The Arctic Blast

It was another long, busy, frigid week for us here.  I was thankful to start the week off with a day at home.  Due to the MLK holiday, I had the day off from work, and Nicol had planned to visit my dad at the hospital, giving me a day off from traveling.  I was grateful for the ability just to stay home.

The morning started quietly at home with the girls napping, which gave me a chance to relax too.  It was a frigid day with negative wind chills, so I had plans to keep the girls entertained inside and just have a lazy day at home.  Peaches had other plans.

By early afternoon, I was sick of being stared and whined at by the old lady, so I decided to take a drive and get them out for a brief walk.  Peaches was so excited that she immediately started rolling in the snow.  Mina wasn't quite so happy about the freezing snow on her feet.

After a short walk, we were back in the car to make a stop at Soldan's.  I decided to walk a loop around the parking lot, since it was clean and dry, before making our way into the store.  We made a second loop around the parking lot after our trip into the store which added up to just about a half mile walk.

Since the sun was shining and the wind had calmed down, I decided we'd make a trip to Benjamin Davis Park to see if the paths were clear enough for a walk.  I was pleasantly surprised to find them pretty clean.

We made a couple of loops and enjoyed the beauty of the sun shining on the snow as well as the fresh air and excercise.  It was nice to get outside for a change.  The girls were probably even happier than I was to be outside.  We definitely all needed it.

After working all morning and then working from the hospital while visiting my dad in the afternoon Tuesday, I arrived home after dark.  It was too cold and dark to get out for a walk by the time I got home, so the girls got to eat dinner from their treat balls and we played a bit.  Thankfully they settled in pretty quickly for the evening. 

I barely had time to breath on Wednesday.  My day at work was full of meetings and lots to do.  When I finally had a moment to take a break late in the afternoon, I took the girls out for a ride in the car.  Unfortunately they didn't get out for a walk because I just didn't have time.

After work, I headed out to the shelter to spend some time with the shelter dogs.  When life is crazy, I appreciate my volunteer time even more.  

I was joined by two other volunteers, but because the weather was so cold, we didn't hold our normal dog walk.  Instead, we set up a loop to walk them around inside the shelter and had the community room set up for playtime.  I took each dog outside for a short walk around the parking lot for a potty break, and then they went inside for a walk inside with one volunteer and playtime with the other.  It was a great set up for the cold weather and they all got out of their kennels which always makes me happy.

Luckily these girls of mine are good to me, because without much excitement all day, they still just settled in for an evening of cuddles after I got home.

Thursday was the longest day of the week.  As I was getting ready to head to the hospital for the afternoon, I got a call from my dad telling me that they had decided to take him in for a second surgery that afternoon.  I rushed off to the hospital to be there with my mom and brother before dad went into surgery, and I stayed until the surgeon came out after surgery to tell us all had gone well.  The picture above was taken when I got home long after dark.  It was a long, exhausting day.

Friday afternoon I drove to the hospital again to see my dad since I hadn't talked to him after his surgery.   He was in good spirits, but tired.  I worked while he slept and finally left just after 5pm.

As soon as I got home, I got the girls in the car and off we went for a walk around Lowe's.   We walked up and down every aisle and did a little training.  It was the best walk we'd had since Monday and was much needed.   Dinner was served in one of their brain games when we got home, and then we settled in for the evening. 

I had planned on staying home on Saturday, but no one else in the family was going to make a visit for the day, so I adjusted my plans and drove to the hospital for a Saturday visit.  

Dad was sound asleep when I arrived and still sound asleep an hour later.  I took a walk around the hospital and when I came back to his room, he was still sleeping.  I spoke with his nurse and decided that I'd just head home and let him get his rest.  He really needs it for his recovery.

Before driving home, I headed down the road to drive through the National Cemetery in Holly and do a little geocaching because I really needed a mental break.  It was a beautiful, cold, sunny Winter day.  I love our National Cemeteries.

When I got home, I had a couple of quick errands to run so I loaded the girls into the car and off we went.

I got the girls out for a walk around PetSmart, a different Lowe's than we had visited Friday, and Tractor Supply.  We spent lots of time walking, and they got lots of love and treats at each of the stores and spent lots of time sniffing.   It was a good way to get us all some excercise.  

I picked up a Pizza on the way home and we had another quiet night.

Knowing that my mom planned to visit dad on Sunday, I decided to take the day off and stay home.  We had a quiet morning and I was able to do some cleaning and laundry  as well as prep lots of kongs and other brain games for the girls for the week.

Eventually Peaches made it clear that she needed an adventure, and with the sun shining, we headed out to find some fun.  We ended up at the Capitol for a little over a mile walk.  Afterward I stopped for gas, and then took the girls for a visit to Soldan's on the way home.  Mina was fascinated by the guinea pigs today.  We walked around the store and made two loops around the parking lot for another 3/4 of a mile before heading home.

The girls had a late lunch in a brain game and I heated up some leftover pizza before sitting down to watch the Lions game.  Mina and I played fetch during the game while Peaches napped on my lap.  

Picasso also rooted on the Lions with Tyler while wearing his cute bandana that I gave him.  I think we were all happy with the Lions' win.  It's been a great season to be a Lions fan so far.  Hopefully they keep playing well next week!

My little Fiona turned 21 months old this week.  With everything going on, I haven't seen her since Christmas Eve, and I can't believe how big she's getting.  I'm hoping maybe I'll get the chance to see her next week.  

I am hopeful that with warmer temperatures coming back this week we'll be able to get out for more fun.  I've noticed the sunset getting later and I'm excited that we're quickly nearing the end of the month.   I hope you all have a great week.