Rachel and Ollie's Blog (9)

To start off, like most dogs, Ollie loves walks. Now that it is cooler out (under 100 degrees) Ollie and I have been enjoying our (admitedly, almost) daily walks. I live in a valley in the middle of Texas, so the pollen count is ALWAYS high. If it is too hot I have a hard time breathing, but lately it has been pretty awesome outside. Since it gets dark so early now, to avoid mosquitos (yes i know, it is crazy that mosquitos are still active in November. As an Indiana girl, I'm completely…

So Ollie had another opportunity to visit church this week. He was so excited. Since I knew it would be with preschoolers and babies, I wanted to make sure that we got some of that energy and initial enthusiasm out of our system before all the people showed up (It was a MOPS - Mothers of Preschoolers family fall activity night...costumes encouraged...). 

Ollie ran around what we call "BiG House" for a couple minutes and then seemed to be pooped (or maybe just hot...he did have…

So yesterday I received notice that they would be testing the fire alarms "sometime after 11am" (what does that even mean?) in my apartment complex. Well, being that Ollie stays home (crated) while I work, and that he has never heard fire alarms before and he is a scaredy dood, I decided that Ollie needed to go on an adventure to my office. Most people in my office were going to be gone today and so it seemed like a perfect time to test it out. :) He did great. He barked a couple times when…

Our "gotchya" day year doodleversary was about a week and a half ago and as I sit here with Ollie boy cuddled up on my lap, I think back to our first week together.

This dog drove me crazy. Did I love him? Yes. Was he adorable? Yes, but it was not an easy start. A year ago I had just moved 20 hours from my family and started my first grown up job in a position that was "difficult" (to say the least) and I was extremely lonely. It's crazy that it has been a year...what a huge year it…

So I had an important Skype call and decided it best for Ollie to go to play care for the afternoon...so he wouldn't try and eat my computer screen or something. Well I got Ollie loaded up, dropped him off, and went about my day. I had the Skype call and then went to go pick him up. He was there about 4 hours. 

This was Ollie's first experience at playcare. We have done stays at friends houses and have been to the dog park, so I knew he would be just fine, but I was still…

So, I have been mulling over what "part 2" would be for quite some time. Ollie will be one on July 29th, crazy right? It

feels like yesterday that I was posting on here with tears in my eyes about a different puppy who I had to pass by, and then with some help found Ollie. People kept saying (on here and in face-to-face life) that there must be a reason why I did not get that first…

Every morning I wake up to the buzz and alarm of my cell phone clear across the room. I get up to turn off my first alarm, grab my phone and plop back on my bed until alarms 2 and 3 force me to face the reality that I must get up. 

I am not a morning person. 

I never feel well in the mornings. It's as if all the pollen in my apartment has made its way over to my bed and nested in my pillow. If life followed my wishes, I would not start the day until at least 9:00am...for some…

So Ollie and I have been hanging out for a month now, crazy right? He has become my best buddy (as many of you said he would...thank you) and we are doing really well. At 12 weeks Ollie weights a womping 16 lbs! He may be less of a mini and more of a medium, but we are okay with that. 

My mom came to visit this past week, and though I was never able to have a dog as a kid, she (now not so) secretly loves dogs. She likened him to her childhood dog, Lonesome. I think he thought…

So if any of you have been "following" my posts, chats, discussions, etc you know that this has been somewhat of a challenge so far! With all of the drama surrounding the plans for getting a puppy, and then leaving on a work trip and relying on a puppy sitter for his first few days, I think I lost some of the excitement that I expected I would have. 

To explain a little bit...I just moved really far from home and have been experiencing a ton of homesickness. I think I thought…