The Light of My Life

Back in 2009, I decided since I had a fenced yard I might like a dog. I had always been a cat person ever since my mom got sick of all the pet store "rodents" (hamsters, guinea pigs, a rabbit and a hedgehog) I would bring home and suggested that my sister and I get kittens from Alwards grocery store (really, you find an ad for free kittens on the grocery store bulletin board and pick one up for free at the trailer park down the street, it's true - Mom knows all).

I have never had the urge to spend 24/7 training a puppy so I knew I wanted an older dog and one from a rescue. No one has yet to convince me why it's appropriate to buy a dog from a breeder or a pet shop when perfectly loving and deserving dogs are homeless and put to sleep permanently every day. 

I spent a lot of time looking on www.petfinder.com for my new companion. I decided on a Miniature Pinscher because there were lots of unwanted MinPins and they are adorable and look similar to the cute dog on the display posters in the pet section of Meijer.

I found a local rescue called Southern Star MinPin Rescue and went to an adoption event they held at PetsMart. I filled out an application online in advance and off to PetsMart I went. There were several MinPins there that day and the foster ladies were really trying to get me to choose this one little baby who had a gimpy leg. I held him for a while but it didn't feel right. So, I lied and said I was a runner and looking for a dog who could run with me.

I was about to leave and headed out of the store when a late arriving MinPin showed up with her foster mom. She was the most adorable MinPin there and she was soo soft. I knelt down to pet her a few times and told the foster mom I was very interested. I learned the MinPin's name was Hailey. She agreed to bring Hailey to my house in a few days for a home check. I purchased a book about MinPins (my mom always told me to buy a book whenever I wanted a new animal - this was the best idea when I wanted a bird, after reading the book about birds, I no longer wanted a bird) and left the store. 

I read about MinPins and how they are not the ideal breed for a first time dog owner but I didn't care. I was up for the challenge. Hailey came to visit with her foster mom and she immediately felt comfortable jumping into my couches and exploring. Yay! My home was approved!

This was probably the most fun part - shopping for a new dog!! Hailey owned quite a bit before she came to live with me. I had no idea what I really needed so I bought everything. I was told Hailey was  crate trained so I got her a new crate and filled it with warm blankets, toys, sweaters, and treats.

The day finally arrived when I got to leave work a bit early and go pick up my very own MinPin! I drove about 45 minutes and arrived to a home full of bouncing MinPins. Hailey was easy for me to recognize because she was the cutest. I signed paperwork, paid the adoption fee, picked her up for the first time (we looked awkward because I didn't know how to hold a dog) and put her in her new crate in the back of my Jeep Wrangler. We were going home!

Hailey has become quite the princess and she knows how to boss me around. Hailey literally herds me to her food. Hailey sleeps under the covers with me every night and loves to go wherever Justin and I go. She loves boat rides, camping, walks, car rides, you name it and she probably loves it. Oh, she HATES nail trims with a passion. She is the most loyal and loving being I have ever known. Hailey has always been there for me during happy and hard times. We've moved to new places and she's always adapted well as long as she has me. There has not been one time where I have come home to greet her and she not acted like it was the best surprise in the world. She cannot contain her excitement (bouncing and spinning) to see me every, single, time, as if it's been days since she saw me last. It really makes me feel special. 

I love Hailey and don't know what I would do without her!

Watertucky

Home Sweet Home

I've gotten many strange looks when I say that I love living in Waterford. But, it's a great place for us right now and the two main reasons are lake access and super low property taxes! I actually got a big refund check in the mail the other day because I had been overpaying my escrow account for property taxes for a year; so nice, I already thought they were cheap and now the Township is telling me "naw we're not even that much, here's money back!"

I have to admit the first drive Justin took me on through Waterford was not impressive. We arrived via Pontiac and it's definitely not the nicest introduction route to Waterford - here's a trailer park with yards not even the size of my office and crappy closed up businesses. Now, the way to direct visitors coming in to see us is 1) from the north come down Sashabaw and then over to Crescent Lake Road, and 2) from any other direction take numerous roads all with "lake" in their name to eventually get to Elizabeth Lake Road - it seems really out of the way but google maps assures me it's only like 5 minutes longer. Driving out of my way around lakes or driving through Pontiac, hmm lakes. I found that M-59 west of Crescent Lake Road is actually really nice and has every shopping option we need.

Our avenue is a particularly classy avenue that I'm slowly discovering more good details about. If we ever want to sell our home I hope prospective buyers also find these details amusing and not a hit to the property value.

The first abode is arguably one of the nicest on the avenue but has the misfortune of being located in the backyard of Waterford's "thumb bar." Yes, it's a bar yanked straight from the middle-top of the thumb of Michigan and stuck in Watertucky. It's really one of those that puts the tucky in the Water. Just picture women in pajamas with their 3 year old, also in pajamas, hanging out drinking (the mom, not the 3 year old), and also working as a bartender, with Joe Dirt on the dance floor falling around to the band so loud you cannot hear anything but the band, and oh yeah you can hear the cranky old men cussing every other word while enjoying their bucket of beer for $1 each beer - it's okay when $1 beer time is done because they go up to the regular rate of $1.25. Want food? What do you want? Good chance it's $1.

Next house, well they decided to re-side this beauty. A good idea since the paint is literally peeling in chunks off the old siding. But wait, driving a Benz was more important than finishing the new siding, you only really look at the front of your house anyway, right? Siding on the sides or back is highly overrated, especially when you have an old barn to party in out back. I bet you never remember what the back or sides of your house even look like after a good rave.

Another house - if you don't have room for a clothes dryer inside the next best place is the front porch. I'm pretty sure they figured out how to fit the dryer inside after about a year. What you do see, is relocate an occupant outside to put the dryer inside. Ever since the dryer disappeared, an old fifth wheel trailer appeared and we are positive someone is living in it. Every now and then a beat up old truck with a confederate flag painted across the entire hood shows up to reposition the fifth wheeler. Probably trying to obtain the best morning sunlight for the lucky tenant.

I'll post more about our avenue another time but I have to say we are doing a good job of fitting in - the other day we had our travel trailer in our driveway, Justin's truck there as well, our popup camper popped up half in the driveway and on an angle into our front lawn and my car diagonally in front of that, ha-HA! I would have been even better if we pulled our pontoon boat from the lake and parked that in the other half of our front yard, next to our neighbor's trailer with canoes that lives in his front yard year-round.