Brody's Summer Vacation Continues

Who knew that I had a water loving dog? Here's my little guy enjoying a day on the boat with the family and his friend Oliver. 

Helping Dad drive the boat

Enjoying the wind with Oliver

Swimming!

Shaking off on everyone

Giving hugs to Oliver

playing

More of Brody's Vacation

 Visiting cousin Scooby.

 Hanging out with Scoob.

They seem to be pals.

Bi-Weekly Haircut

Broadster gets a haircut about every other week. When he gets shaggy people start to complain, saying he doesn't look happy. Plus Brody starts to itch and scratch and get stinky. One time I thought we'd try to grow his hair long like a show dog. My mom thought longer hair would keep him warm at night.

A Lhasa strutting his stuff.

 But this is the farthest we got:

Do I look happy to you?

Brody didn't like it. at all. He was constantly rubbing his eyes, licking his legs (eww), and scratching and scratching.  Plus his face got dirty and his tail got matted. The mats were painful for him when I brushed him (even after brushing just the day before). Let me tell you, this dog likes to run and play--he doesn't sit still enough to preserve a pretty hair-do.

So we take an hour every couple of weeks to get a hair cut. I use hair cutting scissors to trim his face, between his footpads, his legs, and his ears. I use clippers to even out the hair on his whole body. These are the clippers we have:

I think I paid $25 for them at PetSmart. Here they are online.

Brody loves the clippers. I think it must feel like a massage to him, because he cuddles right up close and almost falls asleep as I go. I need to buy some that are better quality in the future. If I only used these once in a while they would be great, but they're getting tired. I've had them for two years though, so as far as an investment goes, they're not bad.

It's amazing, I can go through the whole routine of Brody's haircut and he lets me do whatever I need to do. But when it comes to trimming his nails, it's all out toddler hissy fit time. I mean, crying and yelping, body thrashing, nipping at my hands... We used to fight for 10 minutes or more and he would finally give up and let me do it. I recently bought a PediPaws, and things have improved some- but Brody still throws a fit every now and then.

find here on Amazon

Brody's Summer Vacation

This month it worked out that Brody could go and stay with my parents. I'm not sure if he's going to want to come back, they're spoiling him I'm sure. Plus he gets to go cool places and run around in their big back yard. Here he is at the lake at sunset with Mom.

Thanks for the picture Dad!

A Thursday kind of week

Happy Thursday! 

 Thursdays are my most tired days of the week, so today I have tried to do things to keep my energy level up. Including:

• listening to Christmas music on Pandora (Gene Autry and Bing Crosby anyone??)
• Planning out what I'm going to do tonight (who am I kidding, I do that everyday at work)
• writing with my peppermint scented candy cane pen (33 cents at wags. yup, I bought one for each of my work buddies too.)
• adding new clothes to Polyvore (take a look at my latest versions of my work uniform---> below)

Winter wardrobe uniform #2 by simplysuz featuring cashmere tops

My winter uniform by simplysuz featuring cz earrings

I haven't been successful lately at losing weight. I stopped gaining right before my RAI, but I can't seem to lose any. So I've still been wearing a lot of skirts to work. They are so much more forgiving than pants as my weight fluctuates. I almost bought two pairs of khaki pants at Old Navy this week, but my budget won out over the $42 I would have spent. Plus, their pants don't last very long so it was probably wise to wait ( and maybe a little bit more motivation to lose weight? as if I don't already have enough...)

Brody has been with BL this week. I've missed him. At night I've been cold since he's such a little heater, and when I get home the apartment seems so still. BL sent me this picture on Monday of what Brody had been up to:

See those little paws??? so cute.

The post in which I give you a bullet list...

This is what last weekend looked like. Note- the remote is in a plastic bag... more on that later.

I keep thinking of things I want to blog about. Recipes, craft projects, things Brody has done... Then I get busy with work (very important, since it pays my rent) or I just continue to sit on the couch, crocheting and watching the Biggest Loser. But I can't help but feel like I'm behind- I want to record what's been going on- even though I feel less than motivated to blog. So here it is, a list.

• I had radioactive iodine therapy done on Friday, and spent Fri, Sat and Sun locked away in my apartment by myself.
• Brody spent the weekend with my sweet friend Kristina. I missed him a lot. 
• We have a new couch and I've been doing re-arranging and re-decorating in our living room. 
• I'm making baby gifts. I love doing it, and wish I could share what I'm making, but my friends might see and the surprises will be ruined.
• Weight Watchers was great for 3 months, but I didn't renew it and I've gained back the weight.
• My thyroid will soon be gone and my metabolism is probably going to tank too....
• I'm on a diet. but this time it just includes a few rules: eat fruits and veggies when I'm hungry between meals, only one treat each day, and eat less overall. In theory it sounds good.
• Exercising is on the top of my to do list, but I severely lack motivation. 
• It is dark at 5pm. This does not help me accomplish my #1 to do...
• Brody spent an hour last night chasing after, barking at, and tossing around an empty water bottle. Why in the world do I buy him squeaky stuffed dog toys??
• My little brother is going to Thailand in December with YWAM. I wish he was closer so that I could take him out to eat at my favorite Thai place before he goes.
• Being in isolation for three days gave me the chance to become obsessed with the Canadian show Heartland. Netflix only has season one and half of two, and now I'm dealing with Heartland withdrawal. Someone help me...
• It was so beautiful outside yesterday that I pulled my folding chair out of my trunk and sat next to my car in the parking lot on my lunch break. It felt like spring.
• I'm going to post about radioactive iodine, but it's still in the works.
• I'm busy making planner pages. I would like to share them as PDFs when I'm done. I just need to figure out how to upload PDFs to blogger. 
• Also, I ordered new glasses today.
• That is all. 

Brody the gamer

BL thought this was funny. I kinda do too..

Brody: tired pup

I caught Brody sleeping headfirst over a pillow the other day:

 He lifted his head when I snapped the first picture, but barely opened his eyes and then laid back down. He was tiiired. Sweet puppy.

 

Sometimes I miss him during the day when I'm at work. How cheesy is that? It's like he's a baby or something... oh wait, I do kind of treat him like my baby.

Fall said hi and then goodbye

A couple of days in the last seven were cool and breezy. It was delightful. I wore pants and sweaters and skirts with boots. And then the hot came back and I was wearing pants, totally unprepared. Ah well, pretty soon I'll be wishing for summer again.


Work has been very stressful this month. I've been tired and busy- not the best recipe for blogging. I've got a to do list, don't worry I'll get it done and there will be more here!

Scrapbooking... I'm not doing very well on my goal- but there are more weekends ahead. I've changed my goal to be done in a few weeks to be done by Christmas. I can't wait!

Lately I've been cooking more at home. I like making something for dinner and having 3 more servings in the fridge to eat later in the week. Like this omelet/scramble I made the other night.

In it I put: two eggs, two egg whites, low-fat cheddar, feta, spinach, turkey sausage, green onions, green pepper and lots of dill.

Brody is ready for fall too. I've been slacking on his hair cuts lately and he has a partial mohawk and weird patches that stick out on his sides. Normally when his short cut grows out I have to trim those areas, but I haven't had time. Each haircut is like a battle between us, and cooler weather means less fighting. So I'm sure he's ready...

Just Smile

Via HoneyPieDesign

 After a crazy month, I'm starting to feel like life is settling down. I got sick the first week of July, and unfortunately Addison's makes being sick much more complicated and last much longer. This week is going to be better, I can tell already.

At first I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but we've (the doctors, me and anyone else I complained to about being sick) decided that it was a "viral illness" of some kind. Fevers, aches, and in general not feeling too hot. Then from being sick my thyroid decided to join the party and went hyper again. So I'm on a new med nicknamed PTU. (It's full name starts with Propyl and has 10 more letters including T and U thus the abbreviation I guess.)

Some of what I've been up to... saw the fourth fireworks while sick in Louisville. They were fantastic. no sarcasm there, I promise.

My overactive thyroid has helped me lose 20 lbs! (hopefully staying on WW will help me lose the rest.)

Brody got fleas. gross...

Went to a baseball game, it was the perfect summer activity.  The fireworks after the game were also fantastic.

The fleas came back...  double gross...

Took the weekend off WW to enjoy hanging out with two sweet friends.

Plus lots and lots of relaxing, reading books and other low key stuff.

Missed you guys!

My crazy dog

I know not everyone is as enamored by my doggie as I am, but I can't help but show you how he's been sleeping lately. So funny.

 And here's a bonus picture of Brody and Belle (my roommate's dog)

Thank goodness for cute puppies and Fridays!

I am so glad it's Friday- but now that it's here the afternoon is dragging by slowly...

My sweet friend Brooke sent me this picture she took last week. Not sure what I was laughing about, but I'm pretty sure Brody was watching Belle, my roommate's dog. Brody is getting along great with Belle, but they're both still so aware of the other one right now. Last night they chased and played a little bit, and I think they'll be best friends before too long.

Now if it could only be 5 o'clock so I can get on with the weekend! Come on clock, I have people to see and places to go!

Wordless Wednesday 22

Baby it's Cold Outside...

 Okay, so winter might be almost over, but I wanted to share these pictures of Brody in a scarf.  Doesn't he look annoyed?  Ha, and I insisted he sit still for some pictures.

Take Your Dog to Work Day

A snowy day a couple of weeks ago I planned to take Brody to the kennel for the day and pick him up at 5 to go up to Louisville.  But when I got to the kennel I saw that the steep driveway was covered in ice, and there were no tire tracks yet. Not knowing what to do, but with it getting close to 8, I decided to head to work and figure things out from there. When I got to work I took Brody inside, and of course everyone was happy to see him. (Even my boss stopped and petted his head for a minute.) I waited a little bit and then called the kennel only to find out that they were only going to be open for a few hours! I debated whether I should take him home and come back to work or take him somewhere else. But my co-workers thought he'd probably be fine just spending the day at the office.

Since it was a snowy day (and a Friday) everyone seemed to be extra laid back, and it worked out so well! Brody spent the day getting spoiled by everyone at work. He took a few naps, he watched people being busy, and he sat on my lap watching me work. He only barked a few tiny barks, and he was well behaved in every other way. I'm not sure I would like having him here all of the time, but it was a treat to have him with me that day. We all joked that we should have a "Take your Dog to Work Day" sometime.

P.S. do you like his "winter haircut"?

Summer, please come soon...

I wonder if Brody misses summer as much as I do?

Poor, Poor Doggie...

 My Brody Bear has allergies and sometimes I forget and give him treats that he shouldn't have.  Then his skin gets itchy and he scratches and licks and bites until he gets hot spots that he can't leave alone.  He hasn't had a sore for months, but a couple of days ago he licked a spot on his leg until it was raw.  It got so bad that I had to take drastic measures...  Enter: the cone of shame. (anyone remember that from UP?) 

I'm pretty sure Brody hates me now.  

 

 He sat in this one spot for more than 30 minutes, barely looking at me.  Then he ran around the room trying to shake it off, and when he couldn't he jumped up on the couch.  Poor thing.  Well, at least it's better than me holding him all the time and constantly telling him to stop biting his leg.  I'll spare you the picture of the afflicted limb.  

   

Beautiful Etsy: All dressed up!!

Who else besides me thinks that Brody needs a bow tie?  I'm sure Brody's just been dying to try one.  But seriously, are these not adorable??

found here.

 

and here.

Wordless Wednesday 19

Butter came to stay...

This weekend, my pal brother, Butter came for a visit.  I have a lot of nicknames for my brothers, but butter is Ben's oldest one.  ;)  He doesn't like it, I'm sure... 

Brody and I picked him up from the airport on Friday night, and we spent the evening watching tv, walking Brody and eating Taco Soup.  Brody looved having another human to sit on.  Ben kindly brought me apples from the north (they smell glorious!). 

Saturday we went to breakfast at Fido.  I had fried eggs, ham and cafe' au lait.  Ben had steak and eggs and a latte.  Then a walk at Edwin Warner.  Where we got lost and sang "All I want for breakfast is cornbread and coffee..." with a reggae band there for a benefit event.  Even though we were tired, we still managed to go play laser tag with some friends, take a long drive, and have dinner with my neighbors.  It was a fun day, but boy, we were tired in the end.  

Sunday morning was sunny and warm.  After church and a fun lunch with friends we picked up Brody and headed to the dog park.  All too soon it was 4 o'clock and Ben needed to be at the airport to catch his flight back to Chicago. 

Brody and I were worn out last night.  After his bath and haircut he plopped down by the couch and didn't move until bedtime, and I barely worked on some laundry.