Month: October 2016

Not sure if I have mentioned it in a previous post or not, but we have a family dog named Buddy.  A few weeks ago we realized, thanks to Facebook, that we have had him for 5 years.  That should make him about 10 years old (or 53 in people years according to the calculator I found online.)  He is slowing down but still so amazing and he truly loves his people.

Side Note:  I’m starting to realize that my life is so much better now that we have the World Wide Web.  How else would I find a calculator to convert dog years to human years?  I find such interesting things that have calculators online.  For all you cat people there is one that can convert their age to people years.  (If Buddy was a cat he would be 56 in people years which is older than the conversion of a dog so he should be happy he is a dog!)  There is a Death Date Calculator (yes that is morbid but good to know), Telephone Number Numerology Calculator (no idea what that means) and a Steak Calculator (because who really wants to eat a raw or overcooked steak?).

Buddy is a Jack Russell Terrier mixed with something else.  Now if you know anything about Jack Russell’s then you know that they are very hyper.  Lucky for us whatever else he is mixed with is related to a sloth or maybe a snail. So here is how he typically behaves when I get home in the evening.  He barks as soon as he sees me, then once I walk in the door he is jumping up to greet me.  In order to understand what this looks like you need to pull up a video of a salmon swimming upstream.  He jumps and wiggles his bottom just like the fish do.  Now comes the best part.  As soon as I sit down he is right next to me and asleep in minutes.  Now you might be thinking this is due to his age, but this is how he has always been.  It takes a lot of energy to jump and shake his butt so he needs to rest after.  He also needs a rest after he has come in from going potty, eaten his food, etc.  His life is basically down to activity, sleep, activity, sleep.  It is a very hard life he leads.

So at this point, I should explain why I call him a Wonder Dog.  It is because for the entire time we have had him we have all been making up songs for him.  My favorite and the one I sing the most is “Buddy the Wonder Dog.  It’s no wonder he’s a dog.  Because he doesn’t look like a frog.  He’s Buddy the Wonder Dog!”  He has never done anything heroic like a police or service dog, but the fact that he hasn’t run away yet and instead stays with us make him a wonder dog to me.  My youngest (Aspie Girl) is the voice of Buddy.  He has a deep voice that has a good amount of sarcasm laced in it.  She loves to say “Hi my name is Bud!  Do you have pepperoni?”  If I reply with “No” she says “I know it’s in the refrigerator.  You can’t fib to me.”  So I end up getting him pepperoni and she gets some too.  I know they are both scamming me, but it is so cute I can’t help but give in.  My husband (Odin) says that once Buddy passes over the Rainbow Bridge we are not getting another dog unless it is a service dog for Aspie Girl.  Neither of us wants anything to happen to Buddy because he is a member of our family.  I truly think Odin says that because he will be very upset when it does inevitably happen and can’t imagine any dog being able to fill Buddy’s paws. (Neither can I)

Another Side Note:  In regards to the Autism service dog (no a comfort animal will not work..I wish) for Aspie Girl.  My hope is that I can get her service dog soon but I need to raise $15K-$20K in order to get her one.  She desperately needs one but I really have no idea how to raise that amount of money.  Her anxiety is so bad that she actually pulled apart a pair of leggings in school this week because she was nervous about gym class.  She has also eaten up to an inch (yes 1”) off her hair and can’t go to stores because it overwhelms her so much.  Her iPad and headphones are the only reason we can get her out of the house.  This is the first year that she isn’t in any main-stream classes because her anxiety is so high.  She also needs one because she wanders off which is why we hold hands everywhere.  The issue is that at her age she thinks it isn’t cool to hold my hand which causes a safety risk.  If you have any ideas of how to get her one please let me know. 

Buddy has a new job in the family.  He is the protector of my granddaughter (Itty Bitty).  When she is with her Mom (BiP) on the couch he sits between them and the front door.  He doesn’t bark at people passing by like he normally does.  Just gives a slight growl so he doesn’t frighten her which will make her cry.  Also, every morning he has to smell her and lick her head.  It is just so cute how well they get along since she is only 3 weeks old.  Buddy is defiantly in love with his family and we love him just as much.  He gets puppy ice cream, lots of belly rubs and has a big basket filled with toys.  I cannot imagine our lives without him and I hope it is a very long time before that happens.

Thanks for reading and please pass this on if you enjoyed it!

Karen G.

Over the last few months, I have been going to Physical Therapy (PT) for my neck.  Turns out there is a nerve in your neck that runs up to the side of your head and when it gets pinched you receive a sharp pain.  All of a sudden out of nowhere I will get this feeling of someone or something, because it could be an alien or superbug, trying to push a phillips-head screwdriver out the side of my skull.  I have actually been in tears over this because it really sucks!! So my wonderful neurologist decided that PT would be able to fix my problem.

I started seeing this amazing therapist (Mrs. SouthernLiving aka Mrs. SL) and, good for me but bad for her, she suffers from the same exact thing so I knew she would be able to fix me up.  Little did I know that Mrs. SL was going to be able to do so much more for me than fix my neck!  She has become my friend.  When I have an appointment I get so excited and it is not because she beats on me, no I am not a masochist …really…I’m not, but because I get to hang out with adults and talk about new and interesting things.  This has become the mental therapy that I need to survive the week. When we skip a week I feel all out of sorts and don’t know what to do with myself.

Side Note:  I am calling her Mrs. SL because she has this cool southern accent and when she tries to be mean it doesn’t work because of the accent.  I bet she would make a fortune out of recording the audio tracks for romance novels based in the south with that accent. If she does decide to do that then I think I should get a cut for coming up with the idea. Just 20% of what she makes for each recording to cover my idea fee is enough.  OK…I will be generous…19.99% 

Let me say that my PT sessions are hard work and every time she beats on me she says “Love You…Mean It”.  (Wait…maybe she’s a sadist…nah she is too nice for that plus with that accent no one would believe it if I said she was.)  She has also added a new clothing line (Matilda Jane) to my shopping addiction.  Yes before you ask it is on Zulily but not often and the selection isn’t great.  Now she is tempting me with her rave reviews of Hello Fresh.  I did get her into Zulily so I look at it as a trade-off.  We are both bad influences on each other but yet we have such amazing things.  In addition, we have the other patient that is there with us during my time.  Let’s call him Mr. PressureCooker aka Mr. PC since he is the one that introduced me to that amazing gadget.  He is so funny and gives great cooking ideas.  On top of that, he has some great stories about being in the military which leads to other interesting topics.  (Yes they include drinking but don’t judge us.  Everyone should have interesting stories from their 20s involving alcohol.  If you don’t then sorry for you but maybe you can make up for it in your 40s or 50s.) Honestly, the only thing that could make our sessions better is if we drank wine or margaritas.  (Yes again with the alcohol but again don’t judge it because you know you want one too.) Then who knows what would come out of our mouths.

Another Side Note:  I would like to thank the owner of my PT office for not separating us or recording the things we talk about.  It’s nothing bad, but it is funny.  Plus that would be an invasion of my privacy which I would not take well.  It’s OK for me to talk about everyone else but it is not OK to do it to me.  I know that sounds very one-sided but that is the way it is.  Now please don’t kick me out of the practice!  I promise I will behave or will try to the best of my ability.

The hubby (Odin) doesn’t think I should go anymore because it costs so much money above the co-pay, but I think it is the best type of therapy in the world.  Not only has the frequency of my headaches gone down but so has my level of irritation towards our family.  This is my only time outside of work to talk to grown-ups that I am not related to.  Yes, it may lead me to buy things that I hadn’t thought I needed until I hear it about it and then had to have it.  Yes, it may make me crave Greek or Thai food or a certain wine.  My therapy is completely necessary for me to be in a happy state for at least one night a week.  No homework, kids, spouse, grandchildren, work, etc.  Just me and two people that make me smile and forget about all the other crap.  I think it is worth it and as long as my neck hurts I will be there every Wednesday. (I would say that I would continue going once it is healed but I can’t because my insurance company might see this and get mad.  Trust me insurance guys…it really does hurt.)

Yet Another Side Note:  I hope my therapist and co-patient are OK that I wrote this.  If not then be happy that I at least changed your names and next time I come in I will bring cookies!!  I also need to mention that there is an amazing receptionist at PT.  She is always so friendly when I walk in and tells me that she misses me when I am not there.  (Obviously I have her fooled but let’s not tell her because I want to keep this good thing going.)  She gets the benefit of listening to all this and I think she deserves an award for not running out the door because she thinks we are all crazy.

Thanks for reading!!  Please feel free to share this!

Karen G.