It’s been a frustrating week — no wait, kind of a frustrating month — and so I have a lot to spill over my cup of tea. And yes, normally I’d link up tomorrow, and I was working on a normal Friday Five post, but it needs a bit more attention and I’d already started on this post so I’m totally ready to spill/vent/rant — but I’m trying to end a good note — no one loves a Debbie Downer!
Pull up chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I can’t figure out how to juggle training for a half marathon with hiking. It just seems like hiking was my tipping point . . . all I know is that when we stopped, I definitely felt better.
But I don’t want to stop! And I also like that it’s a family affair (except for Gizmo). I admire you people who run a long distance race and then go out and hike . . . that’s not me.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you sometimes procrastination works. We got a bill from the chiropractor one day. I was very puzzled, as I pay a co-pay when I’m there. I needed to set up an appointment, and figured I’d ask about it then.
Several days later I got a message that it was their fault. I still need to set up the appointment. And an appointment for a dental for Bandit. I think Lola needs one, too — I actually mentioned that to the vet at her annual, but he didn’t really think she was that bad. She lost a tooth recently.
Gizmo needs an annual, too . . .
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d that I just can’t deal with the frustrations of Bandit lately. Oh, don’t worry, we’re not getting rid of him, but seriously, he’s just become super frustrating. And I know that so many other people are dealing with things that are much, much worse (my thoughts in prayers are with TX, were I spent so many happy years & vacations).
Anyway, getting the damn dog to eat has become such a struggle. It’s just ridiculous. And if I don’t feed him, he throws up because of an empty stomach! Not to mention because of all the tension surrounding mealtime, he is now afraid to even come close to his crate if he even suspects I’m going to try to get him to eat. But he’ll happily go in to get his treats when I go out.
The last straw the other day was when I was trying to just train him with the crate with treats, as a precursor to feeding him. He wouldn’t even take treats. It’s beyond frustrating and time consuming.
Sometimes he does eat. And we won’t even talk about the time and money I’m spending going to the pet food store and getting different foods to tempt him.
Finally this week I said fine, if you only want one meal a day, that’s what you’ll get. And Mr. Judy is serving it to you until you chill out. Hopefully no more vomiting and an all-around happier household.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you on top of the time I’m spending on Bandit (ingrate!), our dishwasher broke last week. So I’ve also been washing everything by hand all week. Between me being home, the animals, and preparing all our meals, I’m spending a lot of time on that, too.
The repair guy comes today. Let’s hope it’s actually more cost efficient to repair it than buy a new washer; it’s only 7 years old.
If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I’m gonna try to end on a high note. I got together with friends last night for dinner. Only I was the only one that ate, but I digress . . . both are my usual running buddies but one has been out of running for a while now (we’ll call her running buddy D).
We have spent many miles together and I miss her, so it was great to catch up! The other running buddy (running buddy J) and I still spend some miles together and will be going to Wineglass together (God willing!). After I devoured dinner, running buddy D and I went for a walk in the park. We just walked, and walked, and walked, chatting away . . . I didn’t get my Garmin going but we were walking for quite some time. It was great.
Until she told me a scientist friend told her this year we’re getting another snowmaggedon!
Tea? Iced Tea? Coffee? Decaf? Or something else?
Do you wash things by hand or use your dishwasher?
How do you fit in other activities than running?
Do you worry when your furkids balk at meals?
Today I am also joining up with the Friday Five 2.0 from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy.
Chocolaterunsjudy 
I thought my 19 year old cat was dying because he wouldn’t eat so yes I bought him special food. Now he’s his normal hungry self. Go figure.
Dishwashers don’t last long these days. And I definitely don’t have time to wash my hand. The good news is that I only usually eat breakfast at home which is a cup & bowl 🙂
I love hiking too and boating and it’s so hard to do it all. My hubby is not interested in hiking at all so it gets left behind. I hope to do it a lot more this fall even if it’s by myself. Hiking doesn’t tire me because I go slow.
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We did that dance with Simba, but he was sick. Bandit isn’t. I’m glad your cat is eating again. Giz gets more finicky all the time, but in general he’s doing pretty good.
I know dishwashers don’t last long. We *think* it will be cheaper to fix than buy a new one (we looked last weekend) but I’ll find out today.
Even going slow hiking is still strenuous! I’m hoping to get one in Monday, since it’s been a while, depending on the weather. Right now it’s looking good but who knows?
While I hate that fall is already here, I’m loving the cooler mornings! I’m most productive in the morning and during summer I’m often not “in” until midday between running and walking the dogs.
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Why do you think your dog doesn’t want to eat? Did you take him to the vet? My cats are freaking pigs and will eat anything. The only time they have never wanted to eat was when they were really sick, and in that case, they were sleeping and hiding too (you know how cats are). My cats are lucky they have us because someone else WOULD have gotten rid of the one by now. I know that is terrible to think about but it is true. He pees outside his litterbox sometimes and we have tried EVERYTHING. But we love him soooooo much and would never, ever get rid of him. In fact I’m not ashamed to say he could pee on ME every day and I would still love him. 🙂
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No, Bandit got a clean bill of health at his annual and this was already going on then. Definitely not sick.
The vet suggested feeding him a meal before bed, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. I really have no idea why he doesn’t like to eat in summer, but he just doesn’t.
He was like this last summer, too (worse, actually), but we had just gotten him so I wasn’t expecting to go through the same thing this summer.
He’s happy as a clam . . . as long as I don’t try to feed him during the day. For little dogs that’s kind of hard on their system — I hope he goes back to normal now that it’s getting cooler.
He’s also a senior rescue, and he does have a lot of issues.
We’ve had cats who had litterbox issues, too. Which definitely isn’t fun. Thankfully Giz has great litterbox habits. Although there is occasional pooping outside the box — constipation isn’t uncommon in senior cats (he’s 16).
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Allie’s refused to eat her dry food a couple times. Both times I ran out and got some wet food to try, and she ate the wet food the first time for one day, then back to her dry food. The second time it turned out I’d had the bag so long (my parents bought it when I said I was moving up), that the food was stale. It said sell by Dec. 2016. I had a sell by Dec. 2017 bag and she’s eating fine.
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Well, Giz is going on 17. It’s relatively normal for a cat his age to be finicky — but he’s healthy and a good weight and who knew he’d be the easy one? For now.
Bandit — there’s seriously just no reason. Maybe just to aggravate me. He’ll like a food for a couple of days and then decide he doesn’t. I swear he was beginning to infect Lola, too, although she seems back to normal.
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I would think hiking and running would use a lot of the same muscles are really tire you out. I don’t think I believe all of those farmer’s almanac weather predictions. We shall see! Thanks for joining for coffee and tea
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I don’t think this guy’s prediction was based on the almanac. Right now though I don’t *think* I’ll be training through the winter . . .
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One of my dogs will not eat if I go upstairs. So, I have to stay downstairs (usually sitting on the staircase) while she eats. If I don’t, she’ll throw up bile when her stomach gets too empty. Weird dogs we have. It’s a delicate balance for me in the summer when I want to water ski and run. And cycle. And… At some point you realize, something has got to give.
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Yup, the dogs are definitely weird. He went from eating 2 meals happily, to not wanting breakfast, to wanting to only eat in the evening. So that’s what’s happening.
It seems like such a simple thing to hike; we don’t even do taxing hikes. Oh well. Not enough hours in the day.
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Sorry to hear that your dish washer has stopped working. I hate washing dishes by hand. My parent’s oven recently stopped working so they have been doing a lot of microwaving lately. It seems like it is always something.
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It is definitely always something. I don’t particularly like washing dishes by hand, either. Some people do, but I guess it’s part of my I-hate-cleaning personality.
Plus I definitely thing the dishwasher does a better job.
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Ugh on the defunct dishwasher – I hope it’s an easy fix. I’ve never had a dog that didn’t want to eat, although we did learn that we couldn’t feed TL right before we left the house b/c she would stop eating as we left.
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I never had a dog who didn’t want to eat previously either. And he ate just fine during the winter.
We’ve also learned my husband can’t start the grill before Bandit eats — otherwise he won’t eat because he loves being out on the deck with my husband while he’s grilling (course I guess we could just put his food out there, we resorted to that one day already).
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There are certain items that I handwash, but otherwise, I’m a big believer in my dishwasher. Hope it’s an easy fix!
My Sallie girl has never had any issues with food! She devours it too fast that we generally sprinkle it on the floor to force her to eat more slowly or use one of the feeding balls. The past few months, though, that has started to change a bit. For some meals, we have to really encourage her to eat. It’s like she wants to really be sure it’s OK. It makes us sad/nervous. She is nearly 10, so we worry that her change in behavior is because she is getting old. We’ve had her for nearly 9 years and I cannot imagine her not by my side.
I hope your friend’s scientist friend is wrong about the winter!!
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I’d ask you what someone asked me — has Sallie seen a vet? Bandit did when this started, so his health is not the issue.
Lola would happily eat his meal, too . . . until Chester got sick, this is something I’d never dealt with in a dog before!
Yes, I love my dishwasher. No, it’s not technically fixed. We’ll be running it tonight. The repairman thinks it might be an intermittent problem. 😦
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Max is my only dog experience, and he usually will not eat unless we’re with him, or at least in the house. Sometimes, he eats just once a day (usually this happens in the evening, and I’ll sometimes add an additional half serving). Other days he won’t eat at all, but still acts normal. I figure it all balances out (?) because he gets a few sporadic treats throughout the day anyways.
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Bandit does get treats, but he’s also on the thin side to begin with. He gain some needed weight over the winter, but pretty sure he’s losing weight now.
Still, he’s at a healthy weight so I’m done stressing over it.
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Can you maybe substitute a hike for a run or cross training? It would be a shame to give up something that you really enjoy doing!
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I can definitely do it when I’m not training for a race. Not sure I’d do it when I am . . . maybe someday.
The problem is I like to involve my husband in it, and he’s usually only available on the weekend, and that is when the long runs happen.
Lately I seem to get run down if I do too much back to back. 😦
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Poor Bandit …he doesn’t mean to be such a pain in the “arse”! Lol
I can understand how half marathon training and hiking can’t co-exist…. hiking is a totally different animal and can really wear you out. Glad you had a fun evening with some of your old running buddies ….it’s always fun to catch up with fellow like-minded friends!
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It was really great to chat so much with my running buddy. I miss running with her! And I know she just misses running. 😦
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hehehe, I grew up thinking dishwashers were fancy dishracks, so I’ve only ever washed them by hand. ._. I hope you find a good deal either on fixing it or getting a new one!
I miss hiking! I haven’t gotten to go in a while, but I’m hoping to be able to go again after I’m done with my exam!
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That sucks about Bandit, poor guy. But sounds like you have a good plan with Mr. Judy feeding him once a day.
And sucks about your dishwasher. Hopefully repair guy was able to fix it?
And when you find the magic formula for fitting it all in, please do let me know, hehe, 😂😂😂. Actually, I think we need 36-hour days… that might work!
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Yea! Bring on the Snomageddon! I would love it!
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Its been nice catching up with lots of you. I just haven’t been as regularly reading blogs as I used to. I was happy to read some Bandit news, even if it wasn’t that great. And I like washing things by hand ! I do all pots / pans / casseroles, etc. by hand.
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I find myself washing some dishes by hand & I do use the dishwasher once a day. I prepare most meals at home. I struggle finding time for any other exercise than running. Over the last few months I get up around 4 am twice a week so I can get in upper body resistance training before work. After work I hit the trail & run 3-5 miles 4 times a week before the commute home. Sunday mornings before grocery shopping I get in the 1 long run. You need to post how you get in all these forms of exercise!
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I wash some pots by hands, but the dishes go in the dishwasher! Which ran fine last night — not sure how I feel about that.
I don’t work — that’s my secret! And many of my workouts are short.
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I’m sorry to hear that Bandit has been struggling with eating lately. I hope things get better soon, it sounds like it’s really tough to deal with. We use our dishwasher religiously, we run it several times a week and thankfully it doesn’t run up our water or electricity bill!
Snowmaggedon? I’m not sure how I feel about that, lol…since I work for the gas company I still have to go in to work, so I hate when the weather gets too rough!
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We usually run our dishwasher every other day — if I’ve been cooking/baking a lot, it can be every day.
I pointed out to the hubs that i’m not alone!
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my dog Bailey is the same way but i have learned that she will eat anything if its mixed in with peanut butter, tuna, fish oil..so i have been mixing her dry food with those things…also, homecooked meals (rice, chicken, and carrots) are her favorite so maybe trying that sometime might be an option?
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Take my word, we have tried most things with Bandit. And something will work for a day or two and then stop working.
Feeding him one meal a day, for the present, is really the only thing working. But thanks for the tips!
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