Today....

I had two errands to run.
First, I had to return some wallpaper border to Menard's. I had 4-rolls of border that were not sticking to the hallway wall. When I got to Menard's and opened the bag, there were only 3-rolls. I thought maybe I lost the lone roll in the car, and I truly didn't think twice about it.
Then I ran to JC Penney. I picked up a VERY CUTE stuffed animal for my friends' daughters' first birthday.
When I walked in the house, I saw that Rocco-the-thief had removed that lone roll of border from the bag on the table, and it was chewed and stuck in a million pieces to the carpet in the spare bedroom.
Apparently there WAS adhesive on those rolls.
After admonishing Rocco, I started to wrap a few things to go to the Post Office. When I went to get the stuffed animal from the bag, it was gone. Rocco had removed it from the bag and chewed a big hole in the sweet lions head.
In about 2-minutes.
He has been hiding under the dining room table for the past 2-hours since I went on a screaming vent that you could hear 2-blocks away.
Now Brooke Elizabeth will have to wait for her birthday lion to be replaced, and Rocco is on double secret probation.
So I started thinking....
You remember the Jody Foster movie "Panic Room", where she has a safe, protected room from intruders in her home?
I need one of those.
Where else am I going to hide Christmas presents from Rocco?

How the Rottweiler Stole Christmas

Per the vet's suggestion, we can't have have any Christmas decorations in our house this year.
Well, as long as Rocco, the human garbage disposal lives here.
My husband took Rocco to the vet on Tuesday for his yearly shots. Rocco weighed in at almost 90-lbs and the vet said that he is healthy and won't get any taller, but he will start to fill out in the next year, probably gaining 20-more lbs. Oh and he said "Hopefully, he will grow out of his clumsy stage next year".
Poor Rocco.
Anyway, the vet was telling my husband how he just had to operate on a dog that ate the lights off a Christmas tree.
Oh, and the surgery to remove the lights cost $3,000.
Cash in advance.
We know Rocco cannot to trusted.
And a sparkly, bright, twinkling Christmas tree will make his mouth water.
And our bank account shrink.
So for the safety of our Rocco and the protection of our wallets, we say.....
Ba Humbug.

PS-Thanks for the title, Rebecca!

Thanksgiving preparations

I have been preparing for Thanksgiving. Well, preparing isn't probably the right word.
Here is an example.
Yesterday I cleaned the china cabinet. Normally a 1/2 hour job, right?
This year, much, much longer.
I would take items from the first shelf of the cabinet, dust them off and place them on the dining room table while I wiped down the shelf. Well, that was the master plan, anyway.
Until Rocco got involved.
He would grab anything that he could off the table while my head was turned. Cloth napkins, napkin rings, silk flowers, candles....anything he could reach, he would steal. Then he would quietly take that item into the living room and chew it to pieces.
So this was the reality of the situation.
Me: Putting a napkin on the table.
Rocco: Stealing said napkin 10-seconds later.
Me: Chasing him thru the house, yelling "Bad boy! BAD BOY" at the top of my lungs.
This went on all afternoon. Every time I thought he was behaving, he wasn't. If it was quiet, he was just being sneaky.

Today, I am cleaning out the pots and pans cabinet. HOPEFULLY he won't be carrying around a 21-qt stock pot in his mouth today.
Well, on second thought....

Anyway....Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In Memory of Moose

One year ago today we lost our sweet boy Moose to cancer. Moose was a 100-lb Shepard/Rottweiler. He was our baby boy.
Before Moose, we lost our Iggy, my husbands 12-year old 70-lb dog. I will tell you 100% truthfully that I married my husband because of Iggy. My husband adored that dog. As a dog lover myself, I could not help but fall in love with a man that loved his dog like Iggy was loved.
Iggy passed away when we were in Mexico on our honeymoon. We were devastated. I could not even think about bringing another dog into our life. Iggy was irreplaceable. It took me two years to even think about getting another dog.

And then we found Moose.

We had him for 6 glorious years. One day he started to limp, and when we took him to the vet, it was discovered that he had bone cancer. The cancer took him from us only 2-weeks later.
I wrote the following poem about him just after he died. I miss him today as much as I did one year ago.
I wish each of you could someday have a Moose in your life.
Your life will never be the same.

For Moose

We met you six years ago when we answered an ad,
“Looking for a home for some puppies”, that’s what it said.



Your Daddy did lots of research, and he asked around,
Shepard’s and Rottweiler’s are loyal and true, that’s what he found.

So off we drove with a $100 check,
I was still doubtful, but thought “Oh, what the heck”.

I surely wasn’t convinced we were doing the right thing,
Their yard was dirty and they had a broken porch swing.

There were so many dogs and puppies running about,
It was very chaotic, and I wanted to get out.

But your Daddy was stubborn, and wanted a furry friend.
He was still missing Iggy, and the loneliness in his heart only a new puppy could mend.

We narrowed it down to you and your brother so we asked which one would howl,
And the man looked at us and said “Take that one, he has a mean growl”.

So off we drove, with you on your new Daddy’s lap,
You were so small and sweet, and you curled up to take a nap.

We gave you a bath, and a nice good meal,
Getting you to stop sitting in your water bowl was quite an ordeal.



During the next few months you dug up the yard and messed on the rug.
And when the neighboring beagles walked by, you barked at them and thought you were a big, bad thug.

We decided to get a new puppy, Molly, to try to keep you calm.
But now we had two, big obnoxious dogs, that’s what we found.



Through the next 6-years we loved you like you were our child,
I swear some days when we spoke to you; you would look at us and smile.



You were strong and brave and majestic and true.
And watching you run in the park was Daddy’s favorite thing to do.

When they told us you were sick, it’s something we could not believe,
You were healthy and muscular, and cancer we could not perceive.

The cancer brought your body down quicker than we could ever have known,
To the end you were a true warrior, you never, ever made even a groan.

You spent your last day being spoiled and loved,
Everyone came to say goodbye...Moose, you were truly beloved.



Daddy held you and looked into your eyes as you took your last breath,
He said “Thank you Moosie for everything” as you slipped peacefully into your sweet death.



I hope that you know how much you will be missed,
Daddy isn’t taking it well, he feels really pissed.

But we know you are in heaven, running free like the wind.
And knowing you are there with Iggy is making me grin.

And although for now we have to be apart.
We are not alone because your paw prints will always be on our heart.

Please know how much you meant to our life and though our pain is profuse,
We know we will see you again someday, our sweet baby Moose.

A creature of habit

We re-arranged our bedroom yesterday, flipping 2-dressers to opposite sides of the room.
And Rooco has not been the same since then.
He is cries whenever he walks into the bedroom.
Apparently he resists change.
Or he doesn't like my decorating ideas.

Nap Time

When Rocco isn't getting into trouble, he likes to nap. That's how he rolls.
This weekend he was being very naughty, so I decided to take him for a walk. We went around the park near our home, and he was walking very well for me on his leash. So I decided to continue our walk down the main street of our neighborhood.
Bad idea.
We had a great pace going, and I was admiring the blue autumn sky when Rocco decided to stop right in front of me.
As I was still walking.
I wound up dazed and confused and flat on my back on the sidewalk.
In front of the bank.
That was open.
Rocco took that opportunity to immediately lay down next to me on the sidewalk. Apparently he thought we were napping.
On the sidewalk.
In front of the bank.
On Saturday morning.
My husband found this story HILARIOUS and blog worthy.
I know its blog worthy, but I haven't found the hilarity yet.
Maybe when my bruises heal......