Meet Our Children

This is Brittney.  She is a coming nine year old Golden Retriever.  We got her in 2002 from a family that had decided to adopt her out because apartment living is not for Goldens.  Not to mention there was a baby on the way and she was already under foot in their tiny apartment.  For a fee of $300.00 we were graced with a dog that wouldn’t even look at us let alone wag her tail.  This dog is so cognizant that I wouldn’t hesitate to think she knew what was going on.  She knew that the people that had given her food all her life just got rid of her, not to mention she had to endure a long car ride from Pennsylvania.  I’m pretty sure she was heart-broken.  But, we endured and she realized quickly that she liked farm life.  Soon after, she fell right into place in our family.  Since, Brittney has completed the Canine Good Citizen training  through the American Kennel Club and is certified.

Torque is next.  He’s been dubbed our ‘son.’  Torque originated as a barn cat at my parents’ house.  Wild and crazy turned fat and lazy.  We brought Torque and his sister Beans (RIP) in to our home over labor day weekend 2007.  He is an exceptional cuddler.  He can often be found at the end of the bed as he is now while I blog or on his window shelf that Brad built for him with some shelving equipment from IKEA.  Torque and the dogs get along just fine.  He still has his claws and every opportunity to get the dogs but chooses not to.  I bet you’re thinking, “He probably claws up everything!”  But on the contrary he does not.  He learned quickly, via our method of spray bottle training, what he could claw and what he could not.  He has ample opportunities and TONS of toys to bat under the fridge, inevitably.  Although we can make him play with whatever we like, including a dog’s tale with his beloved Catnip Spray.  Torque went from being a barbaric barn kitten to a full blown house cat.  He will stare out the window all day but if you try to lure him outside, he will not pass the threshold.  He got out once.  We found him about 4 days later in some large pipes on the other side of my parents’ garage.  We brought him back in, quarantined him for a few days and he’s never once tried to escape again.  He was dirty, hungry, scared and ready to come home.  It had been quite some time since he had to actually work for food, other than making the big jump to the window seat where his bowl of food was waiting for him.  An odd note about ‘The Torquinator’: he absolutely will not touch the expensive cat food.  I feed dry cat food.  So I tried to feed him a good brand, he wouldn’t touch it.  He prefers the Barn Cat by Kent, must still be a bit of that barn cat blood in him.

Meet Wrigley.  She is 5 years old.  She is part Yellow Lab, part swine.  Often referred to as “Pig.”  She is the dog that doesn’t give a care what you are saying to her. As long as you are saying something to her, you have her undivided attention and a wag from head to tail.  Unless she’s in trouble, then her face will melt your heart.  I have to figure out how to capture that one on film.  On a side note, she’s not really part swine.  When she came to us back in March 09 she was way, almost to the point of unhealthy, overweight.  Hence the pig name calling and it just stuck.  Also, when she came, she had zero manners, no respect for your personal space, no canine social skills and a bad case of anxiety.  She constantly panted and licked.  We could not let her off the leash in fear of her not coming when we called.  That only lasted a few weeks though.  With some quality hard work and bonding time along with a great deal of affection and treat training she soon got the hang of how things were going to be.  She loves to go run and play with the others outside and lick the occasional baby’s face.  Though she enjoys trying to attain lapdog status with you on the furniture with no regards to her size.

And that’s the gang in its entirety.  See below for some candid shots of the critters.  The first is of Brad and Brittney having a ‘moment’ and the second is her attempt to make you feel guilt while giving her a bath.  She loves the water, just not in bath form.

 This is Torque’s hiding spot if we have several guests over.  He loves my baking cupboard.

 

Wrigley lost… in thought, possibly….maybe..probably not, ohh look a butterfly!

“Dog” beds, emphasis on DOG.

Share your pet candid's with me.  Tell me about them, I’d love to hear!
-Until next time.

Welcome to Graceland

Well, I guess now is better than ever to introduce myself. I'm Jen. There's not much to me. I like simplicity. I work for the local intermediate school district. I work with children whom have Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, find more information on ASD here. I love my job, it's never the same day twice. I have a few pets. Brittney, Wrigley and Torque. Brad and I act like they are our children. They are SO spoiled. Oh, who's Brad you ask? He's The Boyfriend; capital T, capital B.


He and I have been dating for over three years now. He is an engineering student and practically a computer genius. Not to mention just as much a perfectionist as I. We are learning to be handy together as we make this house our own. And, I'll admit it. We are not married. Yes, we live together in sin. Shun shun, I'm okay with it. I don't know how I could commit my life to someone, then move in together [post-marriage] and find out that all his little habits drive me abbbbbbbsolutely bonkers. Luckily for him, he's pretty low on annoying habits. :) Regardless if we are doing things out of order, it's working--and that works for me. Now, you may say, "What do your parents think!?" I think they've accepted that they raised their daughter to be highly independent and strong willed enough to make her own responsible choices. They support me in most, if not all, of the things I choose to do. My parents, "Bear & Cricket" are two unique people. They have been happily married for going on 28 years and they still like each other! They are the best neighbors anyone could have. Yep, that's right--neighbors. Less than 500 feet from my back door is their back door, to the south. Is it awkward? Strange? Bewildering? Not to me. I think our mutual appreciation for each other helps. They own a small horse farm and often travel on the weekends. Guess who will feed their animals if available? That's right, me. After all sometimes reliable help is hard to come by. And if Brad and I decide to be spontaneous and go somewhere, I never have to worry because 'the parentals' will take care of the 'grand dogs'. We often have dinner either here or there. Really, I believe my family is exceptionally close-knit, and the value we all put into our relationship is what makes it so sustainable. Thanks Mom and Dad! Love you guys.

Wow, where to begin..

This is where it all begins.. The good, the bad, the just plain ugly. I've been here since July 2008. And it has been nothing short of a wild ride. Going from a college student struggling to pay my bills to being a full blown homeowner is quite a process. But, I'm there. Finally. You'll see two angels on the porch. The one on the right a co-worker got me at the time of Grandma Rosie's passing. The one on the left the aunts gave to me when my grandma Nelson passed.  I hope you enjoy my story and what's to come. [We'll get to introductions later.] So, a blog. Yeah, I have zero experience here. I'm hoping for success and maybe a few followers--eventually. So why a blog you ask? I was cleaning my kitchen the other day and have several recipes scratched on some random greased up papers, half illegible nonetheless.. When I clean, I sort to piles, then tackle a pile at a time. So, I've got this pile of yucky looking recipes and feel the need to organize them somehow. My boyfriend, the techy-nerd, you'll soon find out, thinks I need to organize them electronically versus a hard copy. So in an online search comes across some recipe compiling software. We try one, doesn't work with Windows OS. Try again, and find one that works. It's nice, but just not what I'm looking for. But then I get thinking, with some of our upcoming plans, wouldn't it be nice to compile MORE than just recipes for my friends and family and myself to reflect upon? So, here I am, making my first blog post ever. There is so much that I want to do and say. I think I need to go through some old pictures to get an outline of what I want to say to get you caught up to present day and how I got here. That is going to take some time, I'm sure, so my next post may be days away. And I'm not going to tell anyone about the blog until I've got a better grasp at what I want to say. So, I guess I'm really talking to no one right now then. : )
--Until Next Time.