Adventures in fostering: the naughty little hound

We've had a quiet couple of weeks at my house as we've returned to the routine of post-holiday life.  January always seems a little mundane after all of the excitement of the previous couple of months, but it is also nice to get back on some sort of regular schedule again.  Outside of work, life has been uneventful.  

Cricket has settled in nicely and is really becoming comfortable here.  She's beginning to show more and more of her sweet little personality.  The comfort of a home and a regular routine seems to suit her well.   She's now been here for 9 weeks and I think she has really begun to feel at home with us. 

In an effort to expose her to new people, places, and things, I've been trying to take her as many places as I can, and she has become a regular visitor to my office.  She seems to really enjoy going to work with me and she is so good while she is there.  She spends most of the day napping and enjoys the occasional visitor-because they always bring her treats.  Honestly, she's so good that I hardly even notice that she is there with me.  She's now been there enough that her whole body begins to wiggle with excitement when we pull into the parking lot.  I think she'd really love a home where she could go to work every day.   

We've also gotten out on some adventures both around town and on the North Country Trail.  Cricket thoroughly enjoys every adventure.  You can't reach for a leash without her getting excited.  She dances in circles and her entire body wiggles.  She shows so much joy and it makes me so happy to see her be able to experience so much happiness.

While she is still nervous about meeting new people and some new experiences overwhelm her, she is making great progress, becoming more and more brave, and realizing the world isn't always a completely scary place.  She still has a ways to go, but the progress I have seen is amazing.

Peaches and Maddie are doing great as well.  While Maddie has been enjoying the slower pace of life lately, Peaches always hopes for more fun and adventures.  They have both been feeling well and just enjoying life too. 

Cricket has learned a lot from Peaches while she's been here and has determined that she is the perfect sized lap dog.  She loves to climb up into my lap to get some love and pets.  She has her favorite spots in the house, her favorite toys, and her favorite treats.  And she absolutely loves spending time outside every chance she gets.

I know for a fact that Cricket is feeling at home here with us because over the past few days her naughty little personality is beginning to show too.  She's found it necessary to try to sneak around with things she shouldn't have, she tries to sneak snacks that aren't for her, and she does things she knows she's not supposed to do, but then she looks at me with those sad little eyes...and I can't stay mad at her for very long.  But I know that she knows that she's been a naughty little girl.

This weekend we got out for a walk in the Lowell Game area and she was on high alert watching for critters in the woods.  As long as she can stay focused, she is a pretty good walker, but any movement in the distance and her hound instincts shine through.

I've really enjoyed having Cricket here, but I'm hoping that she can find a home of her own soon, before she gets too settled here with me.  I want her to find her perfect family and to begin her happily ever after.  She is such a sweet little girls and she deserves a good life full of love. 

And, while Peaches and Maddie love to make new friends, I can tell that they are ready to have their mom back all to themselves for a little while. 

The impending Storm

Happy Sunday!  After a pretty quiet week at home, we survived the threat of a major ice storm here in Lansing over the last couple of days. With forecasts for the potential of up to an inch of ice, we are thankful to have dodged that bullet!  I am not a fan of ice storms and have to say that I am so glad that not much came of this one. 

On Friday, with potentially dangerous travel conditions headed our way, I made the decision to run a few errands right after work so that we could settle in for the weekend.  I was happy to be able to get the dogs out for a short adventure too because I was unsure when I'd be able to get them out again if we did get a significant storm.  

The temperatures on Friday were mild with temperatures near 50, and those temperatures stayed through most of the night.  When we woke up on Saturday, I was hoping to be able to get the girls out for a walk before the sleet and ice moved in to our area, however, the rain prevented us from getting out for any exercise.   Because the conditions hadn't gotten bad at that point and I had two very restless girls, we took a quick drive to Soldan's Pet Store to find some items to keep the girls occupied while they were stuck inside.   By the time we left, the sleet had started, so we headed directly home with no plans to leave again.

My yard Saturday 9am

Due to the threat of ice and potential for power outages, I spent the morning cleaning, finishing laundry, and doing some meal prep while the girls enjoyed their special treats.  If we lost power, I wanted to be as prepared as possible. The girls did make an few quick trips outside, but none of them were thrilled with the weather, so they were happy to be inside snuggling and napping for most of the day.  

Saturday 6pm

Thankfully, the day went pretty well.  The girls stayed quiet and happy and I was able to sit back and relax for a bit.  I was looking forward to a quiet day at home and that's exactly what we had...until about 10pm, when Cricket and Peaches both got restless and wouldn't relax anymore.  I thought we got through the restlessness, until I let them out at about midnight for a potty break and Cricket decided it was time for a good round of chase...and Peaches obliged.  And  there was no stopping them, so for the next 15 minutes they ran and wrestled and had a great time.  

Sunday 12am

Cricket and Peaches were up bright and early this Sunday morning ready to play again, there they were outside at 7am for a good bout of chase once again.

Sunday 9am

There were many trips in and out for some romps in the yard, but finally it was time to settle in, snuggle, and nap.  It was actually nice to have a little snow on the ground...I've gotten a little tired of mud in January!

Most of our day was spent quietly inside and our weekend was pretty uneventful.  While a slow week and a quiet weekend at home can be really nice, I'm hoping that we'll be able to get out for some good exercise this week and maybe even a big adventure this weekend.  I'm sure the girls feel the same way!

New year...new goals

Happy New Year and welcome to 2020.  While I'm not one for resolutions (because I think is seems arbitrary to decide to make changes once each year simply because the date on the calendar changes), I am one to strive every day to be my best self .  I think it is important to do things daily to grow and to better myself.  I believe an import part of that is setting goals, writing them down, and sharing them with others.  So this year, inspired by Chelsea @ thebiglakemi and something she shared on her Instagram page, I'm going to set 20 goals, some big and some small, for 2020.

I've had nearly two weeks off from work over the Holidays.  I've spent a lot of quiet time at home and I've had plenty of time to think and reflect on where I am today and what I'd like to accomplish this year.  Over the last several years, many of my goals have focused on travel and last year I finished my most important goal of reaching my 50th State Capitol.  This year's goals also include some travel related goals because life without travel is just not for me.  So here goes:

1) Travel to the Canadian East Coast.  There are three Canadian Provinces that I haven't yet visited and I plan to visit them this year.  That will be the only big trip that the girls and I take this year and with this trip, Maddie will also have visited all 10 Provinces,  I'm pretty excited for this trip because the rocky shoreline of the coast is really something I love.

2) Complete the Hike 100 challenge on the North Country Trail for the fifth year.  I wasn't going to sign up for the #hike100nct for 2020... Maddie can't walk as far as she used to and sometimes just getting to the trail can be a challenge.  But then I saw everyone sharing posts of their New Year's Day hikes on the trail, and I felt the urge to get out and start our hiking.  It's the fifth year of the challenge and we haven't missed a year. Honestly I can't imagine not doing it!

3) Visit 10 Michigan State Parks.  As I work toward my goal of visiting all of the Michigan State Parks, I'd like to break it up into smaller pieces to make sure that I continue to make progress.  I'd like to revisit some parks I've visited in the past as well as see some new parks.  My mini goal within this goal is to hike in each park and find a geocache in each one as well.

4) Spend more time in the UP.  As I focused on traveling to other States the last few years, I haven't spent as much time in the UP as I would like, but I'm planning to change that this year.

5) Visit Isle Royale.  While this may be the biggest challenge since I can't take the girls with me, I really want to make a trip to this beautiful National Park, even if for just a couple of days. 

6) Write a book.  Now that I have finished my 50 States travel and have made it to all 50 State Capitols, it is time to write my book about Imke and Maddie and all of our travels.  The plan is to write a simple book first-maybe a children's book-with pictures of Imke and all of her friends that have traveled to the State Capitols with her(and with me).  I'd also like to write more of a memoir-style book about our travels...but that is a book for another year. 

7) Do more yoga!

8) Practice gratitude.  I am grateful for the life I have, but it's important to recognize and acknowledge that gratitude.

9) Be a better friend.  This was a goal I set for last year too, and I think I made good progress, but I don't think you should ever stop trying!

10) Spend more one one time with each of the girls.  I love getting to spend individual time with each of the girls, but sometimes it is hard to make the time.  This year I'm hoping at least once per month to take each of them on individual adventures. 

11) Spend more time with my daughter.  Nicol is the most important person in my life and I need to focus on spending more time with her.  I talk to her all of the time, but I really want to make a point of seeing her more and planning some fun things we can do together.

12) Focus on what I can control.  I tend to want to control all situations and I just need to remind myself that some things are out of my control...and I should focus only on the things that I can control.

13) Create a budget.  I want to be better at budgeting my money so I can save more.

14) Volunteer more.  Volunteering at the shelter has always made me happy.  The last couple of years I haven't been able to spend as much time there, but this year I'm going to spend a little more time there again.

15) Eat more Vegetarian/Vegan meals. 

16) Clear out clutter!  Clean out closets, cupboards, and the basement, and get rid of things I don't need. 

17) Read more.  I used to read a lot more and for some reason I haven't read as much lately.  It's time to start reading more again.

18) Love myself more!

19) Perform a weekly random act of kindness.

20)  Be Present.  Live in the moment. All we have is this moment right now; cherish it.

Wow!  What a list.  There is a lot to get done this year.  Looks like I'll have a lot of things to write about in the blog throughout the year.  Now, I better get off of the computer and get started!