Mid-winter warm-up

For the first time in weeks, our temperatures last week were consistently above 30 degrees.  What a difference from the teens and single digits we had been having.

My Monday was so busy, I barely had time to stop to eat.  I finally got a chance for a late afternoon break, though, so we got into the car and made a trip to the dog park.

Mina was extremely distracted by a squirrel that was dumb enough to run into the dog park right in front of her.  I spent most of our visit trying to get her to ignore the squirrel and listen to me.  I wasn't very successful. 

Peaches enjoyed exploring though, and when I was finally able to convince Mina to leave the squirrel,  she had a good run through the woods before we had to head home.

After work, we got out for a short walk around the neighborhood before dinner.  Then we settled in for a quiet night at home watching the Olympics. 

After a second busy day of work on Tuesday,  I was able to get the girls out for a really nice walk before sunset.  Then it was home for dinner and more Olympics. 

On Wednesday I headed out to the shelter to walk a couple shelter dogs.  The wind made for a chilly walk, but I was happy to be able to get our two longest residents. Cabo and Sleetwood Mac, each out for 1 1/2 mile walks.  They both seemed to enjoy their time outside of the shelter, and I enjoyed the one on one time with each of them.

As I was getting ready to leave, I couldn't resist the cute little face of Doohickey, who was new to the adoption floor.  So I decided to take her for a short walk.  She didn't have any interest in going outside, though, so we just spent a little time hanging out in one of the meet and greet rooms.  What a sweet little wiggly girl!  

When I got home it was dark, but I knew I had to get the girls out for at least a short walk, so we did just that.  They were happy to get out and I enjoyed it too.  

Thursday I took an early lunch and took the girls to the dog park for a run. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was happy to get into the woods with them.

With the warmer temperatures, the paths inside of the dog park were pretty slippery, so we avoided them and got into the snow and less traveled areas to avoid slipping.  For the first time in months, I even brought the Chuck-it so Mina could play ball.  She was pretty happy about that.

We had a great visit to the park and then I headed home to finish my day of work.  Then, after finishing my work day, I headed out to Nicol's to watch Fiona for the evening. 

Fiona and I had so much fun together.  We spent some time playing, made a trip to the park, then drove into Farmington to visit the pet store so she could pick out some treats for Peaches, Mina, and Picasso.  

We ate dinner at a local restaurant and then walked over to watch the people skating at the local outdoor ice rink before heading home.

She got her teeth brushed and pj's on and we watched the Olympics for a little bit.  Then we headed upstairs to read before she went to bed.  We had so much fun together.  I really need to make it a priority to spend more time with her because time is so precious.   

I ended the evening watching the Olympics snuggled up with Picasso until Nicol and Tyler got home.  

Finally Friday arrived and I was ready for it!  The whole week had been busy, and Friday was no different.  When I finally got off of my final call of the day at 4pm, I was ready to be done.  I quickly finished a few more things, and then closed my computer for the weekend. 

As I was trying to figure out where we'd go for our Friday evening walk,  I decided that I wanted to get the girls out for a walk on the NCT.  With the later sunset, I would be able to get to Albion, get in a nice walk, and start the drive home before it got dark. And it would free up the rest of my weekend for other plans closer to home.  So off we went.

The weather was perfect for this early evening walk and we were able to get in a lovely 3.75 miles on the trail before heading home.  I was so glad we had gone and I was really looking forward to a productive weekend around home.

I woke up with a little headache on Saturday morning, so we had a slow start to our day.  I got few things done around the house, and then we headed out mid-afternoon for a little fun.

Preuss Pets was having a fun event for Valentine's day, so we stopped for the girls to get their build your own bowls.  Each girl had yogurt and peanut butter topped with blueberies, strawberries, carrots, peas, tomatoes, and a special treat.  They thoroughly enjoyed their bowls and Mina was convinced she needed more.

We enjoyed a nice walk around Old Town when we left Preuss.   It was a beautiful 50 degree day and people were out around town enjoying it.  I know we loved it.

On the way home from Old Town, we stopped at the Reo Town Marketplace for their Mardi Gras event.  Then we took a nice walk around Reo Town.  We made one more stop on the way home for a quick walk at Poxson Park, and then we headed home for the night.  

Later in the evening, I started o notice that I had a little bit of a scratchy throat.  By Sunday morning, it had turned into a full blown cold which continued to get worse throughout the day.  I spent the day resting as much as I could.  Luckily the weather was beautiful so the girls could spend time outside.  I was sad that I couldn't enjoy it too.

My long weekend became a complete bust when I woke up feeling even worse on Monday.  I missed out on most of our beautiful mid-winter warm up and didn't get a chance to do any of things I had planned for my extra day off.  But I was grateful for the day off to rest.  Hopefully,  I'll start to feel better tomorrow.