Hazel Showing Some California Love

Hazel's Ramp

We have a new addition to our master bedroom. Hazel has been having some difficulty jumping up to the bed so Andrew built her a dog ramp. She doesn't spend much time on our bed while we're home (she usually is on the couch or at our feet in the kitchen) but we know that it is her choice spot when we leave the house. Each time we come home, we have to fluff the pillows she has sat on top of:

So when she started whining at the floor to the side of the bed, we knew we needed to figure out a solution before she hurt herself trying to jump up. Andrew went to the Home Depot and spent some time in the garage and came up with our new ramp. It only took a few days of training and about half a bag of treats to teach her to go up.

Unfortunately, she doesn't yet know how to use it to go down. Hopefully that will come with time.

What We've Been Up To

It's been too long since we've posted. This is because there has been a lack of happenin' activities with us and also partly due to laziness (alright, I admit it, it falls heavily on the latter). So let me try to catch you up to speed on what's new in the Timko household:

1. We are the Timkos! I officially changed my last name this month. When we married I wasn't ready. I know... we dated for 7 years and were engaged for over 2... a decade should have been enough time to get used to the thought of me with a different name. We've now been married for 2 1/2 years and I was wanting to make the change. I was still a little anxious about it so Andrew volunteered to go to the Social Security office and DMV with me. It feels nice to be joined with one name. It's also really nice that I no longer have to point out that we're married but have different last names (people just assume that if you don't have the same last name, you're not married). It's fun calling each other Mr. Timko and Mrs. Timko. Andrew also likes to joke and say that since he's the original Timko, and Hazel had his last name before me, that he is Tim1, Hazel is Tim2, and I'm Tim3. Of course this is a little irritating to think that the dog has a higher rank than me, so we jokingly go back and forth on this issue.

The first Timko family photo

2. Andy's been on several trips. Andrew has had two "guy trips" in the last couple months. The first was when he met his friend, Donald, in Lake Tahoe. They skied for a day then came and picked me up for a day in San Francisco. We went to Pier 39 and the Golden Gate Bridge. The next day the guys headed off again. They drove down the coast and stopped in Monterrey and Santa Cruz. They climbed the Santa Cruz Mountains at Castle Rock State Park. They had reservations to skydive in Hollister but the clouds were too low so they drove on to China Peak Ski Resort in Lakeshore, CA and skied some more.

A couple weeks later Andy went on a trip to Southern California (SoCal, as the locals call it. I don't feel local enough or cool enough to use slang like that) with his buddy, Greg. He flew into LA (just an hour flight) and tried out hang gliding, surfing, and longboarding. All of these were firsts for him. Then he and Greg drove to San Diego where they took a sailing lesson. They spent Day 3 in Temecula golfing and at Harrah's Casino.

Andrew also just got back from a work trip to North Carolina. I'm glad to have him back until next month when he'll be travel back to NC for work.

3. I've been trying to stay busy. I'm not working but still manage to fill most days. I've made a friend who likes cooking and crafting along with me. Megan blogs, too, and she's much better at keeping hers up than I am. Our friendship is a blessing but its one drawback has certainly been the scale. Andrew doesn't like baked goods or sushi, so it's wonderful to have someone to share my food loves with! Here are a few things that have been made recently: 

1. Paper Mache Egg Wreath (tutorial for eggs found here)

2. Coasters (tutorial found here)

3. Bible Cover (Megan's design and sewn with her help)

4. Silhouettes of the fam (black fabric paint on fabric paper)

5. Scones (not pictured was the awesome lemon curd we made.

Read more about our afternoon tea and scone photo credit here)

6. Bread dough rising fail! This was my first bread making attempt. Although

it looks terrible, it tasted great! English Muffin bread recipe found here)

3. I cashed in on a Christmas gift. Andy gave me tickets to see my first San Jose Sharks game at Christmas. The Sharks are an NHL team here that play at the HP Pavilion (the Shark Tank). They didn't win but it was a lot of funny, anyway!

 4. We took another trip to Lake Tahoe. We have had an unusually dry winter which means very little snow has fallen in Lake Tahoe. But they did get hit for a week straight last month and we decided to take advantage of it. We left at 4:00 am to a resort south of the lake and I was hopeful that I would be able to expand my skills from my first skiing adventure. Unfortunately, not only did I fail to do that, but I actually did way worse this time around. Somehow I forgot how to turn and stop and never recovered those skills. I also managed to fall on the magic carpet. Yep. Pretty embarrassing. I couldn't even stay upright on a machine belt that only requires you to just stand there and not move.

 5. Hazel's been busy, too. Alright, that's not really true. But she did go to the vet for a checkup last month. Hazel has had wonderful doctors (one in North Carolina and one in Florida) and I was confident this one would be just as good by his glowing Yelp reviews. Yikes. Andy and I were so nervous for her as the vet kept calling our girl "little guy" and "little fella" and saying "he" over and over. He did do a physical examination, and I'm still not sure if he knows that my dog is female. There were other issues, as well, that make us comfortable dropping this guy and trying someone else next time around (things like, "We're supposed to call you with the results but you may have to call us because we forget"). We did find that Hazel is a tad overweight and needs more teeth brushing. So now we are working on getting her less anxious around her toothbrush and also cutting back her food a bit to help her lose a pound, which sounds funny to say but on a dog that should only weigh 10 lbs, an extra one is a big deal.

 So that's what we've been doing! I'm hoping the better weather ahead will mean more adventures again. We'll keep you posted!

Happy Birthday, Hazel!

On Tuesday we celebrated Hazel's 3rd birthday. I can't believe our sweet puppy is 3 already! I just want to take a moment and relive the story of how Hazel became a Timko (because I'm a proud mom and love reminiscing about this!)...

Andy and I had always wanted a dog but couldn't while living in Panama City Beach because the apartment complex where we lived wouldn't allow them. I tried squashing the need for something cute and cuddly by getting a dog substitute. And Carlos the guinea pig would have been perfect had he not bit and growled at Andrew. Apparently male guineas do not take a liking to other males of any species. Who would have known? We had bought the full setup for our new furry friend... a deluxe cage, bedding, food, toys, an exercise ball, and even a harness and leash. I had dreams of evening strolls with my little furball and us cuddling on the couch watching late night TV. But Carlos didn't like being put in a harness and walked, and he wouldn't stop pooping long enough to let him roam free in the house. I was tired of cleaning his cage and Andrew was tired of the unrequited love. So we packed Carlos up and took him back to Petsmart where I like to think he was adopted by a family who was a better fit. When we moved to North Carolina we had two Betta fish, Frank and Rosalita, that we loved. They were easy to clean, cheap to feed, and I loved watching these two and their long, pretty fins (Frank was a vibrant blue, Rosey was a deep red). But they weren't warm to cuddle or fun to play with.

In January 2009 I had taken a trip by myself to Panama City Beach to visit my parents. One day I got a text from Andrew that said "coming home in 2 weeks!" and a picture of an adorable baby puppy:

The picture that was sent to me

I immediately called him, confused, excited, and giddy. See, we had never decided to get a dog. It was always something we talked about but never had said, "Ok, let's do it." So this was thrilling. The rest of my time in Florida was spent researching dog "stuff" and talking on the phone with Andrew about all things dog... food, exercise, gates, crates, toys, vaccinations, potty training, where she'll sleep, what her name will be. Lots of names were thrown out there. Other contenders were Minnie, Mabel, and Meatball. But Hazel was the winner.

When I returned to North Carolina we made a trip to buy all the supplies we would need for the new member of our clan. Then the big day came to pick her up. We had to wait 6 weeks from her birth to bring her home. I think this is the recommended time that she needed to spend with her nursing mom and also to get her first round of vaccinations. The breeder led us back to a room in her house that had a baby's crib and there inside was our sweet girl. She was so tiny that she felt too small to put in the crook of my arm so I held her with both hands against my chest. She was so small and fragile I was afraid I'd hurt her. It was hard taking Hazel away from her mom. The mom didn't want to let her go. The breeder also liked Hazel a lot. She said she was so pretty that she wanted to keep her as a breeding dog but couldn't as she was not sure of Hazel's dad. Yep, Hazel's mom had gotten out of her cage and had a tryst with an unknown male. Scandalous. Since the breeder was pretty sure Hazel would be a full-blooded dachshund but couldn't be positive, she couldn't breed her and sold her to us. Good for Hazel, good for us. She asked us what name we chose for our new dog. When we told her 'Hazel', the hard-of-hearing woman said in a shocked and disappointed tone, "Weasel!?!"

We had brought her new cage with cozy bedding to keep her comfortable on the ride home but I couldn't set her down. She was shaking and scared. So she sat in a blanket in my lap crying the whole ride home. Although we were happy about our new addition, Andy and I were also a little heartbroken having to tear her away from the only home she had known.

When we got back to our apartment I laid on the floor with her on my chest. She stopped crying and we both took a nap in that position.

How Hazel felt most comfortable in her new home

Here are a few other puppy shots that make me melt from her first days with us:

So, as it turns out, we don't think Hazel came from 2 full-blooded dachshunds. Her dad was either a miniature dachshund or a chihuahua. Which actually turns out to be a great thing. She is much smaller than a full dachshund (just 10 lbs compared to 25-30!), and she has long legs that will hopefully aid in supporting her long back better than the short stumps that cause problems for most dachsies.

To celebrate the big 0-3 I took Hazel to get a few things at Petsmart (thank you Mike and Hannah for the gift card!). 

We walked to the park that night so Hazel could spend some time running off-leash (yes, we're holding her in these pictures but she did spend time running, too. Poor puppy. She's smothered by us!).

When we got back to the house we celebrated with a peanut butter/banana cake with yogurt "frosting." 

Needless to say, she loved it.

...And ate every last crumb.

Happy birthday, Hazel! We love you!

A Walk in the Park

Andrew and I were so excited to stumble upon our new favorite park this weekend, the Niles Community Park in Fremont, CA. A few things in particular had us super excited about our find. This park costs nothing (many around here have entrance fees plus an additional charge if bringing in a pet. Even our community dog park is $8 each time we take Hazel), is very pretty with lots of trees and green grass (a rarity around here), has a lake that pup is allowed to swim in, and is very clean. On top of that, it's close to our house.

For our day at the park we brought our new picnic blanket, another new "favorite" of mine. I'm in love with it because it has a waterproof backing that I can easily wipe off between washings and the other side is a soft fleece. It also came with its own carrier. We have had a couple other picnic blankets in the past that just pale in comparison. We also packed a cooler with snacks and drinks and brought along some special treats for Hazel. Andy and I like to break out the big guns to keep her entertained on long trips, so we packed one of those big, long-lasting chew treats and also a new toy.

After Hazel spent time swimming in the lake, we laid our blanket out, ate our picnic, and read for the rest of the day.

Our beach chairs have been re-purposed and are now our park chairs.

Moving Day

The big day has arrived. Andy has been in meetings in San Jose/Cupertino for a few days and is flying back to drive with Hazel and me to our new home. This might not make total sense for him to fly across the country just to turn around and make the long drive back, but we decided we wanted to make the journey together (and driving 40 hours with just Hazel as my co-pilot seemed impossible). Speaking of the pup, here she is getting ready:

And I can’t leave Destin without sharing some pictures of the time we’ve spent here:

 Hazel's First Birthday 	Hazel's Second Birthday
Galati Girls (Marissa, Jacqueline, Lindsay, Mary)	30a Beach
Florida Wildlife	Our first flight together with Andrew as an official pilot
Andrew & Donald deep sea fishing