April 2017 – Not Content to Crawl

Wookie’s DNA Test Results

Posted onApril 25, 2017April 28, 2017

A couple of weeks ago my curiosity got the best of me and I ordered a DNA test on Amazon because I was convinced Wookie was not a Schnau-Tzu like we had been told. I could kind of see the Shih Tzu part but definitely not the Schnauzer. In fact, from the moment I laid eyes on her I thought she was a Yorkie, and then when I would look at photos of dogs on Instagram she seemed to look more like a Morkie (Maltese and Yorkie mix) than any other breed.

Well, today it was confirmed!

My baby is 50% Maltese, 37.5% Yorkie, and 12.5% Shih Tzu so I’ll be referring to her as a Morkie from now on. Thank god, because I was really getting tired of purposefully mispronouncing Shih Tzu just so people knew what I was saying. It’s not my fault I learned the correct pronunciation!

According to some Googling she’s technically a mutt since to be a purebred Morkie she would be 50/50 Maltese and Yorkie, but it’s close enough in my book. I Googled Malshi (Maltese and Shih Tzu) and there’s a dog in there that looks like her as well so the results totally make sense. The Petsmart trainer disagreed with me when I mused that she looked like a Morkie because, as she said, her ears were floppy and not up. For a woman who deals with dogs daily I was surprised by her ignorance since all of the Morkies I’ve seen have floppy ears.

In any case, I thought it was fitting that we received her test results on National DNA Day. The test I bought was on sale for $28 and some change less than what I paid which was annoying, so I took to Amazon’s chat to see if I could get compensated. Surprisingly, they readily agreed to refund me the difference so instead of $80 I really only paid $51.26 for the testing. Score! I think the combined fact of being a Prime member and spending so much on their site since getting Wookie contributed to how agreeable they were.

I also convinced my friend K to buy the test so she can determine what breeds her boy, Teddy, is. My guess? Bichon Frise and Poodle. I guess we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.

Garage Organization, Arboretum, Wookie’s Leash Manners

Posted onApril 24, 2017

Saturday (4/22) we finally got rid of some stuff we were unable to sell last year at our garage sale. Since it was Earth Day our town was having an electronics recycling event so we got rid of four old computer towers (but first made sure no hard drives were inside). Then we took two boxes of donations to Savers. I had done a little organizing on “my side” of the garage on Friday so between these two actions it’s already looking less cluttered, not to mention there will be more room in front of my car which is critical since I should be getting a new one in the next few months and it’s likely going to be a longer length than the Jetta which was a little cramped as it was. Some days I feel like chucking everything because clutter makes me so anxious. It doesn’t help when we pass by people whose garages look barely used. I feel like I have way too many boxes of decorations for various holidays/seasons and have been purging the stuff I never use but continue to keep for some strange reason.

We took Wookie with us on our errands since our last stop was Petco to snag a free bag of food thanks to a coupon Joe found online. It was all gone, though, so we walked out empty-handed. Wookie didn’t get to really socialize either since Petco doesn’t get the volume of traffic Petsmart does. After we got home and ate lunch I took her on a longer than usual walk to try and tire her out so she wouldn’t be so bored when we headed to my parents’ house to celebrate Easter and J’s birthday. I love going over there but feel guilty leaving Wookie at home for 8+ hours. It’s weird because I never felt bad leaving Bella when she lived here. I think it’s because she doesn’t really do anything but lie around anyway so what’s the difference? Wookie likes to play and interact with us so I feel like I’m neglecting her when she’s left home alone for too long.

There was much food to be eaten Saturday night, including a strawberry cake I baked specifically for J. It wasn’t homemade, and was originally going to be cupcakes, but after all the cooking and baking I did last weekend I went the easy route and made a 9×13 sheet cake. It came out good, though.

We didn’t get home until midnight and played with Wookie for 45 minutes before going to bed. Despite still being tired we got up a little after 8 am Sunday (4/23) morning so we could get to the arboretum at a decent hour. We stopped by Starbucks to try the unicorn frappuchino that has been all the rage this week but was told the unicorn ran away. That was disappointing since Sunday was the last day to get them. Guess it was the universe’s way of stopping us from wasting our money.

It’s a good thing we didn’t get to the arboretum until 10 am because there was a huge 10k at 8 am and part of the grounds were shut down to vehicle traffic to accommodate it. Luckily we missed all that craziness and for once NOT being the early bird paid off. Speaking of birds, we made a beeline over to daffodil glade on the west side of the arboretum where we spotted some bluebirds.

That was unexpected since I was actually looking to get photos of the tree swallows that live in the area. I also got some decent pictures of the flowering crabtrees and a couple of the daffodils which was nice considering they were already starting to die. They only seem to last a week or two which sucks.

On the way home we stopped at a different Petco and were able to snag a 5 lb bag of food for only $1.28 using the “free” coupon (you have to pay tax).

I took Wookie on a walk after lunch and she’s doing so much better on the leash. I didn’t have to stop once because she was pulling too hard. It’s nice to see we’re making progress. We also set up the tie-out in back so she could roam around but she was getting it tangled on stuff and going on the neighbor’s patio, plus eating stuff off the ground. We moved to the front of the house but it wasn’t much better. It was supposed to be relaxing hanging out outside but not with a puppy to constantly monitor. I love her dearly but sometimes it stresses me out having her around 24/7. I feel bad even saying that but it’s true. I give lots of credit to people who not only have a dog but kids too. How they manage that is beyond me.

Doggie Eggstravaganza & Easter Weekend

Posted onApril 17, 2017September 11, 2017

Saturday (4/15) we met up with my friend K and her dog Teddy at Wilder Park in Elmhurst to attend their dog event that included an egg hunt, parade, etc. There was a kids’ egg hunt at 10 am with the dog event scheduled for 10:30 am. Street parking was completely full so we parked in the nearby college lot just a block from the park. I texted the location to K and with incredible timing she pulled into a spot just behind us in the lot.

By the time we made it to the specific location of the egg hunt it was just starting (two minutes early, according to our phones) so we missed out on that, although this nice woman each gave us one of her eggs which was filled with little dog treats. Immediately after the “hunt”, which lasted all of a minute, maybe two, they announced the winner of the costume contest. This was very confusing since the event supposedly just started not five minutes beforehand. If there was in fact a dog parade I have no idea where that was either. In addition, by the time we made it over to the sponsor tents most of them were either out of treats or packing up already to leave. It was very strange and I can’t help but think they started early and we were the only ones who didn’t know about it.

All that aside, it was still fun to see all the dogs and let Wookie socialize. She was pretty good with the dogs but not so much with people who all wanted to pet her because she’s so cute. We met a British man and his daughter who had two Yorkies from the same litter and spoke to them for awhile and then later on we met a woman and her boyfriend/husband (not sure which) with their cute Shih Tzu mix named Parker. She and I spoke at length about dog stuff. I gave her Wookie’s Instagram info and she started following her which is cool. I think it would be nice if we could someday get back together for a puppy play date but I’m not sure whether I should pursue that or not. Her little guy did like Wookie, though, even though she was pretty aloof toward him.

After most of the dogs were gone we went to Hamburger Heaven for lunch before parting ways. Joe and I dropped Wookie off at home, went to Costco for a few things, and I baked some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and made my homemade mac & cheese in preparation for Sunday.

Sunday morning (4/16) I tackled baking brownies and a carrot cake. I love love love the cake but every time I make it I remember why I only do so once a year – it’s very time consuming! It took even longer than normal this time around because Wookie threw up bile and afterwards kept coughing every so often like something was caught in her throat and I was very concerned. She did it multiple times in the morning and early afternoon but then it went away so I’m not sure what was going on. I’m a hypochondriac enough when it comes to my own health issues – I really don’t need her to have any since she can’t tell me what’s wrong. I checked around the house to see if anything was out that she could have gotten into but nothing looked out of place so I don’t know what the deal was. I had to check upstairs too since I decided earlier in the week to teach her how to use the stairs and she took to it after only one attempt! Had I known I would have waited a little longer to introduce them to her since now she takes every opportunity to run up them! She’s almost seven months old now so I wanted to ensure she wouldn’t be scared of stairs. Guess I shouldn’t have worried about that at all!

E let Joe know that he had a job interview at McDonald’s Sunday afternoon so he and his sister and ES arrived just after 3 pm instead of between 2-3 as originally planned. K brought homemade cookies which made Joe and I was excited until she later said they were leftovers that she had originally baked for the kids she takes care of at her job. *Sigh* I don’t think the kids realize that admitting they are “re-gifting” is hurtful. It would be nice if they actually brought us a gift that they specifically picked out and/or made for us instead of us being the afterthought. Maybe one day.

Anyway, other than that we had a nice holiday. Everyone enjoyed their Easter baskets, including Wookie (Joe and I exchanged ours earlier that morning).

After dinner we played a few games of Aggravation; it was cute how K suggested we play a few minutes before E also brought it up. Around 8 pm the kids left because E’s allergies were acting up and he was doing the driving. It was nice to spend the actual holiday with family even though I was exhausted by the time they left. I overdid it on the socialization this weekend and I feel like shit today even though I slept until 8 am.

Willowbrook

Posted onApril 10, 2017

Friday Brother B came over so we could spend some quality time together just the two of us. We went to a place in St Charles called Just Kabobs which I’ve been wanting to eat at again for awhile now, but with Wookie’s puppy classes tying up our Saturdays, and them being closed on Sundays, we just could never make it there. We both ordered the Greek Chicken platter which is delicious. You get half a chicken with Greek seasonings, tons of rice, two large potato wedges, a pita cut into four pieces and seasoned, and a salad for $7.11 (that includes tax). Other than the salad which is just ok I loved everything.

After lunch we went to Willowbrook Wildlife Center to take photos.

I knew Joe wouldn’t mind since he finds the place boring. I, on the other hand, would probably visit weekly if it was closer. My brother wanted to walk around outside first so we did that before heading inside to see all the critters, mostly birds. They have two pet rats in a Critter Nation cage but they put mesh over the bars so you really can’t see them which sucks. I miss having rats. I look forward to when Wookie doesn’t need so much supervision so I can get some rat babies.

On the way to Willowbrook we made a quick stop at Pet Supplies Plus so I could get an Easter cookie for Wookie, and then after we stopped at this other pet store where I bought another one. Good thing since the first one melted in the car and had to be thrown out. My brother did warn me but I thought it would be ok where I put it. I should have just carried it with me but I was worried it would crack. Turns out they are so hard that wouldn’t have been an issue. Oh well, lesson learned.

Speaking of Wookie, we have been giving her more run of the house. She can move between the kitchen and the living room freely when we’re home and downstairs to keep an eye on her. She likes plopping in front of the patio door when it’s open and just sitting there looking outside or chewing on a toy. It’s been nice the past few days which she’s been loving. She’s been good using her potty pad except on Friday when I accidentally left it behind the locked gate and she peed on the rug. Brian was here or otherwise I’d like to think she would have let me know. I ended up putting her in his lap which really helped her warm up to him. She’s not as friendly with males in general.

Saturday she finally graduated from her puppy training class! It really ended up being 8 weeks long due to skipping a week and then getting an extra class. I am glad to not have to do that every Saturday but I do think it’s helped Wookie with her socialization so I should probably take her there weekly just to walk around.

Before class we took her to get a free photo with the Easter bunny.

They take the photos on an iPad so they don’t come out that great, especially because they didn’t take into consideration the wide angle nature of the lens. Oh well, what can you expect for free?

It was driving me nuts that the photo wasn’t showing up in my email even though people were posting theirs all over Instagram. It didn’t occur to me until this morning that I have a filter on emails from Petsmart that go into a folder labeled Coupons. It had been there since just a few minutes after it was taken. Doh! I think I’ll post it on her Instagram account on Easter.

We were rather pooped after spending two hours at Petsmart but Joe washed both cars anyway which was nice. We also ordered some Chinese food which I had been craving all week. We got enough that it fed us for two dinners and today’s lunch so that’s not bad for $33.

Yesterday we tired ourselves out on two epic grocery shopping trips at Target and Meijer. We now have everything we need for Easter next Sunday because the kids are coming over. Can you believe it? This will be the first Easter ever that they’ve been over. I’m still shocked they said they were free since I assumed they spent it with their mom/grandma with it being a religious holiday. We don’t celebrate the religious aspect of it so we never asked to have that day with them when they were younger. I’m making ham and lots of sides (plus getting a rotisserie chicken from Costco for K since she doesn’t care for ham), carrot cake, brownies, and cookies since we’ll also be celebrating E’s birthday which was yesterday. I can’t wait to put together the kids’ Easter baskets. I will be making one for Joe and Wookie as well. Next weekend will be busy but I’m looking forward to it!

Two Puppy Classes & Roller Derby

Posted onApril 3, 2017December 21, 2020

Friday afternoon I took Wookie to Petsmart for her five-week makeup class since she missed it the previous Saturday since she was recovering from her surgery. Even though the store wasn’t as busy as on the weekends, people were interrupting our session which was a bit annoying. Wookie’s attention span wasn’t great either since she is obsessed with smelling everything in the store. Afterwards I stopped at Baskin Robbins to get some ice cream since they discount the scoops on the 31st of the month. They raised the price from $1.31 to $1.50, though. In addition to the three scoops of peanut butter and chocolate, I also tried chocolate hazelnut which isn’t great so I won’t be getting that one again.

I spent the evening watching YouTube videos and a show on Netflix since Joe was out for dinner with some former colleagues of his.

Saturday was supposed to be graduation day at the Puppy Training Class but we were informed it was pushed back a week since one of the dogs couldn’t make it. The trainer forgot to mention this on Friday which would have been nice since we had plans for Brother B and his g/f (R) to stop by and we could have skipped the class and met up sooner. Oh well. On the plus side we get an extra class for free.

Our company arrived just after 3 and Wookie warmed up almost immediately. It’s nice to see she’s making progress! I made Mexican Spaghetti for an early dinner and then we went to see a roller derby game at a roller rink nearby. It took awhile for us to even comprehend what was going on but after some Googling we could follow the game which made it more interesting. I liked the names the girls had, Gawd Jam It in particular. It was cool that they had affordable drinks and snacks available too. The rink was decorated for Easter so I cracked a joke about how egg-cellent it was and Joe and my brother groaned at me but R found it amusing. I knew there was a reason I liked her.

After the game we stopped at Taco Bell for a fourth meal (LOL) because my brother and I were craving nachos. The cheese at the rink wasn’t very good (my brother tried it with a pretzel) so we didn’t get any there. Oh, and I almost forgot – my brother won $100 in the 50/50 raffle so he came out ahead for the night. Ticket prices were only $10 per person, though, so I can’t complain. It was a fun outing overall and it was interesting to get a little insight into my brother when speaking to his g/f.