Trying "The Farmer's Dog"

So We've been searching and searching for a good food option for Mr. Copeland.

When we first brought him home we were on a kibble diet, but of course, after learning more about kibble and how not helpful it is for doggos, we nixed that from our options and only have it on hand for emergencies. If you're curious about the kibble and effects it has on dogs, go ahead and watch "Pet Fooled" on Netflix - it may change your mind about what you feed your pup!

We then tried a raw diet through Instincts pet food, but there wasn't a lot of information about the ingredients. While he LOVED this food and jumps for joy every time we get it ready for him, after more reading, it's really hard to determine if he's getting all of the nutrients he needs as a puppy from eating raw. Plus, it's super freaking expensive to buy supplements for dogs only to wonder whether or not they are actually getting everything they need.

So here we are researching all of the dog food options possible. Currently I see the most benefits from a cooked and regulated diet from food delivery services. Guess what - there are a million and 5 to choose from. We looked at the Farmer's Dog, Darwins (raw), Spot & Tango, and more. It was an exhausting search. After crunching some numbers, it seemed as if Spot & Tango was the cheapest service for us, but I had more personal recommendations for the Farmer's Dog and just felt better about it.

So, we've made our first trial order for the Farmer's Dog and it should arrive around Nov. 7th. We'll do another follow up post then. If you've been looking around and want to try a food delivery service, you can use this code for a free box of food no strings attached!: (https://www.thefarmersdog.com?ref=QYBVMK)

I think eventually I may go back to RAW for Copeland if I can do more research and get a better understanding of what he'd need, but for now we'll see how this works out!

October 2019 | Debt Update

October Debt Update:

We're at a debt standstill right now & if you were to ask me how we are doing I'd say "ok." 

Not good but not particularly bad - just ok.

Right now we have $17,784 left in my student loans. My goal in this whole process is to be as open and honest as possible about what we're doing and going through during our debt repayment.

Our goal for October is to pay off $3,000 in debt. We had to buy Copeland with credit based on the store we got him from so he is now paid off and so is a big chunk of my smaller loan.

So far we've paid off $2,288.68 in loans for October meaning we have $711.32 to go!

I have about $600 I know for sure is coming in before the end of the month, I just have about $100 more to figure out. I'm sure we can make it work.

Where are you in your debt-free journey?

Bringing Copeland Home - Puppy Diaries

We got a dog!

Tom and I have been searching for a dog for a while and we honestly did not expect to get a puppy. We were looking at rescue dogs but we did not qualify with most of the adoption agencies. Why? Because we don't own our own home and we don't have a fenced-in back yard. But we do have a loving home environment, plenty of time to take pup to the park and outside, and so much love to do what's best for the dog. Sometimes I feel disappointed in myself knowing what I know now about the system but after talking to my cousin, Krista, she reassured me that the most important thing is the dog and doing what's best for him now.

Sept 6th. DAY ONE

We picked up Copeland on Friday, September 6th, from the pet store in town.
(I'm not going to link anything to them because since bringing him home we've found out a lot of things that we do not agree with - I knew pet stores were not great but I really trusted them because they were family-owned and local)

When we picked him up he was timid and scared of everything

When we first took Copeland to the vet, we found out he had ear infections and ear mites. The poor pup was struggling since day one!

Sept. 7th Day 2
So on day two, we took it pretty easy during the day. Tom had to go to work aka shoot a wedding all day and my mom was having people over for a funeral reception for my aunt. Copeland came with me that night to my moms and was such a good boy! Everyone swooned over him and his cuteness obviously and he stayed near me the entire time. He slept at my feet and walked around a bit but never went too far. He was still pretty scared of everything but quickly warmed up to people. 5 weeks later and I think this was the best thing we could have done for him. He now knows that people are friends and he's super friendly to everyone he meets.

Sept. 8th : Day 3
It was a Sunday and I was off to a bridal shower. Leaving my dog baby for the first time (only for a few hours) was harder than I expected. I thought I'd find some small relief from cleaning up after him etc. but I just wanted to be home with him cuddling.

Sept. 9th : Day 4
Monday we tried getting ourselves back to work and seeing how things would go with Copeland at home with us all day. He was really good and mostly just sleeps. We spend a lot of time outside to let him exercise and play. He loves digging in the sand and following us around. At this point, he was only about 6/7 pounds of fluff and so short. We are so excited about the start of this new journey!

Ho Chi Minh Trail - San Diego

We were in San Diego for a family vacation and I cannot not talk about Ho Chi Minh Trail!

While we were there it would be my sister Katelyn's birthday. After searching around looking for ways to make my her birthday as special as possible - I found a post on Pinterest of this awesome looking trail/hike to the beach. This trail is apparently a shortcut for surfers headed to the beach but we did not know what we were getting ourselves into!

None of us are really "hikers" per say and I'm not sure if a lot of people would classify this as a hike... but my rule of thumb is usually if I feel like I need to be wearing sneakers, its probably a hike.



There were lots of twists and turns and little slips here and there. It also was not all tiny passageways - there were some general walking paths through it. The views the entire time were so worth it!

I will warn you there is totally a rope at the end that we did not see coming. 2/4 of us fell and I hit my head really hard. Did I mention I'm not much of a hiker?

 
Once you get to the bottom, the beach is pretty secluded with a few people and mostly day-surfers. I can't speak to the weekend though to travel at your own risk. There were quite a few people going through the path as well - and I was very glad there wasn't any more or things could've gotten tricky.


What do you think? Is this view worth it? We thought so - although we chose to take the road back up to the car instead of following the path. Not sure if it was the right choice as it zig-zagged up the hill and took us forever in the hot sun. I'm glad we took on this adventure though!

One Month Plastic Free

My close friend, Charity, put into the Facebook universe a few weeks ago that she is doing a plastic-free July. I was very interested in this since I've been wanting to go plastic-free for a long time but never had a real reason to.

Not going to lie, this is not going to be an easy process. In the weeks leading up to July, I kept noticing just how much plastic I not only bring in to the home but also consume from stores like Starbucks and etc.

A few things I know will be difficult for me:

- I often carry reusable shopping bags - but not produce bags. It will be important for me to make some before my next grocery trip

- I typically order my groceries through instacart which is a grocery delivery service where you can order food online from participating grocery stores. I can request that they use paper bags when checking out from Aldi, but unfortunately, almost everything I buy at Aldi is pre-packaged in plastic. Yikes. This is going to require much more time and effort to not buy "middle-isle" foods packaged in plastic.

- Milk. I'm grateful that there is a local dairy farmer that packages their milk in Glass containers (it's the best milk in around) but it's not cheap.

- Time. I know it's going to take a lot of planning time and shopping time to get the things we need this month without contributing to plastic waste. I am nervous that time will be a factor in the process but I'm committed to success.

- Soda. Same as milk, it comes in plastic and unfortunately I do not have a soda stream yet. This month might be better for my health, too! 😂

- Remembering my reusables. I know I have reusable items like cups and straws, but it will be important to remember to take some when I go out and not just leave them at home.

I'm nervous but excited.

Here goes nothing!