An Adorable (!) LinkUp

Get ready for some freakin' cuteness overload with this linkup!! 

This new linkup is called, "Pets are People Too" and is hosted by Jade and Oak and Karly Kim.  It is a fun way to learn about other blogger's pets, and see a TON of cute pictures.  If you're an animal lover, check it out! 

If you have been reading this blog for more than a day, you should already know that I have two furbabies of my own, Molly and Skittles.  They are two kookie little dogs that we treat like our children.  We even bought a Burley bike trailer so we can take our dogs on bike rides with us...Yes, we are THOSE people, and damn proud of it!

The proof...

First up, Molly Elizabeth McGoo.

Molly is my sweet, old, baby-girl.  She is an 11 year old fox terrier.

Molly was actually originally my brother Dusty's dog when he adopted her from the Dane County Humane Society in 2007.  Dusty's wife is from New Zealand, and they made the decision to move back to New Zealand for awhile after my niece was born.  They did not know how long they would be gone, so they did not want to go through the process of taking an animal into another country.  My parents offered to keep Molly until they returned to the U.S. because they just couldn't see this lovebug back in a shelter.  Plus, she had already been in all our lives for about 2 years, and no one wanted her to go!

 During my 2008 fall semester of college, I opted to live at home with  my parents because I was studying aboard during the Spring 2009 semester, and did not want to have to deal with finding a sub-leaser for my apartment while I was out of the country.  Molly and I bonded over the next 4ish months, and I cried when I had to leave her behind.  When I got back from Italy 5 months later, this little pooch was BEYOND excited to see me, and I cried all over again.

About a month after I returned from studying abroad, Dusty and Kate returned from NZ.  They saw how close Molly and I had become over the year they were away, and they decided she was my dog.  She still gets uber excited to see Dusty and Kate, but she knows who her momma is now.

I've had my Molly-Monster (Nick's father's favorite nickname for her) for over 4 years!  She has seen me at my best, and at my worst, and yet she still loves me.  Molly has snuggled with me while I've cried, and ran around the house with me when I was excited.  She hates baths and the scent of oranges, but loves sleeping under the covers and going camping.

Furbaby #2, Skittles Marie McGee

Nick and I bought this little naughty baby as a puppy.  We bought her on 11/11/12, so we have had her for just over a year.  I call her naughty all the time, but it reality, she's a great dog!  Skittles was so easy to train, that it still blows my mind.  After having her for less than a week, she was already potty-trained, and starting to learn sit.  Nick and I are lucky in that neither of our dogs need to be on leashes.  They always go on leashes when we go for walks, but when we're just outside in our yard, or at someone else's house, they don't need them.  We were worried about trusting Skittles without a lease, but she had a good role model, and always just stuck by Molly's side.

Skittles is one of the quirkiest little dogs I have ever met.  She has just a distinct, silly, personality.  Her favorite activities include parkouring, running with mommy, and snuggling.  She hates wearing her sweater and when you make fun of her when she toots...I call her Princess Tooty Butt and she gets the saddest look on her face.  I feel a little guilty that I am shaming her, but it's just so darn cute and funny!  

Most of time, Skittles drives old Molly crazy, but deep down, I know Molly loves her little sister.  If another dog gives Skittles any grief, Molly is there in an instant to back her up.  

Our little Skittles and Molly mean the world to Nick and I, and we wouldn't trade them for anything!

NSV

My legs were HELLA sore and tired yesterday from my Tuesday night run.  I used this as an excuse to not run last night.  I did have grand intentions of at least going to the gym, but then I had a few too many of these

So instead of going to the gym, this is what my night consisted of:

A lovely fire outside that included roasting marshmallows and makings s'mores, and taking ridiculous pictures of our DOGters.  Molly reminds me of a glamorous granny, and Skittles just looks like a boss and super bad ass. 

Now, on to some serious matters.  My NSVs for the week.  

I had to buy a new belt a few months ago and hated the fact that I ended up having to buy a large.  Even with buying the large, the tightest I could get it was on the second notch.  This means I almost needed the XL.  I'm proud to say that yesterday I wore said belt, and I was able to put it all the way to the LAST notch!  Before I know it, I'll need to buy another new belt and it will be a medium!!!

Coinciding with the tighten of my belt is the fact that my jeans are all slowly becoming too big.  I wear an 8 or 10 depending on the brand, and I now need to wear my belt with almost all my jeans!  I cannot even remember the last time I wore anything smaller than an 8.  I just might need to go on a shopping spree soon!!

I hope everyone else is having great Non-Scale Victories too!!   

How to Tell if You Have a/some Awful, Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Really Bad, Naughty Dog(s)

Workout:

30 Minute Walk with Dogs-1.67 miles

4.65 mile run – 42:38

Brrrrr! What a chilly, windy run.  Despite the cold, it was a great run overall.  My speed has gotten so much better lately, I felt like I was flying.  My shins and calves felt tight for the first 2 miles, but they eventually got with the program and loosened up.

This week has been off to a really great start, and I am proud of myself for following my weekly goals so far.  I have taken the beast dogs for a walk both yesterday and today.  In fact, they went on two walks today.  I thought it was supposed to rain today so I took them for one in the morning before it started, in case we didn’t get a chance to after work.  It still hasn’t rained yet, so I also took them for another one after my run to cool down. 

I also got my butt to the gym and did strength training last night just as I had scheduled. I maybe did not do as much as I wanted to/should have since I only did arms, but I had to get back home to study for a Spanish test that I had today.  At least I got to the gym and did something though.   

Another victory today was receiving a bag of candy from a textbook rep, and not having a single piece of it.  Get I get a HELLLLL YEAH?!  It was filled with Rolos, Starbursts, mini Twix, suckers, Jolly Ranchers, KitKats, basically everything Heaven is made of, but I resisted.  I put the bag in a desk drawer so I wouldn’t stare at it and be tempted.  I’ll save it to share with my student workers, or for another day when I feel I have better control over my sweets addiction.

One final thought.  I am thinking of sporadically writing a series of posts called, “How to Tell if You Have a/some Awful, Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Really Bad, Naughty Dog(s).”  You may ask, where did this idea come from?  Well, my dogs are usually very well behaved, but every now and then, they do stuff that is just so naughty that I cannot believe they actually did it. 

Exhibit A: When I got home from my run tonight, one of them…ahem, Skittles…had pooped on the floor.  How did I know it was Skittles?  As soon as I walked in the door, she jumped up on the couch and gave me the “Awwww shit, I’m in so much trouble look.”  For some reason, anytime Skittles does anything bad, she always sits on the couch and gives us that look.  You think she would be smarter, and act like she has no idea what’s going on instead of giving herself away immediately. 

Dogs have accidents some times.  You ask, why is this SO naughty?  Well, not 3 minutes before I left on my run, that little naughty baby had already done her business, in a BIG way, out in the yard.  She’s a little 15 pound Boston Terrier puppy for pete’s sake, where is she storing all that poop!?!?

Exhibit B:  Molly dog is an older gal, and she is a bit lumpy and bumpy. She has a few fatty lumps on her legs that the vet is not at all concerned about.  One lump in particular is about the size of a pea.  She has had it for years, but apparently today was the day she decided she had had enough of it.  Molly took it upon herself to try to chew it off, or some sick shit like that.  This also occurred while I was running because it was still there before I left because.  When I was petting her before leaving, I had touched it.  When I got back, I noticed she wouldn’t stop licking her leg.  Like, she couldn’t even look at me; she was so engrossed in licking it.  When I checked to see what the dealio was, I discovered a bloody leg and a deflated lump with some nasty shit coming out of it.  I don’t know for sure if she bit it open herself, but I have no idea how else it could have popped.  I cleaned it out really well, and now I just have to keep an eye on it.  It is starts to look yucky, we’ll have to make a visit to the vet.    

So, those right there, are two prime examples of How to Tell if You Have a/some Awful, Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Really Bad, Naughty Dog(s).  For serious though, I love my naughty baby dogs, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world!!!!  I will love and cherish them, and their naughty habits, forever! 

The little bad seeds at their finest

Oh, shit.

Tonight, I came home from work to a foul smell in our house.  To my dismay, Skittles pup had diarrhea in her crate during the day.  Skittles, basically every inch of her crate, her blankets, and her bone were all covered in poop, liquid poop.  I’ve been home for well over an hour, and finally, dog and crate are both cleaned up, the bone (her favorite) discarded, blankets are soaking in the washing machine, and the house no longer reeks of shit.

I am so happy that all I have to do tonight is do some major stretching and core exercises

.

I do believe I earned a night with my good friend, Cabernet Sauvignon.   

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Lead Legs

Workout:

4.20 mile run – 40:44

2.25 mile walk with dogs – 41:12

4 miles on stationary bike – 15:00

On my run tonight, my legs felt like lead.  The rest of me felt great.  Mentally I was into the run, and my breathing was spot on.  Each step though, felt like I was lifting up a 100 pounds only an inch from the pavement.  Since my legs felt so awful, I thought about cutting the run short, but I’m finished making excuses to get out of running so I carried on. I was pleasantly surprised to find my average mile time was 9:39.  I felt like I was running so slowly that I thought my pace would be over 10:00.  Apparently, I’m getting kind of good at this whole running thing. 

It was such a gorgeous night that Nick and I took the dogs for a nice long walk.  We did the walk before my run so maybe that’s why my legs felt so fatigued?  I usually try to do a walk before my run to loosen up and stretch out my muscles, but this one was a bit longer than usual. 

It was pouring rain this morning, so there were still a lot of big puddles all over, and Molly dog LOVES playing in puddles.  She’s almost 11 years old so she doesn't play too much anymore, but when there is a puddle around, she turns into a crazy pup and goes wild.  She was a complete muddy mess by the time we got home, and needed a bath stat, but I love seeing her spunky side that the impromptu bath was worth it.  I wish I would have had my phone with me to take some pictures of her adorable, hot mess, self.  Even though I don’t have a picture of Molly’s mud run, here is a different adorable picture of her.

She's smiling!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!