Two years ago today, our silly little lady was born. She didn't come home to live with us until 8 weeks later, but still. Today is her birthday, a momentous day for sure.
She's changed so much since last year. For starters, she's actually house broken. For the most part. Having a yard and a dog door did wonders in that regard. But her personality is different, too. Last year, she wasn't much of a cuddler. She was far too busy for affection unless she was exhausted. Now, she's a little lover, giving kisses and cuddles. She's still busy, but she takes time out of her busy schedule of collecting sticks and chewing tree pods to toss some affection our way. She still loves on Paisley endlessly. She licks her ears and her eyes, and always lays down as close as she can possibly get to her big sis.
Clover is still as funny as she's ever been, and has her particular little quirks. She doesn't sit down to scratch her ears, but rather balances on three legs. She races to the kitchen every time she hears the dishwasher open and "helps" me pre-wash the silverware (only when it's dirty, of course). She still loves buttons, and ruined a brand new comforter after only 7 days of use when she ripped a button off and kept right on going with the chewing. She loves when I break out the Hulk Hands and when Dan pretends to be an auctioneer a la Storage Wars and gets excited and barks playfully at us. At meal time, she follows me to the garage door, doing jumps and spins the whole way as she waits for me to fill her bowl. She loves to stand on Dan's chest and give him kisses, and she most often rests her head on his shoulder as she sits behind him on the back of the couch.
Our little Bug is just as sweet as can be, and I can hardly believe it's been almost 2 years since we brought her home with us. Tonight we'll celebrate with some special treats and extra kisses and hugs. Happy Birthday, Clover!!
Showing posts with label Clover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clover. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
I hope I'm not jinxing myself
This past weekend, for Mother's Day, my parents were visiting with their dog, Emmy, and we decided to try something new. While we ran out to run some errands, we left Clover, Paisley, and Emmy free in the house with access to the dog door. We'd been curious how they would do with no one around. When we got home, as far as we could tell, they'd done just fine. Nothing was destroyed, no messes on the floor, no evidence at all that they'd been left to their own devices.
On Monday, Dan texted me in the early morning to see what I thought about leaving our girls in the house instead of crating them. I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Clover's been doing great with the dog door, and my only real concern was her deciding one of the couch cushions looked tasty or barking incessantly at the neighbors without me there to stop her. I figured I'd come home to sticks and bean pods from the yard all over my living room carpet, but that happens almost daily anyway. So we tried it. I was amazed to come home to a clean carpet and two happy pups, still warm from their sunbathing. So we tried it again Tuesday, and got the same result. I was happy that we could give the girls more freedom and not have the guilt of crating them all day.
And then I came home yesterday. Paisley greeted me right away, but Clover was nowhere in sight. I went to the yard to see what she was up to, and called for her. Nothing. I thought maybe she was being stubborn - she tends to hide when called because she still thinks that "come here, Clo" means "get in your crate and get locked away for hours." And then I heard whining. And scratching at the bedroom door. Uh oh. We know how this ended up last time. Ugh. All I could picture was my comforter in shreds and Clover accidents everywhere. So I took a breath and opened the bedroom door, and... nothing! I searched everywhere for evidence of an accident. There was nothing. No wet spots - trust me, our carpet is so plush that her wet messes sit on top without soaking in. I'd see them very easily, and there were none. My comforter and pillows were intact. Clothes within reach of a bored puppy all had their buttons. You seriously couldn't tell she's been in there alone for 8 hours. Well, except for the fact that she made a mad dash to the yard to go potty and then drank a whole bowl of water (poor puppy didn't have any in the room since the bowl had been moved from the crate to the kitchen). Dan later found a ripped up package of iron-on hem under the bed, but if that's the worst of it, I'll take it. As it turns out, Dan had seen Clover in the yard when he was getting ready and thought she was outside, but when he gathered up his keys and lunch box, she'd apparently gone to hide under the bed to avoid crating and was accidentally left in the bedroom.
So I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm cautiously excited that we may have fiiiiinally achieved house-breaking with Clover. Yes!
On Monday, Dan texted me in the early morning to see what I thought about leaving our girls in the house instead of crating them. I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Clover's been doing great with the dog door, and my only real concern was her deciding one of the couch cushions looked tasty or barking incessantly at the neighbors without me there to stop her. I figured I'd come home to sticks and bean pods from the yard all over my living room carpet, but that happens almost daily anyway. So we tried it. I was amazed to come home to a clean carpet and two happy pups, still warm from their sunbathing. So we tried it again Tuesday, and got the same result. I was happy that we could give the girls more freedom and not have the guilt of crating them all day.
And then I came home yesterday. Paisley greeted me right away, but Clover was nowhere in sight. I went to the yard to see what she was up to, and called for her. Nothing. I thought maybe she was being stubborn - she tends to hide when called because she still thinks that "come here, Clo" means "get in your crate and get locked away for hours." And then I heard whining. And scratching at the bedroom door. Uh oh. We know how this ended up last time. Ugh. All I could picture was my comforter in shreds and Clover accidents everywhere. So I took a breath and opened the bedroom door, and... nothing! I searched everywhere for evidence of an accident. There was nothing. No wet spots - trust me, our carpet is so plush that her wet messes sit on top without soaking in. I'd see them very easily, and there were none. My comforter and pillows were intact. Clothes within reach of a bored puppy all had their buttons. You seriously couldn't tell she's been in there alone for 8 hours. Well, except for the fact that she made a mad dash to the yard to go potty and then drank a whole bowl of water (poor puppy didn't have any in the room since the bowl had been moved from the crate to the kitchen). Dan later found a ripped up package of iron-on hem under the bed, but if that's the worst of it, I'll take it. As it turns out, Dan had seen Clover in the yard when he was getting ready and thought she was outside, but when he gathered up his keys and lunch box, she'd apparently gone to hide under the bed to avoid crating and was accidentally left in the bedroom.
So I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm cautiously excited that we may have fiiiiinally achieved house-breaking with Clover. Yes!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday Randomness
It's been a very busy week. It's month end close at work, and we have the added pressure of making sure things get done before we head to our corporate head quarters in Morristown for a week. More on that in a minute. I haven't had a chance to form a coherent and sensible thought in a while, but I'm going to give it a whirl.
- The potential deal on the house with the divorcees is a no-go. They seriously can't seem to communicate, and we gave them almost a week to come through with either a counter offer or an acceptance, only to find that the wife doesn't even seem to want to sell. Take it off the market then! I swear, these people are bat shit crazy. We're going looking with Raluca again tomorrow morning, and hoping that one of the six that we see is a good one, and then also that the 3rd time is a charm.
- Morristown. Oy. My group at work, along with Mrs. ESPN, is going to Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday. I'm mostly (like 67%) dreading it. Not only is it going to be super cold, but I can see my boss and coworker (the one who talks endlessly about weight loss while eating brownies and clips his nails in his cube) driving me insane. I also just like being at home - a week away living out of a suit case and not doing my own cooking and not sleeping in my own bed is going to wear on me. I used to travel for work, so I know that what makes a business trip enjoyable is who you're with. I'm going to be with a 75% anxiety-inducing crew. I'm just thankful Mrs. ESPN will be with me. She'll keep me sane when everyone else pushes me toward the edge.
- I'm getting very anxious about my sister's shower and hoping it all comes together. I'm really really excited about the candy bar. I got all the candy and the containers for it sorted out about a week ago. Dan and I practiced making tissue paper poms and they came out really well! Dan's actually a very talented pom maker. I just need to figure out how to exploit his talent. I also plan on making some of the candy bar stuff myself - chocolate covered Oreos and pretzels, cupcakes, and mint meringues. I bought a mold and gave the Oreos a try last night and they came out really good! My coworkers certainly appreciate me practicing goodie-making.
- Even though we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, I want this super cute "Kiss the Cookie Decorator" sign and adorable sheet of cookies cookie favor on the Cookie Crumbs blog by A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe. I love this blog, and the shoppe is something like what I'd love to have myself someday. I might just have to send Dan this link as a not-so-subtle hint.
- This may seem weird, but I was super excited the other morning about Clover. As you may very well know, she's not a cuddly puppy. She likes us mostly because we give her food, but she isn't attached to us like Paisley is. I take that back. If Paisley's not around, she'll curl up on our lap, but for the most part, she's far too busy with chasing shadows and ripping socks and trying to sneak stuff out of the pantry to give us much attention. Anyway, yesterday, we were hanging out in bed in the morning, like we always do. I started talking to Clover and telling her how sweet she is and she started wagging her tail, people. She never does that. She wags it when I come home and when she's playing with Paisley, but she's never wagged her tail just with me talking to her. I'm a total dork, but I imagined it must be how a parent feels when their baby gives them a smile for the first time. Okay, that might be taking it far, but still. It made me very happy. Maybe she loves me after all!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
- The potential deal on the house with the divorcees is a no-go. They seriously can't seem to communicate, and we gave them almost a week to come through with either a counter offer or an acceptance, only to find that the wife doesn't even seem to want to sell. Take it off the market then! I swear, these people are bat shit crazy. We're going looking with Raluca again tomorrow morning, and hoping that one of the six that we see is a good one, and then also that the 3rd time is a charm.
- Morristown. Oy. My group at work, along with Mrs. ESPN, is going to Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday. I'm mostly (like 67%) dreading it. Not only is it going to be super cold, but I can see my boss and coworker (the one who talks endlessly about weight loss while eating brownies and clips his nails in his cube) driving me insane. I also just like being at home - a week away living out of a suit case and not doing my own cooking and not sleeping in my own bed is going to wear on me. I used to travel for work, so I know that what makes a business trip enjoyable is who you're with. I'm going to be with a 75% anxiety-inducing crew. I'm just thankful Mrs. ESPN will be with me. She'll keep me sane when everyone else pushes me toward the edge.
- I'm getting very anxious about my sister's shower and hoping it all comes together. I'm really really excited about the candy bar. I got all the candy and the containers for it sorted out about a week ago. Dan and I practiced making tissue paper poms and they came out really well! Dan's actually a very talented pom maker. I just need to figure out how to exploit his talent. I also plan on making some of the candy bar stuff myself - chocolate covered Oreos and pretzels, cupcakes, and mint meringues. I bought a mold and gave the Oreos a try last night and they came out really good! My coworkers certainly appreciate me practicing goodie-making.
- Even though we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, I want this super cute "Kiss the Cookie Decorator" sign and adorable sheet of cookies cookie favor on the Cookie Crumbs blog by A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe. I love this blog, and the shoppe is something like what I'd love to have myself someday. I might just have to send Dan this link as a not-so-subtle hint.
- This may seem weird, but I was super excited the other morning about Clover. As you may very well know, she's not a cuddly puppy. She likes us mostly because we give her food, but she isn't attached to us like Paisley is. I take that back. If Paisley's not around, she'll curl up on our lap, but for the most part, she's far too busy with chasing shadows and ripping socks and trying to sneak stuff out of the pantry to give us much attention. Anyway, yesterday, we were hanging out in bed in the morning, like we always do. I started talking to Clover and telling her how sweet she is and she started wagging her tail, people. She never does that. She wags it when I come home and when she's playing with Paisley, but she's never wagged her tail just with me talking to her. I'm a total dork, but I imagined it must be how a parent feels when their baby gives them a smile for the first time. Okay, that might be taking it far, but still. It made me very happy. Maybe she loves me after all!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Dear Santa...
Dear Santa,
I've been a very good girl this year. I am patient, a good big sister, and want nothing more than to give cuddles. I've been much better about not barking at strangers, and I promise to be even better next year. This year for Christmas, I want my own king size bed with huge fluffy blankets, my own room and/or house, an extra feeding every day, 67 stuffed animals to tear up, a heated dog bed, world domination, and a closet full of cute puppy clothes. Merry Christmas, Santa!
Love, Paisley
Dear Santa,
Butterflies. Sparkles.
Love, Clover
I've been a very good girl this year. I am patient, a good big sister, and want nothing more than to give cuddles. I've been much better about not barking at strangers, and I promise to be even better next year. This year for Christmas, I want my own king size bed with huge fluffy blankets, my own room and/or house, an extra feeding every day, 67 stuffed animals to tear up, a heated dog bed, world domination, and a closet full of cute puppy clothes. Merry Christmas, Santa!
Love, Paisley
Dear Santa,
Butterflies. Sparkles.
Love, Clover
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thanksgiving Weekend
Our Thanksgiving week started out mellow. An easy week at work, nothing too stressful. Only 2 and basically a half days to get through until a day of feasting and family. And then, Clover struck. I took her to get her rabies and parvo shots on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, little girl was throwing up and when she came out of her crate, it was at a slow walk. Not at all like Clover. And her face was puffy, which was actually pretty cute. Basically, she was having an allergic reaction. So after a dose of Benadryl, it was back to the vet we went, for a steroid shot and a few hours of observation. It was oh so reminiscent of Paisley's horrible illness last year, almost exactly a year to the day. I'm so thankful for our amazing vet clinic. All the vets and techs are so helpful and comforting, and I never worry about our dogs when in their care.
After it was determined that Clover was in the clear, it was dog park time. And not just any dog park time. Dog park photo shoot time. A Knottie friend of mine is building her pet photography portfolio and so I took advantage of her services to get some cute shots of The Girls. Paisley and Clover ran and played for a solid hour while she just snap, snap, snapped away. She got about 140 pictures, and posted 30 on Facebook. Here are a few of our favorites of Paisley...
After it was determined that Clover was in the clear, it was dog park time. And not just any dog park time. Dog park photo shoot time. A Knottie friend of mine is building her pet photography portfolio and so I took advantage of her services to get some cute shots of The Girls. Paisley and Clover ran and played for a solid hour while she just snap, snap, snapped away. She got about 140 pictures, and posted 30 on Facebook. Here are a few of our favorites of Paisley...
And of Clover...
After the dog park, we hung out at home and waited for Dan, who had a long night at work. We hung out, enjoying being off for the holiday. On Thursday morning, we headed to Tucson for Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It was a wonderfully relaxing day with my parents and a family friend. We ate, we drank, we played Wii. We were thankful for good company, our health, and our family. At the end of the evening, Dan had to head home to work on Friday. I'm so thankful for my husband, who works so hard for us and always selflessly put me first.
I spent the rest of the weekend with fabulous people: my parents, my dear friend Rachel, Mrs. ESPN's adorable girls, and our friend Scott and his kids. I'm so thankful that we have so many wonderful people in our lives. I got a fabulous Black Friday deal on some wine glasses, picked out the bridesmaid dress (I think) for Rachel's wedding, and helped my mom with her yard sale. All in all, another wonderful weekend. It went by way too quickly, but it was packed full of great moments.
Speaking of Mrs. ESPN, tomorrow is her birthday, so... Happy Birthday!! Have a wonderful day! Thank you for being an awesome friend.
How was your Thanksgiving weekend?
Friday, September 24, 2010
It finally happened...
... I made a cake, and nothing went wrong! And awesomely enough, it was for another big boss in the building, so I'm so glad it went well. The only thing was that the birthday boy requested a Betty Crocker vanilla cake (they're very specific about their cakes in that group) with chocolate frosting. My coworker asked for chocolate butter cream. Only problem, I don't like chocolate butter cream. So I really had no idea what it should taste like when it's good, because it just doesn't taste good to me. I got it to where I think it's supposed to be and went with it. It smoothed nicely, didn't pick up any crumbs, and everything went great. I didn't get a picture, but just imagine the most awesome chocolate frosted cake you've ever seen with "Happy Birthday" written on it.
In other cake news, I ordered our anniversary tier from our baker today. I am so excited! That was darn good cake, and I'm excited to celebrate our anniversary and Dan's birthday with our friends, Scott and Melissa. We were going to head up north for a night and have dinner and go out. Unfortunately, as I started looking at hotels, I discovered that the university up there is having its Family Weekend that weekend. Everything will be crowded and hotels are way overpriced. Boohiss. Dan decided he'd rather save the cost and just do dinner and something fun here, instead. He doesn't know I ordered the cake though, so it'll be a fun surprise. Now I just have to figure out what to get my husband for our first anniversary and for his birthday. Hmmm...
In dog news, Clover went to the vet yesterday for her semi-annual bordatella shot and I was talking with the doc about her house-breaking issues. Something about the frequency of how often she's relieving herself triggered some concern for him, and he suggested an ultra-sound and urinalysis. The last time we'd talked about it, she was almost 6 months old and within the normal range for house-breaking, and he didn't think it was an infection since she wasn't having accidents in her crate (a truly bad infection would have over-ridden her natural instinct to mess in her crate). The ultra-sound came back normal, which was a relief, but he said she may have a low-grade infection and prescribed antibiotics. While I feel awful that it's possible she's had this little infection looming for quite a while, I'm happy that we may have an answer to why house-breaking has been so difficult with her. I just hope this may be the start of a new beginning for us.
As far as this weekend goes, it's a blank canvas, just like I like my weekends. I think we're going to see my parents, and Dan's on call, but other than that, everything is wide open.
Does anyone else have any fun weekend plans? How did you celebrate your first anniversary? What should I get my husband?
In other cake news, I ordered our anniversary tier from our baker today. I am so excited! That was darn good cake, and I'm excited to celebrate our anniversary and Dan's birthday with our friends, Scott and Melissa. We were going to head up north for a night and have dinner and go out. Unfortunately, as I started looking at hotels, I discovered that the university up there is having its Family Weekend that weekend. Everything will be crowded and hotels are way overpriced. Boohiss. Dan decided he'd rather save the cost and just do dinner and something fun here, instead. He doesn't know I ordered the cake though, so it'll be a fun surprise. Now I just have to figure out what to get my husband for our first anniversary and for his birthday. Hmmm...
In dog news, Clover went to the vet yesterday for her semi-annual bordatella shot and I was talking with the doc about her house-breaking issues. Something about the frequency of how often she's relieving herself triggered some concern for him, and he suggested an ultra-sound and urinalysis. The last time we'd talked about it, she was almost 6 months old and within the normal range for house-breaking, and he didn't think it was an infection since she wasn't having accidents in her crate (a truly bad infection would have over-ridden her natural instinct to mess in her crate). The ultra-sound came back normal, which was a relief, but he said she may have a low-grade infection and prescribed antibiotics. While I feel awful that it's possible she's had this little infection looming for quite a while, I'm happy that we may have an answer to why house-breaking has been so difficult with her. I just hope this may be the start of a new beginning for us.
As far as this weekend goes, it's a blank canvas, just like I like my weekends. I think we're going to see my parents, and Dan's on call, but other than that, everything is wide open.
Does anyone else have any fun weekend plans? How did you celebrate your first anniversary? What should I get my husband?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Happy Birthday, Clover!
This is a day late, and I'm sorry, Clo. I got caught up with work yesterday and failed to post this. So here is Clover's 1st birthday post, 1 day late:
Today is a very special day. It’s the littlest Kingston’s first birthday! We decided we wanted another puppy around July of last year, but knew that the timing of the wedding would make getting a new puppy difficult (they have to be 4 months old and vaccinated with rabies to be boarded). We decided to wait to bring our new pup home after the wedding, but that didn’t stop the excitement from building. Dan chose the name Clover long before we ever met her. She would be our wedding gift to each other, and her name symbolized the luckiness we felt in marrying each other.
We went to see her for the first time on October 4th, 12 days before our wedding. She was one of two girls left in the litter, and we played with her and her sister. After her sister decided that laying on her back and kicking at leaves was far more interesting than we were, we had Clo all to ourselves. She played with Dan, using him as a jungle gym and giving him a lot of kisses. We fell in love with our little girl and couldn’t wait to bring her home two weeks later. It was very hard to leave her behind.
Two days after we were married, we brought her home. We brought Paisley to meet her new sister and we really weren’t surprised that Paisley wasn’t too impressed with such a shrimpy puppy. We put Clover’s brand new cupcake collar on her and took her to Dan’s parents’ house to meet her extended family. Everyone just loved our cuddly girl, and she had a blast running around and exploring. It was a very happy day for us.
Clover has been such a fun puppy to have around. Once just a speed bump for Paisley, they’re now the best of buddies. They play constantly and love on each other endlessly. She’s super smart – when we had Max staying with us, she figured out how to open the crate from the outside to free him on multiple occasions. When I order the girls to go to the big crate in the bed room at night, she tries to fool me and go to the little crate in the living room. She’ll sit very still inside it thinking I won’t notice she’s pulled one over on me. She’s not a cuddler like Paisley, unless of course she’s sleepy. Then she likes to curl up on the back of the couch and put her little head on my shoulder. She’s very good with her commands and leaves and drops objects when I tell her to. She loves to collect the biggest sticks and likes to hunt birds on our walks. She’ll get low to the ground like a little lion, flatten her ears and stalk them until she gets close enough (which is never actually close enough) to strike. She’s absolutely comical to watch about 95% of the time.
It’s been challenging at times since bringing her home, considering that our little smarty pants is still not house broken. But she is such a sweetie, and so stinking cute, that she’s forgiven and we love her so much. Our home just wouldn’t be the same without her. She’s our Clovie, our Bugga Boo, our little Birthday Girl.
Happy Birthday, Clover! We love you!
----------------------------------------------------------------
We celebrated last night with a pupcake for the girls, and after a day of playing at PetsMart, Clover crashed out on Dan's lap. Dan was rubbing her ears and talking to her and she literally nodded off sitting straight up with her little head in Dan's hands. She's such a sweetie :)
Today is a very special day. It’s the littlest Kingston’s first birthday! We decided we wanted another puppy around July of last year, but knew that the timing of the wedding would make getting a new puppy difficult (they have to be 4 months old and vaccinated with rabies to be boarded). We decided to wait to bring our new pup home after the wedding, but that didn’t stop the excitement from building. Dan chose the name Clover long before we ever met her. She would be our wedding gift to each other, and her name symbolized the luckiness we felt in marrying each other.
We went to see her for the first time on October 4th, 12 days before our wedding. She was one of two girls left in the litter, and we played with her and her sister. After her sister decided that laying on her back and kicking at leaves was far more interesting than we were, we had Clo all to ourselves. She played with Dan, using him as a jungle gym and giving him a lot of kisses. We fell in love with our little girl and couldn’t wait to bring her home two weeks later. It was very hard to leave her behind.
Two days after we were married, we brought her home. We brought Paisley to meet her new sister and we really weren’t surprised that Paisley wasn’t too impressed with such a shrimpy puppy. We put Clover’s brand new cupcake collar on her and took her to Dan’s parents’ house to meet her extended family. Everyone just loved our cuddly girl, and she had a blast running around and exploring. It was a very happy day for us.
Clover has been such a fun puppy to have around. Once just a speed bump for Paisley, they’re now the best of buddies. They play constantly and love on each other endlessly. She’s super smart – when we had Max staying with us, she figured out how to open the crate from the outside to free him on multiple occasions. When I order the girls to go to the big crate in the bed room at night, she tries to fool me and go to the little crate in the living room. She’ll sit very still inside it thinking I won’t notice she’s pulled one over on me. She’s not a cuddler like Paisley, unless of course she’s sleepy. Then she likes to curl up on the back of the couch and put her little head on my shoulder. She’s very good with her commands and leaves and drops objects when I tell her to. She loves to collect the biggest sticks and likes to hunt birds on our walks. She’ll get low to the ground like a little lion, flatten her ears and stalk them until she gets close enough (which is never actually close enough) to strike. She’s absolutely comical to watch about 95% of the time.
It’s been challenging at times since bringing her home, considering that our little smarty pants is still not house broken. But she is such a sweetie, and so stinking cute, that she’s forgiven and we love her so much. Our home just wouldn’t be the same without her. She’s our Clovie, our Bugga Boo, our little Birthday Girl.
Happy Birthday, Clover! We love you!
----------------------------------------------------------------
We celebrated last night with a pupcake for the girls, and after a day of playing at PetsMart, Clover crashed out on Dan's lap. Dan was rubbing her ears and talking to her and she literally nodded off sitting straight up with her little head in Dan's hands. She's such a sweetie :)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday Musings
A little touch of randomness to start the week.
- Our little house guest, Max, has been sooooo good. He needs to teach Clover a thing or two about going potty only outside. After he ate this morning he ran to the door like a good boy! I was impressed. Paisley would rather he wasn't around. She'll start to sniff him when he's playing with Clover, and the second he turns his attention on her, she runs away. She spent a lot of time "hiding out" on our laps this weekend. Don't worry, Pais, only 4 more days. Here's Clover with her little buddy.
- I've had weeeeeeird and vivid dreams lately. The most random things. Like about this famlboyantly gay manager in our office. I dreamt I was the only one who knew he was gay and had to keep his secret. I'm terrified of this guy - he's not the person you want showing up at your desk. Or at least my desk. If he shows up, something is terribly wrong. So having a dream that I'm keeping his secret is very odd.
- Also, I woke up with "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" stuck in my head. Totally random. I don't even really like Madonna that much and I've never seen Evita, the play/movie about Eva Peron that the song is from (for those of you living under a rock). I posted this on Facebook, and someone informed me that today is the anniversary of Eva's death. Can we say creepy? Perhaps I'm haunted.
- I made almost 9 dozen pink ribbon cookies this weekend. A knottie friend of mine is doing the 3 Day Race for the Cure in Baltimore and is using bake sales to fundraise. I offered to donate cookies and figured I'd get about 6 dozen out of my recipe and was happy to get far more. I still have to package them so I can ship them, but I love them. Dan even helped fill them yesterday, then gave creative input for the overlapping lines. Cute, huh?
- I also went to boot camp on Saturday. My arms and shoulders are still sore from all the over head weight lifting we did, but I'm excited to go today. I was pretty good with the eating this weekend, too. We did our Friday happy hour and I had my taco but avoiding eating too much shell. We ate Subway and at home on Saturday, and had another cheat meal last night. Other than that, I was good, and much better than I usually am on the weekends.
Meal Plan Monday is going to have to be postponed to tomorrow. There's no way I've gotten that far in my thinking yet. Hope you all have a great Monday!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Row, row, row your boat not so gently 'round the lake...
This weekend for Father's Day, we decided to go boating on one of the lovely lakes here in Arizona. And when I say "boating" what I mean is "rowing." A few years ago, we took my dad kayaking for Father's Day. He liked it so much, he acquired a kayak and then a canoe of his own. Since then, it's kind of become our family tradition, though I think we missed last year. Two years ago, Paisley was only 5 months old and she went with us. This year, we have two active puggles to come along and it was quite the adventure.
My parents tow their kayak and canoe in a modified trailer that my dad also uses for hauling landscaping debris and anything else that won't fit under his truck's camper shell. For this lake trip, between the 4 humans and 3 dogs, we needed to take two cars. When we got to the lake, parking was sparse and we had to get parking passes. We discovered that only one lot allowed parking for both trucks with trailers and regular cars. Of course, that one lot was full. By the time we found parking for the Murano in the regular parking lot, smashed ourselves into the truck, drove to the lot for trailers and got it parked and the boats in the water, it was after noon and over 100 degrees.
While my mom and I were waiting for The Men to bring the boats and equipment down, we played fetch with the dogs at the small beach near the boat launch. My parents' lab, Emmy, looooves to fetch, and she also loves to swim, so it was perfect. As we were playing, Clover and Paisley got very interested in Emmy's fetching and started walking farther and farther out into the lake. And then, all of a sudden, Clover and Paisley both swam out after Emmy! Now, both our pups have been in the pool - we put them in to show them how to get out - but neither seemed to like it. We were completely amazed to see them both swim out into the lake over and over again. And I must say, they are both the cutest little swimmers I've seen in quite a while.
We finally got the boats ready and pushed off. Oy, that's when the fun began. We were in the canoe with P&C, and poor Dan felt every movement and had to shift his weight to compensate. And they weren't just moving a little, they were all over the place. They completely scratched up my poor bare legs. At one point, Clover decided she wanted to be in the kayak with Emmy and jumped ship, literally. Thankfully, we weren't moving too fast and Dan plucked her up out of the water and plopped her back in the boat. We rowed over to a nice shaded spot and got out and had some lunch, chatted, and played more fetch before rowing back. It was quite a bit of work for a short trip to the lake, but it was a fun day.
We didn't bring cameras on the water with us, because we all know my luck with electronics and water, but I did snap this one of Paisley and Clover asleep on the back seat on the way home.
We spent the rest of the weekend with my parents as well. We cooked dinner Saturday night and we spent yesterday making breakfast, playing Wii Golf, watching Date Night at the theater, practicing ganache (finally), and going out to dinner. It was a wonderful Father's Day weekend.
What did you do this weekend?
My parents tow their kayak and canoe in a modified trailer that my dad also uses for hauling landscaping debris and anything else that won't fit under his truck's camper shell. For this lake trip, between the 4 humans and 3 dogs, we needed to take two cars. When we got to the lake, parking was sparse and we had to get parking passes. We discovered that only one lot allowed parking for both trucks with trailers and regular cars. Of course, that one lot was full. By the time we found parking for the Murano in the regular parking lot, smashed ourselves into the truck, drove to the lot for trailers and got it parked and the boats in the water, it was after noon and over 100 degrees.
While my mom and I were waiting for The Men to bring the boats and equipment down, we played fetch with the dogs at the small beach near the boat launch. My parents' lab, Emmy, looooves to fetch, and she also loves to swim, so it was perfect. As we were playing, Clover and Paisley got very interested in Emmy's fetching and started walking farther and farther out into the lake. And then, all of a sudden, Clover and Paisley both swam out after Emmy! Now, both our pups have been in the pool - we put them in to show them how to get out - but neither seemed to like it. We were completely amazed to see them both swim out into the lake over and over again. And I must say, they are both the cutest little swimmers I've seen in quite a while.
We finally got the boats ready and pushed off. Oy, that's when the fun began. We were in the canoe with P&C, and poor Dan felt every movement and had to shift his weight to compensate. And they weren't just moving a little, they were all over the place. They completely scratched up my poor bare legs. At one point, Clover decided she wanted to be in the kayak with Emmy and jumped ship, literally. Thankfully, we weren't moving too fast and Dan plucked her up out of the water and plopped her back in the boat. We rowed over to a nice shaded spot and got out and had some lunch, chatted, and played more fetch before rowing back. It was quite a bit of work for a short trip to the lake, but it was a fun day.
We didn't bring cameras on the water with us, because we all know my luck with electronics and water, but I did snap this one of Paisley and Clover asleep on the back seat on the way home.
We spent the rest of the weekend with my parents as well. We cooked dinner Saturday night and we spent yesterday making breakfast, playing Wii Golf, watching Date Night at the theater, practicing ganache (finally), and going out to dinner. It was a wonderful Father's Day weekend.
What did you do this weekend?
Friday, June 18, 2010
It's happening again
I'm a little stressed out today. We seem to have gotten the electricity problem fixed yesterday, but when we got home last night, the temperature in the apartment just kept going up. Dan checked, and it was blowing warm air. Not hot, just not cool. When we went to bed (on the floor of the living room because it was actually cooler than the bedroom) it was 84 degrees. I woke up to 86 degrees. Let me tell you, I just do not feel right today. I didn't sleep at all, really, and neither did Dan. My fingers are like little sausages from the heat and water retention.
This is all way too reminiscent of last summer's A/C war with the complex. The only thing that's missing is a $300 electricity bill ::knocks on wood:: We have them coming to look at it today, and I'm sincerely hoping it just needs a recharge with new Freon. I really don't have the energy to go through another Summer of 2009. The dogs are excited though, as they got to go to PetsMart again today. Well, Clover was excited. Paisley didn't look too pleased.
Speaking of PetsMart, when you take them to Doggie Day Camp, they get this adorable Pawgress report. When we took them last Friday, they'd hung the girls' report too close to their crate and they ate some of it. But the gist of it was that Clover played all day, and Paisley watched. Typical. Yesterday's report for Clover said that she had fun racing around the room and was "too excited to rest." Such a great visual. She is such a spaz :)
This is all way too reminiscent of last summer's A/C war with the complex. The only thing that's missing is a $300 electricity bill ::knocks on wood:: We have them coming to look at it today, and I'm sincerely hoping it just needs a recharge with new Freon. I really don't have the energy to go through another Summer of 2009. The dogs are excited though, as they got to go to PetsMart again today. Well, Clover was excited. Paisley didn't look too pleased.
Speaking of PetsMart, when you take them to Doggie Day Camp, they get this adorable Pawgress report. When we took them last Friday, they'd hung the girls' report too close to their crate and they ate some of it. But the gist of it was that Clover played all day, and Paisley watched. Typical. Yesterday's report for Clover said that she had fun racing around the room and was "too excited to rest." Such a great visual. She is such a spaz :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Memorial Day weekend
Hey there! Wow, hard to believe it's been a whole 5 days since I posted last. I guess that's what happens when people at work don't annoy me and I don't have a wedding to plan :)
We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Dan cleaned my car on Saturday and I took the pups to the dog park, read, cleaned, and napped. When he got home, Dan and I went to see our friends Jenn and Jim and to watch the UFC fights on pay-per-view. Not really my thing, but it was fun to get together with them. We also watched the movie Zombieland. Shocking, right? Me and scary movies generally don't mix. And when I say "scary movies," I include E.T., Jurassic Park, and the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Augustus Gloop getting sucked up the choclate river tube = terrifying). Yeah, I'm a wuss. But Zombieland was actually funny. I can handle gore without a problem, it's the suspense and jumpy moments I don't with well. This movie had few of those.
On Sunday, we hung out in the morning, ran a couple of errands, and went to lunch with friends at an Irish pub. After a few pitchers of Blue Moon (yum!) we headed home to pick up some movies (including Zombieland). As we'd been out late the night before with no chance to nap (and maybe I had an Irish Car Bomb, maybe) I was crashed out on the couch by 8:30. Yes, people, a a month before my 29th birthday, I'm officially declaring myself "Old."
Monday was a very relaxing day. Dan had to do a job he'd set up, and I lazed around with the pups, did some straightening up and surfed the interwebs. We took it easy when he got home and just enjoyed the extra day off. Very uneventful, but a great way to end the weekend, watching Intervention with my hubby.
Things have been going great with Clover, I must say. The trainer's suggestions have made her potty time much easier on us all. Instead of having to walk her for 20 or 30 minutes until she gave in and did her business, she now knows that when we go outside, there's only one thing we're therefore. It's a lot less stressful. I've been out of the house around 7 every morning, getting me to work nice and early so I can get out at 4 or 4:30 and not feel like I have no time to unwind at home before dinner and then bed. It's much better, all around.
We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Dan cleaned my car on Saturday and I took the pups to the dog park, read, cleaned, and napped. When he got home, Dan and I went to see our friends Jenn and Jim and to watch the UFC fights on pay-per-view. Not really my thing, but it was fun to get together with them. We also watched the movie Zombieland. Shocking, right? Me and scary movies generally don't mix. And when I say "scary movies," I include E.T., Jurassic Park, and the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Augustus Gloop getting sucked up the choclate river tube = terrifying). Yeah, I'm a wuss. But Zombieland was actually funny. I can handle gore without a problem, it's the suspense and jumpy moments I don't with well. This movie had few of those.
On Sunday, we hung out in the morning, ran a couple of errands, and went to lunch with friends at an Irish pub. After a few pitchers of Blue Moon (yum!) we headed home to pick up some movies (including Zombieland). As we'd been out late the night before with no chance to nap (and maybe I had an Irish Car Bomb, maybe) I was crashed out on the couch by 8:30. Yes, people, a a month before my 29th birthday, I'm officially declaring myself "Old."
Monday was a very relaxing day. Dan had to do a job he'd set up, and I lazed around with the pups, did some straightening up and surfed the interwebs. We took it easy when he got home and just enjoyed the extra day off. Very uneventful, but a great way to end the weekend, watching Intervention with my hubby.
Things have been going great with Clover, I must say. The trainer's suggestions have made her potty time much easier on us all. Instead of having to walk her for 20 or 30 minutes until she gave in and did her business, she now knows that when we go outside, there's only one thing we're therefore. It's a lot less stressful. I've been out of the house around 7 every morning, getting me to work nice and early so I can get out at 4 or 4:30 and not feel like I have no time to unwind at home before dinner and then bed. It's much better, all around.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Clover and Paisley decorate their crate
It's no surprise that Clover and Paisley get into things. I've gone through about 30 pairs of flip flops in the 2 years since Paisley came to live with me. Clover loves to go for really fun stuff, like phone chargers that happen to still be plugged into the wall. They also enjoy the fine art of shredding paper and "killing" their stuffed animal friends. We've banned fluffy toys in the house since Paisley's illness since even though she didn't have a bowel obstruction, the scare of potential surgery was enough to make me go all Mommy Dearest "No fluffy toys!" on their little puggle asses. So you can imagine the mini heart attack I had when I came home to this yesterday:
Those are our little darlings sitting amongst the entire contents of their dog bed that we keep in Mega Crate. Yeeeeah, awesome. I waited for Dan to get home before starting on the clean-up of that one. Sure enough, he started picking up the fluff. Lo and behold, he discovered that they hadn't ripped the bed open, they'd unzipped it. So thankfully, we didn't have to buy a new bed, but we now know that we have magic dogs that unzip things. We're officially screwed.
Those are our little darlings sitting amongst the entire contents of their dog bed that we keep in Mega Crate. Yeeeeah, awesome. I waited for Dan to get home before starting on the clean-up of that one. Sure enough, he started picking up the fluff. Lo and behold, he discovered that they hadn't ripped the bed open, they'd unzipped it. So thankfully, we didn't have to buy a new bed, but we now know that we have magic dogs that unzip things. We're officially screwed.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Weekend Wrap-up
Technically, I had a 9 day weekend, but we'll pretend I'm just talking about the real weekend. I honestly don't even remember Friday night. Not because it was that wild and crazy. I think I was just tired. Dan detailed a car and got home after 10pm. Boring. I tried to watch Couples' Retreat and ended up falling asleep.
I spent Saturday decorating cookies. My mom asked me to make some for my grandma, so I tried my hand at Bridget's modern daisies . I'm not overly thrilled with them, but Grandma will love them anyway. I didn't take pics on my phone, so I'll have to update later. I also made Dr. Seuss cookies. My friend is hosting a work baby shower for a coworker expecting twin boys, and she's going with a Thing 1 and Thing 2 inspired theme. So I made her these:
The green yolk is a little dark, I'll make it lighter next time, and it'll be filled instead of piped. She was really happy with them, so my job this week is to make 4 dozen more and ship them to Colorado. My friend has great plans for this shower, including adorable cupcakes:
On Sunday, we had out repeat visit from the dog whisperer. I knew Paisley was doing better, but I was amazed at how much. When the trainer came in last Saturday, Paisley barked and then huffed for almost 45 minutes. Yesterday, she barked for 10 seconds, quieted down, and then was trying to give the trainer kisses 10 minutes later. It's absolutely an incredible change. It's like a whole new Paisley. Clover, on the other hand, needs more work. So we signed her up for the trainer's obedience class in the park behind the apartment. She'll go over the basics again and learn new stuff like "wait." I'm hoping that being with other dogs and having to perform obedience tasks while distracted will help her on regular walks. It can't hurt to try, right?
nd I'm so excited - our furniture is done! It's supposed to be delivered today and I can't wait to see it. Check back for pics tomorrow. How was your weekend? Do anything fun?
I spent Saturday decorating cookies. My mom asked me to make some for my grandma, so I tried my hand at Bridget's modern daisies . I'm not overly thrilled with them, but Grandma will love them anyway. I didn't take pics on my phone, so I'll have to update later. I also made Dr. Seuss cookies. My friend is hosting a work baby shower for a coworker expecting twin boys, and she's going with a Thing 1 and Thing 2 inspired theme. So I made her these:
The green yolk is a little dark, I'll make it lighter next time, and it'll be filled instead of piped. She was really happy with them, so my job this week is to make 4 dozen more and ship them to Colorado. My friend has great plans for this shower, including adorable cupcakes:
On Sunday, we had out repeat visit from the dog whisperer. I knew Paisley was doing better, but I was amazed at how much. When the trainer came in last Saturday, Paisley barked and then huffed for almost 45 minutes. Yesterday, she barked for 10 seconds, quieted down, and then was trying to give the trainer kisses 10 minutes later. It's absolutely an incredible change. It's like a whole new Paisley. Clover, on the other hand, needs more work. So we signed her up for the trainer's obedience class in the park behind the apartment. She'll go over the basics again and learn new stuff like "wait." I'm hoping that being with other dogs and having to perform obedience tasks while distracted will help her on regular walks. It can't hurt to try, right?nd I'm so excited - our furniture is done! It's supposed to be delivered today and I can't wait to see it. Check back for pics tomorrow. How was your weekend? Do anything fun?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Training Day
This Saturday, we had a very special visitor. A dog trainer! Yay! It went really well. I'll be honest, I was really worried that we'd be told we're doing so much wrong and Paisley's going to be mean forever and Clover will never go potty outside on her own. Thankfully, though, we were told we're doing a lot of things right, and were taught how to change our interactions with The Girls to make things better.
When the trainer came in, Paisley was her usual self, barking and howling. Of course, little sister Clover followed suit. Within just a couple minutes, though, the trainer showed me how to quiet Paisley by firmly muzzling her with my hand and saying "quiet!" She noticed that I was trying to hold Paisley and say "it's okay, calm down" in a soothing voice and that was giving mixed signals. Instead, if I firmly muzzle her and don't give her attention until she's quiet, Paisley clearly knows that I want her to be calm. Seems obvious right? I felt a little dumb, but the trainer told me that as humans, we see our pets as a baby that needs to be comforted. But Paisley is interpretting my comforting as weakness and feels the need to defend. Anyway, in almost no time, Paisley was calmly sitting next to me, and couldn't have cared less that there was a stranger on the couch 3 feet away.
Next, we took Paisley out for a walk. The trainer noted that I don't keep great control of Paisley and let her get ahead of me, so we worked on loose leash training and heeling. Since Pais had learned that at Petsmart training, she took to it again quickly. Normally on walks, Paisley barks at everyone. But the trainer told me that part of it is her feeling a need to protect, and by me letting her walk ahead, she assumed the role of protector. By making her stay behind, I'm showing her that I'm on the defense and making sure we're safe. It was a huge difference! We walked slowly on the path around the park and past two parties and Paisley hardly noticed them. The trainer showed me how to position myself as we approach people so that I put myself in a guarding position. Paisley is so much more relaxed outside now. And I have the knowledge and tools I need to calm her if she's not relaxed. I'm so relieved!
As far as Clover goes, the trainer wants us to do the same things on walks to quiet her. She taught us that Paisley and Clover have different signals when they're on the alert, and how to watch for them and nip them in the bud. If we let it go too far, it's that much harder to reel them in. So detecting that first sign in each of them is key. For house-breaking, the trainer thinks we may have given Clover too much trust and freedom, and she is missing something in terms of the idea that the apartment is a giant crate and not to be peed in. So we're going back to the very beginning taking away her roaming space and she'll be crated more until she earns freedom.
All in all, I feel so much better after our lesson with the trainer. She comes back next weekend to see how we're doing. I'm off work all week, so I've got plenty of time and attention to devote to working on our new skills.
The rest of our weekend was great. Yesterday, we went to see our friends Scott and Melissa and painted. Dan nearly finished installing the urinal in Scott's garage (boys...). I'm almost done with my daisy painting - I just need to touch up my petals and do the flower's center. I'm hoping to get to finish it later in the week once I get the rest of my to-do list tackled.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
When the trainer came in, Paisley was her usual self, barking and howling. Of course, little sister Clover followed suit. Within just a couple minutes, though, the trainer showed me how to quiet Paisley by firmly muzzling her with my hand and saying "quiet!" She noticed that I was trying to hold Paisley and say "it's okay, calm down" in a soothing voice and that was giving mixed signals. Instead, if I firmly muzzle her and don't give her attention until she's quiet, Paisley clearly knows that I want her to be calm. Seems obvious right? I felt a little dumb, but the trainer told me that as humans, we see our pets as a baby that needs to be comforted. But Paisley is interpretting my comforting as weakness and feels the need to defend. Anyway, in almost no time, Paisley was calmly sitting next to me, and couldn't have cared less that there was a stranger on the couch 3 feet away.
Next, we took Paisley out for a walk. The trainer noted that I don't keep great control of Paisley and let her get ahead of me, so we worked on loose leash training and heeling. Since Pais had learned that at Petsmart training, she took to it again quickly. Normally on walks, Paisley barks at everyone. But the trainer told me that part of it is her feeling a need to protect, and by me letting her walk ahead, she assumed the role of protector. By making her stay behind, I'm showing her that I'm on the defense and making sure we're safe. It was a huge difference! We walked slowly on the path around the park and past two parties and Paisley hardly noticed them. The trainer showed me how to position myself as we approach people so that I put myself in a guarding position. Paisley is so much more relaxed outside now. And I have the knowledge and tools I need to calm her if she's not relaxed. I'm so relieved!
As far as Clover goes, the trainer wants us to do the same things on walks to quiet her. She taught us that Paisley and Clover have different signals when they're on the alert, and how to watch for them and nip them in the bud. If we let it go too far, it's that much harder to reel them in. So detecting that first sign in each of them is key. For house-breaking, the trainer thinks we may have given Clover too much trust and freedom, and she is missing something in terms of the idea that the apartment is a giant crate and not to be peed in. So we're going back to the very beginning taking away her roaming space and she'll be crated more until she earns freedom.
All in all, I feel so much better after our lesson with the trainer. She comes back next weekend to see how we're doing. I'm off work all week, so I've got plenty of time and attention to devote to working on our new skills.
The rest of our weekend was great. Yesterday, we went to see our friends Scott and Melissa and painted. Dan nearly finished installing the urinal in Scott's garage (boys...). I'm almost done with my daisy painting - I just need to touch up my petals and do the flower's center. I'm hoping to get to finish it later in the week once I get the rest of my to-do list tackled.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Clover's Day Out
It's been a very long Wednesday. Clover was awake at 2:30 this morning, and was restless until 4:40, barely allowing me to doze off every now and then. When she chose 4:45 to jump down onto the floor and I burst into tears, my sweet husband got up, took The Girls, and went to the living room so I could get an hour of rest. When I got up, he told me he was going to Starbucks and had me write down my favorite drink. I felt like a zombie and it was a much needed pick-me-up. Salt mentioned on her blog that married life for her and her new husband isn't much different than engaged-cohabitating life except that they're ultra-nice to each other. I have to agree. Getting up early and getting me an iced venti Chai Tea latte at 6:15am was very ultra-nice of my husband. Though I must brag, I think he'd have done that anyway :)
Anyway, it was a long day. I was tired, despite my latte and 2 Coke Zeros. I had a LOT to do at work, a huge deadline worth about $1.5M. I seriously owe cupcakes to about 5 people who really went out of their way to help me on very short notice. I also forgot my phone and felt bare all day, though luckily Dan has a Blackberry, so I was able to to check in with him now and then via email. I left at almost 5:30, after nearly 10 hours in the office and too late to stop at the grocery store on my way home without knowing if Dan was home to let the dogs out. As it turns out, Dan was home.
And what did he find? Scratching on the bedroom door. From Paisley on the outside, and Clover on the inside. But wait... isn't Clover supposed to be in a crate during the day? Why yes, she is! Turns out, Tired Me forgot to check to make sure both crate doors were closed. We have no idea how long she was free in the bedroom, but were relieved to find that there wasn't much damage. She'd gotten a shoe and ripped up a paper bag. And that was it. Dan met me downstairs to warn me, but there was no reason to.
And here's where it gets gross, so stop reading if you want. We realized that she should have gone #2 by that time of day. She's crate trained, so she doesn't go in her crate, but the rest of the apartment is her personal toilety free-for-all since she refuses with the passionate fire of 1,000 suns to not be house-broken. Andplusalso, she's a poo eater. We thought maybe we'd gotten lucky, and she hadn't gone, that she hadn't discovered the open crate door and been out long enough. Then again, maybe she'd gotten out and recycled her breakfast as a snack. Dan told me to smell her breath, and I did, mostly as a joke.
And then... she shitburped in my face. I told you to stop reading.
Our Gross Little Thing is currently sleeping happily on the couch, snuggled up with Paisley and completely unaware that she's spending tonight in her crate. I have to get sleep, or I'll go nuts.
In other news, my apron came today! I got the black and white damask, and I love it. I wore it to mix my cake batter for my final cake class tomorrow.
And in other exciting news, my sister and I are planning and throwing our parents a 30th anniversary party. We've spent the last couple evenings planning and conspiring and I'm so excited. 30 years is quite the accomplishment, and I truly admire my parents' relationship. I think we're planning a fun party - with a surprise theme until the invites arrive - that they'll really love.
I'm also contemplating a vacation or a staycation. We're not doing a big honeymoon trip and I need to burn a week so I'm contemplating ideas. I might take a week to be at home and just unwind and then Dan and I might both fly to Seattle at the end to visit my sister. I also considered visiting family in New York and ending my visit with a trip to the Post Secret event taking place at a college nearby. We shall see. If anyone has ideas, I'm open to something economical.
Anyway, it was a long day. I was tired, despite my latte and 2 Coke Zeros. I had a LOT to do at work, a huge deadline worth about $1.5M. I seriously owe cupcakes to about 5 people who really went out of their way to help me on very short notice. I also forgot my phone and felt bare all day, though luckily Dan has a Blackberry, so I was able to to check in with him now and then via email. I left at almost 5:30, after nearly 10 hours in the office and too late to stop at the grocery store on my way home without knowing if Dan was home to let the dogs out. As it turns out, Dan was home.
And what did he find? Scratching on the bedroom door. From Paisley on the outside, and Clover on the inside. But wait... isn't Clover supposed to be in a crate during the day? Why yes, she is! Turns out, Tired Me forgot to check to make sure both crate doors were closed. We have no idea how long she was free in the bedroom, but were relieved to find that there wasn't much damage. She'd gotten a shoe and ripped up a paper bag. And that was it. Dan met me downstairs to warn me, but there was no reason to.
And here's where it gets gross, so stop reading if you want. We realized that she should have gone #2 by that time of day. She's crate trained, so she doesn't go in her crate, but the rest of the apartment is her personal toilety free-for-all since she refuses with the passionate fire of 1,000 suns to not be house-broken. Andplusalso, she's a poo eater. We thought maybe we'd gotten lucky, and she hadn't gone, that she hadn't discovered the open crate door and been out long enough. Then again, maybe she'd gotten out and recycled her breakfast as a snack. Dan told me to smell her breath, and I did, mostly as a joke.
And then... she shitburped in my face. I told you to stop reading.
Our Gross Little Thing is currently sleeping happily on the couch, snuggled up with Paisley and completely unaware that she's spending tonight in her crate. I have to get sleep, or I'll go nuts.
In other news, my apron came today! I got the black and white damask, and I love it. I wore it to mix my cake batter for my final cake class tomorrow.
And in other exciting news, my sister and I are planning and throwing our parents a 30th anniversary party. We've spent the last couple evenings planning and conspiring and I'm so excited. 30 years is quite the accomplishment, and I truly admire my parents' relationship. I think we're planning a fun party - with a surprise theme until the invites arrive - that they'll really love.
I'm also contemplating a vacation or a staycation. We're not doing a big honeymoon trip and I need to burn a week so I'm contemplating ideas. I might take a week to be at home and just unwind and then Dan and I might both fly to Seattle at the end to visit my sister. I also considered visiting family in New York and ending my visit with a trip to the Post Secret event taking place at a college nearby. We shall see. If anyone has ideas, I'm open to something economical.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Ode to Clover
Clover turned 6 months old on Thursday, and we've now had her for four months. So I thought I would do a special post about her and what we've learned out about our littlest furry girl in her first six months of life.
She's stubborn, tenacious, and persistant. Let me tell you, that girl is all beagle when it comes to will power. I think it's part of our house-breaking issue. She wants what she wants when she wants it. If she doesn't want to be held, she'll nip. Out on walks, if she finds something she wants and I make her leave it, she'll remember where it was and try to go for it when we come back around.
She's sweet, but not cuddly. She's a sweetie, but in a different way than Paisley. She'll stand by the door and wait for us, and she'll get excited when we get home, but she's not a cuddler. Though she'll snuggle up close when she's sleepy, she's not the lap dog Paisley is. She constantly loves on Paisley though, even if she doesn't love on us. When I'm up with them in the mornings, she's more likely to stay in the room with me.
She's smart and inquisitive. I read somewhere that smart dogs use their paws. She uses hers all the time. Like I said, she'll remember where things are on walks. She's more likely to explore than Paisley. She picked up on some commands much faster, too. She's figured out how to distract Paisley from a bone to steal it for herself.
She's funny. Just watching her, we can't help but laugh sometimes. She'll watch you and cock her head to the side. She loves to rip out grass and shake it vigorously. Because her tail has remained straight and therefore a visible distraction, she's always trying to catch it, and she'll try until she's dizzy.
Though she may have me frustrated at times with the house breaking and whining (she still hates that crate with a passion), she is a wonderful little addition to our family.
Happy belated half birthday, Clover! We love you!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Milestone!
Finally!! We had our first accident-free day with Clover yesterday! All week, she's been getting better and better and never once tried to mark her territory like she had been. After months of inconsistency, I think we've finally got her timing nailed down. She seems to get what I mean when I say "let's go outside!" and she runs toward the door. We're finally getting somewhere. Finally! I thought I was going to go nuts for a little while.
I'm excited for a fun weekend - we've got a lot going on. Since I didn't get to my cookies last weekend, I need to tackle them this weekend. On Saturday morning, I'm headed down to Tucson for a meeting. A family friend has been a member of the TTT Society for as long as I can remember, and I always thought it seemed really cool - probably especially because they fundraised (to send underprivileged girls to camp) by making and selling delicious candy and we sometimes got to help. A couple years ago, my mom joined too. And now I want to join, and I'm bringing my dear friend and bridesmaid, Rachel, along with me. So we've got our scope-it-out meeting on Saturday morning. We have a friend celebrating his birthday at Dave & Buster's on Saturday evening, so Dan and I will probably head out to that. On Sunday, my parents are coming to watch the Superbowl with us. So it's a busy weekend, but it'll be a fun one.
I don't know about you, but I am so ready for this week to be over. My work lap top is annoying me, it's month-end close, and I'm just ready to be done! What are you looking forward to this weekend?
I'm excited for a fun weekend - we've got a lot going on. Since I didn't get to my cookies last weekend, I need to tackle them this weekend. On Saturday morning, I'm headed down to Tucson for a meeting. A family friend has been a member of the TTT Society for as long as I can remember, and I always thought it seemed really cool - probably especially because they fundraised (to send underprivileged girls to camp) by making and selling delicious candy and we sometimes got to help. A couple years ago, my mom joined too. And now I want to join, and I'm bringing my dear friend and bridesmaid, Rachel, along with me. So we've got our scope-it-out meeting on Saturday morning. We have a friend celebrating his birthday at Dave & Buster's on Saturday evening, so Dan and I will probably head out to that. On Sunday, my parents are coming to watch the Superbowl with us. So it's a busy weekend, but it'll be a fun one.
I don't know about you, but I am so ready for this week to be over. My work lap top is annoying me, it's month-end close, and I'm just ready to be done! What are you looking forward to this weekend?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Graduate
Cue the Pomp and Circumstance, folks, because Clover graduated from puppy school last night! She learned (or at least acknowledged having heard of) the commands for sit, lay down, come, stay, take it, leave it, and drop it. She passed her "final exam" and received a large Milkbone (which she shared with Paisley) and this lovely diploma.
And just for fun and comparison's sake, here's Clover's graduation photo:
I can't decide who looks more adorably clueless, but I'm so proud of my smart girls!
And just for fun and comparison's sake, here's Clover's graduation photo: 
And here's Paisley's:
I can't decide who looks more adorably clueless, but I'm so proud of my smart girls!Friday, November 20, 2009
Show Us Your Life: Pets
Today on Kelly's Korner, the Show Us Your Life feature is Pets. I know I've told a lot about Paisley and Clover's antics, but today, I'm going to really gush about them as well as tell their adoption stories and show some of our favorite pictures of The Girls.
Paisley became my whole little world. Every moment was devoted to the walking, training, feeding, bathing, and safe-keeping of my 9-week old puggle. She was always so happy to see me when I came home and she'd curl up with me in the evenings for a nap. The change in my schedule jarred me for a while - it was like how I imagined a newborn to be. Everything in life was planned around when I'd be home to take Paisley out. Over time, it got easier. Then I met Mr. Kingston and we both fell in love with him. I've never seen Paisley get as excited to see someone as she gets every day when he comes home.
We love Paisley because she's sweet, smart, funny, and affectionate. She really is our first baby. We love having her curl up between us in bed or on the couch. I love her talks with Mr. Kingston and how she follows me anywhere I go. She may be an angry elf sometimes, but she's our angry elf.
Paisley was my first dog that I got all by myself. I had just moved into my own place after a break-up and wanted a companion of my own (my ex had a dog I loved and I missed her badly). I researched breeds that would work for me. I wanted a smaller dog, but not yappy. I lived in an apartment, so the energy level had to be conducive. I spent hours reading about the benefits of crate training. I knew I wanted a puggle after I read about their sweet temperment and their size made them a good fit. I considered and weighed the options between rescue dogs and puppies and decided that I wanted to raise a dog from the start. I found Paisley's breeder on Sunday, March 9th and went and saw her. She was just the cutest thing ever. She was crate trained, immunized, and healthy looking, and I took her home.
Paisley became my whole little world. Every moment was devoted to the walking, training, feeding, bathing, and safe-keeping of my 9-week old puggle. She was always so happy to see me when I came home and she'd curl up with me in the evenings for a nap. The change in my schedule jarred me for a while - it was like how I imagined a newborn to be. Everything in life was planned around when I'd be home to take Paisley out. Over time, it got easier. Then I met Mr. Kingston and we both fell in love with him. I've never seen Paisley get as excited to see someone as she gets every day when he comes home.We love Paisley because she's sweet, smart, funny, and affectionate. She really is our first baby. We love having her curl up between us in bed or on the couch. I love her talks with Mr. Kingston and how she follows me anywhere I go. She may be an angry elf sometimes, but she's our angry elf.
We started discussing another dog in probably July of this year and decided she would be our wedding gift. We knew we wanted another puggle. I think we were almost as excited about getting our new pup as we were about getting married - we were looking so forward to bringing her home and having a sister for Paisley. Mr. Kingston suggested the name Clover and from then on, we referred to her as that. Two weeks before the wedding, we went and saw her for the first time.
We brought her home two days after we were married and she and Paisley became fast friends. They play constantly. It's hard to believe we've had her for a month already. Like the wedding, it feels like it was ages ago. Clover is just as tiring as Paisley to take care of, but just as fulfilling. She get happy to see us come home and can be very sweet. She's busier than Paisley though, aand Paisley was buuuuusy. She's more adventurous and independent. She's farther along with house-breaking too.
The Girls are really our little family - we love them dearly, even though they test our patience and sanity at times. We know that when walk in the door at the end of a long day, they'll be there to greet us, give us kisses, and welcome us home.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Ladybug, the Dragon, and Gold Status
Mr. Kingston and I had a fun Halloween. Mr. Kingston worked most of the day, but I got The Girls dressed in their costumes just in time for him to walk in the door.
Paisley was a dragon. A fierce fire-spewing, rawring dragon.
Paisley was a dragon. A fierce fire-spewing, rawring dragon.And little Clover was a lady bug. She wasn't much of a fan of the head part of the costume, but she was still pretty adorable. And she was very interested in Paisley's dragon arms. They looked so cute together!
We got dressed and ready and headed over to Dave & Buster's for the local rock station's Halloween concert. It was a pretty good show, and fun to watch the mosh pit from the safety of D&B's balcony. We also discovered that we've achieved gold status. We're Big Time now. We have enough points to buy small appliances and video games. All in all, we had a fun Halloween!
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