So, most of yesterday and all of today off.

Tomorrow off to Morris, Illinois, yet again. I had to open my big mouth and tell my dispatcher a while back that I like that run.

And yes, I do like that run, but I don't like it more than going to Brownsville while the detention pay is running.  I can make as much in a two day trip going down there as I do on a 3 day trip to Morris.

Of course, the flip side is detention won't last forever and then I'll be getting these runs while everyone else - won't be getting these runs.  Or I would assume since she keeps giving them to me. I'm hoping to make it back up to Farmersville tomorrow - the sports bar won't be open for dinner by the time I get there but it's still a nice place to stop for the night and it's as far as you can get on the best day up towards the plant.  

Tomorrow is Sunday, so the prospects of making it there are at least good.

Today? I took both boys to the salon and got them haircuts.  They were both well overdue, then Kroger's, then the bank, then the gas station, then Super 1 and home.  We got back and the older boy wanted to go hiking.  Great idea! The younger one said he wanted to go, but it gets old listening to him screaming, crying, carrying on while we're just trying to enjoy nature.  He's going to have to get a bit older before he can enjoy it as well.

The problem is that the trails aren't exactly 5 year old friendly.  There are all kinds of obstacles and tho I help him over and around them, he still fusses and cries the entire time.  He doesn't really want to go on a hike, what he really wants is for me to take him Waffle House afterwards. 

Hence, he wants to cut the hike short and just leave.  No thank you.  If I can't build the park on the property, I'm sure going to enjoy it as a nice place to get away from everything.  The 7 year old loved the hike and didn't mention any restaurants on the way home - which made it even nicer that he didn't have ulterior motives.  So I suggested it cause' I wanted to go to Applebee's and have lunch.  

After that, home and started making road food.  I rather enjoy just having a fridge in the truck full of tasty food and not having to stop anywhere to buy food.  My intended stops will have me nowhere near any real food - excepting of course the bar and grill, but I know they will be closed by the time I get there, if I even make it that far.  

I think - completely changing the subject - that Biden truly believes he is a great man.  It is now being stated that the Biden economy is even worse than the Carter economy, which is not a good thing by any stretch of the imagination.  He's backtracked on so many things. Anyway, not going to go into that too much, I tire of the news and seeing the constant barrage of Biden this and that - mostly failures.  I just watched him saying that he's going to turn the military "completely green" and was proudly boasting that he's going to spend billions of dollars doing it.  Inflation at records high.  The absolute chaos at the southern border - etc etc etc - I'm sure most readers are well versed on what is going on in this nation. 

Anyway, the family went to someone's house with the boys for them to get with some other kids to play.  I stayed home to prep food.  Keto lasagna - it's cheese noodles - and they are really good lol.  I mean, you eat this lasagna and you don't know you're eating a keto version if you aren't told in advance, it's that good.  Some wings for the road and just get everything ready for tomorrow morning, it's going to be an early day.  7:00 am start time isn't much better than 6:00 am. It gets the day done faster, yes but that's about all it does.  

My whole strategy at the loading plant has changed. The loading times have changed and if you get there early, you are likely going to be sitting there a while. It's happened that way several times now, I'm showing up maybe 10 minutes early and that's it.  I don't want to waste my 14 hour clock needlessly, getting there early for no good reason.  It used to be you get there early and normally you'd get loaded quickly.  

That's it.  I'm still debating Arizona trip. It's ridiculously high airfare, I've tried numerous different sites and there isn't much difference.  I looked a month ago and it was ridiculous then as well.  Inflation, fuel prices, whatever, I don't know, but it's a lot of money for a 2-1/2 day stint.  

Oh, the Shepherd.  I finally had to part ways with that dog.  I have had her for several years.  I always pride myself in being able to train dogs this that and the other thing. In her case? I totally failed.  It's not for lack of effort, or lack of spending the money and time.  

Unfortunately, the problems have increased over time, not decreased.  Jumping the fence, going to the neighbor's yard, digging through their trash.  We started caging her as the neighbors were getting pretty mad about it. She can jump over a 4 foot tall fence without touching it at all.  

Incessant barking. I don't know how many of those vibration collars I bought to deter her from doing that. It's not a pain collar, it's apparently just a vibration that dogs don't like. Well, this dog doesn't care about it and will bark anyway.  That stuff went on for years, actually, as much as I tried to deal with it, I was never successful. She also taught the other shepherd to jump the fence, so now that dog is also spending time in kennels.  That one isn't my dog.  

Those two things were huge irritants to not only me, but everyone else in the house. Taylor gets the text messages about the dogs.  But, I wasn't willing to get rid of her, I really don't "believe" in that, but I guess anyone's beliefs can change in such things.  

Then we had the last few weeks. The dog jumping the fence and taking off. Not just going over to the neighbor's house.  Barking at people while in my bedroom at other people in the house. Chewing things up.  All kinds of things and attempting to destroy the carpeting in my room.  Digging at it likes it's dirt outside.  And the final straw for me: she started peeing in the house.  I think I'm an accomplished dog owner, but again, in this case, I failed miserably and I will own up to it. I put up with this behavior for years, trying to find ways to change it to no avail.  I've never had such a disobedient dog that would just do whatever she wanted to do regardless.

I can't have everyone in the house dealing with this dog peeing all over the place.  It's not like she's not given plenty of potty breaks outdoors.  

 However. Admitting that I have failed, having her gone? I don't miss her at all.  I don't miss feeding a dog that caused everyone in the house so much misery and irritation.  She will make an excellent outdoors dog - I would have done that if I were living on property somewhere right now, but I'm not.  I'm in a city and cities have dog ordinances and this dog wasn't just breaking several of those, she was also being a nuisance inside the home. It wasn't just me, I think is the point here, that her foul actions were affecting.  

Remember, I am not here all the time and I have to rely on my extended family - that's what I call them, I really feel like family here - to take care of my dogs when I'm gone. When I keep getting text messages about this, that and the other thing this dog is doing or just did, you can feel the anxiety and irritation that person is experiencing.  

I'm pretty sure the problem with her was the deal with her pancreas not producing some enzyme that helps digest food. Yes, I spent the money on the vet to find out the problem and I have months supply of the tablets I have to give her.  I doubled the dosage after seeing she was still not gaining much weight.   She was hungry all the time - yes she had all the food she wanted to eat.  As I said, I tried and i tried for YEARS. Not days, weeks or months, years.  

I hope to never have to do this again. Definitely not doing it with Addler - he has his quirks but he's a good doggy.  His whole demeanor has changed since the Shepherd has been gone and I must say, for the better.  The poor dog has obvious discomfort when running after that surgery which cut part of his butt hole out. Well I don't know if it's discomfort or just a new "arrangement" for dealing with it while running.  He still gallops through the forest like a stampeding elephant lol.  He's so dumb sometimes.  Today, we were going through the forest, he had gotten away from us, but I could still see him. I started calling him, he was looking around as if totally lost!  He finally figured it out lmao.  I'm not demeaning my giant doggy, he's all love and hugs. 

If you feel differently about me after reading that, that's your choice.  I will receive no condemnation about it.  I tried...and tried....and tried.  It was negatively affecting many people's lives.  

So beit.