Friday Things
1. This week, we had our second training session with Duke (and Einstein joined in this time!). We did a lot of work with walking him and avoiding distractions and giving him lots of feedback (negative and, more importantly, positive), then we moved inside to an obstacle course. Duke is basically terrified of anything new and different, and wanted nothing to do with any of the obstacles. The trainer said that a primary issue is that he’s lacking confidence in himself, so we forced him to do each one the first time, and then after that he did each one with increasing enthusiasm, and by the end he was so thrilled and proud of himself. Einstein just took it upon himself to do all of the obstacles on his own, even the ones we weren’t doing with Duke ;-)
Yesterday, I took them both for a walk together and it may have been the most relaxing, stress-free walk I’ve ever had with the two of them. I had stopped walking them together a few weeks ago because it was just way too much – constant pulling, yanking, frustration, I didn’t want to fall, etc. Things have VASTLY improved! These lessons have been worth their weight in gold. We go back in another two weeks!
2. The new Wendy’s commercials have managed to get my brain stuck on 90’s music. I can’t get “To Be With You” out of my head!! Ack!
3. Have you seen the Modern Seinfeld Twitter account? If you were ever a fan of the show, you HAVE to check it out… hysterical! Now I really want them to bring the show back with present-day episodes. DO IT, Larry David! (And while you’re at it, how about some new seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm?)
4. I am 17 weeks pregnant this week and had a check-up on Wednesday that went perfectly! We got to hear the heartbeat again, which always leaves me in total awe. There’s an actual little human beating away in there! Other than that, my belly is growing, and I think I’ve finally reached the second trimester energy surge – I’ve been feeling great!
5. If you use photos online, this Can I Use That Picture? flow chart is an excellent resource for making sure you’re not violating any copyright licenses.
6. I was so thrilled to find pasteurized fresh mozzarella at the grocery store, and have had caprese toasts as my dinner multiple nights this week. It’s hard to beat fresh tomatoes and basil during the summer; the only thing that would make it better is if they came from my own garden!
7. A few weeks ago, I shared with you the new cocktail website that my husband started, The Drink Kings. He’s been a cocktail-making machine, and I can’t try any of them! Maybe there will be a Shirley Temple in my future :) If you haven’t yet, be sure to check it out! He takes some pretty kick-butt pictures, if I do say so myself ;-) You can also follow him on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.
8. I love this quote that I stumbled upon this week: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” [Marcus Tullius Cicero]
9. I haven’t watched anything (TV or movies) remotely interesting lately… I’m especially missing movies! There haven’t seemed to be many worth watching lately (we usually browse the premium channels, Netflix and Redbox). We’re still watching Tyrant, but that’s mostly due to a lack of anything else good to watch. Perhaps I should pick up some baby books to fill the void ;-)
10. TGIF! I hope you have a cozy weekend!
Good luck with the training sessions! I have a not quite 1.5 year old golden and he is an energetic nut. We did 4 private training sessions in April and it’s unbelievable how much progress he has made since then. We worked on similar things – walking nicely on the leash and avoiding distractions. It has been slow progress for us, but about a month ago (3 months after we started training sessions) it seemed like everything just magically clicked and he calmed down a bit. I hope Duke is equally responsive to your efforts! Congratulations on your pregnancy, too :)
Silent follower here. But I’m always excited to find due date buddies. I believe I’m about a day ahead of you. :)
That’s awesome! Congratulations to you! :)
Michelle,
So glad the puppy training is going well. I’ve gotten whiplash from walking my dog when she was young, so you’re right to be concerned.
It’s pretty exciting to be expecting. I remember when my sister was expecting for each of my nieces.
Annamaria
Modern Seinfeld!!!! Loves it! I am watching Episodes, with Matt LaBlanc on HBO, it is actually really funny, he is so cute!
As always, I love the pics you take of your furbabies! And I am so happy to hear that training is going so well. You little boy is SMART!
Your baby bump is so cute!!! Yeah, I totally agree – creation is an awesome thing. I remember just wanting to see what that little one looked like and it seeming like I was pregnant FOREVER – then POW – they were born! Enjoy every second of your pregnancy, sweetie!
I love the Drink Kings website! Very good looking and interesting content, too! I’ll have to share that with some of my friends.
As far as things to watch – I LOVE Longmire, Major Crimes (spinoff of The Closer, which I also loved), Rectify – new ones, Rush and Satisfaction. I would definitely advise you to go watch Longmire from the first season – your hubby would probably like it, too. Great show.
Have a great weekend, Michelle! It going to be hot and rainy here in Arkansas!
Read an article last week that said if you get a tune or phrase stuck in your head to do this: Start a crossword, or some other type of puzzle that requires a lot of concentration. Hope it helps you.
So happy to hear you are feeling good during your pregnancy! And I just love the pictures of your two sweet “boys” !!!! They make me smile every time!!!!!!
Michelle, if you are looking for a TV show there is a really good one named Rookie Blue that is on Thursdays at 9:00 pm on channel 7 ABC. It just started its new season early July not sure when it ends but it is a series that runs opposite from the usual Fall series schedule. Gives me something to look forward to in the summer. I love your pictures of Einstein and Duke – Lots of brotherly love between them. Congrats on your pregnancy and your baby bump.
An FYI on the soft cheeses and being pregnant issue: a majority of the soft cheeses sold in America (esp in major supermarkets) are made from pasteurized milk. (check the ingredients list). I am not a doctor, so do what you want with that info….I was pregnant 2012-2013 and my doc had a pretty practical/reasonable approach to most of the food rules. For what its worth, in the last year or so I have not heard of one single recall of deli meats or soft cheeses for listeria contamination (at least in my area on the West Coast) but there have been multiple listeria contamination recalls of fresh fruits and vegetables (all the things you are supposed to eat with wild abandon while preggo) so there’s that. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those “I did it, and my baby and I are fine, so it should be fine for everyone” but everyone has to listen to their gut and their doctor and weigh the risks and sometimes it helps to put things in perspective. Its all about what works best for you. <- that sentence right there will take you a loooong way on this journey of motherhood.
Confidence is a huge issue in dogs. I did not know about that until I got my dog three years ago. She was very reactive to strangers. We took many classes together (agility, flyball, basic manners) and are currently working on learning flyball for competition. In addition to working privately with a trainer you might consider taking some classes together. A beginning agility class might be good to get him used to seeing different obstacles. He’ll get more confident and he’ll be more confident that you are not going to put him in a bad situation. I think that’s the key is that the dog learns to trust that you know best for them and that you won’t ask them to do something or take them to a park to encounter something that would be bad for them.
How about The Bridge, Ray Donovan, Hell on Wheels (LOVE Anson Mount IV!!!), Extant? Nothing groundbreaking but all entertaining :)
I am trying to get to Luther on Netflix. I am going to take note of the PBS documentaries Sara K mentioned for sure!
Happy Friday!
Agree with The Bridge AND Anson Mount :) My husband like Luther and The Fall (with Gillian Anderson). Also The Killing, Sons of Anarchy, The Good Wife (I know I wasn’t initially sold on it either but it is GREAT and I managed to get a few girlfriends hooked on it as well!), Supernatural (hottie alert!), and for some oldies: Six Feet Under (HBO) and Entourage (always entertaining.)
Would you mind emailing the name of the trainer you are using? Our golden Sadie is in need of some lessons, especially when we have people over. We tried a local trainer when she was a pup and she did well in class without any distractions, but now that she is a big girl we need a refresher on how to reinforce good behavior and stop the bad ones. I will look into the Gentle Leader as well. Have a great weekend!
I checked out “Drink Kings” when you mentioned it a couple weeks ago, but I was surprised that there were only 2 martinis (and only one of them a vodka martini). Maybe they’re passe now? I don’t know, but it’s my favorite drink, and I was hoping for a good recipe for a hot and dirty vodka martini.
I agree about TV, but I am enjoying “Drunk History” and “Who Do You Think You Are”, but that’s only 1.5 hours a week (and, since I DVR – probably only 1 hour when I ff through the commercials). That’s not enough time for folding on my laundry, so I’m left flipping through the channels . . .
love love Duke/Eistein photos, we have a Siberian husky/golden retriever named Moka, she has the same face as your but the colouring of both..
love your beautiful bump, funny, mine is bigger and my kids are 20 and 23(years that is)… Just saw the movie Chef (sofia bergara, scarlet johanssen, even dusting Hoffman.. you would love it!! tomatoe season, yes even here in Toronto.. when you have a surplus cut them in chunks, roast them in the over low and slow at least 1.5hrs with garlic, olive oil, onions, herbs.. then boil pasta and toss the pasta in the roasting pan which will absorb all the yummy flavours.. enjoy the weekend..
I have a 120-lb “puppy,” an 18-month-old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Monte. He turned a year old two weeks before my son was born. We do our best to ensure he still gets walked and attention, but it’s so hard with the baby, especially a baby who now wants to roll around on the floor because when we’re down on the floor with Connor, Monte thinks that means it’s his turn to be all over us. It can be very frustrating and as if there isn’t enough guilt over being working parents, then we have additional guilt over not being as good of pet parents! Lots of balancing going on, that’s for sure. I applaud you getting ahead of the game and doing these training sessions and love to read the updates from them.
Have you watched Orphan Black? I caught up on the first season On Demand, and now just need the time to watch the second season. I had heard nothing but good things and am so glad I finally tuned in. It’s a very interesting and entertaining show.
TGIF!
Oh I LOVE Greater Swiss Mountain dogs! Such beautiful dogs :)
Sweet dogs!
Seeing your beautiful doggies every Friday morning puts a smile on my face :)
I’m in a lull with TV as well. I have watched a few documentaries on Netflix recently, and I have picked up a copy of The Butler from the library though I haven’t watched it yet. I’m in the same rut with my books too! Can’t settle into anything good! I guess I’m just flighty right now :)
Happy Friday!
Which documentaries have you watched on Netflix? We’re big into documentaries ;-) Happy Friday to you, too!
PBS has several documentaries on big estates in the UK. I’ve watched one on Chatsworth, Hampton Court (Henry VIII loved that castle), Althorp (Princess Diana’s ancestral home), and the Tower of London (now THAT was a fascinating documentary!). They have one on Scotland Yard too which I haven’t watched yet.
Last night I watched a documentary on De Beers (part of Bloomberg’s “Inside” series). Did you know that the diamond wasn’t really associated with romance and engagements until De Beers started their “Diamond is Forever” campaign in the 40’s or 50’s? The ruby was actually considered one of the most rare and precious stones prior to that. There is another “Inside” doc on Pixar that I want to watch.
There’s also a PBS special called Legendary White Stallions (about the Lipizzander stallions which I had the privilege to watch perform once). And if you haven’t seen this show yet, there’s a show (from Animal Planet, I think) called “Too Cute” which follows newborn litters of puppies and/or kittens. Very cute indeed!
Happy watching!
Well I have a garden, I guess I’ll just have to get a library! I miss those day’s of going to the ultrasound, seeing the baby, hearing the baby. Congrats and enjoy every moment! :)
Thank you, Tom, we certainly are!
I chuckled at the picture of “the boys” …Einstein coat looks like the curly Golden option and Duke looks like the blowout Golden option. I am happy to hear Duke is building his confidence. It is so hard to have an anxious pup but it seems he is making progress.
LOL you are so right! Their coats are totally different – Einstein’s is curly, wavy, fluffy and out of control, while Duke’s is smooth and straight.
I have one small dog and she frustrates me on walks. I would love to get her some training lessons. That sounds like money well spent! The dogs are so pretty.
Congrats on 17 weeks! Glad you’re feeling great!
Hi Melanie, It has definitely been 100% worth it! We got the recommendation for the training center from the vet; yours might have an idea of who might be good to work with. She knew of a few, but zeroed in on this one based on her knowledge of Duke’s behavior. So helpful! We’re also using a Gentle Leader collar (many readers recommended them on a previous Friday post and the trainer recommended it, as well) – it has helped tremendously, as well!
Aw could those pair BE any cuter?! And your bump is also super cute! Glad everything is going well Liz
Hope you have a lovely weekend!