Dog Ate My Postage Stamps

If nothing else that should get you to wondering. What does that mean? It means, yes, the dog ate my postage stamps. If you don't already know I have a 10 month old Boxer puppy named Rockie. He is very sweet and very affectionate. He doesn't quite realize he's about 50 lbs. already. He seems to think he's still a little pup that can sit on your lap or lie entirely on top of you at night.

Heck when he stretches out I think he's as long as I am tall. He has some very amusing quirks. He is also like having a toddler around the house. A big one!! He 'eats' or at least chews on, tears up, or throws around anything he can get his hands on. He wears me out just trying to keep after him. If I'm upstairs, he goes downstairs and gets into things.

Now as big as he is, getting into things includes he can reach all the counter tops, the stove, the coffee tables, the bathroom counters, desks, etc. It is very challenging to put things out of his reach. He has twice turned on the stove - once causing a small fire. He managed to ignite the paper towel that was over the brownies sitting on the stove. The brownies were history too because the burner he turned on was underneath them.

My other dog, Penni has taught him all kinds of nice habits. All her BAD habits that is. Penni is very well trained and behaves, she doesn't get in the trash, she doesn't get into things within her reach. She does, however steal shoes and bring them up to my room. If anyone in our house is ever searching for a shoe they know to go to my room. She also pulls the stuffing out of all dog toys and her 'pillow' for her crate. So guess what Rockie has done? Yup, he de-stuffed the pillows in his crate and we've been picking up pillow stuffing throughout the house for a month at least.

I can thank my son's Boxer, Dozer (sadly R.I.P. on 2/13/08) for teaching both dogs to get up on the hot tub even without the steps there; when they were here for Christmas. That enables them to stare into the kitchen window at me and paw the glass when they want back in.

So last night Rockie managed to somehow get a hold of an entire roll of stamps. I suppose the glue tasted good to him or something. But suffice it to say I only found a portion of how many there were. So I'm assuming his poop is going postage paid for the next few days. It's not like there weren't other less valuable things for him to get into. Of course I'd already picked up the cup-o-noodles container he shredded. I'd already closed my daughter's bedroom door so the new Victoria Secrets underwear she got wouldn't go missing. (You don't even want to know what he does with those.) I took away the the drink straw he was chewing up.

Today I thought I was smart and put up a blockade at the top of the stairs so he couldn't go downstairs and get into trouble. He gets in the trash and it gets everywhere. So I put two tall laundry baskets at the top of the stairs blocking the path. Who was I kidding? He managed to somehow scoot one away and clear himself a path. So I'm chasing him around because if I let him be somewhere that I can't see or hear him for more than a couple minutes; there will be some sort of calamity to deal with.

If you pick up something large like a blanket or beach towel he thinks you want to play and he will come up behind you and grab the end of it and start tugging. You have to really be aware if you are going up the stairs so he doesn't pull you back down them.

But postage stamps??? Why? What even prompted him to taste them? They couldn't have had a smell to them, could they? I don't even want to think of the monetary value he chewed up. I'm still debating on whether to go ahead and use some of the toothmarked ones I salvaged or not. Hey, I swear, my dog really did eat it!!!

The really frustrating thing is that he's so cute when he does these things. It's really hard to discipline him. Of course, I'm the mother of five and I've long since learned how to keep from laughing; most of the time. I have to say though, this great big puppy can break through even my defenses. He keeps me laughing; and busy, most of the time.

Thank heaven for crate training or I'd never get a break!!

The Trials of Being a Teen Parent

As my profile indicates, I have 3 teenage daughters still at home. Furthermore, as the mother of five; that means I have successfully survived two already. My two sons are into the 'manhood' phase and have successfully left the teenage years behind. Well, one has 2 months to go; but he's pretty much there.

Now I keep reading more and more articles about how the brain of a teenager is not fully developed. Certain parts grow and mature faster than others. So some real choice areas are not because of stupidity or lack of attention. Their brain has actually physiologically not finished developing in that area. So now we can't blame them for their lack of judgment, etc.

I've read that things like 'judgement' and 'moodiness' fall within the slower developing areas of the brain. An article I read today said combativeness could be affected by it also.

I'm fully willing to accept this. I have even pointed out the scientific evidence to my girls in hopes they might just trust MY judgement without too much battle if they knew this. It does help with self-esteem that they know. They have told me "now I don't feel so stupid or irresponsible, I really can't help it."

So here is my question. Where does the part of the brain that tells them to throw their trash away instead of leaving it all over counters and tables and such? Why is it they can throw their own trash away at school but not at home? Why is it they can go over to their friend's )boyfriend's) house and scrub floors and refrigerators but they can't throw away an empty shampoo bottle from the shower? If they are too sick or tired to clean up why aren't they too sick or tired to make a mess? Why can't they get it through their head that if they'd just throw things away when they ate them; they wouldn't have to clean a mess up later?

As you can surmise; I went downstairs this morning; groggy and looking for breakfast; when what to my sleepy eyes should I find??? Dining table, coffee table, all the kitchen counters, and even the stairway rail; full of trash items. {time out - I had to retrieve a Cup-of-Noodles container from the dog}

What part of their brain controls these things???

Oh and one more thing before I quit ranting. The best part is the battles all through the teenage years trying to get them to pick up, clean up, not make the mess in the first place, etc... and then what do they do?

They move out on their own and become neat freaks!!!!!

Chronic Pain and the Brain

I just read the article about the brain studies and how sufferers of chronic pain have different brain activity than 'normal' people. The study indicates that this changed brain activity may affect cognitive functions; including sleep disorders, memory impairments, and depression.

What bothers me with this article is the constant opinion of the medical profession to fail to accept that which they cannot see on an X-ray or in a blood test. What about all those patients with chronic pain that have been telling them these things for many years? The only part of that taken into consideration was probably the person initiating the test to start with.

It is so frustrating to have invisible conditions. While it is a wonderful thing, the medical advances that have allowed the diagnosis of so many things through various devices. The problem is the number of things medicine hasn't yet been able to find. Both society and the medical field in general seems to forget that.

You have to search through a lot of toads before you find the few doctors that will not give you 'that look' when you complain about a mysterious pain they can't see on your Xray. You know the look; the one with one eyebrow slightly raised and the audible inhale before they say, "Well, the Xray came back negative."

The first doctor that doesn't say that to you is the keeper, regardless of any other lacking bedside manners. You'll give them a run just because you didn't get that look. You'll even give them a run if they follow that comment with "but we can try something to see if it helps."

Ultimately, that's all you want; is something that helps. You'll even take something that half-ass helps and be happy about it. You don't care what they call it; as long as someone does something to try and help you.

Yes, this study is a milestone. They have finally found one of their tests that will show something when a person is suffering from pain. Of course, it has nothing to do with the cause of the pain; or how to get rid of it.

The wondrous accomplishment of this study is the equivalency of a lie detector test. It 'might' be able to verify what you've been telling the doctors all along. I say might, because it surely is as infallible as the lie detector test.

Aren't we all thrilled that they may have found a way to prove we are not lying?

Psychiatry

For the first time in my life I have submitted myself to the world of Psychiatry. Professional counseling has always been a taboo for me. It was due to working so many years in an environment that frowned on any perceived mental weakness. So I struggled on my own and tried to help myself.

The interesting developments of trying to help yourself can actually make you worse. I over analyzed and overly criticized myself. Something I have recently learned that is not healthy. My biggest problem doesn't have a fancy name; I'm basically too hard on myself. That is the root of my anxiety and depression. That is the root of my sadness and disappointment. I'm just too hard on myself.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? It's not though. I can recognized the self-incrimination rather quickly now. However, stopping it isn't as easy as it sounds. It is a battle that I have only begun and as badly as I want to change; its really much more difficult that it seems like it should be.

It is amazing how easily you can make yourself feel guilty for something. GUILT. If only there was a way to banish the way it eats at you constantly. So you find things to feel guilty about because if that knot in your stomach starts to go away you somehow feel like you need to put it back there. I can feel guilty for not feeling guilty about something. What the heck is that all about?

It's a natural poison. Children feel guilty for their parents' troubles. What is with this natural propensity to punish oneself? Why is it so hard to turn it off?

Uncle Sam's Paper Trail

I stayed up late last night working on paperwork that needed filled out and returned to the SSD; and I also did my taxes. Not that I haven't already filled out a mountain of paperwork for SSD. Someone, somewhere keeps asking me for more of the same information. It's not even new questions. It's the same information over and over again. What is perturbing is that despite all my contributions of data; I still sit here months later with no income or support.

I also keep thinking about the people that have to sort, read, and file all that paper. Somewhere there is this huge file with my name on it.

As for the IRS, I only owed them a small amount. I really shouldn't complain but when you wind up owing money its always so discouraging. I've always thought they should take out enough during the year so there is always a refund. Then people wouldn't be so discouraged and hateful toward the IRS. If it always meant you got a refund then people would be excited to get their taxes done.

Wine and Chocolate

What in the world do I mean by Wine and Chocolate? Well, have you ever tried the two together? They are an amazing fit. I prefer a very dry red wine like Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon. I do not like Merlot which seems to be the house wine of choice for so many bars these days. I actually do not indulge in the two together very often. But they each are a couple of my favorite things to indulge in. Chocolate is of course, a life source and I eat some almost daily. Wine on the other hand is less frequent; mostly because I take medications daily and don't like to mix the two.

For the most part this blog will be a recap of my experiences, thoughts and feelings. I won't bore you with anymore details about myself at this point. It will all come out as we go. I hope a lot of you enjoy.