Penny Saver

We all know who the real Penny saver is.  It is not a newspaper. It sounds a little different and it's spelled S a v i o r!  Penny will grow up hearing the testimonies in her own life of the power of prayer, that's for sure. 

Finally... Ta-Da!! This morning I got a haircut.  Linda tried to stick my tongue back into my mouth before she took a picture of me in my snazzy bandanna, but I kept sticking it out.  I feel so much better without the mop of hot fur.  They also brushed my teeth, clipped my nails and did some business on the back-end too.  Linda had a little (OK, a lot) of sticker shock when she paid the grooming bill.  $103.  No joke, she doesn't spend close to that in one full year of haircare for herself. That wasn't at a fancy salon either, it was at the groomers in my vets office. 

 

Beach Baby

"Aunt Tierney is so comfortable....

...Hey, what's that over there....?

...Whoa, major face plant in the sand!"

Don't worry, I'm OK.

OUT!

Success!  Linda did her research and found out the top rated pet stain remover.  It's called OUT! and most everyone gave it 5 stars on Amazon.  Luckily, the product is also available at Wal Mart. (Is that one word or two?)  Walmart isn't on Linda's regular shopping route. She is a Target, Giant and Trader Joe's shopper.  Sarah kept telling her how great the prices were at WM, but it's also very, very CROWDED most everyday of the week.  What about Saturday?  The entire lot was full, but Linda was determined.  The spot still was darker and smelled terrible and she needed to get it erased. After just one application of OUT! the spot is gone and the carpet smells fresh.  YAY!

"Imagine how bad it would have been if I was 60 pounds instead of 6 pounds"

Lots of other things made their way into Linda's cart.  The bag of chicken she buys for our food was $3 less than Giant.  The fruit and veggies were cheaper (so they don't look as shiny or fancy) and she got a Pedi-Egg tool to get her feet sandal ready.  Overall, a great trip.

People of Walmart she saw today:  A woman without pants.  She was wearing just a tee shirt that hit the very top of her thighs.  A man with a long gray mullet, a flannel shirt and short-shorts that was trying to decide what kind of pee-pee pads were best. (Linda helped him) Three little kids with the biggest smiles pushing around new bikes that their parents were going to buy them.  They made Linda smile too.   And the woman behind Linda in line that told her  "You look like one of them Real Housewives."  Um.... thanks??

It's Not My Fault

So far it's been an eventful day for Linda.  Earlier this morning she taught her Aqua class. After that her Kid Fit class (adorable 3-6 year olds pretending they are race cars, Transformers and animals while working up a good sweat!) and then she ran a TKD testing.  If that wasn't enough, when she got home she had a big pile of dog ooopsie! to clean up.  I had an accident while she was gone and she had a sticky, stinky mess to clean up off the carpet.  She said if I was going to have an accident like that, at least do it on the bathroom tile!  Gosh, what a mess. (I dragged my butt through it;  really spreading it out and grounding it into the carpet fiber.)  Before she could tackle the stain, I had to have a bath and get my butt shaved.  It was really that bad.  I'm much happier now that I'm clean.  Linda has to go to the pet supply store and find a good stain remover since the cheap brand she bought to save money isn't really working.  It got most of it up, but there is still a definite mark you can see.

Some amazing pet stain remover company should send us a bottle to review

She is hungry, tired, sore, limping a bit on her bruised foot and really wants to relax and read her book about the missionary family who lived with a remote Amazon tribe.   Instead, it's back out to the store and working on working on the carpet stain instead.

I know you are really checking my blog to see more Penny pictures and not read about poop stains... so here you go.

Almost as tall as Daddy... NOT!

Rocking the saggy pants look

"Should I have the pancakes or french toast?"

 

Life With Penelope

I'm going to have to start a new blog called "Life With Penelope" or something like that.  This blog is supposed to be about dogs, and all thing dogs... but all Linda wants to do is post photos and stories about Penny.  If Linda was a blogging wizard and knew what she was doing, she would do one blog with two different tabs.  Probably no need to worry anyway.  Who doesn't like pictures of puppies and babies??  Instead of posting all her favorite Penny/Sarah/Taylor/Tierney photos from the Savannah vacation they took, she will post a few everyday at the end of her regular posts.  (OK, maybe more than a few.) 

"You know you love me!"

Remember that Linda messed up her foot on Monday?  She suffered through Tuesday and Wednesday.  It felt better on Thursday, and good for the first 2 classes today.  By the third class (she was barefoot since she was teaching TKD) it was really sore again.  Plus, she's got some kind of stomach issues now.  She has cramping tonight, almost so bad it was hard to stand up straight.   It could be the Thai food she ate for lunch. 

"Try this stretch Nana.  It always makes me feel better."

She had her heart set on Sweet Frog on the way home from family night.  Instead she is stretched out on the chair wishing SF delivered.

Three beautiful girls!  (Sarah and Tierney look like sisters)

Next week FOR SURE, I'm getting groomed. My fur is just a hot mess.

Remember when Noah used to walk Chimi (He would hold the leash the entire time and never drop it!) and I would ride in the pouch on the back of the stroller??

Feeling Grassy

Sarah sent Linda so many Penelope photos that she can't decide which to post.  She is going to wait until morning so she can organize them.  Until, enjoy this mesmerizing picture of this pile of mulch in our yard.  Remember the dying tree that was cut down a long time ago?  Well, the stump was still sticking up.  Linda's friend came over with a stump-b-gone grinder and made it disappear.  Now she just has to shovel the wood chips away.

Worse blog photo ever

If it's possible, Linda said mowing today was harder than a few weeks ago.  The grass looked dry, but down by the bottom it was wet and heavy.  The mower kept clogging, stopping and the blade even seized up.  She had to get a spade tool and unclog it.  Ugh.  Mowing is the worst chore.  Even though she took a shower when she was done, she still feels grassy. 

The Bat Hound

Chimi is reminding Linda of his out of control puppy days.  Yesterday, JW had to work late so we didn't get our usual hour walk.  Today, Linda's foot is hurting and she can't walk us.  He has been whining and crying about not getting outside. He's also been trying to engage me in wrestling matches all afternoon.  Linda did let him run in the backyard and play with his snake, but he still has a massive amount of energy to burn off.  Oh well, maybe by tomorrow her foot will be OK enough to take us.  If not, he has to wait until Friday when PW comes.  It is the longest he has ever gone without a walk.  (Linda had to teach an extra class during the time she usually walks us on Monday, so it's really been since Sunday!)  It's a good thing our backyard is big.  He can run 10 or 15 laps around the fence line and get out of breath, but it's not the same.

Wasn't he a cute little nipper?

The white mark on his chest really looks like Batman.  He should have been named Krypto, Batman's first dog.  Google also said Batman had another dog named Ace the Bat-Hound.  Linda might start calling him Bat-Hound.

He even has Batman ears that stick up!

(oops, I got my superhero pets mixed up, thanks for telling me PW.) 

Adventures with Penny part 2 and a sore foot

This picture looks like Aunt Tier is telling Penny "Go over there NOW!" and Penny goes "OH, Aunt Tierney, I'm so scared." 

Penelope has such strong quads.  This deep squat is amazing.  (Future Body Pump instructor!)

 

Linda loves, loves, loves this photo of Penny and her BFF Evie.  They enjoy each other so much.  I wouldn't be surprised if Penny says "Evie" before she says "Nana."  Evie even taught Penny how to use the slide during their play-date.

This morning Linda woke up and couldn't put weight on her right foot.  Just out of nowhere, it was hurting her so much along the pinkie toe edge, up around the ankle and underneath.  When she went to bed last night, she didn't notice anything wrong with it.  The first step out of bed, it was a stabbing pain.  After hobbling through her morning class, she stopped on the way home to buy new sneakers.  It's been at least 6 months since she replaced them and she thought it could be that.  Lots of ice and 4 ibuprofen made it feel a little better (and prayers from her two friends during Combat!)  She was able to teach her 3 afternoon/evening classes but right now it's throbbing again.  Dr. Web MD said its either tendinitis, a stress fracture or ill fitting or old shoes.  Linda is going with the third option and believing she'll wake up and it will be gone.

Adventures of Penny

Penelope loves puppies.  Remember when she used to cry when she saw Chimi?  Now she is a dog lover through and through.  I think Mom and Dad should buy her one of these stuffed dogs so she can practice gentle petting.  The husky with the long tongue is my favorite. 

 Penny looks like she loves wearing a back-to-school backpack.  Not yet Penny!  She has a lot of years before Linda has to deal with her starting Kindergarten.  Although Tierney wasn't much older than Penny when she started preschool at Ms. Cheska's Preschool Academy.  Tier loved it from the very first day. 

That's the smallest cup of ice cream ever, it was nice of Aunt Tier to share it with Penny. 

Taxi! Ooops, Nevermind.

There is a parkway Linda drives on all the time to teach her classes, sometimes 4 trips a day.  It's actually a pretty road and has a very popular bike/walking trail in the area she drives. In fact, she wants to ride her bike to the YMCA since she can ride on protected paths the entire way.  Linda has to drive her little red car in the far right lane if she wants to obey the speed limit or even go 5 miles over.  Even Tierney chided her once for driving the speed limit.  She was like "MOM, you are driving soooo slow."  The speed limit on that stretch of road is 45 or 50 mph.  Linda drives between 50-55 and cars race past her like she is standing still!  Honest, you would think it was the Autobahn.  Some cars are going 70 mph when there isn't traffic.  Yesterday, there was an article announcing that police are hammering down on the speeders.  The slogan is "50 means 50" and the cops will be monitoring 24/7.  Last year during the same week of April cops wrote over 700 tickets to the speed racers.  This morning she saw lots of cops, but they will also be disguised in pickup trucks and sports cars. 

This police car is extra camouflaged.  They disguised it like a taxi cab! 

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how many people are pulled over and ticketed this week.  I'm sure next week people will be back to their normal racing speed.

Mowing vrs Swiffing

Linda feels so guilty about not mowing the lawn today.  Her neighbor does such an amazing job on his lawn and yard that it makes Linda's yard look extra-terrible.  Look at how green and lush our front yard was a few years ago! 

Now it is weedy and has brown patches of dirt showing.  (Totally her fault since she doesn't do the upkeep like seeding, watering and feeding.)

Yesterday afternoon she was going to mow, but then she was invited to a friends house. Today she was going to mow but she had a work meeting and didn't get home until 3:00.  Since she was leaving for evening church at 6:10 (in just a few minutes) she didn't mow.  Tomorrow, she had 5 classes to teach and it will be 8:00 p.m. when she gets home.  Tuesday... out; Wednesday... nope... but Thursday for sure!  By then the grass in the backyard will be over my little head.

At least she made our chicken for the week and cleaned the whole house.  All the laundry is done and she is prepared for her new Les Mills routines that launch tomorrow.   The bottom line:  You make time to do what you want to do. She Swiffers our hardwood floor 5x a week and cleans the bathroom everyday.  She would so rather do inside chores than outside chores! 

And That's OK

Today didn't turn out quite like Linda planned, but that's OK.  Taylor had to bail on Tough Mudder at the last minute because he strained his Achilles tendon and can't walk without pain, let alone run 13 miles and climb over walls. She didn't leave at 5:50 a.m. to drive to West Virginia after all. Since she already had subs for all her Saturday classes, she just went with it.  Instead, she has had a whole morning, afternoon and coming evening to do whatever she wants!  It's the first Saturday she can remember where there hasn't been somewhere to be, someone to meet or something to do.  It's been super relaxing.  She left the house a 8:00 a.m., and got home at 3:00...Shopping, lunching, sightseeing and wandering.  In a few hours she is going to bust out the mower then later maybe go to a movie or get a pedicure. 

Substitute a book for the game controller.

With all Linda's classes and TKD schools, it's nice to have a day of no socializing, talking or rushing to the next thing.
(Nevermindchangeofplans)

The Preppy Lobster

Did you know lobsters can live up to 50 years in the wild?

Linda gave Tierney a prize tonight at church. Tierney loves all things nautical.  She loves all things Preppy. When you combine nautical and preppy she is very happy.  A lobster on a navy/white striped towel? .... She is ecstatic!!  Even Penny liked the design.

A 44 pound lobster was once caught in Canada.

 This is how Tierney used to feel about her unusual name:

One time when she was about 8 years old Linda took her to summer day camp.  At the end of the first day, she went to pick her up.  Linda introduced herself to the camp councilor and told them she was there to pick up Tierney.  The girl said "We don't have a Tierney."  What?  Linda freaked out since she dropped her off that morning.  Tierney told everyone her name was Elizabeth (her middle name) because she was embarrassed about her different name.   Now she loves her name and it fits her personality perfectly.

 It's been a very rainy afternoon/evening.  We got our exercise in while it was still dry when PW walked us, but tonight Linda had to force us to go off the deck.  She used her "I MEAN NOW" voice and we obeyed.  I hate having to go in the wet grass.  Just last Saturday Linda did all that mowing and it's already tall enough to hit my belly. (Well, my belly is only 3" off the ground, so I guess it's not that tall.)

Seriously?

Update on Chimi:  He probably ate poop.  Yep, $176.16 to find out that he got a stomach bug from dried-up poop.  It was probably the rabbit poop.  He has been rolling around in it (resulting in baths!) and must have decided it would be a tasty snack.  Linda is mad at him.  That was her microwave money. Now she has to wait until next payday.  He got a shot and some pills to take at home.  She likes looking at his weight history:

11/10/10-  3.80 pounds; 11/16/10 - 4.50 pounds  (Almost a pound in one week.  She should have know he would grow into a beast;  1/6/11- 7.40 pounds ; 10/1/12- 15.20 pounds and then today 16.5 pounds. 

Chim is really lean and strong.  I bet his body fat is around 5-7%, just like a greyhound.  I don't know what my body fat is and I don't care.

"Don't tell me the number"

  Linda actually had a trainer do her body fat today at Gold's.  It was in lower than the "excellent" range for her age (but just "normal" for a female athlete in their 20's.)  I guess she should be happy with that.  The young guy trainer was like "Wow, that is really good for an older woman."  Once one of the guy trainers stopped her in the gym and told her he could give her some good exercises to firm up her saggy triceps.  It took all her marital arts self control to say thank-you and not drop him with a knee strike to the groin. She may be "older" but she can still hold her own!

Older Woman and Carol

But I want to go too!

Chimi left with PW to go to the vet at 3:30 p.m.  It's now 4:01, and I still haven't stopped crying and being sad.  Linda thought it would be funny to take a video of me doing it, except now it isn't so funny anymore.  I go between howling that I didn't get to go and staring at the wall. (Watch til the end.)    Linda said that if I knew where he was going, I wouldn't be begging to go with him!

Sick Chimi and Josh Fixes the Fence

"Please, no photos when I'm not at my best."

This time, it isn't me that has to go for an emergency vet visit.  Chimi isn't feeling very good.  If you know Chimi like I know Chimi, you can tell by his eyes that he isn't 100%. Last night he had an messy accident in his room and then vomited some clear liquid a little bit later.  He just wanted to sleep and not have any food, so Linda let him rest.  When she got home from teaching at 10:30 a.m., there were puddles of brown vomit all over the carpet, chair and hardwood floor.  Poor Chimi.  He was so sorry and kept his head down and eyes averted from Linda.  She have him "it's OK big guy" hugs and cleaned it all up.  There were parts of little green leaves in the puddles.  She picked them out (gross) and put them in a baggie to take to the vet.  Since Linda has class, PW is going to take him at 4:00.  Hopefully, he will be fine and not require any medicine, xrays, tests or expensive surgery. Sometimes dogs eat grass and stuff when they have a tummy ache to make them puke.  It better not be a poison plant.

Our broken fence is now fixed!  Josh (Sarah's brother) came over and totally made it like new.  He is a master woodworker kind of guy.  He is great at crafting built in bookshelves, dressers, laying hardwood floors and even intricate hand carved wood fountain pens.  Fixing our fence was like going to Kindergarten to him.  He hopped back and forth over the 6 foot fence like a gazelle.

Carpenter Josh

Now the bunny won't be coming into our backyard.  Chimi won't be able to see his buddy, the little white dog, in the yard behind ours either.  That is going to make him crazy as soon as he feels better and goes to investigate. 

Blame it on the Bunny

Every night around dusk, Linda has to be careful before she lets Chimi out in the backyard.  We have a fat... VERY fat bunny who has been feasting on all the clover growing in our grass.  He/She is the biggest bunny Linda has ever seen.  If Linda opens the sliding glass door, Mr. Bunny takes his time and hops through our fence into the neighbors backyard.  You're wondering how a FAT bunny could squeeze through a fence, right?  This is why:

 There used to be a tiny gap in our fence.  Over time it got bigger and bigger.  Now the gap is so big that Chimi and I could fit through at the same time.  As the bunny grew bigger, he must have pushed the fence wider and wider so he could squeeze through. The temporary fix is no longer working.  It now looks impossible to fix without some serious digging, pushing and nailing!  Maybe she could tack some wire mesh to the sides so Fat Bunny can't push the gap bigger and Chimi and I stay in our yard where we belong.

The bunny can't be blamed for this though.  Yesterday Linda was eating her lunch on the deck and noticed that someone moved the flood lights.  They used to be pointing into the yard, just like this.

Someone moved them so they were pointing up the sky and not facing the yard.  Linda is very careful about not leaving them on unless we are outside since they work so great.  We have houses all around us and she doesn't want anyone to be inconvenienced.  One of the neighbors must have come into our yard and readjusted them.  Either that or a bad guy plans on robbing our house and didn't want to lights shinning on him when he does it. 

Almost Mudder Time!

"Go Daddy Go!"

Sarah is so good about sending Linda pictures every day.  Linda checks her phone every few hours to see if another picture of Penny came through.  Penelope loves the swings.  She has been sitting in the swing since she was just a few months old.  Too bad she won't be going to Tough Mudder this weekend.  Her Daddy is running his 3rd race.  The first one he did great, the second one he actually was in the top 3% of finishers and qualified for the 24-Hour Worlds Toughest Mudder. (Linda is VERY GLAD he didn't compete it that!)

This was the crew from the first year.  Last year he ran alone.  

That's Taylor without the shirt.  He came in second by just a few seconds in his heat.  See that little guy to directly to right of him?  He beat Taylor by just a few seconds.  This year Taylor has been training a little different.  Instead of heavy lifting, he has been running, running, running and not lifting.  He should even be faster than previous years.  Sarah and Linda are going to have to sprint hard between obstacles to be able to watch him. 

So Sad

It is so sad about the Boston Marathon tragedy.  One of the spin instructors from her gym was actually running in the race.  He was already back in his hotel when the explosions happened, but he reported that he could hear both blasts. I just hope the person(s) responsible are caught.  A little 8-year old boy was killed and so many people injured.  How horrible.

 Linda will be doing the Race for Hope again in DC in just a few weeks.  It's such a great opportunity to raise money for brain cancer research and support her good friend Carol.  She is believing that people don't back out of the race because of fear. 

That's Carol in the middle wearing the yellow shirt.  She is an amazing survivor, persevering through 3 very invasive brain surgeries.  Every Friday, Carol does Linda's Body Pump class (plus Yoga on other days.)  She was the first non-family member to ever hold me when I was just a newborn puppy. 

Who Left The Dog Out?

Linda feels so horrible!  She by-accident forgot me in the backyard the entire time she was at church.  She had to leave early since she was scheduled in the nursery and didn't get home until almost 9:00.  That's 3 hours I spent outside, alone and IN THE DARK for the last hour.  After Chim and I do our business I always, always come back inside first.  Chim waits in his doghouse on the deck or stays in the yard until she calls him.  Today, he came in first and I was still sniffing around the grass. She totally assumed I came in, so she shut the sliding glass door and left for church.  When she got home and was walking up the yard to the front door, she heard whimpering and thought "Oh, someone left their poor puppy outside. That's mean."  Then when she walked in the house and I wasn't at the top of the steps, she realized she was the mean person who left the puppy outside!  No joke, I was actually sobbing like a baby when she opened the sliding door and picked me up.  It broke her heart.  She is thankful I was OK and that someone didn't puppy-nap me or an owl didn't swoop down and eat me for dinner.  It's one thing when 80 pound Snickers wanted to stay outside when Linda was gone, but when your just a 6 pound Chorkie, that's entirely unacceptable.

Rest is Overrated

Linda decided that rest was overrated.  She was planning on a few quite hours before she folded laundry, practiced her routines and then cooked our chicken for the week.  Instead, she mowed the front and backyard.  I know you're thinking "So what, mowing isn't hard."  Normally it isn't.  Except that she hadn't mowed ONCE yet this year.  The backyard was so thick and tall that it kept stalling the mower a hundred times.  After about 1/2 hour of starting and restarting the mower finally died.  She was sooooo mad!  Then it dawned on her to check the gas tank.  Duh, totally dry.  She filled it up and was able to finish although it kept stalling and smoking.  Her fingers are numb and hands ache from holding in the clutch.  The bagging of the grass is the worst part.  She has 5 giant contractor bags of grass clippings. 

This is the greenest our grass will be the entire season.. unless Linda waters it.  Our front yard looks terrible.  It's all weeds and dirt, but at least the weeds are short.  Next yard chore is working on the flower beds. 

Car Show

Linda's good sense took over and she isn't going to bring Nacho into our family.  She'll always have the memories of Snickers and trying to replace him isn't the answer to missing him. 

We will always love you big guy

Today was the Spring Car Show at Linda's church.  It was during the spring show last year that Penny made her appearance into the world!  Penny loved the car show, she really did!  During the motorcycle stunt show, she was clapping at all the appropriate times.  Linda didn't like the stunts the boys did and eventually had to walk away.  If their Mom's saw them doing handstands on speeding motorcycle, they would probably get in deep trouble.  Penny was mesmorized though and really enjoyed it.

"I can't wait to do my own wheelies someday"

She went down the slide with Taylor, but she is too little to do it alone. 

There were 100's of cars and motorcycles at the show, but I think one of the most popular with the kids was the fire car.  Linda enjoyed the day, but teaching at the gym from 9 a.m.-1p.m. and then being at the show from 1-4 p.m was a wee bit much. She needs to sit down for a few hours before she starts chores and her Les Mills choreography practicing.

Our microwave final bit the dust a few minutes ago.  She tried to use it to make lunch and loud warning alarms went off.  The display said "Shorted Out."  I guess she'll have to go buy one this week.