Dog food update and Family

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have changed Robbie's diet to the Raw Food Diet. He has been on Kibbles & Bits since we got him 8 years ago. I've also previously mentioned that this dog sheds a chihuahua every day. When we got Robbie we were moving to a desolate, isolated part of the country and being unsure what dog food would be available I opted for Kibbles & Bits because I was confident we could get that anywhere and it turned out we could.

In a past life (ex-husband), I had another dog that was on the Raw Food Diet and she didn't shed AT ALL. With the amount Robbie was shedding, I wasn't sure it would make a difference but decided it was worth a try now that we are in civilization once again... He has been on the raw diet now for 2 weeks and it has made ALL the difference. We started noticing a change after just 3 days on the new food but now 2 weeks in, we have brushed him, washed him, brushed him again... almost nothing is coming off of him.

After only a couple of days in my son's car... this was the mess

On the Raw Food Diet and loving it

If you have a shedding dog issue, get your pet on the Raw Food Diet. It works. When you consider that dogs are carnivores and not accustomed to this dry chemical crap 'they' have convinced us is what your dog needs... it only makes sense. Anyway, its working for us - incredibly so and we are grateful for that.

Saturday night my son and his wife had asked us to babysit while they went to see a comedian they like that was in town. Kevin Hart. Having not had little ones for a hell of a long time, we were very scared of what we'd have to deal with, but fully braced and ready for whatever they could pull out of their hats - we arrived at the allotted time and off the parents went...

P A R T Y!!!

We made sure the kids ate all of their supper, gave them popsicles and took them out to the yard to blow off some steam. Once things cooled down outside we went back in the house and kept them amused until bedtime.

I don't know how the kids (parents) did it but my kids never went to bed that easy. Not a once. They got pyjamas on and climbed in, asked for a drink and were out cold instantly. Super duper good kids and us old fogeys were stressed over nothing. Angel children - they get that from my side!

Our youngest Granddaughter had a dance recital on Sunday and her parents bought me a ticket ($30 - insane to watch a 4 yr old in my book) so Sunday was all about dancing. 3.5 hours watching everyones kids dance until she finally came out for her 90 seconds of fame. Her troupe did a great job, especially being so young. I took a few pictures and her mother got a video.

TCUP is no small stage

Show no fear

I've been having great difficulty since hitting the road with trying to keep up with my blog, twitter, instagram and youtube. In fact, I ditched youtube shortly after heading on our adventure - way too much work. Because I couldn't keep up with it, I also stopped bothering with twitter and instagram. 

Well, I've decided to give those one last attempt. I went through my follow list and edited it down to a more manageable size. My apologies if you didn't make the cut, I tried to keep those I was familiar with and who I recognized as interactive. If I balls'd that up, I will notice and begin following again. I just had so much on my feed that it wasn't functional. 

I have already begun adding people back on but I do need to keep it to a reasonable number otherwise it just all becomes a blur when your scrolling and the personal (I want to say relationship... ) vibe with each that I follow suffers.

10, 9 and 5

I have been 10 days now without a 'cigarette', I am using a vape - not one of those ridiculous things the kids are using that looks like a bong... but a much more subtle vape gadget - more age appropriate, if there is such a thing. That sounds ridiculous, I know. I was not interested in Vaping because what I'd seen were just these bong looking things and that just isn't - well, it isn't me.

The Aspire Breeze is the one we chose

This is the one some of the kids are using... note the difference.

Anyway, 10 days now and while I am still getting the nicotine that my body craves, I do not have the smoke aspect and have actually noticed a difference in my lungs. Not that I was having lung issues, but considering I've been sick... I'm surprised by the noticeable difference I'm feeling.

I'm finding the last couple of days that I'm not connected to the thing as much as I was in the beginning. I was carrying it everywhere with me. The kid at the vape store did say that would happen. "You'll be tied to it for the first while and then you'll notice you start to leave it sitting around"... he was right.

Brad has started to integrate his vape in with his cigarettes, he's pretty concerned about switching but is completely impressed that I have had no indication of any trouble with it. No 'nic fits', no moodiness, no nothing...

The machines cost $35CAD each, the vape juice was $25 each (I expect 1 will last us a month) and then you also have to buy replacement atomizers... I don't remember how much they were but roughly $15 for 5... also expected to do 1 person a month. Considering we were spending approximately $900CAD on cigarettes a month (WOW putting that in print is shocking)... I'd s,ay we can manage $40/month...

The trick will be to reduce our nicotine levels as soon as possible before the price of this stuff goes up.......

9 Days ago we switched Robbie to a raw diet. I know I've mentioned before about sweeping up a chihuahua every day that falls off this dog and it drives me crazy... In another life I had a dog on the raw diet and absolutely loved it but when we got Robbie we knew we were going to be in the middle of nowhere so I put him on Kibbles & Bits knowing I could get it anywhere.

At the time the raw diet was still relatively 'new' on the market and wasn't easily accessible. In the coming years I forgot all about it. Now that we are back in civilization it was brought to my attention once again. I wasn't completely convinced that it would be enough to make a difference considering the amount this dog sheds.... I was shocked. Within about 3 days we started to notice a difference, and honestly, there is still some minor shedding going on but considering how bad it used to be.... I believe that over time it will disappear. It's only been 9 days and we can't brush anything off of him anymore so after a month..... I'll keep you posted.

The other benefits to the raw diet are that the dog doesn't smell like a dog... you know that smell, I'm sure... not that Robbie stinks, but if you get real close... anyway, in another week of so I will take him for another doggie wash and see what happens... Also, because the dog/cat is using all of the nutritional value of the meal, his poops are only a fraction of the size.... not exactly dinner conversation, but a bonus I thought I'd mention. There are other benefits if you want to check into it but these are the ones I can think of without looking it up.

I am on Day 5 of being sick. It totally sucks. My throat feels like there is a razor in there and I have a hell of a time swallowing. I've found that hot Jasmine tea really helps but there is only so much I want to pee in a day.... I've been basically drinking Jasmine tea back to back all day until just after supper... then 2 Advil helps for a while and another 2 Advil before bed allows me to fall asleep - at least for a few hours. Also, chocolate... seems to coat my throat and offer some relief for about 10 minutes. Handy if I'm just trying to get through until an appropriate time that I can take some Advil.