Less Hustle More Coffee

Ahhh, well the big deal this week – again- is sleep. Roger has itched, scratched, and dug, and has not been able to sleep. It’s been like having a newborn. A few things have changed in the last month or so. He wants to go to bed with me but yet wants to stay up with George and so he’s been up and down and up and down – waking me each time as our bed is tall and he is a short fellow. So to get where he wants he has to be taken. However, if determined, he WILL jump off the bed and then he’ll be limping for days b/c he just can’t handle the jump. I’m afraid he’ll try and hurt himself so when he gets near the edge of the bed I can’t sleep then either.

He’s been given the Benadryl (thought about taking it myself but I hate to take anything beyond vitamins and my BP pill and I would really like to get off that). The Benadryl helped him sleep some over the weekend but didn’t phase him on the main night he was having issues night before last. George says he will get off early and take him to the vet to be checked on. It’s probably allergies. The bath over the weekend seemed to really fire him up and bother him instead of soothe him. He’s been itching in high gear since then. But he will get up wag his tail and be happy. He will moan and groan when it keeps bothering him. I’m thinking it’s just b/c like a human, he gets tired of itching and scratching.

Anyway, ya’ll have ideas for allergies in dogs? I hate to just change his diet b/c that leads to other issues. We finally found something they love too in the Fresh Pet and so I really hate to take that away. We also feed them Science Diet too.

Night before last Roger did his up and down thing during my 9:30 to midnight “best sleep” time. George came to bed probably sometime b/w 10:30 and 11:00 and I was still awake from Roger being up and down and scratching and digging. When George got in bed he began snoring and it was like sleeping in bed with a chainsaw. He always feels so bad that his snoring keeps me awake. But if I get to sleep in my 9:30 to 1:00 deep sleep, I don’t even notice him getting in bed and I don’t hear him start to snore, and if I wake up I’m usually groggy enough to go back. But if he beats me to sleep – I can’t do it.

I got up the night before last to find my earpbuds that go in my phone and was missing the little doey that connects it to the iPhone as a few years ago Apple changed the shape from a hole to a slit and now you can’t use the regular cord unless you have the little connector piece. Darn them. That was in my desk at work. So I couldn’t drown out the noise. So I really was concerned about having to do payroll on no sleep and decided to save what night was left and move to the sofa. The extra bed in the bedroom had stuff on top and I didn’t want to mess the sheets up in there. The sofa is comfy and so I slept in the living room until 3:30 where Roger had woken George up and George had to take him out. I got up, moved to the bedroom and slept like a baby until the rude alarm went off. I wanted and needed to keep sleeping but payroll called. So I think I had gotten to sleep sometime after midnight and so I got about 3 hours and then a few catnaps.

I was pretty awake though but really began feeling it after lunch. I semi hurried through payrolls so I could get them done before I ended up being thick headed with the need for sleep. My saving grace was that it was an easy week this week with not as much to enter except a few vacations.

I had to laugh when George sent me this email:

So what followed was him offering to move to the guest room if I couldn’t sleep from his snoring. And that we could swap rooms from time to time as we both like our King bed. I told him the only thing that really changed was Roger. If I get to sleep early and stay asleep we are good. I also can’t drink my (natural and vitamin packed) energy drinks with Isagenix after 4. I will drink hot sleepy time tea around 8 before bed. I will take Maisy to bed, shut the door. George will keep Roger with him until he goes to bed. Roger doesn’t get an option any more to sleep with me before George comes to bed. Roger stays with George til he comes to bed. Then I am asleep and can get my sleep.

So this worked last night and made it a normal night. He did go to the edge of the bed which I didn’t notice until I got up this morning so he got up with me instead of staying in bed with George. This adds about 8 to 10 minutes to my morning routine as he is slower, wants more time outside, has to have his buddig sandwich meat on his before he’ll eat his breakfast, and then I have to stand there and make sure Maisy doesn’t eat his after she eats hers. So then George gets up and has to wait for me to get out of the shower as it makes me move into his shower time, but he makes it up b/c he doesn’t have to do all the above with Roger as I’ve done it.

Sooo last night’s sleep was awesome. And the coffee is good. I DID fall asleep during the last bit of Below Deck. George usually wakes me up but I think he didn’t dare do it last night. The Sleepy Time tea kicked in as well as I was really already sleepy and we’d just had a wonderful meal (ham, potato cakes, and asparagus).

We have our Valentine’s set for Valentine’s Day. We are going to do one of the Asian/Pho places around and then on Saturday after Valentine’s we are set for reservations to go out and eat pizza at a place that gets great reviews with Kevin and Susan. I told George on Valentine’s Day I didn’t want to go to Nashville but just hang close in and so we’ve been wanting to go to some of the newer places. WE have not made reservations and actually may not. I don’t expect big crowds at these places and if one is crowded we’ll go on to the next. But at least we have a plan. I DO have reservations for the pizza place though.

Our cow and pig will be ready soon. We may have to go get it Saturday. Not sure if I am going or not. I will not go if threatening snow or if I feel I need to get things done here. We are going to meet up with our Crotchety Gourempt group (yes it’s spelled that way). Don’t know if it’s on purpose or a mistake but that is what we call ourselves. We are getting together Saturday and I’m making the salad. So I have to have time to make that and get laundry done. So we’ll see.

And I guess that is about all that is going on. Despite being tired and sleepy I worked on my to do list some. I have picked my dish for our French meal. It’s a potato au gratin dish made with guereyre (don’t make me look up the spelling, I’m running out of time) cheese. It looks so good. It will be rich but good. You make a cream sauce using some herbs -one is with fresh thyme. I found a good recipe for it and a funny little partner duo that cook, blog, and have their on YouTube show – called “Feeding the Loon” or something like that.

And I have my beefy Mac casserole that I’m making next week for us. The ingredients are on Alexa’s grocery list (she keeps my grocery list). And George and I worked on our bucket list for winter that will take us into spring. I was amazed as George listed off lots of things to do and I was a blank slate. Part of it was I was too sleepy and tired to think. But even as I tried to think of fun things to do and places to go – all I could think of was “I want to stay home and read and watch my shows” or “go visit things out west” (like that is going to happen on a Saturday afternoon, lol). I just enjoy my home time if I’m not traveling. Our excursions are fun but we’ve “excursioned” so much around here that it is not as exciting anymore. So as I filled the list with George’s things to do, I simply thought that…well we will do what George wants to do…and then scribbled in “Read 3 books” for me. It’s just ideas but I didn’t have any. :-(. I also added some time in to spend with Mom. This is a draft copy so no pics yet, but I’ll work on the final this weekend.

Oh, I finished Sally Field’s book and now reading (audiobook) on Captain Lee (the Below Deck captain). It’s pretty interesting. And I better get ready and get myself to work.

Ya’ll have a good rest of the week.