Closed Minds Let Nothing In

It never fails to amaze me, really. This is the situation. I saw a posting on FB from Cesar Millan's page that Massachusetts banned debarking surgery. I don't agree with the surgery myself, even though sometimes I've considered it for Dalila but I don't think I'll ever do it. I've got a better handle on her bark these days so I know I can manage her. I also don't agree with it out of convenience; if you get a dog, train it. Simple. But I also understand that sometimes it can be the lesser of evils. For example my breeder has usually 7 shelties in her home at once. Now one sheltie is loud - imagine 7. And I don't care what anyone says, when one gets going the others will follow. That's just the way they are. And they are hard to calm down. It can be done, but it's hard. And she's now experiencing health problems, which compounds the issue. One of her seven (Dalila's great grandmother to be precise) is debarked. The bark isn't gone, it just sounds really raspy like she has a cold. She has neighbours and doesn't want to trouble them, and having one less loud barker helps. Okay, her dogs her decision. Maddie doesn't seem to notice, she barks alongside everyone else. But everyone on this page considered every dog owner who did this surgery to be horrible people. I threw in my two cents pretty much saying that while I don't agree with the surgery, I don't agree with judging people either. Of course I got jumped on (anticipated that) but I stood my ground. I'm not ashamed of my opinions, and I'm not ashamed of speaking them even when 90% of the people are being a little close-minded in their passion. People don't listen when they're on that high.

One lady saw fit to tell me that I and my sister were bad dog owners because I wasn't agreeing with the masses and pointing out a few real realities. I was also called stupid.

Haha, I'm a writer honey. You want to take a hit at my feelings you're going to have to hit a lot harder than that!

She gave up, I guess she didn't want to admit that she wasn't reading what I was writing properly. I guess it's hard to admit that things aren't always fair to dog owners and some people have to make ugly decisions. I'm not saying that shouldn't be changed, because it should, but it's stupid to ignore the reality here and now. If any of those dog owners commenting there could honestly say that if they were ever faced with the decision of getting their dog debarked or removed from them, they would let their dog go they're stronger people than I am. I hope never to be in that situation, but I'd rather debark Dalila than lose her. If that makes me stupid fine, but I knew what I was getting into when I got a sheltie. I know what a barker she can be and I know I have to work to curb that. And I just can't bring myself to give her up and then someone who's unaware of that adopts her only to get rid of her. She'd get euthanized. And she is just far too happy and far too wonderful of a dog to have that happen to her. Not everyone is lucky like me to have neighbours and a super who would work with me if she was ever a problem. Some people have neighbours who complain over the simplest, stupidest things and sometimes the law sides with them instead of resolving it. That's reality. It's not always fair, and there's not always happy endings and rainbows. I'm all for people being more responsible dog owners, but I'm also for people not being so anal retentive about a dog just because they bark on occasion.

And I'm also for people not being so damn judgemental when they haven't been there and done that.

Dog Days

I think my summer cold is back. I'll never understand why a winter cold is so much easier to shake, but I'd love to know why. This thing has been off and on since June. Blech.

Despite that, it’s been a beautiful few days. Well, aside from the water being off for about seven hours for repairs on Thursday, but that's been happening so often in this building you hardly notice when you prep for it. The muggy heat is still kicking around, but there has been a gorgeous cool breeze that actually made it pleasant to be outside. Plus mostly clear blue skies with some beautiful sunshine...yes, very lovely day. It was a little easier keeping Dalila out longer, when it's muggy I don't enjoy being out there and she gets too easily overheated, so I limit it to 30 minutes. Less if she's constantly stopping. Today we were out almost an hour mostly waiting on my mom who we ended up missing anyway. She was later than I thought she'd be. Anywho. While walking around the building I came upon this guy who owns a rottweiller wandering around the back grass behind my building. That in itself isn't unusual, there's a few dog owners in the general area who pass through there and so long as they pick up after their animals no one minds. And I've seen him around, and he has by far the best behaved dog out of all the dog owners I see. His dog doesn't pull, doesn't try to wander, doesn't try to go up to people uninvited and is always right beside him.

So we approached and I tried to get Dalila to just walk since she's started a habit of barking her goofy head off at any dog around, and I'd like her to learn that we don't do that. She was good until the rottie saw us and started sort of rearing up and getting all excited. Not aggressively, not all that excitedly but you have to admit, when you're a dog that barely stands 15 inches tall a rottie doing the dog equivalent of 'hey you're another dog! I want to come say hi!' can be a wee bit intimidating. He's a good owner though, made his dog lie down and kind of chuckled at Dalila's barking as I tried to calm her down - it's comforting when you see another owner who kind of 'gets it' and doesn't try to just walk away - and tried to coax her over to see her. Of course he gave me the standard 'oh you don't have to worry about my dog' but I could tell even before we walked up to them that it really was okay. Some owners will give you that line will either being clueless or ignorant that their dog actually is something to be worried about. I didn't realize just how big this rottie is! I stand at about 5'5, 5'6 and the top of his head came to my abdomen. Really friendly dog though, immediately sniffing out the treats in my pocket that I use for Dalila's training. The owner and I chatted a moment, and then we both went our own ways. Naturally when the rottie starts walking away from her, Dalila kind of looks at him like 'where are you going?' If anyone can tell me how to say ‘learn to properly meet dogs and they won’t leave early, silly’ in dog I’d be so grateful.

Heat Wave

Day three of scorching heat. Supposedly this is supposed to break in my area by week's end, but we'll see. I miss the nice warm heat that we had last week - this muggy heat is terrible. It also doesn't help being on the 6th floor as the heat rises, so the past few days I've been maneuvering around fans and one of the air conditioner (we have one portable one, and one that stays in the window) to try and keep everywhere cool. The living room is proving to be the hardest, right now I've got the window a/c down to its lowest setting and just stuck the fan on, plus the ceiling fan is on just to my right. I don't like using so much energy, and I'd grin and bear it but with a puppy with long fur and a chinchilla you just can't do that. C'est la vie I suppose. I hope the mugginess passes, and leaves us with just the warmth. It's nice to open the windows to cool evening air.

Dalila went for a vet visit yesterday evening. The usual checkup and shots, she's not unwell. It was a new vet for her and us but she did really well. I was glad that the vet's office was empty of patients, Dalila's still a little unsure of other dogs and tends to get a bit aggressive. Her first experiences haven't been good ones (you'd be a little scared too if the first barking dog you ever encountered was not one but two Old English Sheepdogs), but I'm working on that. She was great in the car once I got her to sit, and was a mix of unsure curiousity in the office itself. I was glad I brought the training treats because that helped also :) We got her weighed (18.3 pounds, luckily this is a healthy weight for her), did a full physical and got her shots updated so she's good for the year. She did better than I thought she would especially with the needles, I was afraid she would start squirming and make it difficult but she didn't. The vet is great and overall a good experience.

Time to get Dalila another ice cube. Stay cool everyone!

Dalila (P.S. - She's not a Miniature!)

Thought I'd do a post about her, since she's just too cute not to :)

Dalila is a purebred Shetland Sheepdog. Her father is Ch. Highledge Irish Cream ROMC and her mother is Can Ch Bonnyville's Prismatic CGN, and I got her from her father's breeder. I met with the breeder 3 times before I brought her home, and it was worth it - just to see her beautiful dogs if nothing else! I totally advocate adoption from shelters, but if you're going to go for a purebred, make sure you at least get them from a quality breeder.

Things you have to know about Shelties:

-They're loud. I don't say that because she's my dog, they really are that loud. Coming from the Shetland Islands they had to develop a bark that could be heard over the high winds and crashing waves. They succeeded.

-Shelties are a herding breed, so expect lots of energy. Dalila can most definitely be calm, but when she goes she really goes! Good ways to channel their instincts are herding classes or agility classes. Dalila seems to show more of a natural tendancy towards agility (she loves jumping off things, weaving through dining room chairs, etc.) so we're going to go that way once she's 100% obedience trained.

-They're fast learners. Dalila was learning sit when she was like 8 weeks old - and got it too. She picked up potty training well too, as well as crate training and it took around a week to nail those. Now she knows sit, come, off, up and she's starting to get come and lie down. I say starting because she only does it about half the time - but we're getting there.

-And lastly, they're not miniatures! I have to rant a bit, I am so sick of people asking/saying 'oh so she's a miniature'. She's not a miniature anything! Collies are large dogs, shelties are small. There are no such things as miniature collies or miniature shelties - it's just people trying to pass on very small dogs as something they're not. So if you ever see a sheltie on the street, please don't call it a miniature. Think of my sanity :)

Picspam: Puppies and More

First, some Dalila pics:



She adores watermelon, as well as cucumbers and ice cubes. I didn't let her eat the rind.



Nosy bugger.



Happy smile during playtime.



Clearly too tired to eat :) She's since outgrown those bowls.



Being entirely unhelpful while I was cleaning out some files.



Eating grass. Because it's good fiber apparently.



I was waiting for this to arrive before I blogged about it. I entered a contest awhile back on Nene Thomas' fanpage to redesign the website. I didn't win, but I got an email saying that she liked my design so much I could choose a print of my choice and Nene would sign it!



This is the print I chose. It's called 'Whispers' and it's so gorgeous. Right now it's staying rolled up in the safety of the packing tube until I find the right frame and matting to put it in. I'd love to own an original of hers one day. You can see it on her website here.

Onward and Upward...Again

Well when the stress won't go away, there's only one thing to really do - persevere. And that means (as the blog title says) going onward and upward.

So what have I been up to lately? Well I'll spare you the personal stuff because it's personal and really it's nothing to bore my blog readers about ;) But I have managed to accomplish a few great things. First and most importantly I've completed the gutting of my room. Finally. I couldn't believe how much room I managed to discover by tossing out the crap that was just cluttering up spaces. I also have a small collection of stuff I'm planning on selling. It's too good quality to toss out or give away, but I have no desire to keep it either. It's mostly some of my Lord of the Rings memorabilia back when I was a fanatical fan. Oh I still love it, but a lot of the stuff I can do without now :) So if anyone on my followers list is interested let me know. I'll show you what I've got and we can discuss payments and such. I'm willing to go a little lower for blog followers. So now it's just a matter of packing up the unwanted clothes and tossing out the recycling which is nothing really. There's a non-profit group in my area for cerebral palsy that periodically goes around neighbourhoods picking up donated clothing which is where all the clothes will be going. No sense letting it go to waste, and I like supporting a cause when I can. I'm a huge supporter of that. I know some people have certain causes or charities they prefer, I'm just more of a help-where-I-can-when-I-can type. Every little bit does help.

Dalila update: progressing well. Training has been kind of interrupted, but she sleeps from 11pm-11:30pm to 6am! You have no idea how excited that makes me! And she walks on the leash when I ask her to. I let her sort of run off most of the energy she has in the morning, usually a couple laps around our buildings (takes about 30min) then I shorten the leash and make her walk beside me. She's got the hang of it though. And I also taught her how to walk up and down the stairs, although going down takes longer. It's new, she's still getting used to that one. But she's just getting too big to carry around now, so no choice. Additional exercise though, which I wouldn't do if she couldn't handle it.

Dragon King has finally started progressing. I managed to close Chapter 3 which came out a lot better than the previous attempts. It's always getting down that attraction that gets me. Building it over time is easy to show, but I wanted the attraction between Celios and Amaya to be purposefully sudden. Because dragons are fantasy creatures I didn't want it to be that typical gradual build, I wanted it to be a different dynamic and experience. I think a lot of us have that fantasy of being swept up in a sudden romance, especially one that's not just physical attraction or a fling. And hey, this is fantasy so why not :) It's nice to move along though, and I started plotting its sequel already too. I couldn't help it, this story just doesn't want to end revealing Amaya's talent and how it affects Celios' dilemma. I could try and cram it all into one story I suppose, but I'd be overshooting the average wordcount for fantasy stories. Or trying to put too much story into too little a space. Two books works better. I wish I knew what it is with me and dualogies lately, this makes 3 stories that are too big for 1 book but not enough story to go past 2.

Also on the subject of writing I've finally managed to bring some sort of organization to the many story ideas I seem to manage to accumulate. They're divided into two groups; story summaries which actually have a plot, and story ideas which are just concepts. Helps me to remember them without having to worry about keeping them all in my head :) Concepts eventually become summaries, and there's some fun ones I'd like to eventually work with. So far I'm up to 24 story summaries and 17 story concepts. Well at least I have plenty to work with, I won't have to worry about running out of stories anytime soon!

Now to end, wordcount updates on the right are current as of today. I'm going to sort of attempt to reach 500k by August 1st. Sort of as in I'm going to give it my best shot, but with my current pace we'll see. I should set a nice reward as incentive...

Letting the Dust Settle

My writing swing is quickly coming back, which I'm hoping means I'm getting used to this new schedule. I sleep about 3 hours at a time right now before I'm up for something with Dalila. We're so close to getting on a regular, predictable schedule it's almost frustrating :) I want it perfect now, but have to be realistic in that she's still a baby and still learning. And testing. Testing like you wouldn't believe. I think most of it is boredom so some new toys are in order. Plus I'm going to freeze some wet wash cloths. Some people recommended them for when she starts teething, but I think she'll like them anyway right now. She loves the puppy treats I bought, after I strip the rawhide off. Don't know if we'll ever give her any, probably not, but no sense letting perfectly good treats go to waste :)

My cdjapan order has finally shipped! (click to see full image)



I'm going to be bouncing until it gets here. Maya and Colleen already have their copies (lucky), now Tessa and I are just waiting for ours. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow, we'll have to wait for next week since Friday is a holiday. Cross your fingers!

Must wrap up chapter 3 of The Dragon King. Writing sometimes feels like weaving, which is sort of a funny similarity seeing as how I've never weaved anything in my life. But it really does. You're trying to bring together these personalities and scenes and words, but sometimes you have to unravel the threads and re-weave until you get the right flow. That's how it feels to me, anyway - your mileage may vary. There'll be many re-weavings in the future I know, but that first complete weaving at least gives you an idea of the pattern, and from there it's just refining until you finally reveal the story for the beautiful tapestry it is. And there's my insightful thought for the day :)

Now, to finish that chapter and rework some of the sidebars...

Coming Soon and Week One over

Was real excited to see this:



Weeeeee I'm so excited! It's finally coming!

There are many reasons why I admire this guy so much - beautiful and powerful vocals, moving lyrics, a hell of a lot of creativity, and the fact that he's not afraid to say what's on his mind (even if it's to tell someone off, which he's done many times). This concert is just another reason to add to the list because it just goes beyond that of a simple concert - it's an event. Well, all his concerts seem to be events (the last few, at least) but this one topped them all I think. Early praises perhaps, as I haven't seen the whole thing yet (some of it was on YT for awhile after WOWOW aired it) however this preview and what I saw on YT before it came down is enough to satisfy me on that point. A bunch of lucky Japanese fans got to see RRII in theatres today (or maybe it was yesterday considering the time difference) and Tessa, Colleen, Maya and I have to be content with imagining how much fun that would be. We mused about the idea back when it was just an idea but in our case there's two problems with that: 1.)we all live miles and miles apart, as in we'd need trains or planes to visit each other, and 2.)one of us would have to die and the others use the insurance policy to pay for it. Yeah we have great and wacky conversations - when we're not confusing each other that is. Which seems to be a little easier than it probably should :)

I managed to survive the first week, though this sleep schedule is making me nuts. At least it's regular, get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time. Dalila's pretty much crate-trained now, she's only had a few accidents in there but she doesn't whine or anything when she's in it. Big plus, because I want her to recognize it as 'her' space. She's about 95% housebroken now too which is another plus. I take her out every morning but trying to catch her before she wakes up is hit or miss. My hope is that with consistancy she'll learn to hold it until we get outside; she's quick to pick up how I praise her, and that when I don't it's because she hasn't done something or done the wrong thing. We're not having any major issues, which is good. Overall we're doing well.

I really should get back to writing instead of working out other summaries...

Picspam - Dalila

Here are the long-awaited puppy pics. Just links this time, it's easier than trying to resize them all. I lazy.

Well here she is. You'll notice the super stylish gate I'm using to keep her out of the dining room ;) She kept going under the dining room table and peeing so we thought it best to keep her in the living room.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila01.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila02.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila03.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila04.jpg

she's taken to her crate really well:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila05.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila06.jpg

and more playtime:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila07.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila09.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila10.jpg

Here she's seeing her reflection in the mirror at the back of the cabinet. She thinks it's another puppy and barks at it:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f258/andunesilverleaf/Blog%20Pics/dalila13.jpg

Inconvenienced

This was not a productive day at all.

Woke up to take Dalila out at 6am and made the wonderful discovery that we had no water. The only thing worse than not having water is not having water and not knowing why. I was too tired to think so I just went and took the pup outside. It turns out a water main burst and they were already working on it. So naturally I thought 'bonus! Water should be back soon.'

I was very wrong.

The water didn't come back until 9pm. Yup, pm. By about 7pm I had enough of wondering what was taking so long and actually went out there to investigate. It was educational to say the least! The one guy who was standing at the site was really nice about answering my questions about what was going on, and basically told me that they had to cut the pipes out and replace them which is why they were taking so long. Usually they just put a clamp around the pipe and seal it all back up, then turn the water back on. Honestly, I think the city needs to start monitoring what work gets done where, and when. I know pipes have a certain life expectancy so to speak, maybe they should replace them before they burst like this. I've heard of long repairs but this was completely ridiculous. At least with advanced warning you can save some water but this totally disrupts your life. You can't do much of anything without water.

We're getting better with the potty-training thing. Dalila goes all night in her crate without an accident, she usually wakes me up at 5am to pee though. I just put her back in her crate once she goes. Only a couple accidents, and she's learning to stay in her crate for 2 hours. I finally went and asked on the forums on Cesar Millan's website what others did with their pups and went from there. Things just clicked after that, that I have to be the one to teach her when to go, when to hold it, everything. But she's smart though, she's taking to a leash really well without too much teaching from me. It's work, but not as much as people seem to think it is when you've got a plan :)

Tomorrow? Writing. Lots and lots and lots of writing.

Finding a New Normal

It was a very emotional weekend, things didn't seem like they were going to go right with the potty training and all that. Emotional dreak doesn't even begin to cover it lol I think these first few weeks are going to be a little rocky as we get used to her and she gets used to us. And so long as I stay consistant during that time we should come out okay and problem-free. She naps quite a bit, so my writing will be okay (thank goodness!) but I'm also looking forward to going out for walks. Surprisingly Dalila walks on the leash despite never having one on her before I brought her home which is so great. She gets hesitant every few feet, but I stay patient and don't let her back up and she gets it quickly. I think overall we're doing good!

I'm all caught up reading all the blog entries I missed. The Dragon King has taken a slight shift in chapter 3 which is good, because now it works :) And now I have my energy back to write so I'll be making sure all my wordbars are updated today. I'm trying to stop the habit of updating one and not the other, then it gets confusing as to just where exactly I'm at. My notes are all over the place, when I get a plot or dialogue idea I have to just jot it down on the nearest paper or I'll lose it. They're not as bad as they can get, but I hate messes. So whip that into shape, and also maybe work on another at the same time. So many to choose. Ah cross that bridge when I get there.

And last but not least I have an award! Given to me by Sonshine Thoughts (thanks again!). I'm supposed to share 7 interesting facts for this award, so here they are:

1. I can pick stuff up with my toes - and often do
2. I tend to favour old shows like M*A*S*H and Golden Girls over a lot of the newer stuff, though I do enjoy the occassional House MD, Mantracker (which needs new episodes!), NUMB3RS, Ghost Hunters and pretty much anything on Discovery Civilizations channel
3. I can come up with a new story idea often at the drop of the hat. This isn't always a good thing - I averaged four in one day
4. Many things I hate or dislike at first I tend to come around and like to some degree
5. Animals and I seem to connect really well, I can usually tell what they want and how they're feeling. My mother says it's a gift, I think it's kind of cool.
6. I like being crafty. I make jewellry, flower arranging, and I'm even going to give candlemaking a go
7. I can make pretty good cheesecake, and this year I'm endeavoring to make more than just pretty good cheesecake

Puppy Tails

The requested puppy pictures. Click on them to see them in full, and remember all pictures are property of me - so no stealing! Enjoy the cuteness!


Yup, that's my baby girl under the chair.


This is the only little boy in the group. He goes home Monday.




There's my girl!

The End Cometh

Just the end of the month, to be specific :) I still have Christmas presents coming which haven't shipped yet. One of the items is the RRII dvd I've blogged about before, and unless Gackt announces yet another deadline pushback my order will ship on the 31st of this month! Another pushback is unlikely, he's pretty much done now. Or at least done enough that there won't be another delay. The wait's finally coming to an end! This is the bigger of the two orders I had made, and the eagerness is not only that the dvd is coming but also the Setsugekka single, RE:BORN, and the December edition of ARENA37 (no I can't read it, but one day I hope to) that's coming along with it. I'm not sure if I managed to nab a first pressing of Setsugekka before it sold out, but I'm hoping. RE:BORN is the one I'm most looking forward to after the dvd. Bah, the release date can't come fast enough.

Another ending is the puppy waiting period. Dalila comes home next week! I'm all excited and nervous all at the same time. Two weeks ago we went and actually visited with the puppies - the four puppy litter was five weeks old, and the single pup was six weeks. The four was comprised of three girls and a boy, but one of the girls wasn't growing with the others and she was sequestered to the bedroom. Everyone was very klutzy on their feet, they were so adorable. The oldest pup was a little more adventurous and curious. Unfortunately last week the one girl who wasn't growing right took a turn for the worst and passed away last Friday, the poor thing. This evening we went for another visit, the pups are a lot older and everyone's getting ready to go to their new homes. Our breeder picked up a puppy from a co-litter she did with another breeder, and it's this puppy who's coming home to us! She's roughly the same age as the other pups, same colouring and is just the sweetest thing. A really lovely energy, she sat when I held her in my arms and would often sit beside my legs - not clingy or dominant, just being. I was nervous about potentially taking this pup because she was pick of the litter, and pick of the litter usually means the one who most exhibits the breed which is usually the highest energy one. Shelties are herders, so they can be really high energy. But our breeder breeds more for the beauty of the breed instead of their skill and I just fell in love. Pics to come when she comes home!

The Culling of Stratholme - My Version

The Culling of Stratholme is an event in Warcraft history where Prince Arthas (as he was descending into madness) declared that the people of Stratholme had to be killed as they were infected with a dangerous plague. It was an attempt to preserve the rest of his kingdom of Lordaeron - didn't work, by the way. It was madness mostly because Arthas refused to try and find another way, refused to listen to his mentor Uther and disbanded every paladin from service to the crown. Really, getting the chance to off Arthas now is a good thing :)

My version isn't so drastic and has much more positive results, as my 'kingdom' will come out better instead of worse. I'm usually a go-with-the-flow type of person, at least in some respects. If I feel the need to sit and write, I write. If I feel like five hours of WoW, I play WoW. If I feel the need to do some cleaning, off I go. And that's exactly what I've been doing. Last night I tackled the linen closet, removed all the crap out of there and found some toys I had bought for Mirage that I hadn't yet given her. Bonus! No more shoveling stuff around just to get at other stuff. Today I tackled several cupboards in the kitchen and cleaned it up, and emptied the fridge of all the stuff that needed to go. And despite the very stiff back I'm dealing with now (at least there's no pain) I feel really good. It's extremely theraputic! It's like I just removed a huge weight from my life and things are a little nicer as a result. Now if I lived closer to a dumpster, I could get rid of the garbage bags now. All in due time of course. Like maybe next week when I fully recover :D Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the rest of the kitchen, then my bookshelf and then that last peak - my closet! That'll feel REALLY nice.

Wednesday night we went for visit number 2 with the breeder. The puppies are now 5 and 6 weeks old, respectively. Unfortunately one of the three girls isn't doing so well. She's not developing as quickly as her sisters and brother are which is worrisome. Hopefully she's all right. It's funny how the time just flew by when we were there, I think it was at least an hour and a half hehe. The three 5 week olds aren't very good on their feet, they kind of stumble around but that's typical. The 6 week old is much better, but tile floors are a challenge for any pup. They were fairly playful, a little shy but the world is still all big and new to them. We go back again in another two weeks, when the pups will be bigger. Oh I can't wait. Hopefully we'll also have an idea of who's coming home with us. Five weeks is still a little too early to tell, but I've read that puppies and dogs can recognize a returning scent, so when we go back I'm sure the pups will be less shy and more like the breeder's older dogs. There isn't a single adult dog who doesn't love a visitor.

Think I Abused Brackets Just A Bit Here...

Blog revamp again! The old background just wasn't working for me anymore. I like this one, hummingbirds have always been a favourite of mine. Speaking of revamp, I noticed that blogger now keeps the gadgets you add to your blog, so you don't need to uncover their code in the html or remake them from scratch. Thank goodness, it's about time (unless I just never noticed before which is entirely possible :) I guess I really should read updates!). Rearranging the gadgets is a lot easier than making them all from scratch!

Sunday I was beat-exhausted, but for good reason - I'll be getting a puppy (and yes, that is the big news I was supposed to blog about on Sunday)! We visited the breeder Sunday, I only slept a few hours and was so nervous it was setting my anxiety off and I ended up taking a lorazepam. I try not to take those, they're in a very low dosage but they really knock you on your butt, but sometimes the anxiety just gets so high I'm not sure I can bring it down on my own. I do try to use them very sparingly because I could literally sleep the day away on just one. Anyway, I think the excitement was more the cause for exhaustion than the lorazepam alone. The breed I chose is a Shetland Sheepdog, a small breed that looks identical to the collie (think Lassie). The breeder had seven, and they're so beautiful! They all had beautiful temperaments, were very friendly dogs and not obnoxious or wanting to jump all over you. We even got a peek at the newborn pups from a distance, right now they're too young to be held. So now the countdown is on, in 45 days the baby comes home. We visit again in February when the pups are a bit older and we can interact with them more, and I'll take pictures. Hopefully by then I might have an idea of which one is coming home with me!

Writing is back in full swing after a couple lull days (okay, maybe it was more than a couple >.> ). I actually have a full, detailed plot outline of Beautiful Nightmare at last. I had a vague idea of where it was going to go, how I was going to set up things that would happen in later books, etc. Now I actually have the roadmap, though there's been some tweaks. Originally Matsu was going to leave for a time and come back for Adelyn at the end of the book, who he had sent to stay with his Italian friend Lethos so that she'd be safe (reason irrelevant now). That's been shifted to book two, and I've made Lethos a Spanish vampire as opposed to Italian. Twilight kind of ruined that for me, but I think Spain will work out better. Besides, the Spanish language is pretty damn sexy - Antonio Banderas anyone? :D There's been other new changes, but that would spoil future stories >:) Chapter two, here I come.

Gackt updated his blog a few days ago, apologizing another dozen times about the Requiem et Reminiscence II dvd being pushed back again. I really admire his ambition and his ability to work on multiple projects at once, but when you start getting sick and your staff starts getting sick and the workplace starts looking like something out of Resident Evil (his description)...well you have to expect one of your projects just isn't going to make the deadline. Poor guy works too hard, I'm glad he's had some downtime though even if it did come at the expense of the changed release date. But Gackt, dear, it's probably not a good thing when you can't remember the last time you had that kind of downtime ;) We love that you do so much and work so hard to bring us amazing projects but please do take some downtime every now and again. You could do something more relaxing - like visiting the international fans who you wish you could see more of! Perhaps a future Platinum Box theme? That would probably be a lot of fun.

Going to try to write some more before bed, but will probably just procrastinate watching Operation Repo instead. Reality check peoples: it's not yours if you stop making payments!