Bear's 1 Year Update | Dealing With Chronic Lameness

Bear is growing up WAY too fast. His last update was 8 months go check it out for more adorable puppy pictures.

At one year Bear is around 73lbs, he's not done growing and since he's 75% Black Lab I'm sure he'll fill out and gain some more weight. His growing has definitely slowed down...although we did have Xrays done in May and his growth plates are not closed quit yet.

Why did Bear go in for Xrays in May? If you saw my last Fitness Update I did touch a little on my "lack of motivation" and the fact that Bear had a hurt leg that was keeping our family very busy with him.  

Bear is a very high energy dog...he LOVES to run and play but has very little control as most puppies do. On May 9th my husband was watering our grass in the yard (we have a quarter acre lot so lots of room for Bear to run around in) Bear was out with him running full out in the yard - but had zero control. He was slipping and sliding because the grass was wet and that only seems to make him run faster and faster.

On one of Bear's turns he missed his footing and his feet came out from under him, he feel and landed on his left shoulder...didn't yelp or cry but he did get up and wouldn't put any weight on his left leg.

We were extremely worried that he broke his leg but he came inside and went to sleep so he didn't seem to be in any pain. We thought we would wait till morning and then asses if he needed to go to the vet.

Bear woke up at 2am crying - Bear has NEVER woken up during the night for anything, even when he was 8 weeks old and slept for the first night in our house. We rushed him to the emergency vet and they took Xrays but said nothing was broken and he would be OK in one week.

We put Bear on "bed rest", he only left the house to go to the bathroom and we would leash him in the yard so he couldn't run and play.

Two weeks later his limp was still there....we ended up taking him back to the same vet that treated him in the first place and they diagnosed him with "chronic lameness" and recommended and surgeon consult.

We agreed and saw a surgeon the next day - he proceed to tell us that he thought Bear had elbow dysplasia. He wanted to run several tests that would have cost us thousands and thousands of dollars - and after all this testing he wanted to operate but the operation would only be good for 2-3 years and then he would have to under more surgery.

I was in absolute disbelieve! Bear took one simple fall and they seemed to want to do all this unnecessary testing and treatment on our poor 10 month old puppy.

After our appointment I contacted our regular vet for a second opinion. She was able to see us right away and said she very much doubted that Bear has elbow dysplasia and said it was more likely that he had soft tissue damage in his elbow. We put him on several supplements and medication plus she said to continue his "bed rest" for at least one month.

It took a long time but Bear is doing so much better! We are absolutely thrilled with his recovery...although it's been very difficult on my husband & I. Of course Bear didn't seem to understand that he was hurt and couldn't do all the things he normal would do. He had so much pent up energy and we couldn't even walk him to get rid of it.

Luckily we made it through a very difficult month and Bear is almost 100%....I would say he's about 85%. He's back to doing most things he was able to do but I do limit his activity.

He is still on joint supplements and herbal mediation plus I do ice is elbow after he's been running a lot or playing with other dogs.

I highly recommend that if your dog has a freak injury like ours did to get a second opinion if you think the treatment or tests recommended seem unreasonable.

Unfortunately even though Bear is on the mend, he developed a fear of people as the emergency vet was quit rough with him. We are now having to do a ton of training to get him to trust humans again and I would say he is doing a lot better than he was in May. He's finally letting people pet him again and he's not so nervous walking into the vets office anymore.

Freak accidents happen but thank goodness for pet insurance...I will say that the Xrays and multiple visits to the vet cost A LOT! If you have a young pup that has high energy I would definitely recommend looking into some pet insurance.

Bear spent the day before his birthday at Pets in The Park. It was a local fund raiser for an animal shelter. He was a bit nervous when we first got there but relaxed after about 20min. He had so much fun visiting with other dogs and walking around the festival. It was great being around other dog owners who understood that Bear was a little shy and it took him some time to warm up to people.

However, near the end he was running right up to people and having a great time....I don't think he really wanted to leave. It was a very well organized event and I can't wait to go again next year.

Bear turned 1 years old on June 26th! I can't wait to see what this next year brings with our little guy.

Lets keep the cuteness going! Check out 7 Most Gorgeous Pug Mixes pictures.

Leave in the comments below what breed of dog you own.

June 2017 Favorites

My summers are all about quick, sweat proof makeup and hair. I like to enjoy as much of my summer outside as possible so I typically will do very minimal makeup in the warmer weather.

Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour Stick - I have rediscovered and fallen in love with the Contour & Highlight color from this trio. I find the cream formula to be very natural and easy to blend with a beauty blender. It's very quick to apply and gives you some dimension to your face.

Drybar Triple Sec - Textured quick hair has been my thing for the past month. Triple sec is still my favorite texture spray, I love to spray this in when I have either waves or curls in my hair.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream - I have heard people rave about this for so long but could never get my hands on it. Finally Ulta is now shipping to Canada so I was able to give this a shot. The color is a little light but this is a great CC Cream, by far my favorite I've tried so far. It is on the expensive side but I love the coverage it gives my skin and it's SPF 50+ which is great in the summer.

L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper - This is a similar product to the Benefit Gimmi Brow but a lot of more affordable. I feel like I was constantly running out of my Benefit product and it was costing a lot to do my brows everyday. This is a great drugstore dupe! The color is very similar to my brows and it helps them stay in place all day. Even when I'm doing minimal makeup I always make sure my brows are done....it just helps to frame your face and makes you look a little more put together.

Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo - I've talked about this before and I'm back using it again. This is my favorite dry shampoo by far. It leaves your hair feeling refreshed and clean. I use the light tones and it doesn't leave a white cast in my hair which is always a plus. Best dry shampoo! They also have a darker formula if you have darker hair.

What were your favorite products of June? Leave them in the comments below.

Fitness Update | Major Lack Of Motivation

Count down to worlds.....62 days and counting!

Stress and anxiety are really starting to set in as race season is ramping up and World Champions is now only 62 days away. My training this last month has gone down hill FAST. There has been a serious lack of motivation to do anything in our house recently - mainly due to our 11 month old pup, Bear, getting hurt mid May.

Our poor little guy hurt his leg and has been in a lot of pain since then. He's not sleeping through the night, which means my husband & I are also not sleeping through the night. He's needed a lot of help getting around and it's been a real struggle keeping him on "bed rest" for a month. If you want to hear more about our story check back on Wednesday, I'll be post Bear's 11 month update and I'll share what happen. 

I feel that because of my lack of sleep my whole schedule has been thrown off. I'm tiered all day everyday and the last thing I want to do is train. The few days that I did train I felt very sluggish. Running was near impossible. Every time I put my runners on my legs felt like led. May was probably the toughest month of training to get through. 

Luckily our pup is now on the mend which means we are getting back to our normal day to day schedule. Training is finally starting to pick up but I'm feeling a little out of shape since I missed so much training. This past week I've been working on my tempo runs to bring my legs back. I know it seems like something so small but I find when I've taken a big chuck of time off my endure just fades away - speed I never have any trouble with, I guess that's because I have a background as a sprinter, plus speed training is fun. Endurance I find to be a bit boring and difficult to get through the workouts...especially feeling out of shape. To help me get back on track I've been using a MetroTimer, it's annoying but it helps with how many strides you take per minuet. I find if I focus on something other than my endurance run it helps. I try not think about my pace or how much longer is left, or how far have I gone.....I just run and think about my stride, my running form, the strike of my foot on the pavement, ect. It seems to help take my mind off my endurance run. 

Besides running I have also been using my Beachbody programs as cross training. Right now I've been using 21 Day Fix and focusing on leg fix, upper body fix, cardio fix and Pilates fix. In addition to all that I've finally been able to get my bike back onto the road. I honestly think my biking is going better than my running right now - except my bike computer has decided to stop working. For some reason my cadence on my bike computer decided to crap out so I've been just using my Garmin in the meantime while I shop for a replacement. 

All and all things are going well, you are always going to have set backs in your training because LIFE HAPPENS. There are a lot of things that are outside your control and you just have to juggle those with your training schedule. 

Motivation while training will come and go...it's tough to come back from being unmotivated but sometimes you just have to push through it to get to the other side. 

How motivated have you been this past month?

Where Are They Now? May 2015 Favorites

As much as I love reading other blogs, I also like watching many YouTubers. One of my favorites to watch is MsGoldGirl who I have watched do many videos on "Where are they now?". She goes back to find out what her old favorites use to be and shares if she is still using those favorites today. I always wonder when watching YouTubers post their favorites if they are sharing something that is simply a fling for the month or a holy grail product. 

I looked back on my blog and the oldest post I have way May 2015 . I usually try to limit my favorite posts to about 5 products so here are my top 5 products I was using in May 2015 and here is what I am using now. 

Nume Signature hair dryer was replaced with the BaByliss Pro Rapido. I found the Nume to be very hot and dried my hair out. It was also very heavy and my hair always takes forever to dry. The BaByliss was made in Italy and was a collaboration with Ferrari. It takes very little time to dry my hair now and I find that this doesn't dry my hair out at all. It is much lighter and easier to work with. The only downside is the price tag. It is pretty expensive but I did find mine through an Air Miles deal....so keep your eyes peeled for deals. 

Diorskin Star Foundation was replaced with Dior Forever. I did love the Star foundation but I found the color didn't match me perfectly and it would slide around on my face if I didn't set it was a lot of powder - which I try to stay away from with my dry skin. I started to explore other foundations by Dior and fell in love with the Forever. I find you don't need to set it as much and the color suits my skin ton almost perfectly. 

Fresh Lotus Face Cream & Freash Seaberry Skin Booster was replaced with Clinique Moisture Surge Intense & The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid. Unlike the Fresh face cream and oil I was mixing together I have been layering the Hyaluronic Acid & Clinique face cream. I find the Fresh products didn't give me enough hydration, I have extremely dry skin. With The Ordinary and Clinique products my skin feels hydrated and velvety smooth. 

21 Day Fix EXTREME - This is the only favorite that I still use today. I jump around between different Beachbody programs but I have a special love in my heart for the 21 Day Fix & 21 Day Fix Extreme programs. Back in 2015 I was using these programs to get in shape for my wedding. I was concerned with my wedding dress that my arms would be showing a lot so I wanted to tone them up. Now I'm using the program as cross training to get ready for worlds - which is in 94 days and counting! I'm not following the training program as usual. Basically on my cross training days I will only use lower fix, upper fix and abs. My aim on cross training days is to strength those areas for training rather than trying to tone or loose weight.

Let me know if you enjoyed hearing about my old favorites in the comments below. Have you tried any of these products?

April 2017 Favorites

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 - I got my very first Ordinary order in the month of April and so far I have loved every single product I've ordered from them. I've been using the Hyaluronic Acid in the morning before I put on my moisturizer and my dry skin definitely has been feeling more hydrated. 

Tarte Frxxxtion Stick - This I've also been using in the mornings before I was my face. This is a facial cleanings stick that also exfoliates your face. I love the packaging, you rub the stick on your face instead of using your hands which I love. 

Benefit Hello Flawless - I decided to try a new powder this month and I picked this one up by Benefit. It took my three different tries to get my color just right but once I did I fell in love with this powder. It's not too heavy on the skin and has a very natural finish. 

Dior Forever Foundation - I decided to pick this up after hearing Jaclyn Hill rave about this foundation in several videos. I have very similar skin to hers - dry - most of her skincare and foundations recommendations work perfectly for me. I finally used up the last of my Becca foundation and instead of repurchasing it I pick this up instead. It is very natural and has great coverage. A big plus for me is this foundation do not move on my face! I don't typically set my foundations with a lot of powder as I am on the dry side so I need a foundation that doesn't need to be set in order to stay in place. Highly recommend giving this a try for dry skin. 

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG - The Ordinary defiantly has some interesting names for their products but don't let that scare you away from trying any. This is the eye product I've been using day and night. It is defiantly the most affordable eye product I have every used but it has a different formula. This is an oil that comes in a dropper. I use one drop for each eye and honestly my under eye area has never looked better. This has decreased my fine lines and brightened up my under eye. Most eye creams I've purchased in the past have ran be about $65, this one cost me $6.70!

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Moroccan Argan Oil - This is a very similar to the Josie Maran Argan Oil. I've tried this out on both my skin and my hair and I love it. It gives me the same restuls as the Josie Maran oil but the price tag is a HUGE difference. 50ml of the Josie Maran will cost $60 compared to 30ml of The Ordinary is $6.80.

The Ordinary defiantly dominated most of my new loves this month....I should also mention that all you have to do is spend over $25 with The Ordinary and your shipping is free! I definitely plan on ordering way more products from this company and doing their own dedicated blog post. If you've tried any products from The Ordinary please feel free to leave your recommendations below. Make sure you are subscribed so you can keep up to date with all my new blog posts.