Getting Things Done with Delores*

(*If you understand that reference, YAY!)

Today’s new word: rara avis.

It’s one of the options that comes up in the thesaurus when you’re looking for synonyms for “freak.” I had opened the thesaurus at random in a moment of boredom, and that’s the first thing that I saw. Cool.

I’m feeling off today, and I think it’s just that I’m excited for vacation and don’t want to think about serious stuff, but at the same time, I have two significant to-do lists to tackle over the next couple of days. One is my work to-do list, as I try to get things finished early so I can relax while I’m away; the other is my general list of errands and tasks.

Yesterday I got a lot done, really, so that’s something. I used my Roadrunner Sports coupon on the final day it was still valid, and bought a hydration belt and some samples of different gels, beans and water supplements to try out. It was good to finally get that stuff. I thought I’d like to just have my hand-held water bottle for the long distances, but it turns out I’m sick of it. Plus, I’ve been wearing the strap a little too tight and I ended up with little friction blisters on the sides of my pinky and index fingers last week. Nope. It was time for the somewhat-dorky-looking hydration belt.

“Hydration belt” as a phrase cracks me up. It sounds so technical and fancy… when in reality, it’s a glorified fanny pack that holds two little bottles. So many runners use them, and I was one of the last holdouts on my team to get one. (The other girls don’t appear to drink on their runs, which is crazy! Sure, at 2.5 miles out, there is a big water cooler placed by our coaches, and they use that, but still. It seems risky to run in AZ summer weather without water. I shake my head in their general direction.)

I haven’t tasted the gels and other stuff yet. That’s for a little later, I think. I’m not going for long enough distances to need it yet. But it’s good to have it, so I am ready.

I also bought an electric lawn mower yesterday. I charged it to a credit card, but I really did need it. I’ve finally gotten smarter about my yardwork. Sure, it’s admirable to cut my grass by hand with the reel mower (cheaper, better for the environment, etc) but in reality it’s a killer on my back and takes much more effort than I need to be using, when there are so many other things I need to get done around my house. If tools exist to make a job easier, I should probably take advantage of that! Anyway, I couldn’t wait to use it so I cut my lawn late yesterday afternoon and it was WONDERFUL. Very easy to use, and neat, since the bag caught the clippings… ahhh. It’s things like this that make Responsible Adult Me(TM) happy. I was still exhausted when I was finished out there (and I didn’t even finish, since a dust and rain storm moved in), from weeding, but it was a lot better than the way the reel mower situation works. No going over and over and over the same spots trying to get all the blades cut; no raking of clippings; no hand-trimming with the scissor-looking grass clipper to get the stuff the mower couldn’t get… Just push the mower, and that’s it. I love it.

I still have to do lots of laundry over the next couple of nights, dye my hair (which is so overdue it’s embarrassing) and get a haircut to get rid of my split ends (the last haircut was in February, I think). I want to clean the whole house very well before I leave, too, since my Mom will be house- and pet-sitting while I am away.

In PET NEWS…

* We have officially switched to a new groomer! This is big news for Hurley and I, as we’ve been going to the same place for almost 3 years now. But I decided to switch for a couple of reasons. One is that the old groomer is pretty far away from where we live now. It was close to the rental house, but definitely not this one. Two is the groomers themselves don’t seem very professional. The last time we were there, one of them was calling Hurley a “border collie” (???) and telling me I never should have started cutting his hair in that ‘puppy cut’ because it would destroy the texture of his coat. Third, I question what goes on in the back room. They groom the pets well out of sight of any customers, and that makes me suspicious. Hurley’s sensitive about being groomed, and I began to wonder if he was getting handled roughly back there… the poor guy would shake and do everything he could not to go in the back when I dropped him off, and I had enough of it.

The new groomer is right down the street from us. Her website is done so well, with a photo gallery and customer reviews. She also donates a small percentage of her total profits to local rescues, which is a nice thing to find out. We went to our first appointment with her on Friday, and the second we walked in, I knew we had found the right place for Hurley.

The place was spotlessly-clean, but welcoming, with a black & white checkered floor and colorful walls and decorations. Candles were burning in the lobby, which was a nice touch. The grooming room is right behind the reception desk, and wide open, so anyone could watch them. They only hand-dry pets, which is so much nicer than those huge cage-dryers that can sometimes overheat an animal. And finally, two cats were wandering about the lobby.

Hurley was put at-ease immediately by the sight of two friendly cats! One of them came right up to him, and they sniffed and his tail began to wag. They were clearly dog-savvy cats, so if Hurley can be in a place where there are cats to calm him down, that’s just perfect. When I picked him up at the end of the day, he was happy and looked BEAUTIFUL and smelled so good… he still smells wonderful! His coat is shiny and super-soft, and they did the ear cleaning, teeth brushing and anal glands as part of the package (not extra charges like they are at the old groomer). Overall? Only $5 more than the old groomer. Wow. Totally worth it!

Since they also groom cats there (I saw one getting shaved when I picked Hurley up; I thought it was a dog at first!), Simon might get to visit that place sometime, too… we’ll see if he ever needs it.

* Gremlin continues to be a little insane, but I’m getting used to it now. He and Simon play SO MUCH. And Gremlin’s always got tufts of Simon-hair stuck on his paws/claws, or in his mouth. I’m constantly picking wads of orange hair off of this cat (and the carpets and furniture). I’m glad they enjoy one another so much, although sometimes one of them cries out; I imagine they’re saying: “Stop it! Get off me! I’m gonna tell Mom!”

This morning as I was on the treadmill, Gremlin was perched on my desk chair. Hurley came in and was playing with him–snapping his jaws at Grem, and ducking Gremlin’s smacks and grabs. At one point, Gremlin got his claw caught on Hurley’s fur, and Hurley walked around the chair to get away– but it ended up just spinning the chair, and by default, Gremlin… and it looked so funny! For some reason, the fact that “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. was playing at the time only made it more hilarious.

*Simon? What can I report about him, other than he has totally taken Gremlin under his furry wing (leg). He’s not sick anymore, and is just running around a whole lot with Gremlin and playing with Hurley whenever I vaccuum or use that evil salad spinner. He’s being affectionate with me again, and talking a lot. I love when I come home and there are two cats squeezed up on the living room windowsill, watching for my car. Orange and black– perfection. My Halloween cats. It’s great how it’s all worked out.

(Much later–)

This post has taken ALL DAY to complete. And I don’t have anything else of importance to add, so I’ll end it here. Thanks for reading!