• the dogs,  the sticks

    The Dog Saga Ends Happily

    February 20, 2011 /

    get the ball Spreckles!

    Earlier someone asked how the fence was going and how the dogs are. I’m here to tell you the fence is working GREAT. Money well spent, I tell you. The neighbors are on joking terms with us now and I am sighing the biggest sigh of relief ever. Phew.

    We had one instance where Holly found a gap between some sheds that line the south side of the property (where we didn’t put up a fence because the sheds acted as a wall) and escaped twice. Nothing happened. She didn’t annoy the neighbors. She just sat in the carport and waited for us to come home with her tongue hanging out like a big happy dog.

    old dog

    Part of me wonders if she stayed in the yard the whole time we were gone and then heard us coming and escaped to personally welcome us. Who knows. We’ve since rigged up some old fencing in that one spot and blocked it with last year’s wading pool and a wheel barrow. It’s not the prettiest but we’ve have had no further escapes.

    Spreckles

    Everyone is enjoying the freedom of a big backyard with fencing, especially Spreckles. We play out in the yard with her about a thousand times a day. Some people take smoke breaks. I take ball-throwing breaks with the dog. It does wonders for my nerves.

    throw! grab the ball

    My mom bought this new grabber claw thing ($5 version of the chuck-it) that saves you from having to pick up a slobbery ball and it throws great. I love it. I’m terrible at throwing and this makes it so I can actually lob the ball several feet instead of just thunking it into ground with my usual grace. Even Bug can use it. Everybody’s happy.

    the claw

    I even filmed a little movie with my new camera.

    This may be terribly boring depending on how much you like to watch dogs and people run around in their backyards.

    Then Bug shot some too against my wishes, which ended up being fine.

    And of course we have outtakes.

    p.s. I don’t know why Bug says sorry so much. I think it’s something I do and she copies me maybe. I don’t know…

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  • Bug,  coffee!coffee!coffee!,  fighting the fat gene,  fitness,  Funny Fashion,  illos,  the dogs,  the sticks

    Exercising with Bug

    February 16, 2011 /

    This is the post I was going to post when my blog went down last week.

    3 coffees

    This is me at two in the morning. I have very weird sleep habits. I go to bed at eight pm. Why? Because I’m tired! Bug and the day wear me out. So when I put Bug to bed, I read her a few stories and before I know it my eyes are closing and it’s night night for me too. I really want to stay up until ten or midnight like the rest of the adults but I don’t know, I’m just too much of a morning person and I run out of steam when the sun goes down.

    However, my body doesn’t need 12 hours of sleep like Bug’s does so I pop back awake at two in the morning. This is especially bad when I drink too much coffee and get no exercise. When I lived at the beach I walked everywhere so I was physically exhausted and could stay asleep until at least five in the morning. Out here, not so much. I’m cutting down on coffee (of course) but I’m also trying to figure out how to fit in exercise. It’s been a challenge. The neighborhood is not really the walking kind and well… it doesn’t take much to discourage me when it comes to working out.

    Cool

    I thought I had a plan. I was going to take Holly, the dog, on a long long walk early in the morning. That would be great for her (we usually take her on short walks just down our street) and for me because she’s a big scary black dog who will scare all the bad guys away. I called my mom and was all ready to send Bug over to my mom’s house to watch cartoons while I got some exercise.

    ready to go

    Except Bug didn’t want to be left out. She loves working out. You know she does The Shred, right? She does it more than I do.

    Shredding

    my kid shreds

    She puts me to shame.

    So anyway she was having none of this walking dog business without her. Before I knew it she was off in her room changing into a workout outfit to match mine. I gave in and let her come with.

    WANNA GO HOME

    {click to enbiggen}

    Biggest mistake ever. Never take a kid on a long morning walk BEFORE breakfast. She might be shredded and spend two hours a week doing ballet and gymnastics but she does NOT like to keep up with me when I’m walking, especially when she is hungry, tired and bored. We walked about a half hour and I spent nearly all of it trying to get her to keep up with me. It was mental workout not a physical one. I miss my stroller. (I left it at the beach with Toby. It doesn’t travel well.) So I’m back to square one.

    Jump rope anyone? Or maybe some shredding in the Pink Princess room?

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