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Our First Therapy Dog Visit

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Hello, hello!

Yesterday, Murphy and I had our very first Therapy Dog visit and it went really well! Murphy was a natural. I’ll tell ya all about it right after I recap lunch.

Lunch

Lunch was a turkey burger (cut up) with sautéed mushrooms, peas, and chopped spinach with a big scoop of basil avocado. Remember when I had that delicious basil avocado on my tuna burger at Rustic Kitchen the other day? Well, I loved it so much, I had to try recreating it at home.

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My attempt was good, but not quite what I tasted at Rustic Kitchen””something’s definitely missing. My basil avocado puree needed more… salt? I dunno. Here are the rough estimates of the ingredients that I used:

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • a bunch of basil (8-10 leafs)
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

I definitely liked my basil avocado puree, but I think it can still be improved. I bought two avocado and have some leftover basil, so I’m going to attempt to make it again. I’ll report back!

After lunch, I satisfied my sweet tooth with a Medjool date. Again, I wish dates looked as pretty as they tasted.

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After lunch, it was time to take Murphy for his very first visit. To prepare, I”¦

  • Doubled-check that I had his business cards and medical records (to prove that he’s on the straight and narrow)
  • Cleaned the eye boogers off his face
  • Packed a plastic baggie full of treats (Murphy listens really well when food is involved)
  • Swapped Murphy’s regular leash for his special 4-foot leash

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And then it was time for a ride in the car to go visit!

Pug Therapy Visit

There’s a senior home pretty close to where we live, so I’ve been in contact with the Activities Coordinator about visiting once a week with Murphy. She loved the idea, so we met yesterday and took Murphy around the facility for a trial run to see how he would act in this type of setting. Like I said, the pug was a natural, and he did such an awesome job! Seriously, I sort of think he was meant to do this. Everyone loved him (obviously, he’s wicked cute), but pretty much every person we approached to make a visit, he happily walked right up to their feet or let me pick him up so they could pet him for as long as they wanted. Murphy is kind of a spastic dog at times, but he was semi-mellow around the old folks. I’d never say “mellow” because he’s just not that type of dog when new people are around, but he was definitely on good behavior during our visit.

Everyone we met (residents, staff, and visitors) was so excited to see Murphy. People’s faces literally lit up when they saw us walking toward them. It made me so happy to see Murphy bringing so much joy to someone’s day.

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After about 35-40 minutes, I could tell Murphy was starting to get tired (he wasn’t as focused as when we first arrived), so we said goodbye and headed home for the day. Visiting is a hard work for a little pug!

Of course, when we got home, Murphy was rewarded appropriately for his hard work. He got two treats yesterday!

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Snack

As an afternoon snack, I ate a sliced banana with sunflower butter.

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Dinner

For dinner, Mal grilled up some flatiron steak, which I topped with sautéed mushrooms and crumbled feta. On the side, I had some steamed green beans and Sweet Potato Wedges. It was a fabulous dinner!

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After dinner, I enjoyed a Brownie in a Mug because it’s the best dessert ever. My friend Kerrie really is a genius.

Question of the Day

When Murphy and I were visiting yesterday, we met an elderly gentleman, who was hard of hearing. He asked me Murphy’s name, and I replied, but he thought I said “Murky” instead of “Murphy.” I tried to correct him, but then he told me how much he liked the name “Murky” for a dog, so I just left it alone. It is sort of a cute name, right?

Has anyone ever mixed up your name?

Over the years, I’ve had people call me “Gina” and “Trina.” Mal gets “Mel” and “Matt” all the time.

P.S. My favorite camera is on sale! Well, ok, the newer model of it is on sale. I have no idea why it’s so cheap all of a sudden, but I bought one yesterday. Best.camera.ever.

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