*Splish, Splash*

Ben and I took Aida to "Bark N Bubbles" to give her a bath. You can either have them wash her, or to save a few bucks, you can wash the dog yourself. So we decided to wash her ourselves. They provide towels, brushes, shampoo, conditioner and a dryer. And we decided to get her a "blueberry facial." Now, before you freak out that we got our dog a facial hear me out. We didn't have to pay for it because there was a coupon online for a free one. And there isn't much to it. The "facial" is really just a face wash with a blueberry base. It has vitamins and coconut oil and is tearless. To be honest, I really think it made a difference. Aida's face is super soft and shiny. Overall she smells really good and is shiny all over.

On a side note: I feel really bad for all the times we took Aida to the groomers to have them bathe her. She was a spaz! She fought us when we first got her in the tub and especially when the water turned on. She was practically choking herself trying to crawl out of the tub. But once we started scrubing the shampoo on her she calmed down. Every once in awhile she would shake and get us both soaking wet. All in all it was a fun time.

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at a Barber shop so Ben could get his hair cut. He had never gone to this shop before and it turned out that he really liked the barber and his cut. So all around it was a grooming day...except for me. :)

Does anybody have a mint?

Aida's breath has been pretty ripe, to say the least, lately. So in our recent trip to Target we strolled down the pet aisle and came across a doggie toothbrush kit. We bought it out of necessity. Our sense of smell needed a break. So here are a couple pictures of me brushing Aida's teeth with the finger brush. Surprisingly she didn't mind it.

Make fun of us if you want, but you don't live with Aida and her dragon-breath. :)

Let it Snow...just for today

On Thursday we had our first big snow of the season. So we figured Aida would like to go out and play. The snow was perfect to pack into snowballs. We took Aida out on her leash, but let her run around without holding onto her. She did really well and would jump to catch any snowballs we would throw at her. It was fun. The snow started to melt today so hopefully there won't be a relapse of snowfall as the residents of Virginia do not know how to drive in the snow. In fact the complex was not plowing the street, they were snow-blowing it...yes, snow-blowing. Later on a plow did come through, but I found it very funny to see someone using a little snow-blower on the road by our apartment.

Watch for falling forks...

Due to my previous battle with a knife versus my thumb with the knife prevailing, I have since used more caution in the kitchen. I have been using the cutting board when I use knives, and potholders when I pull things out of the oven. Although I occasionally, accidentally, burn my fingers or arm...the typical casualties of cooking.
Today I learned another kitchen lesson. Don't cook without shoes on. While that may not be a rule that everyone needs to abide by, I find it very important...and so does my toe. Today I was fixing my plate of dinner that Ben made for me (delicious), and as I tried to pick up a piece of chicken with my fork, the fork slipped, the fork fell, and wouldn't you know it...it fell right on the toe next to the big toe. It left a nice puncture hole right below the cuticle. So now that I have suffered a "holey" foot...heed my advice...wear shoes in the kitchen.

Some Random Pictures

The top picture: Ben put a hot water bottle on Aida as she was sprawled, belly side up, on the floor. And to our surprise, she left it there for a while!

Middle picture: Ben used one of his Christmas toys from Mom and Dad for the first time. He's such a handy man.

Bottom picture: This is the church we went to on Christmas. It is beautiful on the inside (and outside). But we didn't particularly care for the priest. But we are going to give it another shot. :)

Just thought I would post these pictures for fun.

Enjoying the Weather

Ben and I took Aida out for a walk today (after the tick incident). We found a walkway around a residential neighborhood nearby. It was a really nice walk, and Aida was pooped after her almost 2.5 mile walk. As a matter of fact she is fast-asleep as I type.
And notice, Ben and I are supporting the Ohio State Buckeyes!! Go Bucks!

An Arm and a Leg

Today started off a bit rocky. Ben and I were supposed to have some workers coming in to fix our two bathroom tubs because the water doesn't get hot...just warm. I have resulted to taking baths by getting hot water from the bathroom sink with a teapot and pouring it into the lukewarm water in the tub....yeah pathetic I know. But my body thermometer is broken so I get too cold with just lukewarm water. Oh well. Anyways we made sure to get up early so as to not be in bed when the workers got there and also so we could get an early start on taking Aida on a walk while the workers were here. We haven't technically registered that we have a dog so we don't have to pay the $30 per month rent for her. Ben took her out for her morning bathroom break and to give her a little extra time outside he walked her along the trees that line the complex's property. As we were eating our breakfast, I reached down to pet Aida and saw some little red fuzz on her head. When I was about to pick it off of her, I realized it had legs. And then I realized it was a tick. Well, that was gross. But the good thing was that it wasn't attached. I then remembered that unlike Ohio, pets should have heartworm, flea and tick medicine year round in Virginia because of the warmer weather (it was 70 degrees today).
I called a vet that I found online to find out what I was supposed to do since I haven't been giving her the preventative medicine. They said I should bring her in and that I could get more of the medicine.
So we took her to this vet. It looked like a hole in the wall from the outside but we figured we could at least get her the medicine if nothing else. The receptionist was very nice and the vet himself seemed nice although not very personable. He talked with us about the Lime disease vaccination and other vaccinations that we should get. He was being a salesman of the vaccines. And then we find out they don't even carry the medicine we use for her, so he tried to sell me something else. Overall, I said I would think about the medicine and vaccines he was suggesting and we walked out with paying $55 for an office visit.....an arm and a leg. He did nothing just talked to us. He barely even looked at Aida, not even a pat on the head. And for a vet not to say how cute she is...that's just wrong!
It's been a fun day. We are currently looking for another vet.