Happy Halloween!

I might as well go send in an app for Toddlers and Tiaras because I have gone all stage mom up in here. Tiger's going to be in two dog costume contests (best. idea. ever.) and I (I mean we...) am in it to win it. Tiger's a hot air balloon! Just ignore the fact that it took approximately 35 treats for me to get these pictures.

What I'm Wearing Today

I took Tiger to the vet this morning for his last vaccine! Then we stopped at the pet store, grabbed some coffee and cocoa, then picked up Craig for a trip to the park. We actually hit up two parks and got lots of energy out before it rains. This was the perfect cozy running around town weekend outfit. 

This is the dress version of my favorite tank (seriously, I own like 20). It's the double scoop tank dress by BP (at Nordstrom) and sells for $24

Most favorite sweater ever! Laguna Coast Pullover, Free People, $88

Rebecca Side Laceup Moc Boot, Jeffrey Campbell, $138

Croc Lil' Q Satchel, Marc by Marc Jacobs, approx. $400 (I bought this a few years ago but the style is style available in new colors.)

Timeless Chunky Chain Head Wrap, Tasha, $38

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend

So, this weekend...what a train wreck. Saturday morning I had a major missing Kevin meltdown with tears and everything. Suprisingly this is sort of the first time since his funeral that's happened. I get sad and I miss him but I think there was some sort of significant relief from being upset once he was buried. Maybe what made being sad this weekend so hard was that it came out of nowhere...

But, one of the good things about this weekend was Tova came back from Canada to do some sort of citizenship thing so we got together Saturday afternoon. We dropped Tiger off at daycare and went on a shopping trip. The plan was for her husband to pick up Tiger and bring him to meet us and some friends for dinner but David called saying Tiger was throwing up and I would have to come pick him up.

Tiger ate chocolate.

Now, I don't want to seem insensitive. I know that he's the one who was throwing up and it's obviously, when you get down to it, my fault he was able to get chocolate (it was a very small amount). But oh my God. The thing is, when dogs eat chocolate yes it's super scary and dangerous and they throw up and have dihrrea but they aren't like children with the flu who want to snuggle up on you and sleep in between rushed trips to the bathroom to vomit. Dogs are fucking insane.

Tiger spent the entire Saturday night and Sunday into the afternoon running around like he would never again get a chance to run. The sugar and caffeine combined in his tiny body to give him the ability to not sleep at all for 24 hours and in turn make it so I could not sleep either. And in his fit of energy Tiger leapt over a table, knocked everything on it off including one of my favorite mugs a friend brought me back from France, and broke it.

And then I stepped on it. And this happened.

I had to assist a cooking class after that which means I had to stand on my weird blood bruise injury for four hours. Then, I think the universe realized I'd kind of been pushed to my limit and decided to give me a break because I got home, Tiger cuddled up with me, fell asleep, and I got to chat with Trista for a long time. And everything seemed okay again.

Times like this though make me so thankful again for therapy and medication. A year ago a weekend like this would just have me a mess. And yeah, okay, I sort of lost it when I hadn't slept at all and my dog knocked a bunch of stuff down and broke something I loved and I totally made him have a timeout and wouldn't accept his kisses like the mature adult I am but I also just had to sort of laugh at the whole thing. Which isn't something I could do before.

I've never been so happy for a weekend to be over or more excited for the next one.

What Tiger's Wearing Today

Obviously this is the cutest thing in the entire world. It's an actual collar so you can clip a leash to it which is fantastic. There are also some other colors. Made by Loyal Luxe.

Manzanita

Back when I used to nanny the family I worked for (for the longest and to whom I was the closest) had a couple beach houses on the Oregon coast. In the Summers I would spend weekends or even entire weeks laying in the sun with a light breeze touching the backs of my legs or walking down to the water with tiny little hands in mine then shrieking and running from the incoming tide. When it got cooler we would bundle up and play for as far into the year as possible. When it got too cold for playing on the beach we would go down for weekends in the Winter and snuggle up in the house with cocoa and movies and just be away for a bit. Some of my favorite memories are from times spent on the coast.

One of the places we stayed often was Manzanita, OR, the perfect beach town. There's a section of the West side of our state that is most frequented by Portlanders looking to escape the city and within that part of the coast most of the weather is pretty similar on any given day. The thing about finding the perfect beach in Oregon has everything to do with the land surrounding the beach. In Manzanita everything aligns perfectly to keep it warm but breezy. It's also one of the few coastal towns I've seen with locals that don't make me feel like I'm in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There are some cute restaurants, a great ice cream parlor with a garden to eat your sweets in, a game store called Overboard, and the requisite super crowded grocery store. And! You can have bonfires on the beach! This past weekend I loaded up on cough syrup, decongestant, nasal spray, and cough drops and decided to show Trista, Johnathan, and Craig the close to my heart Manzanita...check out Tiger helping bring kindling to the fire pit.

So, This Happened

Saturday night Tiger decided he needed to lay exactly where Javier was any time Javi decided to lay down. And he wouldn't just lay near him or touching him...he would lay on top of him. This whole thing went on for way longer than it should have given Javi has about five pounds on Tiger and the advantage of claws but apparently he also possesses the patience of a saint.

Cute Pets Update

So, my pets are still adorable. In case any of you were wondering...

Puppykins!

Baby Photos!

I've been trying to not make this blog all about Tiger since you know, it's the internet and if all you wanted were pictures of puppies you could find that fairly easily. Almost as easily as if all you wanted were photos of penises. But, this is also my party and I've never put too specific a theme on it because I wanted to be able to post whatever I want. Sometimes that's all about cooking or sometimes it's days of fashion or crafts or apartment decor. Other times it's a whole lot of photos of my pets.


This past weekend Tiger and I went over to Kevin's parents house for a visit. Tiger is learning clicker training and Bunnie, Kevin's mom, was in love with helping train him. Tiger was in love with all the treats. Don't worry though, he eats super healthy treats so what he thinks is something special is basically a dinner substitute.


Tiger is a tiny guy and I (or rather his vet) think the moving around and his vaccines lowered his immune system a bit. Apparently all dogs have natural mites that are always in their fur, the "good" kind. But if they have a lowered immune system those mites can become too many and the pup can get itchy which results is patchy fur. Which is what happened to Mister Jungle Cat himself. For the foreseeable future Tiger has to have three baths a week with this special shampoo and also take these giant vitamin E capsules every day. Luckily he loves the vitamins and bears with me on the bath thing. I decided to let him shower with me this most recent time since that seemed the easiest way to do things.


I love daycare and how much it wears him out. He gets so excited to see me and has a fit of affection when I pick him up that continues into the first few minutes in the car then he crashes. I have two of those beds, one for him and Javi to jam into in the house and one for car rides. Tiger always rides shotgun.


It's impossible to be sad around this guy.


I gave up on my no rawhide rule after the vet said it's actually okay as long as I watch him. I took extra precaution by getting the most difficult to tear apart ever form of this stuff.


Tiger and I had dinner with Tova and her husband last week. It's fair to say he wasn't lacking any attention. The dog that is...


This was at Kevin's parents' house too. Their giant backyard made me feel bad I don't have one for him. I'm thinking once my lease is up I maaaay try to find a house. In the city still because I love that. I pictured myself here for a long time because I love my home but I love Tiger more.


You may think he's going for the treats here but he would also like to eat the clicker. And everything else in the entire world. I really think he doesn't have taste buds because I don't have any other reasoning for his inclination to put every single thing in his mouth.


Tiny baby running dog with so much energy.


Apparently I never get tired of posting pictures/video of me in my bathtub/shower with my pets.


I love the park near my apartment but never used to go much before Tiger dog. Now we go and just read or play or have a snack or bring drinks. And everyone in the world wants to see him. I'm counting on Tiger to pick me up a boy and maybe some new friends too. Friends with cute pets.


Tiny baby puppy sleeping in the car. Again.


This picture cracks me up. Tiger isn't even that cute in it but I think it's hilarious. This is Tova's husband David who saaaays he doesn't like dogs near his face but a picture is worth a thousand words. And some of those words happen to be "You cannot resist this dog and putting him near your face."


This weekend we checked out some new toy stores for puppies and found this awesome heffalump looking thing. When you squeeze it it makes a really obnoxious noise and both it's tail and trunk pop out like noise makers. After I bought it we went to the park where he decided to play with a leaf instead.

Honor Roll

When I went to pick up Tiger at daycare today I was given his report card. Fortunately he has excelled. Otherwise I might have to ground him and take away all his rawhides. Can't have any slackers in the fam.

A BBQ Picnic!

As I mentioned before Friday was gorgeous here in Portland. So gorgeous in fact that it allowed Craig and I to have a BBQ/picnic at a park near our apartments. On the menu were hot dogs, southwestern seasoned corn on the cob, buttermilk potato salad, watermelon, pickles, and chocolate chip cookies. We used a portable grill I bought recently and I'm in love with. I don't know if it was the sun or the park or puppykins or what but I feel like our little outdoor meal made me so incredibly happy. I want to spend the whole summer in the park having mini BBQs and being outside with my dog.






Afterward Craig and I went over to my place to watch a movie. Tiger hung out in my lap and Javier slept in what is supposed to be the dog bed. Until Craig left and I walked him to the door. Then Tiger decided he needed to sleep in the bed too.





At least one of them seems content with that arrangement.