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Cooper

Cooper is doing well. He is approaching

his 6th birthday. Can you believe it? My little pooper is all grown up now. I hope all the love has washed away those bad memories of when he was young and left alone. Bullies aren’t overly bright but they do have long memories. Anyway, I’ve been very pleased with his progress and continued health. He has yet to develop or even exhibit any major health problems that bullies are prone to. Thank the stars!

His hearing is still good and has shown no signs of declining. He has issues with certain tones but that hasn’t gotten any worse.

His skin, of course, is an every present concern. Being white makes it worse. We did discover that letting him go longer w/o baths makes combating his skin issues easier. His natural oils help ward off the never ending staff flare ups.

He did manage to hurt himself a little bit recently. We occasionally let him on the bed in the mornings. He likes to hop up and curl up with us. Some days though he’ll get overly excited and the moment he thinks we are getting up, he’ll run and jump and land on the floor. He managed to strain a muscle or ligament the last time he did it. He earned himself a few days of minor limping. He’s better but he just gets so excited at times he forgets he isn’t super dog. hehehe We’re actually thinking of lowering the bed to prevent it. Of course, this means making even easier for him to get IN the bed.

Beyond his misadventures, life is good for the Cooper. He still brings me love and makes me laugh every day. You can see from the pic, he still loves his naps. Shawn still finds it hard to believe he doesn’t suffer when we are gone. While the Coop certainly wishes we were home, he routinely sleeps pretty much the whole time. Hell, he pretty much sleeps the whole time even when we are home. If he isn’t begging for a treat or slobbering on our legs, he is usually asleep.

Recover

I had the first of the two procedures to correct my vision/eye problems this week. The first one dealt with going into the sinus to clean out the fluid filled cyst like thingy. The procedure went off without any problems. I did have to be sedated but beyond that it went fine. As you can see from the pic, they had me in a lovely outfit prior to the procedure.

The doc wants the area to heal up completely before they do the second procedure to put in the little metal plate. I’m hoping to have it done before the new year but it could go into January. Basically, the doc will slide the plate into the bottom of the orbital sheath around my eye to lift it back into its proper spot. This should fix my diplopia completely. ^[1]Fingers crossed

On a side tangent, I’ve been through several surgeries in my life with 2 in just the last 10 years. None of them really worried me in the sense that I wouldn’t wake up from it. Even though I’m pretty much healthy as an ox, I’ll admit to having been a bit worried something bad would happen this time around. I guess there is still a small part of me that is just having a hard time believing my life can be this happy and content. I’m beating my poor little id and telling it to stop worrying but I just don’t think it knows any other way. lol

References[+]

References
↑1	Fingers crossed

Grown

Everyone has been asking about the Cooper. He is doing just fine. As you can see, he is sitting pretty and feeling good. We’ve had two years together this past November. What started out as a abandoned and unloved puppy has turned into a loved, valued, and wonderfully well adjusted bully. He is back down to a slim 62 lbs. And while learning to enjoy the life of leisure and comfort, he is still very active for a bully. Not to mention, having a toy been that is constantly being replenished. Update – I may have to start watching him with squeaky toys. He usually will chew the squeaker till it pops out and then ignore the toy. One toy recently we never found the squeaker so he may have taken to just eating it. The next one I’ll be watching….

We have noticed his hearing is a little off. He hears ok but has a lot of trouble triangulating where the sound is coming from. While I’m hopeful, it won’t surprise me if he develops real hearing issues as he ages. I’ll still love my deaf monster as much as I possibly could if it happens. Beyond that, his skin is a constant battle to keep healthy. He is very prone to staff. Not surprising but still a frustration. Luckily, that is all so far. as he moves into adulthood more issues could pop up, but for an all-white bully, he is remarkably healthy so far.

Anything new still scares him at first but he is much less skiddish these days. He has become bored with the MUNI cable cars, skateboards, pigeons, and random recycle bins. They seem not to have the same “oh shit, hold onto the leash” fascination as they did previously. He knows the neighborhood pretty intimately now. He often times figures out where we are going just by the route we take to get there. hehehe

His life is easy but structured. He gets his meals, treats, and breaks pretty much on time consistently every day. I’ll probably be able to eliminate is mid-day pee break in this next year as he has mastered the art of holding it. The only mishap was once while I was gone, he peed on the floor for attention. Well that and every so often he’ll just randomly barf up his entire lunch. He proceeds to eat it a second time but it tends to leave a sticky stained mess on the carpet, which always needs attention.

I will admit every time he hacks or coughs I freak out a little bit. Apple guy and I discovered Spike’s cancer that way and I’ll always be scared the same will happen to Cooper. Of course, so far his hacks are always after food so once the irrational fear passes reason sets in. Just the thought of Cooper getting sick moves me to tears. I love him so very much.

Selfies v2.0

[gallery orderby=”rand” type=”slideshow” ids=”4955,4954,4953,4952,4951,4950,4949,4948,4947,4946,4945″]

So what is everyone doing today? ^[1]Besides posting food pics to social media I’m working but it’s been slow. Being on days makes even slower. *yawn* Clearly, I wasn’t overly busy as I had time to run around posting selfies with my co-workers.

We had a big feed and I spent some time helping prep and setup. I’m usually on a later shift so being on the day side was slower than even I expected. lol Tonight will be busier but I’ll be gone by then. Anyway, hope your day was warm and fuzzy. The Pup and I are off to see a movie later and then probably Chinese delivery for dinner!

References[+]

References
↑1	Besides posting food pics to social media

Mind

I think Cooper secretly trains as Jedi night when I’m at work. I say this because there are days when I’m leaving for work where I feel a magnetic pull to stay home. It is as if there is a voice in my head saying, “this is not the job you want…stay home with me.” heehee

In other Coopa news, he has decided he is part mountain goat. As you can see from the pic he has developed a habit of crawling up on the back of the couch. He’ll even lay down and go to sleep up there. He usually does it most when I’ve been gone for awhile. He likes to lay his head right next to mine. The other day he scared himself silly. He misstepped and rolled off the top down the couch and right onto the floor. The look on his face was priceless. I wish I could have caught it on film. He clearly knew what had happened but it scared him silly. It was a good two weeks before he tried it again.

He is also becoming less and less concerned with other dogs as he gets older. Used to, he’d try to play or dominate other dogs. Now he’ll sniff and play a little but he gets bored and walks away most days. I guess if they don’t have a treat or pet him he isn’t interested. There is a lady with a young poodle that often runs into us during the day. Her poodle plays the same way Cooper does so they get along beautifully. They’ll jump and paw and circle each other like crazy.

Other than that, it is a healthy loving well-adjusted doggie.

202

Today I weighed in at 202lbs on the scale! This marks the first time in my life that I crossed the 200lb threshold! Ok, not exactly true. I crossed it once last year but it was fat-related. lol This time, I’m at my regular fat % and still over 200lbs! To say I’m giddy would be an understatement. I’ve been working out consistently for about 17 years now. ^[1]Give or take a year or two. I’m doing this all from memory. lol My previous attempts met with failure back then because I was working out for the wrong reasons. Once I decided to take care of my body for my reasons and my goals, I stuck with it. When I came to SF, it was a new chapter in my life and switching to a gym like Fitness SF ^[2]Formerly Gold’s that was dedicated to muscle-building also made a huge difference.

I don’t remember the exact body weight I was at back then but I do remember it was roughly around 140-150lbs. I do remember weighing in once at 155lbs when I was still living in Boulder, which was 1995. That was also about the time I started working out in earnest. In roughly 17 years I’ve put on 45-50lbs of muscle. Sure I could have been more dedicated and gained it faster but that isn’t the point. The point is if a little scrawny weakling like me can put on that much muscle and size, anyone can. Seriously, I was so bone skinny back then it was laughable. I’ve mentioned it here probably countless times but my chest was so slight it actually sank in a little. My forearms now are bigger than my biceps were when I first started working out. It’s crazy because while I don’t see that skrawny kid anymore, he still lurks in my id. Thankfully, he is being subsumed by the new me.

The above bicep shot is a rare shot of me flexing. I don’t do pics of me flexing my biceps a lot because my biceps actually bulge out as much as they bulge up. I know it’s a bit odd but it is also sort of self-defeating when taking a bicep flex shot. lolol Of course, if I try to hold the bicep in so it bulges up instead of out, it looks like I’m cheating. hehehe Anyway, I’m just so excited. When I started out, breaking the 200lb barrier seemed like such an abstract and never-attainable goal. Honestly, back then it was mostly wistful thinking. After getting serious about weight-training, I suddenly realized my wistful goal was actually very real and very attainable.

Of course, this just makes me want to work out that much harder!

References[+]

References
↑1	Give or take a year or two. I’m doing this all from memory. lol
↑2	Formerly Gold’s

Lean

Here I is looking mean and lean. lol Ok, maybe not so mean. lol

Anyway, I’m back down to my “healthy” weight. By healthy I mean my regular range of weight ups/downs. If you look you see the little pooch right above my shorts line. Sadly, my brief stint over 200lbs was fat related. That said, I’m still bigger now muscle-wise than I ever have been in my entire life. I’m only 12 pounds away from my goal weight of 210. But, when I figure in the 15 or so pounds of fat I want to lose, I’m probably closer to 22 pounds in terms of muscle. *sigh* So close and so far away. hehehe And you can see from the pic I can clearly loose a little more fat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining just pointing out where I hope to be.

Right now, I’m 198 lbs, keep in mind 15 of that is fat I wanna ditch. And speaking of, the extra cardio from swimming has helped! With the break up, debt, Spike dying, depression, etc I really dropped off on my workouts. I still hit the gym but it was pretty static and not consistent. As of this month I’ve rededicated myself to working out. I redesigned my workout routine as well. I have a horrible habit of neglecting certain muscle groups. To avoid that, I designed my new routine so that I work out a good and bad muscle every day ^[1]By good and bad, I mean muscles I like working vs the ones I don’t. lol My new routine has me in the gym 4 days a week throwing weights and 2 days for cardio. It’s off to a good start so far. I had the best dumbbell chest workout ever last week.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
lbs x reps
85 x 12
85 x 12
85 x 12
80 x 8

Dumbbell Bench Press
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 9
90 x 8

Dumbbell Fly
50 x 10
50 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 8

Above is just my chest workout for one day. I usually do 4 sets but my pecs were totally baked after just those 3. Another twist, I switch between free weights and machines every other week. The one thing I wanna point out here is I do not focus on a set number of reps as my goal while working out. Four sets is the goal. Reps per exercise is usually a maximum of 12 reps and a minimum of 6. Once I can do a full set all the way thru to 12, it’s time to up the weight slightly. I find that progressive intensity works best for my muscle/body type. In two months, I’ll be switching to a reverse routine of supersets of the same exercises.

So far it’s working because I was so sore this week I could only do one day of cardio. Seriously, everything hurt! lol Referring back to my goals, take 15 lbs (fat) from the 198 for a base figure of 183. My goal weight is 210 for a difference of 27 lbs. In optimal conditions for non-juicers, the best one can hope for is about 2 lbs per month of actual muscle synthesis. It may sound small but that is actually a good chunk of muscle. So in the best of conditions I could hope for 24 lbs in a year. This IMO is not a realistic goal because I have a life outside of the gym, including work and a child. Goals should be realistic in their reach so I won’t be shooting for 24 lbs. lol However, half that would be a good goal IMO. So my goal for 2013 is to put on at least 12 lbs of muscle.

Now I could get there faster by juicing but I can’t afford it. Done right, steroids can be beneficial. They’re called cycles for a reason. You’re supposed to go off them for at least the amount of time you’re on them. ^[2]My doc says you should double the time off Sadly, most people get caught up in the quick gains and end up abusing them. Don’t even get me started on the libido issues.

As always, consistency is the key. I’m super motivated now but I know that will wane over time. I’ll try to post workout stats from time to time to have you guys help me with my motivation. I’ll throw in some pics too!

Wish me luck!

References[+]

References
↑1	By good and bad, I mean muscles I like working vs the ones I don’t. lol
↑2	My doc says you should double the time off

Stats

So I had a post all done up about my blog stats since the move and it has mysteriously disappeared. For the life of me I can’t find it now. I thought maybe I might have published it and forgotten but not there either. Ironically, since I originally pulled the stats they have changed a bit so I’m just gonna start over. :p

First, you all know I’ve been happier than a pig in slop with my new hosting provider. I’ve also been on the warpath lately commenting on social & news sites. This has brought some interesting visitors to my modest home on the web. Quite a few have been from rather “religious” sites and let me tell you, some of God’s gentle people have absolutely filthy mouths on them. Seriously, one guy, not realizing the filter was kicking in, posted 9 times hoping it would hit my blog. lol ^[1]Silly boy, all new comments get held for moderation Another guy apparently thought I was black and kept using the N & F words together. lol So as a reminder dear readers, you are welcome to post comments here, even if we disagree on subjects. That said, you may not make personal attacks on me, my blog, my readers, etc. Such behavior well get you banned lickety-split. ^[2]If you notice some of my recent posts have been on adult subjects. Ain’t I a stinker?

Anyway, in other news. There is a big upset on referrals. Kelly from Rambling Along has taken over the top spot of referrals to my blog. hehehe. Number 2 & 3 added together still falls short. I don’t know what he’s been doing but keep it up! lol And speaking of #2, a newcomer ^[3]well to me. Nik the Greek snuck in out of nowhere to claim the number 2 spot. Welcome Nik and thank your readers for me for bouncing over so often. Large Tony fell to third and brettcajun fell all the way to 6th place. Even Jimbo beat him. Tsk tsk Brett, you’re slipping in your old age. hehehe

In related info, I decided to add my blogroll back to my blog. Considering the list is a fraction the size it used to be, it is easier to manage now. Plus, these guys are sending readers my way, I feel it’s only fair to return the favor. So if you visit my page directly, you should already see the blogroll.

References[+]

References
↑1	Silly boy, all new comments get held for moderation
↑2	If you notice some of my recent posts have been on adult subjects. Ain’t I a stinker?
↑3	well to me.

Jingle

Cooper loves wearing anything that jingles, the more jingle the better. lol

I bought him a stretchy red/white fur collar with bells on it and he goes absolutely apeshit. He LOVES it! He will try to push his head thru it while I’m putting it on him.

Here is a quick pic of him wearing his little jingle collar. Naturally, he gets even more attention while we are out and about. The cuteness factor is almost off the charts. hehehe He jingles while he walks and I think he knows he’ll get more attention.

He’s definitely got holiday spirit!

New

*First, sorry for all the emails. I was working with my Hosting provider on an image upload error and forgot to turn the damn subscribe plugin off. Apologies.

Anyway, I bought a new bluethooth keyboard for the Nexus 10. Who knew there were so many to choose from now? There were easily 10 or 15 different choices. I even found an ergonomic one I plan on getting later for home. Anyway, here is my shiny new keyboard. lol I love that the case doubles as a stand.

Since the Nexus 10 and the Tab 2 (10.1) are basicaly the same size, I could have opted for the zagg keyboard like I had with the iPad. The zagg actually irritated me though. The keys were scrunched up too close and aggrevated my carpal tunnel after only a few minutes. This one is more spread out (I wrote this post using it) and comfortable to type on. I almost opted for the rubberized one that would roll up but it looked a little too flimsy and didn’t get the best reviews.

It’s funny how rarely I use my laptop anymore. I’m sure as the OS matures, I won’t even need a laptop soon. The nexus has a video port so I cactually plug it into an external monitor and use it like a computer.