Pound Puppy

My little brother recently moved out of my dad's house and took the co-owned miniature Daschund "Sprocket" with him. Dad has been fighting a 'custody battle' with Josh for several weeks now. The thing is; it's Josh's dog. Today I went to the pound and picked up a pooch they called Ironman. So far, his name is Buster. Josh went to the pound with me and that's what he called the mutt. We picked him up and Josh scattered, citing 'things he had to do.' I think he was just scared to show up and hand a dog to Dad.

Buster and I get in the car and he crawls into my lap, where he stays for the whole ride. We go to Petsmart where I get him flea medicine, a leash, collar, chew toys, and puppy chow.

I leave Buster in the car while I go and find Dad. I throw Dad the package of flea medicine and say "Happy Early Father's Day!" He gives me a "What the heck?" kind of look so I tell him "The rest is in the car." Then I Really get the look. We go outside and I introduce Dad to Buster.

He likes the dog! Thank Goodness because I had no back up plan for the pup. Buster sits when told, walks well on a leash, comes when called, and is the cutest little ball of fleas this side of the Mississippi.

Hooray for matchmaking!

One of the coolest things about Asheville is the fact that a 30 minute drive (or less really) will afford you some amazing hiking. Wednesday night after Wesley and his coworker Patrick got off work at 5:00 we went for a three mile in/three mile out hike at Looking Glass Rock. At the top of the hike there is a bald overlooking a spectacular terrain. The weather was perfectly mild and the trees are the greenest they will be all year.

We stayed on the bald until sunset thinking that the hike downhill would be a quick one. It were about halfway down the switchback trail when it got so dark we had to pull out the one headlamp we had. The trail looked like a whole different place at night. The lightning bugs made me feel like I was in a fairy tale; the crying cougar made me realize I was not. The silence was peaceful but there was so much life in the woods that I never felt isolated. It was quite an adventure and I can't wait to go camping up there.

Obsession

My deepest and sincerest apologies. I know that the world stopped when I let my blog lag. I promise, I promise the sun shall shine again. (Yes, that is sarcasm you detect).

Here is my list of excuses:

1. I was trying my darndest to not fail Complex Health Problems this trimester. You will all be delighted to know, I'm sure, that I did NOT fail that dad-blasted soul-injuring class.

2. I am homeless. Well, kinda homeless. I moved out of the house at Mimosa Lane. The majority of my possessions, and myself for the next two weeks, are in Asheville. I must take this time to say thank you to my dear fiancee for being so obliging as I took over, cluttered up, and girlified (to a small degree), his apartment.

3. I pressed felony charges. My landlord, whom shall remain slightly nameless but may be a dentist who is on the board of directors at a local college, is a creep. My former roommates and I have caught him in our backyard late at night several times. I personally caught him looking in my window late one night while I was naked and bent over to blow dry my hair. Sleeze. What happened after that? He got away with it.

4. I have been without internet at home for a month. Yeah for cutting the bills.

So. What is the obsession all about you ask?

Real estate. I want a home. I want a home so badly I would just about sell my soul to have one. I want a place I can garden, paint, decorate, live in, and have ownership of. I check zillow.com on a daily basis, even though we won't be able to get a house until early next year at best. I have been researching tips for first time homebuyers and this afternoon Wesley and I are going to the bank to have someone spell out the differences between renting vs. buying. I am obsessed. Every waking moment I am thinking about home ownership, what my budget will be, what kind of home I want, how we can make it work, and what locations I like best. It's like the baby clock but only louder. I know where all of the online listings are and I have the real estate guide in my car. It has even overtaken the wedding in my wandering thoughts. Like I said, obsession.

Now that I have confessed; do you have any advice on home ownership, mortgages, or renting vs. buying?

First Self Righteous Church

A Cat Story

Today I took Sasha to the vet. You remember Sasha, don't you?

The sweet baby has been puking up a storm for two weeks now. The first week and a half she produced enough hairballs to knit a sweater. The rest of the time she has been throwing up her food and dry heaving. Let me tell you something, cat-retching is not something you want to wake up to for too many mornings in a row. What a foul, awful, pitiful sound!

Sasha was such an angel today. She got into her carrier with no trouble, loved on the vet-techs and in general, won over hearts across the board. I was such a proud Momma. I won't even Begin to tell you what kind of terror Chloe is at the vet.

Sasha was given fluids subcutaneously, and intramuscular anti-nausea medication and antacids. She is to be started on a bland diet of Gerber Baby pureed chicken tomorrow, along with more antacids and hairball treatment. She got more attention from the vet, and more detailed instructions on care than any doctor has Ever given me regarding my health, including my surgery back in November. Lucky dog... er, cat!

When we got home from the vet after barely an hour away, Chloe was furious at us both! She could not contain her jealousy that I went somewhere with Sasha and not her. She growled and hissed at Sasha, sniffed at the carrier trying to gather clues as to where we had been, and glared at me like she might burn holes through my head. She can be such a spiteful cat. Luckily, she eventually calmed down and everything seems to be back to normal now.

All of this got me thinking. I wonder if cats think it is strange that humans take off their fur on a daily basis? What do you think?

Kids Rock

Oh man, you have got to check this out. I snickered. Then I snorted.

glumbert - Kids' Rock

One Step Closer

I packed today. Not everything, mind you. I packed my dishes, the few decent pots and pans I have, my nic-naks, and all of my wall art. Next week Wesley's apartment is going to have so much 'Eryn' in it he won't know what to do with himself (or his utter lack of closet space).

It was a beautiful day. I opened the windows and let the warm spring air push winter out of the house. I cranked up the classic rock and I took a major step towards the next chapter. You should have seen me dancing to 'Mustang Sally.' I was on a roll! Ha ha.

I look at the boxes lined against the kitchen wall and I grin from ear to ear. Once I get my things to Wesley's apartment, Asheville really will be home and Mississippi really will only be a temporary landing spot for me. In May I move my furniture to Asheville and I'll come back to stay with my grandparents in Jackson while I wrap up my summer semester.

I'm excited that I will get to spend a couple of months with family before I head off. My grandparents are like those active seniors you see in mutual fund commercials. They ride horses, travel, tile the house, email, and simply put, never slow down. It's great. Plus, when I need a quiet house to study, I know that they will understand. I can't let off until I pass my last class. No rest for the weary, eh?

The Incident

After driving 10 hours from Asheville because of nasty rain in Georgia I arrived home at 11:30 Sunday night. Both of the roommates were gone. I wasn't too happy to be home alone, especially since the night I returned from my last trip I caught a peeping tom at my window, which is incidentally about 7-8 ft off the ground. I had the willies but I also had my cat Chloe so I figured I would be okay.

I didn't even bother to unpack my car. I gave Chloe some food, fresh kitty litter, and water then went to my room and tucked myself into my covers. Chloe wasn't far behind me in jumping onto the bed. I was still feeling tense so didn't think much of it when Chloe wouldn't calm down either. She spent all day in the car as well, after all. After a few minutes she settles down and starts to purr. Then thinks got damn strange.

My bedroom door is shut and my light is off. All the doors are locked. I am laying in the quiet emptiness when I hear footsteps coming down the hall past my bedroom. I try to rationalize it away, tell myself I am just tired- maybe even a little paranoid. But the thing is, Chloe sat up, stared out towards the hallway and stopped purring. Ok, no problem, I'll just turn on the lamp. My room is now well-lit, no shadows. Chloe moves to the end of the bed and stares at the door. I refuse to get creeped out. Close my eyes, convince myself it's not a problem, I'm just nuts.

Then I hear the whispers. Oh shit. I start thinking about who I could call at one in the morning the night before the first day of class and realize that I need to just suck it up and force myself to go to sleep. I move my head in little motions so that the sound of the fabric in my ear drowns out any other noises. Problem solved. Until...

Until the room goes ice freaking cold despite having the heat on, previously having been warm enough, and me being under a down comforter. This was the final straw. I grab my phone, put on necessary garments and head for the door. Quickly. Chloe actually beats me out of the house. I put her in the car and go to the Walmart parking lot where I call Wesley (sweet Wesley) and ask him what in the hell I should do. We run through the possible solutions that I have already ruled out and decide that I should go to his mom's house, an hour away. Wesley has had his own experience in the house and luckily does not think I've lost my marbles (any more of them anyways).

The past two nights I stayed with Wesley's mom. I contemplated places I could move, thought about how I could avoid staying at the house, so forth and so on. I finally realized that with being so close to graduating, and being so busy with school, wedding, traveling, et al that now was Not the time to move.

So.

Tonight I stay at the house. I waited until sunset and spoke out loud to It, which was only slightly strange. I said 'This is my house. You are not allowed here. I have nothing for you and cannot help you. It's time to move on. Go away.' I feel better about it all after doing that. We shall see tonight. Oh, and for good measure I have my rosary on my bedpost and I plan on sprinkling some holy water I happen to have from a church event a couple of years ago on my door frame. Here's hopin' the booger is gone.

Achoo

I've been sick the past few days and it hasn't been much fun (for me or anyone around me). Here is the email I sent to CVS about a positive experience that came out of having the funk.

I went to the CVS on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville North Carolina today, Feb 15th. I had nine dollars in my bank account and needed some cold/flu medicine, as I wasn't sure which one I had. I asked the pharmacist for his recommendation and he recommended the CVS version of Cold-Eeze. I asked him 'If I can only afford one medicine to get me through this, is this really what you would recommend?' I was holding a box of generic Day/Night cold medicine in my hand. He said 'What you've got there is pretty good too. I'll tell you what, let me go grab a drink and I will get the lozenges for you.' I really wasn't in a position to decline his very kind-hearted and generous offer. The ease with which he did something so helpful, however small it might have been, was amazing. I want this pharmacist, and everyone at CVS, to know my appreciation. It is care like this that makes the world go round, especially when one is feeling sick. I hope that this pharmacist will get the commendations he deserves for being willing to go the extra mile. Did I mention he came out from behind the counter just to help me choose from the array of cold medicines? I've never met a pharmacist who would do that.
A very satisfied- and slightly less stuffy- customer,
Eryn

Update

Hey guys,
Life is busy and wonderful. School and wedding stuff is keeping me insanely busy. The only extraneous activity I allow myself these days is sleep; sorry I haven't been posting. I'll try to get back into it in February when this semester is over.
Eryn