Night two in the house! It’s sooo nice after soooo long to finally be at home. Despite being up to our necks in boxes, I think we are just happy enough to be out of that basement apartment.
Cole is starting to settle a little more, I think I made the right choice by instilling the NILF program back into his life. Jon came home to no mess and Cole quickly settled down, went for his walk and right back in the crate and settled down. Jon even fed him there and said he whined for a second and then laid back down. When I got home we let him out for a little bit before heading to bed, he stays up with us, not in his crate. And it was a relief to come home because he seemed a bit more relaxed and a lot more attentive.
Hopefully today he’ll be even more relaxed and be able to work his way back out of his crate! Fingers crossed.
No, no, no – It’s not what you think!
It means “Nothing In Life is Free” and my dog is about to learn exactly what that means! Now, I don’t mean “I’m going to show him who’s boss,” I have an overly sensitive dog and an “eh” is all that is needed to let him know he shouldn’t be doing something. There will be no alpha rolling or choke collars. He will just simply have to work for everything! It’s for his own good!
It’s not his fault though and he is truly a GREAT dog, but I think the anxiety of all our moving is catching up to him. I think having as much freedom as he did when life was simple has started to overwhelm him.
Last night was the very first night we spent in the house and Cole did very well. But he’s surrounded by boxes and the last time he was surrounded by boxes we moved and went to an apartment in the city with lots of loud noises and unfamiliar territory. Then he went to my parents house for three weeks while we worked on the house, traveled to a wedding and had to work a long weekend. They spoil him ROTTEN!!! So he came home thinking he was the center of the world and came back to another new place (although he’s been to the new house a few times before) and more boxes and he just doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.
This morning, I didn’t want him to have free run of the house. While Cole is not crated anymore, he is crate trained and sometimes when he goes to others houses when we go away he is crated. Having a lot of space in a strange, new place can just be too much for a dog! Jon had crated him yesterday when he went to move the stuff out of our apartment and said he was fine, but when I went to put him in there today his blankets were soaked – meaning he had peed yesterday. So I tried to barricade him in the living room, so he could just have the couch and his bed and I pretended to leave. Two minutes of standing outside he freaked out and started howling (this dog never makes a peep!). So I made the decision that for his safety and the safety of our new couch and house, he’d just have to be crated. I changed the blankets and put him in. I expect to come home to a mess again today.
Hopefully, putting him through the NILF regime will help him get structure and remember again that while HE thinks he knows what’s best, sometimes he doesn’t.
Basically – I’m going to re-crate train him and instill it back into his routine. It’s not forever, just until he’s comfortable and feels like he has stability again. It does not mean he gets any less attention!!!! In fact, he’ll probably get more 
There are several things “wrong” with me and a few of those things, whether I like it or not, are somewhat in my control. Not all of it, but some of it. And the things that I CAN control, I really need to. So I’m feeling like I’m at a crossroad and it’s time I made the right decision and did what I know I need to do!
I think the largest “what is wrong with me” is my cholesterol. I am 28 years old and I have HIGH cholesterol. People always laugh and don’t believe it because I’m not morbidly obese. But, believe me, behind my exterior – I have had the cholesterol levels of a morbidly obese person. The first time it was found that my cholesterol levels were a serious problem, my doctor literally asked me if I was having chest pains! Now that’s bad.
I love fried food. I love cheese. I cannot say that enough! So it doesn’t help that I have this deep, deep love for high cholesterol foods, but I also seem to have the destiny of getting all my mom’s family’s bad genetic traits. High cholesterol rages through my mom’s side of the family. Not only did I get the bunions, but I have the cholesterol to boot! Doh.
The problem is, regardless of where my bad cholesterol is coming from, I need it to change. I know I eat horribly but I hate food. I find no enjoyment in food – if I didn’t need it to live, I wouldn’t miss it. Period. I don’t like to sit down and “savor” my food. I’d rather get it over and done with and not think about it. Cheese melts fast – fried food is quick and easy and so forth. Cutting up fruits and veggies and all that prep work, I just could care less.
But I don’t want to die at 40. I don’t want to have a stroke or a heart attack when I still have young kids. I would like to be around for awhile. At this rate, I won’t! Everything in my brain knows this. And I’d be pissed if I died young and didn’t at least attempt to control my cholesterol a bit. Yet, I can’t for the life of me change my diet. I think it mainly has to do with the paragraph above.
So with this statement:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
I am going to make a change. Because I have to – at least try to make more of an effort. This week I’m going to come up with a PLAN to take action.
So what do you think, a 30, 60, or 90-day plan to try and see how much I can lower my cholesterol and instill a healthier lifestyle?
*Please note my high cholesterol levels are no longer in the morbidly obese class, but it is still higher than my doctor wants it. And because I’m so young to have levels so high, I need to work that much harder to get it down!
I love jam, funky music. There I said it! I feel as though it hits a spot in your soul and makes everything right again. Every since I really started to listen to it, my life has gotten that much better.
I was never a big Phish fan, but recently I’m starting to get it. My fiance has been to over 60 shows, can tell you every set, song, date, year, what the experience was like, etc. It’s crazy – and yet, I find it fascinating that he is so passionate about it and can recall so many details.
My first Phish experience was actually at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra over the summer – crazy that those two things would go in the same sentence! Trey Anastasio played with the BSO and it was utterly amazing. It blew me away. The fact that I had made a minor judgment on this talented person, who has an amazing classical music background. I’m glad I was set straight.
I then went and saw my first Phish show when they went on tour this summer. Such a great experience! The best thing about this type of music is the fans that follow it. There is never a bad seed in the crowd and their passion and energy just encompasses everything!
Lately so much has been going on. Work has been beyond hectic, we sold a house, bought a house, moved into an apartment before closing on the new house, are fixing up the new house, are planning a wedding and trying to keep up with the day-to-day demands of life. The other day I threw in my first ever purchased Phish album – Joy. It brought me back to that place I need to be. It literally speaks of joy and being happy – I so needed to remember that while I have all this change and chaos going on – I have the best things in life.
We just bought a beautiful new house, that will be our home for a long time to come…
I get to marry the greatest person – who I am SO lucky to have found. Words could never even describe…
Not to mention the great friends and family we have.
So it’s been a long week – but I am about to get in my car and pop in my new Phish CD and remember how lucky I am and thank music for helping me put it into perspective again.
Have a great weekend!
