Bailey Update

So I know when I posted yesterday, I intended for it to be my last one for a while. But I’ve got an update for my 8 followers (most of which I assume haven’t read this in a while!).

I posted a while back that he had somehow cracked a nail, all the way from the tip to the base, and exposed his quick. Well the vet gave me some medications and told me to keep an eye on him. When I brought him back in, they said it was infected and they had to rip out his nail (OUCH and EW) and bandaged it up and gave me more medication for him. He had to go back a couple of times to get it re-bandaged because the silly dog just can’t stay still! Anyway – my mom took him in to the vet for me today and GOOD NEWS – He no longer has a bandaged foot and his nail is growing back!!

The vet said that it was growing in crooked (which you can totally tell and I think is hilarious), so in order to see if it will correct itself and grow straight, they won’t be wrapping it anymore. And he doesn’t need to have a sock on or anything when he goes outside either, which will be SO much easier!! He does, however, have a weird rash/cut where the bandages rubbed against the very thin skin/fur on his leg. They gave us lotion to help with that and just said he needs to have his foot soaked in Epsom salt once or twice a day to keep it cleaned out.

I just hope he doesn’t do anything else stupid. I can’t afford to keep paying for his goofs!

And I swear – I MUST find my camera and cord, because these no picture posts are driving me nuts!!

Pretty interesting day...

So I took Bailey into the vet today to get his toenail checked on - a while back he split one of his toenails all the way open. Then, they didn't think it needed to be removed, so they told me to keep an eye on it.

I thought he was doing pretty well, so I thought today would be a fast and good checkup.

They came out and told me that as soon as the vet touched his foot, it oozed some puss. So they were draining it to see if they could look at the infection better.

Then, probably 20 minutes later he came out with a nub where his foot used to be. NO - they didn't amputate! But as it turns out, they just broke off his entire nail because it was just dead. Then they bandaged up his foot, sent me home with a couple different prescriptions for antibiotics and anti-inflamitories ($$$$$$$$$$) and said to bring him back on Tuesday for a check-up and to get rebandaged. Nice.

My poor puppy!! He's actually doing really well and it doesn't seem that the bandages bother him at all - he hasn't licked at it or tried to get it off. So I guess that's a good sign...more to come on Tuesday!!

(And no pictures because, as you can imagine, it's disgusting!!!)

Weekend Plans

I normally don't like to talk about my weekend before it happens, because I usually don't have any plans or if I do, they happen in whatever order. In fact, my co-workers don't even ask me what I'm doing over the weekend anymore. They just ask me how my weekend was on Monday morning.

But I actually have a busy weekend ahead of me!

Tomorrow, I have to:
- Take Bailey to the vet to have them check-up on his broken toe nail and get a nail trim
- Clean up my room (I still have laundry to put away from last weekend!)
- Watch "Paa": A Hindi movie that I got from Netfix tonight. I've heard awesome things!!

- Laundry
- My sister and brother-in-law and their 3 kids are coming to visit for Thanksgiving, and I'm sure it will involve cleaning and organizing before their arrival!

Sunday I think I'm either going to re-visit a Baptist church I went to last week or I may just try out another one that's a little closer to me.

And of course, Netflix is not going to watch itself.

I leave you with this wonderful parting gift from The Office. (I'd apologize for the quality, but I didn't make this video and it was the best I could find on You Tube).

I love my dog park...

I love the fact that not only do I live 4 minutes from a HUGE dog park, but that I have great views along the way. So this is the view of Garden of the Gods from the entrance to my complex:

The cute little path that I take for about 2 minutes before I'm at the park:

Well, when I got there, a big storm appeared to be rolling in:

I was right. Fortunately, it didn't start until an hour or so after I got home.

Bailey loves the park! Each time we go, he "abandons" me for other owners. Apparently I don't give him enough love at home.

There are pretty patches of sunflowers all over the place:

And you can see the dog park from my front porch!! It's also a good shot of the storm coming in. It's going to be AWESOME watching the snow storms roll in come late September/October!

Jealous?? :-)

Bailey Update

I've been updating on myself but not on Bailey! He has gone from a whopping 128 lbs (oops, Mommy!) to now a nice 108. The vet said somewhere in the 110 range would be good. And he's still up to his old, weird, silly habits.

This is my current fav - it looks like he dumped his toy basket over (notice the paw still in the basket) and played until he was pooped. Love it.

I like ice cream

Bailey likes ice cream. And luckily, I found a doggie ice cream in the frozen desserts section in Safeway!! So I indulged myself (since doggies things like this are just as important to the owner, if not more, than to the dog).

I didn't know how messy it would be, so I fed it to him outside. Turns out it stayed mostly in the container/his mouth, so I could have done it inside. But better safe than sorry!

So here's the proof that it's actually doggie-safe ice cream. It's actually made by Purina!

First, I attempted to feed it to him in the original container. It was too frozen and a little too small for the Monster's face!!

So I thawed it in the microwave, put it in his dog bowl, and he went to town! Much better!

So for those of you who think dogs doing anything is adorable, here's a little action shot! (Only 11 seconds...)

Camping at Taylor Park Reservoir

Justin and I went camping again this past weekend, and boy was it a trip. It actually almost ended before it even began!

We were supposed to leave work at 4, and be on the road by 4:30, and then hit the campsite by about 7:30 pm. What we didn't calculate was the fact that we had to toss our bags with toiletries in the car and stop for groceries. We didn't get on the road until 5, didn't hit Walmart until 5:30, and weren't even on our way until 6 pm. At that point, we had to decide if we wanted to drive 3 hours in the rain to a place we'd never been (mostly on unpaved country roads), and then set up camp in the pitch blackness. We voted no.

So we had 2 options - drive all the way back home and go up the next day or find a campsite near where we were and camp for the night. We figured since we'd already packed everything, already had all the groceries, and were already about halfway there to just camp. So we drove to a nearby campsite we'd been to before and enjoyed and then our trip started!!

Here's Justin working on getting our dinner started - we hadn't eaten since about noon, and that's another reason why we didn't want to drive 3 hours and then set up camp. Who knows when we would have eaten?

Bailey would not wind down! This is one of those rare moments where he wasn't up and alert. I LOVE camping!!!

When we finally made it the next morning, here was our amazing view!

It was a bit physically demanding to set up and tear down our tent and equipment twice in one weekend, but it was worth it!

This is my new desktop background - Bailey and I went on a hike after we set up camp.

There were some amazing flowers all around - this was my favorite shot!

I took a picture of myself just so I would have proof that I was there, and Bailey just happened to turn up in the background!!

The guys getting dinner started on Saturday after they went fishing.

Here are the "kids" - Cooper, Bailey and Shelby!

Saturday night Bailey kept pacing back and forth by the tent and wouldn't relax. Turns out he wanted to go to bed. So I let him in the tent and went to check on him 10 minutes later. He was passed out on my cot with all the blankets and pillows. So I helped him out by throwing a blanket on him and he never emerged!

Check out this first video for my discovery of my silly dog:

The next morning, we had the car all packed up - I think Bailey wanted me to know he was ready to go home!

We stoppd at a lake on the way home so the boys could go fishing one more time - Bailey wanted to run in the water of course!

I had Bailey tied up next to me so he wouldn't take off after Justin. He didn't like it at all:

He vigilantly watched after Justin and wouldn't stop crying!! Here's where he was...

And here's where Justin was.

So for fun, I let him off the leash to see what Bailey would do. He TOOK OFF after Justin like a bat out of hell! I caught some of Bailey's trip back to the shore:

So I finally had enough of the crying and put him in the car. He remained alert for a while...

And then he finally got sleepy after he lost sight of Justin and took a nap...

Camping really takes it out of him. But what he doesn't know is that I'm the one that has to clean up all this mess!!!!!

Saturday Update

I got up early and caught up on some Food Network shows (Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals), while Justin headed out to go fishing in the great 80 degree weather we're finally getting!! I brought Bailey over to my parent's house since I'm dog-sitting Baxter while they're on vacation, and basically let them run around the house. Speaking of the house, the wind was INSANE!! Things were flying around everywhere - it blew all the petals off of all the tulips, the patio chairs were strewn all over the backyard, tree branches broke off of trees and flew around the neighborhood, and my parent's Hummingbird feeder flew off the tree and broke upon impact and their seed feeders all blew sideways and dumped all the seeds on the ground. Whoa. I did not stage these photos:

While the dogs ran around, avoiding flying objects, I watched another Hindi movie, called "Love Aaj Kal". It was a really great movie - good story line, good songs, and a tearful ending. Yea, I cried at the end of a Hindi movie - what of it? It was good!! I also finally got some laundry done - the nice thing about staying at my parents; I don't have to put in quarters to do laundry!



Then, I decided to pile on the sunscreen like I was going to the beach, threw on some shorts and a tank top and went to the dog park! I felt so guilty thinking about how nice it was outside and even though they were in the backyard, I just had to get them out and socialized!! Finally, after the park I took a very needed shower and gave Bailey a bath, then relaxed and planned out everything I would need for my fun-filled Sunday!!

Still alive!

I'm still here! I've been extremely busy at work as we approach our busiest season, and each night when I come home, I just love to crash. But, here's a little update on my life currently:

1). Justin and I were approved to rent an awesome townhome right across the street from the local HUGE dog park!! So not only is the place really nice with a lot of space, but I can take Bailey to the dog park everyday, getting both him and me some great excercise!! And come June 7th, I have no excuse! I'm really excited about it!!

2) Justin's new job is going really well, and I really like the people he works with. He's spending a lot of time at work, and working really hard, and he's having a great time. It's so great to see him so happy! And he'll be on his first business trip for them the last week in May - they're sending him to Kansas City for a full week of training; pretty intense!

3) My parents leave this month for a 2 week cruise around Italy and Greece (jealous much?!?!?!?). They're sending Cody (the puppy) to a dog-sitter who works at their vet's office, so I only have to watch Baxter! They're doing that for 2 reasons: they know my schedule won't allow me to be home during the day and Cody is still in the stage where he needs to go out several times a day, and they also know that the three dogs with just me will be really stressful after a while. But Baxter is a great, easy dog and it's easy to have both of them at either the apartment or the house.

And, the best news is, the 2nd week of the dogsitting is when Justin is on his business trip, so I will stay at the house the entire week, and minus the dogs chasing each other a few times, it will be so quiet!! I can't wait!!

4) No news on the weight loss front, unfortunately - but I have less than 5 lbs to go to get to my goal weight, and if I just started walking more, I should have that off in no time! The best news is that I'm at least maintaining, and I haven't had any gains.

So thanks for checking in! I hope to be back on here soon with some pictures of what's been happening!!

Quick Update

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, hasn’t it? Part of it is due to the fact that I discovered this wonderful website – Veoh.com where you can either watch tv shows or movies online, or download them and watch them later! (Which is great because then you don’t need an internet connection to view them if you download them to your computer!) And part of it is that I’ve been spending almost the last week watching my parent’s dog Baxter, while they’re on vacation! I’ve spent most of the time at the house with Baxter and my dog Bailey and they’re a handful!

And I guess another reason why I haven’t blogged so much is because of this Weight Watchers thing. I spend a lot of time tracking points and foods, which will ultimately pay off in the end because once I know the points, I know them – I only have to find out once. It’s just all this legwork early on that’s tiring. But it’s working – I’ve lost some weight and hopefully will lose a little more.

Goals for this week:
- Continue tracking points
- Lose at least 2 pounds
- Try to eat more fruit
- To not “cheat” and check on my weight before Thursday’s meeting

I need to post more pictures. I’m sure people see my wordy entries and think “maybe I’ll check back later”. I do tend to ramble, so I get that. I like to think that the more pictures I post the easier it is for people to read it. So since I still haven’t replaced my camera cord (since Bailey destroyed it) but my parents let me use their computer, here’s a visual recap of the last few days:

I had a "I need a BIG Starbucks morning".
Taught my first "official class" last week - Word for Beginners

Reached my first Weight Watchers milestone - my first 5 pounds!
My co-worker Kearstin was on Wheel of Fortune!
We made homemade parfaits at work on Friday for our weekly meeting - YUMMY! (Darn those granolas - they were 7 or 8 points!)
It snowed a few times - the dogs love to go out and "eat" the snow.

A funny little story...

On Sunday, Justin went fly fishing and Bailey and I tagged along to get some exercise. Bailey was awake from about 9:30 am to 5 pm; no naps at all! That’s pretty unusual, considering that I am at work 8 hours a day and I’m pretty sure all he does when I’m gone is sleep. He passed out as soon as we got home (after eating dinner of course) and didn’t wake up until 9 pm. We had been out by a creek all day, not to mention there was a snow storm that hit in that area last week that was starting to melt, so obviously he was pretty darn muddy. I knew he needed a bath, but I wanted to let him sleep a little first. So he and I hopped in the shower after his “siesta”.


(Side note – I live in an apartment so I have no backyard or “hose down” option, so my only choice is washing him in the bathroom. And I have a walk-in shower, not a tub, so essentially if I want him to be washed, I have to get in with him. I usually only wash him when I need a shower too, to kill 2 birds with one stone. It works. And since I can shut the door behind me, there’s no comedic moment with a soapy dog tearing through the apartment midway through the bath).


Anyway, I get him initially rinsed off and grabbed for his doggie shampoo, only to realize upon opening the bottle that it was completely empty. How that happened, and I didn’t notice before then, I will never know. But here I am, standing in a shower with a fully soaked 117 pound dog. And no doggie shampoo. He needed to be washed. And I had to make an impulsive “dog mommy” decision –


I had to use my shampoo.


Herbal Essences: Long Term Relationship. It’s made for people with long hair, which Bailey definitely does not have. (Not to mention he’s a dog). Needless to say, each time I poured more shampoo into my hands and lathered Bailey up with it, I groaned a little inside thinking “I can’t believe I paid for this shampoo and it’s going on my dog! Now I have to buy shampoo sooner because I’m wasting it!”


There is some good news to share though – he smells AMAZING and I haven’t felt his fur this soft since he was a 2 month old puppy!! I may have to save my shampoo up once a month when I wash him! I’m so glad I have a short haired breed that only needs a shower once a month! (Per the vet and Dogs 101 instructions on Animal Planet!)

Catch-Up

Ok, so I didn't post last night like I said I would but I'm posting now! Here's a quick photo catch-up of what I've been up to the last week...not much, but some fun things!

Last Sunday, Justin and I decided to make our own guacamole! I was a little afraid, because making it from scratch made me worried that we wouldn't do it right and we'd get sick. Well, we must have done it right because we're both still here!!

Here's Justin cutting open the avacados...I didn't want to because you have to get semi-squishy ones for the perfect guac, and the squishiness grossed me out!

Then he had to gut them and mush them all together - like I said, gross!

While we were making it, it appeared that a snow storm was rolling in. This was as bad as it got - not one snowflake fell!

Don't worry - I did help! I cut up all the ingredients to put in. We had onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and lemon and lime juice.

Then when I wasn't in the kitchen, I was busy making this (just the cross-stitched part in the middle) for a co-worker to give as my final Secret Santa gift. Came out well!

I also stitched some more things for family Christmas gifts, but in case any of my family members still read this, I don't want to spoil the surprise before they get the gifts, so I'll post pictures of those later this week!

And as a parting shot, here's one of my favorites of Bailey - he dreams when he sleeps! Pay special attention to his mouth; I think he's barking in his dream, and it's the cutest thing!!!

Wonderful Sunday

I had a really great Sunday!! And I mean, the best one I've had in a while. But that was mostly because of all the snow!!

My car was COVERED when I took Bailey out for the first time...

There was no one else outside, and Bailey is great off the leash, so I gave him a treat! He had his cute little Orvis sweater on to keep him warm!

Such handsome little man!

After we got inside, he disappeared. Here is where I found him.

Here's the view from the balcony. There used to be mountains there.

Bailey at the dog park! We weren't the only crazy people who went!

Bailey with his favorite thing - a stick!! He will not ever give up a stick!

Here's a good example of what happens when he has a stick!

I worked on some crafts for Christmas presents...

Bailey was apparently tired as I folded my laundry - he clearly had a long day!

Watched some Saturday Night Live On Demand - I am just NOT a fan of Taylor Swift. Yuck.

All in all - it was a great Sunday!! I did everything I wanted, and everything I did, I enjoyed!! Hope you had a great weekend as well!