{first foster pup}

I share a lot of dog rescue statuses on Facebook, and I often find myself annoyed by other people who do it too. Ooh the irony.

I’d like to think the difference now, is that we’ve done something to help the rescue effort. Someone fostered our dog before we adopted her dog from Halfway There Rescue, and enjoyed working with them so much that now we’ve fostered with them.

Our Ground Rules:

 We must both agree. No pressure. 

Short term commitment.

Our dog is ALWAYS our priority. This put us in a few tough situations, but we stuck to it.

No expectations, we cannot compare our foster to other dogs, or have expectation of what he will/won't need or how he will/won't act. 

Meet the mystery dog mentioned in a previous post: Rock. We liked to call him Rock-man, Rock-head, Rockefeller, Rocky, and sweet boy.

He was marked to be euthanized July 31^st, at 8am at a shelter. I saw the facebook post, and asked my sweetheart if we could foster, and he decided that this was the one to foster. The description on Facebook said that he was under a year but didn't know much else.

He spent the night with the vet, and got a clean bill of health. Hooray!!

We knew our sweet Coco-bear was a real handful. She had TOO much energy as a puppy, and would often not sleep because she had so much energy after a day of playing. We were told he “wide-open,” but we still had an open mind.

So, here’s what we learned with our first foster:

• Sweet Rock-head is finishing getting his last molars I think and likes to chew. Of course, we’ve got that covered. Either that, or pittie teeth are totally different from lab teeth. yep, I had no clue.
• He wasn’t learning too quickly when it came to potty training. This was frustrating, but we bought more carpet cleaner. At the end, he had been accident free for ten days. Hooray!
• He definitely pooped in my husband's new car, on our one hour journey back home. I always thought this was funny, but he only sometimes thinks is is slightly comical. HA.
• He can now sit on command, but needs to learn to not jump. The method that was working was just turning away from him and saying “No” and only petting when he sits. Do what I ask = get what you want.
• Crate training isn’t fun, but he finally walked in on his own  “kennel” after 3 1/2 weeks!! But no messes in the crate, which is glorious compared to Coco who had some digestive issues. We kept him in a kennel to protect our biggest investment-our home. This also limited any frustration we may have felt if there was any damage or messes. 
• I think one of his favorite things must be sleep, because he didn’t like to wake up in the morning. He was so precious, he just sneezed his head off.
• Learning other things like “back-up” and “lay down” are not working. Oh well.
• He’s not crazy about being left in our fenced in backyard with Coco, but he followed her lead on play time, and when it’s time to come inside (aka, bark at me).
• Watching him learn how to go up stairs was HILARIOUS. Bless his heart, he looked like he couldn’t control his legs! I wish I'd gotten a video!
• Our first walk on the leash was interesting, he clearly didn’t know what was going on. He was a little confused, but continued to follow Coco’s lead and didn't get overwhelmed.
• He was food aggressive, and we didn't work on this with him. My dog is MY priority, I chose not to put her in that situation. We fed him in his kennel, also to help with kennel familiarity.

In the end, we realized that he is really too sweet for what he had been through, which I won't share. He only wanted to be loved and be good.

Every foster dog is different. We are glad we were able to do this, and I’m glad we were able to keep an open mind. We did get frustrated, but we made a commitment and we stuck to it. There were times where I thought I would have to call the rescue and say that we couldn't do it anymore, I can admit it. 

But to know that in a month or so, he will be a well-trained dog that will make someone’s heart burst with joy...it was worth it. My heart bursts with joy when I see my sweet Coco-puff, Coco-nut, Coco-bear…and I just know one day he’ll know the same love. We gave him foster love, but he deserved more. 

kissed by a pit & I liked it!

Even if this is the only time we are able to foster, because fostering is hard, I am so grateful it was this sweet boy! He is onto the next leg of his journey, but he has a special place in our hearts. & I'm onto finding another way to contribute to the continuous, often thankless efforts of animal rescue.

{crunchy lifestyle}

Guys....Guys! Hey!!

This blog has been viewed over 5,000 times!! What?!

So I realize I need to get myself in order. I realize not everyone wants to surf through archives of their new favorite blog like I do. {its like reading a new book :)}

So, up at the top you'll see a new tab, called "crunchy lifestyle!"

Around here, or at least between my husband and I, we called all-natural, hippie-like people "granola." And then that sort of morphed into "crunchy." & it turns out that it isn't totally uncommon for people to use that phrase when referring to these awesome people.


I also mention in our "about us" that we are trying to lose all chemicals by the end of this year. Well, it's already September. I can't say that I still use everything on the crunchy lifestyle tab because it was inconvenient with everything else we were trying to accomplish.

I know, I am almost embarrassed.

I realize that life gets in the way. & with all the things that we have gone through and accomplished in the past year, I am happy that life got in the way! When faced with priorities (i.e. studying and doing homework, or grating your own soap...) you sometimes, sadly, have to make decisions you don't want to.

Never fear! No time like the present to get back on the band wagon, and get to it.

So, I hereby give you, the "crunchy lifestyle" tab!

xx

{3 months-hair update}

Sorry my photos aren't super fancy, & for whatever reason I can't watermark them like I usually do. Plus, the internet freaks me out. I think I'm reverting into an old, distrusting decrepit woman. 

Anyway, here's my neapolitan hair.

not the cutest photo, sorry it is wavy from being in a bun!

This is the longest I have gone in several years! My poor dyed hair.

I have reached 1.5 inches in natural hair growth, shown in the photo below best. Hooray!! That's a lot, average .5" per month!


Current routine:

• using Kenra, for colored hair
• no masks or other special treatment
• occasional biotin, but not regularly
• healthy-ish diet: veggies & fruits, water, and lean meats {who doesn't love wine, chocolate, and pizza every once and a while?!}
• rarely using heat
• Often wrapping into a bun...like it was before these photos :)

Clearly I'm not doing anything special, but starting to... like using coconut hair masks, biotin, fish oil, and thinking of going no 'poo. I've thought about satin pillow cases, sleeping caps, and a lot of other things too....I'll share it all soon.


But it's hard to go no 'poo with dyed hair, and last time it was an absolute mess. My hair almost revolted against me. I tried baking soda and apple cider vinegar. & then I tried castile soap and apple cider vinegar. The castile soap actually clogged up our shower, and thankfully we lived in an apartment at the time! Hellooooo maintenance man.

So I'm having a hard time figuring out when I want to go no 'poo, because I don't want the dyed sections of my hair to freak out while the rest is happy.

this is the type of photo my husband takes instead of hair photos for me...he's so sweet..

Coco’s belly

baby coco, first day home!

Ever since we first got this cute little poop machine, she has had tummy problems. The worst part is that we NEVER know if she is actually not feeling well! Happy dog problems, I suppose.

The first few times she felt bad, it was parasites (whoopee!) and we cleared those up and prevent them with...a particular type of medicine that I won't mention because not everyone likes it.

Then something weird happened, and she got sick {vomit on the rug, anyone?} and more sick {let’s not go there}. Some antibiotics, and she was off on her labby ways.

It happened again {right on the freshly cleaned carpet} and we went through the cycle again. Was it the food? We were feeding her chicken and rice for puppies, so I switched to lamb and oatmeal for puppies and more antibiotics. The vet recommended maybe doing a test to see if she has a food irritation {food allergies don’t exist for dogs, there are simply irritants}. I declined, surely that was unnecessary and she didn't need it.

Once she was no longer a puppy, but still acted like one, she went to fish and sweet potato. Stinky, but she liked it!

Again, two weeks ago, she got sick {yes, on the brand new wedding gifted rug!}. This time it seemed worse, and after she started trying to lay down while still getting sick I started to panic. Seriously, getting a dog is the perfect precursor to children. I immediately turned to my dear husband, what are we supposed to do? We packed up, and got to the emergency vet as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, that “getting there as soon as possible” included going to the wrong vet, and then remembering I did transfer myself to the emergency hotline. Panic does wonders to your brain, just scrambles it!

happy to see the vet

She was so happy to see the ER vet, I mean, whole body wiggling happy! So after more antibiotics from the ER vet, I made an appointment with our normal vet. She’s had the food irritant blood test done, which is really just to see if she has either lymphoma or irritable bowel disease (IBD) based on how her liver is processing, etc. Both came back negative, but she has low B12. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, but has been known to cause upset tummies.

Low B12 can be due to malabsorption, which can be assisted with shots and a probiotic. We're testing the probiotic now! Should things not improve in a few months...we'll do some B12 shots. But I'm not looking forward to that. 

Until then, we’re back to lamb and potato and grain free and a probiotic. I’m hoping that helps her belly, and she hasn't been burping recently. She had the worst smelling burps, they smelt like poop. Happy side effect? No, her gut is definitely not happy and we’re struggling to find out why. It’s going to be a while til’ we find the right combo for her tummy, but we are hoping this is it for our little rescue fur ball! 

{hair complex}

{1st update - 3 mo.} {2nd update - 4 mo.}

13" to Locks of Love, 2011

I have a complex when it comes to my hair. I go through periods of really caring, then caring little, then caring too much, and not at all. When it gets the length it is now, I get tingly and want to chop it all off.
every.single.time

All for a good cause, I love donating it. First, it's really cool that we literally grow it, and it's free to give and help others. Second, there are a lot of people who can't grow their own because of many issues and not just cancer. It started a long time ago, and I've donated five times to locks of love. It usually takes two years to grow my hair out long enough, almost always more than minimum. So let's see why I'd do such a thing:

First time, because i had just discovered you could literally donate hair. Shipped it all the way from Germany.

Second, because they spelt my last name wrong on the thank you post card the first time. (Not hard to do)

Third, because I never got a thank you post card. So let's try again.

Fourth, because I don't like odd numbers. I guess I have a complex about that too.

Fifth, because I was ready for a change after college. Why not give it to someone who needs it.

Sadly, it takes six donated pony tails to make a wig! So here we go, number six.

Now there's a new twist. I've been dying my hair for five years. That's a lot of dye. And damage. I've wanted to do this for a while, but now that we are post wedding I think I can commit. (Commitment phobia and wedding in the same sentence?)

So here we go. I'll be updating once a month, shooting for the first week of each month. 

{fail, dreams, schemes}

This past week was a week of failures.

& I’m not even being pessimistic, my coffee mug is still half full.

I, of course, would have shared all of this with you! Except…

My eggplant lasagna did not go well, I think I burnt the eggplant somehow. (by somehow, I mean baking at 450 instead of 400…)

My healthy cookies were not as fluffy and gooey delicious as said to be, probably because I used whole wheat when the recipe didn't say to. Oops.

I definitely forgot to add vanilla to my blueberry ice cream, which would have made it AMAZING, so instead it tasted good. Darn it.

So not many exciting* things going on here, except that I’m finding myself in the kitchen every day after work with this impossibly cute apron on with my new last name. After attempting eating whatever creation I've come up with, we take a walk.

Since it’s darn hot here in the south, we walk during the sunset. We follow puppy dog tails leading the way. We do newlywed talk along the way, talking about hopes and dreams. We plan out our futures, and how wonderful our life will be together. While some might call it the honeymoon stage, it’s something we've always done. 

We plan, we scheme, and we walk.

& occasionally we fill a kiddo pool with water and get a good laugh. 

She could fly with those ears.

*although we do have something "exciting" going on, stay tuned.

{planning a wedding}

Please read: I started writing this post back in November. It was really difficult to write, and ended up never publishing it. Planning a wedding is really personal, and truly depends on how you and your partner work best. We're big planners {if you couldn't tell} so this is how the process worked for us. I think it's time to share this with y'all!

Quotelife Photography

I don't talk about this much, mostly because I want it to be a huge surprise for everyone coming! Perhaps you are reading this as a bridesmaid, a mother of the bride, or the actual bride. We are about halfway through the planning process, and enjoying it!

I started planning by using The Knot checklist! I love that I can check off things that I have done, or won't do. Everything is timed by when they should be done too. I find that a lot of the items on the checklist are expected to be done early, but I am doing my best to do them even earlier. So, I can change the due date in case I know we won't be able to do it in January, and we should work on it in December. I can also add additional items to the checklist when needed. This makes future me very happy, because I know that next spring is going to be tricky since it's busy season for most accountants and I'll also still be in school.

I ended up making a big excel spreadsheet, so I could see all of my options in front of me and keep track of all my 'to do's' and all of my future appointments. This really doesn't work for everyone, I understand! Just think about how you plan best, and work off of that.

Please don't get overwhelmed!!!  This can definitely be a fun process, even if there are times when you are doing it alone! There are times where I've had to ask for help from a bridesmaid, or give my sweetheart a "honey do" list. Just smile and take a deep breathe. In the end-it's all about saying "I do." No one is going to ask why your linens didn't go with the theme of your cake or why all the different colors of blue didn't match. If you think they will, you're sure you want them to be there....right?

For us, if anything is too difficult then we just walk the other direction. If a DJ won't call me back, I don't worry about it. If a makeup artist isn't responding, then I don't worry about it! If it isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be. 

After all, you and your sweetheart are a match made in heaven. You and your vendors should be too. It is truly that simple. If you can't trust your vendor, or have that funny knot in your stomach-walk away! This is so important, because the day of the wedding you don't want to have doubt in the back of your mind. You're going to be busy soaking in every second of your special day.

You have to decide what is most important to you. Is it money? Then list them by price, and go with the cheapest. Is it the most experience with your vision of a modern, fantastic wedding? Then ask for their portfolio! You should feel comfortable that they understand what you want, or else you're going to be very worried before the event!

Here's an example. Deciding on a DJ was one of the hardest decisions. We narrowed it down to three:

• The first DJ we met with was the owner of his own business and would be our DJ the day of the event. He was a really nice, owned his own business for many years, and also the cheapest. 
• The second was also the owner of his own business for many years and would be our DJ the day of the event, but also the most expensive and a little overly confident. 
• The third had us meet with one of the owners, but didn't meet us in a local shop or location. We drove out to their office, but they had us listen to music we liked. But we didn't get to meet our DJ for the wedding. At this point I really couldn't make a decision so we ended up meeting them again, but requested that we meet with our actual DJ for the day. This time we connected perfectly, and the price was just right!

I'm so excited for all of the future wives out there, being married has been so exciting for me! Being bonded to the person you love, and that loves you more than anything in the world, is the most incredible feeling.

Best of luck!