The weekend wrapup

I forgot to mention that Zed’s personality is coming through. He has started to bark more. Either when he is out in the yard or when someone (usually Dan) comes in the back door. His favorite toy is a rope toy. He will either sit with it and start pulling strings or will shake it. He loves it when you play tug of war with him. If you throw it, he will retrieve it.
When I’m watching TV, he will jump up on the couch with me and lay down next to me. Yesterday, he actually got up on my lap and snuggled.
This weekend was full of house errands. Paperwork for Dan’s work, groceries, yard work, Home Depot, baths for both dogs and the usual stuff (laundry, dishes, etc). The fun things – catching up on recordings on the DVR (finally caught up on Lost) and finding geocache #200. Dan wanted to wait for me to get this one.
Dan was so wanting to have a bonfire and smores on Saturday. He started a fire and I’m standing there thinking and saying to him – maybe the wind to too strong. Next thing you know, sparks start flying out – just a couple. I went inside, came back out and the wind really whipped up and there were sparks EVERYWHERE! Dan said immediately, get me the spray bottle, and put the fire out.  Sunday morning, Dan said that he was standing at the kitchen island later on and he looked outside and the firepit was going strong! He said he felt embarrassed since he really thought it was out.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
One of the shows I was catching up on this weekend was Ruby. She is on such an amazing journey and I’m glad she is doing it the slow and steady way with no surgery. She is dealing with re-learning how to eat and the mental side of how she got to the size she is (and was) along with the new mentality she will need to keep the fight going. One of the biggest things that just amazes me is that she doesn’t remember her childhood. I mean, I don’t remember EVERYTHING in my childhood, but I have memories – good & bad. There are portions that I wish I could forget – basically because I am embarrassed that I lived that way/in that situation.
This last episode really made me think – these women/Ruby’s friends had things they kept inside too because they were embarrassed of them yet here they were, letting it be shown to the whole world. It reminded me that EVERYONE has something in their childhood that they wish would never had happen yet it did and it made us the adult we are today. We don’t know what the adults (around us when we were children) were thinking when we were going through that situation. Maybe they weren’t aware how much it was going to affect us or they didn’t know how to handle it themselves or maybe they were trying to protect us.

I never had a chance to really ask the questions of my parents - sometimes I wish I had or could. One question that I’m glad I did get to ask of my Uncle Victor – about the relationship with his parents (my grandparents, Dad’s parents). One of the things that stood out with me (my memories) was he didn’t bother coming to their funeral or even dealing with the estate. He left it all up to my mom. I knew he wasn’t close to them, but my impression (of a 16 year old) was he just wanted the money and that was it.
I asked Uncle Victor and he told me that when he moved away, he just kind of drifted apart from them. I asked about his grandmother (my great grandmother, who died when Grandma was 11)– if Grandma had ever spoken of her mom. He said Grandma (his mom) wasn’t a very social person and didn’t talk about it.
It obviously affected her (Grandma). Maybe that is why she was “jealous” of me – seriously – that’s what Mom & Aunt Helen would say. Grandma was NEVER loving towards me – Grandpa was.
Anyway, as an adult, now I understand how things that have happened in your past affect the person you are today and unless you want to change it, the cycle will continue. Thanks to Ruby, I am thinking about my childhood (and just memories in general) more – the good & the bad. Random Thoughts will include those memories – maybe in detail, maybe not.

The beginning of a new life - Zed's story

So the introduction of Esa to “Frank” went well and he came home with us on Sunday. Zed tested the waters when he got to our house – ie, he peed in the house. We immediately took him outside and when he came back in, he could tell he was in trouble – his ears were back and tail between his legs. Of course, about an hour or so after we brought Zed home, Dan had to go to work so it was me and the pups for the evening. 
That evening, Zed would not let me leave his sight. I did figure out that he knew “on your bed”. I pulled out one of Esa’s old beds (that she had torn a hole in) and he loves it. Whenever he thinks he’s in trouble, he heads for a bed (his or Esa’s). He’s a smarty – I went downstairs to get the laundry and told him stay (on his bed). Next thing I know, he’s down the stairs and I say “what are you doing?” and he goes running back upstairs. When I came upstairs, where is he, but on his bed!
Wednesday was Zed’s vet visit. My suspensions of Zed being something besides a Chihuahua mix and less than 10 years old were confirmed. Chrissy, our friend and vet from Companion Paws, believes he probably is more Jack Russell Terrier than Chihuahua, with everything else mixed in! As for the 10 years old, unless he has had a lot of dental work lately, he is probably more 6 years old than 10 years.
Zed has a VERY bad yeast infection – almost every other day he stinks. The treatment is topical unless it doesn’t get better and then it will be an anti-fungal medication. He has ear drops, mediated shampoo & conditional (2x a wk), and ear wash. So far so good - He has been itching less. We can also use Benadryl 2x a day also if needed. His blood work was good so if the topical meds don’t work, it’s the anti-fungal. He’s really good at letting me put the drops into his ears.
Zed is beginning to learn the schedule and is warming up to Esa. All Esa wants is for Zed to play with her. Of course Zed didn’t know what to think when Esa took her paw and slapped him! He growled at her. Zed gets overly excited when the leash comes out. For the last couple of days, he has learned that he needs to sit and wait when it is time for a walk.
We gave him his first bath on Wednesday after his doctor’s appointment and he did wonderful. Today was his second bath including an ear wash and he did great again.
Zed did play with Esa a little yesterday when Dan was outside with them. As soon as I pulled out the camera though, forget it. He was more interested in me.

Introducing the latest addition to the Wentz Family

"Official" annoucement that posted on Facebook & send out in E-mail

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Franklin Zednik Wentz (Zed for short)

Zed was adopted on Sunday, May 2 from the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. “Frank”, as he was known at the shelter, was estimated to be a 10 year old Chihuahua mix. Zed had been at the shelter since the end of February and won Ronalyn’s heart at the Thursday night mobile adoptions at Petco where she has been volunteering.

Zed came to the shelter as a stray (picked up by Animal Control) and was (and still is) in bad shape. He was skinny and missing fur on his ears, belly & tail. We are happy to say that he is on his way to getting his health back. He gained weight at the shelter and we have started to treat his VERY bad yeast infection. With the help of our vet and friend, we are estimating that Zed is about 6 years old and that he probably is more Jack Russell terrier and a Heinz 57 mix than a Chihuahua mix. We are excited to see what he REALLY looks like once the infection is under control – he might look like a totally different dog!

Sister Esa is ok with him. She wishes that he would play with her more than just hang out with her. Zed has already made himself at home and is learning the routine. We are VERY happy to figure out that he was already house broken and knows some commands (sit, stay, lay down, on your bed).

Oh – and yes, he’s named after a hockey player (and former Capitals player).

The weekend so far

Friday night, we were “required” to go to the Northern Virginia Urban League dinner. We had to go last year also. I was not looking forward to it. I definitely would rather just go home especially on a Friday night!
I check in and what table are we sitting at – Table 9.

It wasn’t as bad as expected. The Master of Ceremonies was Leon Harris from Channel 7. Funny guy! Definitely looks different in person than on TV.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Steve Perry. What a great motivational speaker for education. It felt like he was just preaching away at the podium. The other award recipient was Eric Aldolphe. What a story of accomplishment.

At the end, I hightailed it out of there and got home about 10 pm.

Since I didn’t really have a Friday night, Saturday morning was getting ready for my Creative Memories get-together. I cleaned some and ran to the store for snacks. Then it was time for lunch at Roy Rogers and then visit Frank at the shelter.

The visit went well. Dan fell for him. We did get to see his anxiety at the shelter – it seems to be set off by all of the other dogs barking. We took him outside and he was calm. Today we will bring Esa up to meet Frank. We know that it will all be up to Frank since Esa loves everyone.

The Creative Memories get-together went well! I was excited to have 7 people show and I got enough in sales to get the special price on the host package - which is what I wanted to scrapbooking until about 9:30 p.m.

Last night, I didn’t sleep too well. In the evening, it hit me – what are we thinking getting another dog! That’s what woke me up during the night too. I didn’t even sleep in this morning. I win at Wintergreen (the scrapbooking retreat I went to)! After the show, it was 3 of us was up at 6:30. I know I’m just anxious about it, but I know that if the meeting works out and Frank comes home with us, he will be a good dog. He’s smart and picks up the training fast. He’s just anxious at the shelter, but who wouldn’t be after being there for over 2 months?