TOL #8: Work Anniversary, The Chocodiles, And Mandatory Dance Routines

This week's edition of Thinking Out Loud is going to be a quick one. I typically write my posts 1-2 days before, but I have been slammed this week. I'm not opposed to staying up late to write, but this week I just didn't have it in me.

Chocodiles. I'm an ambassador for Fit Approach, and their latest campaign on Instagram is for Whistle Pet Tracker. The prompts this week have me posting five consecutive days of dog photos, which got me thinking about how rich my life is for having dogs. They are frequently the bright spot of my day. 

I adore our youngest dog, Cooper. We got him as a companion for our older dog almost four years ago. Cooper is talkative, bratty, and stunningly handsome.  

Cooper is the Jeremy Renner of dogs.

Speaking of Jeremy Renner, here is a photo of Hawkeye wearing a pink Hello Kitty outfit. I love this way more than I should:

Hello Hawkeye!

Riley is our older dog, and he recently celebrated his 8th birthday. He is my best friend. Riley seems to get younger as he gets older, if that makes any sense at all. Part of that is the breed...but he also has way more stamina than Cooper, who is five years younger. No matter how excited Riley is to go somewhere, suiting up into his harness is very serious business: he will always stand very quietly, like the gentleman that he is.

Riley boy wishes you a Happy Independence Day 🐻🇺🇸💙❤️

A post shared by Babydoll's Bloggie (@babydoll_brea) on Jul 4, 2016 at 10:22pm PDT

Election. It's been an interesting 48 hours, to say the least. It was also my daughter's first time voting for a president. I was proud her for driving home from college to exercise her right to vote.    

I think all candidates should be required to perform 
a dance routine, a la Napoleon Dynamite. Just saying.

Eleven. This month marks my 11th anniversary teaching cycle at the Y. I am so honored for the incredible members who join me each Tuesday and Thursday during their lunch break (or the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday at 5:45am). My spin class closest to a holiday is often a themed event with prizes for the members. There is a sense of community at the Y that I haven't found at other gyms, and I love being part of a non-profit that focuses on health and fitness. 

Crafty. My photo cards are coming along nicely. I am about a third of the way into assembling them, and I will work on spreadsheets and pricing tomorrow. I am such a nerd for this kind of stuff! The craft boutique is next week, and I may do another one depending on the success of this event. The money I earn will go towards my 2018 trip to Japan :) 

Edit of one of the photos I took of a garden snail in
Kauai last August  

Veteran's Day Half Marathon. Yup! It's that time already. I'm hoping my hip (and now my knee) will be good to go this Saturday. One thing is for sure: I am going to TEAR IT UP with my girl, Dee. She gets here tomorrow and we'll run drive over to the expo to pick up our race packets and bibs for Saturday's race. I'll have lots of great photos to share for Weekend Snapshots this Monday! Here's a photo collage I made of our races together:

A photo posted by Babydoll's Bloggie (@babydoll_brea) on Dec 30, 2015 at 3:43pm PST

How frequently do you race? Do you have any events planned in 2017?

Weekend Snapshots: Pixies, Hill Repeats and The Lactose Intolerant

Happy Halloween, everyone! Can you even believe the first day of November is tomorrow?? Another busy weekend come and gone! It started out innocently enough and then things accelerated to a fever pitch through Sunday. [Do you like how I worked in that baseball reference? And how about Eddie Vedder at the world series last night??] #fangirl

I was working on my hill repeats on Friday, because the wicked switchback and subsequent climb at mile 11 of my half marathon is going to suck be incredibly challenging.  I thought it would be fun to use the timer on my phone and get an action shot to share on Instagram. It didn't go very well.

Here are some of the outtakes from my hill repeats.

I'm not entirely sure what was going on in the bottom left photo since the hill was in the opposite direction, but...okay? I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get a photo, and ended up running twice as much as I had planned. 

Friday night was spent with my best girlfriend. She originally invited Boydoll to see the Pixies with her, but he had a pep rally at the rival high school's football game. I generously offered to step in for him and take one for the team. I'm a giver like that. 

Superstoked!

I'm not sure about the 'majestic' part,
but it is an intimate little theater.

Two things worth mentioning about our pre-game strategy: 

1. I wore adorable boots that are really only intended for wearing in brief intervals that involve lots of sitting. #fail
2. The mocha that I ordered with almond milk had been accidentally prepared with regular milk instead. I should have know better when it tasted creamy, but there was just too much going on. THANKS A LOT, STARBUCKS. Signed, A Lactose Intolerant Patron.

We had dinner before the show, and got in line at 6pm for general admission. Shortly after 7pm, we were the first of about 20 people in the door and we rushed for the rail above the main floor. My best girl doesn't play, people -- she had a plan. We had a perfect unobstructed view of the stage, and we were well out of moshing range. #winning

The opening band came on around 8:30, which was also right around the time my feet fell off and the milk lactose began to wreak havoc on my stomach. I was seriously questioning whether I was going to be able to stay. Somehow, I white-knuckled through the next hour and a half. Four words: It was worth it.  

Such an incredible show! #pixies

The following day required Mr. Doll and I to divide and conquer. He took Boydoll to a jazz event a few hours north, and I headed south to attend family day at our daughter's university. My attempts at cloning have proved fruitless.

Fresh out of the shower and into dress clothes for the jazz festival.
My boy looked so handsome! (Pay no attention to the photo bomber...)

I brought the boys dogs to visit their beloved girl, and we went for a hike in the hills above the university. It was very muggy...but still a gorgeous afternoon. We enjoyed lunch afterwards at The Lazy Dog. It was an especially sweet visit on Saturday. My daughter seemed happy and relaxed, and I loved catching up with her. I'm so grateful she's not going to school out of state. It would be more than my heart could bear, I think. 

This one has my heart.

Views for days and my crazy dog.

Yummy lunch with my girl and the Browns. Riley approved!

I spent most of Sunday puttering around the house and hydrating for my 12 mile run today. It's my last long run before my half marathon in thirteen days. [gulp!] We got a little bit of rain on Sunday and it was HEAVEN. Things are already really tough from the 5-year drought, so we gotta get some rain this winter - please and thank you!

Finally some rain!! 

Thank you to Erin for hosting Weekend Snapshots and Katie at Healthy Diva Life for their weekly link-ups! 

Do you have any Halloween plans for tonight? We're kind of missing it all because we have concert plans with my FIL. I'm really excited to see him, even if it means that I don't get to pass out candy. The littlest first-time trick or treaters are my favorite because they're just so blown away by the whole process, 'Knock on a door and get free candy?? SIGN ME UP NOW.' 

I did dress up as Hermione Granger in my spin class last Thursday. I always host a giveaway during my class closest to a holiday, and the members love it. I'm not sure how any of that went down without any pictures to show for it. It was a bit of a challenge working out wearing a dress shirt and tie, but still great fun nonetheless. Will you be passing out candy tonight? Do you get a lot of trick or treaters?

A Few Photos From A Long List Of Things Our Puppy Has Eaten

1. Plants

Silly me for thinking my
baby-proofing days were over. 

2. Toys

Oh, Hello Kitty. I am so very sorry.

 3. Pens

Where did I just set my pen? Oh.

4. The Last Straw

This chewed piece of plastic used to be my
coveted Millennium Falcon window ornament.
So basically, my dog ate Star Wars.

One

Today is Cooper's first birthday! 

But first, let's show everyone what he looked like at 10 weeks old. There is no other word for this photo except 'adorable', obviously:

Here is what the strapping young man looks like today, although his head looks freakishly Gigantor in proportion to the rest of his body in this photo:

We had a party...with doggie ice cream, naturally. Also, notice the excellent socks that Girldoll wore for the occasion: 

Exhibit A: Cooper tries his first lick of Frosty Paws:

Exhibit B: Taste tested...and approved. 'The Browns' love it! And no, you're not seeing double. The top brown dog is Riley:

Notice Cooper's dilated pupils, intense stare and how his whiskers seems to stand on end? Let this be a PSA to dogs everywhere: we've determined Frosty Paws is actually crack for dogs. Just say no, right? 

"Crack is whack, yo!"

Happy birthday, Cooper. We love you, baby chocodile!

Challenge Accepted

In a recent post, I wrote about how Cooper was determined to try to break free of his plastic collar after his surgery, which included a photo added later in the day. The caption under the photo of Cooper wearing his new ProCollar read, "Try and get outta that, you little shit.' I hesitated writing those words - partially for profanity's sake, but also because those are fighting words. I should know better than to tempt the universe.

I suppose it was just a matter of time. It's sort of like the Tootsie Pop riddle, 'How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?', except our version was 'How many days can Cooper go before destroying the inflatable collar?'

After submerging the inflatable insert to find the leak and
repeatedly duct taping spots, the insert never stayed inflated.

The answer to that question is four. Within four days, Cooper managed to get the ProCollar over his head and pop the insert. Arrrgh! 

Cooper and collar numero dos.
All that rebelliousness is hard work!

Thankfully, Petco replaced it. Let's hope this collar lasts 5 more days until the sutures come out. 

*crossing fingers*

It Has To Be Done

I know it does. So why do I feel so damn sad? 

The vet tech told me that Cooper would come home wearing an Elizabethan collar to prevent him from licking the sutures after being neutered. 

Wait...that makes two animals at home wearing the Cone of Shame?! KILL ME NOW. 

Adolescent

Eventually my blog will return to other subjects...but for now it seems to have gone to the dogs. Cooper is six months old now.

Cooper at six months: one part dog, one part worm.

Dude is seriously gangly.

It blows my mind how quickly he's grown. Cooper loves small, tight spaces to nap, and has long outgrown most of his usual spots: the small china cabinet for my teacups, our wood buffet cart, under the hassock or under the beds. Of course, our bed is his favorite place. If he pushes off the wall with his back feet, he can still wedge his body under the frame of the bed. This would be fine - except once Cooper squeezes under there, he can't get out by himself. 

Momma, I'm stuck...again.

  
Our vet recommended that we wait to neuter him until he matures a little more (physically, obviously). She said that it doesn't really hurt to wait until he's almost a year, and there's less health risks to waiting than a there would be for a female dog.

This is the complete opposite to what the puppy class trainer thinks: "Cut 'em off! He's a total punk, and all he is thinking about is sniffing butts." The trainer is completely right, so the people pleaser in me is struggling with my inner rule-follower. It's a dilemma.

Regardless, Cooper is completely obnoxious. Aside from the constant gratuitous looting of items that don't belong to him, Cooper is a total shit. He is a terrible bully to Riley, and highlights of last night included Cooper being hauled off and sequestered in a time-out in the kitchen...twice. It's like our early childhood days with the kids all over again. 

Components of what used to be my pen.

Also? Dude REEKS. He's emitting these nasty, funky pheromones and if it's been longer than a week since his bath, I have to wash my hands after petting him. He's the most physically affectionate dog I've ever owned, so this means I'm constantly hand-washing. 

I consider this a quality problem, obviously...but it brings new meaning to being so 'stinking cute'.

Snapping

This is a game I call Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately, the game always seems to take place in my lap.

There's generally lots of teeth and sneezing. If you listen closely, you'll hear the clicking of teeth...sort of like doggie castanets.

Riley and Cooper: Animal Kingdom