, and her husband whom we have not yet been able to meet in person. We'd spend a few days there playing Rock Band, us girls watching our men geek out to some other video games, and relaxing and swimming in their in-ground pool. And go enjoy some good restaurants as well.
After that we would head up to Oregon, spend some time with my family, visit old friends from school and summer camp, and even do some of the more touristy things available. Definite musts are OMSI, Kah-Nee-Ta, and Voodoo Doughnut. Maybe we would even take a day or two excursion up to the Seattle area.
From there we would scoop up my niece and nephews, and anyone else who wanted to come along, and go to Walt Disney World in Florida. After a week there, we'd send the family members back home on the jet, board the doggies in the best kennel available in Florida and sail away, just the two of us, on a Disney cruise to finish out our month long vacation.
So... now that I've got it all planned out, who'd like to finance this? LOL
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Who'd have thought that less than two weeks after I mentioned the record-breaking flood stage of the river near my house, it would flood again and break even more records? This time, instead of stopping across the street from the complex, it came all the way to our side of the street and into the property entrance. While it was at its highest point, Chris got some photos of the flooded bridge at the property entrance and the mouth of the river where it empties out into the bay (which is just around the corner from us). The actual buildings were safe from the river, but the lower lying ones did have some basement flooding due to the rain. Our building, however, is the highest on the property and was never in any danger.
Since "floodpocalypse", as I like to call it, the weather has gotten better and better. Yesterday we broke 90 degrees! Yes, that was probably a bit excessive for April, but today is much more seasonable... about 68-75 degrees, depending which weather station you check.
Last night, after work and sushi for dinner (yum!), we took the dogs up to play in Chris' parents' yard. They were very happy and excited to be there! Vixen especially was the most excited I think I have ever seen her. When we let her out of the car, she just started running crazily around the yard - she even got excited when she pooped!  Chris unhooked her leash and she spent a good twenty minutes sprinting from him to me and back again as we called her name. It's amazing what a good listener she is, without having had a single obedience class. To think of the hundreds of dollars we wasted on classes for Brooskey, and to this day we still can't let him off leash. He has a fifty foot rope we put on him when we play outside, which makes him think he's tied up even though it's not attached to anything... without it, he'd bolt. But we regularly let Vixen off leash both at home and in "Nana & Papa's" unfenced yard, and she never wanders too far away from us, and always comes right back to us when we call.
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A couple of weeks ago we took a day trip to Groton, Connecticut to my former coworker Norm's house. The primary purpose of the trip was to help Norm set up his new business computer, but we also brought Brooskey and Vixen along to play with his two Australian Shepherds, Summer and Merlin. Summer, the adult female, somehow managed to evade the camera, but our two and Merlin, who's just a puppy and an adorable one at that, had a blast playing together all day and Chris got a few photos of the three of them. (The first one, with Chris in it, was taken by Norm.)
The day went so well, and even Vixen did not once get scared of the strange people and big dogs. Merlin had never seen a dog so small and was fascinated with her. He was also amazingly gentle playing with her, as if he understood she wouldn't be able to handle his full strength.
All four dogs were exhausted by the end of the day, and our two slept til about noon the next day. And even after they were awake, they were just barely awake.
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Winter. My most hated time of year. Specifically, that long stretch of winter after the fun of the holidays is gone, until it's possible to comfortably wear short sleeves outside again. That depressing, draining, drawn out second half of the season, when there aren't even any work holidays to break up the monotony. (Oh, I know some of you get MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday even... I don't.)
I get depressed at this time every year. And I hate when people ask why or tell me I don't have anything to be depressed about, because that's not what depression is. It's not being sad about something. It's your brain not processing stress correctly, or focusing on every little negative thing in your life and making them all seem a hundred times worse than they are. It's chemicals all out of balance and making you sad, angry, mean, forgetful, super sensitive... sometimes all at the same time, and with no apparent reason. When someone asks you why, you just burst into tears because you honestly don't know why.
I've come to know myself well enough to recognize what is happening, but that doesn't necessarily give me the power to do anything about it. The only cure is the onset of spring: the warmer weather leading to more time spent out of the house, leading to more sunlight, fresh air, and social interaction. But there are a few things I can do to help myself cope on the really tough days.
One of my favorite things to do to get out of my head is to sing. I love to fire up Singstar on the PlayStation 3, pull out my professional microphone stand, and just sing my heart out, pretending that I'm up on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans. In that moment all I am thinking about is the song I'm singing, and everything else just disappears. I honestly think that belting out my favorite karaoke tunes produces endorphins just like exercise does for most people.
They say laughter is the best medicine, and it is definitely up there for me. Our TiVo is set to record plenty of comedic TV programming, and sitting down for a good dose of humor almost always makes me feel better when I've had a rough day. My all-time favorite giggle-fest is America's Funniest Home Videos, but I also get a kick out of Jay Leno's "Headlines" segments and lots of other shows, including The Office, Community, The Middle, and 30 Rock.
My third pick-me-up is similar to the second, but instead of TV, the entertainment comes from my two dogs, Brooskey and Vixen. First, each of them is wildly entertaining on their own. Just last night, Brooskey gave me one of the heartiest belly laughs I've had in a long time. He likes to chase the beam of a flashlight or laser pointer, and he also likes to steal both items, not seeming to realize that if he has it in his mouth, we can't aim it for him to chase. We've often remarked how much easier life would be if he could just aim it and entertain himself. So last night, when he decided to steal the flashlight, Chris got up and turned it in his mouth so that it was pointed forward, and Brooskey actually started chasing the beam around with the flashlight in his own mouth! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. (Don't worry, we didn't let him do this for very long, for both his safety and that of the flashlight.) But anyway, a whole new dimension of entertainment comes into play when Brooskey and Vixen interact with each other. They can be comical, and other times downright precious, because they love each other so much. Either way, everything they say about pets being good for your health, and good for your soul, is true.
(This post is my entry for yesterday's 3x Thursday: Pick-Me-Ups.)
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Mondays can go jump off a cliff. Especially the ones that follow a long weekend.
Today's misery aside, I had a pretty awesome Christmas. I totaled up $330 in cash and gift cards toward my new camera - the one thing I wanted this year. I went Saturday and got a Canon Powershot SD980. It's a sweet little camera. It's a member of Canon's "Digital ELPH" series, super compact for what it does, but not too small for me like many of these cameras tend to be. 12.1 megapixels, touch widescreen, and shoots HD video.
One of the main reasons I wanted a new camera was so I could use a gift I got last Christmas from my sister Dana: my 2GB Eye-Fi SD memory card. This thing is awesome. It's wi-fi enabled, and uploads your photos to your computer wirelessly as soon as you power your camera on within range of your wireless home network (or wherever you choose to set up the software). For a $10/year subscription, it will also automatically upload to any photo sharing web sites you choose out of the thirty or so that are available (this is a free feature with the more expensive versions of the card). With Eye-Fi I will almost never need to fiddle with manually connecting the camera to my computer, unless I need to upload video (something else the more expensive cards do but this one does not).
Apart from the camera, Santa also brought me some clothes, the "World Adventures" expansion for The Sims 3, and Wii Fit Plus (just the software as I already own a balance board). Chris got a TomTom GPS and a Griffin PowerDock 2 (a dual charging dock for both of our iPhones), clothes, cologne, and lots of underwear. His parents gave us some money to put toward a new couch at some point in 2010, and our crazy friends Joe and Sandra got us a toaster oven.
Even Brooskey and Vixen made out. Brooskey got a new bed from us, and two new toys from Auntie Dana and Nana (Chris' mom). We got Vixen a soft, plush blanket to cuddle up in, Dana sent her a pretty pink coat/harness, and Nana got her a rawhide bone almost as big as she is - just the size she likes them.
I hope Santa was as good to you as he was to us! What was the best gift you received this year?
(FTC Disclosure: Product links are affiliate links which will generate a commission payment to me if purchases are made through them. My opinions on these products are not influenced by this compensation.)
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Here's a lovely Halloween dance video for you to enjoy! (Note: If you're reading this somewhere other than confoozled.com and can't see the video, click here.)
Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today! 
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Now that it's October I'm thinking about Halloween (and yes, even Christmas). Did you see this month's creepy confoozled.com masthead? By the way, I know I said for September I was trying to avoid the obvious themes for the masthead, and most of the time that's true. Halloween is one of the exceptions - I love Halloween, and this site's colors being what they are I have to give the holiday a nod. Other exceptions to the rule are Christmas, and sometimes Valentine's Day and the Fourth of July, which happens to be my birthday and my favorite day of the year. Hmm, I guess I use spring images in those months, too, just because I'm so happy to have winter over and done with. Oh fine, there isn't really a rule, except that it's my site and I'll do what I want.  I do have a nice, obscure theme planned for November.
So back to Halloween. My goal this week is to do a little bit of decorating around the house. I didn't even get to decorate last year because Brooskey was into everything and, I'm sure, would have destroyed all of my decorations. This year he is much better, but I still probably won't decorate to the extent I have in years past. I imagine fall foliage garland around the bottom of the TV would be just a bit too much temptation. I need to find our existing stash of decorations, decide what I no longer want to keep and give it away to someone who will use it, and possibly pick up a couple of new, more doggie-friendly decorations.
We've been invited again to our friends Mike and Beth's annual Halloween party, and have to come up with a costume idea. I fear we just can't top Peter & Lois Griffin... Other things I need to do to prepare for the "big day": purchase candy to give out to trick-or-treaters, purchase some goodies for us, and send out some Send Some Spook this Halloween with Free Ecards from Halloween e-cards to friends and family.
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![[Brooskey sleeping on the floor]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/post-park-brooskey-thumb-150x200.jpg) We call him "doormat". ![[Vixen sleeping on Chris]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/post-park-vixen-thumb-150x200.jpg) Does Daddy need deodorant? Last week was rough on Brooskey and Vixen; we weren't home much. By Saturday they, Brooskey especially, were unbearably hyper and anxious. Brooskey could do nothing but wander around the house whining, and crying pitifully out the window every time he saw anyone outside. He was bored out of his mind.
So, we put them in the car and took them down to Warwick City Park. We parked by the beach, took Brooskey out on the sand to see if he would approach the water (he wouldn't), then went for a brisk walk on the walk/bike path (okay, Chris and Brooskey ran ahead of us girls a bit). When I started to feel like Vixen and I would not make it back to the car if we went much farther, we turned around and probably broke some kind of municipal law by walking the wrong way on what's supposed to be a one-way loop. (Too bad, not everyone can walk three miles at one time.) On the way out we stopped to let Brooskey run in the dog park for a few minutes while Vixen and I played dead in the car. It didn't take very long before he was done, too, and we headed back home.
And those two sweet, peacefully sleeping creatures you see in the photos? That's what we had for the whole rest of the weekend.
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I've been doing a monthly masthead (header image) for confoozled.com for two years, and I'm starting to run out of ideas for them. I always choose a background photo that is somehow related to the month in question. For the first year I focused on the obvious major holidays when there was one, but now I'm trying to avoid repeating that. The exception of course is Christmas - I love Christmas, thus the December masthead will always be a Christmas image.
Sometimes I go with a lesser known holiday; for example, my very first masthead, for September of 2007, was in honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Unfortunately, it seems I did not save a copy of that masthead before replacing it for October. I may also honor a cause that is meaningful to me, either with the background photo, or with an awareness graphic, such as the pink breast cancer ribbon I added to the October 2007 masthead.
Other times the theme of the masthead may be something that is happening in my life that particular month, and its meaning may not be immediately apparent unless you are reading carefully and paying attention. One example is this past June. Since I would be spending the first week of June visiting my family in Oregon, I chose an Oregon image: the bridge at Multnomah Falls.
Brooskey turned one year old last August, so for that masthead I made a timeline of photos showing his growth in his first year.
And then I did the same thing for Vixen when she turned one in October.
Anyway, it's time to start working on this September's masthead, and I'm stuck. I did the pirate theme in 2007, and back-to-school last year.
![[September 2008 masthead]](http://www.confoozled.com/masthead/2008/09/640.gif) So I thought I would have a little contest in honor of two years of these monthly headers. Use the contact form to send me your idea for a masthead theme for September. It should have some demonstrable significance to the month; if, for example, it's some obscure holiday, include a link to information on that holiday. I don't need a photo, but if you have one you'd like me to use, and you have the right to give me permission to use it, send it along. (If the photo is online somewhere, give me a link, otherwise just let me know you want to send one and I will reply with my e-mail address to send it to.) Any photo submitted needs to be at least 1250 pixels wide, and keep in mind the extremely wide panorama that the subject needs to fit into. Submit your idea and optional photo by 11:59pm EDT on August 24, and within the next couple of days I will select my favorite idea and do my magic. The winner will be publicly announced on September 1 when the masthead goes live.
The prize will be a one-month ad run for your web site, blog or business in the confoozled.com sidebar. I will contact the winner as soon as he or she is chosen to obtain the ad image and target URL. The ad will run from September 1 through September 30.
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The biggest weekend of the summer is over, and Joe & Sandra have finally tied the knot! It was an awesome weekend, starting with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Saturday, the big event on Sunday, and even our recovery day off from work yesterday (Monday). I'm so happy the weather held out, even though the threat of thunderstorms loomed all Sunday evening (with an outdoor reception!) - they stayed away! Since Chris was the best man, he wasn't able to take any photos during the ceremony, but our friend Greg took some shots with our camera beforehand, and Chris got some during the wedding party's photography session after. Those are all up on Picasa. We were way too busy having fun during the reception to worry about pictures!
(In case you're wondering, the ceremony took place in Newport, Rhode Island, at Salve Regina University's Ochre Court, one of the cliff walk mansions which now serves as an administration building for the university. The reception was at NYLO Hotel in Warwick.)
I'm so proud of Brooskey and Vixen (especially Brooskey) for getting through this weekend without any tantrums, destruction, or other bad behavior. It was just them and me Saturday night, as Chris was already at the hotel with Joe, and we both stayed in the hotel Sunday night, so they spent their first ever night alone at home. Vixen was gated in the hallway because I couldn't possibly leave her in her tiny crate for that many hours. She didn't escape, and Brooskey didn't jump in with her or knock the gate over on her. We had our pet sitters make frequent visits including a trip to the dog park for Brooskey Sunday morning. (They were willing to take Vixen too, but Brooskey is very protective of her and we were worried about a fight starting if any of the dogs he dislikes were to mess with her.) Yesterday we rewarded them with a trip to "Porter Park" - i.e. Nana & Papa's backyard - for some quality play time.
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I've just finished up my last "free" weekend for the next couple of months. With the schedule we've got this summer, it's going to be really difficult to get anything done, so this weekend we tried to accomplish as much as possible.
I'm finally finished dress shopping. I still needed one more dress for the first wedding of the year, which is next weekend. It's not quite warm enough yet to wear the short little sundresses I picked up a while back. This weekend I found what I needed. It's still a bare-shouldered halter dress, but much longer (almost to the floor), and I will wear one of my cropped cardigans to keep my shoulders warm. It's a green paisley pattern, has a built-in padded bra which I love, and is long and slender until the skirt ruffles out below the knee. I will have to get photos when I wear it on Sunday.
I also got some other shopping done. I got a couple of shirts for work at the same store where I got the dress, and then a couple more at the outlet shops in Wrentham, Mass. Combine those with the shirts I picked up at Old Navy a few weeks ago, and the four dresses, and I think my summer wardrobe is all set. At the outlets I also got shoes to wear to the weddings, and chose some new sneakers which I then had to order online because they didn't have the color I wanted in my size (they're white, but I wanted the silver accents rather than pink, for neutrality's sake). UPS tells me they should be delivered today. They were just delivered while I wrote this post.
Brooskey got a haircut, which I stupidly forgot to take a photo of this weekend. Maybe I'll remember tonight. We got him a "brush cut", which is a short Springer cut, so he won't be so hot and miserable this summer. We had a few small victories in our continuing attempts to get Vixen housebroken, but the biggest barrier that we can't seem to get past is her fear of any human other than Chris and myself. As soon as she sees or hears another person outside, which in a busy complex happens fairly often, her one goal becomes to get back inside to safety. She fixates on the front door, pulling on the leash repeatedly to try to get back inside, and no matter what I do I can't refocus her energy onto anything else. But as long as it's quiet outside and she doesn't get startled, she does know what she's out there to do, and if she needs to do it she will. Tonight our friends Alysha and Rich from Furry Friends Pet Care are coming over to familiarize themselves with Brooskey and Vixen's routines, so that they can help us out during all of the bachelor/bachelorette parties and weddings this summer.
Finally, one huge victory: the nightmarish cauterization procedure on my nose worked! I still experience what I'm referring to as phantom bleeding sensations - moments when I swear I can feel blood beginning to run down that side of my nose, but there is nothing there. My allergies are kicking my butt right now, so I've been blowing my nose quite a bit, and I have not seen a drop of blood. The nostril is still a bit painful and dry, and I'm hoping that goes away soon.
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This is Brooskey, completely zonked out after running around my in-laws' yard all day Sunday. I'm posting it as a test to be absolutely sure that posting a photo to the site directly from my iPhone works the way I want it to. I'm hoping to still be able to blog every day while I'm on vacation in Oregon, so I'm going to be running several tests to ensure that I can do so strictly from my phone. Most of my posts during the trip will probably be short photo posts like this one.
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We had a gorgeous weekend here in New England, though it did start out a little bit chillier than expected. We took advantage of the beautiful, sunny weather, and took Brooskey and Vixen to the dog park Saturday morning. Unlike last week, there were some dogs in the small dog area when we arrived, but just like last summer, Vixen wanted nothing to do with them and demanded to be moved over to the big dog side. She got quite the workout chasing after Brooskey and the other dogs as they chased balls and frisbees, and she slept like a baby in my arms the whole ride home. We also had a surprise meeting with Abbie at the park, and she got to play with some of the dogs, too (until one knocked her over in the sand!).
Saturday afternoon after running some errands, we went over to Joe and Sandra's house. Sandra and I played Trivial Pursuit while Chris and Joe did a little bit of work in the basement (Joe is under orders to have it finished by their wedding in late July). Then the guys grilled some hot dogs while I helped Sandra concoct a pasta salad from random leftovers (which turned out quite yummy).
Yesterday it got up over ninety degrees outside! In April! It was hot, but I was happier than a pig in mud. I wore shorts for the first time this year. (Actually I had put some on Saturday morning, but changed when we realized it wasn't going to be as warm as originally forecasted.) We took care of a few more errands, then went up to our friends Greg and Shanley's house to hang out and enjoy the hot weather. We took Brooskey with us so he could play in their big yard, but left Vixen home so she wouldn't get swallowed whole by their grouchy Akita, Raven.
It's much cooler today (sixty-six right now), but still gorgeous out. And it really sucks to be back at work.
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For this week's "Ten on Tuesday", here are ten things on my to-do list this week. Some of them are already done.
Order refills of Brooskey's and Vixen's flea / tick / heartworm medication. 3/31Send my sister Lacey the CDs I've been promising her for too long. 3/31- Use my accumulated Big Fish Games credits and cancel my monthly subscription until I'm ready for more games.
Update Rewards Network with current debit and credit card numbers. 4/1Take photos for an upcoming post series here on confoozled.com. 4/1Add new content to the confoozled.com sidebar. 4/?- Clean off the "battery charging center" in the (home) office before it all comes tumbling down.
Tally up March online earnings and post them along with a goal for April. 4/2Find a birthday gift (or gifts) for my niece and nephews. 4/?Draw a winner for the special prize for participating in the confoozled.com survey. 4/1
Those are in really random order - I just typed them as I thought of them. I'm going to aim for completing two items per day (the two that are already crossed off I did today).
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![[photo of a clean condo]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/DSCI0139-thumb-200x150.jpg) View of the condo as you walk in the front door. Cleanest it's been since we moved in! This past Sunday we had our first dinner guests in over a year. Brooskey's behavior was so atrocious the last time we tried to have company over, that we were too embarrassed to try it again. But he's gotten much better, and we need to get Vixen used to being around other people besides us. We eat dinner at Joe and Sandra's house at least a couple of times a month, so we invited them and our friend Shanley over for some baked stuffed shrimp and steak-pineapple-mushroom kebabs. Yes, it was also our first use of the grill this year!
As you can imagine, our busy life combined with not having anyone over for a long time, makes for a pretty messy condo. So after a trip to the Rhode Island Pet Expo and lunch in downtown Providence on Saturday, we had to start cleaning. We got a good start on it Saturday afternoon before settling down to watch some TV, but come Sunday morning it was on. Chris took Brooskey for a quick visit to the dog park first so that he would behave while we worked, and while they were gone I worked out on Wii Fit, knowing that would wake me up and get me going. As soon as they got back, we started cleaning, Chris working on the food prep at the same time. With exception of a twenty minute jaunt to Walmart for some carpet deodorizer and propane for the grill, we went non-stop all day, not even stopping to eat any lunch (oddly we weren't hungry either). I vacuumed, shredded junk mail, and put away various items that were scattered on the dining room and coffee tables, while Chris cooked, cleared the kitchen counters and sink, and mopped floors. We took turns taking a quick shower when we were done, and I was just finishing fixing my hair when the guests arrived.
![[photo of the living room]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/DSCI0142-thumb-200x150.jpg) The "sitting area" and front window as seen from the dining room table. The food came out awesome. Well, I have to take everyone else's word for it on the shrimp - shellfish allergies suck! The kebabs were a recipe we saw on Food Network, and we added portabella mushroom pieces marinated in Italian dressing to make it our own. They were delicious. It's definitely a recipe we will make again, and we might just try doing full steaks in the parsley marinade sometime without the pineapple.
Oh, and the dogs were awesome too. So well behaved the entire day, both while we were cleaning and while our guests were there. Brooskey kept his head off the table while we were eating, though he did sit right between Chris' legs the whole time. Baby steps. Vixen was shy but did let both Shanley and Sandra hold her briefly. She couldn't stifle her curiosity when we were all sitting around the table eating... I don't think she's ever seen us eat at the table!
It was an exhausting weekend, but I can't wait to have many more of them this year. I'm so happy that winter is over!
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![[photo of Jasper and Mackenzie]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/jasper-mackenzie-thumb-200x133.jpg) Jasper and Mackenzie practice standing on their hind legs. Chris found this for me this morning: There is a pair of nine-week-old Chihuahua puppies here in Rhode Island who were born without front legs. They were taken in by an organization called Just A Touch Rescue, and they are receiving physical therapy to teach them how to manage life on two legs. Dr. Guzinski, the veterinarian who is providing their medical care at a discount to the rescue organization, is Brooskey and Vixen's doctor too!
Jasper and Mackenzie have their own web site where you can read about the care they're getting, see more pictures (coming soon!), and also make donations to help pay for things like their spay and neuter surgeries, Mackenzie's hernia surgery, and special wheelchairs that will support their front ends while they push with their back legs. The Providence Journal web site also has a video about them which includes footage from a therapy session. (Video may require Internet Explorer - I couldn't get it to load in Firefox.)
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March has come in like a lion, and we are definitely headed into a fickle New England spring. Last Sunday night into Monday, just when all of the snow from the past couple of months had finally melted, we got ten more inches dumped on us. This past weekend, on the other hand, was beautiful and warm, and almost all of that snow melted again. Today it's raining, hailing, and dark and miserable, but I'm actually not as bothered by it as I thought I'd be... as long as it doesn't turn to snow again.
![[photo of blinds]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/DSCI0117-thumb-200x150.jpg) Our living room window with the new blinds, existing curtains, and Brooskey refusing to stay out of the shot. Speaking of the weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and got a few things accomplished. The first was to have a service technician come look at our functioning but incessantly beeping washing machine. The news wasn't good - it needs a new control board, which is going to set us back $300. They'll be coming back next Saturday to install it.
The next thing we did was go to Home Depot to order new vertical blinds for the office and bedroom. We did the living room a few weeks ago, and since it didn't cost as much as we thought it would, and it now looks kind of funny from the outside, having verticals in one window and bent/broken horizontals in the rest, we decided to go ahead and do the rest. We kept it simple and went with a textured white in the bedroom, and smooth white in the office.
![[photo of puppy playgroup]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/DSCI0138-thumb-200x150.jpg) Vixen, Francesca, Brooskey and Chloe play together at puppy playgroup. On Sunday we took Brooskey and Vixen to a puppy playgroup run by the owners of Brooskey's little Cocker Spaniel girlfriend from puppy school, Chloe. It was a small group this week; just Chloe, our two, and another Chihuahua named Francesca who actually belongs to one of the owners of the store where it was held. Except for her trip to the vet last week, this was the first time Vixen has gotten out of the house all winter. She was a little shy, but as we get her out and socializing more I'm sure she'll get right back to being queen of the dog park, just like last summer.
I also got two Wii Fit workouts in this weekend - thirty minutes of aerobics both Saturday and Sunday! I'm right on track to meet my goals for this week!
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I was playing around with YouTube on the TiVo the other day, searching for Chihuahua videos. Brooskey didn't let me get too far, because he wouldn't stop barking at the screen. Yeah... what the trainer told us about dogs only seeing colors in anything less than HDTV? Complete and utter BS. This was YouTube resolution, and he knew exactly what he was looking at.
Anyway, I found this photo montage set to what might be the best Chihuahua song ever.
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