Wow, I cannot believe it has been so long since I have sat down to write. I have blogs being written in my head all the time but it is getting the time to get them on the computer that is the challenge. So I am happy to report that Sylvia and I are still walking fools and I have conquered much more than the track at the school. With Sylvia’s tenacity we have covered a lot of ground quite literally. We have upped are walks to more like hikes and I can tell you my endurance has improved so much. We walk around at least 4 miles up some very steep terrain. I feel so much better and I can feel my body becoming much more muscular and fit. I also so enjoy the time to talk with Sylvia and rediscover our friendship. I am so thankful to have her for a friend. I am going to try to keep up with my blog so stay tuned.
New Regime!
Well, April 20th, yesterday I started my new healthy lifestyle. I am trying to avoid refined sugar and eat very healthy proteins, fruits and vegetables. I am also going to be starting to walk on the school track with a friend hopefully at least 2 or 3 days a week. Last year I had such problems after Luke’s birth with my herniated discs that it was hard to even sit let alone exercise. I am so thankful to be in a place now where it is possible to walk, run, jump, ride my bike. I have an immediate goal of losing 20 lbs. Hoping I can reach that goal by the end of June.
Next week I have a week full of doctor’s appointments, on thursday I am getting a mole removed at the dermatologist. Friday I have my annual checkup and Saturday I am getting a chipped filling repaired at the dentist. Lovely way to spend the weekend right?
Tomorrow we are starting our track walking so I hope we have a nice evening. I have so much to do after that. Jimi and I have to start getting the raised beds for our vegetable garden built, order some topsoil, pick up some more mulch for the swing set. Oh the list just goes on and on. Lots of outside projects so I hope we have a nice Spring and Summer. We are all really looking forward to it.
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Our Bulldog Drama
Well, it has been a few weeks since my last post and a lot has happened. When we started out looking for a female, I had sent an email to the breeder we got Diesel from. She did not respond which was strange since we correspond a lot with updates and photos. Anyway, a couple of weeks before we were supposed to pick up our new puppy she wrote me. She told me that she did not know of any breeders but that they searched on the internet at a site called Puppyfind.com and found Diesel’s dad in PA and Mom in VA. Well there are many bulldog breeders in PA so I just asked non nonchalantly if our new puppy’s breeders name rang a bell. Hubby got home soon after I sent the email and we went for a drive with the kids. Well, I got home to an email that it was the same breeder of Diesel’s dad.
To make a long story very short, Diesel and the new puppy are closely related. The new pups father is Diesel’s grandfather, no wonder she looked so similar to our Diesel. Our hearts were broken because we already loved the pup even though we never met her. We knew we could not breed them and that was what our intention was so we had to look for another female. After much searching we found more related dogs even way out in the mid west. We finally found our new princess Delilah. She has a totally different look than Diesel, much more Johnson but she is the sweetest little thing and a few days later we were able to travel to Allentown during Jimi’s vacation and pick her up. We are so happy with her and know this is meant to be and that their pups will be a great hybrid of the Johnson Scott types.
It was so great to be able to pick her up on Jimi’s vacation and I was thrilled that I was finally able to go to a “Tuesday Morning” store that was also in Allentown. It was a beautiful day for a drive and the weather was sunny and warm. Luke had a few rough spots because it seems all of his teeth have decided to make their debut at the same time. Poor baby but he was still a trooper. We were able to meet both parents and the remaining siblings but we still picked the one we had chosen over the internet.
So I guess it is as they say, “Alls well that ends well.” At least we can hope and pray it is so.
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A Tale of Chickens and Bulldogs!
I have always been an animal person, always had a dog growing up along with an array kittens, bunnies, hamsters, fish and more through the years. Secretly I longed to live on a farm with a huge barn filled with horses, goats, lambs and chickens. We live in the country now. Farms are all around us. Urban farming is something that is very trendy now and people even in the city are raising chickens and growing gardens. Well, after a lot of research I told my husband I wanted to get a chicken coop and run built and get about 8 hens. I wanted brown, blue/green and white eggs. I wanted the satisfaction of going into our hen house and collecting our organic, free range eggs. I longed for my kids to experience that. Unfortunately, my husband was not as enthused, maybe because he takes care of all of “our” animals. He looked and looked for cons on the topic but could not find enough. So he made me a deal, we would get a female American Bulldog puppy and he would commit to one litter with our male American Bulldog Puppy. Enough said, and I was off and running to find the perfect female pup. I found her and fast, her name at the breeder is Ariel but we are going to be naming her something else. She is 4 weeks old and adorable, we can take her home at 8 weeks. If you ever want a great family dog, look no further than the American Bulldog. This will be our third and we love the breed so so much. I cannot imagine our lives without at least one of these “gentle giants” sharing it with us. So from chickens we get bulldogs, almost sounds like, “With Six You Get Egg Roll.”
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Holy Week
Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, I find myself thinking back. Thinking back to March 19, 1989, which was Palm Sunday. On that Palm Sunday 21 years ago I gave birth to my second child and my first son, Raymond Charles. I remember being so happy that I had a girl and a boy. I wanted more children but it felt so good to have one of each. Now I have one girl and four boys. I have been a mom for over 20 years and I parent young adults, a teenager, and babies. Truly I span the gamut in my children’s ages and some days it is a challenge but I love it!
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