The Middle Child: Lulu

Name: Lulu
Age: 3 years
Breed: Westie
Likes: barking at cats, squeaking her beanie babies, being the center of attention, looking out the window, my boyfriend (JTE)

Oh, Lulu. She can be such a sweet girl, but she also has some social skills/bullying issues going on. I randomly, and taking her home was probably the most spontaneous decision I’ve ever made. My dad and I were in the car, and noticed that a lady was holding Lulu up, almost like she was showing her to anyone that might look her way. It was odd, and she was in a parking lot where people usually go when they have puppies to sell. My dad said, “Hey, that dog looks like yours. Let’s see what she’s doing,” and pulled off the road. I thought it would be odd to walk up to this lady and say, “Hey, your dog looks kinda like my daughter’s,” so I stayed in the car while he did that. It turns out that Lulu was given to her by a relative, and they couldn’t take care of her due to family issues. I wouldn’t be surprised if it also had to do with Lulu’s high energy and stubborn personality…she’s a terrier, after all. 🙂 Lulu isn’t just any dog on the side of the road though…she has AKC papers.

Lulu’s been through the basic training class, and knows the basic commands. She was definitely the ADHD dog in the class though. While all the other dogs would sit quietly, her whole body would twitch and she’d wiggle around while she was trying to sit and wait patiently for her treat. While R-dog is focused on a person and their words, Lulu is aware of everything around her. She loves to run around squeaking her beanie baby toys, and will play fetch/chase if you throw them for her. She likes to snuggle, but usually that means that she’ll jump up and get in your face (that’s where her social skills issues kick in). We’re working on that though.

While she can be quick to snip at another dog, Lulu is very intuitive and gentle with children. I watched my nephew (around 18 months) this summer, and I was shocked to see how she played with him. When she plays fetch with adults, she’ll run around and want you to chase her and grab the ball from her. When she played with Baby C, she would run get the ball, lie down at his feet, and drop the ball between her paws for him. It might take a little while before he would throw it, but she’d wait patiently until he did. It seemed very clear to me that she was simplifying the game for him so they could play together.

The last important thing about Lulu is that she’s in love with my boyfriend, JTE. I know dogs like other people and such, but this is just weird. She’ll sit on his lap and gaze into his eyes, and will sneak around other dogs (and me) to get closer to him. When he’s not looking, she’ll give him a quick lick on the face. I’m pretty sure that, if she had choosing rights and we broke up, she’d choose to go with him.

Lulu definitely keeps life interesting. She’s a sweet and playful girl who just doesn’t always know how to act. I love her lots, and she definitely keeps me on my toes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay of the day #2: What’s a Disorganized Person to Do?

The other day I stopped by Kinko’s on my way home for work to get some books bound. I was wandering around, minding my own business, when I saw this book.

I snapped a picture of the book, so I could remember the title and order it online. After flipping through it, I decided that I couldn’t wait that long and bought it then and there.

All I can say is that this book is AMAZING. Stacey Platt, the author, is a professional organizer. As I read through the book, I kept saying, “Oh, DUH!” because the things she would say were *so obvious* once she said them. This book has lists, pictures, and step-by-steps, which is exactly what I need. This fueled the organization frenzy that led to yesterday’s post about my kitchen drawer, and I can only imagine what I’ll do next. 🙂 So, if organization isn’t intuitive to you, or you’re fighting the clutter, get this book. You can get What’s a Disorganized Person to Do? HERE from amazon, or you can check out Stacey Platt’s blog. I will definitely be reading the blog, and may have to write her a “you changed my life” email before long. Yeah. It’s that good.

The Usual Suspects: R-dog

(Look! I made a movie reference up there in the title! Hurray for knowing a pop culture reference!)

So my blog is called “Trail of Three Terriers.” I figured, in order for that to make sense, I should introduce everyone to the three terriers that are always trailing behind me…or making a trail of leaves/mud through my house. Up first is R-dog.

Name: R-dog
Age: 6.5
Favorite things: eating, sleeping, knowing what’s going on in the house, barking at cats
Breed: Cairn Terrier

I got R-dog when he was only 9 weeks old. Back then, he looked like this:

He was a tiny little thing…he weighed only 2.6 pounds!

R-dog is pretty independent. He likes to snuggle, but only when he’s in the mood. He’s a bit of a brat (or diva), and will refuse to go outside until he’s ready…which is usually about a minute after the others go out. I have a feeling that R is my alpha dog, although he tends to be pretty laid back about it. He lets Lulu run all over him, but if something’s going on or there’s a fight, he’ll be right in the middle of it. He’s been though a lot of training, and was a registered therapy dog with the Delta Society for a time. He’s still a Cairn though, so he definitely has a stubborn streak even though he’s had training.

R also loves to eat. He’s put on a bit of weight over the last few years, and a few months ago we started a new plan to help him lose weight. So far, it seems to be working. I about cried when I was at the vet last time and they said he had gained weight, but after a few attempts, the scale showed that he was down about a pound. Whew. He seems to be running and jumping easier, so fingers crossed that the next vet visit gives good more news! Oh, and for anyone that’s curious about our weight plan, the first thing I did was switch him off the SD low-fat. He was *always* hungry when he was on the SD, so I asked about food at the local family run pet store. They were very knowledgeable, and after doing my own research at dogfoodadvisor.com, I settled on California Natural Grain-Free Chicken formula. All the dogs seem to like it, they eat less and stay full longer, and has fewer ingredients that could bother tummies (R dog) or skin (Lulu). I’m also supplementing with green beans, green bean juice, water, and occasionally a bit of banana. The beans have 20 calories for a whole bunch of beans (1/2 cup? 1/4 cup? I forget), but the dogs love them. Adding the green bean juice (no salt added) or water has helped them slow down while they eat as well.

R is the one that’s been with me the longest. He snuggled with me when I had the flu, did happy dances with me when I bought my house, and has gone with me to visit my grandparents in their nursing homes. He’s a sweet dog that loves to roll over on his back to be petted, and I love him lots.

Yay of the Day: Real Simple Honeycomb Drawer Organizer

If you’re around me very long, you’ll realize that I can sometimes get a little overexcited about things. I’ve decided that, when that happens, I’m going to post it here under the category/topic “Yay of the Day.” Then I can share my excitement!

I’ve actually had a lot of yays in the past two days. I’ve felt really good this weekend, and have had lots of energy/motivation to clean and organize. I’ve made two trips to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, where I came upon the Real Simple Honeycomb Drawer Organizer. I bought one yesterday, and went back today for another. This product was quick and easy to put together, and it makes a world of difference for my drawers. Just look!

My kitchen drawer before. Yes, I’m a stuffer. I’d stuffed all these rags/pot holders/medicine into this little drawer, and it was a pain to open and close. I took everything out, hooked up my honeycomb, stuck it in the drawer, and in under 5 minutes I had this:

Look how nice and organized it is! My handknit dishtowels fit perfectly! I placed my potholders on top, and I’m done!

Nice, neat, and easy to close. As I said before, I bought two sets of these. So in addition to this lovely kitchen drawer, I also have a newly organized sock drawer and underwear drawer (yeah, no pics of that one). It feels so good to find things that make organizing easy!

I got lots of other things done today, as well. I’m working a weird schedule tomorrow (1pm-7pm), so I may have time to get a few more things cleaned/organized before work. We’ll see! It feels so good to have motivation. 🙂

Hello world!

I’ve done the blogging thing before, without much success. I’ve realized, though I always hated writing when I was in school, that writing things out makes things better. It gives me a feeling that I’m sharing with others, even if no one is there to read. My thoughts have to be organized so I can write them, and that in turn helps me figure them out a little better. So we’ll see how this goes.

In an effort to be more successful, I’ve made myself a list of rules.

1. Posts do not have to have pictures! In the past, I have felt that every blog post needed a picture to make it worth reading. This led to an avoidance of writing if I didn’t have a good picture to post, or a feeling that I had to go get a picture before I could post anything.

2. Blog entries can be short! Sometimes I get writing and I just go on and on. This leads to the problem of “I don’t have time to blog” because I don’t have an hour to write it out.

3. It doesn’t have to be perfect! While some things in my life are far from perfect, I tend to over-analyze and over-proofread when I write thing (particularly if they’re on the internet). Since I never felt like I was a good writer, I developed a writing style that fits with my need to sound intelligent…which worked for me in college and graduate school. 🙂 Now, however, I’m writing a blog! Loosen up a little, will ya?

4. Set a schedule/routine. This is something I’m working on in all areas of life right now, and hopefully blogging will just fall in line with everything else.

For now, I’m off to be productive. I’ve started an end-of-summer cleaning spree, and I am starting to see little glimmers of light at the end of the long trail of cleaning and organization. It’s a nice feeling. 🙂