How I made it through my week.

It’s been a tough week. Losing a pet is always difficult, but losing one so suddenly, and under such suspicious circumstances is even worse.

I feel like I’ve done it all. I’ve lost a pup-pup to old age; I’ve lost one to divorce; I’ve lost a dog suddenly to an accident; I’ve lost a dog to a sudden medical issue; and I’ve lost a dog who’s run away. And having been through that, this one seems worse. Maybe because the kids are old enough to have invested everything in their dog, and now she’s gone. Maybe because she was the good luck token we got days before the Red Sox won their most recent championship. (Okay, not really that. But maybe.) Maybe every single loss feels like the worst one.

You know, I’m kinda leaning towards that theory.

My friends and family, though – they’re awesome. I think they get it. I know they do. I am surrounded by dog people, and even though who aren’t devoted to pup-pups, they got how devastated I was. And so this happened:

Sympathy cards, encouragement cards, wine, chocolate, extra time with the girls, all kinds of flowers (!) [and thank god no one pranked me with hydrangeas because this just wasn’t the time], and then that photo. My cousin Kene (who, by the way, was the one who came up with the suggestion to name her Fenway) sent me a print of the red seat at Fenway Park. It marks the spot in the Lower Bleachers section in Right Field where the longest homerun – hit by Ted Williams, naturally – landed, clocking in at 502 feet. It was an incredibly thoughtful and personal gift. The girls and I are going to frame it and hang it up, making my home a little more like home Boston, and a great way to remember my pup-pup.

All of it has been very much appreciated. You all have been so sweet and so patient. Fenway was a very good dog, and she will not be forgotten.

Five for Friday.

Oof, it’s been a week.

1. You know it really, really has been a week when you have to make mimosas in the morning to make sure you get through your day. Fridays and mimosas should be the new peanut butter and jelly.

2. I don’t know about this Queen of the Night craze. Everyone – everyone – has been talking about Alexander Chee’s debut novel and it’s sold out of practically everywhere. I mean, even Amazon has sold out. The book’s supposed to be quite the big deal. I found a hardcover at B&N this weekend, but I wasn’t exactly enthused with the $28 price tag. Okay, yes, it’s more than 500 pages, but still! So I read the first few chapters yesterday, however many came with the free preview, and I’m still kinda meh. It’s reading much more like library loaner, not a book (e- or otherwise) that I need to shell out money for and read right! now! I heard the opera diva thing was just a topic, not an issue, but it still read to me like an opera-centric story. Go ahead and guess what I’m not a big fan of. We’ll see how this plays out.

3. I very nearly came home with a puppy last weekend. It seemed exactly like the right idea at the time, only Jeff wasn’t sure he was ready yet. So he killed the idea. I thought a 12-week-old lab puppy was exactly the right timing(!), and I think he’s crazy for passing up a slight crack in the I’m-a-one-dog-kinda-gal thing I have going. Even now, every time I go to sleep, I think how glad I am that I Jeff didn’t give in to the impulse. Sleep is delicious.

4. I’m looking for a really grabby book for reading on my phone at red lights and in store lines. I’ve been rummaging through Dark Tower 4 as part of my Stephen King re-read, but I’m kind of meh about that right now. Knowing Bag of Bones, one of my Top 10s, is next isn’t helping. Everything else I’ve been sampling has been okay, but not terrific. I need something super grabby so I won’t want to close the program and take my turn in or get impatient with traffic. It doesn’t help that I’ve read so many really good books lately. I’m convinced I have a spate of iffy books around the corner whenever I string together a bunch of good ones.

5. I’ve found a good routines for the mornings. Write my blog post, check in with my planner. Mark off days as “busy” for the month and then check in with the day and week ahead. Check in with my meal plan and blog ideas. Then read a few posts from blogs I follow and check the news for the day. It’s a nice routine and one that’s really been working for me lately. Except I fell off the routine wagon this week and have been bowing down to the Chaos Queen. Helter skelter has been my middle name this week, and I do not like it Sam-I-Am. Here’s hoping routine finds me again come Monday. Because GOD, JEB, chaos makes me cranky.

So there you go. A quick five things. What do you have going on today? Do I need to send over a batch of mimosas to share?

Spoiled rotten (if I’d let her).

I can’t even admit how much money I spent. Spoiler alert: it was a lot. In fact, it was double what I spent at any other store – and I stopped at store in which there aren’t as many secrets as advertised.

This happened:

See, Fen likes to go through toys like they’re free, or something. I buy her the really tough, can’t-be-ruined toys, and she likes them okay…but they’re not her favorites. Her favorites are those Kong toys that are covered in tennis-ball-type fuzz. I don’t know if it’s the fuzz or the smell, or the fact that she gets a kick out of turning the squeaker on and off by herself (I prefer “off”, myself), but she loves them. She’ll fling one across the room and play fetch with herself, even; that’s how much she likes them!

So what happened is that I stopped at PetSmart to buy Fen a new toy and saw that her favorite toys were marked down from $16 a pop to $6 a pop. On clearance. And you know how much I love a good clearance sale! So I bought every single one they had. Not pictured is a doggy-shaped larger variety that Fen had already been started adoring. (I’m not so mean as to hoard them all for later.) The shark was pricier – he was $20 and part of a new line. He’s squishy, has no squeaker, and seems like he could outlast even my destructo dog. We’ll see.

So that’s how come I’m down a goodish amount of money. And also why Fenway is mad at me right now. See, she has her Kong puppy that she’s been chewing on. And she loves him – it’s not like she’s deprived. Last night after taking the picture of the goods I have socked away, I cut the packaging off and gave Fenway the shark. But that wasn’t good enough for her. She spent the evening lying on her belly in the hallway, facing away from me, because she wanted another of the fuzzy Kong toys.

Of course, every time I took her picture, she acted all happy and interested until she realized I wasn’t giving in. What a sulker. She should check with the girls – sulking has no effect on my cold, cold heart. Or else we’d all be spoiled rotten. And broke!