The start of a new year

Yeah - okay - I know that the new year started several weeks ago, but for me, it started yesterday. Sunday was the one year anniversary of my miscarriage. I had a not so good weekend, but better than I expected. I don't think the dog knows what to make of people crying, but he did his best to be my buddy. I kept myself busy with household chores, watched old movies and ate whatever I wanted. One thing I wanted was ice cream cake and whipped cream.

So yesterday started my new year. I am back on the South Beach diet. I want to lose 10 pounds. 15 would be great. I want to be healthier. Walking the dog helps. I usually get out to walk him at least once per day, often times it's twice. When I get the DVD player hooked up again, I will start up with pilates again. I may even get a new one. I want to focus more energy on what I can control and let go of that which I can not. Tough order, but doable I think.

Jail Break!

When A and I are both working or otherwise out of the house, we crate Boomer. He's lately gotten clever and learned how to move his crate. I came home one day to find it several feet to the left of where it had been placed. The next day, while A was out he also moved it forward. Then there was Thursday. I come home, open the door, go into the dining room to find....an empty crate. I start calling for the dog and running around the house. I found him at the top of the stairs (2nd floor) laying there, looking like he knew he had been bad. Luckily, there were no puddles, no destruction of any sort. Unbelievably, he had managed to pop open one of the doors to the crate. So - A and I decide to give it a shot and start leaving him out of the crate. Fast Forward to Saturday afternoon. I take him out to do his business before I have to leave for a couple of hours. He will not pee. So - I'm not comfortable leaving him in the house not having peed, so I crate him. Two hours later, I come home - not only is the crate empty, but it's on it's side. Guess he was really pissed! He had only managed to pop one of the latches. I can't believe he squeezed himself out through such a small space. This time, he hung out all the way up on the third floor - again with the guilty look. Looks like the crate is history. I'm wondering if putting the crate on its side was a bit of revenge for what I made him wear on Saturday morning to take his walk. Mind you - it was cold and we had had snow, so I was worried about ice control products being on the sidewalk.

We really didn't want purple booties - but they are color coded by size. Poor Boomer!

The Boom Doggie

For the longest time, A would say to me "I want a puppy." My response was always "when we get a house." Well, we got the house this summer. So - the puppy was soon to follow. A really wanted a lab. He had the breeder picked out and was researching the bloodlines, trying to decide on a litter. Then, one of my employees told me about a lab that was a Katrina rescue and was at a shelter nearby. So - I tell A, he goes online to look at the dog, decides he likes this dalmation they have better (must be a fireman thing). So, we go visit. The dalmation is very hard for me to handle on the leash, but we talk to the shelter people about adopting him. Then A sees this cute little mutt (sorry Boomer) in a pen nearby. They bring him out to meet us. He's very sweet, very easy to walk on the leash and affectionate. They told us he was about 2 years old. We didn't take him home right away because we were going to be leaving town for 4 days in a week and didn't think it would be fair to bring him home and then desert him right away. So - we get back from our trip and go pick up our dog. He is named Boomer after the former Yankees pitcher David "Boomer" Wells. He is an American Bulldog/Pit Bull mix - and we think some other things thrown in there too. Turns out he was only about 10 months old when we adopted him - so still a puppy - and you can tell! He's such a love bug! He would lick your face off if he could and he loves to snuggle with us. If A and I try to hug and kiss in his presence, well, he just gets his little body right in there. He's a very smart little boy. He has learned to sit at intersections before crossing on his walk. He knows where all the other doggies live on his walking path - and cries when they are not out to say hello. His big negative? He thinks that squirrels are evil beasts and he must chase them. He loves stuffed animals - so much fun to rip them open and take out their innards! He chews through rope bones too. We are hoping that as he gets older, that will pass. But - better the stuffed animals and rope bones than our shoes or furniture! He is good about getting on the furniture, except for our bed. Right now, we are trying to break him of the idea that he can sneak up in bed with us at 4 am! Anyway - he's such a sweetie. We love our Boom Doggie.

Happy New Year

It's been a while - I hope to post some dog pictures and house pictures soon. For now - just a couple.