D Irene R.

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"To live my life the best I can."

San Diego, CA, USA
female
single, 1 child
Speaks: English
Joined Jun 28, 2002

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I'm a survivor, a strong person. Despite almost continual abuse as a child, I became a career woman,and a single Mom. Despite alcoholism, and drug addition, I am now clean and sober for ten years. Everything I did in my earlier years I did despite the weight of my problems. At present I am medicated for my mental health problems of depression and anxiety. Life is better now although I am disabled, and ride an electric wheelchair to get around. I also have a wonderful companion. His name is Donovan, he's a boxer, a dog, that is! I wouldn't trade him for anything. I have a chocolate lab puppy that I am training to be the successor of my boxer when he can no longer work. My boxer will get to relax and enjoy life, with me.

I have a grown daughter.

I like to read mysteries, and take photos. I used to like horseback riding, too.

Personal		Professional		Contact		Singles

Joined

Jun 28, 2002

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Casual

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A Healing Place for Adult Children of Addicted Family Systems, Animals Helping Humans, Boxer Buddies, Boxer Dog Lovers, Chocolate Labs, Dog Lovers, FRIENDS OF BILL W., Judaism, Rescued Dogs/Service Dogs/Therapy Dogs/Austism/Psychiatric, Union of Concerned Scientists

Hometown	Davenport, IA
Homepage	http://my.care2.com/imtinydragon
Birthday	June 28
Languages	English
About Me	I'm a survivor, a strong person. Despite almost continual abuse as a child, I became a career woman,and a single Mom. Despite alcoholism, and drug addition, I am now clean and sober for ten years. Everything I did in my earlier years I did despite the weight of my problems. At present I am medicated for my mental health problems of depression and anxiety. Life is better now although I am disabled, and ride an electric wheelchair to get around. I also have a wonderful companion. His name is Donovan, he's a boxer, a dog, that is! I wouldn't trade him for anything.
	Introduce yourself to D Irene
Lifestyle
Pets	One cat
Activist Aspirations	Casual
Political Leaning	Liberal
Religions	Spiritualist
Eating Habits	should eat better
Wild Fact About Me
My Philosophy	Live the best life you can.
What Gives Me Hope	Seeing people do wonderful things.
If I were Mayor, I'd make the world a better place by	Solar energy would be number one. There would be no oil or natural gas dependency.
What/who changed my life and why	The Color Purple. Because I saw how the most downtrodden did have power if they chose to use it.
What Bugs Me	False friendship, Anyone that hurts any living creature, People's carelessness
Passions
Inspirations
What Scares Me	uneducated people, Global Warming! My biggest Scare
Favorites
Role Models	Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, Nelson Mandela
Quotation	I pledge allegiance to the dream, and to the struggle which it demands one world indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Helen Baldwin
Interests	Animals, Pets, service dogs, solar energy, earth-sheltered housing, healthy eating
Books	Mysteries by Faye Kellerman
Music	blues, New music, Jazz
Movies	True Lies, The Color Purple
TV Shows	Law and Order SVU, NCIS-love Gibbs and Abby, House M.D
Favorite Foods	Chocolate, cheese, coffee
Favorite Places	Home
Can't Live Without	Alcoholics Anonymous, My Power Chair, My service dog, my meds, food, shelter
	Introduce yourself to D Irene

Friends of D Irene

Dee C.

Yvette T.

Grethel R.

Laura K.

Michael O.

View all: 11 friends

D Irene's Sharebook

	At Home with My Furbabies (Jan 10) ... more »
	At Home with My Furbabies 2 (Jan 10) ... more »
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D Irene's Photos

223 photos, 11 albums »

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Sep 22, 2009 3:12 AM
D Irene R. (12)	After the eleven month old boxer went his way, I got a chocolate lab puppy. She was three months old when I got her, and in the month I've had her I've pretty much housebroken her. She is a wonderful dog. The exact opposite of the aforementioned boxer. Her name is Ziva, which means "splendid." She is splendid.
Jun 30, 2009 2:37 AM
D Irene R. (12)	The eleven-month-old boxer went back to the breeder because he was to aggressive to be a service dog. I got back exactly half what I spent for him, and am still paying on his healthcare plan. I had him neutered and that is expensive, so the healthcare plan won't be paid off until a year after I started it. Am I turned off on getting a new puppy for training to be my service dog? No. I will be getting a labradoodle puppy in September. A labradoodle is almost a sure bet as a service dog, so this should be a much better experience.
Jun 30, 2009 2:37 AM
D Irene R. (12)	The eleven-month-old boxer went back to the breeder because he was to aggressive to be a service dog. I got back exactly half what I spent for him, and am still paying on his healthcare plan. I had him neutered and that is expensive, so the healthcare plan won't be paid off until a year after I started it. Am I turned off on getting a new puppy for training to be my service dog? No. I will be getting a labradoodle puppy in September. A labradoodle is almost a sure bet as a service dog, so this should be a much better experience.
Feb 17, 2009 3:04 AM
D Irene R. (12)	I have a new dog. An eleven month old boxer, male. His name is Dazzler. He's a great dog but he has pretty big paws to follow. He's supposed to replace my service dog, Donovan. Donovan is eight years old right now. By the time I train Dazzler, Donovan will be ten. Boxers are supposed to live eight to ten years, but many have lived to be twelve. Time will tell.
Jul 12, 2008 10:10 PM
D Irene R. (12)	July 3rd. This is number ten.
Jun 28, 2008 5:51 PM
Dee C. (508)	Wishing you a wonderful birthday..Hope you enjoy it all day through.. Big hugs.. D~
May 12, 2008 8:32 PM
Dee C. (508)	Hope today is a good one for you.. Hugs.. D~
May 10, 2008 11:45 PM
Dee C. (508)	Have a happy one.. Hugs.. D~
May 1, 2008 10:43 AM
Dee C. (508)	Haven't heard from you..and I'm hoping all is well your way.. Hugs.. D~
Jan 24, 2008 10:50 PM
D Irene R. (12)	With the holidays over, winter begins. Winter for California means Rain. Some of which is real rain, but mostly, this far south, it's showers. This is the wettest winter since the first one I was here for. That winter the sidewalks of the apartment complex I lived in flooded. We had to put stepping stones along so we could get to the public sidewalk. It's not that bad here and now. Of course if I were still in El Cajon, it might be. It rained pretty good last night. Showered earlier today, and has now not rained in nearly four hours. There are a multitude of dark clouds out there, though. I expect another night like last night.
Dec 29, 2007 4:15 AM
D Irene R. (12)	Christmas has come and gone. I'm neither sad nor happy that it has. Unless of course you count my just being happy because of Christmas. LOL! Does that make much sense? I had a good Christmas. A genuinely good Christmas, with presents and everything. There's nothing else to say. Oh, I went to the doctor and we managed my medications so that I wouldn't sleep my life away. As much as I enjoy sleeping in my new bed, and as much as I enjoy my occasional naps, I want to be awake for my day. This way I am.
Dec 29, 2007 4:15 AM
D Irene R. (12)	Christmas has come and gone. I'm neither sad nor happy that it has. Unless of course you count my just being happy because of Christmas. LOL! Does that make much sense? I had a good Christmas. A genuinely good Christmas, with presents and everything. There's nothing else to say. Oh, I went to the doctor and we managed my medications so that I wouldn't sleep my life away. As much as I enjoy sleeping in my new bed, and as much as I enjoy my occasional naps, I want to be awake for my day. This way I am.
Nov 19, 2007 1:47 AM
D Irene R. (12)	Last night I slept on my "new" bed, in my new bedroom. The bed is a double (or full) mattress atop some planks set on the framework of a queen bed. I slept very well. Woke up an hour early, and did nothing special.
Nov 18, 2007 7:03 AM
Dee C. (508)	And Sweet Dreams To you..with loving Hugs.. D~
Nov 18, 2007 6:43 AM
D Irene R. (12)	This is it. Tonight I sleep in my new bedroom for the first time.
Nov 12, 2007 1:20 AM
D Irene R. (12)	I am hanging in there. My bedroom has been painted. The carpets have been shampooed. The dressers have been moved in I have the frame for the queen size mattress. Now I need lumber, specifically one by twelve planks, to make the foundation for a queen size mattress to be put on. I also need the queen size mattress. I can't afford either of these things. So it will be a while before my bedroom is complete. I keep the dream of it fresh in my head by imagining different bed linens on the bed, and imagining sleeping in the bed. For the first while, I will be sleeping on my double bed mattress on the floor. I hope the mattress is soft enough for me to stand lying on the floor. I'm sure it is. After all I'm lying on wood now.
Oct 18, 2007 1:03 PM
Dee C. (508)	Hope it finds you well..and happy.. Big hugs.. D~
Sep 25, 2007 9:33 PM
D Irene R. (12)	The caregiver I fired came and got the last of her stuff. Actually, she sent her boyfriend to get it. The caregiver I thought quit on me didn't. But it's too late to keep her working for me because her feelings are hurt. (Poor thing) The remaining caregiver is waiting for the papers telling her how much she can work, before starting to work for me. My apartment is getting messy. The cat litter stinks. I'll have to throw it out and put in new. Such fun. If only I didn't hurt so much all the time. The lycra works only if I take it easy. How do you do that? I will just be glad to get Maria working for me. Maria is the last caregiver. She does a really good job, and she always shows up. We'll see how driving with Donovan goes.
Sep 9, 2007 3:41 AM
D Irene R. (12)	My caregiver got all her things out of my room. She still has part of it on my patio, so I called her today to come get it. She says she will tomorrow or the next day. I hired a different caregiver. She quit on me. I guess I didn't realize how different she was. Now I have a bid in on another caregiver. She is reliable, and has a car. On the minus side, she's afraid of my dog. I will have to sit and hold my dog on his leash the entire time she's here cleaning. Or tie him outside. That'll work except for the day she does laundry. That day I'll have to sit with him on his leash. There's always a trade-off.
Aug 20, 2007 5:49 AM
D Irene R. (12)	That next thing... Is getting my former caregiver's belongings out of my bedroom. I'm afraid it's going to take a welfare company to remove it all. They will be getting some good stuff, and some junk. I am sort of stupified about this entire thing. I can't think about it anymore because there's nothing I can do. I can't get her to show up and pack her things. I can't get her here with a truck to move the things. I am not calling her again. Calling her would only put me at her mercy, and she has none. She said once that we had to talk about this. There's nothing to say. I said it to her a month ago when I told her she had to be more reliable. She then became even more unreliable. It's almost as though she wanted me to fire her. Well, it's all a done deed by a week from Monday.

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D Irene R.