Pepper and Chloe - Our Girls

When Dave and I met in 2001, I thought we might have a child together. I had Aaron, who was then 6 and he had 2 more boys, then 10 & 14. We quickly decided that the 3 boys were going to be plenty for us! So, in 2004 we got our first baby girl, Pepper. We "met" her when she was 4 weeks old at a local Havanese breeder. She was the last one available in the litter and we immediately put down a deposit on her. I went to visit her every day and she was just a joy. I had bought a stuffed dog toy a few months prior and that became her "baby" which we put in with all the puppies and her mama so she could always have a piece of her family. When she was 6 weeks old (and still nursing!) her little collar was still too big for her and I begged the breeder to let her stay a few more weeks but he insisted she would be fine. So, excited beyond description I headed there with her baby and my cool dog carrying bag. I put her in the bag and put her on the front passenger seat and she promptly cried her little head off. I then unzipped the top of bag and she stood up and snorted like a little pig. It was so sad, she was missing her family. I tried to comfort her, but she just wailed. By the time we got home, she totally sacked out and took a big nap in the middle of her blanket. The first night, I put her in her crate beside my bed and spent most of the night with my hand through the wire door. She did very good and only cried when she needed to go out. I hung a small bell by the back door and each time I took her out, I hit it with her paw. Within a week, she was hitting it herself to go out and to this day still uses that as her signal to go out. After a few nights, Dave said she should be able to sleep on the bed with us. And today, she still does.

When Pepper was 2, she was kind of apathetic and didn't really do much and I really wondered if she was lonely. She also had almost no interest in eating and only ate her kibble every 3-4 days. Around the same time, I became involved with an online Havanese Rescue Yahoo Group. I had signed up to be a rescue contact in Idaho since there were none and so did another lady that had Havanese. Soon, I did a home visit for a third woman who had signed up and then I needed my home visit done. Heather was the one assigned to do that and we quickly became friends. It turned out she had Peppers sister from a different little and another Havanese as well as a German Shephard. She was heading to Bend, Oregon the next week to get a 3rd Havanese from Hystyle Havanese and let me know there was another puppy available in the litter. She also raw fed her dogs, something I had been looking into due to Pepper's lack of luster for her kibble.

Well, Dave and I decided we had to have this little cream Havanese, then named Q-T-Pie. Heather went and got her and her own Tootsie Pop 2 weeks later. By now, Aaron was 11 and very much wanted to be friends with Pepper, but their relationship had started off a big rocky because Aaron was too rough with her when she was little. And Pepper was never really a cuddler, or lap dog. She would sit by you, but not on you and didn't enjoy being held. From the moment Chloe came, Aaron held her and carried her around like a baby, which she still enjoys today. Pepper immediately shared her toys, her bed and her Mom and Dad like the good dog she has always been. Chloe came from a breeder who raw fed, so I switched Pepper and Chloe has never had kibble. Both my dogs LOVE to eat every day and their coats and skin are wonderful and I believe they are very healthy. Each day I feed them a raw chicken wing, a 1/4 of a sirloin patty (from Costco), some rehydrated veggies and Nupro powder. I also give them organ meat and occasionally some rice.

Like all Havanese, they like to shred and play "run like hell", espeically in the snow. They go most places with us and if they can't go, they stay with Auntie Heather and their sisters. Pepper and Chloe have brought immense joy to our blended family. To them we are Mom and Dad and all the boys are their brothers. They bridge the gap of "theirs" and "ours" and love everyone the same. Yes, having dogs are a lot of work, they require time, love, attention, money, feeding, walking, grooming, brushing and a huge commitment, but they are worth every bit of effort.

The dogs also have thier own website www.PepperandChloe.com

McCall Winter Carnival

Dave, Aaron and I (plus 2 Havanese) headed to McCall for the 2nd weekend of the annual Winter Carnival in McCall, Idaho. Full pictures here. Since Dave and I met, we have spent president's day weekend in McCall with all the kids. We used to ski but as the kids grew and their interest waned, we stopped going. Last year, Dave and I (plus doggies) drove up for the day on the actual carnival weekend. We stopped for breakfast in Cascade which took 2 hours and caused us to get behind a huge accident that had happened right in town as the parade was starting. Needless to say, we missed the parade, but walked around town with the girls in their stroller and had a nice day anyway. This year we decided to stay over, and to go the next weekend so there would be less people. Well, I didn't realize that they had moved the harmonica festival to McCall and on that weekend, so it was still crowded but not nearly as bad as it was the weekend before.

It was the first trip for the new Acura MDX that Dave bought last Fall. Aaron was excited and of course immediately hooked up the PS2 and wireless headphones and started gaming. I had my ipod and was listening to podcasts as I read RSS feeds from offline google reader. Poor Dave was left to listen to XM all alone on the wonderful 10 speaker dolby surround system.

The drive up was a bit slow since the roads were snow covered, but not bad at all. We all got off work and school early and headed out about 2pm. We arrived in McCall after about 4:30p and stayed at the AmericInn which was excellent. They had an indoor hot tub and pool and a great breakfast each morning. They of course allowed dogs and I always enjoy staying with other dog people as they are usually friendly.

Friday night, I had made reservations for The Mill which is Dave and Aaron's favorite place to get prime rib. Dave had the "enormous" size which was something like 44 oz and Aaron had the "medium" which was still a huge 36 oz. They both did really well and managed to eat almost all of it. I was stuffed with my measly 12 oz New York steak.

Saturday it was snowing, but fairly nice out as we headed into town to look at the sculptures and go to a little Craft festival. We even rode the bus into town so we could leave the MDX safe in the hotel parking lot. We took pictures of most of the sculptures and even found Aaron a new pair of snow pants in the local thrift store since we found out after we arrived that he didn't have his anymore. He was also fascinated by the huge icicles hanging around various buildings. He had some fun with those. We came back to the hotel in the afternoon and Aaron and I headed to the pool. Aaron met some kids his age and had a great time playing pool games. I sat with my laptop and ipod and was of course happy to have time to do that. The girls were really well behaved and did well in the crates in the hotel while we were out and of course enjoyed the longs walks in the deep snow. There was a storage facility near the hotel that I walked them around and I let them off leash a few times and they ran crazy.

Saturday night we headed out to Mexican. We decided to walk since it was close by and it was a nice evening. It was snowing pretty heavily by dark and on the way back from dinner, we saw the fireworks that launched over the lake. I had never seen fireworks in the snow before, it was pretty cool.

Sunday we had breakfast and then headed home as it was Superbowl Sunday and Dave wanted to see the game. We unpacked and had a nice relaxing, quiet, Superbowl in our jammies and ordered chinese food for dinner.

Hot and Cold

Last weekend we "decorated" the newly planted tree in the front yard. I even put some flowers around it. Hopefully they make it through the freezing mornings we've had.

Though Spring has sprung, it's really been a variety of weather these days. We had some warm days, followed by wind and then freezing nights again. I hate this time of year because no matter how you're dressed if it's windy, you're going to freeze and be miserable. I'm typically on the cool side so I like to dress warm but then if I go out and do any walking during the day, I roast and sweat. Oh well.

Saturday I went to the Fun Match at Ann Morrison Park and met Heather who showed both Tootsie Pop (Chloe's sister) and Tico. The weather started out nice, but as the clouds built up and the wind picked up it definitely cooled down. By the time we left, I was glad I was headed back indoors.

Saturday night Dave's friend Rick got married. It was a nice, simple ceremony and there were some of Dave's work friends there so I mostly visited with their wives. It was nice to get out and dress up, though I didn't wear anything fancy because the party was originally suppose to be outside I was (again) afraid of being cold.

Sunday I really just lounged around and even took a long nap. I spent a good part of the day up in the guest room with the computer, the Tivo, a stack of magazines and my heater blanket. I sewed up some of the girls' toys that had been ripped open and also straightened up the desk a bit more.

The last few weeks, I've really been struggling with depression and missing Aaron. It seems to get harder as time goes on and not easier like I thought it would. Combine that with being crazy busy and stressed at work and trying to workout and diet to lose weight for summer clothes and it's just overwhelming. The first phase in the work changes will happen on the 28th. We will be changing from GroupWise to Outlook for our email. This is going to be a MAJOR change for people and I'm really nervous about how it's going to go. Also at the end of the month, my gym that I've come to enjoy so much is closing. The owner has it for sale, but I doubt that someone would buy it and keep it open for business in such short time. I've been walking the dogs in addition to biking to the gym and working out so I'll just have to start taking longer walks. I've looked into joining the YMCA and may do that just so I have somewhere to go for Yoga/Pillates. I do enjoy that.

I really thought that once Aaron got his computer that I took him over Spring Break, I would hear from him more. I've emailed him more and still never hear from him. He calls when something isn't working right or he has question. I sent him money to get new pants since he apparently ripped his new pair that I bought him last month. I also sent him money for Easter since I had no idea what to get him or send him. I talked to him yesterday and it seems as though the one unsecured access point he was using at the apartment complex him and his Dad live in got locked down so now he has no internet :( I reminded him that his Dad said he would get him internet if he had a computer, so we'll see what happens next.

With the whole Twitter / Jaiku debacle (Leo leaving Twitter) I'm glad to see most like me, have stayed with Twitter and just signed up for Jaiku and put the feed in. I think that's an excellent solution. Twitter is fun, I enjoy seeing what others are up to, especially the ones I listen to their podcasts.

Fun Places

This past Saturday, we drove up to McCall for the annual Winter Carnival. We took the girls and stopped in Cascade for breakfast. Our order got behind a large parties, and it ended up taking over an hour to get our meal so when we arrived in McCall we were stopped on Highway 55 near a church, for quite some time. We parked and were waiting and then noticed emergency vehicles just ahead of us. Then people in front of us started turning around. We waited until we were at the front of what was the line, only to find a major accident. We saw them put someone (I found out later it was a little boy) in an ambulance. As we turned around to take the detour past the Activity Barn, we saw the St. Al's life flight heading to Boise. As we drove past the tubing place, we remembered going sledding there years before with Aaron and Matt. I rode the little dish down a hill and got the wind knocked out me so hard I couldn't breathe. Both Matt and Dave came running and we've all laughed about my daredevil stunt since.

We read in the paper Sunday on that there were no casualties in what looked to be a very bad multi-car accident. We ended up getting to the carnival much later than we had hoped, but grateful we were not involved in the accident as we were only a few seconds behind it and that would have really messed up our day, and possibly our lives.

We had a nice day walking around with the girls in their stroller, with most passerby's oohing and aahing and wondering why a big guy like Dave would be pushing a pink stroller. They only had to look a little closer to see our beautiful doggies and realize why he was so proud.

We walked out onto the lake and I ran the girls in the snow. It took a lot of energy and by the time we walked back to the truck, they both slept soundly the entire way home and even all night Saturday without their usual waking to go outside several times in the night.

Tomorrow we leave for the Oregon coast and can hardly wait. Strangely, there is no cell service which means I won't have internet, email or phone. That's not necessarily a bad thing for me, just different. I am typically glued to the internet and blackberry 24/7.

This past week, I've been catching up on podcasts which is fun, but always leads me to more time consuming things. I've discovered Twitter, Geni, Normal Room and Joost (still waiting for in invite!). I've been keeping up with all these as well as my usual visits to MySpace, FaceBook, Google Reader and recording the latest episode of the Mind and Body Cast on Tea.

I'll be unplugged the rest of this week, but back online, absorbing info like crazy next week! I leave you with the thoughts of being grateful for getting delayed, because you may be glad you missed something else.

Results

So, I am starting my 4th week of "commitments" and really expecting to see some results. So far, I've been sore, hungry, tired and have only lost 2 pounds :( I remember from doing the WW thing before that it does take a while to see results, but I was at least dropping weight each week. This time I've added the fitness component and thought for sure it would be coming off quicker. I still want to eat bad things, want to eat way more than I should and think I'm starving in the night when I get up to let the dogs out.

This weekend is the McCall Winter Carnival and we are planning on going up for the day. There's lots to see with all the ice sculptures and other things going on around town, but I just really want to take a drive and get away from the house for a day. We'll take the girls and eat out and it should be a lot of fun.

On the 31st, we leave for the Oregon Coast. I wish the trip was longer, but it's all we could both spare from work. I've been watching the weather for Newport, which is the closest large town to where we are staying. So far, it looks about as cold there as it has been here :(

I finally got a new coat, it was a present to myself for quitting smoking. My other coat was old and stank like smoke. I had ordered one from Victoria's Secret, but of course it didn't fit. I used to order from them all the time and loved their clothes. Now that I'm obese and in my 30's I guess their stuff just doesn't fit anymore. Out of $400 worth of stuff I bought (all of clearance, so that was a LOT of stuff) I was only able to keep the underwear and 2 shirts. One other shirt was ok, but the color was gross. So, the coat went back and off to Burlington Coat Factory I went this weekend. I actually got 2 coats for less than I paid for the 1 from VS. I got a nice pink wool coast for my work coat replacement and also got a very cute leather jacket. I've never had one before and this was too cute to pass up. It was also kind of a reward for my hard work so far. Hopefully I will actually accomplish something worth rewarding!

I've been keeping at my points each day, staying away from soda, caffeine and cigarettes and working out 4 times a week and taking all my supplements, so I'm doing everything I should be, just anxious for results.

I just finished reading Sharon Osbourne's autobiography Extreme and it was sure good! I've always been an Ozzy fan and sure enjoyed when the Osbourne's reality show was on and even watched Sharon's talk show when it was on, but the book was an amazing insight to her life and her story.

Santa Was Very Good to Me!

Here it is, Christmas day afternoon. The kids have all disappeared with their goodies and Dave is watching football. I turn to electronics as I sip a Fat Tire and prepare taco meat for Dave's birthday dinner.

Santa brought me 3 GREAT gifts from my Froogle wish list. Very cool. I got the memory card for the Blackberry Pearl that I bought myself for Christmas a few weeks ago. Now I can put MP3's and more pictures and video than I can stand on there. Also, it allows me to take 200+ pictures with the built in camera, instead of the 77 the 20mg on board card allows. I can also use it like a thumb drive for moving data around as I do with my ipod. Now I just need the cool Bluetooth headphones Dan sent me on Friday that will allow the Pearl's headset jack to be stereo on nice wireless headphones that you can talk on the phone with also. No more pausing the Ipod to answer the phone if it's all in one. I also got a heating blanket that's low wattage and supposedly not bad for you. Also, the coolest bedrest with a light, heater and massager and cup holder. Sweeet! Dave's mom got me the cutest doggie purse, I can hardly wait to take it to work tomorrow, it looks so real! Bobbi got me a beautiful pink columbia jacket. I wear the dark pink vest she got me almost constantly, but sometimes a girl needs arms :) Dan got me a leatherman, so I don't have to borrow his and Dave's all the time. Aaron promptly read the directions and quizzed me on how to use it. I guess without him around I should learn to fend for myself mechanically :( My friend Heather also got me a cool Fiskar's cutting system for scrapbooking and some cool toys for the girls.

Aaron got a skateboard, some games, a cool tool set and cash. Matt got money, Jeff got all Wii and DS stuff, Dave got a lot of food and gift certs and some wine and the girls got some new toys and treats and a new toy box.

The festivities started on Friday when the girls and I exchanged gifts at work. That was fun. Then the Mad Dogs in the afternoon. Saturday I was pretty sick and just stayed in my jammies and tried to rest up for the next two days. Sunday we all went to brunch at Dave's sisters and ate and talked. Sunday night we went to Bobbi's for an excellent lamb dinner, fancy stuffing and rice and a really good salad. I topped it off with too much toffee cuz boy did I have a stomach ache after all that! Today we did the stockings, waited for Matt to get up and come over and then opened gifts. It's been a nice quiet day.

I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow. I originally had the day off as Aaron was supposed to leave for his Dad's but now that's been postponed until Saturday the 30th.

My friend Cheryl's cute little Bentley is doing much better after his scare earlier this week where he had to be rushed to the vets because of low blood sugar. Chloe is still not eating as usual, but today she is off the 2nd pain med and is definitely acting more lively and not whining nearly as much. Now it's just been she's being a baby or wants something, not for pain, LOL

To all a Happy Holiday!

Switch-A-Roo

So, I've switched my 3 day old blog over to google. I liked the Podshow page, but when I went back and revisited the header image and still couldn't get it to look right, I was frustrated. It just so happened Google released their blogger site out of beta and since I'm totally in bed with Google with gmail, google talk, google pages, google reader, orkut, browser sync, video, documents and searching, I figured what the heck. I love the template options and picked one that I think suits me. So, here I am.

I just realized that my first 3 posts came up backwards even though I changed their dates. Oh well, it'll be right going forward :)

I took Chloe back to the vet today to get more pain meds. She continued to cry and be uncomfortable all day and I just don't think she should have to suffer like that. So, she had her first dose and seems to be sleeping peacefully now. Thank Goodness. Now, if I could just get rid of this darned cold :(

My Little Chloe

Chloe is my 2nd female Havanese who turned a year old on December 12th of this year. Since she came into heat in November, it was time to get her spayed this month. I took her in yesterday to Intermountain Vet and dropped her off first thing in the morning. Chloe is a very cuddly, loving dog, but kind of shy. She was excited to see the people in the vet's office, but didn't like them to get too close. When I passed her off to the Nurse, she gave me her patented "stink eye". Unlike Pepper, who loves everyone and would go home with anyone who gave her the time of day Chloe is a mommies girl. She has a particular disklike of men, but seemed to be ok with the vet who she had met before when she came in for shots.

I waited anxiously for the Vet to call yesterday and they did when she got out of surgery. She did great and her blood work came back good, so that will be handy for the future if she has any problems that require a comparison. It started snowing late in the afternoon, so I left work early and it took over an hour to get to Meridian, which is normally a 20 minute drive. When I picked her up, she was still drowsy but gave me some nose kisses and a low tail wag so I knew all was well. In the car ride home, she sat quietly in the back seat, looking around for her sister who is always with us during car rides but Pepper was waiting at home.

Dave came over to visit Chloe and held her in his lap while we watched a movie. She slept peacefully and went out to go potty, but didn't eat her dinner. She left ok, but whimpered periodically. Last night it snowed about 2 more inches and her and Pepper went and played outside and since then, Chloe has been whimpering despite the fact that I finally got her pain pill down her after several attempts and her promptly spitting it out. My cold also came back with a vengance yesterday afternoon so when I woke up to snow and my cold and a wimpering dog, I decided not to go to work. Well, my friends all have my gifts here and there is the annual Mad Dogs awards today so I didn't want to miss that, so I emailed Bobbi who lives only 2 miles from me. I drove to her house after the roads were somewhat clear and she gave me a ride to work.

Michelle, Deanna, Jamie and I all exchanged gifts which was a lot of fun. I'll post the pictures this weekend up on my Webshots. I'm feeling better now and glad I came in to join the festivities. Aaron has called several times saying Chloe is whimpering so he's been wrapping her in her favorite blanky and holding her to help comfort her. He just called and said he's going outside to play in the snow with his friend, so I told him to put her on my bed where I've left the heating blanket on for her. Mad Dogs doesn't last long and I should be home in a few short hours to comfort her and keep her warm.

Chloe has been a wonderful addition to the family and I also made a new friend because of her. Last year, I responded to a post of someone needing a Home Visit in Idaho for them to be able to adopt a rescue. I responded and went to visit a family. In doing that, I volunteered to become an Idaho contact person for the Havanese Rescue. Little did I know, another woman in town had volunteered to do the home visit on the family I did, so when I signed up, the contact in WA sent Heather to visit my home. We immediately bonded and found out our dogs were sisters from different litters. Her Kaera and my Pepper are a year apart and one looks like Mom and one like Dad. Heather and I are nearly the same age, are both neat and tidy (ok, anal) and love to talk. We've been great friends ever since and I see her whenever I can. So, thru Heather, I got Chloe. Heather, who is friends with Tonisha of Hystyle Havanese in Oregon, was going to pick up her Tootsie Pop the following weekend from when we met. She mentioned there was another girl available in the same litter and Dave and I talked about it and immediately requested pictures. We fell in love with her sweet face and Heather brought her home to us on her own birthday, Feb 28. Pepper immediately fell in love with Chloe just as we did and took wonderful care of her and shared everything and played gently with her. She even taught her to ring the bell to go out and how to properly shred and destroy anything left around the house suitable for dogs.

Before I got Chloe, I had been listening and reading about raw feeding and when I found out Chloe was coming from a breeder who raw fed and after talking with Heather about it, immediately switched Pepper over and have been feeding them raw ever since. I am continuially amazed at the difference in thier coats and their excitement over mealtime. When Pepper ate kibble, she would frequently go 3-4 days without eating and only out of desperation eat her kibble. Now, every meal is exciting and they love to eat. And I know the food I am giving them is best suited for them and healthy and not a bunch of corn and grain filer which brings the dog no nutritious value. So, Heather has Tootsie Pop and I have Chloe who are sisters as well as our Pepper and her Kaera. Heather also has Tico, a a male Havanese and Taeya a beautiful german shephard. We get the dogs together for play dates and grooming sessions (Heather has been teaching me to groom them myself since I got the 2nd dog so I can save costs) and she even babysat them and Aaron during the HTEH company Christmas party this year. It's nice to have a great friend to share our doggies with :)