First and foremost, you’ve probably noticed a lack of content lately! You’d think that the lead up to the holiday season would be packed with important content, and that would be our intention, but we’ve been extremely busy and haven’t had the opportunity to write. Well, Fit has been writing two books, actually. She is going through her fourth revision of her first major novel, but also taking part in a November writing program (NaNoWriMo) where you write a novel within the month. Hungry is taking his fourth course in his program, on his way to his Masters degree. Both of us are working our full-time jobs as well, and taking care of the babies.
Speaking of which, Noke turned five years old on Thursday, November 8th. Originally adopted on Valentine’s Day in 2014, we’ve always celebrated her birthday based on the date of birth that the shelter estimated. We generally don’t invite a bunch of people over for a party, or bring her to play Laser Tag, but we do a little bit more than your average family. It doesn’t take much to get her excited, and you could certainly make a point that this is more about giving us a good time than her. Either way, she really enjoys it and has a major sensory overload when we celebrate.
The day started like any other, with me giving her a walk and eventually leaving her out at home, with a frozen KONG, filled with peanut butter. Noke was alone for about 8-10 hours while I was at work. Fit was in Minneapolis on a work trip, but would arrive later that night. Once Fit got home from the airport, she took Noke for a walk and they spent the night together, as per usual. Once I got out of work, we met at The Carving Board for dinner. Even though Noke is extremely well-behaved, we don’t take advantage of bringing her places where she shouldn’t necessarily be. (That is a major theme everywhere, especially in LA.) The Carving Board allows all dogs to eat inside the restaurant, which is why we come here often. They make her an unseasoned grilled chicken breast that they cut into strips for her.
I wasn’t aware, but Fit already fed her dinner, so she really was in for a treat that night. Afterwards, we drove home and celebrated by singing happy birthday to her and giving Noke a cake. We always have The Dog Bakery in Mar Vista make her a cute custom cake. They have different shapes, sizes and flavors. They’ll also customize the writing for you, as you can see. I usually get her the non-grain free peanut butter cake. We can eat it, but it is completely flavorless, in my opinion. The texture is also a bit rough by human standards, but Noke loves it.
Then she got her present, which was a Tuffy toy. They’re very durable and she loves destroying toys, so it is perfect for her. Her last one, which she still has, is a squid who we call Shrimpy. This one is a lobster who we call Larry. It is a 8 out of 10 on their Tuffy scale. She absolutely loved it, although it might be a bit small to play properly. Fortunately for her, it has a squeaker in it, so she can just go at it as she pleases. I also bought her a beef trachea, but we thought she’d eaten enough so we’ll just save that for later!
The point of this, besides getting back in the swing of things, is to let you know that it is absolutely amazing to have a dog in your life and also, there is no problem with finding occasions to celebrate. We’re all overworked, well… most of us are, in this society; that is especially the case in expensive cities like Los Angeles. Any opportunity to relieve some stress is welcome in our lives, especially during these times full of hatred. Plus, we had to help Noke burn off those extra calories from all that cake, which meant more exercise for us!
Do you celebrate any random occasions to help you stay hungry and fit?
that is so cute!