BuckStopping

This week has been very hard. On Sunday evening, our senior Shiba Inu Aiko couldn't get up on her back legs. It had been damp and  cold, so I thought she maybe just needed to have her pills and lay down on the warm carpet next to the heater. By Monday morning, she was still not able to get up on her back legs, so we made the excruciating decision to let her go. I've been crying ever since. A piece of my life is gone, and all I can think of is her laying her little soft head on my chest as we laid in the back of David's van in the vet's parking lot, and her beautiful brown eyes losing the spark of life and growing dim as she passed. She was only 9, but due to what I believe were congenital defects from in-breeding - she was  a puppy mill dog - she had several health problems and long-term problems with her knees that made her old for her age. Despite that, she was a gorgeous red Shiba Inu who always knew she was special, from the day her daddy fell under her spell an...

As part of my self-improvement project, I am going to continue to drink a lovely Chia shake every morning. It really tastes good and has a ton of protein, fiber and is filling, for only about 300 calories. It's also super easy: In a blender or Magic Bullet, combine: 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice (I like tropical fruit blend or pineapple) About 1/4 cup water - depends on how thick/thin you like it 1 tablespoon Stevia 2 tablespoons Chia seeds 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt Blend until smooth. You can get the Chia seeds in a lot of different places. I order them a case at a time from Walmart. It's cheaper than buying them by the bag, and way less than health food stores. I get the Bob's Red Mill . Right now they are $32.85, which is about $5 more than they were a few months ago. We're in the midst of a spring snowstorm, it's beautiful outside, but cold and wet, so Aiko and Frank are being frenemies on the couch together: Annie

So, this is me and my name is Annie. I'm a 45 year old wife and mom. I work from home, so I don't get out much, mostly by personal choice. My husband says I'm a hermit, which is cool with me. This blog is an attempt to change some things, with accountability. I'm not going to tell anyone in particular about it, but if people want to read, that's cool with me, too. As you can see in the picture, I am wearing an old football sweatshirt from when my son played, years ago. I have my hair, which is waist-length and straight, in a ponytail. It's almost always in a ponytail or up in a clip. I used to spend hours on my hair. It was the 80s and I had Big Hair and it was DID UP RIGHT. I also am not wearing makeup and what you can't see is that I am also wearing sweatpants, mens' size medium. This is appalling to my teenage daughter, who wears at least two different outfits everyday, depending on her activities. In a nod to fashion, I have on leopard print fu...