Mayo and Other Recipes

I realized I don`t have just a plain old mayo recipe on here.  Not sure where I stole this one from but it`s pretty basic.

In a food processor, whiz up:
1 large egg
1/2 tsp mustard powder
the juice of half a lemon OR 1 tbsp white vinegar
sea salt (to taste)

Slowly add:
1 cup oil (olive oil and macadamia nut oil both produce strongly-flavoured mayos... I like both but macadamia nut is my current raining favourite).  Continue processing until the mixture thickens and all of the oil is whipped.

Put into a glass jar and refrigerate.

First meal was 6 eggs fried in ghee and a red tomato with half an avocado.  No photo.  The ghee made for some lovely tasting eggs.

Then I had the last of my roast with an entire fresh batch of kale.

Then I had four squares of 85 percent dark chocolate.

Then I came home to cook.  First was the coconut chicken soup.  Used a bit too much fish sauce so it's a little saltier than usual.  Still good though, which relieves me because I'm going to be eating this for at least a few days.  There's lots there.

Ingredients

Click here for a link to the recipe.  I used more chicken this time.  About 2 kilos of chicken thigh.  And here is the full pot and first bowl.

I also made Hardcore Ang's delicious spice mix:

If my horrible penmanship leaves the note indecipherable, it is as follows:
 1 tbsp each of pepper, cumin,
2 tsp of chili powder, curry powder, salt
1 tsp paprika, allspice, cayenne, cinnamon

Then, I used the spice to crust one of those grass fed round steaks I have:

 At this point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to add either ghee or coconut oil.  This stuff is so low in fat, you have to add something to it to slow roast it in the oven.  I opted for coconut milk:

It now looks disgusting.  Regardless, it's going in the oven at 215F overnight and then I'll reduce the juices and it will be delicious, nutritious and no longer look like some kind of prop substance from The Walking Dead.  I'll post a photo once it's beautiful.  And next time I make it, I'll give the ghee a shot in it instead.  The ghee has such a lovely flavour.  It's my new favourite fat.

I also did up the yams.  Mmm, yams.  Peel and cube, toss in pumpkin pie spice, garlic powder, sea salt and cracked pepper.  Melt some ghee and then toss and roast in the oven at 405F until crispy and browned.  Mmm.

Rest day.

Sleep: 2:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (7.5 hours... went out with friends last night.  Had a couple of gin and sodas with fresh lime.  Didn't seem to impact sleep and I had a good visit!)

Ate all the kale. The kale is done.

So, I ended up eating the whole pan of kale so there's no more for today.  Although, this does not preclude me going out and purchasing more.  I'm kind of craving a return to coconut chicken soup, though.  I guess I could always make both.  Mmm...

Pre WOD/Coaching Snacks - Beef and a tomato - Didn't take a photo of it.  It wasn't a huge amount. 

Post WOD was beef, sweet potato, tomato. avocado and an orange

Went and bought some fun new fats.  The ghee tastes like shortbread.  The macadamia nut oil tastes like you'd imagine.  Turning it into mayo.

 The mayo will be put on more tomatoes.  It really it time for some variation.  But not quite yet.  Because I did go to the store.  AND BOUGHT MORE SUCCULENT KALE, BITCHES!

Yes, I had so much, I had to put it in it's own bowl.  Here was the rest of the meal.  Oh, the macadamia-nut mayo tastes damned good.  Very nutty!

WOD today... Anne-Marie was worried about grip fatigue from the PLUs and KB swings and Shae has to do something else because of his healing and stuff.  It was just the three of us and I didn't really want to do the mission profile WOD on my own.  So, and this is bad, but I did a WOD that was not on the plan. Anne-Marie did a make up WOD from earlier int he week.  The one I picked.  Well, it's a goat-fest for me.  Nutt's with a 500m row at the end instead of the run.  Aside from the 10 HSPUs, I can cycle through most of it to make it a long cardio-intensive WOD like the other one. And I was slower with 26:04 as rx'd as my time.  The HSPUs took forever.  The deadlifts were easy and unbroken for 15 at 175.  The 25 24" box jumps were find, save for biffing one of them and ending up with a shin gash.   After that, it was just cardio.  Cardio, cardio, cardio. 100 wall balls of cardio.  Followed by 200 double unders and a 500m row.  I get super gassed by wall balls really quickly so they're something I could definitely use practice on.  Ugh.  And then rowing is always unpleasant.  Both things, along with the HSPUs that I could do more of.  Anyways, it was an enjoyable WOD and it gave me a chance to work my long-light metcon with some skill work at the front end.

Sleep:  11:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. - Close to 9 hours of actual sleep too.  Up at 6:00 a.m. but fell asleep again.

Kale obsession

Roasted kale really is that good.  All buttery and seasoned and delicious.  Mmmmmmm....

Okay, this is what my breakfast, lunch and moar lunch looks like today.

 And this beef is thanks to my awesome boss who's family raises hormone-free, grass fed limousin cattle.  Said cow=lovely flavour.  It's very low in fat, though, so I'm glad I didn't go stingy on the fat I used for the roasted kale.

PWO, I had more beef and roasted sweet potatoes with non-paleo ketchup.  This is yesterdays photo.  I was too busy eating it to snap a shot of it.  The serving sizes were quite a bit bigger.

And as I type this I'm eating a bowl of kale.  Also ate a good chunk of it before thinking of taking photo.  So, here's a photo from yesterday.  It was heaping. Likely I will have two

Training was good tonight.
Back Squat 1's @ 230, 240, 250lbs (PR)
x2 @ 90% (225lbs)
x3x3 @ 85% (215lbs)
Muscle Up 3-3-3 (All done in singles)

Metcon of 7 rounds of
7 pendlay rows (55lbs)
7 power cleans (55lbs)
7 push press (55lbs)
20 DU
As rx'd in 7:49.

Sleep: 11:30-7:30 and of good quality.  No dog farts in the middle of the night.

Fran Made Me Her Bitch

I so wanted to say the opposite of that.  40 seconds off my old PR.  Boo-urns.

Food was as follows:

3 meals of roast beast and roast kale.  No photo.

Then I had a small snack of more roast beast and kale.  The other meals looked similar but bigger.  This is pre-warmed up so it looks kind of grotty.  Kale is the bomb diggety.  It doesn't need to be pretty.

Then, when I got home from the gym I had a big feast of roast beef, kale, and roasted sweet potato with some decidedly non-paleo ketchup. 

Training was meh tonight.  Snatch is being a bit of a bugger and then I was slower on Fran than I had hoped.  Dallas said my snatch pulls are coming along, though, so that's good.
2 position snatch @ 80lbs x 5
Snatch 1′s @ 90, 95, 100 (F)
Snatch Pulls x3x2 @ 105
Snatch Deadlift x3x2 @ 125
Snatch PP 5@ 105, then 5-5 @ 85
Fran as rx’d in 4:31.

And now I'm going to have a bit more beef and sweet potato.  Today, I'm hungy.

Sleep 10:30-7:30 but was woken up by Sushi farts.  How can something that cute smell so bad. So, 8.5 hours of actual sleep?

Taryn is the meat queen

I thought I could eat meat.  Just like I thought I could power clean.  Then Taryn comes along and smokes me like, well, a delicious brisket.

Sleep: 10:30 until 7:30... 9 hours and pretty much all solid sleep.  Woke up almost feeling like I'd had too much.  Body felt good and recovered after a couple of hard days of workouts so I`m pleased.  Who knew that meat could induce such a fugue-like state.

Today`s a rest day.  So here goes with the meals.

Beef+orange tomatoes with mayo and fresh cracked pepper... oh, wait, I have no photo.  Oh, wait, I eat this pretty much all the time.  Here's an old photo.  Imagine the tomato as orange instead of red.  It's okay.  Then, imagine it in a square plastic container.  And then imagine three meals of it.  Exciting, huh?

I just finished roasting up two pans of kale.  Damn this stuff is good.  Here's how you make it.  Chop up your kale.  Douse it in butter (clarified would be preferable and coconut oil would be an even better choice but just not as tastey - and don't be stingy... you're a cave person, you EAT FAT) and a bit of sea salt and cracked pepper, then roast until crispy in a hot oven (405 degrees F if you don't have convection).  Delicious.  I ate a bowl.\

Then I ate another bowl.  See how lovingly I am staring at the kale?

Also, I am quite shiny.

I'm now roasting up sweet potatoes, likewise doused in butter.  I should likely NOT eat them as this is not a WOD day (Precision Nutrition habits die hard with me...Dr. John Berardi would be pleased).  A few might end up sneaking onto my plate along with my last amount of delicious roast beast.

I think I have the meat sweats.

Got home from the gym after 9:00 and bloody starving.  Loaded up the plate with sweet potatoes, orange tomatoes with mayo and a shitload of slow cooked beef.  I couldn't eat it all.  I'm sitting here with the meat sweats and the desire is there but I just can't eat anymore.  So yummy.  But so full.

I ate the same beef with baby carrots for breakfast, lunch and moar lunch.  Here's moar lunch, I do believe, while at my desk.

Quick math...  28 ounces of beef at about 7g of protein per ounce so... yeah, 182 g of protein.  I'm a 140lb (at last glance) 36 year old disabled female government office worker.  And this is me leaning out a bit.  Gotta love doing squats.  It's a license to eat.

As for the training, here's what I did today.
Front squats 175, 185, 195 (depth was iffy so I’m repeating next week)
90×2 @ 175
85x3x3 @ 165
Good morning 5-5-5@ 105
Toes to bar 10-10-10-10-10
Metcon as rx’d in 12:19
Weighted DHPLU 2-2-2 @ 5, 7.5, 10lbs

I was at the gym messing around for at least two and a half hours tonight.  Granted, there was a meeting in there, I took my time with the squats and then I did a bunch of mobility stuff after on my shoulders and chest but, still, that a lot of work.  Felt good, though, and I had a really fun night.

Sleep:  11:45-8:00 so less than 8 hours and the last half hour was spent mashing the snooze button on my phone.

STRESSED...

Now it's The Sneak who overnighted at the vet clinic.  Suspected UTI but they are ruling out other stuff. Am pretty freaked out.  Keep telling myself not to worry but Otis was just a little case of gastro and it ended up being the worst case scenario.

Ate three meals of pork stir fry with ground pork, matchstick carrots, coloured peppers, mushrooms, pea pods and bean sprouts. This stuff looks really gross but it's not too bad.  Don't know if I'll make it again.

Then I wodded, coached strength club for Harlan and then ate more pork with a side of sweet potato mash.

Training was as follows:
2 position clean x 5 @ 75% (115lbs)
Clean 1-1-1 @ 145, 155 (F), 155, 160 (F but sooo close - quicker elbows and staying tight as I catch the bar)
Clean pullsx3x2@ 155lbs
Clean deadlifts 3x2 @ 160lbs
Rack Jerks 1-1-1 @ 110, 115, 115 (these were messy)
Metcon of 1000m row, 50 burpees, 500m row, 25 burpees in 12:35 (disgusting) and then 30 unbroken box jumps 3 minutes after (easy!)

Sleep 11:00p.m. until 8:00 a.m. (hitting the snooze button from 7:20 until 8:00... gee, do you think stress plays a factor?)

Ps.  The Sneak is okay.  UTI and bladder stones.  She's on a food to try and dissolve them so here's hoping it works and she doesn't need surgery.  Here's a photo of her:

Rest day.

I actually feel pretty good this morning.  Not really stiff or sore.  Nothing's really inflamed.  Great first week of Games training!

Breakfast, Moar Lunch AND Supper looked like this

Not Really Sushi at lunch

Sleep: 12:15 a.m. until I woke without an alarm at 8:15 a.m.  And it's rest day.  Spent a lot of it with friends, which made a stressful day far less so. 

Double day

Today's a double day.  Taryn and Lela are coming into town so, obviously, we must WOD.

Bowl of slow cooked beast in reduction with tomatoes and home-made mayo (an hour pre-WOD)

WOD 1 was the following:

1000m row (blech)

30 hand release push ups (floor hump styles)

15 chest to bar pull ups (dear sweet hell but I suck at these)

500m row (only half as blechy as 1000m)

20 hand release push ups (I am good at humping the floor)

10 chest to bar pull ups (these just got worse and worse)

250m row (whee!)

10 hand release push ups (the two pump chump round)

5 chest to bar pull ups (deplorable)

My time was 13:25.  With all but the first four of my chest to bar pull ups as pained singles, you know, I have to say I likely have a lot of room for improvement in this WOD.  I used to be able to do these just fine.  Taryn thinks it's my kip that blows goats.  She's likely right.

  

PWO meal: THIS + (THIS - tomato) No photo of actual meal

At 2:00, we did WOD 2, which was seriously just disgusting.  But I enjoyed it.  Invictus makes some fun little metcons.

20 minutes, as many rounds as possible of:
20 95lb thrusters
20 burpees
20 pull ups

Managed 2 rounds + 50 reps.  I wanted three and I'm sure I could have found another 20 seconds somewhere to give myself enough time to mash in other 10 pull ups.  Kinda pissed at myself.

After getting home, I thought about having more sweet potato but the idea of it made me want to choke either myself or someone else.  So I ate this instead with a couple cups of coffee.   Get ready for it...


Ready?  Guess what it was?


I WARNED YOU THIS WOULD BE THE MOST BORING OF ALL BLOG POST SERIES.

Roast beast with tomato, home made mayo and fresh ground pepper

 Ate beast with carrots before going to Tunisons'

The Tunisons' served dark chocolate and bacon (they are wonderful people)

Then I ate MOAR beast when I got home (same photo... different meal)

This morning, I came in at a kilo away from the 63 kilo weight class and I'm over a month away from my meet.  It'll be nice not to freak out and have to cut water a couple weeks before.  I want to work in a bit of a buffer so I can still be a water-retaining, bloated mess come meet day and not really have to worry.  Not that I'm planning to be this.  It's just... Murphy's Law.

Sleep: 1:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. (in reality about 7.5 hours but I feel decently rested and recovered despite a little tossing and turning and a weird dream).

Meh... stew.

Meh... stew.  Have three one and a half cup servings of it to take to lunch.  It's pretty much gone.  Bored of it.  Maybe sushi in a bowl this evening and I'll slow cook a couple of roasts over night.  That sounds pretty good.

Meh... stew.  Ate something that looked like this three times

Sweet potato mash post work out... switching to some other sweet potato thing soon

Something I call sushi in a bowl which is really not at all like sushi (PWO as well)

Today's training felt good.  PR'd on the lift and the metcon.  Metcon is still lagging behind where I hoped it would be.  That'll learn me for shitting all over my cardio for a year.  Loving my recovery these days.  Dang.  I forgot that I recovered well when everything was all lined up.

Front squat 3's @ 115, 2's @ 145, 1's @ 160, 170, 180, 190lbs (PR -felt good), 200 (F - next time!)
x 2 @ 90 percent (170lbs)
x3x3 @ 85 percent (160lbs)
Christine (3 rounds of 500m row, 12 body weight deadlifts, 21 20" box jumps) as rx'd with 140lb deads in  10:57

Then I rolled around on a field hockey ball on the floor for a bit looking a lot like when Otis had an itchy arse and then dug the ball into my chest and arm pits for a bit.  Holy snot that hurts.  Then I cleaned the ball.  Because, eww. 

Sleep: 11:20 to 6:30, fell asleep pretty quick so I'd say seven hours.  Woke up without an alarm this morning.  That NEVER happens.

And then there was... more Italian Stew

Do I have to take another picture?  No, I can just reuse the other one.  This whole taking photos of 30 days of strict, low carb paleo + my tendencies for eating the same thing forever = easy!

The lunch bag that's coming with me to work.  Imagine that the level on the pot of stew is now at the half way point.  Which, I guess means more stew tomorrow.  After that, short ribs!  Nom, nom, nom.

Oh, and because I work at the gym tonight so won't be doing my workout until 8:00 p.m., I'm going to take an extra smaller, round container of food to eat at about 7:00 so I'm not crashing when I'm trying to lift.

Empty Container of Stew at the Gym

Sweet Potatoes PWO

8 sad looking deviled eggs, carrots and cucumber (also PWO)

Coached from 6:00-8:00pm and then fit my training in after.  Landon is also doing competition training and he was scheduled for 8:00 so it was good having someone to do it with!

3 position clean @ 65 percent (105lbs) x 3

clean pulls @ 90 percent (140lbs) 3x2

clean grip deadlift @ 100 percent (160lbs) 4x2

behind the head rack jerks 1-1-1 @ 65, 90, 115 (fx4), 105 - these I suck royally at.  Shoulders felt achy and my low back is really tight.  Dallas said I was hyper extended and acting like I was afraid just to get under it and then, when I did, was refusing to lock out.  *sigh*  Why do I suck at these so badly?

Metcon 5-4-3-2-1 muscle ups with 50 unbroken DU's after each set.  Not for time.  I liked it!  The MU were all singles but felt good.  Weak part seems to be the dip at the end but they were better than when I did Nate or that 9-7-5 WOD of 135lb power cleans and MU.  This is likely due to being a bit lighter.  Still 4lbs off my weight class but I'm down 4lbs from a couple of weeks ago. 

Sleep: 11:15 p.m. to 7:50 but, again, had a hard time falling asleep.  I'd say 7.5 hours?  Maybe a bit more.

Out of soup. Next up... Italian Stew

It's not quite as good as the soup but it's still pretty yummy.

 Italian stew, it's what's for breakfast, lunch and moar lunch.

Massive Pot of Italian Stew

In a pot, saute:
1.5kg lean ground beef
1/4 cup coconut oil
one diced red onion.

Reduce heat. and add:
2 coloured bell peppers
6 diced zucchini
1 large container sliced mushrooms
3 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
1 jar sundried tomatoes, diced (packed in OLIVE oil)
6 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp chili garlic paste
3 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried basil

Cover and allow to simmer on the stove until the veggies are soft and the flavours have mingled.  Adjust seasoning as needed (I like it quite flavourful with some heat). Makes a massive pot.  Really.  I have an oversized Lagostina dutch oven and it filled it to the brim.

And for supper (at 10:30 at night...) I had my last bowl of soup.  Mmmm...

Sleep: 11:00 p.m. until 7:40 but around 8 hours as I tossed and turned for a bit before being able to fall asleep.  I will adjust to an 11:00 bedtime, dammit!

REST DAY!  I feel really good.  Not stiff at all.  Good energy.  Hammie is a bit tight from yesterday's squats but no aching or any pain.  Going to do some mobility work tonight to loosen it up a bit.

I eat the same thing all day long for days on end.

Yes, I do.  Two reasons - I'm really lazy.  I don't like to have to cook everyday.  That and once I make something yummy that I enjoy, I want to enjoy it ad nauseam.  Well, at least until I'm really, really bored of the food.  Last week, it was slow cooked roast beef in red wine reduction with baby carrots.  Mmm, that was good.  Making that this weekend.  This week, it's the soup.  I am set to run out of it midway through tomorrow so Wednesday/Thursday, I'll move on to the next big pot of food.  But the soup will likely show up next week as well since I'm really enjoying the hell out of it. 

The soup... again.

PWO Meal of 6 eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, a tomato with home made mayo and pepper and a bowl of mashed yams.  The tomato was so good I had a second one.

Today was day two of competition training.  LOVED IT.

Squat 3's @ 135, 2's @ 185, 1's @ 215, 225, 235, 245lbs
x2 @ 90% (220)
x3x3 @ 85% (210)
Good mornings 5's @ 75, 85, 95
50 25lb weighted sit ups
"Metcon" of 5-4-3-2-1 HSPU/35 unbroken double unders (used green and purple band for strict HSPUs, DUs unbroken and I did them while holding a convo with Steve V.  LOL!)

Sleep: 11:00 p.m. until 7:40 a.m. but I had a hard time falling asleep so likely closer to 8 hours than 8.5.

The never ending excitement continues

More photos of food.  This exciting train to Awesomeville just never stops!  Um, until it reaches Awesomeville.  Otherwise, it would just be an exciting train...

My containers of coconut chicken soup for breakfast, lunch and moar lunch.

PWO meal after getting back from Tunison's (more soup and yam mash)

While I was at Kelly's I also had a piece of roast beast and some baby carrots.  I didn't take a photo because that's just weird.

Training Stuff
We're starting competition training today.  So, so excited for this!  I love just getting my WODs handed to me and not thinking about it and just doing what I'm told and not second guessing if what I'm doing is going to prepare me or if I'm doing too much/not enough, etc.  This is the one exception to my "no one, not even myself, can tell me what to do" stubborn streak.   Hear that, Aaron?  You are the only person on earth I have ever listened to. Revel in that power, dude.

Here's what I did at Kelly's:

3 position snatch @ 73lbs
Snatch singles @ 83, 88, 93, 98 (fx3 – wasn’t finishing my pull so the bar was out in front)
Snatch pull @ 103 (good height on these - got one up to my chin)
Snatch deadlift @ 108
Snatch push press @ 68 (these felt like I was going to rip off my shoulder.. more mobility work to open up chest and get shoulders working is required because this is ridiculously light)

Helen on a treadmill, 55lb bell swings and DHPLU – 19:42 (bell swings were unbroken, runs felt good, pull ups felt like I was having an aneurism)

Sleep: 8 hours (11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.)

30 days of what paleo looks like... take two

In what could be the most boring collection of blog posts ever compiled, I'm trying this again.  I've seen a few questions about what "paleo" meals actually look like.  For the next 30 days, or until I get horribly bored, I'll post photos of what I eat. 

5 omega eggs fried in coconut oil, 1 tomato, half an avocado and some salsa

bowl of coconut chicken soup  (<--link to recipe... you know you want to click it!)

Another bowl of awesome (MOAR!!!!)

Jacob asked me tonight what kind of veggies I eat.  Today, I've eaten quite a few plants including tomato, red pepper, yellow pepper, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms, zucchini and cilantro. Plants=delicious.  Especially when they're floating in a zesty coconut milk broth.  I made a big ass pot of this stuff so tomorrow and the next day are going to be really boring to look at.  I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the soup, though.  It really is that good. 

Ps. Today=Rest Day
Slept 8.5 hours (1:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.)

This was either going to be really good or disgusting...

I was craving sushi the other day but was a) in mourning and b) wanting to avoid rice since it makes me cranky (really, it does...).  And rice now contains bitter, bitter memories.  Screw you, safe starch.  Anyways. combining mourning with cranky and then covering it with a sauce of bitter memories seemed like a bad idea.  So instead I tried to approximate what I like about sushi with no rice.  As I was making it, I thought to myself that this was either going to be the grossest thing ever concocted or kind of yummy.  It was yummy.

Take some mixed veggies (in this case red onion, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts and pea pods*) and saute them bitches all up in some coconut oil, rice wine vinegar** and sesame oil* and put it in a bowl.

Top with a whole lot of roasted chicken (really, any kind of fish or fowl will do) half an avocado, wasabi, pickled ginger and a dollop of home-made mayo (yes, I make my own and it's way yummier than store bought so worth the five minutes it takes to make it).  Mix it up and eat it.   

Ps.  I really miss Otis.

*Not really paleo (OMFG IT'S A LENTIL AND A SEED OIL!!!!!) but it's not going to make your tight junctions explode or cause you to die from omega 6 induced oxidative stress or anything if you eat either of these in moderation.  The sesame oil is just a touch for the flavour and pea pods are more veggie than anything else.

** I know it's made of rice.  My bitter memories and crankiness are only with ricey rice and not a liquid made of fermented rice juice. 

All of a sudden, I really didn't care about taking pictures of my food.

Otis, requiring a hair cut. He had to be knocked out at the vet's to be groomed.

On Thursday, my dog Otis blarked up all over the floor. His appetite had been off since starting him on a different food. That evening, after going to town on some (according to him) very delicious tripe we picked up to settle his stomach, he went down with some pretty spectacular GI upset. By Friday morning, he wasn't keeping down water and there were some blood spots in what he was bringing up. We rushed him to the vet to get the nausea under control and to get some fluids into him. He also got a shot of antibiotics. Bloodwork checked out. Vet said it was just a GI thing and to bring him back if he didn't start eating by Sunday. He seemed to be rallying and was able to keep down water. Yay! Saturday evening, he started to really worry me, though. His breathing was not good and he refused to eat. Sunday morning, there was specks of blood on his towel and on the floor. He was still drinking and keeping the water down so I was crossing my fingers that was a good sign. We, again, rushed him to the vet. This time, they admitted him. X-rays showed his lungs were filled with fluid. The vet said it could be pneumonia, blasto or something with his heart but, after talking through the options, we settled on pneumonia as most likely and started treating for that. That meant oxygen, and fluids and antibiotics by IV along with sedation and pain management. Eight hours later we got the call. He wasn't responding and was only getting worse. He'd brought up a lot of blood. His breathing was shallow. We didn't want him to die alone in the night. Our vet was great and it was peaceful. I got to hold him, tell him how awesome he was and give him a good ear rub as she administered the needle into his IV.

Otis when he was about eight. This was the last time we could convince a groomer to touch him. Seriously, look how cute he is! And sweet! And love-able. He was all of those things.Except when you attempted to groom him.

He was an older dog - almost 15 - but he'd been healthy. I couldn't understand how the hell this could happen. What had I missed? How didn't I know that something was going wrong? How could he be fine on Wednesday, barking like a goofball when Jill came to pick me up for work that morning, and dead from pneumonia by Sunday. Turns out it was very likely aspiration pneumonia, which can develop if you accidentally bring gastric fluid into the lungs when vomiting. It's serious and life-threatening. For Otis, it was catastrophic.

Otis with some of his most favourite people.

I miss my buddy so much already and it hasn't even really hit yet that he has died. He was an awesome dog. A complete and utter character. I'm dreading the day that it snows again and all of the tracks he made in the snow in the backyard last week are covered and there won't be any new ones. Because that's going to mean he's really gone.

Otis, on the best day of his life.  Of course it's the best day.  He's on a boat!  In the mountains!  With his family.