Going Gluten Free . . . AGAIN!

About four years ago, Mommy seemed to be constantly sick.  She'd go to the doctor, get medicine, get better, get sick again with the same issues.  The doctor finally sent her for allergy testing, and we discovered Mommy had suddenly developed all sorts of food allergies.  When we moved to our current location, Mommy decided to relax her wheat and dairy free diet for reasons unknown to her.  She didn't seem to have any problems here, so she's been eating whatever she wanted for two and a half years. 

This past fall, she started noticing that she couldn't seem to get rid of her cough and congestion.  She finally decided after the Christmas holidays that she needed to go wheat and dairy free again to see if her issues would go away.  (This seems to be working, although she hasn't resorted to the nasty dairy free cheese yet!)

A few Saturdays ago, Mommy made gluten free pancakes.  If you have a Trader Joe's near you, this mix is amazing!  We don't have a TJ near us, so this mix is compliments of our Aunt Holly.  Pancakes are Mommy's FAVORITE breakfast food and we don't disagree!

We waited patiently as Mommy made these yummy treats!

Mommy always saves the last ones for us (or the ones that get a little darker than she likes them!).

It's too bad we don't get the butter and syrup that Mommy loads onto hers!

This GF diet seems to be helping Mommy's congestion.  That's too bad . . . she likes eating normal foods!  We're enjoying this new, no bread routine . . . that hamburger bun has our names written all over it!

Waiting for the cookie to crumble our way,
Dixie, Jenna & Ruger

Pawfect Ruger

At the end of July, I had to go to the vet for my yearly appointment.  I needed a few vaccines and just a good overall check up.  Dr. Clary declared me PAWFECT!!!!  (Seriously, was there any doubt???)

I wore my personalized seersucker bandana and received LOTS of compliments!  I looked LABRADORABLE!

I was a great weight!  Whew!  That means I don't have to eat green beans anymore.  I had packed on a few extra pounds while away from home.  Most of you might think the trainer would keep me slim and trim, but Mommy thinks he really likes BIG dawgs!  When my parents left me with the trainer for boarding last summer as a puppy, he commented that I was too skinny and told Mommy he fed me more than she directed him to.  Mommy thinks the same thing happened during my four months with him this winter and spring.  I even heard the word FAT tossed around by my parents upon my return!

What do you think?  Here's a slightly blurry picture taken back at the beginning of May . . . yes, I like to lie in weird positions, but that's another story.  Am I fat???

Here's another picture taken around the same time.  

Here I am now!  I guess the proof is in the picture (and unfortunately not the pudding).  

I've lost about TWELVE POUNDS!  Mommy put me on the green bean diet.  I ate half of my serving size in my regular dawg food and the other half in canned green beans.  Three months later, I'm slim and trim and the vet told Mommy I could stop eating the beans.  (She's considering trying this diet out for herself!)

Not all of my weight loss can be chalked up to green beans.  I walked about three miles every morning with Mommy this summer.  She walked a total of 6-7 miles each morning between the three of us.  You'd think she might have slimmed down with that much walking, but apparently her snacks aren't locked up like mine are.

Now I can just sit back and relax and focus on looking pawfect.  My good buddy Homer sent me this monogrammed bandana all the way from Australia!  I love it so much I can't stop grinning over it!

I think you'll agree, I'm as pawfect as the vet said.  My sisters may disagree, but what do they know??

Until next time,
Ruger

Something's Fishy . . .

I've told you I like to swim in the playa lake during my morning walk.  As the summer has progressed, those walks have grown even more interesting.  Some might say there's something fishy about them . . . 

As soon as Mommy lets me off the leash, I run straight to the water (Mommy says this is reminiscent of my big brother Hunter).  I act like I'm going to run into the water, but instead I'm secretly scouting the edge of the water.  

I'm looking for FISH!!!  DEAD FISH to be exact!

Mommy is terribly grossed out by this bad habit of mine.  And she learned from the Unfortunate Incident with Jenna that it's not a good idea to stick her fingers in a dawg's mouth.  These fish are like having a dessert after breakfast!  What other lucky dawg gets dessert in the morning???

The fish are starting to appear more frequently around the edge of the lake.  The drought we've had over the last six months has caused the water levels to really decrease.  As a result, the fish that live in the lake are really competing for a diminishing supply of oxygen.  Mommy says she's noticed LOTS of fish coming to the surface in large groups trying to grab a breath.  It's really sad . . . but it's VERY TASTY!!!!

Here I am looking for my next dessert . . . who needs that tennis ball when you can have FISH???

This is me imitating the look on Mommy's face after I eat a dead fish.  Because I can't seem to control my appetite, I haven't been swimming lately.  [sigh]  As we walk around the lake now, I keep my head turned towards the water at all times so Mommy knows my heart's desire.  She keeps ignoring me for some reason.

Maybe one day soon I'll get to go swimming again . . .
Ruger

Hot Summer Treats

It's been sizzlin' this summer where we live!  I bet the average temperature for the month of June has been hovering between 95 and 100 degrees!  That's about ten to fifteen degrees hotter than usual.  Thankfully, we have very low humidity, but it's still pretty hot.  We even reached 107 one day!

To help combat the heat, we're out walking at 6:45 every morning.  And Mommy has made us special hot weather treats!

We've enjoyed our usual frozen banana ice cubes . . .

And after cutting up watermelon for people snacks, Mommy let us eat the remnants that could be scooped out.

Ruger still isn't very good at eating from a spoon.  He studies it for a second and then takes the whole thing into his mouth!  It rattles around in there for a little while before he realizes he's cleaned it off and Mommy can then pull it back.   

When all else fails to cool us down, we just "Have a Coke and a Smile!"

If  you need any more suggestions to cool down, feel free to ask me, The Foodie!
Jenna

Let's Get Crackin'

Do you usually have a wonderful home cooked Sunday dinner?  I'm talking about the noon meal.  Traditionally in the South, this meal is called dinner and the evening meal is called supper.  Mommy can be very traditional in some ways, but not with these terms.  She, probably like most of you, calls the noon meal lunch, and the evening meal can be referred to as either dinner or supper.  Personally, I don't care either way since I don't enjoy a noon meal (something I need to take up with my momager).  I only receive two meals a day, and I just call them both HEAVEN.  But I digress.  Mommy cooks pretty much every week night, but when the weekend rolls around, she starts feeling lazy.  Often, my parents only eat two meals on Saturdays and Sundays.

For about the last eighteen months, they have had a semi-routine Sunday lunch.  Both of our parents grew up having a delicious home cooked meal on Sundays, but not anymore.  Our parents head to church on Sunday mornings and then straight to lunch.  They've been flip flopping between their favorite Mexican place and Joe's Crab Shack with a few others thrown in occasionally.   Daddy especially has to have Joe's during crawfish season!  Again, I'm not that picky.  You could drop me off at either place or any of the dozens of restaurants in between.

As our parents became frequent visitors at Joe's, they got to know their server Blaire, a graduate student in occupational therapy at our local university.  Blaire is the sweetest person.  She always knew what Daddy was going to order, but called Mommy the Wild Card since Mommy changed her order on every visit.  They even started requesting Blaire's area when they arrived so they could be sure to visit with her.

Recently Blaire graduated and moved back to her hometown for an internship.  Our parents haven't been to Joe's since Blaire left.  They're afraid it might not be the same.  Where else will they find such personalized service???

Our parents are on the search for a new favorite place.  (If Mommy has any say in this process, they'll head back to the Mexican place and never leave!)  I think they should take me with them to help make the decision.  After all, they don't call me The Foodie for nothing!

So, Mom, Dad, let's get crackin'!
The Foodie,
Jenna

Just Call Me Punkin!

As Mommy started putting up the Christmas decorations a couple weeks ago, she realized she had a LOT of pumpkins that were still in great condition.  They had no soft spots and she felt bad about just throwing them away.  She decided to carry them to the back porch and built a lovely little (out of season) display.  Mistake #1!

I naturally discovered those pumpkins and began to carry them around the yard.  Mommy should have disposed of those pumpkins right then and there!  Mistake #2!

Instead, she sent pics to our family to point out how cute I was!  When she saw me chewing on the pumpkins, she took more pictures.  You're really not surprised are you??  She should have thrown the pumpkins away . . . Mistake #3!  See a theme developing here??

She didn't throw the pumpkins away until later that night when she realized I'd been outside by myself for a looooooong time.  She discovered this:

The pumpkins finally went into the trash with Mommy fully expecting to be up all night with my stomach . . . Lucky for her, pumpkin is good for a dawg's stomach and I had no problems at all!  If you're thinking it was a miracle, you're right!

Mommy's Little Punkin,
Ruger


(At least you can't call me chunkin punkin! Ha!)

A Permanent Reminder . . .

An anniversary has come and gone recently, but I'm not sure if I should mark it or not.  Last year on October 8, I changed Mommy forever . . .

That was the day she tried to retrieve a chicken bone from my mouth that we came across while walking.  I accidentally bit and broke her finger!  You can read all about it here and here.   I'll admit it wasn't my finest moment.  (Or hers either if we're being honest!)

Mommy was hopeful her broken joint would return to its original size.  That's apparently not to be.  She says she has old lady joints in this finger now!  Here's what her finger looks like a year later:  (not bad from this angle)

But this angle shows a different picture (literally and figuratively).  Most of Mommy's fingers  (and I'm assuming yours too) can bend in two directions.  In this picture you can see how her pointer finger bends down.  You can also see her wonky old lady joint (or knuckle as the picture says) in this picture. 

But here you can see how her broken finger cannot bend in that concave direction any longer.  It probably never will.  [sigh]  That joint can be popped now when it's feeling tight.  It does bend in the opposite direction as far as it's supposed to, so that's a good thing!  Just trying to look on the bright side . . .

Another bright side to this story is that we both learned a valuable lesson.  Mommy learned (maybe?  hopefully?) not to come between me and food.  I learned to look beautiful when I'm guilty.

Another positive note?  Mommy says she'll never forget me!  As if there was any doubt previously?? Ha!

Jenna
The Foodie

More Yummy Treats

As promised, Mommy gave us another fun summer treat . . . ICEES!!!  She says these are the cheapest treats known to man (and full of sugar).  She chose our first three flavors.  She's not sure how many flavors are in the freezer bag, but there are a LOT of colors!  She wasn't even sure of which flavors she had actually chosen for us, but just to be safe, she sampled each one for her nutritious breakfast to make sure they passed quality control!

We started with the yellow one and Mommy was pleasantly surprised to discover it was pineapple flavored!  It was her favorite of the three.  I bet next time, she'll search out one of those and keep it all to herself!  

The blue flavor is still unidentified, but was yummy!  Maybe blueberry??  Who really knows?

As predicted, the red was cherry.  This was Mommy's least favorite and so we each received several bites since we didn't have to share with her!

Mommy had to hold me back so Ruger could enjoy his icee.  She says each of our names first so we'll know whose turn it is.  Personally I think if you can't keep me back, then it's fair game.  Food and tennis balls is about all Dixie will fight me for.  I know when Mommy says, "Dixie" that I need to hold myself back.  I don't have such self control where Ruger is concerned.  Mommy says Ruger will get even with me one day, but I don't see how that's possible.  Have you seen how tiny he is??

We all enjoyed our summer treats.  The thermometer is stuck in the mid to upper 90s here, so we deserved it!

Jenna