It's 7am...Do you Know Where Your Fur Babies Are?

I know where mine are and it starts with a: G-R-O-O-M-E-R-S! But more on that in a minute...

It's been a long morning at this menagerie as I rose to NPR discussing some President Obama setbacks in choices he made for two different positions he filled. No big. I appreciate that he apologized by not knowing certain things about his choices and I hope, in the future, he continues to do so when he makes a mistake. I really dig people being able to see when they've messed up  and take responsibility for it-accidents happen, yo! 

After the stories moved on, then circled back to the headlines about Obama, I decided that it was time to get out of bed-5:15am, on the dot. At this point, I didn't have much of a precise plan, I just knew I was awake and it could, theoretically, be breakfast time so I whipped up some "Fronch Toast" from Vegan with a Vengeance and added some vanilla extract, nutmeg and a few shakes of cinnamon for a slight kick. D thoroughly enjoyed it-despite it being a bit on the soggy side-and I did, too. Lately when I go to bed at night, I start to get super hungry out of nowhere. It's awful. My belly will growl on occasion, though I refuse to get out of bed and eat something, and I end up falling asleep thinking of all the wonderful foods I will make and eat the next day.

(Note D's work and keys scattered on the kitchen table with his breakfast...this boy is waay to busy this semester!)

Since I have yet to locate "vital wheat gluten," which I need for a number of items I would like to make from my new cookbooks, I am venturing forth and experimenting with recipes that don't call for it. Last night, for example, we had a delish herbed potato and greens (kale, in this case) soup from Veganomicon, which I finished prepping in the slow-cooker while I took a nap and D went to the rec (still sick...it's an unshakable cold, I tell you!). It was oh-so-tasty and full of healthiness. Yum! We both enjoyed it before hitting the books again!

I should mention that we don't have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or anything nationally chained in our town, unless Clover's counts, but I've never heard of it before moving here (this is not to say it doesn't exist as a chain, just that if it is, I never heard of it so I'm skeptical about believing that it is). Anyhow, this limits my resources for making things from scratch (which I am starting to prefer, really, so I can tailor the food to our taste and healthiness level). Certain products, like the vital wheat gluten (vwg), are tough to find...at least for me. There are about ten different grocery stores in town, none of which are close to where we live, and none of which are particularly close to one another. Therefore, if one doesn't have something, I can drive around from store to store all afternoon looking for it or give up on the recipe I'm attempting and try a different store a different day. I wanted to make chickpea cutlets (also from Veganomicon) but the vwg was absent and I didn't think to check Clover's the other day, but will have to check again. Any other ideas as to where I might be able to locate this essential, "vital" if you will, wheat gluten? Maybe it's a simple element to find and I'm just looking in the wrong place. Advice?

Once coffee and breakfast were complete, I threw on some warmer clothes since the temp has dropped back down to teen-age-digits and leashed up the puppers, but not before snapping these photos of them for a "before" reference:

They're cute little buggers and look strikingly well-behaved (and bored in the top one which demonstrates Bogey-my oldest on the right-yawning at me as if to say "Mom, this sitting game is tired. Give us the damn treat already!" He's hilarious.) in this phot with Bizzy sitting very pretty for the camera, as well. It took years for her to hone that ability. Trust me, for Byz, it was no small feat.

Cute, yes, but you can't smell them from the pictures. Boge is ok, really. He just smells like a dog, but not strongly. Byz, however, lounges around in the backyard in the dirt and debris they leave when they play out there. It's fenced in and she completely loves lazing around out there. As a result, she's a stanky foolish puppy. I love her, but she's not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree and definitely not the prettiest smelling potpourri in the bowl, if you get my drift.

I loaded these two happy clams into the car and dropped them off at, what is supposed to be, one of the better groomers in town. I say this with a little skepticism, as well, because I used to take dogs to a "respectable" place until a year ago when Bogey came home with nicks, gashes and a cold. Seriously. He was at the groomers for, maybe, five hours and he got a cold? They kept him in a cage that was way too small and they nicked him so badly he was bleeding in one spot. I chewed those bastards out and never took my babes back there again. This place seems great so far...very inviting and excited to get to know the doggies. The groomer is going to call me personally when she gets in so we can discuss the fur-babies and what they're like, what they need, if they're sensitive about anything (i.e.: Bogey hates his tail being brushed, but neither wouldn't even dream of biting a human-they'd rather die!)...etc. And dogs seemed cozy when I walked them in and handed them off to the super sweet woman who greeted us (yes-"us," not just me) rather than intimidated or shy or clingy. This is a good sign. These two know a good place when they come to it. It took me a while to find a vet here in CoMo, too. Bogey was clearly unhappy and uncomfortable with the first one-the Vet hospital, actually, which I find is good for emergencies, but wouldn't take my fur-babies to regularly-while they mostly knew what they were doing, they handled my dogs strangely, as if unsure as to what they were looking at. They weren't always confident (I think they were in their last year of vet school, some of them, and were being observed frequently). Boges just wasn't comfortable and it was evident the moment we walked into the waiting room.

The next vet we found, though: Pet Ctr Lmtd. is pretty great, too. They know Byz and Bogey well. I like the way they talk to them and know them and me by name when I call. When I board them there (which I hate to do!) it gives me such a peace of mind to know that they're being watched by people that know them and their medical histories and can check them out and update shots...etc...if necessary.

I think "All Creatures" (the grooming place I've taken them to today) has an even better rep (and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find their name aesthetically pleasing and symbolic, of course!). If what they charge is comparable, I might be switching my dogs to them for vet-services, too. Reason being: although I've checked out the boarding area before and it was quite clean at our current vet's, pups are starting to come home smelly from their stay and usually with a cold or hoarse voice of some kind...Also, they're gaining weight while on their boarding retreat. I haven't boarded them in a while (really, I hate, hate, HATE to do it unless absolutely forced to) and they're totally up-to-date on their shots and vaccines, but we'll see how things go here. Plus, I think I had forgotten (up until about two minutes ago) that I could get them groomed at their current vet. What? What do you guys think? How do you choose a vet/groomer/boarder for your pets?

But so it goes lately...too much to do and too little time. You have no idea what the lists of things to do I've been making look like! Especially wedding stuff! We ordered favors last night, which was exciting. I got the adorable flower girl baskets in the mail (handmade from etsy), as well as part of the BM gifts. Working on Valentine's Day surprises that I can't share incase Fi reads this blog entry...ugh! Just lots to do before the day is through and the 7am hour is, seriously, the most useless: nothing is open yet! Not here and not on the east coast...no businesses usually open until around 9, so I'm SOL for, at least, another ten minutes...but writing this blog helped me kill about twenty, so-thank you for reading! What hour do YOU think is the most useless?

129 days til the wedding! Aaah!!!!!!! I'm starting to feel the pressure.

More later...have a fab day...will have "After" photos of the fur-baby lineup later today!

xoxo

N