December Recap: Part 1 — Stolen By a Bohlen

I must admit, it has been awhile since I've posted anything! I feel like the entire month of December came so quickly, and here it is almost February! Where does time go?

Well, we started off the month with ANOTHER photoshoot with Vader...a Christmas mini, if you will! :) It's official: this dog has more on-camera modeling experience than me! These pictures were taken by Franklin Kramer of FK Pet Photography for a fundraiser with PetNet. We enjoy taking advantage of their photography fundraisers as much as possible! Ben actually came to this one, so it was nice to have someone else there to help handle him.

We also got another schnitzel fix at the Bayern Stube when my amazing Uncle Joe came to town. Words cannot describe how great this man is! My sister and I are convinced that our father was the milk man's baby, because Uncle Joe has a heart of gold just like Poppy! Whereas, our dad was born without one. Nevertheless, we all had a great time getting together and catching up! We hope to come visit Uncle Joe this coming year, because it's been a long time since I've been out that way!

In other EXCITING news, I bought a car! Silver Fox has a twin! This isn't just a random Toyota Corolla off the block. It's my late grandma's car! I have always said that whenever my grandpa goes to sell this car, I'm buying it from him! Fortunately, I got a head's up from my Uncle Joe when we spent a couple hours drinking beers at Tryptich Brewery (it was a really good time!). He mentioned that Poppy was thinking about selling the car and upgrading to a Camry. I talked to Poppy the next day and reminded him that I'm interested.

He told me to name a price for him to consider (and that he would give me the "friends & family discount" lol). My heart started racing! I've never "wheeled and dealed" before! I have never bought a car on my own. I was nervous about paying too much or hurting my grandpa's feelings by offering too little. #ibitallmyfingernails

THANK YOU, JESUS for my husband! All those hours he spends combing Craigslist were actually valuable, because he usually has a good idea how much different cars are worth. We went over the Kelly Blue Book and NADA values to try to determine a ball park. I really don't know what I would have done if he hadn't coached me on how to buy a car/make a deal.

I was reeeeeally nervous when I sent the offer to my grandpa. I ended up offering him $1,200 (considering family discount, ya know!) and I also threw in a dinner date with me at the Bayern Stube (LOL...I thought it would seal the deal). He didn't answer me right away, which made me feel like I went too low. Finally, he said, "I can live with that." And, I jumped up and down in joy! The following weekend, we sealed the deal for $1,000 + dinner (he knocked off $200 and considered it my Christmas present lol) and I drove Marianne (named after Nanna) to her forever home.

I am OVER THE FREAKING MOON about buying this car! Ben told me he was really happy for me, because ever since I've reconnected with him, I've talked about buying this car one day, and I really did it! I'm really proud of myself for being in a financial situation where I can buy a car on a whim. It feels really good to adult like this. :)

We also took Vader to get neutered. We had mixed feelings about doing so, but decided that Bob Barker would be proud! I had an AWFUL experience with Paxton Veterinary Clinic, which is the sister company to Vader's primary vet. They do all the neuter procedures in Paxton. I don't have any beef with the doctors or the procedure staff, but I was treated very rudely by their front office staff.

I mean, how do you work in an environment with animals and not have a heart? Seriously! This lady needs to find a new career that doesn't involve social skills. I was so upset by the way the lady treated me when I dropped Vader off, but even moreso when I called to check up on him. Which, I already thought was ridiculous that I had to call to find out how the surgery went...How am I supposed to know when the procedure is over? Anyways, I call to ask, and she puts me on hold for 5 minutes, and then comes back and says "he's fine," in her monotoned, rude ass voice and then she didn't say another word. I stumbled through the phone call and then hung up and called Ben to tell him how much of a BITCH this lady was. I started to cry, because I started wondering if my dog was being cared for properly.

And you know what he did? He called up the place and said, "Hello. I'm calling to get some information on how my dog is doing after his surgery today. My wife called and talked to a rude lady that didn't tell her anything, so I want to know what's going on!" At first, I was like, "GO BEN! GO BEN! GO BEN! THAT'S RIGHT! THAT'S MY HUSBAND!" And then, I realized something...OH SHIT! I have to pick up my dog by myself tomorrow morning and talk to that lady! OH NOOOOO! (I do not like confrontation, if you haven't noticed).

Ben ended up getting permission from his dad to come with me in the morning to pick-up Vader. Turns out, that rude lady wasn't even working! The other lady wasn't very charming either, but she was a little bit better. We had to basically convince them to let us buy a cone from them, because we knew he would lick his nonexistent balls every chance he got. The lady kept telling us that he didn't need it, but he was licking it right there as she said it! They were definitely inexperienced because they gave us a cone that was far too big for him.

He kept running into everything. At first, it was funny, and then I realized that he couldn't even lay down comfortably with it on. I ended up driving to Hill Animal Care in Mahomet and a friend named Kirby helped Vader with a new cone and some cream for his inflamed incisions.

So, Ben and I thought that December 19th was a good time to get Vader neutered, because it was the beginning of my 2 week vacation from work, and we were planning on starting the renovation on our kitchen.

We thought he would be "sentenced" to cage rest and multiple naps. As you can see in the video, he was the same ol' wild child!

He couldn't be left alone, so I had to take him with me while I ran errands, went to the DMV, etc...driving around town in my little Toyota with a big poodle in a cone was NOT FUN!

Want to know why it was not fun?

I had a little bit of Christmas shopping leftover to do, so Vader had to come with me. I took him to Rural King to buy him a new toy and make him feel special. Ya, I know...I'm a good dog mom!

Everyone stared at us. Not because of his giant cone...No. They stared at us, because Vader knocked down every single display in the aisle everywhere we walked!

AND THEN, to make matters worse, I had to buy a gift certificate for my grandpa at his second favorite restaurant (second to Bayern Stube, of course!). Vader stayed in the car while I went inside.

Afterwards, I stopped by my grandpa's house, because he forgot to give me the car manual for Marianne when I bought her. I was probably gone for 2 minutes at best...-> THIS IS WHAT I FIND IN MY FRONT SEAT! He ate the rest of the gift certificate. Somehow, he managed to leave the most important part: the amount and the owner's signature.

So, I had to drive BACK to the restaurant and tell the owner what had happened. She looked at me like a kid telling his teacher that a dog ate his homework! I told her, I was just here 10 minutes ago and I bought this gift certificate from you. She acted as if I was trying to "pull one over" on her...Can you believe that? She was very hesitant to help me, and actually served other people in line after me before re-writing the gift certificate. Ugh!

Needless to say, Vader can't be trusted...with or without a cone!

I still don't know how he did it!

UNSOLVED MYSTERY!