Finally, the day has come where we move OUT of this tiny, one bedroom apartment and upgrade to a two bedroom with a fenced in backyard (and where people don’t die in our apartment pool - but that’s a whole ‘nother story!). I’ve actually got about 3 hours before we can get the keys, so I’m somewhat relaxed. I plan to do the dishes, read a little, and study in the next three hours. Hunter and Romeo are both sound asleep and the only noise in my apartment is the fishtank because it’s low on water (easier to move when it’s like that).

Sometimes, I go through tough times. Nothing particularly bad goes on in my life, I just don’t always have the most positive attitude. In the past several weeks, I’ve realized how easy it is for me to go from being in a great mood to seriously hating my life. It’s like someone has flipped a switch, and that concerns me.

But to be honest, I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family - despite the major drama we have going on from time to time - they are supportive of me and only want what is best for me. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Tom. I can’t wait to take on his last name and make our relationship the most official it can be. My little kitty cat makes me so happy, too - he knows just how to cheer me up. I really think animals know when you’re sad or upset, even if you’re not outwardly showing it. This new little puppy is already very protective of Tom and I, too.

School is going well, I have the most amazing friends a girl could ask for, my bills are paid, there’s food on the table. I have a good job, go to a GREAT university, and have spent the last three years of my life living it up and enjoying myself immensely. I’ve grown a lot, and learned even more about myself than I ever could imagine.

With all of that being said, why shouldn’t I be more positive? I need to learn to push the negative thoughts away - as I just demonstrated, there is no reason to have the negative thoughts. There’s nothing about me that needs to change - maybe minor things, like not cursing so much or getting more exercise - but I’m not a bad person. I am compassionate, helpful, genuine, and trustworthy. Daily, I need to remind myself of this because in some cases where confidence is essential, I’m being held back. Considering the way my life is right now, why shouldn’t I be more confident?

What precautionary measures do you take to ensure the personal safety of you, your family, your belongings, and your home?  I have several different measures that I take.  For one, the sliding glass door is kept locked, the pin in, and a large piece of wood is kept in the track.  If I need to go in and out the door a lot, I remove the wood but always keep the pin in and the door locked.  As far as the front door, since I moved into my apartment I always make sure to lock the door behind me - even during the day!  I make sure the front door is locked and deadbolted when I’m going to be upstairs - showering, using the bathroom, getting ready, etc.  This ensures that no maintenace people will be entering my apartment at these times.  When I’m away from my apartment for the weekend or a longer period of time, I leave all curtains and blinds closed.  Sometimes, I will leave one light on upstairs but because of increasing electricity costs, I have stopped doing that.  Windows remain locked unless they’re open during the cooler months of the year, and I keep the blinds and curtains closed at night so no one can peek in to see what items I have that they might want to break in to steal.

As far as personal safety when I’m not at home, I make it a point to walk in well lit areas at night.  I very rarely walk by myself and purposely do not take walks after twilight.  If I have to (sometimes I have to wait for the bus after my night class), I carry my keys and cell phone in my hand.  Things like mp3 players and cell phones (while in use) distract an individual from what may be going on around them - so, be well aware of your surroundings if you’re on the phone or have your earphones in.

In extreme cases - living in a not very good part of town or visiting a not very good part of town - I urge women to purchase mace (also known as pepper spray).  Pepper spray can be kept on your keychain and can successfully deter a purse snatcher or other criminal in an instant.  Some sprays temporarily blind the assailant which gives the victim time to run and get help.  Others make identifying an assailant easy because they leave a spray on the victim which is unwashable and still on clothing several hours after the assault.

The most important thing about defense products is not where to buy mace or other products; in fact, there should be no question. Always protect yourself as much as possible. Purchasing pepper spray or another defense product will ensure your safety.

Everything is going so well!  Tom and I took Hunter to a local dog park yesterday.  He’s funny when he’s on a leash - he doesn’t walk ahead of you, and frequently stops behind you and just parks it.  Then, when you call him and tug on his leash slightly, he comes RUNNING up to you at full force!  When we got to the park, there were several other large dogs who ran up to him.  We decided it was a good idea to let him socialize a little bit (if the other dogs came up to him, fine, but we weren’t pushing).  One of the dogs wanted to smell Hunter, but he kept running away, which caused the other dog to start chasing him.  A couple puppy barks later, he came running to hide behind Tom.  It was sad and sweet at the same time.  We continued to throw his ball and walk the perimeter of the park (this time, away from the other dogs - there were two full sized pit bulls running around and we were a little afraid of them).  When we got home, he was tired out (of course!) but so were we.

He gulped almost a full bowl of water when we got home, took maybe four steps, and peed.  Oops!  We hadn’t learned his signs of needing to potty yet, but now we do.  He has piddled a little a couple more times, but nothing significant.  I think the best job he has done so far with potty training is waking Tom up to go out in the middle of the night - he didn’t have a single accident!  We attempted to put him in his crate for the night, but he barked and whined.  Since it was a long, hard day for him we figured we’d hold off (and try to find more information on crate training so we did it the right way).  Needless to say, Tom slept on the couch, Hunter next to the couch, and Romeo and I in bed.  We’re trying really hard to give Romeo an equal amount of attention and ensure he knows that he can still be in the same places he was allowed (and enjoyed) before the puppy came along.  Romeo seems a little bit upset still, but is adjusting well.  He and Hunter have rubbed noses a few times, and although there has been some hissing, we don’t expect any problems (usually Hunter just comes up to Romeo too quickly and that’s why he hisses).

With that said, do ya’ll have any advice on crate training for puppies?  I found one web site that seems very informative - click here - but I’d also like some more personal suggestions/ideas.  We also went to Petsmart earlier and bought a puppy book.  I know that sounds dumb but I really wanted to impress upon Tom the necessity to train and raise our puppy properly.  Since he has never had a puppy before, I figured a book would be good because he can bring it to work and use it whenever he wants to know something about the puppy.  The internet is a great resource, too, and I keep reminding him of that.  I don’t want to spoil Hunter’s perfection.  This dog is literally perfect, and I’m not just saying that because he’s mine!  He doesn’t nip like most puppies do, he’s SO! happy and affectionate, is already recognizing his name, and stops doing whatever it is he’s doing when we tell him to stop.  I’m truly amazed at this dog.

This is the yellow lab/hound mix that Tom and I adopted this morning from an animal shelter in our area.  His original name was Ronny, but neither of us liked it so we’re going to call him Hunter.  He’s 10 weeks old and in perfect health!  We have bathed him (he apparently rolled in dog poop this morning when he was with the other puppies of the litter), set up his crate (for at night) and he’s got plenty of toys to play with.  We introduced him to Romeo and both of the animals were perfectly fine with each other.  Romeo seems kind of perturbed at me (”Why another animal?  WHY!?”) but I think he’ll be alright.  This is going to be quite the adventure :)

On Tuesday, I blogged about getting reading glasses and ZenniOptical.com. Apparently, a lot of people have had positive experiences with this company because someone recently saw Zenni on Fox! This is great news for a company such as ZenniOptical because it gets the word out that they have affordable, stylish frames. Typically, if people see a product, service, or company on the news, they’re more likely to use that product, service or company. Seeing the product on the news (in a positive light, that is) helps the company’s reputation and helps consumers rest easy that they’re dealing with a reliable company. Even more evidence that ZenniOptical is who you should trust when you purchase your next set of glasses!