So the trial of working from home transitioned to working from home full-time. I won’t lie, it’s AWESOME! I’m still finding the balance. I miss seeing my work friends everyday and I miss wearing all my cute clothes but dressing up to stay home seems borderline Kardashian so… and we need to get on a different dog walking schedule than EVERYONE else in the neighborhood (my dogs don’t love their own kind — Melvin is more tolerant, Jake foams at the mouth).
The biggest plus to me working from home, the dogs have a new-found calmness. It’s hard to explain. They are just more relaxed, Melvin has even stopped barking at every fake noise. Also, they have both loosened their velcro grip on me. They have ascertained that there is no exit out of the office (I’m not a climb-out-of-the-window kind of girl). One way in, one way out. So they allow a little space every now and then. Sometimes, not always, but every once in a while, I even get to go the bathroom alone. Who knew how delightful privacy could be!
Here they are: hardly working. 
So I’m home more now. The boys are doing great. Seems like a good time to try new things!
- I want to get the boys to the beach/beach house. This requires a 7-hour road trip with two dogs. Totally doable. I think.
- Take the boys for more separate walks. Don’t get me wrong, our together walks are awesome but I want to take some time out for each dog since they have different walking needs. I miss my walks with Melvin and I want Jake to feel like he is not being rushed. It will also be good practice for them to get used to being left at home without the other for a little while.
- Get Jake’s wheels. He doesn’t need them all the time but it will be good to get him used to them slowly for a time when he does.
- Volunteering. Animals, humans, yes please.
- Fostering. There will never be a better time than right now when I can be home more often and have time to work on the foster and on getting the boys used to four-legged (or tripod!) visitors. I should set the expectation here: I fully expect to foster-fail (in the good way).
- That’s it, geeze I do still have to work also!
What are some of your upcoming goals?
I work from home too! It is hard sometimes, like you said, I rarely get to dress up, and I don’t meet new people, etc. However, it allows me to foster puppies and senior dogs (both who need more human time). Plus, my dogs get to hang out with me all the time. I still rarely get to go to the bathroom alone though, so good luck with that one!! 😉 A great benefit is that I am reminded daily how much I love my dogs, and how much joy they bring to my life. I have to travel to my office every few months, and I always miss my pups. It’s nice to feel that I am spending as much time as possible with them, considering we know how short their lives are compared to our’s. <3
I did a 14 hour drive to and from BlogPaws with the dogs this year, so I think a 7 hour road trip sounds awesome and so so easy.
Moby can give the boys a few pointers for a road trip – ours was 17 hours! We only did 14 in one day and 3 the next morning, but not only was he an AWESOME passenger, he seemed to always know that stop=potty.
And yeah, separate walks are definitely a good thing! Boney can’t keep up with Moby so almost all of our walks are separate…but when we go together it’s kind of a treat to have the whole family!
Glad you’ll be spending more time with the boys and the potential foster 🙂
We drove from PA to Florida (18 hours) with 3 adults, 2 toddlers, and 2 dogs. We made it and still had a shred of sanity!
YAY for you, also! That’s awesome. I wish I could do that a few days a week!!
I envy people who can work from home…Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. Not because the choice isn’t available, but because I would get NOTHING done! I would spend more time playing with the dogs and working on house projects than I would actually working. Office time is a necessity for me.
Yay for fostering! I can’t wait to see who the lucky fella/gal might be.
I’ll admit I’m insanely jealous of you right now. I’d love to be able to work from home (my hubby does it and I’m jealous of him too).
As far as a road trip we moved 8-9 hours from Kansas to Colorado with Boomer and Dottie, it can be done!
Awesome news, glad it’s all worked out! I think you guys are definitely up for a road trip. As long as the pups are tired they’re generally content to snooze for most of my trips.
This makes me all sorts of happy! Yay to fostering! Yay to beach house visits! Yay to working in pj pants! Yay to you and your boys! 🙂
YAY for working from home! I love it! I do miss wearing cute clothes. And leaving the house on occasion. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Our current goals: Keep working on “enough” to calm Cooper’s frantic barking and daily individual walks. That’s all I can muster for now! 🙂 You can totally do the roadtrip, btw! Rest stops are fabulous for traveling with dogs… lots of hidden highway gems for going for mid-drive walks!
I wish I could work from home at least 2 days a week. On the rare occasion that I do it, i’m actually more productive because I try to justify it.
I can’t wait to read about your volunteer activities and to “meet” your future foster (failure).
We did our first trip to Grandparents a few weeks ago (from RVA to PGH, in the rain and fog). Wrapped both of them in thundershirts, did 4 bathroom breaks. I packed water in Tupperware containers to make it easier to give them water w/o spilling it everywhere.
I love all of your goals! Especially fostering – I wish SO badly that I could foster! But my dog, unfortunately, is a bit of a jerk. 🙂 Can’t wait to read all about your fostering adventures in the future 😀
Paws up to you for working at home with Melvin & Jake! Do your hard workers get paid biscuits for overtime? And if it’s time for Jake’s wheels, I think ya gotta “trick out” his ride–his carriage requires streamers hanging from the spokes, a pair of fuzzy dice, and a boom box affixed too! (The bass must thump, of course. Heart-stopping loud. He’s Jake!!!)
I was home so much when Humphs and Bella Bean when writing my diss…It was pawsome most of the time–except they laid on the guilt *hard* when I did go out! And they managed to possess my lap (yup, two hard-headed Frenchies, each one hoarding one of my legs) making me ditch the ergonomic setup that I’m still paying off, along with new back and neck aches!
Smooches to your pooches!!!
Cheers
Rebecca