Calm *After* the Storm // Star Wars Rival Run 10K Recap, Getting Vaccinated, + Snowy Photo Spam

 

Happy May, friends! The academic year has finally wrapped and the peacefulness that has followed these last few INSANE weeks has been so welcome. I am currently in my very last 5-day work week until August (summer Fridays, baby!!!), and in my last work week before I take a nice lil staycation next week. When WFH started last year I really didn't think I'd ever want to take time off work if I wasn't specifically going anywhere since I'd already be home. However, after this crazy year, I am SO THRILLED to be having a week to myself. It'll also be my birthday next week, so I'm really looking forward to being able to spend the week doing things that make me happy. That's all I want for my birthday!

A few weeks ago, Snowy (or SnObi-Wan Kenobi) and I ran the runDisney Star Wars Rival Run Virtual 10K! (We made a cute lil TikTok during our run!) I dressed up as Princess Leia and we had an absolute blast (pun intended?). I specifically wanted to run this race so I could get my hands on the 10K medal which features Leia herself, and it finally came in the mail last week! I can't wait to hang it up on my wall. I am so psyched to have it be a part of my collection!

runDisney virtual packaging is top-notch

Such a cool medal! It's fairly big as well - about the size of my palm.
Not bad for a 10K medal!

I also got my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine a few weeks ago at Gillette Stadium! It was a super easy process and the volunteers there have the clinic running like a well-oiled machine. As I waited the required 15 minutes post-shot, I was able to sit and look out onto the field which was so cool. I haven't been to Gillette in AGES so it was really so nice to return. I'll be back later in May for my second dose, and then hopefully the next time I'm there I'll be attending a game! 🤞

The day after my vaccine I attempted to participate in Dewey's, but I was so tired that it made reading extremely difficult 😂 I shoulda known! Regardless of how much I read during that 24 hour period, I did make it a priority to return to my book instead of watching TV or scrolling TikTok, which I think is a personal win. Here's somewhat of a reading vlog from the last two weekends, including my failed Dewey's attempt:

Now that the academic year is over, I really want to prioritize reading where I can! I'll be participating in Bout of Books 31 next week (TBR to come!) and I'm hoping to do a couple other fun reading projects during the summer months. I'll of course keep y'all posted!

I wanted to close out this lil life update by SPAMMING y'all with Snowy pictures. If you look through my photos on my phone, it's pretty much exclusively running related photos or Snowy photos. At least I'm on brand? 🙃 She's just so cute! I CAN'T HELP IT! (And honestly, can you really complain about a Snowy photo spam session?) Anywho, enjoy this pup's cuteness:

Laying on the floor with Daddy as he plays games

I got Snowy this teddy bear the last time she got her nails trimmed and she LOVES HIM 😍😭

There was an ADORABLE 2-month old Husky at the park yesterday and Snowy LOVED playing with him. 😭😭😭

Idk why she was sitting like this but it was adorably funny 😂

👁️👅👁️

Cute post-run selfies with my girl 💖

Just always bringing the sass

We're also sitting our neighbor's dog Harper while she is away and these two are like two peas. I will say that Snowy does get a bit territorial of her stuff and of Brett and I when Harper is over (only child syndrome!) but they absolutely love playing together. It's so cute to see them interact with one another!

❄️Snowy's First Snow Day!❄️

Last Friday we got a really random snow storm, which means that it was Snowy's very first snow day! Snowy was rescued from Tennessee so we're only assuming that she had never seen snow before, and her reaction definitely reaffirmed that assumption! Check out this quick video of her going out the morning of the storm:

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❄️SNOWY’S FIRST SNOW!❄️ I think it’s safe to say she loves it 😍 #snowythedirewolf

A post shared by Riley (@rmfickfack) on Oct 30, 2020 at 5:29am PDT

She absolutely LOVED it! She was doing zoomies all around the yard, eating the snow, and just having a blast with this weird substance falling out of the sky. It was so fun to see her first reaction to snow, and I'm glad she enjoys it because there's a good chance she's going to be seeing LOTS of it while living up here! 

My jack-o-lantern got a little frosty.

Later in the day I took Snowy to the dog park for some off-leash fun! By this time the snow had accumulated by a couple of inches and she was absolutely loving it. I don't think she stopped running one time in the ~45 minutes we were there. We were there alone for the most part, but toward the end another pup showed up and they played super hard together. I'm definitely going to make an effort to bring her to the park during/right after every big snow because she was SO happy! 😍

Friday Reflections // Snowy's First Few Days at Home

 

It's the return of Friday Reflections! And, of course, the only thing on my mind this week is Miss Snowy and her first few days at home with us! We've been doing so much bonding, training, and figuring out being pup parents this week and boy is it A LOT! It's so, so, SO good and we are so thrilled that Snowy is a part of our lives, but getting Snowy acclimated to us, her new home, and the neighborhood is a full time job. Our top priority right now is properly caring for her especially in these crucial first few days, and I'm happy to report that she is doing GREAT!

Snowy and I sat outside in the front yard for a solid 30 minutes on her second day home just to take in the sites and sounds of the neighborhood!

Snowy is pretty timid by nature, which isn't surprising as she is a rescue and we're unsure about her history before she was rescued. She gets pretty nervous on walks, especially around other people and ESPECIALLY around other dogs. I'm sure the fact that she is unfamiliar with her surroundings makes everything so much scarier. She's gaining more confidence each day and with each walk and I'm sure with time and gradual exposure to different areas of the neighborhood that she'll lose her fear. 

Showing Snowy her kennel!

In addition to getting her acclimated, we've been working on training Snowy in a lot of different ways. We've gotten "sit" and "paw" down pat, and we're working on perfecting "down", "come", "stay", and even "roll over"! We're also planning to crate train her, which I've worked on a bit today. We've been keeping her kennel door open and keeping her toys in there so she can go in and out and learn that that is her "room"! We won't really need to use it too often as of right now since we're home most of the time, but we want her to get used to being in her kennel whenever she might be home alone.

Our first two runs together! After a 1 miler on the left, and after two miles on the right!

Of course I'm hoping Snowy can be my running buddy as I train for my races. I'm slowly introducing her to running with really short distances that are really close by to our home. Like I said above, she's really nervous about her surroundings so that's still definitely present on our runs. There's some moments where she has to stop and get cuddles from me before she'll continue on which is definitely adorable, but I hope that she will get more comfortable with it with time. I think I'm going to keep the runs on the shorter side until she's more comfortable, but I'm sure we'll get there!

The thing that we're happiest about is how quickly she's become comfortable with us. From the very first day she has been very cuddly and she sleeps in bed with us every night. While we're still nurturing our bond with her, we are over the moon with how quickly she has grown to trust us. We'll continue working to maintain that trust over time, but she has fit so seamlessly into our little family and the three of us are all so, so happy!

Snowy had her first puppuccino!

This weekend Brett is away camping with his family. We had talked about maybe bringing her on the trip so the three of us could enjoy a summer get away, but ultimately we decided that that might not be the smartest decision and that I should stay home with her. She's been through a lot in these last few weeks and we thought that bringing her to yet another strange place with more strange people would just cause her more unnecessary stress. So we're having a bit of a relaxed girl's weekend at home instead so we can continue to work on getting her acclimated!

Of course we had to try the Disney eye filter on her!

While I'm at home with Snowy, I'm planning to get a lot of reading done. I mainly want to catch up on the reading that I didn't get to last weekend, and try to fit in a couple more NEWTs TBR picks as well. We're two weeks into August and before we know it the month will be over, so while I have this time to myself I may as well get some serious reading done! Fingers crossed that I don't get too distracted 😂

MEET SNOWY! ❄️🐾 Our adoption experience & welcoming the newest member of our pack! 💖

In case you missed it (which if you follow me anywhere, I'm unsure if you could because I've been posting about this EVERYWHERE), Brett and I adopted our first pup this weekend! Her name is Snowy and she is an 11-month old husky mix who was rescued after being left outside of a church in Tennessee. We are so thrilled to have a pup of our own finally join our family! As y'all probably know, we've been wanting a pup of our own for years, and we finally feel like we are ready and able to give one a happy and loving home. We are oh so thrilled to have Snowy (Full name: Snowy Marshmallow Angel-Fickett-Fickett-Angel) as part of our family! 💖

Enjoying the ride home!

Welcome home snuggles!

The windows in our apartment give Snowy a great view of the neighborhood from up above!

Brett and I went through the Survivor Tails Animal Rescue to find Snowy. I talk about our adoption experience in the vlog below, but it was really important to me to go through a rescue to give a dog in need a good home. I'm so glad we matched with this absolute sweetheart of a pup and that we are able to give her a loving home and a happy life! If you're in Connecticut, Massachusetts, or New Hampshire, check out Survivor Tails Animal Rescue to find the newest furry member of your family!

Survivor Tails Animal Rescue on:

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PetFinder

If you'd like to see more of our journey to adopting Snowy and see her first 24 hours or so, check out the below vlog! I will of course be doing regular updates on Snowy and she will be heavily featured in all future vlogs. We are so happy!