So Blessed!

I am very blessed to have such a wonderful family and awesome friends! This Christmas was amazing on so many levels! First of all, my dad and Courtney both had the holiday off. Second of all, it was Duncan's first Christmas, and third of all it SNOWED on Christmas day!! Needless to say I had my camera out like I was a mother witnessing her child look at what Santa brought for the first time; I guess I was in a way. To see Duncan in the snow was the cutest thing ever; he didn't know what to do! All he could do is bury his nose in the snow and eat it. The holidays don't arrive until my Grandma pulls up with her delicious cookies and amazing coffee cake. My Grandma calls it "My" coffee cake, even though my entire family loves it, but I love it the most! :) How can coffee cake be that good?? Um, add a little chocolate swirl in it, and BAM- amazingness! On the first night with the fam together my dad's cousin, his wife and daughter, Hannah came over and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner made by the best cook ever....my mom! Going to the Krug's (no not my parents house) during the holidays was a tradition we used to do many years ago. We would go to Bob, Laura, and Hannah's and listen to Christmas music and do a puzzle. When all of us were in college the tradition stopped for a little bit, because all of our schedules were a little crazy. It was a fun night full of jokes, food, and good company. The following night, the immediate fam, plus Grandma enjoyed a fun game of Apples to Apples. I could go on and on about my holiday, but I don't want to get into every detail! It was a very nice Christmas, and I am very excited to see what the new year has in store for me!

Dunk found his present right away!

SNOW!



Beautiful Christmas decorations!



Thank you, Fulton County. Not really...

I know I can't REALLY complain, because I get more days off than most people, but Fulton County thought it would be a fabulous idea to change the calendar this year. Usually, my last day would have been this past Friday (12/17), but this year my last day is Wednesday!! I mean come on, that is just ridiculous on so many levels! A.) A ton of students are going to be absent B.) If teachers were to travel they wouldn't be able to until the 23- which is probably the busiest day to travel and C.) When do I do my Christmas shopping?! I avoid the malls, at all cost, on the weekends; it's pretty much my worst nightmare. But, like I said I shouldn't really be complaining because I don't go back until January 4th. I am just not used to getting such a "short" break. Also, this year has been sooooo crazy and busy that I could really use a full two weeks off. It is going to go by way too fast I can already tell. Next semester is going to be even crazier, and the time between MLK holiday and Spring Break is a VERY large stretch of time without a break. I will just need to savor every single day that I have off. On a more positive note- I get to wear jeans everyday to work this week- woohoo! :) Only three. more. days. I CAN do this!!

This and Last Week's Weakness

I slacked off on my usual Sunday post last weekend, so I just combined both weeks!

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies! MMMMM.....D-lish!

Alone

Warning: This post might contain details you would rather not know. Read at your own risk.

This is the first time I have turned to my blog to make me feel better, vent, and just type. Like I have told you all before, Duncan has gotten himself into crazy things in his short 9 months of life. People say that I need to be more careful of what I do with Duncan like I haven't already thought that myself. It's really hard to fix a mistake when you don't even know you are making one. About a week ago when I got back from a weekend at my parents' house, Duncan wandered into my room. Well, this is not unusual as he does this all the time! However, when he came out of my room licking his chops I knew he had just eaten something. I went in and checked in my overnight bag that I had just casually put on the floor and realized something was missing. This item had been eaten by a living vacuum. Once again, this was a week ago. I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas concert and a delicious dinner last night with my mom. When I got home I fed Duncan. He ate his food pretty slowly, so this was the first red flag. After I "tucked" him into bed (aka put him in his crate), I fell asleep. I woke up at about 1:30 to a sick Duncan. I was up until 2:00 while Duncan proceded to vomit up 3 socks. I knew he did not feel well at all so I let him cuddle with me on my bed. The slumber lasted a whole hour before I got woken up again with Duncan hacking up ANOTHER sock!! Turns out- he can lift up the top of the hamper with his nose and pull out items as he pleases. So, for the next 45 minutes I am doing some serious cleaning. I fall back asleep at 4:00...what time does my alarm go off? 5:30!! I barely remember the first half of my day because I was so tired. Did I seriously teach a class? That's scary! I get home from work and notice there is more throw up in his crate....awesome! I take him outside and everything is normal out there. When I get back inside I give Duncan some water and he drinks a TON of it. Then... he threw up a TON of it! He continued to vomit everything that entered his mouth for the next 30 minutes. I knew he needed to go to the doggie ER immediately! Keep in mind- this "item" that he had eaten a week ago as yet to surface. I drive erratically to a wonderful emergency animal hospital and await the results. Turns out this "item" has moved beyond Duncan's stomach. I am hoping and praying and keeping my fingers crossed that he can pass it tomorrow. If he can't...surgery! So, it's 8:45 on Monday and I am so lonely without my Duncan! I HATE being home without him here. I know that he is getting everything he needs to stay healthy, but it is so sad to sit here and not have a little baby curled up next to me. Of course, I'm also blaming myself for him eating the "item." I will definitely NOT be going into work tomorrow. I don't exactly want to be sitting in front of a class of students when I get a phone call that Duncan needs surgery. I will keep everyone updated. Thank you so much for following this post!

Duncan, a Great Dane?? NO Way!!

Duncan sure is a unique boxer! Like I said in my previous post, I spend a lot of my weekend time at the dog park. I have had two people ask me if Duncan is a Great Dane. Ok, have either of those people ever seen a Great Dane? You don't have to be a dog breed expert to know that Boxers do not look anything like those massive breeds! Maybe they are just looking at a few of Duncan's features and automatically assuming that there is no way he is a Boxer. Let's start with Dunk's ears; they are so adorably massive that they are flipped back, or inside out, half of the time. The cute thing about it is he acts like nothing is different about him. We all know that Great Danes have really cute, large floppy ears, so I could see where people could mistake him for this breed just by looking at his ears. Next, there is the extremely cute under bite! Sometimes his "upper lip" gets caught on his bottom teeth; Great Danes have a long snout; therefore, no under bite...Boxers don't really have a snout at all! Now to Duncan's legs; they really do resemble that of a Great Dane. Duncan's are so long that he still runs a little bit funny! Last, but certainly not least is Duncan's tail. One reason why I love Boxers so much is because of their little nub, and how their whole butt wiggles when they wag their tails. However, Duncan's tail is unusually long for a docked tail (but not as long as a Great Dane's). His long nub definitely makes him the most unique Boxer I know! One very positive aspect about his tail is that it actually wags... and really fast! I have provided a picture for each of his special features. This will also show how much Duncan DOES NOT resemble a Great Dane! All of these features make up the cutest Boxer I have ever seen!!

Inside out ears!

Under bite!

Look at those legs!

His long "nub!"

Fa-reeezing!

I know I talked about it in my post yesterday, but the chilly weather deserves its own post! I have the heat set on about 71 degrees in the my apartment, and I am STILL cold in here! I don't notice that it is actually warm in my apartment until I step outside. Just because it is miserably cold outside, does not mean 8-month-old Duncan doesn't need exercise. I went to Target after work to get a couple things before heading home. One of the items I purchased were some gloves; Target has two pairs of regular old gloves for just $1.50! That is my kind of price! I have a set routine when I get off work; I come home, take Dunk out of his crate and head right outside for him to use the bathroom. After that I bring him back inside so he can eat and I can change out of my work clothes. Today wasn't any different, other than the ridiculously windy, cold weather! I put on my workout pants, a long sleeve shirt, and then a long sleeve shirt/hoodie over the top, some ear warmers, and a pair of the gloves I bought. I knew I was going to be running a little bit, so I figured that the double layers would be plenty! About a mile into the two mile walk/run, I about had it! I wasn't THAT cold, but the wind just got on my nerves. Needless to say, I might have to be selfish for the rest of this week winter, and take him on shorter walks! Sorry Duncan...actually I should be saying sorry to myself, because a boxer that hasn't had enough exercise is not exactly fun to be around! Hmmm... we'll see how long his "shorter" walks actually last! Oh yeah, one more thing- I feel really bad complaining about the weather when my best friend lives in Rapid City, South Dakota! I can't complain about the 29 degree weather right now when she has already experienced six inches of snow!! Love you Amanda! :)

This Week's Weakness

This is a great beer for the chilly weather! I think I might have to open one now! :)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I have been slacking a little bit on my blog! I always think of really good post ideas throughout the week, yet I never get on to update everyone...sorry! I have also thought about the idea of just posting everything on Sunday, but then I have found that my posts get too long! I think I will just try to update it when an idea comes to me! Last Sunday, my mom and I went to Harry's Farmer's Market, so I could buy a mini Christmas tree. I had such a good time decorating it; I put on some Christmas music, cracked open a beer, and began assembling the decorations for the tree. It is the most perfect size and Duncan can't get to it (a double bonus)! Something I am not enjoying so much this holiday season is the weather! Wow, is it cold!! I spent a good portion of my weekend at the dog park to get Dunk's energy out and I could barely stand it, especially today! I always used to get so annoyed when it was about 60 in December, but now I am thinking I like that better than a high of 38! Of course, then I couldn't sit by the fire at my parents' house if it was 60 degrees. Note: Even if it is 60 degrees out and you still want a fire...don't have one. We did that two Christmas Eves ago and the fire department came to our house because there was smoke in the basement (the cause:  it was too warm out and the smoke from the fireplace in the den was coming out of the fireplace in the basement back into the house). Ok, here I go again, rambling on about nonsense! I absolutely LOVE this time of year, despite the cold. I love the smells, the sight of snow(if it happens) and the overall comforting feeling of having friends and family together. I have put a few decorations up to make it feel cozy and Christmas-like in my apartment. I even have a holiday collar for Duncan!