Man, your grandma sounds a lot like my grandma. When I was 16 (and recovering from having my jaw surgically broken to try to cure my migraines, so already feeling at my absolute worst) she commented on how thin my sister and brother were—then looks at me and says “Well, no one could ever say that you are too thin!” As…

This week has been a lot for me, mentally. I’ve had a lot of stress at work, and then my aunt passed away on Wednesday (it was not unexpected, she had been sick for a long time, but you’re still never fully prepared). My grandparents were her primary caregivers and found her passed away in the morning, and though our…

Yup. I think the gut-punch for me is that he was such a good man. His songs told stories and Canadian history, and made me research and learn. I have so many good memories with The Hip as the soundtrack, and still listen to his music daily.

Summer when I was 16. I had just had my jaw surgically broken and reset to try to cure my migraines (it did not work), so my jaw was wired shut and my face was swollen to about the size of a soccer ball. After about a week of healing I finally felt well enough to shuffle my way outside onto the deck to get some fresh…

For a few years I had a cute asymmetrical bob that I really loved. My good friend/hair stylist moved away, and stupidly I assumed that any stylist could recreate what she did for me. I was going through a period of time when I didn’t have much extra money so I want to one of those super budget salons, explained in…

This is so interesting--I had never really considered the ingredients in my shampoo but what you are describing (hair loss and skin irritation even after washing and rinsing well) have been bothering me for a long time and my doctor has ruled out any medical causes that would cause the hair loss. I’m going to find…

aww yay! I’m glad my animal stories made other people smile. I have plenty of Bella stories where that came from!

I’m so sorry. A sick pet is always hard, but especially in these times when you can’t be with them in the examination room.

Aww, that is so sweet! Dogs are so intuitive. My husband and I were at the beach one day with our dogs and came across a couple who had 5 dogs--one of which was a small little guy in a wheelchair for his non-functioning rear legs. They were playing fetch, and every 5-6 throws all of the other dogs would hold back so…

One of my two dogs, Bella, is obsessed with any of the Bachelor franchise shows. I don’t know how she recognizes it (there’s no theme song or lead in to the show) but she will stop whatever she is doing and sprint to the living room to cuddle with me and watch the show. Once, after an especially long hike, she was…

Cute!! Sita is a rescue from Taiwan, and we ended up being part of a study with Embark when they were isolating the Formosan Mountain Dog (Taiwan Dog) DNA. They got samples from what is thought to be some of the purest FMD DNA from a breeder in Taiwan, and about 100 samples from dogs in our group, and isolated the…

Sita also gives a good judgemental side-eye. How dare I possibly think I will get in a workout after work, when I haven’t been there to give her pets all day?? 

Glad I’m not the only one who praises my dog for how firm her poop is!

When I first started dating my now-husband, he chewed Nicotine gum constantly (thankfully he had quit the chewing tobacco--that would have been a deal breaker for me). It was fine, but he left the packages of gum EVERYWHERE. I brought my new dog to his place for the night, and while we were sleeping she found a…

My dog was a very good judge of character, and yes she took up a lot of my time (she was quite sick with discoid lupus and kidney failure when I was dating this guy) but she had been my partner through a lot of crap in my life. Unfortunately she passed away about a month after I started dating my now-husband, so he…

I had this scenario, but with my dog. “Your dog takes up too much of your time.” <insert biggest eye roll & fastest dumping of boyfriend ever>

I’ve ridden a lot in SE Asia as well, and the last trip my husband and I went on we saw 3 separate fatal accidents in the space of 4 days. We both work in emergency services and it was a real turning point for us. No longer interested in the risks associated with riding!

Thank you so much! And yes, it’s ridiculous. Part of me wants to drop a huge HR-nightmare bomb on them; the larger part of me is torn because my husband works in the same office and will keep working there while I commute, and I want to keep things on good terms for when I can transfer back. My husband and I have…

aww, what a cute pup!! Good for him for going on the boat!

It sounds like you are doing all of the right things! I second the suggestion about making sure his nails are short. One of my dogs is only 7 but has a bum knee, and she slides around on our laminate floor like crazy when her nails are too long and her feet will slide out from under her when she jumps off the couch or…