My January TUSAL Update

Today in the New Moon so here's a picture of my 2011 ORTs jar for the Totally UselessStitch-A-Long.  The jar is on the left.  The dog on the right is Lucy.  It's Lucy's and Pumpkin's fault that my jar is empty because I haven't embroidered or cross stitched since these two were adopted about a month ago.  I've showered a few times and once I cut my toenails but other than babysitting the two little darlings, there isn't much else going on with me right now.

If you're my Facebook friend, you may have thought I was close to a breakdown over these dogs last night because of what I posted on my wall.  I had reached my limit with Lucy going after Pumpkin.  One minute they're playing and everybody is happy with tails wagging and the next minute Lucy growls and snarls at Pumpkin because Pumpkin walked by Lucy's blanket.  I actually uttered the words "maybe Lucy needs a new home" to my mom because I was thinking she might need to be in an only dog household.  The fact that I even said that out loud really shocked me.  I suddenly felt like one of those loser pet owners who I've complained about or rolled my eyes at because they decided to get rid of their dog for some stupid reason.  Like the ones who were now empty nesters and wanted to travel the world so poor 11 yr old Fido was dumped at a shelter.  Or because they were moving on Saturday and if the rescue group didn't help them find a new home for their dog on Friday, well, it was going to the pound.  Last night I actually saw a classified ad for an 8 month old Shih Tzu who was being given up because "we got her after being told she was house trained but she isn't and no one here has the time to do it."[insert scream here]

 I spent a few hours reading up on dog behavior online and also emailed a bunch of my dog-rescue friends and those that have adopted shelter dogs to ask for advice.  I'm convinced that Lucy & Pumpkin hacked into AOL last night and read that email because today was practically perfect with them.  They played as much as usual but it didn't get too rough that often, and when it did, they took breaks and had little cat naps.  I don't think I heard anything other than a play grow all day.  Pumpkin even pooped in the garage and didn't even try to snack on it.  Yay, Pumpkin! 

I know we still have a ways to go until things are how they should be and we will work with a trainer as soon as I find the right one but today really was a good day.  I think my frustration is born out of a lack of sleep and not being able to make anything for over a month.  Seriously.  Laugh if you want but sticking a needle and thread through fabric calms me and relaxes me and makes me happy.  It's like your Prozac.  And, her pot.  And you over there passed out in a drunken stupor, your vodka.  Crafting and Maggie are pretty much what kept me sane the past few years and now I don't have either one.  But I can start crafting again and now instead of Maggie, I have Lucy and Ethel Pumpkin to keep me from sticking my head in the oven.  (I just wanted to use the strike key in Blogger's new editor.  And somebody PLEASE tell me they fixed it so you can set your links to open in new windows without manually adding the code yourself, which is a major pain in the ass and one reason I don't post as many links as I used to.) 

In related news, I have a $15 gift card to blow on iTunes which ranks right up there with dogs and crafting on the things-that-make-me-happy scale so I am off to do that.

If you'd like to join the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long yourself, please check Sharon's blog.

And, in honor of the TUSAL here's the New Moon on Monday video from Duran Duran.