Plans and Things... and I'll post about food later.

Remember how last week I had that "tentative" food plan for the week? Yeah... soo.... that didn't totally go as planned.

Because Sunday night after I posted that, I received an email saying that I my application to adopt a rescue dog had been approved and I would need to schedule a home visit to finalize the adoption!!!!

I've waited ten years for a dog of my own. When I was 17 we had to put down the dog we'd had since I was four, Mandi. She was a wonderful dog and I loved her so much. But when I was 18 I went to college, and after graduation I started working at Enterprise, and didn't have the time, money, or room to accommodate a dog. I respect animals so much and knew that with the schedule and life I had, I couldn't give enough of my time and patience to a dog, but I wanted one so badly. So I waited, and waited, and waited.

After finding out I'd gotten this new position with Enterprise with reduced hours, I knew I could finally make my dream of being a Dog Mom come true!! And so when I found out that Hands, Hearts & Paws (a local rescue group here in Omaha) was having a Meet and Greet at a local pet food store, I had to go. I had a list of must-haves: apartment-friendly, good with other dogs and kids (even though I had neither of my own, I have friends with dogs and I have two dog-loving nephews!), and already old enough to be potty and kennel trained. So I went. And I met a girl named Bali and fell in love.

When we first met!

Fast forward to Sunday night. I arranged to have the home visit with Cathy & Mitch, who were Bali's foster parents, the following night. I knew I'd be out of town Wednesday night, so we agreed that they'd bring her to me for good on Thursday night. So this is where my plans for the week went out the door! I'd had an appointment to get my hair done on Tuesday night (these roots are lookin ROUGH) so I canceled that and made plans to go with Wendy (good friend, former personal trainer, and owner of two delightful dogs) to PetSmart to stock up on all the necessities!

SO MUCH MONEY LATER I was finally ready to call Bali mine! Delilah and I went back and forth on possible names (I like Bali, but wanted to name her myself) we decided on Olivia. It's always been a favorite name of mine, PLUS I'm a huge dorky fan of Law & Order: SVU. *nerd-alert!*

And last night, the foster parents brought her over and it became real!!
Introducing Detective Olivia Bali Benson!

Yay!!!!

That flop-ear melts my heart

We cuddle.

She's literally lying with me all the time.

She reminds me when I'm not scratching her ears.

Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom.

We take walks.

OMG ALL THE SMELLS!

We support the Huskers.

GBR all day!

Last night she was a little sad after Cathy & Mitch left; they've had her for two months and she attaches quickly! So she was crying a little, running about looking for them, and doing this kind of low, quiet adorable howl-thing. She wasn't so sure about her kennel but after a late night walk and some treats for incentive, she was able to snuggle in the kennel and slept through the night. Yay!

Today I took a half day off work so she wouldn't feel re-abandoned or anything, and we could get really acquainted over the weekend. I was worried how she'd do in the kennel while I was gone, but when I got home she didn't even bark or scratch to get out. AND at one point while we were watching TV, she just wandered in there for a little snooze!!

It's comfy in here.

I love her to pieces. She is a total cuddle bug and loves to have her ears scratched. She's a little skittish around the dogs we've met out on walks and kind of shy around new people at first, but she warms up quickly.

SOoooo basically my life is wonderful and amazing and perfect now.

I'll post later this weekend about what I did for meals this week. :) I didn't do too bad! Just didn't exactly stick to the meal plan. I'm going to make the Balsalmic Chuck Roast or whatever it was called tomorrow because I forgot to buy balsalmic vinegar on Sunday. Oops. BUT LOOK AT MY DOG SHE'S SO CUTE OMG

This is my chair now.

Ok seriously it'll be about food from now on I promise. :)