Dackel Princess

Dogs The Bad & The Good!

Hubby and I made a trip out today to restock the shelves, the fridge and the freezer. We first stopped BJ’s Warehouse and I stocked up on the necessities there. Tide Laundry detergent, (No I am not getting free samples, I just love that brand), and sugar free cocoa mix. That’s the only chocolate I allow myself when being strict on Weight Watchers.

Next we went to Wally World to buy things like dog food and paper towel and a new pair of old lady sunglasses. My nephew laughs at me when I wear them, but right now I simply cannot stand any bright light and must protect my eyes.

Anyway, here I was getting some canned dog food for the crew when this young couple with an 18 month old baby were standing there trying to figure out how to make a run for their Beagle. They looked at me loading my 40 cans of dog food in the basket and figured I might know something. Here is the conversation.

Them: Do you think you could help us?

Me: Sure.

Them: How do we make a dog run for our Beagle?

Me: How old is your Beagle?

Them: 8 weeks.

Me: (Groan!) Um, you really can’t put an 8 week old puppy on a run.

Them: Why not?

Me: Well it’s too young and you need to take the puppy out to teach him, to house break him.

Them: But it’s too cold!

Me: Well, you need to do that. And tell me what type of collar are you using?

Them: A regular one like this. (Points to a plain nylon collar)

Me: Well, you definitely can’t use that because the baby will slip it. You’ll need a harness. But I’m telling you, you need to walk the baby. I know I breed dachshunds and I have trained several in the winter.

Them: Well thanks.

And they walked away with the run kit! I wanted to scream at them! But I stood there with my mouth hanging open! Why, oh why do people get dogs if they aren’t prepared to take care of them properly?

We came home and I took my babies out. They’re old enough now that they appreciate a warm house and I can walk them in the yard without a leash and they perform and come in quickly. At 15 degrees, no one lingers, especially the little ones.

Hubby is off skiing today as tomorrow morning we have an early appointment with my retinal surgeon. I am hoping for good news from him.

Okay, now the best part of my day? Waking up this morning to sweet little kisses from Anneliese. She crawled up on my side and then spent a few minutes licking my face. Makes me smile every time!

Anneliese & Her Mommy

Anneliese was determined to go out and play with her ball. So off she went. She looked so darn cute with Fritzi’s bigger ball, which was the one she wanted to play with, that I had to get my coat and hat and gloves on and got the camera so I could video it.

Anneliese is my snow lover. In fact I have to be careful with her because she will spend too much time outside until she is shaking like a leaf with the cold. Since it is only about 14 degrees (F) it feels really cold, heck it is cold! So I let her go out for short times and then got her back in.

I went out for a little bit, but not too long. We have an elderly neighbor who is 92 years old. He is my ‘boyfriend’! LOL! In any case I haven’t seen him since before we left on our trip. I wanted him to know I hadn’t forgotten him. He was so sweet and concerned. I’m really glad I stopped in.

The fire is burning in the hearth and the pot roast is bubbling away in the crock-pot for our dinner. How nice is all that?

Maribeth On The Eights

Melli tagged me with this Meme. Since it has been forever since I have done one I thought I would give it a go!

***************

8 TV shows I like to watch:

1. NCIS
2. NCIS Los Angeles
3. House
4. Big Bang Theory
5. How I met Your Mother
6. What Not To Wear
7. Say Yes To The Dress
8. Ice Road Truckers

8 Favorite Places to Eat & drink:

1. Canoe
2. Hong Kong Buffet
3. The Weathervane
4. Harts Turkey Farm
5. The Greek Restaurant in Berlin with Uschi.
6. A little restaurant in Potsdam that has awesome Schnitzel!
7. Margarita’s Mexican
8. The Woodshed

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Time with my family.
2. Good Vision.
3. Baby Dackels.
4. Another Cruise (Australia maybe?)
5. Spring.
6. Seeing my friends again.
7. Good health for my family, friends and myself.
8. Winning the election in the spring for Library Trustee.

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Stayed on my diet all day.
2. Had my hair and nails done!
3. Made a nice homemade beef stew for dinner (4 points!)
4. Hubby skied 8 runs at the mountain.
5. Cuddled with my dackels.
6. Had a Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee!
7. My back scrubbers arrived via USPS.
8. Heard from my daughter.

8 Things I Love About Winter:

1. Christmas
2. New Years
3. Quiet
4. Empty roads
5. Silent snowfall
6. Valentine’s day
7. Easter
8. Spring!
8 Things I Am Passionate About:

1. God
2. Love for my family
3. Love for my friends
4. Dackels
5. Chocolate
6. Appreciating others
7. Travel
8. Cruises

8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:

1. Oh yeah…
2. Who wants a cookie-bone?
3. I LOVE…!
4. WOW!
5. So…
6. No WAY!
7. Not in this lifetime…
8. I’ll pay you ten bucks to walk the dog this time!

8 Things I Learnt from the Past:

1. Love God.
2. Love your family well.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
4. Smile.
5. Go forth gently into the world, but be prepared for the tough stuff.
6. Be there for those you love.
7. Live, Laugh, Love.
8. Enjoy the special little moments in life.

I’m supposed to tag people, but I won’t. If you would like to join me with this, then leave a comment and I will link your blog to this post.

Have a great day everyone!

So far Steffi has joined me!

Make-Overs

This was a great day. I was up at the usual time, said bye to Hubby as he went off to meet friends and ski, had a nice breakfast and headed to my friend’s beauty salon for my monthly make-over! And this month, I not only needed the make-over, but the pampering that comes along with it.

I got there early and sat down drinking a cup of coffee and relishing being out again after enforced bed rest for my eye. I actually shouldn’t have been driving, but I patched my eye and went very slowly the few miles across country roads to the salon. All day yesterday I asked myself if I could do this, and this morning I got in the Jeep and away I went.

I was pampered and spoiled and Margarita gave me a cut that will be easy for me to do these next few weeks. Lots of layers so that the curls just pop out. I just love how Margarita does my hair!

My friend and manicurist, Shelly had her baby, Ella there wearing a shirt and pants set I gave her for the baby at her baby shower in October. She looks so adorable, don’t you think?

So my day was a happy one as I got out and had a chance to see my girlfriends and little Miss Ella!

A Little Fritzi Tale

You all know how much I love Fritz. Although I admit to the fact that I don’t always write about him, because the dackels seem to be the attention getters in this house. Occasionally Fritz will do something notable, something that I simply have to write about. Because I cannot believe that he did what he did.

Let me go back so I can explain.

Yesterday I decided to completely change the bed, washing the blanket and mattress pads, etc. It took me most of the day, but by the time we were ready for bed, it was ready for us. I climbed into the clean sheets and blankets and just smelled their freshness! I love that feeling and actually look forward to my weekly sheet change for this reason.

Hubby and I were up early this morning, as he went out to ski again today with some of our friends. After he had gone, I made my Weight Watcher breakfast, sipped my coffee and then decided it was time to shower and dress and make the bed.

I went into our bedroom and found Fritz lying on Hubby’s side of the bed chewing on his stuffed monkey and the sheets, and mattress pad were soaked with his doggy slobber! He looked at me with those innocent eyes, while another bead of slobber escaped his mouth!

All I can say is, at least he didn’t get the blanket!

So I shooed him down. Took a deep breath and then changed the mattress pad and sheets once again. Once the bed was done I closed the door to my bedroom and locked him out, and the sheet washing began!

It is a good thing that I love that dog!

(LOL!)

Smile

Greta is a real character. She loves to sit with Hubby, and he is the only one who she will allow to groom her mustache and beard without growling protests. She does, however do something that makes us both laugh, and today I was able to get it with the movie program on my camera.

Isn’t that the cutest thing? She doesn’t do it for me, just him. I think she is Daddy’s Girl!

Today found me enjoying a quiet morning while Hubby went off for his first morning of skiing. He got in eight runs before coming back home. Since I had the time and no pressing work, I made us the Weight Watchers Quiche with a garden salad for our lunch. Hubby liked it very much and so did I. It’s always fun to find a recipe you like that is so low in points!

Smile!

Then I did a search for a particular type of notebook mouse. My current mouse, which has seen me through three laptops is now dying. So I searched for the same type of mouse and found it on Ebay for a great price with free shipping! I am thrilled and can hardly wait for it to arrive. Until then, I have to keep plugging it in and unplugging it and replugging it when it freezes up. My guess is that there is a short in the wire. I will be so happy when I have my new mousie!

Smile!

I also saw a picture of my grand-puppy, Bogart on Facebook today and he looks so much like his Uncle Arnie. The look on his beautiful face made me smile and feel warm all over! He really is a gorgeous boy!

Photo by: http://www.visualalex.com

Big Smile!!!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Chocolate & Carbs, Oh My!

I woke up knowing that today was the day I would start back on Weight Watchers. Breakfast is always easy for me, because I like yogurt and the 1 point English muffins. I add to that a one egg white omelet and life is great!

Then I showered and weighed myself.

Gasp!

After that, no matter what I put on, I felt pudgy all day. Of course this is good motivation to stay on the plan. In fact I had a leader once who said to wear those tight jeans, because they keep you honest. I think she could be right.

I wasn’t in the mood for a salad, but I made myself one anyway. I made it with tuna sprinkled over the top. Usually I love this. Today, it felt like a terrible punishment, but I persevered and ate all of it.

I know myself pretty well. There are certain things I can eat and some things that I cannot. For instance…CHOCOLATE in any shape or form sends me to Heaven! I cannot get enough. I dream of it and all I want to do is eat it all. There is no way this girl could ever live in Hershey, Pennsylvania! Yes, chocolate is my drug of choice!

My other downfall are carbs. I haven’t met a carb I didn’t like, with the exception of the breadfruit, and I’m not convinced that it is actually a carb. During the month of December, I definitely over-carbed myself. You should have seen some of the things they had on the cruise, and then when I came home I had that wonderful Marzipan Stollen Bread! Ah, the thought of it makes my stomach cry out for more!

Now it is time to pay the piper and get back on track.

Why am I doing this? Because I would hate like heck to allow myself to gain back all the weight that I lost. It is amazing how quickly it goes on, and how S.L.O.W.L.Y it goes off. So, call this a preemptive strike!

The dackels are all quite supportive although they miss the scraps. They all know that when Mama is dieting, she cleans her plate and there is nothing left for the little dogs!

Nothing much to report about my eye. I’m resting it and trying to do what the doctor advised, but it was so tough with the lopsided vision. Then Hubby got me a Captain Jack Sparrow eye patch and at least I can watch TV and read, even if I look a bit like a pirate!

After Christmas Clean Up

Yesterday I wanted to clean up after Christmas. You know, put things away and get back to normal life. It just didn’t happen. I looked, I thought and then I stayed in my chair. Apparently, my walk had made me a little tired. So I got to enjoy the decorations for one more day.

This morning, while Hubby was out clearing the drive and patio from our 8 inch snowstorm, I got the decoration box and started putting things away. I wrapped Santa and Christmas trees and with each item packed, said good-bye to Christmas 2009.

I got just about everything packed, and once I am back to normal I will work with Hubby to get the boxes up in the attic. For now they can sit in our unused living room. (We use our family room for daily life.)

It was very cold and windy here today and I did not make it outside. Even the dackels didn’t want to go outside, but I kicked their little dackel bottoms out! LOL!

Hubby cleared the snow that had drifted from the wind, and now he is thawing in front of the fire in the hearth.

****************

Tomorrow morning I go back on the Weight Watcher’s diet. It’s time. I really need to get my eating back under control and lose the ten pounds that somehow found me over the holidays. I haven’t done well. Somehow that Peppermint Bark Candy found it’s way into my mouth, as well as Lindt Truffels, and German Stollen bread! On our cruise they had Marzipan Stollen for breakfast everyday and I admit I ate it every day! I also had one of my all time favorite things, Eggnog! Now there is a diet killer if there ever was one!

So on Monday morning it is back to yogurt, salads, tuna fish and chicken, until I get those ten pounds off. Anyone else kind of blow their diets during this past Christmas?

It constantly amazes me that as good as I was losing the weight, the moment I am not totally vigilant, the weight comes right back to visit!

So here is to the New Year, and the loss of that little bit of weight ,so that my jeans zip once again, without the use of pliers!

My First Day Out!

We’re in the middle of a snow storm. How much actual snow we will get from this storm (currently the forecast is 12 inches) is any-one’s guess. New snow is pretty and in January it is expected, so when Hubby went outside to do a little shoveling and snow blowing, I took my camera and the dogs and followed.

Anneliese went crazy in the snow. She ran and ran and in some places tunneled! I think she is a real snow-dog!

Arnie likes to be out, that is until his body becomes covered with snowballs! Today he did stay out with us and we even went for a short walk up the driveway.

All four dogs kept me company during my trip up the drive to see our neighbor. We made sure she was okay and didn’t need anything and then the four dogs and I walked back home.

I noticed Fritz at the top of the steps and how really beautiful he looked so I took a long shot and hoped I could crop it down. He is such a handsome boy!

They all waited for me to walk back and let them in.

Then as I sat down to rest, Anneliese and Arnie came and cuddled with me.

And that was how I spent my first day out!

New Years Love & Resolutions

I was up after 9 AM on New Years morning. I woke up on the sofa. You might ask me why I was on the sofa when Hubby and I own a perfectly good king size bed. Well, apparently the dachshunds felt like stretching out and I was the one who was going to land on the floor. So, since I was awake, I came out, drank a large glass of cranberry pomegranate juice (my current favorite!) and then fell asleep on our sofa.

Our day has been rather laid back and quiet. I slept on the sofa again in the afternoon and finally kicked the eye ache. Yay for me! I’m back to cooking our meals (and unfortunately cleaning them up) and even doing the laundry. Life is going on in a normal way, and for this I am so very grateful!

Snow has been falling softly, all day long. It’s very pretty. I decided to enjoy some of the after Christmas sales and I ordered our Christmas card for next year. Usually I go out and do this, but since I cannot drive online retail therapy will have to suffice.

You know, I need to tell you all a little story. It took place shortly after I came home from the hospital. I was feeling very depressed because of the eye and I asked Hubby to bring me the mail that had come while we were gone.

I lay there opening each and every Christmas card that came and as I read them I felt the love and caring of our friends and family envelop me in a warm cocoon. It was truly magical! How lucky we are to have you all and how lucky I felt to open those cards so full of love. (Of course our tax bill from the town we live in reminded me how much our town loves…our money! LOL)

As the New Year starts I am planning to get back to Weight Watchers once I can drive, and never again take my vision for granted.

Do you have any resolutions?