Out of Breath

You know those times when you really need to cry, but you just can't?  When all kinds of stress and exhaustion have built up and you're just one broken nail or mismatched sock or stolen cookie from sobbing uncontrollably for days... yet you just can't summon up a tear?  My go to in that situation used to be watching a sad movie.  Beaches.  My Girl.  

I have a new suggestion for ya'll.  

Next time you find yourself in that situation, just move your couch back a few inches.  What you find will cause instantaneous crying. 

Before I explain why I was moving furniture on a Tuesday night, let's back up.  After a week and a half of delicious (and disastrous) vacation eating, madre has decided that our family is now in super-fit mode.  I woke up early (6am - on vacation - that happened) to go to the grocery store, then went to the gym, then took a nap to recover from waking up early.  After the nap, I cooked forever to prepare for super-fit week #1.

After cooking, I sanded all the cabinets and drawers that I'm staining.  (Sidenote: this might be a phenomenal failure.  I am quite familiar with how to do the stain, as I used it for most of my dining room.  That was on actual wood though.  It turns out my never-updated built-in-1984 guest bathroom contractors decided to skimp on the cabinets.  Rather than install builders-grade oak, they installed builder-grade oak veneers on top of particle board.  Even I know that this is a problem in a bathroom.  You know, where there's a bath.  And water.  And steam.  So, who knows what the end result will be.  If it's a flop, I will have only spent $75 bucks and approximately 700 hours of labor.  Something needed to be done about them.  If it looks more horrific than it does now, I'll just have to channel more of my energy going forward into finding a rich husband to pay for a professional bathroom redo.)

Whew.  So, once the cabinets were prepped and food was mostly finished, I had to begin the puppy prepping.  Oh yes.  For my new puppy, who will be joining me in my fortress later this week.  I don't have a ton to do, but I was highly encouraged by multiple sources to temporarily remove the area rug from my living room.  Hence, moving the furniture off of the rug.  What I found was disgusting.  Seriously.  How can one person with no children or pets (yet) lead to so much mess in a single year?  It's a good thing I already put down a deposit for the dog - I might have rethought that decision otherwise.  Just kidding!

As it turns out, area rugs are heavy.  Especially 10' x 12' ones.  (That's a guess.  I don't really remember how big it is.)  The original plan was to stash it in the garage.  My garage is kind of a mess right now.  (Remember that whole cabinet project?  It's in the garage.)  I didn't want to have to move more stuff around, especially in the sweltering heat, so I did the next most logical thing:  I moved it upstairs.  I hauled, pushed, pulled, and ultimately willed the rug into the guest room upstairs... without taking out the banister or scratching any paint!  

This means I don't have to work out tomorrow, right? 

Now, let me introduce the catalyst for the rug adventure.  Meet Murphy!

 That was when I first met him.  (Let's not talk about my cool hair.)  

He's a German Shepherd mix, born to a litter of NINE BOYS.  Holy.  Moly. 

He was about six weeks old there. 

Here he is a few days ago, tired of the Texas heat.

 

 I don't know how he will handle not having to fight his brothers for food.

Here's the latest picture, taken earlier today.  I have really mixed feelings about removing him from his family, but he already has a few fans who are dying to meet him.  Look how big he's getting!

Love, 

Murphy & Me