Happy Birthday, Miss Eliza

Today is a very special day, indeed!

It is this girl's birthday!

I know not everyone feels this way, but for me, pets are members of the family.  Eliza is nine years old today and I am so glad that she lives here with me in D.C.  

She is the best friend a girl could ask for and she loves me no matter what- even if I lose my patience with her or have had a terrible day.  

I know she can't read, but I have to recognize her birthday on this blog anyway!  

Happy Birthday Liza-loo! 

A Sticky Situation

Well I think my dear pup Eliza knew just how desperate I was to come up with blog content, because yesterday she stepped in gum. 

Yes. Gum. 

Source

I guess she knew that this would make for an amusing blog entry. 

Apparently this happens to a lot of people, because there was a good bit of information out there on the web for me to consult.  

And, just to clarify- the gum was not in her hair. It was stuck, very, very stuck, on her paw- up in between the bed of her foot.  And to add insult to injury, all dogs have very sensitive paws and my dog happens to be a big drama queen. 

So after ruling out the peanut butter option (because I didn't have any in the house) and the cutting-out option (the last thing I wanted to do was cut her paw), I decided to go with canola oil and cotton balls.

In case you should ever find your pet in a similar situation, you soak the cotton ball in canola oil. Then, you slowly work the oil into their paw. This took a few minutes for us (and lots of patience and calming down) but all the gum eventually came out without too much drama! 

Although Eliza was not too happy with me. She was even less happy when I subsequently gave her a bath.

Sporting her drowned rat look. Hehe. 

So, that is the story of Eliza and the gum. I think I actually stressed myself out more than I should have. It was much less difficult than I thought to remove the gum. Thank heavens for the internet! 

Weekly Gratitude Post #6

I'm thankful this week that I heard some great news from my friend, Laura.  She got a new job! Congratulations, Laura! Now, I have a handful of other friends who need jobs too! Let's all send good thoughts their way. (My way too!)

I'm thankful that this was my last full week of classes! I have one class left on Monday.  I almost can't believe I survived the semester overloaded on hours. I have to say, it wasn't as terrible as everyone said it would be.  I'm crossing my fingers for good grades and that the last couple of projects I have due will go well.

I'm thankful that even though I am sick this week, I have the means to buy medicine. A simple cold is nothing compared to what so many people are going through all over the world, and many people are dealing with much more significant illnesses without medicines or treatments.

As soon as I saw Eliza sleeping like this, it reminded me of this scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

I am thankful for my sweet puppy dog. She really is a sweetheart and she is one of my best friends.

I am thankful that the Royal Wedding is ONE WEEK AWAY. People are you excited out there in blogger land?! 

I am thankful that I have some fun plans with friends this weekend. I just hope I feel up to it.

Lastly, I am thankful that it is FRIDAY! 

Traveling with Pets Part I

I have a couple of weeks off between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of the summer semester, so I decided to book a trip home (to Tennessee) to get some things at home organized and taken care of.  For fellow recent college grads or anyone who still has a room "at home" meaning your parent's home, you will understand what I mean when I say that I still have some things of mine there, and they are completely unorganized and messy.  It isn't a pretty site.

Anyway, because I'm planning to go for longer than a weekend, I'll be bringing little Miss Eliza with me.

I'm pretty nervous about this, and if I had the choice, I would leave her in D.C.  However, leaving her for an extended period is not something I'm willing to do. 

Since I'll be flying, there are several factors that I know have already impacted our trip.

1. Flying with a pet on the airline I'll be using is $125. Each way. This is for the pet to be in the cabin with you- under the seat in front of you.

(Does that strike anyone else as a little bit high?)

2. I will be flying non-stop because the idea of flying with a pet stresses me out enough as it is without connections being a factor.

3.  I will need a pet carrier for le puppy dog.  I'm considering several options right now.  If anyone has travelled with a pet and has an opinion about any of these, I would really, really appreciate it. 

This is the Bergan Pet Carrier. It is $29.99 at amazon. 

This is the Sherpa Bag Pet Carrier. It is a pricer $65.00 at amazon. 

4.  I'm considering buying some type of calming agent to give her.  In the past, she's been given Benadryl for her allergies or other illnesses and this has made her sleepy.  I'm considering doing that again, but would also like to consider other options.  I will be seeking our vet's advice on this subject.

Nutri-Vet Pet-Ease Wafers. $6.29 for 8 ounces. 

Have you ever used anything like this for your dog? How did it work for him/her? 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide on this topic!  You may have noticed I titled this post "Part I" and that is because I plan on posting an update once we've travelled so that I can provide advice to anyone out there who might be considering a trip with their pet(s)! 

Weekly Gratitude Post #2

Source

I'm thankful that I was on spring break this week. Although I was not nearly as productive as I wanted to be/ should have been, I am now certainly well rested. Although, for some reason, I could sleep more...

I'm thankful that in the past week, I've been able to see three people from my internship this summer and am planning to see another this weekend for brunch. I'm glad i've been able to maintain these friendships and relationships.

I'm thankful that my dog Eliza got a good report of health from the vet this week and a haircut/ bath. She needed both. And now she looks even more adorable and lovable. [Lovable really only has one "e"? Who knew?] I'm also thankful that my dad was able to foot the bill for the vet and the groomer. Cause if he hadn't, I woulda had to float a loan.

I'm thankful for in-building laundry and multiple machines. I can get all my laundry clean in two hours. Awesome.

I'm thankful for zipcar giving me wheels when I need them... even though I think they could nudge the prices down a little!

I'm thankful for hot water and a dishwasher. Both vastly improve my quality of life. 

Have a great weekend, people. I hope you get the chance to do a little bit of nothing this weekend! 

A Poem by Eliza

I like to snooze.

I sometimes pout.

I get really excited when it's time to go out.

I like to sniff the concrete. 

But most of all I love when Katelyn gives me a treat.

The end.

Eliza's First D.C. Snow

When I got out of class last night, it had snowed about half an inch. 

While this was not the first snow Eliza has ever seen, it was the first time it has really accumulated since she moved to D.C. with me.  Surprisingly (to me, at least) she has liked the cold weather so far and enjoys going on long-ish walks. 

But, not since it snowed.  The three times we have gone out since it snowed, she has just not been into it at all. 

These were the only pictures I could get of her last night.

And, as you can see, this was me making her stop before going back into the building.  

Poor thing.  I hope she adjusts soon. This morning, she was really upset about the icy sidewalk.  Ice is just not acceptable to a dog like Eliza!  Haha.  I am sad to report that she will have to get over that asap.

Christmas Recap (Get Ready for Pictures Galore!)

 I hope you all had wonderful Christmases with your family.  Here's a little recap of what I've been up to.

I left DC to go home to my hometown... and I finally got to meet my friend Jenny's sweet son Micah.

Can you believe he's only 7 weeks old in this picture?

Check out his stylin' baby Nikes.

Here are all my presents wrapped up! (Except for the super-last-minute ones I had to buy... oops!)

After I spent a few days at home making the rounds, we loaded up and headed to Louisiana to be with family.

Here's the before of the living room: 

Can you believe we said that we weren't going to have that many gifts this year? How silly.

Here's the after.  What a mess!

And here's my "loot".

Check out our Christmas tablescape.

It may not be the poshest thing ever- but pretty much everything we used has been used for many, many years.

I'm kind of obsessed with those red glasses.  I think they are really pretty.

And my aunt ordered a cake for us!

Here is (some) of the yummy food! The turkey my dad made was so good! It will make some tasty sandwiches this week.

On Christmas Eve, we took my dog Eliza with us to look at Christmas lights (she's been living with my aunt for the last year while I finished undergrad and moved to DC).

She was so excited to go! 

We go see this house every year.  SO MANY LIGHTS!

Last year, we started going to see a house with a light show synchronized to really beautiful music.  It is SO GOOD! 

This was the line on Christmas Eve! I'm pretty sure there were a dozen cars in front of us.

This is a really bad picture of the house.  They have a website here that you can go visit. 

Eliza was so worn out from the lights that this is what she spent Christmas morning doing:

Ha!  At least she looked cute doing it.

When she finally woke up, she opened her gifts:

She loves gifts!  She got a toy, some treats, 

AND.....

a coat and snow boots!

She got a coat and snow boots because she is moving to DC to live with me after the holidays.  You will probably be seeing more of her!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and got to spend some time with the people you love.