The Missaroo

The Missaroo
Ready to Take on the World

Monday, November 29, 2010

I Had to Do It

I really didn't want to, but when I saw the Missaroo shaking like a leaf in the car on the way to the groomers.... well I knew what we would be coming home with....


It's really more than like a cape then a sweater though right? I mean, she kinda looks like a kick butt superhero to me.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Perfect Sunday

I wish this was how we could spend every Sunday....


I'd give my right arm for it.

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Yesterday was the best! My friend Tim and I left Spokane's South Hill around 10:30am to head north to the Christmas Tree farms at Green Bluff. He'd never cut down his own tree from a farm before, he'd always just gone to tree lots. ((one more reason not to raise your kids in Seattle I guess)) So I decided it was time he experienced Christmas Midwest style. It snowed the entire morning, the entire drive up, and the entire time we were wandering around looking for the perfect Christmas trees. But as you know, snow makes it warmer so at least we weren't freezing our faces off. Plus it really put us in the holiday spirit.

It wasn't long before Tim not only found the perfect tree, but he also cut it down like a pro. There really isn't anything in this world he can't do.... He felt pretty manly about the whole thing. 

Then we found my tree, and of course I made him cut that one down too. The whole way home Tim kept telling me he couldn't believe he'd never done this before and would never get his Christmas tree off a lot again. Success!
After a short break to  regroup, we headed out again to grab decorations and lights. Once again, we started with his tree and then worked our way back to my apartment to decorate mine.




It was pretty much the perfect Saturday!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

THE Happy Dance!

I've spent a good portion of my Saturday morning doing nothing except drinking coffee, updating Facebook and Twitter, and oh yeah, dancing around like an idiot! Why? You might ask. Because I have the weekend OFF! Like Off, off. Like I didn't take vacation to attend a weekend class, or because my mom is here, or because of any other reason other than the fact I wanted to! Can you say Vaca!!!!! I am PUMPED. More than pumped. Just about anything could happen to me today ((minus death to me, a loved one, or the Missaroo)) and my reaction with just be, well I'm not at work so its OK.

If you think I'm going a bit overboard 1) You obviously don't know me. This is kinda what I do. 2) You prob don't realize the last time I had an entire weekend to myself was the middle of August 2009 when I was unemployed. 3) I might be the most easily amused person on the planet.

So what's my big plans for the day? OH, its CHRISTMAS TREE Saturday! I'm going to a tree farm, cutting down my tree, buying decorations, decorating, watching a Christmas movie and doing THE Happy Dance until my legs give out! Happy Actual Saturday!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Missaroo and I had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Early in the morning we hung out at the apartment rocking the Christmas tunes and partying because I had the day off. I dropped off a few things at Tim's before getting the Missaroo ready to play some football. Turns out the Missaroo did great! Like WAY better than I expected. She ran in the snow, chased after the person with the football, and overall had a great time being a dog. By the time we got home she was pooped for the rest of the night.

While she slept off all her excitement, I headed to dinner. We watched a lot of football, ate cookies, and drank beer while we got everything together. Around 5pm we sat down for a GREAT Thanksgiving dinner. Tim never ceases to amaze me, there is nothing he can't do including make a perfect dinner on his first try.

After that, I headed home to check on the Missaroo and avoid the mean girls from work who were stopping by. Missy was still pretty tired and very content to once again just hang out on the couch with me. I was suppose to head back out with Tim to his friend's house for cocktails afterwards, but the mean girls put a halt to that too. So I just went to bed early and enjoyed the Missaroo instead.

Hope everyone had a great dinner surrounded by friends and family. :)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thankful

Today is THE day to give thanks! So I thought I'd share what I'm thankful for right here because one of the biggest things I'm thankful for is all of YOU. Miss and I have gotten more support than we even deserve. It is awesome how many of you have taken the time out of your very busy lives to read our stories. AND Even more of you have contacted me to make sure we are both OK. I can't even tell you how cool it was to talk to my Aunt Kathy on the phone the other day and have her say "So you're going to Tim's for Thanksgiving? I read it on your blog." So that's number one.

Number two: I'm thankful for all of our misadventures, or rather our Miss-adventures. Something about putting it in writing makes it so much easier to look back and laugh at either in the moment or right after. Normally freezing to death wouldn't be funny, but now when it happens, it's like OH YEAH, we are sooooo blogging about this moment as soon as I warm up! Plus I wouldn't trade a single day with the Miss. The lessons learned are BEYOND priceless. Total life lesson every single day.

Number three: Everything I have. I am employed, I have a rockin apartment, dog, and health. ((although my vision is totally going, but I'll blog about that another day)) My car might not get through snow very well, but the heat works and it is all mine. I also have money in the bank, not too much after my bills, but its there and my bill are paid every month. That's all I ever wanted as a kid and at 25 I'm already there!

Now before you think I forgot my fam and friends, I was kinda getting at that in the first one. I know my friends and family read the blog. For those that can't, they still support me long distance. So nope, I didn't leave them out.

Number four: I'm thankful for somewhere to go today. I'm going to be pretty darn sad around Christmas and New Years when I have no where to go. Then, I'll be thankful I have to work. But today I'm thankful Tim stayed in Spokane instead of heading across the pass to Seattle.

Hope you all have a rockin' Turkey Day. Love you all :)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Too Cold

Yep, that's right the high today in Spokane is ten degrees. Yikes! So trying to take Missy to the bathroom has become even more of a challenge. I thought maybe she'd go in the snow on the balcony....


After that wasn't happening it was time to venture outside for the longest three minutes of our lives. But I was really worried about freezing to death. Its early in the morning, so it was only about 3 degrees and Missy had to poop. Like, right now! So I decided for the first time ever she was going to wear clothing. I tried to rig up an old Western sweatshirt ((GO NECKS!)) for her....



Like everything else we try, it quickly turned into a Miss-adventure. Good in theory, horrible in reality. She was out of one sleeve before we even reached the path outside our apartment. Before she could poop, the whole thing was just swaying around her so I took it off. She went soon after, thank goodness. But of course what she did instead to try and keep warm? She ran for it, pulling me along. We're lucky I didn't die. Missy gets groomed on Monday and I might just have to break down and buy her dog clothes after all or we might not make it through the winter.

Air Bud

Sorry about the blog slacking.... I've even had a few good ideas lately and well, fell asleep before I had a chance to write them... Oh well, onto the next adventure.

So tomorrow is Turkey Day ((Gobble! Gobble!)) and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm starting off my morning by playing football with a lot of strangers and my friend Tim. And I'm taking the Missaroo with me. When I told Tim I was taking Miss with too his first reaction was, she'll be tied up right? Uh, no she's playing. I'm convinced we will find out she has Air Bud like skills on the football field.

Now as crazy as I am, I'm still a dog mom at the end of the day. I'll bring along her 10 foot rope and her leash which means  worse comes to worse, she'll have 14 feet to run around and bark at us. I won't let her freeze either. Heck, maybe I'll even throw a shirt on her to keep her warm in the snow. Either way, I know she'll make a better football player than I will. I mostly just plan on running up and down the field yelling at people like I did all through my grade school days. Can't wait to spend another Thanksgiving with the Missaroo and NOT have to go to work. It's my first holiday off in Spokane. That's what I'm thankful for! Whootwhoo!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Snug as a Bug!

I came home to find this adorable face looking at me as comfy as could be.... snug as a bug my little shmishshmishmoo.....

Friday, November 19, 2010

Seperated at Birth

About two days a week I volunteer at the local shelter, SpokAnimal. Usually, I do a lot of paper work for the volunteer coordinator: Enter emails, file volunteer applications, organize stuff, things of that nature. Yesterday, I finished my project of opening up packages of dog bones and dumping them in baskets while the coordinator made a run over to the kennels so I decided to go over there to meet up with her. I like looking at all the doggies, wishing I could take each and every one of them home. The nice thing about SpokAnimal is there always seems to be dogs going out for walks, kennels being cleaned, or snacks being passed out. Its not nearly as sad and depressing as I imagined it would be.

I had said hello to just about everybody in the kennels when I turned the corner and saw Missy's brother. I am not kidding this dog looks EXACTLY like the Missaroo, down to the white stripe down the front and white on the paws. He's even listed just like she was, Shepard Mix Brindle. He even sits funny like she does. The only thing they seemed to know for sure about him is he isn't a puppy because he has his adult teeth. Starting to sound familiar????

OK so you still don't believe me. Think about this. How many dogs have you ever seen in your life that look EXACTLY like the Missaroo? She looks like no dog and every dog all at the same time, but exactly the same??? Take a look for yourself:



So now of course I have a problem. I mean its obvious this dog is related to my Missaroo. Remember a while back when we started this blog and I talked about Missy needing a dad because she was that kinda dog? Well maybe what she needs is a brother!!!! BUT I can't take Max ((yes I've already named him)) If I had a yard and a SUV he would have come home with me that day, but I don't. So what I need is someone to adopt Max so Miss can go visit her brother instead. Any takers?? PA-LEASE!!!! 

SNOW!

The Missaroo would play in the snow until she got frost bite if I let her. She loves the stuff.... although I think her favorite part might be turning it yellow. Yesterday morning she got to run along in it for the first time this season. We were so HAPPY to be waking up to that white stuff. It means Christmas is just around the corner. :)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Happy Merry Holidays!

I was having a pretty crap week. Bad times at work, messed up my pumpkin bread on the domestic front. Wondered if I was good at anything, hid under the covers for about an hour crying, whole nine yards. (yes I realize that's not a sentence) Then it all started with a text from my dear friend Tim Lewis simply telling me to check my work email Then I read said wonderful email from Tim that stated the following: 

 "Over the last couple of years, my roommate and I cooked up a Thanksgiving meal for anyone who had no place to go for the holiday. I’ve moved into my own place now, but I’d still like to celebrate with a feast. ...... If you can’t make it for food, is anyone interested in playing Turkey Bowl football on Thanksgiving morning?...  I’d really like to keep the holiday tradition alive in Spokane"

I screamed and danced around like an idiot while Missy barked at me and tried to bite at my ankle to get me to stop. Oh I was thrilled. I LOVE Thanksgiving. I LOVE football. and I LOVE the kick off to Christmas. It was the BEST. Email. Ever.

And then I woke up to another great surprise.....


Happy Merry Holidays everyone! :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A Series of Firsts

I've been a bad dog mom lately with my dog blog slacking... sorry about that. ((Oh, and this one is pretty gross))

The Missaroo never ceases to amaze me. In one day she had two firsts, but before we get there here's a little background.....

My schedule keeps me on my toes and the Missaroo guessing when I'm going to be home. She's been upset, bouncing off the walls, and overall unhappy. I'm pretty use to the throw up three days a week. I've come to expect it and when it doesn't happen its like, well, the BEST. Day. Ever. Yep.

This latest round of puky mcpukerson was actually surprising for two reasons.

One: She managed to somehow projectile vomit ((didn't know dogs could do that)) and it landed outside her crate. Awesome.

Two: She then managed to STEP in her own vomit on the way out of the crate and of course her immediate reaction was to JUMP on me. EW! GA-ROSS! I actually screamed and ran away from her for half a second. What a great mom I'll make huh? I wiped her down, myself down (yes in that order) took her potty, and then cleaned up the crate and the nearby carpet.

Oh the Missaroo. NEVER, and I do mean EVER a dull moment. Who needs TV when I've got projectile dog vomit? But you know what, I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Love you shmooie, even when you reek of vomit.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Oh No You Didn't!

Missy's freak outs, puking episodes, and overall behavior have gotten progressively worse over the course of my changed schedule, class load, and overall all dog mom busyness. Last night I had just about had it. I decided to leave her out of the crate because I felt bad. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG move mom. She went into my purse, pulled out my Ipod headphones and ATE THEM!!!! AH!

I yelled. I hardly ever really raise my voice at the Missaroo. But when I walked in the door completely exhausted and just home from my three hour class the last thing in the world I needed was something chewed beyond repair. This came on the heels of two days worth of mass amounts of dog throw up everywhere.

And I can't even begin to tell you how so unlike the Missaroo that was. I'm always telling people how great she is about not chewing on things that don't belong to her. But this isn't normal Miss, this is pissed Miss. She's a teenager acting out.

I of course had one of those melt down dog mom moments. I didn't know if I should stay mad at her all night or cuddle with her, because she really did it because she has too much energy right now and not enough attention from mom. I almost texted my only friend left in Spokane to tell him,  "I would make the world's worst mom." I didn't but I thought it. I can't even handle being a dog mom sometimes. I'm really at my wits end when it comes to her this quarter. I'm in the home stretch and there is also a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to getting my work schedule back in order too. BUT then the holidays will be here and that will go up in the air again.

I'm really not sure what the moral of the story is this time. Missy won't be left to roam free for a very long time. And it will always be something. I'm 25 and I live like it. And by that I don't mean party on Wayne, I mean I don't own a home with a yard and work 9-5 at the job I'm going to be at for the rest of my life. Hopefully Miss and I can get through this rough patch. Any suggestions on how to get her behavior and my sanity back on track would be greatly appreciated.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wake Up Call

My mom tells be to "be careful" so much that I stopped taking her seriously. She always says things like "I worry about your safety dolly." She can't see me when she says this over the phone but I roll my eyes and ignore her plea. I usually have some smart butt comment for her like "darn I was planning on running in and out of traffic tonight." I consider the South Hill the safest place to live in all of Spokane. Sure I walk Missy at night, but I do it down a busy street where there are always people around. I've never not felt safe. Well that has all changed.

Monday night around 6pm a woman was sexually assaulted here on the Hill. It happened blocks away from where I live, work, and walk my dog. It happened along that same busy street I felt oh, so safe walking down. It was a wake up call.

I've never been one to live my life in fear. I have many irrational fears, but they've never actually stopped me from doing anything. But this time it will make me much more cautious than any words my mom could have told me over the phone.  As I walked along that street yesterday, it was noon by the way, I thought of what I would do if approached by a stranger with a knife. I've started carrying Missy's poop bag like a weapon, that's for sure. I'm not really sure it would hurt, but if that bag broke I'm sure that man would have some sort of reaction to being covered in dog poop and I thought it might give us enough time to run, scream, or a combination of the two. I also think I'm going to train Missy to eat hot dogs. You can't be too careful right? Right!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Finally Fun


I took Missaroo somewhere fun yesterday for what felt like the first time in forever. We still didn't manage to even make it off the hill, but Manito Park is so beautiful and massive you really don't need to. I'm pretty sure every time we go there we take a different and new path. Missy loves the fact she can run in the grass, over leaves, through brush, and click across the pavement. It is always an adventure. It was great to see her exploring a new world outside of our little neighborhood. We didn't spend all day there this time like we have in the past, mostly because it was so dang cold out, but we were there just long enough for the adventure to put a smile on our faces. I'm glad I made the executive decision to push everything else to the side yesterday morning in order to hop on over to the park. Finally, some fun for the Missaroo!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Puky Rears Her Ugly Little Head Again

There really is no greeting quite like coming home from a 12 hour shift on election night to discover dog throw up all over Missy's crate. Now don't worry, Missy was not in said crate for 12 hours. I asked if I could leave work for 15 minutes in order to take her out to go to the bathroom. ((The perks of living across the street from work)) It was a little after seven when I took her outside and that was the first time I discovered the throw up. I didn't have the heart to put her BACK IN a crate full of doggie puke, so she spent the next four hours roaming free in the apartment. I knew what was awaiting me when I arrived home a few minutes before midnight, in fact it probably made me a little bit more grumpy.

Not that I blame the Missaroo AT ALL. Nor do I ever think it's her fault. I always blame my work schedule and ultimately, myself. This is the fourth time she's thrown up in two weeks. I've gone from working my normal ten hour weekend shifts and nightside during the week, to weekends and morning show. Which means instead of leaving my apartment at 2:20 every afternoon, I scurry out the door at 3:55am instead. But then, when she finally seemed to be getting use to that, I left yesterday before noon. She freaked and threw up.

This has been a constant thing with Missy. For those of you who might be new to the blog, Miss was found abandoned. She didn't show signs of physical abuse, but the emotional scars seem to be lasting a lifetime. In fact, within a few days of adopting her the vet told me she was too attached to me and I needed to get her socialized. Missy knew that I wanted her, and she hoped that wouldn't ever change. Lucky for her, it won't.

I can't imagine Miss being in a home without order, to do lists, calenders, and schedules. For all of those things that might drive men away, it's what keeps the Miss sane. She thrives on schedules, order, and routine. So do I. I don't mine working at all hours of the day ((OK that's not entirely true)) but it's much harder on Miss. In fact, I LOVE election night. It's like my second favorite news holiday to work next to Selection Sunday. Now it's over and I'll have to spend some quality time with my Shmoo to try and get her back on track. I've had enough of the puker for awhile.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloweenie!

I know we are a day late, but Halloween weekend was quite the whirlwind for me. I worked my usu weekend shift plus fit in time to check out a really cool decked out house and attend a going away/costume party for one of my co-workers. But that's OK because Missy isn 't too big on Halloween to begin with. She doesn't really know what to make of all the people in costume wandering around her street. ((and yes they are her streets, don't you know?)) She was a little shell shocked. It's like she didn't know if she should bark or be excited or both. Needless to say she didn't dress up and we cut our walk short. We stayed inside where it was nice and warm and went to bed instead. BUT Saturday I sure had a good time.......



Happy Halloweenie!