A Walk Around the Blogs: A Dog-full Day
It’s been a great start to the 3 day weekend, which is exactly what I needed after the work week turned very bad on Thursday (and still had fallout on from Thursday on Friday). It started with a phone call from my Papa, who sounded more upbeat than I’ve heard him in a long time. He still misses my Nana (it’s been 21 months since she passed, he told me), but he seems to be doing better. It made him smile to hear my dogs barking in the background.
When I went to my massage appointment, my therapist had her little Pug with her, and I got the joy of listening to little Isabella sniff and snort around the room during my massage. (And yes, for me, that makes the experience more relaxing.) When I was out in the lobby to pay, one of the other therapists had her Poodle there, and I got some quality snuggles from Miss Ruby.
After that, I came home to play a little bit of Rock Band with C and then took June & Larry to the dog park. It’s a gorgeous day, and I’m hoping the next two days will be, too, so that we can try and “normalize” Larry. Howie stayed home with J because he’s been limping a bit at the dog park lately, so we aren’t taking him every time.
Because it was beautiful, there were lots of other dogs around and Larry and June both got in some good running and playing. Naturally, I forgot to bring the camera. (Pictures are from last week’s trip to the dog park.)
But what about what I’m reading? That’s what we’re here for, right?
Let’s start with Squirrelers, who is asking Is This a Good Time to Invest in Real Estate? We just signed the paperwork to refinance the house on Friday and the terms of our loan say our house has to remain our primary residence for at least one year. C complains because in our area, now is a good time to invest. However, considering how much money we had to bring to the table, we won’t have the money to invest in real estate for at least a year.
And while Squirrelers is asking and considering, Well Heeled Blog is Dreaming Home Ownership Dreams. I have to be honest, I’m a little jealous of her budget for her first house (under $400k- my budget for my first house was half that), but every area and every person is different. We love being home owners and would not want to go back to renting. So while I know it’s still a year or more off for her, I hope she is able to make those dreams come true.
Speaking of homes, now that we’ve gotten ours refinanced, the next big goal is to replace all of our windows. Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog wants to know At What Price Point Would You Get a Loan for Windows. To be honest, our goal is to have the cash on hand to pay for all of our windows, but to get a one year 0% APR or same as cash financing deal. That way, we don’t have to use up all of our liquid capital, but know we can pay it off anytime we need to. Of course, our house only has 9 windows- and that includes the one on the side of the garage, so nothing like the 21 upstairs windows Jeff has.
Moving away from housing (but sticking with a theme of my goals for the year), Sandy at Yes, I am Cheap talks about Allocating an Anniversary Budget. To be honest, most years, C buys me something at the Renaissance Faire and we go out to dinner. It’s not much. But since this year will mark a decade of being legally bound to one another, we are actually budgeting for a larger expense- doing new pictures, me buying a new dress (a Faire dress) and possibly getting C new garb as well. Luckily, we’ve been planning for this (and therefore budgeting for it) since December 2011, with the 10th anniversary being August 2013.
One of the things C and I talk about on a fairly regular basis are the traditions we want to set in our family, especially once we have a child. There are some traditions already firmly in place- we host Thanksgiving & Christmas. But there are many more possibilities out there. Over at the new to me blog Pretty Providence, she explores her Valentine’s Day Traditions.
Speaking of Valentine’s- all of us pet owners know that as much as we love the people in our lives, including our significant others, it is our pets who are our true Valentine’s, every day of the year. (I say this while all the dogs are curled up sleeping, and therefore are cute and adorable and not barking monsters.)
On Thursday, Lindsay from That Mutt wrote a lovely short blog post about her dog Ace. According to her, he’s the Best Dog. (Isn’t it great that we all get to have the best dogs?)
Also on Thursday, Two Pitties in the City featured the story of hour their single doglover friend met her perfect match. I have to say- we can totally relate. Smokey became my dog because when we met, he had the opportunity to sniff and run around. Instead, he sat and put his head in my lap. June was a sleepy 6 month old puppy when we met her. Her options were the floor, the very nice dog bed, or C’s lap. She chose C’s lap. Sometimes, they just know it’s right and so do we.
Speaking of finding your perfect match, there’s nothing worse than losing your dog. And nothing better than finding them again- unless it leads to a long custody battle with the person who found your dog. Jan at The Poodle (and Dog) Blog reports that the custody battle over the Portland area Husky named Chase (or Bear) is finally over. And he’s home- with his original family.
So what should a loving pet parent do for their darling Valentine’s this week? Well, MC and the Two Bows (at The House of Two Bows) went on a hike. And MC even chose a new location that let both dogs roll in horse manure, something they find Simply Irresistible. How is that for love? (Luckily, there was also a self-service pet wash station on the way home.)
But, you may be saying to me, it is no longer Valentine’s Day. That was two whole days ago. That is true. Luckily, the new to me blog BZ Training lets us know that today, February 16, is Do a Grouch a Favor Day. So the question is, in your house, Who’s a Grouch? (In our house, it’s C.)
not a grouch