Happy Earth Day!

When we moved to Kansas City last August, I instantly realized that I had taken western North Carolina for granted. Since moving back, I've made more of an effort to get out and enjoy this beautiful part of the country I'm so blessed to live in.

The weekend after we put Athena to sleep, we went to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and hiked the trail there. It's an easy two loops totaling 2 miles. From the USDA Forest Service site: This forest is one of the Nation’s most impressive remnants of old-growth forest. The forest contains magnificent examples of more than 100 tree species, many over 400-years-old, and some more than 20 feet in circumference and 100 feet tall.  

There are some other trails that branch off of the main trail, but we decided to go back and do those once the trees leaf out. Oh! I almost forgot! There are all these warnings posted..."This is an old-growth forest. Beware of falling limbs and trees." This is NO JOKE. We watched a tree fall not even 15 minutes into our hike. If our hearts weren't already pumping from the hike, they were then!

Canopy shot - trees just starting to leaf out

My boys

Q: Why did the Fungi leave the party? A: There wasn't mushroom. 

Trillium grandiflorum

Athena: January 31, 2003 - April 7, 2014

We had to put my sweet Thena girl to sleep on Monday. It might possibly be the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when she was three and had been on pain medication since that time. Over time she had vertebrae fuse and arthritis set in. When we took her to the pain veterinarian in North Carolina last summer, she pointed out that she couldn't move her elbows anymore. Her right knee was so bowed out and thick that the veterinarian in Missouri thought she might have cancer. So she did an x-ray and thankfully it wasn't cancer, but the difference between her good knee, good hip, and bad knee, and bad hip was insane.

It just makes me realize even more what heart she had; to deal with all of that and still be this happy go lucky dog.

Last weekend was finally the point at which I said, 'She's miserable. We're miserable. I think we need to do this soon.' She would start crying because she couldn't get up to get more comfortable and we'd have to pick her up so she could readjust herself. Bad nights were ones where we'd have to get up 5-6+ times. Sometimes she would growl...not sure if that was because she hurt or we weren't doing what she wanted us to do. At any rate, we called the vet on Monday and scheduled the euthanasia for 9:45am. She could still walk and was bright eyed and 'happy' so I had Chris ask if they could exam her first to make sure we were (or weren't) doing the right thing.

When the vet saw her and I saw the look on the vet's face, I knew immediately that we were going to do it. The vet hadn't seen her in over a year and could see how bad she had gotten. She said, 'Nothing lines up with anything. You can tell she's in pain. It's past time.' So yeah, she got a tranquilizer first and then the phenobarbital to put her to sleep. We decided to do an individual cremation with her ashes returned to us. I plan to scatter them at some point, but only when I know without a doubt that I'm ready. Incidentally, the vet's office just called and said her ashes are here. Today has been an emotional day, so I think I'll wait to pick them up.

I can't even begin to describe what Athena meant to me/us. I'm choosing to believe that I'll be reunited with her one day. Thankfully I have lots of photos and many wonderful memories. :)

Here are some videos (I don't know how to edit them, so you get them in all their uncut glory!):

Athena on her 11th birthday this past January. It didn't occur to me that the cake was too far from her...I felt really bad about that when I watched the video back! 



Here she is enjoying the beach. Fun times!

Not So Brief Life Update

Hello friends!

So a lot has gone on in the last six months.  I don't think I mentioned it but we moved to Missouri in August for a job my husband took.  Unfortunately, the job hasn't worked out, so we'll be moving back to North Carolina in...oh, about a month.  I'm excited but still sad to leave all of the friends I've made here.  There are some nice folks in the Midwest!

There are really only three major items taking up my thoughts right now.

1. Jobs
I was able to get two part-time jobs here.  One at REI and one as a froster at Nothing Bundt Cakes.  I have to say, the best thing about moving out here was that I was allowed to try some things I hadn't had the opportunity to try before.  One of the things I really enjoy is when I get a little sick of REI, I have NBC to break things up.  And vice versa.  Frosting has been really fun.  The people I work with are great and it's nice to just chill at work and frost up some cakes!

2.  Our Fertility Journey
Many people already know what's been going on so I'm not going to shy away from this subject.  I'm also of the opinion that these things should be talked about.  Well, let me clarify.  If you prefer to keep it to yourself, great.  But for me, it's helpful to talk to people about what we're going through.  And I hate having this feeling that I shouldn't talk about it because it's one of "those" subjects.  I don't know...maybe it's just all in my head.
Anyway, I realized last night that this month (assuming I'm doing my math right) marks three years of us trying to conceive.  We were seeing a specialist in NC (did one IUI that didn't work) and now we're seeing a specialist here.  We're set to do another IUI soon.  I'm currently taking fertility pills (letrozole) and an injectable (gonal-f).  That was pretty scary...injecting something into myself.  Never had to do that before!

It's been interesting to note the differences between the two specialists.  The one in NC is all about getting you pregnant as inexpensively as possible.  Seriously.  The doctor said that.  The doctor here, however, is very thorough.  Which is good and bad.  Good: they've covering all of the bases.  Bad: it's costing WAY more.

I guess I should back up here.  I haven't explained why we haven't been able to get pregnant.  That's partially because I don't really know.  The only thing that's popped up in all of the tests is that I have low ovarian reserve.  From the time I saw the doctor in NC to the time I saw the doctor here, my AMH level dropped from 0.98 to 0.74.  If you're interested, check out this site: http://www.fertilityassociates.co.nz/information-for-gps/amh-explained.aspx.  You can see from the graph that I'm in the red zone.  EEK!

*Side note: I just read this..."Very low AMH, usually considered AMH below 1.05 ng/ml, has been associated with extremely low pregnancy chances and many IVF centers flat out deny treatment to women with such low levels of AMH."* 

Oh such a rollercoaster.

I had an ultrasound on Monday and they saw 4 resting follicles in my right ovary and 6 in my left.  For an average woman, they like to see 12 in each.  So that gives you another comparison.

I go back on February 3rd for another ultrasound and more blood work.  Keep your fingers crossed for us that the IUI works this time.  I'm not sure I can emotionally handle any more procedures so this might be our last shot.

And funny thing.  It just goes to show that you never know what life has in store.  Expected to get married straight out of college...got married at 28.  Expected to have kids fairly easily...might not have any.  I think the faster I can come to terms with that, the easier things will be.

3.  Athena      
My rottweiler turns 11 on Friday.  WOO!  But she hurts and basically hobbles to her next spot and lays down.  It breaks my heart.  I love that girl.

So that's my life in a nutshell right now.  I didn't intend on leaving on a sad note.  And really, it's not.  We're going to have a party for her and we're all going to have lots of treats to celebrate her turning 77.  ;)

Take care all!

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

...Athena doing a hurkey.

These are a few of my favorite things

 Why the hell is my dog laying in the fire pit??

 This is the rain chain my husband got me for Valentine's Day.  I love it!  I then bought a half whiskey barrel from Lowe's ($30?) and put a water lily in it.  So far it hasn't flowered and I'm not sure it will based on how much sunlight it receives.  The wreath was made out of grapevines by my dad for my wedding.  I love him.

 I made this raised planter bed from this tutorial.  I have sunflowers, strawberries, basil, catnip, apple mint, cilantro, okra, cucumber, tomatoes, serrano peppers, and some sort of squash planted.  I say some sort of squash because they came up from my compost and I have no idea whether they'll be zucchini, summer squash, or pumpkin.  You may notice my tomato buckets on the fence...last summer I had them hanging but they became too heavy and broke so this summer I have them sitting on two iron plant hangers.  I need to do some serious pest control.  Just need to figure out the best eco-friendly way to do that.

This is my blue hydrangea that I absolutely love.  A late frost this spring caused some burning, hence the left side full of blooms and the right not so much.

 

My rain barrel!  It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it does the trick.  And best of all...it was FREE!  I won it in a raffle at Greening up the Mountains.  

The chicken coop!  I painted 'eggs' on the side.  I'm so cute I can hardly stand myself.  :o/  I realized after the fact that I should've installed the planter box lower so I can open the window without hitting whatever's planted.  Oh well.  Speaking of that window box, I made it myself from leftover boards from the backyard fence.  I like free.  The coop & run...NOT free. 

 The chickens then...

 The chickens now...

Spike is on the box and Little Foot is the brown one.  We think they might be roosters.  :(  We're pretty sure Ducky & Petrie are hens.

Hope you enjoyed my favorites from around the house...thanks for stopping by!

I love my little town.

I said to my husband this morning, "It's days like yesterday that I really love where we live."  He agreed.

Yesterday was the 15th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival.  From downtownsylva.org: "This annual spring festival, named for the way the “spring green” creeps up the mountainsides, began as a celebration of Earth Day and has now evolved into a celebration of our local economy, sustainability, and traditional heritage crafts."

Sadly, in my 6 years here, this was my first year partaking in the celebration.   We started with the Greening Up the Mountains 5k where we got these awesome shirts:

We then headed over to the festival where we entered a raffle to win a 55 gallon rain barrel...and WON!  I'm so excited.  The trash can rain barrel we made just didn't hack it.  In fact, last weekend it busted up the side so we were in dire need of a new one.  I'll post pictures later when we have it set up.  In the meantime, here are some other pictures from the GUtM festival:

I wasn't quite sure what to think of this rack(?).  And they had several.  I giggled a little bit.

 Lunch was YUMMY!  Indian fry bread topped with lots of yummy stuff.

Doing my part to save the planet.  Are you doing yours?

We couldn't leave without getting some kettle corn.  :)

This used to be the county courthouse until a new building was built several years ago.  They recently did a major renovation and now it's the public library.  It's amazing in there.  Especially compared to where the library used to be housed.

I had to get a picture of this beast.  His name is Jake.  His brother Elwood was at home.  He's the biggest pitbull I've ever seen.  

That night we went out to Soul Infusion aka "The Tea House", hung out with friends, ate good food, listened to some jam bands, and sampled some great brews out of Tuckaseegee Brewing Co-op's kayakerator.



Here's to good times and great friends.

To Brighten Your Week

Please enjoy this video of my dog snoring.  :)

No Facebook for a while

Because C & I skipped out on the parties to sit at home and be miserable with colds.  It's gone to my ears so hopefully I can come through without having to go to the doctor because of an ear infection.  I imagine they're interrelated (colds & ear infections) but I really have no idea.

In case you're wondering, I'm staying off Facebook because of the inevitable Super Bowl comments.  It's like rubbing salt into a wound.

It wasn't all bad though.  We got through a bunch of Battlestar Galactica episodes.  I've officially become a fan.  Starbuck just "died"--I put it in quotes because I don't believe it--we have yet to see who the Final Five are, and I'm about to go crazy with the suspense. 

P.S.  I wish my dogs were cylons so they could live forever.

At the breaking point

I love my animals, but I am at my breaking point.

We purchased trash cans with lids to keep the dogs from getting in them & eating things. Capone has figured out how to nudge the lid up with his nose.

This morning, Callie decides she's going to compete in the Indy 500/50m hurdles (we have a baby gate set up at our door so she can go in & out). Not only that, apparently they've added a Wild Card portion to it where she's prepared to climb up door frames.

We must have ghosts in the house because last night Capone barked his head off at nothing. In a dead sleep & this dog barks LOUDLY. He makes my heart skip a beat even when I'm prepared for it.

He is also now grabbing things off the counters and anything you leave on the coffee table is fair game. Athena actually licked the enchilada on my plate THAT I WAS HOLDING when I wasn't paying attention.

Personally, I think they're bored & have cabin fever. These are old dogs but they better learn some new, more polite tricks. It's supposed to be warm this weekend, so these puppies are staying outside!!

Hello 2011!

I've been MIA for a while...not sure whether I just haven't had much to say or I'm burnt out on technological life.  Both perhaps?

My sister had to yell at me to play my turn on Words with Friends.  Not sure what my deal with that was...I think it was because I was consumed with playing the best words possible & winning.  Needless to say, it took tons of time & therefore became not very much fun.  Now I'm just playing whatever word comes to mind (most of the time) and I'm enjoying it again.  Yay!

My husband bought me a to-do list app for my phone the other day.  It's call Epic Win & I think it was designed with me in mind.  They describe it as a role-playing game where you level up, collect loot, etc. as you complete the tasks on your to-do list.  Totally cheesy & totally me.

The house is pristine right now.  Bed made, dishes done, office clean, chili cooking, rolls rising...is it because of my new app?  I'm placing my bet on the thesis I don't want to face.  Moving on.

We watched Julie & Julia on our Netflix Instant Queue today.  I have to admit, I'd love to do that (just the working through a cookbook bit--not the blogging about it bit) but it'd have to be from a cupcake cookbook or something like that.  :o)

Two people asked me over break if I'd consider becoming a veterinarian.  I used to think I wanted to go that direction but after working at a vet clinic and hearing over and over how difficult it is to get into vet school, I decided against it.  Recently I've struggled with "my path".  As I've grown older I've come to realize, I'm smart, I can do it.  I haven't had much confidence in my capabilities up until now.  I'm contemplating looking into the programs at NCSU after I graduate.  I glanced at their website a couple of days ago & was surprised at how many options they provide.  My thoughts on this are:  What's the harm in trying?  I don't want to go through life thinking, "What if...?"  I'd also love the prestige...I'm sorry, but I don't want to be doing the grunt work of an administrative assistant my whole life.  I've spend the majority of my life in school, why not take a break?  If I've truly found where I need to/should be, it'll be fine. 

What am I passionate about?  What makes me happy?  My dogs.  Animals.  Doing wonderful things for all creatures, great and small.     

My happiness

This is usually how they spend their time...together, right under my feet.

Thenagirl

I'm not sure if I've discussed this before, but Athena's been leaking urine at night. Bloodwork was done (to rule out effects of Rimadyl) as well as a urinalysis. Nothing, but we put her on antibiotics for 10 days just to make sure. The thought was better to do antibiotics for a while to see if that takes care of it rather than putting her on another chronic medication. Honestly, I hadn't checked her since the end of the antibiotics to see if they were working. Then this morning I woke up, thought it was strange that she wasn't in her bed, and then saw that her bed was soaked! :o( I'd do a sadder face if I could. It's especially disappointing since she had only been leaking a little bit--last night was the first night that was a major event. Part of me holds out hope that the cat decided to make it her litter box.

The next question becomes do I put her on another medication or just buy washable doggie diapers? The easiest thing would be the medication--but it wouldn't be easy on the wallet.

Poo.

Two beers in...

...and I'm trying to lose my buzz so I can work on my poster.  Ugh.  But I had a good time!  And the beer was Highland's 7 Sisters Abbey Style Ale.  It has my stamp of approval!

My boss sent out an invitation to all the folks working over Spring Break for dinner at her house.  It was the perfect day for it too--no rain, warm enough but not hot.  It was just fun to be able to get to know my coworkers a little bit better.  JUST IN TIME TO BE LET GO!  Haha!  Hopefully not, but there is definitely the possibility.

We played bocce, talked a little gardening (at least me & my boss did--I was supposed to take home some irises, but I forgot), ate, and drank beer.  Can't get any better than that.

Took the dogs to the vet today...over $500 later...we're about where we're started.  Except we realized the bump on the side of Capone's snout is probably a BB.  Blast!  She said we could take an xray to determine for sure.  Uh, no thanks.  Athena has been leaking urine at night so we did some bloodwork on her.  We shall see...

That's it for now.

The life of a married woman

1. I cut off my hair. It's chin length now. I took pictures to post, but I'm too tired lazy to post them.

2. Remember the website alice.com that I blogged about a while ago? Well, I've continued to buy my household items from them & I love it. Especially after the shipment I got today.

First, the packages arrive faster than a speeding bullet. I ordered on Saturday & it got here Wednesday. Three business days. Pretty good when you don't pay for shipping...ever.

AND...AND...get this...I got samples with this latest shipment. Sun Crystals *eh*, Boogie Wipes *uh, okay?*, and A FULL CAN OF CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY ODOR ELIMINATOR, CLEANER, & STAIN REMOVER. I'll be on this high for a while. When you have 2 dogs & a cat & get an entire can of carpet cleaner for free, it's a glorious thing. It says it's made from all natural ingredients, pet safe, & 100% biodegradable, but I never put much weight on that.

That's all for today...signing out.

Bigger problems in the world

I realize that there are worse things than what I'm about to talk about. I also realize there are more interesting things to talk about.

I'm a light sleeper--example: my brother woke me up around 1 or 2 in the morning over the Christmas break from talking to his gamer friends online (his room was the one above mine).

It seems like such a weird thing to be thankful for, but I was so excited to learn my husband doesn't snore. My DOG, however, has decided she's going to snore every night. It started right before break and has continued. I had to start wearing my pink ear plugs to sleep at night. Those started to hurt like heck (and wake me up), so I reverted to my dad's Nascar earplugs with a string that keeps the two plugs connected (I didn't choose them first because I was afraid they would choke me at night--that didn't happen). I also thought they would hurt more since that weren't as soft as the others, but that wasn't the case--quite the opposite. But last night the right one started to hurt and I think I've determined that my right ear is smaller than the left. I also know Athena's still snoring because sometimes she'll wake me up even with the ear plugs, and sometimes one will fall out during the night.

Long story short, I need to invest in some good ear plugs. I'd like to be able to sleep through the night. Either that or send Athena to a shelter. *JOKING!*

Desk clutter

No matter how hard I try to keep my desk clean, the clutter always come back.

Took some pictures one day...

Bee balm past its prime:

Pony!:

A bloom on the mimosa tree that's past its prime:

I love dahlias:

I believe this is a michigan lily:

$419.81

And that's after getting a $15 "interpretation of radiographs" charge removed. :oP!!!! Freakin' ridiculous. Mr. P said I handled it well (didn't sound like a bitch), so that's good. I told the woman that had I know I would be charged for that I would've just mailed the xrays to my old boss and had them "interpreted" for free. Stupid. I'm still not quite over it.

The deal is...

I found a lump on Thena's belly about a month or so ago and took her to the vet today to get it checked out. It's not a lipoma, so the doc did a needle biopsy. While examining her, the doctor said she felt an organ (either liver or spleen) in a place where she shouldn't. They could be correlated or they might not be. So she took some blood and then two xrays to try to determine what was going on inside.

Xrays didn't show much except some major poo (ha) and arthritis in two of her spinal vertebrae. The doctor said they'll probably fuse at some point. The difference between the healthy vertebrae and the ones with arthritis was C R A Z Y!--very obvious.

So now we're just waiting on the results from the bloodwork and the histology. Should get those sometime next week.

I hope it's something manageable--she's not allowed to start her exit yet!

Fun animal pictures

I bought a net to go over the peach tree and Callie thought I bought it for her to play in.

Once were lost, now are found.

So I freaked out a little when the dogs were gone yesterday. It was definitely less of a freakout than last time, but a freakout nonetheless. This time I kind of took the position that if they want to dig out of the yard and run around, then so be it. They'll see soon enough it's not all it's cracked out to be. And I did like the idea that I might have grass again with the dogs gone. ;o)

The plan this morning was to make up some flyers to distribute. Thankfully, I didn't get that far. Chris and I were in the kitchen when we saw Athena hanging out outside the door. We had a beautiful reunion and then Chris and I went walking around outside looking for Capone. No luck. So I feed Athena and then Chris and I sit down on the couch for Chris to eat his cereal. Then...THEN...Chris jumps up, runs out of the door, yells 'Pony!' and Capone comes running inside! I couldn't believe it!

So yeah, they're back home. Athena ate, but Capone has no interest. They both drank a ton. They both are really tired and Athena looks sore (she has arthritis and hip dysplasia) and has a hard time moving around. Capone apparently had a run in with something. The side of his face is all swollen and has dried blood on it. His legs have dried blood drips all over them and his left front leg has a huge scrape running down it.

I called all of the vets in town and left messages that they were gone and one lady called me back this morning and said the white dog was at her house yesterday. I don't think it was them though because the lady was all the way in Cullowhee & she said the rottweiler wasn't around.

I don't have them wear collars because I'm afraid they're going to choke each other, but I think it's worth the risk considering they like to try to get out. I do have an electric fence (in addition to the privacy fence) but I haven't been using it because the batteries in their collars are dead.

So I have two major to-dos on my list: get collars (to put ID on) & get batteries for their electric fence collars.