Barkbox

Sammy is checking out the rest of the #barkbox treats @getbarkbox #eskie #sammy #americaneskimo
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We got our first Barkbox in the mail yesterday. Barkbox is this cool, monthly goodie box that I recently subscribed to for Sam & Gracie. I found out about Barkbox via the Dogster newsletter. They had a promotion so I took the discount and signed up for a 6 month subscription, to see how it goes.

I was super impressed by the quality of the treats and toys that were in our box. All of the treats were grain-free and a couple of them were certified organic (which is important to us because our guys are on a grain-free diet). Their box contained a Jolly Pets Monster Ball and an Aussie Naturals Knotty Bear which both dogs tried their darnedest to destroy without any success. I put some dehydrated liver treats into the Monster Ball and Gracie must have spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get them out (before Sammy got involved). They had a tonne of fun and I admit, particularly with the bear, neither of these are toys I would have picked for them but they really enjoyed them. I avoid buying stuffies for them because they normally get quickly disemboweled but I think that Knotty Bear is going to last a while.

High quality treats and toys aside, the customer service at Barkbox was amazing and I love that a portion of their profits goes to puppy related charities.

This is not a sponsored post but I really really liked it (and Sammy and Gracie did too!) so I wanted to share.

mean people suck

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a post by the amazing Julie Cole, on the YummyMummyClub site.  Please, click the link and go read the page.  It won't take you long.

I was saddened but not entirely surprised to read about her horrible experience with a commenter on her site.  Trolls are everywhere and have been online as long as the internet has existed.  Folks like this, who leave mean, anonymous comments on posts like Julie's are really cowards and bullies.  I bet you a million dollars that whoever left that comment, would never have the nerve to say those things to Julie's face if they met her in person.  Somehow though, it is easy to be cruel when there are no real consequences.

When kids harrass / stalk / bully each other online, adults often acted surprised.  I think that a lot of the time, kids who participate in this behaviour, think it's okay because they see examples of this behaviour in every comments section of every webpage they have ever visited. 

This is no different than the kid who is picked on, abused even, at home (by a parent or a sibling) and who lashes out at school against other kids.  They are following an example that they have seen played out in their own lives. 

I think it's important for all of us, not just those of us who have kids in the house (I don't have any kids in my house) to be good online citizens.  I'm not saying you have agree with everything you read but if you're going to disagree, offer an alternative opinion that is thoughtful, not mean.  It is easier to be cruel and snippy than it is to take your time and express a different point of view in a rational way. 

We don't all have to get along all of the time but I think we can certainly be kind and considerate to each other when we're disagreeing with one another.

sunshine on a rainy day

I recently listened to Marc Maron interview Dave Grohl about his Sound City documentary and got thinking a lot about Fleetwood Mac.

I was 10 years old when their classic album Rumors was released.  You could not escape those songs.  They were constantly on the radio, the sunny tunes, the biting lyrics.  Hearing Dave talk about Sound City inspired me to go back and listen to Rumors again, for the first time in a really long time.

Hearing those old songs transported me back to 7th or 8th grade.  At lunchtime, we used to go to my friend Shari's house.  Her backyard was spitting distance from the school yard.  We could go to her house, climb up the tv antenna and get into her room.  Shari's dad had the stereo system wired through the entire house, there were speakers in every room and the turntable was built into an end table in the living room, very cool to my 12 year old self.  We would put on her mother's copy of Rumors and dance around the living room until it was time to get back to school (we were usually running out the door toward the school when the bell ran).

This sunny little memory of the late 70's broke through the dark, rainy, icy morning for me and distracted me from worrying about the large, ice-covered tree branch that is swinging wildly outside my window right now.

Happy Friday kids!

happy birthday

Forbes Family Christmas 1985
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today is my nana's birthday. Birthday's are a very big deal in our family because they were really important to her. Her saying was something like, "if it wasn't for your birthday, you wouldn't be around for Christmas" (which when you are a little kid who believes in Santa, is arguably a bigger deal than your birthday).

This photo is probably the last one we took with ALL of the grandkids together. It was taken at her home on Christmas Day, 1985. Hard to imagine that it was almost 30 years ago.

She passed away in October 1997 and I still miss her every single day.

moved

It feels like it's been a very long time since I have sat down to write something and I guess that's because it has been a really long time.  Over 2 months now that I actually look at it.

Since mid-December, we've been busy getting ready to move, doing some renovations, moving and then doing more renovations.  It's been exciting and exhausting.  So exhausting in fact that we both got good and sick last week.  Our extra-long family day weekend was spent trying to keep warm / keep our noses from running / keep our stomachs from doing weird things, etc.

Not fun.

Until late January, I'd managed to get through the fall and winter without getting sick. Odd for me but I liked it.

Two days before we were scheduled to move (moving day was Monday, January 21), I came down with the flu.  I was shocked that this happened because I'd actually had a flu shot this year (I don't normally).  Fortunately, because I had the shot I suspect, the flu didn't stick around too long.  It did knock me out of commission for moving day though, which also happened to be US Inauguration Day so, while Mark was supervising the movers and freezing his butt off (of course our moving day was one of the coldest days of the winter at that point), I was at my mum & dad's house, watching the festivities in a nice warm house while the dogs were groomed and had a day at doggie daycare.

Poor Mark.  He was just exhausted.  I had done a lot of the packing but he did most of the heavy lifting and was in charge of things like installing new floors (in this kitchen and the kitchen at what I now call "the rental house"), figuring out plumbing problems (new house), and making sure that the rental house was ready for our tenants.  

How we didn't get sick then I'll never know.  Last week though, we both kind of hit the wall and our immune systems gave in and we both felt crappy all weekend.

I wish I had a bunch of fabulous before and after photos to post of the new house but unfortunately, the things we have had to do to the place aren't fun or sexy.  On the morning after we took possession, I spent $1000 on locksmiths, replacing the locks and repairing the doors on the house.  They were beyond messed up and I have no idea how the previous owner was able to use them.  We've also spent $1500 on plumbing repairs.  Again, not sure how a person can live without a properly draining, leaking, kitchen sink/faucet but I guess you can.  We've replaced the fixture, the traps, had the dishwasher properly installed and done some other repairs that Mark coordinated. 

Now that the plumbing is done (you have no idea how much I love not doing dishes in a bucket!), we're going to get some quotes on electrical work. We want to replace the panel and have new light switches installed in the main part of the house.  It's got some funky 12 volt relay system which is annoying and part of it doesn't work at all.  Until that is all done though, we can't do any painting (because there will be drywall to repair).  We'll also need to look into a couple of replacement windows but they may have to wait a while.

Slowly though, we're unpacking and getting settled in.  I can tell that the dogs are totally grooved into the new place and they love their gigantic backyard. 

The first few days we were here, I was pretty angry about the condition of the house.  The kitchen was filthy, just gross.  Thank goodness my mother very kindly helped me (I say helped but she did most of it, I was coming down with the flu) clean the cabinets out.  They were absolutely disgusting.  I was in shock by the amount of dirt we found in the cabinets.  That's right dirt, soil, dry mud.  Gross.  One should never have to clean dirt out of cupboards or hoover sand out of utensil drawers.  Personally, even if I lived like that, I would never want anyone to know and would NEVER leave a house in a state like that.  Be a pig in a privat but why leave that mess behind for someone else to see.

Yuck.

Fortunately, with each day that passes, my anger fades and this feels more like our home.  We're really happy here.  Once I can paint and get new window coverings up, I'll feel even better.  In the meantime, we're just taking it one day at a time.