Somebody's A Good Girl

Jazzy has come a long way from the days when she would bolt out the front door and keep on running down the street.  I haven't had to chase Jazzy down the street wearing my snowman pajamas and socks in quite some time.

We have been working with Jazzy on her come command.  We practiced in the backyard and in the house without the fear of Jazzy not listening.  Lately, she's gotten really good about coming when we tell her to. I think she's more comfortable with us and knows she's got a pretty good life here.  It's worth her sweet, little doggy time to come back to us.  

Since Jazzy's been such a good girl, I decided to give her a little more room to roam without her leash. When we are few houses away from ours at the end of our walk, I've been letting her off her leash.  She stays right with me and moseys her way back to the house.  

With that under her belt, I thought I'd take things a step further.  We've had some really nice weather recently and I thought I would take advantage of the nice weather by sitting on the front porch with Jazzy.  

We taught Jazzy to sit and wait at the door before she's invited outside.  She is really good about this and I think this is what has ultimately helped with her bolting.  So, I have been letting Jazzy out on the front porch after she has waited patiently at the door.  

She is such a good girl and stays where's she's supposed to.  Although she likes to stare longingly through the railing, I think she's perfectly content to stay on the porch with me. 

She likes to keep track of all the neighbors on her front step perch.  

Occasionally, she'll wander off the porch and into the driveway.  She knows there are some bunnies in the neighbors' bushes, so she likes to keep watch.  I'm not sure if she would be able to resist the temptation to run after them if she actually saw any bunnies. 

One of Jazzy's favorite hangouts is right against the garage door.  She loves to soak up the sun and take in the warmth of the garage door.  What a life! 

I'm so proud of Jazzy!  She continues to show me how darn smart she is on a daily basis.  Who knows what she'll learn next!  

Fall Is On Its Way!

As much as I adore summer, I am getting excited about fall.  I do love the cooler temperatures and fun outdoor activities.  Who doesn't love a good corn maze or apple-picking adventure?  

I am equally excited to change up the decor around my house.  I have made a few simple changes to welcome in the fall season.  They are easy ideas that can be easily replicated.  Plus, they add a little fall flair to your home.  

To dress up the front of my house, I switched out the summer annuals to mums in the big pot that sits in my driveway.  Instead of buying the bigger plants, I just bought three little ones and potted them close together.  The smaller plants were just 97 cents each, while the bigger plant of equal size was 6 bucks. Hooray for saving money! 

I also switched out the mason jars in my rustic crate centerpiece for some apples. They fit perfectly and were a cute nod to the season.  I went with granny smith apples because I liked the green color and they picked up the green in my table runner.  Pretty simple and pretty cheap.    

Finally, I hung up my fall rag wreath on my front door.  I created it using this method.  Even though all the leaves in my yard are still green, I'm sure they will be changing colors soon.  Once they finally do, the colors will match my wreath.    

Happy fall! 

It's Electric!

I am fully charged now, thanks to my latest acupuncture session.  That's right.  Dr. Mary used electricity in conjunction with my usual needles.  I was a bit scared of the idea when Dr. Mary briefly mentioned that she could try using "an electric needle."  I put the thought out of my mind until she announced that she would try it at my last appointment.  

I guess it works best if you have it done a day before you ovulate.  The timing was right and last week I gave it a go.  When I first came in, I asked Dr. Mary if it would hurt.  I had visions of electroshock therapy running through my brain.  She told me that it wouldn't; It would just feel like someone was repeatedly tapping me.  She also told me that it would offer the power of a race car driving at 300 miles per hour. The comparison was a little lost on me, but I figured she knew what she was talking about.  After all that chit chat, she told me to give her a few minutes so she could get her "machine" set up.  I still wasn't convinced that it wouldn't hurt.

So I put on my brave face and watched as she stuck 10 or so needles in my stomach.  Then she put alligator clips with wires attached to the machine on 6 of the needles.  Once I was all hooked up, she started turning some knobs.  It didn't exactly hurt, but it wasn't very pleasant either.  It kinda felt like someone was repeatedly poking me with a dull pencil.  She told me she would leave me and come back to check on me in about 10 minutes.  

After she left, as I was trying to convince myself I could handle this for 10 minutes, the poking stopped and the machine started beeping.  I had a mild heart attack.  I was worried the wires got crossed somehow and the whole thing would explode.  I couldn't exactly move with all the needles, but I figured this was not how things were supposed to be going.  Luckily, Mary has a very distinct walk and I called out her name as I heard her walk by in the hallway.  She heard me and came inside to check on me.  

Turns out the battery was dead.  So, after the battery was replaced, the poking continued.  It really wasn't that bad.  Eventually, I got used to it and it started to feel numb.  Those 10 minutes didn't exactly fly by, however.  

I ended up with a little bruise in one of the spots and my stomach felt like I had done a bunch of crunches the next day.  But it will all be worth it if it results in a healthy pregnancy.  Hopefully it does the trick this month!