Pupdate

Aside from going to Greg & Lauren's wedding, we deliberately made zero plans for the month of August. We had an extremely busy spring and summer, and when we returned from the cruise we realized that our last free weekend had been way back in April. So we took a whole month to relax and catch up on things. We committed ourselves to not committing to anything. We like being busy, so it was actually harder than we thought it would be to say "no". Though in hindsight we're glad we did, as it was a much needed break now that we are in the midst of an extremely busy fall :)

Having been away from our puppy so much lately, we were glad to spend a lot of time with her. We gave Molly lots of extra love, attention, and exercise. After our trip, I took her to the vet for her regular check-up, and confirmed that she was a little plump.

We switched her over to "lean" food which made a noticeable difference pretty quickly.  We also cut back on her treats, which makes her really sad. The vet recommended we give her green beans as treats instead. They don't have quite the same effect.

But why can't I have anything from this bag of treats? I'm being soo good.

Beagles tend to get overweight very easily, so changing her diet was the easiest and best way to control her weight. But a little extra exercise sure couldn't hurt, so I signed us up for a dog-friendly 5k in town (7th Annual Dog Days Run 5k in Marietta). It was actually dual-purpose since I was starting to train for a half marathon. I was pretty skeptical about how she would do, but she surprised me and everyone else there by finishing in about 35 minutes! I wish she would run like that when it's just me and her. Apparently she thought the 5k was just a big game of chase, so she ran at her top speed the whole time.

I swear she had a good time...

She attempted yoga, but it didn't really go so well.

you want me to do what?!

While at the vet, I also had them check a cyst on Molly's front paw. The vet took a small sample and everything came back fine. Except that Molly's incision got infected, so we went back to the vet, and poor Molly had to wear the cone of shame for three weeks until her paw healed. She looked so sad and pathetic.

The cone didn't stop her from having a good time with friends though. Her best friend, Sugar, came over for a weekend and they had so much fun.

I had already signed Molly up for another 5k (the Walk, Wag, N' Run in Buckhead) before we found out about the cone. I took her anyway, and Sugar came along too. I looked like a crazy lady with not one but two out-of-shape dogs, and one of them in cone. Despite the odds against us, they did great!

As if the dogs weren't tired already, we spent the rest of the day at Piedmont Park with friends. It was the last weekend before football season started and some of them we probably won't see again until football season is over!

Sugar probably ran another 5k since she played fetch for hours!

In other news, Bo's sister, Dudley, moved to Atlanta in August! We've loved having her so close and being able to see her so much. And whether they like it or not, our dogs are slowly becoming friends :)

Dudley and her pup, Madison

finally tuckered out

After Molly was cone-free she had a few more play dates, which are really the best exercise for her. As much as we'd love to get another puppy, right now is just not a good time. Luckily she has plenty of puppy friends to keep her entertained until she is a big sister.

Molly & Myles

Molly & Madison...still not so sure about each other.

another visit from Sugar

Now that it's a couple months later... we are happy to report that Molly's paw has completely healed and she's right on track for her weight-loss. Hopefully her next vet appointment will be less eventful (and less expensive)!  Until then, Molly will just have to dream about the days when she was happily overfed...

Recent Reads

Thanks to all of our travels and two round-trip transatlantic flights in just five weeks, I managed to get a lot of reading in this summer. As always, I love any recommendations you have!

The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway
Rating: 4.5 stars

This is Bo's all-time favorite book. After I read (and loved!) The Paris Wife, he demanded strongly recommended I read a Hemingway book. I think Bo was a little offended by my rating - but it took me a while to get used to Hemingway's style of writing. Although the book was short, it wasn't exactly a quick read for me - there are no "filler" words and everything in the book is meaningful to the story. I do think if I were to read it again I would give it a full 5 stars. Set in the 1920s, this book is essentially a somewhat twisted, guy's version of a love story between Jake and Lady Brett, following them from Paris to Pamplona for a bullfight. I also loved the minor characters throughout the story who actually play a larger role than you would think. It's definitely a classic for a reason.


 

The Island
by Elin Hilderbrand
Rating: 3 stars

I borrowed this book from my mom and brought it with me on our cruise. I read almost the entire thing on one of our sea days. It's a quick, easy beach read - especially after having just finished my first Hemingway. When Birdie's daughter Chess calls off her engagement and Birdie's own 30-year marriage comes to an end, she decides to head back to the family vacation home on Tuckernuck with both of her daughters, Chess and Tate, and her sister, India. They learn much more about themselves and each other than they probably ever cared to, but it brings them all closer to each other and to happiness in the end. This is a pretty typical summer-romance novel that was perfect for a summer vacation.

Eat, Pray, Love 
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Rating: 3.5 stars

This is one of the few books that I actually saw the movie first. It's been a few years since I saw it, so I figured that was enough time for me to forget most of the story details and to make it an interesting book to read. Unless my memory has completely failed me, there was (as usual) so much left out from the movie. I also brought this book along for the cruise since her year-long trip around the world in starts in Italy. Having just been there and eaten so much delicious food, I completely loved the "eat" chapter. I thought the "pray" chapter in India was better in the movie, and I'd call the "love" chapter in Bali a tie between the movie and the book. I probably would have given it 4 stars if I had read it first, but the movie had somewhat tainted my view. This was another great book to read on vacation, especially since India and Bali are two places on our must-see list (which by the way, at the rate our vacation list is growing I think we will need to win the lottery, retire by age 30, and then live until we are about 400 years old...)

A Room with a View
by E.M. Forster
Rating: 4 stars

Bo saw the movie for this book a few months ago on one of his cross-country flights for work, and absolutely loved it. He bought the book when we were in Daytona, after the book he was reading at the time got destroyed by an incoming wave on the beach. He finished it on our flight to Venice, and thought I would enjoy it. I actually finished all the books I brought with me on the cruise with a few days left to go, so I read it purely because I had nothing else to read. So far he is two for two with book recommendations! Despite the older English, it was pretty humorous. The story is about Lucy and Charlotte's trip to Italy, where they meet the Emersons. Upon coming back home to England, Lucy is soon engaged to Cecil - however she realizes she is actually in love with George Emerson. Cecil is two things that George is not: wealthy and proper (which, according to her family, are the only things that should matter). It was a very funny story but in the end, Lucy must decide whether to do what is expected of her or to follow her own heart. It was a great book and I now want to see the movie!

Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese
Rating: 5 stars

It took me a little while to get into this book - it wasn't until about halfway when it really picked up for me. But once it did, I was hooked. As in, staying up way too late at night to read, and being tired at work the next day! The story is told from Marion's perspective. He and his twin brother Shiva were born in Ethiopia, to Sister Mary Joseph Praise, an Indian nun who dies during their birth, and Dr. Thomas Stone, a British surgeon who abandons them immediately after their mother's death. The boys are adopted and raised by Hema and Ghosh, two other physicians at the hospital where their birth parents had worked. The twins naturally grow up to share a love for medicine, however they also share a desire for the same girl, which eventually drives them apart from each other. Marion moves away to New York City, only to learn he needs the two people on Earth he has avoided most: his brother and his birth father. I absolutely LOVED the way it ended, bringing everything from the book full circle, and I may or may not have cried through the last chapter or two. I highly recommend this book, as long as you are okay dealing with extremely descriptive (and at times, disturbing) medical scenes. For some reason I am fine reading about them, but have to close my eyes during that kind of stuff on TV! :)