Molly has been with us for one solid week! Only 94 weeks until she is out of puppyhood and into being the best all grown up doggy we could hope for.
We have had a few minor glitches – chewing is obviously going to be a big one for her to get over, but so far she has not destroyed anything major. Not for lack of trying, but hopefully she will get the hang of chew toys.
Our vet suggested a rope toy, soaked in water, and frozen, to help Molly through her teething. Another work in progress….
Other than the chewing thing, Molly is doing good. She has quit stealing shoes and the bathmat! And she is almost really good at doing her business outside. 💩
It is time for Molly’s lunch and a nap with favourite toy – her very own elephant (compliments of granddaughter Genie💝).
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞
I took Molly in for her Parvo vaccine and initial puppy checkup yesterday. I was a bit concerned about driving there alone because I had no idea how she would be in the Jeep, so asked granddaughter Genie if she had time to come with us. Fortunately she obliged!
First off, Molly was quite happy to have her first visitor. She bonded quite easily with Genie – and had her first opportunity to sit on the sofa. 😲
Everything went great. Molly was fine in the Jeep. She laid down in the back with her head poking through between the front seats. Out of the vehicle, she was quite happy to walk nicely beside Genie on her leash.
Molly weighed in at 10 kilograms (22.4 pounds). She let Genie lift her onto the vet’s table and distract her while she got a complete once over (including getting her temperature taken 😳). Everything checked out fine so she got her vaccine. The only ‘glitch’ is that because of the high risk of Parvo right now, she cannot go out of our yard until she has had the next two booster shots. (8 weeks I think). It isn’t a big deal now, but I was hoping to have her totally used to taking walks around the neighborhood before she got much bigger. At least we have a big yard to practice in.
We came back home. Molly and Genie played and cuddled until Dan came home – because Genie can’t leave without seeing Grandpa and getting her obligatory hug. 💞
Today, Molly has been a little under the weather. She had a bit of ‘intestinal trouble’ this morning, so I gave her a tablespoon of pumpkin which seems to have taken care of things. She is starting to perk up now.
Did I mention Molly likes to take things that don’t belong to her and chew on them? She is learning ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’. It’s a work in progress. 🙄
That is it for Molly news today. Take care and have a great rest of the day.
Warning – This post will be lengthy and it might come off as being kind of ‘know it all’. So for the record – I am sorry and I don’t know it all. This post is written with my grandkids in mind, the ones who are old enough to read my blog. I am writing it because I love them, I want the best lives possible for them, and because they are more likely to believe what they read in a blog than what some grey haired Grandma tells them. 😊
It is ten weeks since I started my spring fitness plan. I have been meditating every single day and dancersizing almost every day. (I did substitute a healthy dose of snow shoveling a few times.) I haven’t been terribly consistent about having a glass of red wine every evening but since we got our new pup Molly, I have had one Caesar and another one is sounding good.
The bottom line is things are going really well. My fitness level is amazing and I have no doubt that it will get way better as my program is working and I cannot imagine giving it up anytime soon – or ever. It is a lifestyle – my lifestyle going forward.
I have realized so many things since mid-February, that I decided to share a few today.
1. Living a good life depends on having physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial fitness. The best fitness level in all categories possible. It is bizarre how little effort we tend to invest in our overall fitness. Especially, since it takes so little time and effort to make noticeable improvements.
2. Fitness is so important that we believe everyone deserves it. And somehow because we feel everyone deserves it, we often feel entitled to it. Feeling entitled to anything is bad, because then we feel we shouldn’t have to work for it. We have to work for the things that are worth having, and we have to maintain them, and we have to value them – even if we receive them freely from family, friends, or the universe. If we do not earn them, or maintain them, or value them – we lose them. And then we sit around being miserable because we do not have them and it is ALL so unfair because we feel entitled to them! 🤦
3. At any point (even when we are really old – like almost 67) we can turn things around. And, if we start working on one manner of fitness – physical fitness, or mental fitness, or emotional fitness, or spiritual fitness, or financial fitness – it affects the other fitness categories that are important to us. It is amazing how that works!
4. Everyone can do something to improve their fitness levels – excuses won’t do it, worrying won’t do it, blame games won’t do it, and pity parties won’t do it. It has to be something constructive – something like physically working out, meditating, praying, getting out in nature, breathing fresh air, reading self help books or websites or seeking professional counseling, making and following a healthy diet plan, making and following a financial budget, spending time with loved ones – or spending time alone. We are all unique, so we all have to find what works best for us. Others can help us, advise us, or inspire us, but no one can do it for us.
5. Trying TOO hard is counterproductive. If we are trying and trying and giving it our all and it isn’t working, we are doing the wrong thing or we are doing the right thing wrong. I did this physically for my entire life – and people told me I wasn’t trying (mostly phys-ed teachers, but… whatever). Nobody told me that I was trying too hard, that maybe I was not like everyone when it came to how I was built, that maybe I had to approach physical fitness in a different way. Finally, as a senior, I decided that I had to get physically fit – at least fit enough to get some enjoyment out of our approaching spring. I knew I felt best when I put in my earbuds and cranked up the tunes from my youth to do dishes or other household chores so I decided to put in my earbuds and do a bit of dancing each day. I have asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. I am overweight. Due to a genetic collagen issue and a lifetime of ‘trying too hard’ I had the muscle tone of limp asparagus. But I finally took the right step in the right direction (for me). I will probably never be an athlete, but I feel better AND I have muscle tone in my arms and my back and my core and my legs. My flexibility, my circulation, and my balance are all better. I breathe easier and I have started to lose weight. And I have moved up from Buddy Holly to full on Zumba. My physical fitness has improved! Because I stopped pushing my body to do what it couldn’t, and I allowed it to do what felt right for me. This trying too hard can be detrimental to whatever type of fitness you are striving for – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or financial. Sometimes you have to ease off and rethink what you are doing and how well it is working for you.
6. One interesting (and totally unexpected) side effect of improving my fitness levels, is that while I am focused on improving MY fitness levels, I am way less concerned about judging or changing or fixing other people. 🙄
7. Finally, no matter how fit or unfit we are – life happens. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Life happens. The fitter we are, the better we handle it all. The good times are better. More opportunities come our way and we are ready and able to make the most of them. We are in the right mindset to appreciate and cherish them. The fitter we are, the less we stress the bad times – we are in a position to deal with them quickly and easily. And the downright uglytimes …. There will be heartbreak, disappointment, pain and grief…. When the ugly happens – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial fitness makes all the difference – for us and for those nearest and dearest to us. We have what it takes to get through such times and to help others through them. We get past them and move on to better times.
Getting and staying as physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially fit as possible is the most important personal responsibility that one has in this life. We deserve health, happiness, love, faith, peace, and financial security. But we have to work for it. It is never to early or too late to start or expand our efforts to empower ourselves through fitness. Do it – Your life will be brighter, your future self will thank you, and your loved ones will thank you. 💝
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great life!
Just a short update today on life with our new pup.
Molly did way better last night! We went to bed with her at 10, she slept until 3:30, I took her outside for a few minutes, and she went right back to her bed and slept until almost 6 this morning. Yay Molly!
Her potty training is going well. She has had two or three piddle accidents in the porch and one in the bedroom. That is ALL. Not bad for a puppy with no housetraining prior to coming here. 😊
She still isn’t into walking on a leash, but Dan went and bought her a harness today which helps. I also watched a You Tube video on leash training and read up on the leash biting issue, so I am ready for another session tomorrow. Gotta love You Tube and Google.
Other than that, Molly is busy chewing on everything and dragging anything she can shake loose (blanket, bath mat, shoes…). Standing on her hind feet she can see, if not reach, anything that gets her attention – and everything gets her attention.
Tomorrow is her first vet checkup and vaccine! That should be fun. Everyone in the vet’s office enjoys meeting a new pup. 💝
NaptimeI think she grew overnight. 🙄
That is it for today. Take care and have a great rest of the day!
After giving it a decent amount of thought, we decided ‘Molly’ was a fitting name for our new Pyrenees.
Things have been going fairly well. She generally comes when called, seems to know she is Molly, and definitely understands ‘No’.
She is good with her color but hasn’t quite figured out the leash. But she is working on it!
She didn’t have a great night as she was obviously missing her family. She did stop whining long enough to drag Dan’s belt across the house at one o’clock in the morning – thump, thump, thump. And she finally dozed off for a couple of hours at four! 🙄
She likes being brushed – sitting not so much and she is particularly offended at the concept of ‘stay’. She did do much better during my workout and potty training is progressing fairly well.
All in all, not a bad first full day and we see a lot of potential. 🤗
Molly Taking a Stroll
That is it for today. Take care and have a great rest of the day!
We have added a new member to our little family. She is a Pyrenees sheep dog. I have been wanting an Old English Sheep Dog but they are hard to come by in these parts. Maybe they are not up to dealing with our weather. 🤷
She was very good this morning, despite separation anxiety from her Mom, siblings, and human family. She is not house trained but does her business when I take her outside. She has not been trained at all (she is barely nine weeks old) but is obviously highly intelligent, understands what I want her to do, and ignores me when she has other plans.
She loves to play outside, nap when she is inside, and she ate her lunch with no hesitation. 👍
The only downside so far was when I did my dance workout. She likes to chew on things and apparently when I dance, I am her everything. It was hard to concentrate with a twenty pound pup chewing on my toes, ankles, knees, and butt. When that didn’t get her anywhere, she decided to howl – louder than the music I might add. Finally, she got bored and decided to drag her blanket from one end of the house to the other. It was too adorable but awkward when she would go between my legs. Now that my workout is done, she is exhausted, so sound asleep in the middle of the livingroom floor.
Her ‘pillow’ was Kat’s bed. 😳
That is it for my big news of the day! Take care a have a great day!
(Ps – She doesn’t have a name yet. We are still debating. 🙄)
Today is the 9th anniversary of the day my mother passed away. She was 95 years old and even at that advanced aged – over the course of 95 years – she had not reached perfection. She was still human with human flaws and foibles.
That bothered me at the time. I had this idea that mothers were supposed to be perfect – superhuman. Mothers were there to raise, protect, support, and cherish their children – because that is what mothers did. That is what my mother did. Obviously, mothers were supposed to have their own lives figured out and all of the kinks ironed out before taking on the lofty position of motherhood. My mother had a few kinks – despite being a mother, a grandmother,and a great-grandmother. I had valid reason to be bothered.
Not only was my mother supposed to be perfect but (in my mind) by the time I became a mother I would be a responsible, mature, all knowing, kinkless, perfect super human.
I am pushing 67 years old, a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and shockingly – my life is still a work in progress! I am still learning, still changing, still growing up and still a flawed and foibled human being. What the hell?!
Mom & I – mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers.
I can’t believe that it has taken me this long to realize that everyone is human and has their own path to travel through this life – their own thoughts, dreams, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, disappointments, and kinks – even mothers who are doing their level best to raise, protect, support, and cherish children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
I wish I could call my mother and tell her it is okay that she wasn’t perfect, that she never reached perfection, that I finally get it and appreciate her humanity. But I am sure she knows …..
Rest in Peace, Mom 💞
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day. 💞
I have been rather MIA on WordPress for the last few weeks. This bothers me, because I do enjoy posting and reading everyone else’s news and views of the day. It is hard to explain, but I have gotten so caught up in my spring fitness plan, that I have rather lost (or found) myself in it. 🙄
When I met Dan, I had a little Terrier named Scraps. She had this wierd habit of becoming totally mesmerized at random moments. She would be walking across the room and suddenly go off into her own little world. We referred to these episodes as ‘Scrapsing Out’.
Mark and Scraps
Anyway… For the past few weeks I have been ‘Scrapsing Out’. It started innocently enough when I realized my fitness level was not going to cut it when spring (and spring yard cleanup) arrived. I started dancersizing for half an hour a day. The results were almost impressive. I am looking and feeling much better. I even have muscle tone in my arms!
I noticed that I was feeling mentally sharper and emotionally grounded – so I started engaging in more mental exercise and meditating on a regular basis.
When our snow and ice melted (currently it has temporarily returned), I started walking everyday. I also got focussed on spending more time preparing healthier meals.
Every day, I am feeling better, am more energetic, and am more active. But, I have kind of lost that time that I used to spend blogging. Since, that was quality time for me I am definitely trying to get back to fitting it into my new lifestyle. It may take a while but I am working on it.
But… I am also really enjoying feeling more fit everyday! And I am totally impressed that I have kicked up my dancersizing routines. This is one of the You Tube ones I use now. Obviously, I do not look like these girls but I am doing a pretty amazing job of keeping up with them. 😊
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 