5 On Friday (X 2)

Since I missed last week's post (We were staying in the mountains, sans internet) I'm doubling up this week to redeem myself.

1) UPS pulled through this time, and my book arrived without any hassle. I love it. Warren said he wants to write something in it, before we put it away. I wonder what he'll write...

2) Warren & I (much to the chagrin of our 'babied' friends, I'm sure) are constantly comparing dogs to kids. We have first hand experience taking care of 'special needs' dogs, and zero experience with child rearing. However, based on what we read, see and hear, we are convinced the two experiences aren't as different as they first seem. We saw this first hand on our stay at the Kootenay Park Lodge last week. Here is a short summary on how we think travelling with two (large!) special needs dogs requires similar planning/compromises as traveling with children.

• 1/3 of the items packed were for the dogs (beds, crate, food, treats, water dishes, food dishes, leashes, harnesses, poop bags, toys & 140 pounds of dog).
• We had to put aside our own personal wishes for the trip (eating out, sleeping in, lingering in one spot to let it all sink in) to accommodate the dogs.
• Took turns getting up in the morning to feed the dogs, and take them for a pee walk, so that the other could have a few more minutes of sleep.
• Every morning we would attempt to plan out our day in a way that would be fun for the dogs, manageable for us, allow for appropriate drive times (to allow for dog naps in the back seat), pee breaks, as well as enough activity to thoroughly poop them out to ensure they weren't restless at night.
• Assess all hikes to make sure they complied with our dogs' unique challenges (River's missing front leg, and Porter's anxiety around unknown dogs/animals).
• Be prepared to leave/abandon an excursion before we would like, due to rain (Porter would start to shiver), steep rocky inclines (River would have difficulty coming down a trail like that with one front leg), or an abundance of other dogs being walked by their families (Porter's a psycho).
• Photo opportunities were often rushed because the dogs were antsy.
• One of us always had to be 'supervising' the dogs, whether outside on the deck or in the cabin (supervising is required because Porter is a Mofo Bad Ass).
• Clean up dog vomit off the rug (thanks Warren!) when the mountain plants that River ate didn't agree with her.
• Knowing all this, neither of us would trade them for the world.

3) As follow-up to #2 (which makes it sound like we had zero fun on our holiday), the trip was great. The highlights were the family photo we took with the handy dandy tripod & camera timer. The 4 evenings spent on the deck barbecuing dinner (chicken, salmon, smokies) with the dogs snuggled in the their beds beside us. The wine, the Brie and the dark chocolate. The Paint Pots, Marble Canyon, Juniper Trail, Morraine Lake, Lake Louise, and the cool spider we saw on our way to Dog Lake. Me walking around with the Bear Spray with my finger on the trigger (I blame Warren for my new found Sissy-ness). Battleship. Snuggling in the evenings to watch a movie on the small portable DVD player. And of course, the 6 hour long Ricky Gervais Podcast (Chimpanzee That, Monkey News!) we listened to in the car. We are such geeks.

4) Warren made me laugh until I cried a couple times on Tuesday night. First off, I'll have to admit I sometimes get snippy with him when he 'eats loudly'. If he starts chowing down - lips smaking and nose breathing and all that - I'll give him Evils (evil eyes, glaring at him) - he usually gets very self conscious when I do this and stops eating and asks 'What?'. "You're eating loud" I'll respond. This time, when I asked him to eat quietly, he started chewing REALLY slowly. Like a giraffe is slow motion. Over exaggerating every bite, like it was the most meticulous thing he had ever done, holding his breath as he did it so as not to make any breathing noises either. Mocking me and my 'eat quietly' demands. God, I'm pissing myself laughing as I write this! Maybe you had to be there.

Later on, I got a wiff of something fowl. "Eww, can you smell that?" I asked. Warren sniffed the air "Nope". "Akk. I think one of the dogs pooped or puked something!" and I got up and started searching the basement for the culprit. Then, as I returned to my seat I realised what it was. "It's your meat lasagna! It stinks like poo!". Warren threw down his fork and glared at me. "Quit saying poo! I'm eating!". I'd feel bad for him having to put up with me, but I put up with his loud eating, so I say we're even.

5) The wall paper removal has begun in preparation for the The Big Paint. Warren made sure to take some 'before' photos of each room. He took extra time to make sure the photos made our house look as terrible as possible for maximum effect. He did a great job. He made our home look like a Crack Whore House. Thanks Sweet Pea. (If I'm being honest, he probably didn't need to try very hard).

6) In order to prepare for the painters/carpet layers, we had to move all our furniture, artwork, & closet contents to our basement. Our main floor is pretty much vacant. From this moving process we filled 5 bags of clothes for the Sally Ann. Isn't that nuts? 5 bags worth of clothes that we no longer wear, that were just taking up space in our lives. On a similar note, at the cabin we watched a movie called 'Smart People'. I don't recommend the movie, but one thing I learned from it, was that in the States you get a tax receipt for donating old clothes to Good Will. I wonder how they determine the value...

7) Presley The Boxer Dog is still in the running to become 'The Greatest American Dog'. Go Presley & Travis! I still have the last episode on our PVR, where Presley flies down a zipline. I was howling with laughter when he did that and Warren came running downstairs "What's going on? Who are you talking too? What's so funny?". Boxers kick-ass, especially when they're flying through the air doing the 'Boxer Wiggle'.

8) I have stopped drinking. So, if I'm out with you at a social gathering where drinks are being served, don't expect me to have any. And don't act shocked, or look at my belly, or make any comments. This is nothing more than a personal choice I am making for personal reasons.

9) I think I might have a chewing gum addiction. I can easily go through a pack a day. I think it's the surge of juicy sweetness that I love, and when that passes I crave a new fresh piece.

10) This next year holds a lot of growth opportunities within my job, and this excites me. I expect to learn a lot this year and I feel so blessed to have a job that challenges me to expand, learn, improve and generally kick-some-creative-ass.