I’M OK. In fact, I’m doing great! John and I gave ourselves permission to change the plan (gasp!) and allow ourselves a little breathing room between trips. An extra day has really made a difference. Instead of scrambling, we feel excited for our camping trip!

As I explained, I get overwhelmed easily. Sometimes it’s over a lot of nothings, like burning a batch of granola or the incessant clicking of my ceiling fan. Sometimes it’s prompted by a bigger something, like my wedding coordinator resigning from her company 2 months before our Big Day. HELLO. It’s all good now, but I had to shove my heart back down out of my throat a couple of times in the last two days.

But guess what? Good things are coming! We roll out bright and early tomorrow for a little lake just outside of one of my favorite places- Durango, Colorado. We’ll be spending 5 days on Haviland Lake, doing camp-y things with my mom, dad, brother, and sis-in-law (and three dogs!). I’ve got a few things in mind that should make the trip extra fun, but mostly we’ll be paddling around the water or chilling lakeside with fishing poles. Purrrr.

I’ve got honey-ginger lemonade and homemade granola ready to go. John made his gourmet burgers for the night we’re hosting dinner for the fam.

Betty is clean and tidy, with fresh bedding and the pantry well-stocked. The best thing about camping in a sweet little trailer is that you can make it kind of decadent. Betty’s bed is small, but has a cushiony mattress cover on it, and soft jersey sheets. We’ve got the space management down to a science by now, and have every creature comfort imaginable- cozy throws, candles, clothes on hangers. We pack our clothes in little baskets and bring awesome food along. I’ve got a stack of magazines ready for browsing. It’s the opposite of “roughing it”- but it sure is fun.

I can’t wait to share our latest Betty adventures with you next week!

After our stellar road trip to California, I came home to some happy blog-related things.  I was nominated for two blog awards, which makes me feel tingly. I’ve also been asked by my friend Jorie from The Midwest Maven to be a guest blogger in a couple of weeks. I’ll keep you in the loop! It’s such an honor to be thought of by fellow bloggers in a positive light.

I’ve got to say that being out of the daily blogging routine is tricky! I’ve missed it. After being away, I find it hard to find enough time to share all of the things I want to share. I feel like I can’t catch up with my favorite blogs, either. I’ve got some reading to do, and the list is long!

(Speaking of lists, here’s a shot of my work area this afternoon. Maybe I need a better system. And a handle on my coffee addiction.)

When we return next week, the rumble of the Bobcat will be gone, and hopefully our squirrel friends will be starting to return to their new and improved digs. It’s looking just lovely outside, changing significantly each day! I’m so thankful for the hardworking landscapers who have been transforming our home.  It will be fabulous to clink a glass in our new outdoor space when we return. I met my new favorite succulent today!

Oh, and remember when I cooked a lot? Like, ALL THE TIME? I’ve been missing spending quality time with my kitchen these last couple of weeks, and can’t wait to dive into some new recipes. I’ve got (more than) a few I’m excited to try. (I recently realized this list-making method is not as effective as pinning recipes on Pinterest!) Side note: I absolutely love fall and winter cooking. It’s not far off.

You know what else I’ve been missing? CHOLULA. She stayed with a dog whisperer trainer during our California extravaganza, and we couldn’t believe how much we missed our little crooked-eared beast. I’m amazed at how well-behaved she is being, now that she’s back home.  I’m just LOVING the puppy kisses she is giving out like candy! Welcome back to the pack, sweet beast.

And now, off we go again on another adventure. Summer’s almost over- get out and enjoy your weekend! 

Until Wednesday, friends!

Work has been the same ol’ drama that anyone would get working in an office full of women, I just keep my head down and into my work … make sure my patients are happy and along with my doctor. We are short staffed and some days I have been coming home without eating lunch … But Im getting overtime.

Last weekend I would call it my summer vacation, I was able to take a day off and head to the lake with my beau and meet up with friends. We camped there all weekend, spent most of the time on the boat and in the lake. Sunday I was able to experience something that I have never done before … kayaking!!! It was a blast, even going against the current. Surprisingly my white ass didn’t get burned too bad but got a nice tan which is almost gone. That weekend was so fun, my parents dog-sitted and had endless amount of stories to tell.

The weekend before, as you can see I was able to post a picture, my beau and I went over to my parents’ house for a swim and brought our four-legged babies. Riley loved the water and figured out how to make his butt float … it was soo funny.

As for me, being stressed out at work is something a little new for me and bringing it home with me is not normal. Luckily I have been working out daily to get out my frustration and anger. The pay off is great. On a different note, I have been doing everything I can to get my hair to grow faster … I hate this short hair business, and I know that I have to go back to get it trimmed to even it out and get my roots done. I have been debating on adding red into my mixture of color or taking out the blonde completely but I don’t know yet, I have to wait and see.

This is all for now, I will try my best to keep my stalkers updated

Enjoy!

Abby and I reflecting on life

Everywhere in life we have a plan. Think about it, you have a plan for the night, a plan for the weekend, a plan for vacation, and a plan for dinner that evening. You even have plans for how your children will grow up or maybe how the world will end one day. Why wouldn’t you have a plan for your dog training session??????

Get with the planing program!

It doesn’t have to be documented in official memo style and approved by the president (though if you are working with a professional dog trainer they will help you get your plan solidified and ensure that it is beneficial to you and the canine) but at least know what you are going to do and how you plan on doing it. Now with that being said……….i change my plan a hundred times a day!!! That’s ok though, because i’m changing it based on my dogs AGENDA and the FEEDBACK he is giving me while we are training. You do not have a plan so that you have to stick to it like gorilla glue, you have a plan so you can keep focus and maintain CONSISTENCY in your training session.

Depending on the time of day, what i have already accomplished with my dog that day, and both our moods i will pick what the object of our plan will be. If i have been gone all day and Raina is crazy full of energy I will not jump right into long downs, that is not fair to her to drill such a static exercise. I would do something fun first like go outs where she gets to use her energy bursts for good. THIS is the main factor in working on the dogs agenda for your plan. I already know the process on how to train go outs, so i will start where we left off in our last session and see how she performs. Following my plan allows me to focus completely on the dog and keeping these as CONSISTENT as possible so we both learn with fewer mistakes.

I know this may  be confusing at first, or even extremely complicated and overkill, but you cannot be upset or mad at a dog who doesn’t have good obedience if you never bothered to train him right in the first place.

PLEASE remember bringing a dog into your life IS A LOT OF WORK. I can vouch first hand that it is fully worth the work you put into your pup or dog to have a wonderful canine copilot for the rest of your life.

Today is my dog Beaureguard(aka Toot), and his sister Sadie’s birthday. A little less than a year ago my mom, my sister, and I drove out past charlotte to look at these two little cuties, and immediately fell in love with them. I mean how could you not, right? My sister took the little girl and I took her brother, and after a few hours of going back and forth on names we settled on Beaureguard for my puppy, and Sadie for hers. Beau is such a cool dog! He is laid back, but super lovey dovey, and is just all around an amazing dog. The only complaint we have is that he has pretty bad gas every once in a while that could seriously clear a room, hence the nickname toot. Sadie is super spunky and a bit skittish, but completely adorable. They love to play together and they get into all kinds of mischief.

In this past year since we got the puppies, we’ve learned a lot about puppies, lost a lot of paper towels and a set of rattan chairs, and have gotten a lot of laughs and love. I am looking forward to many more dog filled years ahead!

It’s been about 7 weeks since our big guy passed away. It feels like much longer. And, we want to thank everyone who was so gracious in their time – listening as we go on and on. Coming by, sending such sweet cards and all the kind words of support. Thank You. We were a mess and couldn’t have done it without all the love.

We were really naive – we had no idea how hard it would hit us when he moved on. We always talked about how he would be “going off to college”. But, he never comes to visit – that’s weird. That he’ll never ever come back. ever. What’s up with that?

So, we are moving on – cuz that’s what living creatures do. And, we must be a little crazy, cuz we are actually thinking about getting another Great Dane. The next one has to love hiking, camping, going on walks and rides in the car. We must be crazy! And, I should stop listening to country music when I talk about sad stuff. sniff.

******

Booger.

Baxter-Bottom.

Boo.

Babo.

Fatass.

Bob.

Baxlax.

Baxy.

I love my Baxter!

Friday night he had the house (his crate) to himself.

Saturday he was itching to hit up the dog park.

Chef hopped in the car ready to go... anywhere

He really loves letting his his fur blow in the wind

So we went to the dog park he had a great time, I didn’t want to take the camera in because I was afraid it would get wet.

Then Chef came home and laid on top of Grant for a while.

Then the best part of the weekend Chef  decides to try lettuce.  Watch it here!

This is Chef at his grandparents house. He and the cat stared at each other for a few minutes before the cat ran off . ( Do you see the hair standing up on his neck?) Chef was on his leash and couldn't chase the cat. This mad Chef very sad.

This is on the way to Galveston last week. Thats me looking AMAZING right?! We were driving and suddenly Chef just needed to be held like a baby.

How is this a comfortable way to sleep?!

Chef and Grant had quite a show down this week over trying to put the eye drops into Chef's eyes. Chef ignored Grant for a whole ten minutes then brought his bone to Grant's foot to make up.

All of these photos are from Grants Iphone so I hope that explains the quality.

Have a great weekend! I know Chef would want you to!

These pictures might make it look like he loved it but those were from the last half hour we were there.. alot of the day was spent coaxing and finally we just picked him up and carried him into the water.

This is the real way he spent 90% of his beach time

searching for treasure in the seaweed

Check out this awesome spot Mom made for me with my favorite cat towel

those waves look a little too rough guys...

totally passed out on the way home

Here Spartacus goes, being all cute and adorable again…