Tag: brother2

Skating & Housewarming Gifts

Posted on

Thursday after work we took Wookie to a Halloween party hosted by her vet and groomer. The postcard we received said it would be from 4:30-6:30 with a raffle drawing at 6:15. I made a delicious cheeseburger casserole for dinner and we arrived at the party at 5:45 pm and they had already done the raffle! Wookie did get some treats she likes at least but it seemed we missed out on most of the events so we’ll have to go earlier next time. She was also the only dog not dressed up due to her aggression with outfits.

Speaking of that, Saturday morning I posted on a forum I frequent looking for advice and got a nasty comment from one person. People are known for being pretty nice on there so it threw me. She basically chastised me for wanting to put clothes on Wookie and made a remark that if I need to do that so bad I should consider getting a doll or having children. I just replied “wow, your comment was really rude” and someone else commented about how harsh she was.

Saturday evening we met up with B and R at Culvers for dinner and went rollerskating with a Groupon I had purchased. I expected it to be crazy crowded like the time we went for my birthday (at a different rink) but when we pulled into the parking lot and it was nearly empty I was perplexed. I asked an employee if it was usually that dead and he laughed and said no. He pointed out with it being the Saturday before Halloween most people were probably at parties. I liked that it was pretty empty because we didn’t have to worry about crashing into anyone. R only skated around the rink twice because he ankle was giving her trouble but B had a blast. He rented roller blades and even though he hadn’t skated in years he got back into the swing of things quickly. He was skating backwards, doing turns, and lapping us as if we were standing still (although I did manage to catch up to him at one point, much to his surprise).

We arrived at the rink around 7:45 and left about 9:30 or so because it really wore us out, plus Joe fell and scraped the palm of his hand on the floor. When we got home we gave B&R some housewarming gifts since we weren’t sure when they would be ready for us to visit. We got them a blender, multi-cooker, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, a candle from Bath & Body Works, and a $50 Target gift card. My brother seemed very overwhelmed as he didn’t expect so much. I like getting people gifts, however. I was worried whether R would like the candle scent I had picked out (Marshmallow Fireside) but when they came in the house she immediately smelled the oil diffuser I have in the bathroom and remarked how much she liked it and it was the scame scent, so it worked out perfectly.

Sunday we were to Sonny Acres for apple cider donuts. When we arrived there weren’t any fresh donuts ready yet so instead of waiting a half hour we opted for the day-old donuts which weren’t bad; plus we got them for half price. We tried their pumpkin donuts too and I think I liked those even better. I got a walking taco too. I was aggravated the food booths weren’t ready when we arrived because I incorrectly thought they opened at 9 am since that’s what was listed on Google, but according to their website they open at 10 am. I’ll have to make a mental note for next year.

We went home to swap vehicles and then I took my new car to the arboretum where we drove around for a bit. Then we came home and prepared some crockpot beef stew for dinner. I ended up re-organizing our master bedroom closet too.

Today I met up with a friend for lunch at Portillo’s, but I’m not sure I’ll be suggesting going there much in the future as I’m finding more and more of their food unappealing. First the beef got shamed by Beef Shack. Then I got turned off from their cheeseburgers when they served them cold and kinda hard one time. And then I got turned off by their chopped salad, which I normally love, because the chicken had a fishy flavor the last time I ordered it. Today I got their seasonal apple walnut harvest salad. It was good, but not great, and I kept getting the greens from the spring mix stuck in my throat. We came back to the house to chat for awhile and Wookie was very vocal at first, then calmed down and was licking my friend. But then she was barking at her awhile later. Then she went back to licking her. Is my dog mental???

We have to take my car to the dealer tonight because the window and locks panel in the passenger side door aren’t working. I hope it’s a quick fix. We plan to try a new Tex Mex restaurant in the area that we spotted when we picked up my car. Based on one YouTuber’s videos it’s supposed to be really good so I hope we like it!

Sibling Weekend

Posted on

Saturday both my brothers and B’s girlfriend came over to spend the day hanging out. R texted me at 11 am to let me know they were on the way and I timed it so Wookie and I were finishing up a walk when they pulled up. She instantly recognized J and ran around him excitedly while peeing. She did the same for my other brother and R. It was so cute and nice to see her not being standoffish at all.

A little while later we went out to lunch to Bulldog Alehouse. Joe and I paid but it wasn’t bad since we had a restaurant.com gift certificate our friends gave us quite awhile ago.

After lunch we stopped at Half Price Books and then hung out at home for a bit before going to a local park. We all piled into Joe’s Escape so I sat in back between my brothers with Wookie on my lap. On the way back B treated us to some ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I usually get the Vanilla Swirl but tried the Hazelnut and it was good, other than the fact that I suspect they didn’t give me decaf as ordered. It wasn’t marked on the cup as such anyway.

I grilled burgers for dinner and later that evening we played Jenga and Aggravation before everyone left around 10 pm. The time went by so fast even though we were mostly just talking a lot of the time.

R and B are probably going to come over and watch Wookie next month when we have two day-long events to attend. Since they now have a dog of their own R would rather watch Wookie at our place which is fine by me. I know she’s trustworthy and I feel better about her being in my house than hiring a dog sitter who, while I’m sure is safe, is still a stranger. That’s a load off my mind, actually, because I didn’t want to keep Wookie locked up for 12+ hours two days in a row. I think she would be ok, but it’s certainly not nice.

Two Puppy Classes & Roller Derby

Posted on

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.

Whirlwind Weekend

Posted on

Friday (3/3) was my follow-up visit with my doctor. I brought along some previous test results I found stored on my computer and he decided to prescribe a low dose of Lyrica to help with what he suspects may be Fibromyalgia. I’m nervous about taking a new medicine but I’ll give it a try if I’ll feel less achy all the time.

After the doctor I stopped at Target for a couple of items and noticed they do have a few cheap dog toys so I got Wookie a pink rubber bone and another rope since she loves playing tug of war so much.

Saturday (3/4) we were up early to swing by our old physician’s office to get our medical records and then to my friend’s house for a morning puppy play date. Her older dog just passed away two weeks ago which is sad. Wookie was more relaxed on this visit than before although she still won’t play with the other dog, Teddy. She also vomited in the car when we were only about five minutes away and vomited again when we were about five minutes from home. She’s fine on short car rides but apparently 40+ minutes is too much for her stomach. I guess we can try not feeding her beforehand, although in this case it would have seemed cruel since she hadn’t eaten since the night before.

We stopped at home so Wookie could pee (she holds it the entire time we’re out, even though we brought her pee pad and also visited my friend’s backyard) and were planning to take her with us to Petco to buy a dog tag. Since we had a few other stops, and she was exhausted from her adventure, we decided to leave her home instead so she could rest.

We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch since the app had a deal where you buy anything and get a free medium item from their McCafe menu, so we both tried the chocolate Shamrock shakes. I liked it, but plan to get a regular all-mint one before they stop making them.

That evening I traumatized Wookie putting a different collar with the new tag on and she decided she didn’t like me for few a hours. She actually went into her crate in the living room and just glared at me. She also kept chewing the tag and has already scratched the part with her name and my phone number. She then got it stuck between her teeth so we took everything off and plan to get a collar where you can have the info stitched directly into it instead. Plus she will be microchipped soon.

Sunday (3/5) afternoon we met up with my brothers and Brother B’s girlfriend, R, at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville to see John Wick Chapter 2. My brother had a Groupon so we only had to pay for our food. I got the $5 sangria special which wasn’t bad (I don’t normally like wine) and Joe got the mushroom burger. Every theater has a theme and ours was Egyptian which was interesting. I was teasing my brother that had we seen the earlier showing we would have been in the ocean one which looked really cool (from the outside at least). Despite our reservations we had a very nice time. On the way there we were kinda dreading it because we can be a little weird if we feel like we’re being ripped off and based on the menu and prices that’s kind of what it felt like beforehand. However, we tried to reframe the experience in our minds – going out to lunch and seeing a movie, at the same time no less, with family. My only complaint – the chairs are so thick that sitting normally my feet couldn’t touch the floor so I had to recline to be comfortable. It was definitely an experience, though, and I wouldn’t mind going back there again. Also, even though I wasn’t thrilled about seeing the movie because I didn’t care much for the first one, it was really good.

After the movie everyone came back to our place for dinner (tacos) and to see Wookie. She was growling at Brother J which is crazy since she’s met him before and liked him! I think her socializing is paying off because after getting over her initial attitude she was running around the living room in the middle of everyone instead of hanging off to the side scared. By the end of the evening she was actually playing with R and jumping on her arm with her toys. I think overall she prefers females to males.

This afternoon I met up with my friend at Steak and Shake for lunch and then she came back to the house to see Wookie. She’s been here once before but it was months ago so I guess Wookie didn’t remember her. She was growling and barking up a storm, even after we brought her into the living room with us. She stopped after a few minutes and by the end of the hour was playing and licking my friend’s fingers. She’s so funny how she can go from being so angry to friendly.