Wednesday Chatting 2/19/14

I saw those posts too, I just sent an email to take care of that. On another note, Jackie you are lucky, we just got another little blast of snow. I wish it would stop. Suppose to warm up here over the weekend hopefully some will start to melt. Looking forward to spring.

Woops I just flagged this post by mistake. Sorry

I had a feeling Jackie would beat me to starting chat.     I got interrupted four times trying to start it.

hahaha!  Michele flagged my post.  That will probably be the most exciting thing that happens to me today. :)

LOL Jackie!!!

I posted on Callie's thread but looks like this one might be more active.

Thanks for all the love and support guys. I almost deleted the post a few times before I went to bed but I'm glad I didn't. Tracy - don't feel bad at all for talking about the movie.. Maybe it was just the catalyst I needed  :).

Interviews this morning for a full-time assistant. One of the women was scheduled for 10:00 this morning. She called last week and asked if we could move it to noon because she has to drop off her daughter at childcare at 11. I like her but she's going to have to work hard to convince me she really wants the job. She currently works 1/2 time for us and she works from home.. I know she wants the extra $$ but I'm not sure she's prepared to sit in an office for 8 hrs a day.

(((Cathy)))

I was at the dentist this morning to have more work done on my implant. The good news is that I've healed so well that I will have the final work done in March; originally it wasn't supposed to be completed until April. It was a relatively easy and pain-free appointment today.

DS has been house-sitting for a friend this week and I must say I've enjoyed the peace and quiet, not to mention the bathroom staying clean.

Guess I'll post here since I see you are here, too, Callie!  Regarding your other post, I cannot believe how the years have flown by since Tink came to you and David.  I bet she didn't realize the big jackpot she was about to hit when you came to pick her up!

Cathy, I went to bed wondering how you'd sleep last night -- soundly for having shared your story, or maybe tossing and turning a bit, worried about reactions.  I was hoping you were sleeping very soundly because I knew you'd get nothing but support here!

As for that job candidate, it sounds like she might not be willing or able to dedicate the time a full-time job like that requires.  Not that jobs/employers can't be flexible with employee schedules, but it's not a great way to start by requesting an interview change like that.  Hopefully you have a few good candidates to interview.

I've got a committee meeting at lunch time today at my favorite pasta place in town.  I still haven't controlled my bad eating habits since the holidays, and pasta is a huge downfall for me, but I am so looking forward to something with lots of garlic and tomatoes and spices!

Tina, we were posting at the same time.  Glad your dental progress is going so well.  I'm sure you'll be relieved when it's totally done.  I think I mentioned quite a while ago that my husband has to have some MAJOR dental work done.  He's been procrastinating it for a couple years (mainly due to cost, but also the discomfort and all that stuff).  He just got started with some preliminary work last summer when our dentist tragically died in a climbing accident.  He recently found a new guy that he really likes (and coincidentally was a climbing friend of our dentist), so he's due to start the work later next month.  He's not looking forward to it.

Tina - so glad your appt was easy and the implant will be sooner than anticipated. Does anyone see those ads where they say you can get a complete set of dental implants in one day? How the heck does that work? I'll bet it costs as much as a new car too.

Sharing didn't make me upset but it's a part of my life I try hard not to think about. It was a very dark time and only made worse because my dad was drinking heavily at the time. So, if I allow myself to think about it, I can get very depressed. Fortunately for me, I'm the queen of stuffing things away :)

I bought Shane a new leash last week and it's as cute as can be. I know this will sound bizarre but he seems to be a PITA with it on, especially when we first start out. He's generally a good walker but with this leash, we start out with him wanting to pull me into every bush he sees.  It's a narrower width and lighter, so I'm blaming it that but it's still strange.

In other dog news, my former boss was telling me that his BC has gotten into some scuffles at day care, so they made him sign something allowing them to use a shock collar on her. Since they're the place that trained this dog with a shock collar, I wasn't surprised that he didn't see any problem with this. I should probably tell him not to talk dog stuff with me anymore. *sigh*

Tina, yay for the good news on your implant.  Cathy, I'm cringing at the thought of a doggie day care using a shock collar on a dog  for any reason but especially for getting into scraps.  What a great way to increase the aggression. :(  Poor dog.  Steal it.

When people reschedule job interviews I always have a slightly negative attitude about them from the start.  I know that's not fair because stuff happens but it's just how I am about that stuff.

Yesterday a woman with the city called me.  That's not new but this is the woman who made my life pure hell for eight months during the contract negotiations.  During the contract bid process she was rude, unreasonable, lied and seemed to really have some personal agenda against our company. She called yesterday about an email she'd sent out and then went into this long monologue.  All about how great I am and how wonderful it was dealing with our company through the contract process, blah blah blah.  I really thought she must be drunk or stoned the way she went on and on praising us to the high heaves. lol  Now I can't stop wondering  if she has an ulterior motive.  Paranoid?  Who me?

Hello gang, not feeling well at all today battling a very bad headache today. Finishing up the day and going to chill with my girl Morgan. Hope you all are doing well and staying warm for those in the cold parts of the US and everyone else where its warm send it our way.

I'd be wondering about her motives too Jackie. I've met some wacky people who could change personalities at the drop of a dime. It's almost worse than someone who's a jerk all the time.

Interviews went great. We're selecting the one I wanted the most. She's currently our accounting clerk and super fun and sharp. It'll mean about a 45 min. commute each way but she says she doesn't care. I very tactfully talked the other person with childcare concerns out of wanting the job. We've known each other for years, so I couldn't be anything but honest with her. I emphasized that going from working 1/2 time at home with flexibility to take care of her daughters to working 40 hrs a week in an office with a min. 1 hour commute each day was not going to be fun. She was honest and said she was afraid her current position might go away, so we reassured her that she was very safe and she might be able to increase her hours sometime soon. The look of relief on her face almost made me cry :)

Driving across the MN tundra today really enjoying the sunshine, gentle breeze.  Then the radio weather report for tomorrow.  Temp is dropping, winds pick up, snow falls.  Blizzard warning for tomorrow.  Weather averages out over time, so you start crying when it is nice out, cause it will change.

Puppy class went well.  Gunther played with a doodle at the start.  Same size, both enjoyed chewing.  At the end, when the group gets to play, the Siberian started to jump in Gunther, till Guns got scared.  We went to a different room and Guns played with a Catahoula hound pup for a long time.  Pup slept well on the way home.

He signals with a short sharp bark to go out.  It works!!!!

Doug, sounds like Gunther is progressing very well.  The potty warning bark is a big step!

Cathy, I'm glad things worked out with the job candidates.  Sounds like it was the best outcome for everyone!

So my pasta lunch was as delicious as I expected.  But the meeting had a very sad note to it.  Two members of the committee have lost beloved pets.  One woman just had to put one of her horses down after a sudden illness.  Another woman had a tragic thing happen.  While she was on vacation, one of her dogs killed another one of her dogs.  She flew back home that day  and made the horrible decision to euthanize the surviving dog a couple days later.

No one deserves such a heartbreaking experience, but of all people, this woman is the last one who deserves it.  She is an AMAZING person who has supported the shelter in more ways than can be counted - not just financially.  She spear-headed a new fundraising event a couple years ago that was so wildly successful that it will be a great  annual event for many years to come.  She has fostered dozens of dogs, including litters of puppies that need bottle feeding.  She has 4 dogs of her own, and the 2 involved in the incident were both shelter dogs.  The one had attacked the other once a year and a half ago, but they've managed it by keeping them totally separated when no one is at home.  Oddly, when people are home, the dogs hang out together, sleep on the same bed, even groom each other.  The housesitter had instructions to not leave them alone without separating them, but my friend is wracked with guilt over maybe not making it clear to the sitter (who obviously feels awful, too) that this was 100% necessary, even for a few minutes.

It was bad enough that one dog suffered such an ugly death, but she had to say goodbye to a healthy, happy, otherwise loving dog 2 days later.  She knew it would be too hard to rehome him, and she knew she couldn't put her other dogs (or future fosters) at risk by keeping him.  I can't imagine having to make that decision, live with that guilt and regret.  I think it's one of the most heart-breaking things I've ever heard.  I'm just so sad for her.