I'm leaving my Husband for another land...

I'll be back though.

So, I'm packing up and loading the plane. Samantha and I are off for a 13 day vacation in Ireland.
This has pretty much been the biggest thing I have anticipated this summer year, and I honestly CANNOT believe I'm going.

With a seven day cycle tour through Western Ireland, I am so pumped to be able to see the Cliffs of Moher and all that the countryside offers. We will spend the first 7 days of our vacation on a bike while staying in a different city each night. During the two half marathons I have run, the thought always crosses my mind that running is a great way to see the city. You see a whole lot more when you're not speeding through in a car. So, what better way to see a piece of the beautiful Irish country than on bike? I agree, there isn't one. After cycling from Bunratty to Galway City, Samantha and I will travel east to Dublin for a few days. Best of both worlds, country and city life. We want to experience it all. And that is our plan.

So what about my Husband? Since I'm not willing to pay the fees for my bag weighing over 50lbs, there's no way I'm trying to lug him around with us. Luckily I have an awesome roommate who has agreed to love and take care of him while I'm away. Hopefully he won't forget about me or think I'm abandoning him. That would be bad. I would hate for him not to jump all over the place in excitement when I get back like he does regularly when I get home from work now. I will definitely have to schedule some FaceTime chats with him while I'm gone.

One of our prep rides for Ireland-- me and Sam. 

My Husband Failed...

... his weigh-in, that is.

Recently we had our monthly weigh-in visit with the vet. And when I say we, I mean Hubs. Unfortunately, Hubs was down almost 4 pounds. Typically seeing a lower number on the scale would make me jump for joy while I run out for celebratory ice cream, but in this case we needed a bigger number.

With a goal weight between 95 and 100, Hubs is now working from a larger deficit. Entering my home at 88lbs, he is now down to 84.5. Instead of 10lbs, we now have to get him up 15lbs.

Now, I know I could easily give him peanut butter at every turn and give him snacks for just being cute- and I have to admit my Husband is super cute, but I want him to gain in a healthy way. Healthy pup, happy pup- right? We run 3-4 times a week. Not long distances though- his hips can't take longer runs, and frankly neither can my motivation at the moment. So it will have to be a gradual gain.

Fingers crossed I'm not finding the weight he's losing.
Fingers crossed next weigh-in we'll get a gold star.

Mission pack on the pounds is underway!

Cool-down on the tile floor-- isn't he cute?

My Husband has a foot fetish.

Yep, it's true. Husband has a foot fetish. He loves feet. Really, he does. He's not bias to whom the feet belong either. Any feet suit his fancy. Feet in shoes, feet in socks, bare feet, feet in flip-flops. He will stop playing in the floor if a foot is near, just to get a lick. Bare toes beware, you will slobbery upon entering the house.

If he's not licking feet, he's licking shoes. Or worse-- chewing them.

Exhibit A: The rain boots- no more.

Exhibit B: What were my go-to summertime wedges- no more.

Exhibit C: What was and is one of my gym shower shoes- yes I still wearing them at the gym, it's a whole step- slide, step- slide combo- quite annoying.

You might be thinking to yourself <or aloud- mom, I can hear you>, "Well Staci, maybe if you picked up after yourself and put your shoes where they belong, this wouldn't have happened." 

No, no, no. I do put my shoes up <for the most part> that wedge and that flip flop you see up there were in a bag. In a bag, not in the floor, not just thrown across the room- In.A.Bag. My devious, not-so little hubby poked around in my bag and found a shoe and then devoured it.

I guess this only means that I have to go shopping. Obviously my husband encourages it :)

Life on a Leash

Hubs here. I find it only fitting that if this is a blog about the life with Staci and Husband, then I should report in periodically to share my side of this life. I can't let the human do all the talking- though typically I can't get a bark in edgewise- but this is the life.  Plus, she's been slacking lately- she keeps muttering something about a dissertation. I'm not sure what that is, but she's been reading a lot of papers as of late. So I'm taking the reigns, er leash for now.

Standing at a whopping 3 feet tall, I definitely see this world from a different perspective. I'm here to tell you all about it.

So what's it like in this new life? That's the question I get the most from the my dogs in the 'hood. Yeah, you hear that barking around town, that's how we communicate. Remember seeing 101 Dalmatians? That barking chain is real- we're not saving a hundred puppies from a crazy-fur-wearing mad woman or anything, but we do chat occasionally. So what's it like? Well, I have to say I'm getting used to the routine and really starting to find my place in the household- which is anywhere I want to be- I'm kind of a big guy so not much is dictated by others. I did learn my manners from my previous owners, so I'm not into everything- yet.

I have a roommate, which is nice because I like being around others- her name is Heidi. I got the human to snap a pic of the two of us playing. She's pretty cool- not high maintenance and likes to play. She sticks around during the day when the humans leave for long periods of time- they always come back though.

Heidi and I playing. 

Before coming to the house, my previous owners put me up in this hotel of sorts which was more like a jail cell- cinder block walls, fencing for doors and everything. Not exactly sure what I did to deserve that, but I suppose it all worth it. Now I'm lapping up the luxury. I even have my own bed! I don't always fit on, but I'm getting used this treatment. 

Relaxing after a tough day of play. 

In addition to getting used to the new digs, I've also been getting acquainted with the locals. Not all of them are all that friendly, but I think I'm starting to grow on them. 

And so there's a dog's eye view into my life so far. We went to the dog park today. That place is pretty fun- lots of fun to be had there. 

Until next time- I'll nudge the human to be more consistent with this. I'm not the quickest at typing- she's much quicker than me. 

The Stories My Husband Tells

The Hubs and I have been living together for a solid week now and we are getting along swimmingly. Can I say swimmingly? Well I did. Anyway, everyday I'm learning more and more about this new installment in my life. Recently my friend, Samantha, blogged about the Story of a dog and talked about the story that each shelter pet holds and waits to tell. This got me to thinking about the stories Hubs tells. Figuring out how to listen to the story is up to the adopter. The most frustrating piece of the matter is that they can't outright tell you their story. I'm not quite fluent in Barkanese, so learning to listen to My Husband has been quite the endeavor. Though I do understand when he tells me there's a cat nearby/in/around/passing by/crossing through/looking at the yard-- we've got that one down pat.

I know what I was told at Hub City Humane Society about this guy. Quite frankly it's the bare bones of his story. Hubs is the product of a divorce. The wife got the house. The husband got the dog. With no space or yard to keep him happy, Hubs was surrendered. His vet paperwork shows that he has been to the doctor regularly. And that's pretty much it.  I look at his not-so-little face, beaming with so much personality, and I wonder how could anyone have surrendered this guy. Crazy. He's awesome. Even an unbiased person would agree- and they do.

This isn't his full story though. This is just his single story. There's so much more. Someone can hear what I've already shared and create their own image of My Husband, and it most likely wouldn't be accurate. His story goes much further than being a divorce by-product.

A few of his stories and my ponderings and interpretations...
My Husband loves to go for walks, but passing cars frighten him. Was he hit at some point in his life?
My Husband loves to play with other animals, but is terrified of cats. Did he get swiped by a vicious cat? (okay, so I know that story. He did get clawed- most likely. By my cat. Oops)
My Husband loves to play outside, but doesn't like to be outside alone. Was he left alone a lot and is scared he'll be left again?
My Husband knows what no means. Was he told no a lot, or has he been trained in some manner?
These are just a few things I have noticed and learned so far. As he continues to tell his stories and add to his collection, I'll be sure to share.

I recently watched a TedTalk about single stories and it was so interesting to hear and recognize how we are all guilty of playing into stereotypes around the world because we only hear a single story or chose to listen to a single story. This phenomena occurs for everything- people, groups of people, countries, political parties, animals, companies, courses... and the list goes on. 

So I'm challenging myself to not stop at the single story being told. I will attempt to dive deeper to learn more about the stories being told.

It makes me wonder what stories Hubs is gathering from my actions or inactions...

How I Met My Husband

On Friday I met My Husband. Well actually I met him on Wednesday, but I took My Husband home with me on Friday when we met for the second time. Typically I'm not the type to bring a man home so quickly, but this was love at first sight. Before you start passing judgment about me, let me tell you the story...

It all started Wednesday afternoon at work- I got an email from a friend saying I should check out a certain FaceBook profile. We live as a plugged-in society, so Facebook "stalking" is quite the norm, I would say. I checked out the profile and instantly fell. With my thorough "research" skills, I figured out where he'd be and I took a chance and showed up to see if I could meet him. Luck would have it we met and I fell harder. On Friday I went to see him again and we hit off so I took him home.

Let me tell you a little about My Husband. He's very attentive and follows me all around the house. He doesn't like to leave my side. He loves walking through the neighborhood and seeing all the others out. He's very friendly and pretty much loves my friends as much as I do. My Husband is slightly fearful of the cats in the house. He's very handsome. He's also tall. My Husband sometimes drools a little but mainly when he's tired, hot, or really excited.

You see, My Husband probably isn't exactly who what you think he is. My Husband, who answers to Hubs,  is a very sweet one year old shepherd/great dane mix. He was, sadly, surrendered to a local shelter as the result of a divorce. In my opinion, their loss is my gain.

Meeting Hubs

He's going to be a handful!

And so begins this new chapter in my life and his. This is the life and stories of me, Staci and My Husband.