Boots

One reason to love fall...? BOOTS! and BOOTIES!



Oh yea, they're all out now! Happy stepping!

Embracing Fall



Yes, I am finally embracing that it is fall. It started last week when I finally pulled out the fall décor. I have been in denial because summer was too hot and not enjoyable enough. And therefore, it felt short. 
But the fall brings many things.

Good things about fall:
Better weather
Fall TV
Sebastian’s birthday
Our anniversary
Lots of veggies to harvest
Fall décor
Colors!
Cuddling season
Electricity bill is less

The bad things about fall:
Fleas
Rain
It gets darker sooner.
Gas bill is more
Some nights are too chilly

More to come!

Tackle this to-do list

Tim told me yesterday that he was bored and that he needed something to do. He has been threatening to clean out my “junk” room – also known as my craft room. But if he is SO desperate to do something, I can give him a list.

·         Research wedding photographers and videographers.

·         Research wedding invitation and prices.

·         Look at the wedding budget I sent and figure out where to cut or if I’m missing anything that is essential.

·         Research tuxes for the wedding.

·         Look into wedding honeymoon ideas.

·         Research mini vacation options that are budget friendly. This includes dog friendly traveling (or dog sitting opportunities), accommodations, restaurants (you know I’m going to want at least one night out) and activities.

·         We have one very blank hallway. Look at photo options and frames for this wall.

·         Find new décor for the front door.

·         Research craft room storage options.

·         Read.

·         Rearrange Tupperware storage.

·         Go buy storage equipment and sort out the utility room.

·         Find somewhere to take the rugs to give them a good beating.

·         Look up dinner options – and go grocery shopping!

·         Reassess spending over the last 3-6 months and figure out a way to start saving more.

·         Start watching “Big Love” on HBOgo.com so you will stop asking me about what happens.

·         Find some more TV to watch.

·         Figure out what to do with the medicine at the top of the fridge. Should we just have them the way they are, or should we buy some kind of storage unit for them?

·         Clean out the closet where we store toilet paper. That doesn’t mean throw things out – that means arrange and rearrange. Unpackaged the toilet paper and stack them so they’re easy to get out. Refold the towels so they fit. Put all the left over “junk” or scraps into one or two boxes.

·         Go exercise.

·         Do syllabi for fall classes.

Can you figure all of these things out this week?

We're running now

Sebastian RAN to my room today.

That was exciting and unexpected. This morning around 6 a.m., I woke up to Tim screaming and chasing Sebastian into my room. Apparently, he had escaped the crate when Tim opened it.

He also peed on Tim’s floor – not so good.

Tim was putting him up after his run to my room and was getting him more water when Sebastian stepped out and peed outside the crate – and then took off to my room again. I got up this time, held him as I put on clothes to take him outside so he could finish his business.

Though I was tired, frustrated and annoyed, I was glad that our pup was showing a good deal of progress! Tim even called me to say Sebastian rolled on his back this morning. Not a very safe thing to do, but the fact that he wanted to roll back, is a good sign that he is feeling much better.

Today, we are going to take him off the pain meds and stop using the leash behind his legs. Hope we are making the right decision!

A step back

Not a serious one, but we think Sebastian has maybe taken a step back in his recovery. Sigh.

Yesterday, we let Sebastian sleep in the dining room for a few hours at a time. He stayed there while Tim was catching up on work.

When I got home from work and after took him out for a quick walk, I put him back in the same space. Unfortunately, he stood up and walked around some because I was cooking in the kitchen. And we’re talking about a dog who likes sitting right outside the kitchen in the anticipation that he can get scraps or droppings as I cook.

I think both instances excited and exhausted him, and it’s pretty evident today. When I tried to get him up this morning for a walk, his spirits seemed down. He wasn’t even wagging his tail at the sight of me! Tim has also reported he doesn’t want to move much. Taking him on a short walk this morning was a struggle.

We were told he shouldn’t be moving a whole lot and maybe he moved around too much yesterday. Still hopeful for a speedy recovery…

More goodies!

Sebastian pooped TWICE yesterday. The first time, Tim drove him to downtown Kannapolis (I don't know I feel about that yet...). Sebastian absolutely loves walks around downtown because of all the shade, greenery and sometimes friends along the way. He definitely recognized it and used the bathroom almost immediately.

And he went again in the evening, right before bed. I always tell Tim you can tell so much from his poop - and I probably look too often... But at least I know when something is abnormal.

Also, Sebastian attempted to lift his hing leg on a bush - a good sign of his mobility!

Things are definitely looking up!

Sebastian in good spirits - an update

Progress has been slow, but Sebastian is in good spirits. He is still wobbly when he walks – swaying his left hind leg more than his right. But for the most part, he is trying to walk on his own. We are still supporting his hind legs by holding them up with a leash wrapped around the end of his torso. Here's an example of how this looks:

Photo from original post: http://gimpydogblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/dog-carts-answer-to-mobility.html   

Yesterday afternoon, he wanted to go on a real walk. He walked from our backyard to the street sidewalk. He turned and wanted to continue walking on the sidewalk, but I stopped and took him back inside. He is supposed to be going out to use the bathroom only, so walks are out… for now.

And the best news of all is that he pooped! I’ve never been so happy to see poop! Poop means his bowels are finally working again and the effects of the anesthesia are really moving out of his system. The anesthesia slowed everything down in his body so we were told we wouldn’t see him poop until at least Wednesday. I take it as a very good sign that he has already done his business! Our lil guy even tried to kick his hind legs – something he used to do all the time after peeing.

I love that Sebastian’s personality has not changed at all. I used to always struggle to get our boy up to go out in the morning. It takes like 15-30 minutes before he will be ready to go. It’s seriously like trying to get a teenager out of bed. Because he’s been in the crate and because of his surgery, he hasn’t really done this.

This morning, that all changed. I fought him for 10 minutes to get him ready to go outside. He just sat there yawning, looking at me like I was crazy to be getting him up.

Love. him.

Long weekend, longer weeks ahead

The end of last week and the weekend has been very tough – emotionally, mentally and even physically. It started last Wednesday when Sebastian started yelping in the morning. We assumed he had another back sprain like he had a few years ago. Thursday, when he started dragging his hind feet and losing his balance, we knew it was something more.

Friday morning, we were referred to a neurologist because Sebastian’s spine was clearly affecting the nerves that went to his legs – i.e. why he was walking funny and dragging his legs. Around noon, we were told our baby was suffering from a ruptured spinal disc or slip disc – and he would need surgery to correct this.

Let me try to explain this (ha!). Between each vertebrae in the spine, there is a disc that serves as a shock absorber. The disc has an outer part and an inner part that is made of a gelatinous material. What happened to Sebastian, and is a very common issue in dogs with Sebastian’s body – long torso and short legs, is that the outer part of the disc tore causing the gelatinous material to push upwards and out to the spine – causing that pressure that was hurting him.  The surgery would essentially put “windows” as our vet called it, into the bone to remove the material that was pushing upwards. From what I understand, this will naturally heal and scab over.

The surgery took less than an hour but his recovery will take up to four weeks. The vet called Saturday to let us know they had high expectations for Sebastian’s recovery. He was already walking – which was a very positive sign. It also meant he could come home. We went to pick him up as soon as we could. I thought the hard part was over, but it was just beginning.

Sebastian still lacks motor skills in his hind legs. We are basically teaching him how to walk again – using a leash to hold up his hind legs and encouraging him to walk with his front legs. We were told we needed to confine Sebastian within a small space (preferably a crate) and keep him that way for up to 4 weeks. He was only allowed to go out to use the bathroom and come right back in.

This was a challenge all weekend because 1.) we gave Sebastian’s crate to my sister and 2.) Sebastian is so used to having his way when he wants it in our house.

Our original plan was to keep him in the dining room – blocked off with chairs and tables. I even planned to sleep in there with him (on the hardwood floors!). Unfortunately, he found a way to get where he wanted when he wanted.

For example, right before bed, I thought I’d watch TV. He wined and wined, so I decided to go lay down with him. Less than 30 minutes later, he started wining again. I got up and took him outside to use the bathroom. Another 30 minutes went by and he started wining again. I got the brilliant idea to keep him confined to just under the dining room table, so I blocked it off with everything I could think of. I quickly ran to the bathroom and as I was sitting there, I heard some shuffling. I immediately ran out to find Sebastian who had walked from the dining room, through the kitchen and down the hall to Tim’s room. I woke Tim up – who had been sleeping soundly in his bed for about two hours at this point – to let him know Sebastian was in there. Of course Tim got mad, but I was delirious! We agreed to let Sebastian sleep under Tim’s bed that night and decided we need to resolve the crate issue ASAP.

Thank goodness Tim’s brother had a large crate. It was delivered mid-day Sunday and I finally felt like I could actually do stuff around the house, instead of sitting with Sebastian in the living room all day. I didn’t think he would have the energy to get out of the crate so I left the door open and started to clean and do the dishes. Less than 5 minutes later, I looked up and found Sebastian staring at me in the kitchen. Ugh. Lesson learned – always close the door.

We fought this with our guy all weekend, but thanks to the crate, we’re feeling more confident about his healing process. And we’re finally starting to sleep again. I think Tim and I were both were able to get at least 7 hours of sleep last night – probably the most sleep I’ve had since last Thursday.

And then we were woken up by the sound of a wining dog. But this morning, he showed great signs of progress. He walked more than he has all weekend and his hind legs are starting to hold up his body better. My fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. More signs to come this week – I hope. They include pooping – I’ve never been so nervous about seeing my dog poop!, and just being able to walk on his own more often.

Long post, I know. But I just wanted to get my thoughts down about Sebastian. He’s my world after all. It’s been a hard weekend – don’t know if I’ll ever make it as a mom, I barely survived the weekend – but I’m staying positive!

A very random post - things on my bed

I haven’t blogged in a while, so here’s a short one. Everyone has their strange quirks. Here is a weird quirk of mine. I like to use my bed as a storage unit. Specifically, I put a lot of things under my pillows just as I’m falling asleep. So, on a random day, here is a list of random things you might be able to find under my pillow and/or sheets! LOL

• Remote control
• Hair tie
• Cell phone
• A magazine
• A book
• Glasses
• Water bottle
• Sebastian (or he puts himself there)

No wonder the boy can never sleep in my bed.

Our Wedding FAQ

Let me tell you – the expectations have been set very high for our wedding. So many have told me that they just know our wedding is going to be fun. My sister even had a dream and came to me with a vision of how our big day should be. And I’m just having anxiety over this – and we’ve not even started planning yet. All I could think was, let the craziness begin!

I think one thing I’ve been kind of surprised by is the number of questions we’ve gotten since we’ve gotten engaged. So inspired by my friend Liz, who wrote a new baby FAQ, here is my wedding FAQ.

Have you set the date yet? Have you started planning?
No, I haven’t even gotten over the fact that we’re engaged! We’ll probably think about it this summer.

Let me see the ring! Is it real? Where did you get it? How much did it cost?
Hard to take a picture of it, but yes, it’s real. We got it at Diamond’s Direct – and I highly recommend you go there. Cost – I’ll never tell, xoxo.

Where are you going to get married? Are you getting married here?
We haven’t decided where we’re getting married yet. I would be OK if it wasn’t in the Charlotte area, which means a lot of people will not be happy with us… but then again, others will be ecstatic.

How did he propose?
He made a slideshow of photos and asked me at the end. Arg. Not my ideal proposal but the story we unfortunately have to tell people.

Are you on Pinterest?
No, I haven’t quite gotten there yet… I’ve been eying the site, but I’ve heard so many get addicted! Besides, I’m online all day and when I get home, I don’t want to be online anymore. So, as of right now, no Pinterst.

Chores

Chores I seriously dislike:

• Vacuuming.


• Washing the dishes.


• Yardwork.


• Giving Sebastian a bath.


• Cleaning the tub.


• Making the bed.


• Putting away clothes.


• Mopping.

Chores I really don’t mind – if I had time:

• Cooking.


• Sweeping.


• Clearing off the dinner table and wiping down the table.


• Taking out the trash – and even putting at the street for pick-up.


• Cleaning the rest of the bathroom.


• Laundry.


• Walking the dog.


• Gardening (more of a hobby though, isn’t it?)

What do our dreams really tell us?

What do your dreams say about what you’re thinking? I had 10 long hours of sleep last night and man, I had some crazy dreams.

But the last one I had, and the one I remember most distinctly, was one about the boy. I dreamt that we had all of friends over at our house and I asked him to show the video he made for our proposal. He showed a slide show but it wasn’t the right one. So I asked him to play the right one.

He played another video – but this was the “make-up” video he made the next day after he proposed to try to make me feel better. I remember him distinctly saying that this was the video we could show friends so I would feel better the day he showed me. Wrong – it was the video he made because he is embarrassed by the first video. I remember saying that day that I wouldn’t show people the “make-up” video because he messed up and I want him to suffer in it!

Anyway, in my dream, he played the second video which apparently ticked me off enough that I decided to end the relationship by running away. In my dream, I “ran away” to Greensboro. You know how you will gaps in your dreams? Well, I had a gap and apparently, I was in some kind of accident. But I had tons of mac and cheese by my bed.

Ugh – then I woke up. I went to Tim’s room and curled up around him – almost crying and I told him about the dream.

Ugh, and thanks to the dream – I’m back to pouting, sad and disappointed about how he proposed.

Thin Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

One of my surprises for the boy this weekend was cupcakes - thin mint chocolate cupcakes. Here's the recipe. Try it. So easy.

• Buy thin mint Girl Scout cookies. If you don’t know any girl scouts selling cookies, use your smart phone cuz there’s an app for that. I used the Cookie locater app - for Androids or for IPhone users. It’s pretty cool – and was accurate. I found some Saturday evening at 5 p.m.! (And I kind of felt like a stalker afterwards.)



• Crush one sleeve into your favorite batter of chocolate cake mix – or just chocolate box cake (which is what I did).



• Bake for 15-17 minutes at 350 degrees.



• Top with cream cheese icing – out of a can or make your own.

Want to try your own? Mix room temperature cream cheese (8 oz) and unsalted butter (6 tbsp). Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Then slowly add 1 cup of powder sugar (or less if you want it to be less sweet; I usually only add 3/4 cup).

Sprinkle cupcakes with more crushed cookies ~about 2-3.

Seriously. Delish.

A lot of random thoughts tonight... or this morning

I just found some pictures of Tim and I when we first started dating. Wow, we have aged a LOT in under eight years.

I am having anxiety over our future wedding… and we’ve not even started planning it.

I've only had two types of dreams since we got engaged. I'm either being courted by other men even though I'm engaged or I'm freaking out to or about someone doing something for the wedding.

I really want to be swept off my feet.

I really want to be surprised – by one of the MANY ideas I suggest. Or a great idea that Tim actually puts thought into.

I’m still disappointed and sad about how we got engaged.

But I’m still an amazing girlfriend/fiancée/future wife to be. Today I mowed the lawn. And I really mowed it. I didn’t discover how to activate the self-pull until I had already mowed half the lawn! My 2-week-old garden boots look like they're old now.
And I baked thin mint chocolate cupcakes for him.

And I packed a pretty thoughtful care package for Tim’s trip.

It’s been two months since we got rid of the Christmas tree – and I’m still sweeping up needles.

It’s been five months since we saw Rocky Horror Picture Show – and I’m still sweeping up confetti.

He gets brownie points for buying me tulips.
I’m not used to wearing my engagement ring yet. I only wore it to the store today. The rest of the day, it was off.

I locked myself out of the house today. With no phone. The neighbors tried to help. Luckily, I found one tiny unlocked window and managed to get three panes of window opened (our windows are double paned – in addition to a screen). Arg.

I will always make sure this window is locked. Ugh.

It is so early in the morning that I can hear the birds already chirping.

Headed to bed. Good night or morning!

Monday, already?

I can’t believe it is Monday… already. Here’s how I spent my weekend.

• Drove to my parents house to begin prepping for my brother’s wedding.


• Spent time with my niece.


• Helped and attended my brother’s wedding – Friday evening through Saturday evening. Went to bed Friday at 2 a.m., woke up at 6 a.m. Saturday to start again.


• Enjoyed Saturday night with friends celebrating a birthday. No idea how we had energy to do this but it was worth it.


• Did tons of laundry (3 weeks worth!).


• Mix new soil with old soil in garden better for maintain or improve garden soil.


• Seeded plants for spring gardening.


• Planted flower bulbs in front yard.


• Bought and started to re-mulch the front yard.


• Bought lawn edging to better contain mulch in front yard.


• Dinner with friends Sunday night.


• Watched two hours of TV after dinner.

sigh. Not enough time. sigh.

Seriously

I need to stop being so sad / mad. It's affecting others. Arg.

SSDD

Commence pouting day 3.

And somehow, it's worst. Ugh.

Worst engagement story

So disappointed

I know I am pushy. I know I set high expectations. I know I put a lot of pressure on him.

But I deserve the best. And he still smokes – for the pressure and stress. And I deserve a good proposal.

And it wasn’t good.

No more to-do lists!

Last year, I put together a list of things I wanted to do before the end of the year. I should really stop doing these. I suck at them. I completed some of them, so here’s the update – and no updates on if I’m going to complete them. I’m done with lists… for now. LOL

Use the steamer my mother bought me.
No longer on the list. My sister has the steamer now.

Use the backyard for something – anything!
The weather was too weird to try to do anything. Hot, cold, super cold, rainy, repeat.

Make a chocolate cake from scratch.
Nope.

Make a new icing.

Done and done.

Make paella.
Still would like to try… one day.

Use lobster.
Done and done. I made two dishes – broiled lobster in a butter cream sauce, and creamy lobster pasta.

Try a new restaurant every month.
Yup, completed. Can’t remember the restaurants, but I know I definitely did this one. Here are a few:
Chow Down Uptown @ The Music Factory – Charlotte, NC (food truck festival in Charlotte)
Captain’s Galley – Concord, NC
Spice 9 Indian Cuisine – Concord, NC
Village Inn Pizza Parlor – Statesville, NC
Petwer Rose Bistro – Charlotte, NC
Clock of Gaffney – in Gaffney, SC

Shop at the farmer’s market.
Did it. And doing it again this weekend, I think. I am venturing the Charlotte Farmer’s Market this weekend for flowers.

Pay off all of our (the boy and I) medical bills.
Ugh, still working on mine. The boys’ bills are done.

Give back to the arts.
We didn’t have much time to do this. I was thisclose to going to see the Nutcracker, but didn’t quite make it. Still hoping to enjoy the arts more in the New Year.

Lose five more pounds.
Haha, this was a joke. I gained! Boo.

Making any more lists? Not anytime soon!

Happy New Year… Nearly a Month Late

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged – and it’s mostly because I’ve been super busy. The holidays were so busy and crazy. I went through physical and emotional lows and highs. We had many sicknesses. We traveled a lot more than we anticipated. I worked – a lot.

But most of all, we got spend time with a lot of people we love. We are so blessed with so many wonderful friends and family and that we got to ring in the new year with them.

So where does this leave us in the New Year? Happy. Life is good.

I lost my grandmother, but I still have my wonderful family and friends.

My parents are still awesome.

My sister is preggers and expecting a boy.

Sebastian is still with us – fat and healthy.

And the love of my life is still the love of my life.