I’m glad I have Mondays off (for the time being)!  On Saturday I went to an Earth Day Every Day event and picked up some free stuff!

• 15 pound bag of earthworm castings (for helping plants grow and getting your compost started quickly)
• A native Vine Maple tree
• A pack of sunflower seeds, because they are so happy : )
• An energy-saving lightbulb
• Compostable bags made of corn to collect food scraps in
• A guide/plan to build a worm-box to collect food scraps
• A reusable grocery bag
• Tons of informational handouts

It was cool to see such a huge turnout for a good thing like that… but I guess free stuff is always a draw – even in 40 degree drizzle!

Makeshift compost collector until we finish our gallon of ice cream.

It was held in the parking lot of Central Market which is a Whole Foods type grocery store, and I wandered in just to check out the prices and offerings.  I really liked the HUGE bulk foods section.  I decided that until I start making more money, I will limit my purchases at that store to sale items only!

I also went to Goodwill and went crazy in the tupperware aisle.  They had a great collection of the old-school tupperware that my parents still use after all these years.  Nobody makes food storage containers like that anymore.

We brought Colby to play at a neighbor/friend’s house in Innis Arden.  It was his first trip to another house, and he loved the bigger open spaces to run, plus meeting six new people (including three kids).  It was a fun visit, despite Colby’s inability to relieve himself outside because they had landscaping outside that did not include grass – his preferred peeing terrain.  We’ll have to work on that… he went on their rug instead : /

In the evening, the family I nanny for came over with their two babies.  It was a mutual learning experience – the babies gotta learn what a puppy is like, and the puppy needs to meet some babies!  The babies were shy, but Colby keyed into that, and was gentle with them, not jumping and being excited.  It was a nice visit.

Tired after a long day meeting new people

Pooped out!

Sunday morning, we took Colby to his first obedience class at Fuzzy Buddy’s Dog Daycare.  It was fun to see Colby play with the first dog who arrived – also her first class.  Once the other puppies arrived, it was clear that Colby was the smallest, and one of the youngest.  He couldn’t keep up with the older dogs, and we noticed him kind of hanging out on the edges of the group during playtime.  I’m sure since it was his first day it was just a little overwhelming.  He did GREAT with the commands and staying focused on us – much better than the rest of the dogs, even the one who was graduating that day (after 6 sessions).  It’s positive based training, so we are learning to look out for when he’s doing things right and treat him when we see it, plus instead of punishing, we’ll redirect to a trained behavior.  We are using the clicker, which is a device that emits a unique click sound so we can mark the exact time when he makes a good choice.  I think it will work well – he is catching on quickly.  He was completely EXHAUSTED after the class – came home and passed out for 2-3 hours.  We did give him his first bath right when we got home though… now he smells nice!

Bath time!

Wet doggie.

Not completely sold on the wire crate yet..

We bought supplies at Lowe’s to build a fence around the garden, and to build the worm box, as well as some flowers for the front of the house.  We set up the fence in the afternoon while Colby played in his outdoor playpen… but he got very whiny even though he was only 30 feet from us.  I’m not sure how to deal with that, because it seems like it’s going to be a chronic problem.  Obviously going and giving him attention is not the right idea, but I don’t think NO is working either.  What seemed to work was stuffing a Kong toy with peanut butter and treats to keep him occupied.  If anyone has suggestions on dealing with the whining/separation anxiety, PLEASE comment!!

Chewtoyaholic

Our landlord, Dave, helped me cut up the wood for the worm box.  It is all set for me to construct today… among other things I have to do, like go to Costco, research pet insurance, research vacuum cleaners from Consumer Reports at the library, and GO TO AN INTERVIEW!! The day has arrived for my Emergency Department Residency group interview.  I’m a little worried about it because I don’t know what to expect, but I am reminding myself that confidence is KEY.

PT came over + made us dinner - Eggplant Parm!! Yum

Baked my first batch of cookies in this house!

Anyway, I should get going on my list… that was a long post, thanks for reading all the way through!!

Learning to stay on his dog bed in the living room.

Sits like a lopsided puppy