When Time Flies, Where Does It Go?

What an awful blogger I have been. Two months and no posts. Come to think of it, I haven't even read any of the blogs I used to frequent on a daily basis. Life has just been so overwhelming, and not necessarily in a bad way.
I'm always amazed at just how fast time goes by, and not only when I'm having fun. My life seems to just keep flying by and, even through the bad times, I'm shocked at how quickly the days turn into weeks and months and years.
Among the many things swirling around in this proverbial town called Amberville, there was the death of my dog, Danzig, last Sunday. It was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to try and overcome. He was just a baby, getting ready to turn 4 next month. In a fun twist of fate, he was born on my birthday and I used to always refer to him as my cutest gift ever. He died of kidney and liver failure... the vet at the animal hospital said there was absolutely nothing more we could have done for him because it was something that had been happening for a long time, probably since he was born. I felt absolutely awful and helpless, but we did everything we could to keep him comfortable on his last night. We took him home from the hospital so he could be with us in the comfort of our home and we cuddled with him until he died about an hour later.
I miss him so much and I think today was actually the first day that I didn't cry. I know I'll always miss him, but he taught me so much about kindness, patience, love and (with his passing) the acceptance that there are things in life I will never be able to control.
He also helped me to understand that I'm a lot stronger than I give myself credit for. Throughout the entire ordeal, Russell and I maintained the most positive outlook that we could. When they told us that he was doing poorly, we told ourselves that with the IVs and medical attention he would pull through it and he'd get better. When they told us that they didn't think he was well enough for surgery, we told them to keep him at the hospital no matter what the cost and that he'd be ready for surgery soon. When they told us to euthanize him because there was no way he was going to make it, we told them we wanted to take him home so that we could be with him and, perhaps because we were in denial, nurse him back to health ourselves.
At each negative turning point I told myself that I couldn't deal with any more, that I'd become physically ill if I got more bad news... and yet every time poor Danzig was dealt another blow I managed to listen and hope for the best.
Even when we had a funeral for him and we buried him under the weeping willow tree in our back yard, when I could hear my heart beat in my ears because I was crying so hard, I picked up a shovel and helped pour the dirt into his grave. I wanted to do whatever I could to carry some of what was happening on my shoulders. He was my baby, what else could I do?
I wish we could have had Ziggy in our lives forever, or at least for a while longer than we did.
The time really did fly by... and I have no idea where it went.

Ode to my aminals (misspelling intentional lol)!

I managed to get some "ok" pictures of all our animals. They are pretty hard to photograph. For one thing, I have a shitty little digital camera from Walgreens that cost us under $100. I feel bad calling it that, because it was a birthday present from Russell, and we were broke so it was the best we could do, but he's agreed that the quality is pretty poor, so I don't feel too bad stating it. It's also difficult to get the little buggers to stay still and look at us for a prolonged period of time. Their attention spans... well, let's just say it isn't easy. :P

I'll start with Ziggy. His full name is Danzig Gizmo (I'm leaving out the last name so I don't get potential internet stalkers). We call him Boo Boo for some reason, which is ok because he seems to like it. He's pretty aggressive, but only towards his squeaky toys, and occassionally towards his sister when she sticks her butt in his face, which she does a lot. It's actually quite comical. I *love* this picture. It captures his wonky eyes and adorable little hedgehog face perfectly.

We also have Ziggy's little sister, Maya. A lot of people ask us if they are really related, and yes, actually they are :). Maya has the same mom (different dad) than Ziggy. She is the most affectionate dog ever. She'll sit on my lap for HOURS. She's also got a one track mind and if you touch her, she rolls over immediately to get her belly rubbed. We're working on getting her a bit more socialized though, as she thinks that the front yard is her kingdom and anyone who enters our area of the cul-de-sac is some sort of threat to mainland security. I got a few good pictures of her... she's a little easier to photograph than Ziggy.

As you can see from the torn green rug in the background, we are also trying to get her to stop chewing on things. We've tried bitter spray and that doesn't seem to be working. I secretly dislike this rug anyways (Russell got it for free from his work), so I don't complain too much about it. I figure, it's better that she's chewing on the rug than the furniture... and it gives me an excuse to throw it out eventually... she's still not quite out of her puppy phase yet, so hopefully when she's done "growing" she'll stop chewing. If not, we'll have to look into getting her a crate, which I really would prefer not to have to do, unless it's absolutely required.

I like this picture of her a lot better, she seems to be more in her element when she's outside :)

Last (but certainly not least) is our cat, Satan... I mean Mystic. I know good parents aren't supposed to pick favorites, but I really feel a deep connection to our cat. It probably stems from me always being more of a cat person than a dog person. Mystic and I are partners in crime and we like to scare the shit out of daddy on a regular basis :P. Mystic's nickname is "Fuffoonutoo," which is a variation on the name "Flufanella," the cat from FraggleRock. He's spoiled rotten, evil, spastic, and I love him to death.

I love the picture of him by the window... I think it'd make an awesome Halloween card :P

Luckily, Ziggy, Maya, and Mystic get along really well... in fact, Maya is obsessed with Mystic, she won't leave him alone. The only issue with them getting along so well, is that I swear they occassionally come up with devious plans to get in trouble. Oh well, no matter how much mischief they get into, I can't help loving them!