Happy Wednesday! How’s your week going? Anything fun going on? I have dinner with some family that wasn’t able to make it to Chicago for graduation tonight, some Ben training tomorrow, and a family reunion this weekend. Fun!
The things I am not a fan of are the super hot days and the forecast for thunderstorms for most of the next week. I enjoy the occasional downpour, but if you make it hard for me to take a walk or go for a drive I’m out. Anyway, let’s catch up!
Ben Again
Like I said, we start training tomorrow! I decided to do a small package of private lessons, because the group classes were basically socialization classes for 6 weeks before another 6 weeks of actual commands, and this is 3 hours of concentrated attention. He can socialize fine. I just need him to listen a little better and calm down a little more. From my chat with the trainer, she said it sounds like all his issues (biting, refusing to stay in a certain room, evening barking, pulling on his leash when he walks with Pippa) relate to impulse control, so that’s what we’ll be working on. I already started doing some impulse control exercises with him because I’m an overachiever, but I’ll be glad to have a trainer’s input.
{That head tilt, though.}
But honestly, he’s been quite good. Yes, it’s a little annoying that you can’t be on the floor without him thinking he should climb all over you (another impulse we can work to control?), but he’s been a pretty good listener. As long as I close off the stairs to both the upstairs levels and the downstairs rec room and close off the office, I can pretty much trust him to do the right thing. So… he basically has access to the kitchen, dining room, living room, and entry hallway. If the whole office floor were empty, I could probably expand the space, but it’s not, and he has lots of room to move.
He lets me know when he needs to go outside with yelping when he’s in the crate (unpleasant, but effective) and sitting politely at the front door when he’s not (pleasant, but if I’m not paying perfect attention, I don’t realize he’s there). Even when I take a couple minutes to get to him, he doesn’t pee in the house, though. We had a slight miscommunication when he found his way into one office door and got “stuck” by the office entry closest to the front door, and then he peed there. He was (not-so) clearly trying to tell me he needed to go out. So, now we close both doors to the office.
{Black and white because the backlight was awful, but they’re so cute.}
Ben and Pippa now get along! They play together when we go outside for walks (but never inside), and they haven’t snapped at each other in a while. Neither loves it when I take one out without them, but they deal with the fact that they get attention at different times. All is well.
A return to the kitchen
I haven’t baked anything in ages and ages (probably since I made these insane skillet cookies after Mother’s Day), so yesterday I headed back to the kitchen while Ben entertained himself (!!!!!). I made mango blueberry muffins based on the mango muffins in Sally’s first cookbook and these peanut butter cup crunch brownies. It was so freaking fun. I love just baking and chilling with podcasts, and I’m happy Ben is now able to hang out by himself outside the crate. He and Pippa watched me for a while before he passed out on the couch.
My next project is making a killer peach cobbler.
I’m also trying to become an excellent cocktail-mixer in the next few weeks so I can make all sorts of summery drinks when my family heads to the beach in July.
Books
Since I acquired little Ben, I haven’t been hitting the gym first thing in the morning. I feed him, take him outside a few times, and he plays a little before his first nap of the day. He’s usually up between 5:00am and 6:00am and then naps by 7:30 or so. That still leaves me with a lot of downtime before his nap, so as of this week, instead of wiling it away scrolling Instagram and Twitter, I’ve been filling it with books!
I read Graduates in Wonderland and In a Dark, Dark Wood this week, and am currently making my way through Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy.
Graduates in Wonderland wasn’t my thing, but I couldn’t stop myself from finishing it to see if it got better. It’s basically emails back and forth between two college friends for the three years after they graduate. It’s a quick and easy read, full of 20-something drama, which I’m familiar with as a 20-something. I get the feeling that it would be a better read if you didn’t have at least a little direction after college. While I don’t know if my job will lead to my career or how teaching yoga will fit into my life, I have obvious options and plans. These ladies went to cities they had dreamed about, but where they had approximately nothing going for them, and struggled and struggled to build new lives until they fell into a more comfortable place after a few years.
It just made me question whether I’m too settled (probably not) and also question the intelligence of their financial and social decisions (which, yes, ultimately worked out, as things tend to do – and they wouldn’t have compiled the book if they hadn’t). Basically, I ended the book feeling annoyed at the authors for writing it and frustrated with them as characters.
I really, really enjoyed In a Dark, Dark Wood. It’s about a murder and a glass house and a bachelorette party. I am the queen of thinking books are too predictable, and while I suspected some of the twists, I didn’t catch all of them, and I was intrigued the whole time.
And I’m not finished with Suicide of the West, but I do love it so far. It’s a lot denser than the previous books – but it’s not fiction. It’s more of a history of Western politics and culture mixed with a plea for gratitude. It’s hilarious at times, while still being thought-provoking. Fun fact: I read the first page and put it down so I could deal with Ben being tangled up outside, but also because I was a tiny bit annoyed that anyone is as talented a writer as Jonah Goldberg.
Bits & Bobs
Having a puppy makes me way more active than just having a dog. Even though Ben’s longest walk isn’t quite as long as Pippa’s most days, the fact that I have to take him out 3 million times a day, follow him around occasionally to make sure he’s not getting into anything he shouldn’t be, and walk him, means he definitely adds steps!
I currently have a little tracker thingamajig in my car that tracks mileage, fast accelerations, hard stops, time spent idling, and the time at which I drive. The goal is a discount on my new car insurance. The problem is that my hard stops are not my fault. I swear. People slam their brakes in front of me all the time, and I have to slam to, you know, not crash into them. I’m a good driver! I promise!
I am usually strongly anti-cold drinks (room temp is fine, hot is better), but I’ve been needing ice to drink anything lately.
We went to Father’s Day brunch at the same place we had my 21st birthday party, and it was awesome. They have it every Sunday if you’re in the Columbus area, and standouts include the fried chicken, breakfast sausage, breakfast potatoes, eggs Benedict, and brownies that look lame and standard (they’re really good).
Movies are usually not my thing. I don’t like being confined to a theater, and I usually just don’t care enough to watch them at home. Last weekend, my dad and I went to see Solo: A Star Wars Story, and it was quite enjoyable. It was also the 30-year anniversary of the release of Bull Durham, which my dad thought I should see, so we streamed it through Amazon Prime, and I loved it!
Your turn:
What’re you reading?
Do you like driving?
Good luck with the puppy training! Currently reading = The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.
BENNY BOO BOO. Yes, I will be saying that pretty much any time I see him. In person and elsewhere. You’ve been warned.
I was ridiculously anti-water from mid-May until Mid-June. It started when Alex’s parents visited (they are addicted to Fresca), then grew when I was tired (Coke Zero), then soda was on sale, and then reached an apex while we were in Alexandria (they only drink soda and don’t have a Brita/pitcher of water in the fridge. But since returning, I told Alex that we would finish out the soda we had already bought, and then we were not going to buy any more fridge packs. As a result? Chugging water (from the refridge pitcher) and also iced coffee + almond milk, but hey–still better than 3x diet soda a day!
I also have had to cut out alcohol for the most part, and I’m trying to wean myself off of Halo Top to 1x a week. And I have no chocolate in the apartment right now.
I don’t know who I am anymore.
You sound like me, except I have chocolate. I had a major Halo Top problem (“it’s summer! I need ice cream pretty much daily! It is a fact!” Okay Ellen, NO.) And I go in fits and starts with Diet Coke. I won’t buy it to have at my apartment, because I know myself and once I start I can’t stop, but when my mom wants it around…I have almost zero self control. Except on the days I do. But I’m still drinking a ton of water so it’s okay-ish. Only a couple more months and I won’t be surrounded by it. Oh, and I’ve turned into a coffee liker. Not lover yet but you know it’s only a matter of time.
In the era of Trump I think purchasing a book by Jonah Goldberg is a disgrace. I would check yourself if you support his ideas.
What we need now is compassion, equality, & inclusivity.
Peace.
Jonah and (more importantly in this context I think) I are far, far from Trump supporters. You’ll never hear me denounce compassion or inclusivity, and I would check yourself before you jump to conclusions about me because I read and enjoy a book.
I’d also encourage you to find a few people who you disagree with who you respect and can bear to read and follow. We live in a pretty divided country, and there is endless value to being able to see, engage with, and potentially even sympathize with the other side.