Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 120

Friday Five

Happy Friday! Okay here’s my Friday Five:

I saw my new doctor and feel good about that. The first hurdle he’s facing is getting my expensive RA medication approved, then we’ll move onto pain management. But I feel so much better having made this change.
Maggie is super cute It’s a relief now that she’s sleeping at night in her kennel with no complaining, even if she doesn’t want to go in the kennel. My middle son is helping me work on that, along with a lot of great advice I asked for on FB.
I’m hoping my critique partner doesn’t hate the chunk of the book she’s reading. Naturally I always fear the worst, and it’s a pointless waste of time. I’m going to focus on the positive–I can fix problems once I have her feedback!
Cancer Really Sucks.
There’s a street in our neighborhood I have to avoid when walking Maggie because a enraged Rottweiler loses his mind and tries to get over the fence. He can get his chest and front legs to the top of the fence, and one day, he’ll get over.  I don’t know what is wrong with people getting a powerful breed dog, then just leaving it in the backyard like that. I blame the owners. Don’t get a power breed dog if you’re not going to put in the work, time, money and attention. I have met plenty of well-balance power breed dogs with great owners, including my grandpuppy Jett. He’s probably a pit-boxer mix, well socialized and very friendly. But he has two owners who care about him. Anyway, that’s my rant for the day.

That’s my Friday Five, now it’s your turn! I really hope everyone has a great weekend.

Wednesday Worthy

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I’m writing this on Tuesday before the kids start showing up. We don’t get as may as we used to not that the neighborhood is aging out, and a lot of parents choose different Halloween activities than going to door to door these days.

Yesterday I finally sent a big chunk of Savaged Devotion off to my critique partner! First off, a huge shout out to Marianne! She almost always has to save my books. I’m dead serious. I rely on her and owe her a lifetime supply of Starbucks and more. Now we’ll see if she can even get through the pages I sent. I can be a hit or miss writer–either really on my game or off. But I am also a determined writer, and if the book need a shitton of work, I will do it. I’ll whine (and wine!) and complain, but I’ll do it because I love what I do even when it’s hard

Today I go to my new doctor and I’m very happy to be making this step forward in taking control of my health. I’m actually seeing the Physician’s Assistant because that’s who we really like in our family. He treats Wizard and my youngest son (BLB). This isn’t magic, but it is finding the right medical team to work with to get to my best self.

Okay enough of that. Now it’s time for Wednesday Worthy. Here’s our candidate:

So what do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

Sorry for missing Friday’s post. It was nine o’clock at night on Thursday when I remembered. Wizard and I were watching a movie, and I couldn’t get myself up off the couch to do it

We found out on Thursday that our grand baby due in March will be a boy! We didn’t care if the baby was a boy or girl, but it’s a lot of fun to find out the sex so we can shop. Special K is planning a “Nursery Assembly Day” in December to begin getting the baby’s room ready. It’s just for fun and to get some free labor, LOL. Not only is my daughter-in-law smart, she’s also sweet enough to include us in everything with this child. Wizard and I are so lucky that our boys chose such great women!

Maggie is doing well. She was a little star over the weekend. First biker witch (my sister) and her biker hubby came over on Thursday. Maggie is very friendly at first, but after a while, she can get a little anxious and stick close to me. We are working on building her confidence little by little. Saturday, Youngest son (BLB) surprised us by coming over and staying most of the day. Then CPA Boy and Special K came over in the late afternoon for dinner and to meet Maggie. She was pretty spoiled and exhausted by the end of the night. We had around three or four nonstop days, so Sunday was kickback for all of us, including Maggie.

Maggie has slept two nights in a row in her kennel with no barking or whining. She doesn’t want to go in, but once I get her in there, she lies down and sleeps. We will see how she does tonight–which when you read this will be last night since I’m writing this Sunday afternoon As Youngest (BLB) pointed out, the difference in just a week’s time between the first time he saw her and Saturday, is significant. Yesterday she was even going out back by herself for a few minutes at a time. It sounds small, but it’s important steps for her.

I’m not talking about writing a lot right now, but I will. Life has been freaking insane this year as many of you know, and now we’re very worried about a family member. He’s still going through testing, and we should learn more this week. Right now it looks pretty damn scary but there’s always hope until there’s not. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it because life doesn’t give us a choice.

One thing I’m happy about this week is that I see my new doctor (GP) on Wednesday. He’ll be overseeing all my care, including my specialists. I’m very hopeful we can sort of my physical problems! My nerve pain isn’t too bad right now with very limited computer time so that’s also helped. The ringing in my ears is up and down with occasional  headaches, although I’m getting better at recognizing and managing them.

So that’s my weekend, how was yours?

Wednesday Worthy

Oh man it’s hot here! How can it be the end of October and yet it was 105 here yesterday??

Okay, here’s our Wednesday Worthy candidate:

So what do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

I really want off the Life Sucks train. We had a shock this weekend, but it’s not about me, Wizard, the kids or our foster dog, Maggie. Now let’s talk about something fun.

Maggie got presents! Youngest Son and his lovely fiance came over and look at the doggie shirt and two toys Fiance brought Maggie!

It’s hot here right now, so I only had the little shirt on Maggie for a few minutes, but how cute–and true, LOL–is that! And look at the bright, fun toys. Maggie’s still unsure of toys, yet she played with both of these.

And it other amusing news, so Maggie is timid and having some separation anxiety from me. This is all pretty normal for a shelter dog, but Maggie is also starting to really show her intelligence. Sunday morning, Wizard and I both left to do different things, and we left Maggie out of the kennel. We’re doing this slowly as, so far, she hasn’t chewed on the wrong things or done anything destruction. Now really quick I need to mention that in a week I’ve established a pretty clear routine with Maggie. When I’m going to take her for a walk, I put on my old Reeboks. I always wear those same shoes. I pointed out to Wizard that once I put my shoes on, she gets excited and noses her leash that is hanging over the coat closet door handle.

Smart girl.

So Wizard and I headed off to our separate things. I got home first and Maggie showed some stress-panting and clearly had been a bit anxious. This is just something she’s going to need to work through and understand we’re coming back. But I wondered what I’d find in the house. I really wish I’d taken pictures but I didn’t think of it. Here’s what she did.

Pulled the leash off the door handle of the closet. ONLY the pink leash that I use on her, not the black slip lead that came from the shelter with her that Wizard uses. I found it laying on the ground.
In my bedroom, I found she’d take my old Reeboks out of the closet, through the dressing area and dropped them by the door of the bedroom.

Neither the leash or the shoes were chewed. I can only surmise the Maggie wanted to be with me and knew she’d need her leash and my shoes to do it. I’m just guessing…but it was weird. I couldn’t find anything else moved. Clearly she had some plan.

Today will be a long day at a funeral. I’m just going to keep trying on my book when I can work

So how was your weekend?

Friday Five

It’s like I should have this on repeat–where does the time go? This was another supersonic week! I can’t even keep up this crazy year. Let’s do our Friday Five:

Yesterday Wizard was gone, and Maggie and I did a little work. Well one of us worked and one of us did this… 
Maggie’s back to complaining for a while when she goes into her kennel for the night. She appears safe and fine, so we’re trying a few different things to help her adjust but otherwise we’re ignoring it and she eventually goes to sleep. Trust me, the dog is very smart, and not above trying to get her way in some things. Overall though she’s a really good girl. I’m taking her on one to two miles walks and she’s just trots along at my side. So far, she hasn’t had any accidents, doesn’t chew on the wrong things and tries hard to please us.
I’m going to ask everyone to bear with me. Things are going to get a little worse with me health wise as I switch doctors over the next month and try to get all the meds and specialist changed, then I expect it to get better. But I want you all to know that I’m working on Savaged Devotion and will get back up to speed soon.
For a while I wasn’t really reading books due to the distractions of life, plus I was using audio books to drown out the ringing in my ears. But…I started one of Laurann Dohner’s News Species series that I really enjoy and I’m hooked. Oddly enough…that’s helping me streamline my plot on SAVAGED DEVOTION. These two books aren’t anything alike, but reading other people’s work just tends to help me step out of my own way I think
This weekend will be low-key I hope. Another family member is ill, so we’re a little concerned about that. Otherwise, we may have a visitor or two to see Maggie and I’ll work as much as I can. Monday will be long as we’re going to a funeral that’s quite a distance away.

Okay that’s my Friday Five, now it’s your turn to share yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday Worthy

So Monday we bought a car. I was hoping it’d take two hours, but it took between three and four hours. Most of that time was sitting around waiting for finance to pull all the paperwork together. Anyway, the good news is we bought a white Toyota Camry S.E. and so far, we really like it. We traded in our older Lexus. We’ve had two Lexuses and kept them for about 8 to 9 years on average. We’ll see if this car lasts that long!

Sunday and yesterday I really dug into reading through my book, and I’m thinking about it over night before I clean it up and ask for help from a critique partner. I see the problem, but I need an outside opinion to get my back on track to finish it. It’d be even better if I could get my physical problems cleared up but I have to go through the process of changing doctors so all that’s on hold for a month. It’s frustrating in the short-term but will be better in the long-term.

Okay onto Wednesday Worthy. Here’s today’s candidate:

What do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

Oh Maggie! So this is our new foster pup. We name her Maggie. Wizard decided we should pick her up Friday rather than Monday:

Everything was going great until the Saturday night when she decided she didn’t want to be in her kennel and barked for a LONG time. It was probably about a half hour after I checked her (in case she was sick or had to go to the bathroom, and because I’m soft like that), but felt like YEARS. I thought Wizard was going to lose his temper. He hasn’t so far, but we’re both tired Maggie will figure this out.

In a funny twist, Maggie is good as gold in the day, except she’s way more attached to me than Wizard. I’d say that’s pretty normal for a shelter dog, especially since I tend to take care of her. That will even out as she gains in confidence. She’s great on a leash, so far she never chews on the wrong things, she seems potty trained and she’s sweet as pie. I took her to Petsmart with me to buy her a new leash, and she charmed everyone there–dogs and people alike. They should be here around 10:30 tonight, LOL! Seriously, she was a very good girl there.

But we are having a battle of wills about where she sleeps!

I’m trying to read through the 350 pages I have on the manuscript for SAVAGED DEVOTION because I know there’s something off in there, something I’m sure I can fix once I find it, then go onto writing the end. Plus I want to clean up a some chapters for a critique partner.  I’m trying hard it’s just slow going with all the medical crap and Maggie

In other news, we went to Special K’s birthday party over the weekend and she’s looks great four to five months pregnant. CPA Boy got her a diamond heartbeat necklace for her birthday and it was stunning. It has a tiny diamond in the center of another diamond that beats (glitters) like a baby’s heartbeat. I’d never heard of it before this, but it was really pretty. We also got to see Middle Son’s finance’s gorgeous engagement ring. Middle Son picked the perfect ring! He also planned a lovely proposal. I’m really proud of him and excited for them both.

I’m working today, and Special K is taking a break from her school work (she’s gone back to school for her masters degree in an IT related field while pregnant!) to come meet Maggie. That will be fun.

So that was some of my weekend, how was yours?

Happy Friday Five

It’s that time again to list our five random things about our week!

I’ve hit the wall last night. I came home from the NINC conference energized, but life is running fast and hard this week and not letting me catch my breath or concentrate on writing. Today, I have an early morning appointment then I’m getting back to writing!
We met three potential foster dogs on Wednesday. Our first choice is a sweet little chihuahua mix (she’s a little bigger than an average chihuahua, curious and submissive with new people), and if all goes well, we’ll pick her up next week. Right now, her name is Nana but I just can’t call her by that name as it’s what my kids call Wizard’s mom. So I’m going to ask if I can change her name to Maggie–she looks like a Maggie. Although I’d be happy with almost any other name besides Nana. I didn’t take pictures like I should have because I really wanted to focus on the dogs not photo ops :-). If by chance she’s adopted over the weekend, then we’ll probably take the second choice, an eight year old laid back Pomeranian named Larry. He came across as a pretty mellow guy. We also met a scared little terrier that really tugged on both Wizard and my hearts. This dog has been seriously neglected or abused and afraid to let anyone touch him. It’s heartbreaking. I hate anyone who intentionally abuses an animal that way. I want everyone to be assured though, the shelter staff really care about this little dog. They have him in a kennel with two little friends that he loves to play with, and they have a trainer coming in to see if he can work with him. We’re keeping the little terrier in mind, but we don’t want to take him out of the place he feels safe unless we’re reasonably confident we can help him. And for sure, I’ll take pictures when we pick up our foster pup!
We had a sudden death in our extended family this week It’s always sad, and I wish I could spare my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and nieces the pain of losing a beloved father and grandfather, but unfortunately, I can’t. I hate when people we love hurt, but all we can do is be there for them.
In good news, we’re going to a birthday party for my daughter-in-law, Special K, this weekend. That’s the reason I put off picking up our foster pup until next week–I didn’t want to leave her a really long stretch of time the first few days home. I can’t wait to see how Special K is showing in her pregnancy, and I’ll get to see Middle Son’s fiance’s ring in person Middle Son is very proud of choosing that ring (and I’m proud of him for choosing a great girl!).
I’m so sluggish from poor eating and lack of exercise, but I can do small things to change that. Getting a foster pup will help me get more active too.  It’s a win-win!

Okay that’s my Friday Five. Now it’s your turn to share your Friday Five.

Wednesday Worthy & My Worst Kept Secret!

I’ve teased you all with my secret…but now I’ll tell you all in a minute.

First, about my books. I’m energized and really trying to get Savaged Devotion done. It’s going to take a few weeks, but I’m loving the refreshed feeling after the NINC Conference. I’m still dealing with pain and the same old struggles, but I believe that in MTD (Mental Toughness & Discipline), or what my sister and brother lovingly call “Jen’s bulldog attitude.”

I will say that I was dealing with a bunch of medical crap for two days that required me to spend hours doing the job of my doctor’s medical staff, instead of my own job of writing. I’m not exaggerating, you can ask Wizard. However I had a forty minute phone call with my new health insurance yesterday and they will be moving me to Wizard’s doctor in November. I know this doctor, he’s taken very good care of Wizard and youngest son (BLB) through his serious leg injury, so this is a huge relief for me. I will lose my RA doc who has done so much for me, but I’ll have a better team helping me overall. It’s a good tradeoff.

Enough of all that, now let’s talk about my worst kept secret. Wizard and I are signed up to become Foster Dog Parents at our local animal shelter!! We are already approved, and will go this afternoon to meet the foster dog coordinator and hopefully begin meeting some dogs. I am so excited! As a lot of you know, I once worked a large animal shelter, and I’m a big believer in shelters. Helping these dogs is one of my passions, but I haven’t been in a position to do much before now. My hope is that I can take one dog at a time, help him or her adjust to a home environment with a little love and training, then take them to shelter sponsored adoption events to find them a forever home.

Wizard is predicting I will fail and keep the first dog I get But I really want to try to do this. It does a lot to help the impacted shelter by freeing up a kennel and thereby keeping one dog from being put to sleep (it’s a brutal fact of life in the real world of animal shelters) and help a traumatized dog readjust after being place in a shelter full of fear and confusion. I truly believe in helping one dog at a time. But if I do fail and keep the first dog, I’ll find another way to stay involved.

I really care about shelter dogs. However, I want to be clear–I’m also fine with buying a dog from a reputable breeder. If I had the money, I’d buy a French bulldog puppy from a good breeder in addition to helping shelter dogs. But I know that breed often needs specialized and expensive medical care that I probably can’t afford, so I haven’t done it. What I’m saying is a dog is a dog, and if someone provides a good home for the dog, I’m all for it.

I am against puppy mills as is any compassionate human being. I want them all put out of business and every dog in trapped in those hideous places rescued. If you don’t know about puppy mills, Google it. Ten minutes of reading will turn your stomach.

But shelter dogs will always have a special place in my heart. And now I get to do one little thing to help a shelter dog. Wizard is very willing to try this and see how it goes. He’s going with me tomorrow today meet the coordinator and begin meeting dogs. He’s been really supportive since the first day I brought up the idea of a few months ago. And this is a good way for us to find out if we are ready to commit to a dog

So that’s my news. I wanted to find Wednesday Worthy Candidate that fit the Dog Theme of the blog today and this was as close as I could come:

 

What do you think, is the guy worthy? How about the dogs?

P.S. One of the websites I love is called Bound Angels, where master dog trainer Robert Cabral and his team work to help shelter dogs. If you’re interested, check it out here.