Hot Pockets, Stroopwafels, and a Goldendoodle on Steroids

I had a pepperoni Hot Pocket as an early dinner today. Tragically, it was not followed by a Stroopwafel, but by mellowcreme “autumn mix.” Which is fine, but let’s be honest—it’s no Stroopwafel.

Now, apparently Stroopwafels are only available on Amazon for the low, low price of about $26 for a package of 24. Imported, sure, but still. I refuse to pay more than $1 a pop for a Stroopwafel (though, come to think of it, that’s still cheaper than booking a flight on United just to get one).

Gratefully, the peanut butter Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies and Nutty Buddy cakes survived our flights from Memphis to Chicago and then Chicago to Dulles. I finally tried a Nutty Buddy cake last night and OMG, y’all. DELICIOUS. Five out of five stars, would recommend. I’ll definitely be scoping them out at Dollar Tree (per a friend’s hot tip).

But circling back to my original thought—because, “squirrel”—the Hot Pocket and autumn mix had nothing on muffulettas in the Ole Miss Grove or the Yaki Udon with shrimp at Oxford’s Noodle Bowl.

Also joining me for dinner was my goldendoodle, Miss Winifred (“Winnie”), who now weighs 75 pounds because she apparently ate a BLT the other day when my son wasn’t looking. She needed a bathroom break mid-dinner, which is fine, but wrangling 75 pounds of chaos into her harness is becoming Olympic-level cardio.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Why not just let her run free in the yard? We do actually have an invisible fence. It worked beautifully… right up until Winnie stepped on a wasp (we think) whose nest is apparently lurking somewhere in the grass. Cue Benadryl, steroids, and antibiotics—starting the day before we left for the Ole Miss–LSU game. Because, of course. Pets (and kids, honestly) always time their illnesses right before major events.

Thanks to the steroids, Winnie’s appetite now rivals a frat boy’s at a tailgate—BLTs included. She’s also constantly thirsty, which means she’s constantly peeing. I’ve never seen a dog drain that much water in my life. On the plus side, the Benadryl knocks her out for a few hours at a time, which cuts down the pee trips. On the downside, she inevitably refills the tank at dinner.

Here’s to hoping Winnie doesn’t step on another wasp before our next Oxford trip in two weeks—for Parents Weekend and to watch Ole Miss take down Washington State. And here’s to hoping we either fly United so I can score a Stroopwafel, or Delta so I can get my Biscoff fix—or that my husband looks the other way when I add both to the Amazon cart.