Saturday, October 27, 2012

Slumps (and books I plan to read SOON)

The worst part of being back in the school year is that I essentially have no time to myself. I always get in a bit of a slump in the middle of the semester because the work load picks up and I get overwhelmed. This past week was my first week with my new puppy and my midterm exam week and I had hardly any time to devote to studying. I'm also still in the midst of applying to graduate programs and getting all that garbage in order. WHEN IS IT CHRISTMAS BREAK? I'm so ready for this semester to be done and over and for the holidays to be here!

 Also, I haven't been able to read a book since August which is depressing me more than it probably should. I have a list of books I need to read ASAP and here they are (let me know if anyone has any more recommendations or has read these books I listed):


  1. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn (I just bought this book and I'm so tempted to start reading it but I know if I do I won't concentrate on my school work)
  2. Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
  3. Gone Girl  - Gillian Flynn (Many people have been raving about this book so it's on my christmas list .. I feel like all of her books sound right up my alley. I love creepy psychological thrillers).
  4. The End of Your Life Book Club - Will Schwalbe (Saw this on goodreads and it looked like it would make me cry which is always good!
  5. My Name is Memory - Ann Brashares
  6. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats - Jan Philipp Sendker
  7. Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom (Love everything by Mitch Albom!)
  8. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls (I've been wanting to read this forever and still have yet to pick it up)
  9. Unwind - Neal Shusterman
Find me on goodreads to see what else I have read/will be reading!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Penelope the baby Basset Hound!

Penelope is officially with us and we have begun the puppy training. I was initially very overwhelmed because the mister is only here for three and a half days during week so I was alone with her on the weekend. I didn't realize how much having a puppy is like having baby. Up during the night, up really early, have to get things done while she sleeps because when she's awake she takes up all my time! However we've adjusted and it has gotten a lot easier.

Her first car ride home! Those ears are killing me.




She has a corneal dermoid on her right eye. The breeder gave us the option to not get her and offered to only have us pay the 100$ deposit instead of the full 500$ because she wasn't "perfect" and they couldn't tell us what exactly would happen with her eye. But she realy is perfect. We're taking her to a vet opthalmalogist next week to see exactly what this sucker is going to do in the future. Currently it is harmless and painless and doesn't bother her. However we have to make sure it won't get bigger and blind her or get painful. If that is the case then we'll have to get this precious girl surgery :(


My cat was a little weary of her at first, especially since she was in his crate since we got her a day early and I had no supplies with me (I was at my parent's house). He warmed up to her a little tiny bit and let her sniff him before he ran away.




This is literally my favorite picture of her. She's so precious I cannot even stand it.

This was the second day I was with her and I was so frustrated with her howling in her crate (my apartment has super thin walls) so I let her fall asleep on my bed by me. I know this is not how I'm supposed to reinforce crate training so I looked up advice that day and it's been getting much better.

We've also been feeding her raw, which I know is not very common. Everyone should look it up though because there are so many benefits! Better jaw strength, clean teeth and gums, shinier coat, less smelly, firmer poops, no more allergies or skin conditions. So many great things because dogs are naturally carnivores and packing their food with grains and rice products gives them allergies because their digestive systems are not really cut out to eat it. Just because they can survive as omnivores doesn't mean they should eat that way. If anyone wants some links to read up on it I'd be happy to provide some!

Chewing on everything she isn't supposed to!

So adorable, passed out in the car on the way home from Petsmart

She's literally the most ticklish pup in the whole world

First bath!

If looks could kill...

Drying off while Dad got the towel ready

So things have been going really well. It's much easier when my mister is around to help me because when he isn't I feel like I can't get anything done. We're still working on her learning to love her crate and go willingly but she's still really little. She'll only be nine weeks this Sunday! Any advice is welcome and appreciated :) I'll try to do a weekly update so people can see how she's doing and growing!