Kobe Close-Ups

Weekend Night-Cap & Lately From Instagram

This weekend was lovely.

We joined some of Jordan’s co-workers out on Friday night and very happily spent all Saturday in bed or laying on the couch. We watched plenty of tv, movies, and I even read a little Pride & Predjudice (working on those 30 books!) I almost forgot! I soaked in the tub for nearly an hour while reading — it. was. wonderful. Jordan even boiled a pot of water a couple of times to keep the water nice and hot. After being away from home two weekends in a row it was greatly needed. I woke up Sunday feeling super relaxed and energized.

Not that I ever want to get rid of Jordan, but he had plans to golf with his dad and brother Sunday morning and I was secretly excited. I cherish time I get to spend alone — as alone as I can get with Kobe. I took Kobe to the dog park for 2 hours (TWO HOURS!) and spend the rest of the morning cleaning the condo. I finished by noon and was able to meet a neighbor at The Corner Pub to watch some football and enjoy a cold beer or two (I drank SweetWater Blue Ale — a hint of blueberries, delicious!) After the Panthers game Jordan returned home and we wrapped up the evening together with some take-out Italian & the Giants game. Disappointing loss!

I absolutely did not want to leave for work this morning, it’s rainy and dreadful outside and Kobe was being extra cuddly and precious. It’s like he knows when it’s Monday and we have to return to work — he is ten times more kissy and cuddly in trying to convince us to stay!

Enjoy some photos from Instagram lately:

Lately From Instagram

Lately From Instagram

Kobe, My Chicken Nugget!

On Thursday, March 22nd Jordan and I took the plunge and got a puppy! I’ve been asking (okay begging) him since I moved in with him after Thanksgiving last year. Valentine’s Day came around and he said we could get one, and then our anniversary came around and we still didn’t have one — so the next day we were off to pick up our baby!

Kobe is our Shiba Inu, a day shy of 10 weeks when we took him home. Let me start off by saying I’ve grown up with dogs, German Shepherds in particular, my entire life; born into a home that had a white German Shepherd and when he passed away, we got a black & tan German Shepherd and after he was a few years old we adopted another. Since then my parents have adopted 2 more (we never had more than 2 at a time though, they would pass and we’d adopt another, we now have just 1, as our latest girl passed away last month.) Despite growing up with dogs and experiencing one as a puppy, NOTHING has prepared me for a 10 week old puppy! I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but boy am I exhausted. When I moved to Greensboro, NC 3.5 years ago a little void came to my heart — I missed my dogs dearly. Since then I’ve wanted one so badly. In truth, I wish I could have gotten another German Shepherd, however Jordan’s condo is just too small for a dog of that size (and honestly, he has neighbors with German Shepherds & Pit Bulls and I feel SO bad for them being kept in that tiny space! They deserve a big yard!) Kobe will be around 25 pounds full grown, which is perfect. Shiba Inu’s are FULL of energy and I wanted a dog I could be extremely active with. Shiba’s are hunting dogs from Japan, considered an “ancient” breed as they’ve been around for centuries (in fact, they almost died out during WWII and the bombings, but 6 Shiba’s saved the breed!). Shiba’s are also great mountain climbers, which is great because I’d love to take him hiking with me this summer!

It’s been quite an adventure the past 3 weeks with Kobe. Our “potty” schedule is getting better but the first week we were up twice during the night to take him out — talk about exhausting! We take turns but we both wake up when the alarm goes off. He’s getting much better though. He thinks of me as a chew toy which I’m desperately trying to break, all while understanding that my baby is just 12 weeks old and he has a long way to go with training. He learned “sit” in a day (really, in 30 minutes, and was perfected the next day), he understands “come” but sometimes likes to ignore me, and is finally responding to his name — which took all of the 3 weeks we’ve had him. He needs one more puppy shot and then we’ll be able to enroll him in some puppy training classes as well as “doggy day care” here in Charlotte (which looks totally awesome and I hope he gets accepted!)

Even though I’m incredibly exhausted from lack of sleep, I couldn’t be happier. I recently found out that dogs are now prescribed for anxiety and depression and I truly believe that they help. I am victim to incredible anxiety (wavering, but always around) and have suffered from depression in the past and when I moved to Greensboro my mom and I both wished I had time and a place for a puppy because we knew it would help. Dogs bring such joy to a soul. He depends on me, and I depend on him in ways, too. It’s only been 3 weeks and he has already become the love of my life! At work I day dream about going home to him, playing with him, his well-being, feeding him, just being with him. Any time I talk about him (and it’s a lot) I smile. Despite all the frustrations of taking care of and training a puppy I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m obsessed with him, in a healthy way. He fills my heart with unconditional love and that is all I desire. I don’t want him to grow up, but I can’t wait to have a companion for many years to come.

Dogs really are a (wo)man’s best friend.