Filtering Life

On Sunday Ryan and I went over to Plato’s Closet to see if we could sell some of my “name brand” clothing for some extra cash. I thought this was a pretty painless process…boy was I wrong.
First of all, two college guys are working the counter. The process involves them taking each item out of the bag and analyzing it. Not analyze it in the general sense of glancing and the front and back…..I mean they were ANALYZING IT!!!! They are looking for pit stains, deoderant, they check the crotch of the pants for “stuff”, on and on it went. I could feel myself slowly sweating up my current shirt (strike this one for future Plato selling) I was really glad Ryan was with me and I was really glad I looked cute in my Sunday clothes because I started to get this super self-conscious feeling that I must be dirty or smell or have bad taste in clothes. I know this is protocol and for those of you who shop at Plato’s Closet…be assured that you are getting good quality clothes that can only be one year old. I didn’t realize manufacturers changed their labels every year…so a bunch of my stuff that was new or barely worn, but sitting in my closet the last two years…got the boot. I nervously commented, “Boy, you guys get a really fun job!” I was secretly hoping they would reassure me on the cleanliness of my clothes…they just laughed and kept analyzing.
Most of my stuff was just over the age mark. They did not reject anything on “questionable stains or smells.” Ryan and I never spoke while we were going through this humiliating process, until we got to the car. I finally said, “Wow..that was kinda embarrassing!” He said, “I know..they really look stuff over don’t they?” Indeed….
So I walked away with a wopping $13.20 and promptly spent it at Rugged Wearhouse.
I am going to put that on my list of embarrassing moments after Colonoscopy and overflowing Chrissy Aceino’s toilet. Good times!

Now before you think this post is going to be political…relax…this is me…that is way too serious for a Friday!

My absence this week has been marked by some highs and lows.

Let’s get the V-Day low-down first. I actually took work off that day so I could catch up on some lingering items. Valentines Day was an interesting one for Ryan and I. Without getting into detail, something really cool happened within our marriage with communication. It started out a little tense but ended up being an awesome time together. He showed up with 6 gorgeous callalillies, wrote an amazing blog entry about me, and got me a really cool belt buckle with the letter “K” on it. I made him one of his favorite dishes for lunch, picked him up and brought him home to eat together. I got him a card and Resees Peanut Butter Cups. I had already given him his gift 2 weeks ago….I stink at waiting! He got 4 disks of Blue Planet. Once he got home from work we digressed into the “ole married couple”. We made an awesome dinner together, watched American Idol, House, and the Westminster Dog Show. I love being home with him so it was a PERFECT night.

Back to the title of my post. As you all know we absolutely adore our puppy, Charlotte. She is hell on four legs but adorable! This is us playing in the snow on Saturday…carefree…life is good!

Little did she know what V-Day would hold for her. Ryan and I had to make the decision to take her womanhood! No babies, no sex, no future Charlottes for her! I felt awful that morning as she got up desperately looking for her food. She wasn’t allowed to eat so that was blow #1 to her. I could hardly look her in the face because I knew her world was going to be rocked shortly. I swear she knew it was coming…when I put her in the crate and walked out to the car she started whining and going a little crazy. It sucked!!! I KNOW THIS IS A STANDARD PROCEDURE….but I can’t stand the thought of her being in pain and being alone! She had to stay at the vet’s for 1.5 days. When I picked her up the next afternoon I was horrified at the nastiness on her tummy. She is so small the incision takes up most of her tummy. I am half tempted to put a pic up…but many of you weak stomached people couldn’t handle it (Joy!) It looked like she got butchered!!! I swear someone put ham through a grinder then threw it on her stomach. She has been obsessively licking herself for days. Her tummy started getting little pimples and red splotches around the wound… nasty!!!!! She smells weird, her fur is gross, and her wound keeps bleeding periodically! This is going to be a long few weeks while she recovers. Poor thing…she didn’t choose this, we chose it for her.
We tried the cone last night to see if she would stop licking. I swear she goes from 8 lbs to 500lbs when you are trying to do something to her…she is nearly impossible to contain. She was hilarious, she was banging her head against the wall, jumping up in the air and trying to take both front paws and flick it off, it was quite the show. Finally, she gave up, went in a corner and sat sheepishly. She looked so embarrassed. I felt so bad for her we took it off and tried this “no chewing” spray that is suppose to taste like pepper. She persevered through the smell and taste and eventually went back to her obsessive licking. Poor thing…she just doesn’t know which way is up.

The last unique feature of the week was Ryan going to VA Baptist to get a sleep study done. He did not fit the stereotypical sleep disorder person and was about 20-40 years younger than everyone else there. It took almost 2 hours of sitting, waiting, and then getting hooked up to all the electrodes. I wish I had a camera with me…he looked hilarious. I stayed with him until 9:30 and we laid on the bed watching TV and waiting. Here comes the line his brothers are going to rail on me for…..This was our first night apart since being married and I was SO SAD!!! As much as his snoring drives me nuts…not having him there was so weird. I think it was more the fact he was not in the house and we have “routines” at night and in the morning that are now “off”. Not to mention I had Charlotte, feeling like dookie, to take care of. Holli, I now understand and I am with you girl!!!!
So yeah, pathetic and ridiculous as it may sound…..it was a weird week to ME!!!! My husband gone and my dog being cut open isn’t the most fun but I am a survivor
So you pretty much waited all week for a more exciting entry than this…but this is all I got!