Sunny Saturday

I got a massage yesterday. Thank goodness! My poor body was a total mess, but I'm feeling better now. Not 100%, by any means, but I feel like I might actually be able to get a few things done around the house today. I still really need a visit to the chiropractor and a neurologist, but getting some care was so worth it!

We're looking for a new place, which isn't going great. There just aren't a lot of options right now, something we were not expecting since this is such a seasonal area and there are usually a lot of ski leases that end around this time. I'm not looking forward to moving again. Moving here was rough and getting the house was difficult since I had to scrub EVERYTHING before I could even think about unpacking. But, we have to, I need insurance, and moving is the only way we're ever going to be able to afford that. We still haven't heard back from our landlords about our deposit, so that's making me concerned too. Either way, we have one of the guys from the rental office coming by on Tuesday to do an inspection, so I want to get a lot of packing/cleaning up done before he comes.

We bought a new vacuum last night. Our broke pretty much as soon as we got it (hand-me-down from Taylor's Mom) and Shinobi is getting ready to blow his coat, so we really needed one! I'd been tearing the other one apart each time I needed to use it! Not fun at all. I'm going to vacuum everything ever today! I have a feeling that little dust gatherer might have to be emptied about 5 times.

Cuppa

Caffeine. For migraines, sometimes it can mean relief, sometimes more pain.  When we moved to California, I was pretty much off caffeine, maybe some tea every now and then, and maybe a Coke a week, which I will blame on my co-worker's addiction to giant McDonald's Cokes. So, I thought it might be a good time to try not having caffeine for prolonged periods. Meh.

After quite a few months, all I can say is, caffeine probably doesn't give me migraines unless I overdo it. In fact, I think it might help stave off a few. They've been running out of control the last 6-7 months, but I know there are a lot of other factors contributing. Winter is always tough since cold makes me hunch up and tighten up too much. For the last 5 years or so, they have been much worse in the colder months than warmer months. The Botox I had last May totally wore off right about the time we got here. More on that later. I think the biggest factor was the move. Moving was rough. The trips out here were really hectic and everything was such a whirlwind for about 10 weeks. I think by the time we got to Christmas, my body was just done for a while.


So now I'm adding caffeine back into my diet slowly, just a cup of caffeinated tea, green or otherwise, every few days. I'm hoping the green tea will help with my skin too. It's been a little blah since we got here, but that might be because this house is very cold and grey/beige inside, so it makes my skin kind of look icky too. One bathroom is ugly bright sea foam green, and the other is bright orangey-yellow, neither with good lighting, so trying to look at yourself in those mirrors is never really a treat. Blergh.


Back to the Botox, whew, what I wouldn't give to get another one of those treatments! By far, the most helpful thing I've had done for prevention. Too bad it's so very crazy expensive... and that's after the outrageous expense of trying to buy individual health insurance. I had been going back and forth about what to do about insurance. I have applied for disability, but it could take 4 months to hear back. I applied for medical assistance in Colorado while I was in school, but was told I wasn't eligible since I wasn't over a certain age and didn't have children. Since I'm still technically a Colorado resident, I don't know what else to do about medical assistance. I'm only 4 years older and I definitely haven't had any children and am not ever going to. I'm in limbo, which totally sucks. I can't even afford to go down the mountain to the chiropractor/massage therapist.

Enough complaining for today, I'm going to knit a scarf! And I did manage to take some photos!

Dog year.

Tomorrow marks the one year adoption anniversary for the little fur bag. He has grown up a lot! Not so much in size, granted he has sort of filled out a little, but his personality is so different! The first time I met him, he ran into my lap and rolled around like a crazy beast, all sweet and happy. I knew he was going to be a handful, but whew, there were some nights were he was just insane. He really was scared of everything. During the first week, he got nervous trying to adjust and ended up getting poopy all over the place. We were walking every 30 minutes during one of the few times in Boulder it ever rained... It was a fun night! It helped him learn his name though. He had been Hoshiko, but Shinobi is a much better fit. My little frightened ninja.

Eventually, he calmed down. He got into a routine and that helped so much. A friend gave me her dog's old training crate, and I build him a doghouse at the end of the bed. He didn't really care for the crate, but I think it helped to have something be his. After the first 6-8 weeks, I rarely put him in it, it was just open for him to visit whenever he wanted. Now it's tucked in the corner by the chimney, his Batcave.*

He has learned not to be afraid of as much. In the beginning, it was kind of everything, weird stuff... He still does not like most people, he's terrified of children, but if you have a dog, he's more likely to give you a chance. The leash that scared him so much the first day is his daily leash now. That one took a long time! He's only been using a retractable leash for a few months. The noise used to freak him out too much. He has learned that biting isn't the way to get my attention. I spent the first 3 or 4 months with tiny bruises all over from Sir Nips-A-Lot trying to chomp on a random part of me.  He knows now that if I say ouch, it hurts and to stop. I kind of though it was a stupid thing to do when the trainer suggested it, but it works! It's the first thing I automatically say when I get hurt, so if we're playing and he gets too rough, he stops and usually gives me a nose lick.

He's a sweet little cuddle monster most of the time now, but that took a lot of time. He's still wary about jumping on the couch with us, even though we both love having him lay all over us. He spends most of the day napping at the foot of the bed. He takes breaks to come stare out the sliding glass doors at the trees and critters. He loves getting brushed (thank goodness!) and goes into this kind of doggie bliss state when brushed. He loves getting his butt rubbed; he groans, snorts, growls, and kind of purrs.

We have walked hundreds of miles, some with me trying to coax him to take three steps past a trash can some on wonderful hikes through the woods. He has spent hours and hours and hours on my lap as we drove the slowest, most uncomfortable truck ever from Colorado to California. He has jumped into snow drifts almost as tall as me and popped out, white-nosed and happy. He's a good little dude and I'm glad he he's here.



 
*Name stolen from Amber, but also matches his Batsuit (leash/harness), all black.