my rituals is taking the day off. Today I’m instead sharing with you some fun web reads for the weekend. Have a good one!
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I, for one, really like this new season of Arrested Development. (The GOB, Lucille and Tobias subplots are particularly great.) So of course I love this NPR interview with show creator Mitch Hurwitz. Genius guy. Genius show.
A news anchor and weather woman despise each other. Three cheers for my hometown news station!
The New York Times reveals that physical blockers are key to a good sunscreen. That means my beloved Neutrogena Sheer-Touch isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sadness.
I grew up on the East Coast, went to college in the Midwest and have been dating an Oklahoman for 7 years, so I’m familiar with accents, but this study about pronunciation differences within America blows me away. Who knew the word pecan could be so divisive?
Walking in Balboa park, Teddy adorably playing an ice cube for the first time (TOO CUTE), hosting friends from out of town, eating Mexican food, shopping at the farmers market, (finally) running around with Teddy after his vaccines were complete, stuffing my face at a bake sale — just a little glimpse into life in May.
Check it out:
Music: “Out of My League” by Fitz and the Tantrums
Weekends around these parts have lately been plan-free and ultra lazy. Even though we still log in some work hours on Saturdays and Sundays — that’s the life of a freelancer — we’ve also had the best time gliding from the park to the market to the couch to Teddy’s puppy breath. Here’s what we’ve been up to:
It must sound totally crazy that while my previous day job involved copious amounts of TV-watching, now I don’t own a TV. The shift was due in part to our RTW trip disconnecting us and also because I get too easily distracted and need to instead focus on making my freelance career pay the bills here in San Diego.
Apart from the frivolous joys of channel surfing and using the Food Network as background noise, I don’t actually miss having a TV that much. Anything I really want to see? There’s a computer for that. Enter: Netflix. We recently finished all of Friday Night Lights (I’m utterly distraught that it’s over), but now we’ve turned to documentaries. Did you know there are some awesome docs on Netflix? Here are five to add to your cue:
April is always my favorite month of the year. It’s about spring flowers, my birthday (yes, I do happen to like my birthday), our dating anniversary and now the anniversary of Teddy’s arrival. Though I must admit: Raising a new puppy has been hard. Really hard. I had considered myself the most prepared person in the category of people who’ve never had a dog, but it’s even harder than I could’ve imagined. There have been a few downs — feeling anxious, sleep-deprived and overwhelmed by this new being in our lives — and I plan to share with you what’s that’s been like, but I will say it’s mostly been amazing. Watching him grow, play and get acclimated each day is such a treat and a beautiful reminder to love the little things. There are few things as incredible as having him run sprint to me in excitement after I’ve been in the shower or bedroom. He’s. so. happy. every. time.
You can’t really go out much when you have a puppy — though it’s getting better and we’re able to go out for 3.5-hour stretches now — so yes, this video is mostly of Teddy, but I promise that it’s very, very, very, very adorable. There are also peeks at my birthday cookie cake, our friends’ visit and a trip to Adams Avenue Unplugged.
And by the way, the part where Teddy’s looking out onto the dog park (also in the freeze frame)? Yep, those are two scratches on Eaman’s neck c/o Teddy. See? It ain’t always snuggles and licks.
So what’s it like to raise a puppy while working at home? I’m so glad you asked! Today I’m sharing with you a day in the life feature.
You may come to realize that the entire day revolves around Teddy — and you’d be 100% correct. A new puppy requires attention pretty much every second of the day, which explains why we’re exhausted all the time. And even though I knew it’d be hard, you really have no idea just how hard until you have the puppy for yourself. Frankly, I have no clue how people with 9-5 office jobs do it. I guess a part of it is that we’re home to cater to his every need and the other part is that we’re really diligent about training because we want the coolest dog in the world. He’s already pretty cool, so he has a head start.
So yes, these days we don’t get to go out as much, and yes, we have to be on high alert whenever he’s out of the crate (pee? poop? play?), but he keeps us laughing, has that stinky yet cute puppy smell and is showing us different shades of his personality with each new day. Right now, I wouldn’t have life any other way. I mean, I waited 23 years for this!
Here’s how a typical day shapes up.*
*There were far more bathroom breaks for him than I documented here. You have no idea how often they need to go.
OK, in all seriousness, I find it mildly disturbing that Teddy is already humping my leg — rarely Eaman’s — so early on. I mean, he started as soon as we brought him home at the ripe age of 8 weeks! Some forums online say it’s just a sign of excitement, but Teddy’s vet, though not too concerned, thinks neutering earlier rather than later may be in our best interest.
We usually discourage his let’s-get-busy tendencies, but yesterday, knowing that Hump Day was upon us, we decided to let the little guy have one go to show the world. It sounds like I’m crying in the video, but I’m actually laughing to the point of tears. And just so you know, this wasn’t even one of his best renditions. Sometimes he starts, I back away and then he’s left humping the air.
I’m not really sure why, at 5-years-old, I became so rabidly obsessed with dogs. And I’m not sure why my heart attached to golden retrievers in particular. But there was some force that pulled me to them despite being of Indian origin. Generally speaking, Indians don’t really do the whole “having a dog” thing. As with everything else in my life, I was an oddity.
Cliche as it was, I began writing Christmas wishlists and a golden retriever puppy was always number one. I hoped to see a big box under our tree that would wiggle and reveal a puppy. It never happened, but I didn’t let it get me down. I found other ways to feed my obsession until that pup and I would meet.
