Happy November!

Happy November, everyone! It’s been a busy week, so I made the decision to move my planned post for this week and just update y’all a bit instead. 🙂 Yes, I know it’s Election Day, a very important day, but I wanted to zone out of the political talk for just a few minutes before we cannot escape it later today! I do hope that if you are able to vote, you did! Or you do today! I believe voting is not only our right – it’s our power. Please VOTE!

Okay so our week started out absolutely crazy, I’m not even exaggerating. Y’all, Sammy (our sweet goldendoodle) got skunked! We have this super bushy and grassy area in the upper part of our yard, that Sammy, obviously, loves to make his way into and explore. Well…we’re not completely sure where it happened or how it happened, but Sammy ended up getting himself in a stinky situation. As soon as he ran back to the door, we smelt it! It’s such an undeniable scent. That’s right, guys. We knew right away he had been sprayed by a neighborhood friend.  

I have never experienced one of our pets being sprayed by a skunk…so we really didn’t know what to do. Thank goodness for our friend, bless her heart! She was over at our house when the un-speak-able happened and instantly knew how to assist. 

TOMATO SAUCE!

Did y’all know this?? After putting your fur-baby into the bath, you pour tomato sauce all over their sad soul! I had absolutely no idea. We had never heard of this before, but we were ready to try anything! The entire time all I could think of was how poor Sammy was going to smell for weeks! 

So, Josh took him to our shower and just poured all the tomato sauce we had on him! Five cans. We emptied our cupboards out! Sorry fam- no pasta this week! Okay, I hate to say it, but a couple of them were Traditional Hunts spaghetti sauce. Honestly, anything to get the job done. LOL! It was so bad, you guys. He was so patient and still, we definitely snuck him some extra treats after all the torture he went through. He just stood there and let Josh bathe him in the tomato sauce. Such a good boy! 

Once we rinsed that off, we washed him again with pet shampoo. He was all good to go and thankfully most of the smell was gone. AND after all of that, he STILL had some remnants of herbs and spices on him…but it was way better than the horrifying skunk scent! I’ll take a spicy dog over a stinky dog any day. 

Here are some pics of what he looked like during the saucy spa day and after a professional grooming 🙂

Obviously this was a photo worthy moment we couldn’t pass up! He’s still as cute as ever. Hey Hunts! If you’re looking for a new cast member to feature in your advertisements, I’ve got just the model! He even listens to directions without any back talk! And he has a face you cannot say no to. Call me anytime! 😉 

Don’t you worry guys, our week got much better. Just the usual, really. We were all pretty excited about our weekend road trip. We had taken an adventure to Big Bear! Have any of you ever been? Big Bear is a small city in Southern California that sits on the banks of fish-filled Big Bear Lake. It’s known for its family-friendly ski resort, but still a beautiful place to go beyond ski season! Anyway, I spent each day leading up to it making lists and then adding to them. Fun fact: I’m a big list maker. Keeps me sane, you know? I don’t like to forget anything, and I like to make sure I have everything I think we may need. You never know when you might get stranded in the middle of nowhere and being prepared is so important. We always end up packing and bringing way too much. But I mean, who doesn’t? It’s all part of the fun. 🙂

We rented a home through VRBO which was right on the lake. It was packed with activities for the entire family to enjoy. We had a pool table and a foosball table, which made it that much more fun. We ziplined, took a boat out and fished, we played games, and just hung out. It was just what we all needed. Family time is so important!

I definitely recommend taking a road trip, even if you are hesitant about it. I know travelling right now can be super scary and not recommended in certain places around the world. But travelling doesn’t mean you have to leave your country or travel too far from home! Honestly, getting out of your head for a few days, or even just a day, is an excellent way to give yourself a break. I know for some of you, keeping your kids entertained at home is hard. I know how much they love to explore, get out and have fun. With all the restrictions lately, it has been hard to find something to remind your kids that they can still be kids. 

So get out and go! Drive with a destination in mind, a reservation in place, or even just a mindset open for adventure. Take a couple of friends, your significant other, the fam, or even make it a party for one. A new scenery can help with feeling stuck. An adventure can make an awful week better. I know taking this road trip definitely helped us with the long week we all had. It also was great to reconnect with the kids- to focus and to spend time with them, away from work and our daily duties. It’ll remind them that life’s not always a straight path, your journey can have pit stops, breaks and even alternate routes. Sometimes, it’s necessary to get out of your house for a little. Get away from the crazy! Just allow yourself to be free, then come home and conquer all that you need to do. I promise, you will feel refreshed.

I hope you all had a great week! If you experienced a point where the craziness felt too much, I pray it didn’t last too long and you were able to move on from it. And if your craziness has just begun, please remember that it won’t be here forever. Don’t forget, you’ve got this! 

xoxo,

m