The story is that apparently the National Endowment for the Arts estimates that the average adult has only read six of these books. Here are the markup guidelines:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Mark in red the books you LOVE. I marked in PINK--red doesn't show up too well on my blog!
4) Reprint this list in your blog
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (1-4, then I lost interest)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (I have it but I've never read it!)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (part of it)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (part of it)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (I have it)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (I think I have it)
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (part of it)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wow, so I've read 43 on this list!!! Then again, I did major in English (and History) so this isn't too surprising! Interestingly enough, this list made me realize how many of these books I own but have never read (or have only read part of them and then got distracted, probably by life)--I need to get cracking!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
A Picture Extravaganza!
We Did It!!! 
Our House
Getting Ready to Paint Color for the First Time Together!
Pretty Yellow! (Sorry, "Honey Moth")
Formal Living Room
Den and Kitchen
Den
Fireplace in Den
1/2 Bath off Kitchen
My Beautiful Kitchen!
So, Michael finally hooked up the printer which means I get to post new pics of the house! These are the beautiful, newly-painted house and newly-shorn gigantic bushes in the backyard (they're completely gone now but I haven't taken pictures of those yet...I guess I'll have to later!)! The pics at the bottom are of Michael and our newest purchase, the kinda cute lawn mower (and thank goodness, our lawn desperately needed to be cut!)!! I never thought I'd get so excited about a lawnmower. Enjoy!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Interesting....
I stole this from a friend of a friend...the 100 words I use most on here. Enjoy!
P.S. New house pics coming soon, as soon as Michael gets his office set up. Cross your fingers!
P.S. New house pics coming soon, as soon as Michael gets his office set up. Cross your fingers!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Ever Have One Of Those Days?
I sure did today. Today was awful, just awful. I had my whole day planned out and it was going to be a productive one and then...WHAMMO! I got sucked into my own personal blackhole that is work. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my job: I love the clients, love my vet, love the people but I detest being at work when I'm not supposed to be and I REALLY hate it when someone leaves 4 hours before they're supposed to b/c they have to get their car recall taken care of (which could, and should, be done on their day off!) and everything else is secondary to their spoiled, selfish ways. And so, instead of doing my very tardy computer training and packing today, I was at work for 7 hours. Plus, it was one of those days where we were insanely busy and 2 receptionists were truly needed--I'm only one person and I can only check in and out so many people at one time, while 3 phone lines are ringing and I'm taking payments and filling meds. Oh, and did I mention today was a Wellness Hours day? Yeah, that's when we open up our clinic for 2 hours in the afternoon and anyone who wants (usually new clients with new pets) to come in, can. And that means more paperwork and longer checking-in times. At one point, Dr. P ordered me to sit down and eat while he answered the phones for me! 10 min. for lunch for me and I was still doing work the whole time. Woo hoo. The silver lining was that when I talked to Dr. P at the end of the day, he thanked me for coming in and helping out. I wanted to cry. What a day.
Friday, May 30, 2008
So Much To Say....
So much has happened since my last post that I don't even know where to begin....
After much house hunting, time, tears, stress and loads of support from our friends and family, we finally found a house!!! It's in a great area of Dallas, much closer to work for Michael but not so much closer for me....soooo....I'm transferring to a different Banfield! I'm a little nervous, just because it's a new hospital with new nurses, new CSCs, new doctors (they'll have 2 about the time I start), new clients and new pets. The good news is that it's only 4-5 min. from the house, the bad news is that it's only 4-5 min. from the house so I won't have an excuse to bring Max to work with me anymore. :( I'm really sad to be leaving my Banfield, I've made such great friends and I love my coworkers, Dr. P, clients and pets--I've been telling my favorite clients that I'm going to be leaving and pretty much all of them have said the same thing, "No! You can't leave!" It makes me feel loved and today even Dr. P told me that I'm welcome to come back and work there anytime, it was really sweet of him to say that and it meant a lot to me. I think I'm going to keep Sam and Max there, mostly because I don't know if I could ever find a vet that I like and trust as much as him. So, next Sat. will be my last scheduled day and then I'll go the following week off and on to work on my training stuff on the computer.
What else...we went to Chicago for a few days of vacation, which was great! We were so crazy busy going to all the museums and seeing all the sites but, honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus, I got to see my very best friend, Kristy, whom I haven't seen since her wedding 3 years ago. After Chicago, we drove over to Notre Dame to see my youngest brother, Joe, graduate. We got to see my whole immediate family, which was nice because I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. After spending 3 days in South Bend, we headed back to Chicago and spent our last few hours of vacation going to the Hancock Observatory, eating deep dish pizza and getting some ice cream at the Ghiradelli shop. By the way, I haven't yet mentioned how COLD it was in Chicago!! We would wake up to about 45 degree weather and it might, just might, hit 60 during the day, if we were lucky--it was a big shock for this Texas girl, let me tell you! And coming back to 90 degree weather was an even bigger shock--I had to cut my hair off!
That's it for now. I'll go and post the new house pics! Bye!
After much house hunting, time, tears, stress and loads of support from our friends and family, we finally found a house!!! It's in a great area of Dallas, much closer to work for Michael but not so much closer for me....soooo....I'm transferring to a different Banfield! I'm a little nervous, just because it's a new hospital with new nurses, new CSCs, new doctors (they'll have 2 about the time I start), new clients and new pets. The good news is that it's only 4-5 min. from the house, the bad news is that it's only 4-5 min. from the house so I won't have an excuse to bring Max to work with me anymore. :( I'm really sad to be leaving my Banfield, I've made such great friends and I love my coworkers, Dr. P, clients and pets--I've been telling my favorite clients that I'm going to be leaving and pretty much all of them have said the same thing, "No! You can't leave!" It makes me feel loved and today even Dr. P told me that I'm welcome to come back and work there anytime, it was really sweet of him to say that and it meant a lot to me. I think I'm going to keep Sam and Max there, mostly because I don't know if I could ever find a vet that I like and trust as much as him. So, next Sat. will be my last scheduled day and then I'll go the following week off and on to work on my training stuff on the computer.
What else...we went to Chicago for a few days of vacation, which was great! We were so crazy busy going to all the museums and seeing all the sites but, honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus, I got to see my very best friend, Kristy, whom I haven't seen since her wedding 3 years ago. After Chicago, we drove over to Notre Dame to see my youngest brother, Joe, graduate. We got to see my whole immediate family, which was nice because I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. After spending 3 days in South Bend, we headed back to Chicago and spent our last few hours of vacation going to the Hancock Observatory, eating deep dish pizza and getting some ice cream at the Ghiradelli shop. By the way, I haven't yet mentioned how COLD it was in Chicago!! We would wake up to about 45 degree weather and it might, just might, hit 60 during the day, if we were lucky--it was a big shock for this Texas girl, let me tell you! And coming back to 90 degree weather was an even bigger shock--I had to cut my hair off!
That's it for now. I'll go and post the new house pics! Bye!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Please Vote For My Dog!
Well, after a few scary days, everything is right in my world! Thanks so much to everyone (especially you, Miss C!) for their loving thoughts and prayers and support--it means the world to me that I have you as my backbone. On another note...
I've entered my oldest rescue dog, Sam, in the Bissell Contest! If you would go and vote for him, I would love you even more than I do now! You can vote at: http://www.bissell.com/Products_by_Lifestyle/Pet_Products/MVP_Pet_Photo_Contest/Vote_on_Photos/Voting_Period_6/Page_id/47076/Default.aspx?ImageUrl=http%3a%2f%2fimages.bissell.com%2fimages%2fIncludeContent%2fMVP2fPeriod6%2f8008.jpg
Or at: http://www.bissell.com/Products_by_Lifestyle/Pet_Products/MVP_Pet_Photo_Contest/Vote_on_Photos.aspx
On the 2nd URL, click the contest that runs Feb. 12th-19th and vote on #8008 (currently he's 5th from the top on the right-hand side). PLEASE vote from now until the 19th!! THANKS!
Love, me
I've entered my oldest rescue dog, Sam, in the Bissell Contest! If you would go and vote for him, I would love you even more than I do now! You can vote at: http://www.bissell.com/Products_by_Lifestyle/Pet_Products/MVP_Pet_Photo_Contest/Vote_on_Photos/Voting_Period_6/Page_id/47076/Default.aspx?ImageUrl=http%3a%2f%2fimages.bissell.com%2fimages%2fIncludeContent%2fMVP2fPeriod6%2f8008.jpg
Or at: http://www.bissell.com/Products_by_Lifestyle/Pet_Products/MVP_Pet_Photo_Contest/Vote_on_Photos.aspx
On the 2nd URL, click the contest that runs Feb. 12th-19th and vote on #8008 (currently he's 5th from the top on the right-hand side). PLEASE vote from now until the 19th!! THANKS!
Love, me
Monday, February 04, 2008
Prayers Needed
To Anyone Who Reads This:
Please pray for my family--we're going through a really, really tough time right now and I could really use some prayers for strength, understanding and compassion. And please don't ask me what this is about, I'm not allowed to talk about it (sorry), just know that any and all prayers are greatly appreciated.
Please pray for my family--we're going through a really, really tough time right now and I could really use some prayers for strength, understanding and compassion. And please don't ask me what this is about, I'm not allowed to talk about it (sorry), just know that any and all prayers are greatly appreciated.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Goodbye to 27
So, it's the day before my birthday and tomorrow I will be 28. It's a typical January day for me: cold, rainy, dreary but I'm excited because tomorrow it's supposed to be sunnier and warmer--hooray for January birthdays in Texas! I've been thinking today about how different my life is at this point in time than I imagined it when I was younger and how much my life has changed in the past year.
When I was younger, I thought I would be married by 26 and have my first baby when I was 27 or 28; I had no thoughts of my living situation or anything pet-wise, since I didn't really grow up with pets (unless you count fish, a bird and a hamster that was my brother's--I count none of the above, really). Let's see: I was married when I was 23, I have no baby (or babies) as of yet but I do have 2 wonderfully amazing dogs and, hopefully, we will be buying a house in the next several months, with, perhaps (!!), a baby on the way afterwards (and notice that I am NOT saying how long afterwards either!).
I left my job at Williams-Sonoma in Oct. and started with Banfield in July, which just sort of happened, but for which I am extremely grateful and blessed--I love pretty much everything about my job. I was able to go to D.C. again in Feb. and then we travelled to Carmel and San Francisco in Aug./Sept., a place I had never been before. (Well, technically that's not true: we dipped our feet in the ocean outside of SF on a family trip once but that was at least 14 years ago and that was the only time "spent" there.) I've lost friends and gained some new ones and my husband has always stayed by my side, loving me, supporting me and giving me flowers for no apparent reason (case in point: 2 days ago I received flowers at work from him because I had been sick for so long and they were to cheer me up--what an amazing husband I have!). And, of course, how could I fail to mention that my fine, furry friend, Max, joined our family in May!
So I'll be 28 tomorrow, so what? I considered myself to be in my late-twenties last year and I'll consider myself in the same category again this year. 28 is just a number, just an age, and hopefully I'll have many more years ahead. It's 30 that freaks me out.
When I was younger, I thought I would be married by 26 and have my first baby when I was 27 or 28; I had no thoughts of my living situation or anything pet-wise, since I didn't really grow up with pets (unless you count fish, a bird and a hamster that was my brother's--I count none of the above, really). Let's see: I was married when I was 23, I have no baby (or babies) as of yet but I do have 2 wonderfully amazing dogs and, hopefully, we will be buying a house in the next several months, with, perhaps (!!), a baby on the way afterwards (and notice that I am NOT saying how long afterwards either!).
I left my job at Williams-Sonoma in Oct. and started with Banfield in July, which just sort of happened, but for which I am extremely grateful and blessed--I love pretty much everything about my job. I was able to go to D.C. again in Feb. and then we travelled to Carmel and San Francisco in Aug./Sept., a place I had never been before. (Well, technically that's not true: we dipped our feet in the ocean outside of SF on a family trip once but that was at least 14 years ago and that was the only time "spent" there.) I've lost friends and gained some new ones and my husband has always stayed by my side, loving me, supporting me and giving me flowers for no apparent reason (case in point: 2 days ago I received flowers at work from him because I had been sick for so long and they were to cheer me up--what an amazing husband I have!). And, of course, how could I fail to mention that my fine, furry friend, Max, joined our family in May!
So I'll be 28 tomorrow, so what? I considered myself to be in my late-twenties last year and I'll consider myself in the same category again this year. 28 is just a number, just an age, and hopefully I'll have many more years ahead. It's 30 that freaks me out.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Merry Christmas!
Sorry I'm so late but Merry Christmas to all!! We've had a wonderful, semi-lazy Christmas thus far and both of us are off until Jan. 2nd, a Christmas miracle, to be sure!
We left on Sun. morning to drive to Grandma IveLene's house (Michael's maternal grandma) down in the Hill Country. Since her house is only about an hour and a half from Austin, we stopped in our old hometown to eat the most delicious fajitas ever at Serranos, followed by pumpkin ice cream at Amy's in the Arboretum. We also made a brif stop into my old Williams-Sonoma, admired the wonderful and new renovation and expansion of that store and saw some old friends. We then continued onto Grandma's and arrived in the afternoon, just in time to make tapas, which I think is going t be a new Christmas tradition: each person/couple makes 2 tapas that we've never had before and then each person puts $5 into the pot. The tapas are rated based on taste, originality and presentation and the tapa with the highest score wins the pot! This year it was Cory and Sylisha, Michael's cousin and his wife--congrats! Christmas Eve dinner was the traditional fondue and Christmas Day dinner was delicious, as always! On Christmas Day, we all open our presents, one at a time, in order from oldest to youngest. I was the youngest this year and it's always so hard to wait! Plus, there were 7 of us, so it took about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. Usually there are somewhere between 9 - 13 of us so this was a short year! I received some absolutely wonderful gifts from everyone but my favorite gift would have to be my beautiful caramel colored hobo Coach purse with burnished gold hardware from my amazing husband. I might have to put a picture on here at some later date.
Currently we're in Houston and will be for the next couple of days. Michael is in a wedding on Sat. night (it's our best man that's getting married) and he's actually at the bachelor party right now. Mom, Dad and I are getting ready to eat dinner (veggie lasagna, yum!) and then who know what the night will bring? :) We'll be back in town on Sun. afternoon/evening, if anyone needs anything!
Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful holiday season!!!
We left on Sun. morning to drive to Grandma IveLene's house (Michael's maternal grandma) down in the Hill Country. Since her house is only about an hour and a half from Austin, we stopped in our old hometown to eat the most delicious fajitas ever at Serranos, followed by pumpkin ice cream at Amy's in the Arboretum. We also made a brif stop into my old Williams-Sonoma, admired the wonderful and new renovation and expansion of that store and saw some old friends. We then continued onto Grandma's and arrived in the afternoon, just in time to make tapas, which I think is going t be a new Christmas tradition: each person/couple makes 2 tapas that we've never had before and then each person puts $5 into the pot. The tapas are rated based on taste, originality and presentation and the tapa with the highest score wins the pot! This year it was Cory and Sylisha, Michael's cousin and his wife--congrats! Christmas Eve dinner was the traditional fondue and Christmas Day dinner was delicious, as always! On Christmas Day, we all open our presents, one at a time, in order from oldest to youngest. I was the youngest this year and it's always so hard to wait! Plus, there were 7 of us, so it took about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. Usually there are somewhere between 9 - 13 of us so this was a short year! I received some absolutely wonderful gifts from everyone but my favorite gift would have to be my beautiful caramel colored hobo Coach purse with burnished gold hardware from my amazing husband. I might have to put a picture on here at some later date.
Currently we're in Houston and will be for the next couple of days. Michael is in a wedding on Sat. night (it's our best man that's getting married) and he's actually at the bachelor party right now. Mom, Dad and I are getting ready to eat dinner (veggie lasagna, yum!) and then who know what the night will bring? :) We'll be back in town on Sun. afternoon/evening, if anyone needs anything!
Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful holiday season!!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Countdown to T-Day!
So, I looked at my calendar today and realized that it's only 10 days (counting today) until Thanksgiving!! YAY! I love Thanksgiving, not just for the food (though it does play a big part!) but being with family and friends for a whole day is nice. I like helping Mom and Grandma in the kitchen, it's a wonderful, homey feeling just chatting and cooking. Thanksgiving makes me realize how blessed I am: I have my own wonderful family, full of dogs and our love for each other, lots of supportive, loving friends and a pantry full of food; I have no reason to complain about my life when there are others who are so much worse off. Michael's firm is having a food drive at work and he signed up to bring potatoes and rice--4-5lb. bags of potatoes and 4-2lb. bags of rice! At first, I was like, "WHY did you have to sign up for so much stuff?" But then when I was shopping today, I realized how much these items are going to help some families and I wished there was MORE I could buy for them! Every year, Christmas seems to creep up more and more (this year I saw decorations up before Halloween!) and I always feel like Thanksgiving is the forgotten holiday and I wish it wasn't: Thanksgiving isn't a day for families, it's a day for all humankind. It's a day where we count our blessings and thank God for the gift of life. I just wish we could help all the ones out there who need it...
Ok, enough rambling.
I can't believe I didn't even blog last month! I guess a lot has happened. For one thing, I'm not going to be Office Manager, which is fine with me. My other co-worker only temporarily stepped down from the OM position (which I didn't know at the time) and she's planning on stepping back up very soon. Plus, she has 5 kids, 4 dogs and other assorted animals so goodness knows she needs the money more than I do (not that I couldn't use it, but still)! We haven't sorted out if I'm going full-time or not, mostly because we hired another receptionist and payroll was tight before that, much less now. I don't say this to be mean but I really don't know how much longer the new girl is going to last. I was hoping things would work out but she's not really picking up some of the simplest tasks and it's been over a month now. I guess I'll have to wait and see. My boss, who hired me and whom I loved, decided to get back together with her ex-girlfriend and move to Kansas City, MO. It was a huge shock and hard for me to bear, at first, but I wish her luck and love and hope she's made the right decision. I'll stand by her if she ever chooses to come back, I really miss her.
What else? I got over my sinus infection and then got a cold a week ago. I've been trying to lay low and get lots of rest and drink my liquids since then and I'm happy to say that my cold is almost gone now! I also started physical therapy on my back today. Ever since I randomly hurt it waaaay back in April, it's been bothering me off and on and more so these past few days. So, I'm supposed to do therapy twice a week, for now, and my back exercises twice a day. Keep your fingers crossed!
Sam and Max are great and are making the journey to St. Louis with us next week! Sam's been to StL once (and my Grandma LOVES him!!) but Max has never been--it'll be his first road trip with us (and I'll have the Benadryl on hand, believe me!)! Hopefully all will go well!
This past weekend my Banfield participated in the 2nd annual City Wide Pet Day and it was a HUGE success! We did microchipping for only $15 (normally $29.95) and it made me feel good to see how many people were willing to pay to keep their pets safe--what good pet owners! Stephanie got Oliver chipped and he was SUCH a good boy!! It always nice to see a friendly face at these kinds of functions!
Hope everyone out there is doing well. Love to all and have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!!
Ok, enough rambling.
I can't believe I didn't even blog last month! I guess a lot has happened. For one thing, I'm not going to be Office Manager, which is fine with me. My other co-worker only temporarily stepped down from the OM position (which I didn't know at the time) and she's planning on stepping back up very soon. Plus, she has 5 kids, 4 dogs and other assorted animals so goodness knows she needs the money more than I do (not that I couldn't use it, but still)! We haven't sorted out if I'm going full-time or not, mostly because we hired another receptionist and payroll was tight before that, much less now. I don't say this to be mean but I really don't know how much longer the new girl is going to last. I was hoping things would work out but she's not really picking up some of the simplest tasks and it's been over a month now. I guess I'll have to wait and see. My boss, who hired me and whom I loved, decided to get back together with her ex-girlfriend and move to Kansas City, MO. It was a huge shock and hard for me to bear, at first, but I wish her luck and love and hope she's made the right decision. I'll stand by her if she ever chooses to come back, I really miss her.
What else? I got over my sinus infection and then got a cold a week ago. I've been trying to lay low and get lots of rest and drink my liquids since then and I'm happy to say that my cold is almost gone now! I also started physical therapy on my back today. Ever since I randomly hurt it waaaay back in April, it's been bothering me off and on and more so these past few days. So, I'm supposed to do therapy twice a week, for now, and my back exercises twice a day. Keep your fingers crossed!
Sam and Max are great and are making the journey to St. Louis with us next week! Sam's been to StL once (and my Grandma LOVES him!!) but Max has never been--it'll be his first road trip with us (and I'll have the Benadryl on hand, believe me!)! Hopefully all will go well!
This past weekend my Banfield participated in the 2nd annual City Wide Pet Day and it was a HUGE success! We did microchipping for only $15 (normally $29.95) and it made me feel good to see how many people were willing to pay to keep their pets safe--what good pet owners! Stephanie got Oliver chipped and he was SUCH a good boy!! It always nice to see a friendly face at these kinds of functions!
Hope everyone out there is doing well. Love to all and have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Updates
Here are some updates in my life!
1. I talked to my grandma last week. She had been to see both the Pacemaker expert as well as her cardiologist and both gave her a clean bill of health! Hooray! She said she was going to move back to her own apt. this past weekend--I'll have to talk to my mom tonight to see how that went.
2. I'm sick. :( At first, I thought it was just my allergies acting up (which it probably was) but now I think it's developed into a sinus infection/cold. Michael also had a cold last week and I'm hoping I didn't catch what he had--it was a really bad chest cold that didn't sound like any fun at all!
3. Say some prayers for Max, please: I saw some bright red blood in his stool this morning. I called my Banfield and talked to one of the nurses and it could just be some constipation (since he's acting fine, eating and drinking normally and doesn't have any vomiting or diarrhea) but it's still really scary to see blood on the carpet, especially when I'm already not feeling well anyway.
4. My boss wants me to become the Office Manager at my Banfield! It's a really big honor just to be asked (since I've only been working there for about 2 months) and both my boss and Dr. P want me to take the job! I'd get another $1.50/hour plus benefits, vacation time and sick time and I'd only have to work 1 extra day. The only thing that's holding me back (which is quite selfish, I know!) is that I like having my 4 day weekends. I'll probably take the position but first I need to find out what all it entails!
Ok, my tea's ready so I'm going to go enjoy that--here's hoping I can taste it!
1. I talked to my grandma last week. She had been to see both the Pacemaker expert as well as her cardiologist and both gave her a clean bill of health! Hooray! She said she was going to move back to her own apt. this past weekend--I'll have to talk to my mom tonight to see how that went.
2. I'm sick. :( At first, I thought it was just my allergies acting up (which it probably was) but now I think it's developed into a sinus infection/cold. Michael also had a cold last week and I'm hoping I didn't catch what he had--it was a really bad chest cold that didn't sound like any fun at all!
3. Say some prayers for Max, please: I saw some bright red blood in his stool this morning. I called my Banfield and talked to one of the nurses and it could just be some constipation (since he's acting fine, eating and drinking normally and doesn't have any vomiting or diarrhea) but it's still really scary to see blood on the carpet, especially when I'm already not feeling well anyway.
4. My boss wants me to become the Office Manager at my Banfield! It's a really big honor just to be asked (since I've only been working there for about 2 months) and both my boss and Dr. P want me to take the job! I'd get another $1.50/hour plus benefits, vacation time and sick time and I'd only have to work 1 extra day. The only thing that's holding me back (which is quite selfish, I know!) is that I like having my 4 day weekends. I'll probably take the position but first I need to find out what all it entails!
Ok, my tea's ready so I'm going to go enjoy that--here's hoping I can taste it!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Going Home!
Well, I'm leaving for home in about 45 min.! It's always bittersweet leaving but knowing that I get to see Michael and the boys this afternoon makes me so very, very happy. Grandma seems to be doing well: she had her first in-house physical therapy session yesterday where she had to walk and the caregiver also checked how strong her resistance is (i.e. having Gma push and pull on her, etc.); when she found out Gma's age, she was very pleased with the results! Grandma has to remember to walk every hour, at least for a little bit, so I'm going to try and call her to remind her to do that when I can. Like I said before, I'm SO glad that I came here. What with everyone else's lives going crazy, sometimes I was the only one who was free to spend time with her and I'd much rather her have someone to talk to instead of watching tv all day. Everyone keeps thanking me for coming and, honestly, it's a little embarassing. I mean, who wouldn't come knowing that their grandma was sick? I'm just fortunate that I had the employment and financial abilities to do so. So anyway, I'll try to keep blogging about how Grandma is doing but it might be a little while. Just say some prayers that she gets stronger and stronger each day, without overdoing it. Love to all and many, many thanks.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
More Grandma Stuff
Grandma's home!!! Grandma was discharged today from St. John's and she'll be staying with my parents for probably a month or so. The stent surgery and recovery went well and she'll be having physical therapy 3 times a week for her to get stronger. We met a whole slew of people today (I was there for about 7 hours today) and got tons of information, it's just going take a while to process. The home health caregiver (i.e. physical therapist) will be coming for the first time on Sat., so I'm going to stay at least until then to help out wherever I can. I still don't have a place to sleep right now--hopefully we'll figure out something pretty soon! Later taters!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Update on Grandma
Well, after I got done with work last night (at the lovely hour of 8pm, nothing to do with my amazing coworkers, don't worry!), I talked to my mom who told me that grandma was going to be getting a cardiac cath done today (which is where they put something up through the leg, to the heart to see how much blockage there is). If there was only a little blockage, there were going to do either an angioplasty (balloon) or stent (to hold the vein/artery open and widen it, from what I understand) (I think I blogged about this before--and if I did, sorry for repeating myself) and if there was too much blockage, they wouldn't be able to do anything and grandma would basically be a walking time bomb b/c they wouldn't be able to do another bypass due to her age. So, after I cried (again), I bought a ticket and wonderful Michael and I left for the airport at 4:50am. I got in around 8am, dad picked me up, and we were in the hospital room by about 8:45am.
Grandma was SO surprised to see me (they didn't tell her I was coming in so she worry about that--she always worries when I fly) and she actually said, and I quote, "If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake!" That's my grandma for you!!! I laughed so hard and it was nice to be happy again. I'm really glad I came up here, it's been good for my heart and soul just to be with everybody and not worry (so much that I wasn't eating) about the phone ringing with bad news and to be able to see grandma face to face has really put my mind at ease, at least a little. Grandma and I got to talk for a while (about 2 hours) before they took her to get her cardiac cath done and when she came back, they said they had put 2 stents in already too (vein and main artery)! We were so happy b/c if something had to be done, we had been hoping that it would be a stent and not an angioplasty, since that's supposed to be better.
Now grandma has to rest for a while and needs peace and quiet while she's recovering. This is a critical time for her so most of us left the hospital, except for Mom and Uncle John. We'll probably go up again tonight to see her. I still don't know how long I'm going to be here--I bought a one way ticket since I was (and still am) unsure of the prognosis. Grandma will be staying at my parents' house when she's released which means I should leave shortly after that since we're running out of beds! (This is also due to the fact that both Joe and his girlfriend, Rose, are here right now--she's sweet, I've never met her before--taking up 2 of the 5 beds available). That's where I am right now. Please say some more prayers that grandma stays healthy and recovers well--prayers really do work! Later!
Grandma was SO surprised to see me (they didn't tell her I was coming in so she worry about that--she always worries when I fly) and she actually said, and I quote, "If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake!" That's my grandma for you!!! I laughed so hard and it was nice to be happy again. I'm really glad I came up here, it's been good for my heart and soul just to be with everybody and not worry (so much that I wasn't eating) about the phone ringing with bad news and to be able to see grandma face to face has really put my mind at ease, at least a little. Grandma and I got to talk for a while (about 2 hours) before they took her to get her cardiac cath done and when she came back, they said they had put 2 stents in already too (vein and main artery)! We were so happy b/c if something had to be done, we had been hoping that it would be a stent and not an angioplasty, since that's supposed to be better.
Now grandma has to rest for a while and needs peace and quiet while she's recovering. This is a critical time for her so most of us left the hospital, except for Mom and Uncle John. We'll probably go up again tonight to see her. I still don't know how long I'm going to be here--I bought a one way ticket since I was (and still am) unsure of the prognosis. Grandma will be staying at my parents' house when she's released which means I should leave shortly after that since we're running out of beds! (This is also due to the fact that both Joe and his girlfriend, Rose, are here right now--she's sweet, I've never met her before--taking up 2 of the 5 beds available). That's where I am right now. Please say some more prayers that grandma stays healthy and recovers well--prayers really do work! Later!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Say Some Prayers
My grandma (mom's mom) was taken to the cardiac ICU last night: she'd been feeling very, very weak and no wonder, her pulse was at 38! (I don't know what a normal pulse is supposed to be but I'm sure it's higher than that!!) Apparently, her atrium and her ventricles weren't "talking" to each other so her heart was beating all out of whack. She had surgery this morning and they put a pacemaker in her--so far, so good. The scary part is in the next day or so: tomorrow they're going to do a chemical stress test where they'll see if anything in her heart is blocked. If it is, she'll probably have to go through another bypass (like she did about 15 years ago) or angioplasty or they'll have to insert a stint. None of these are good options because her body probably won't be able to handle it (she is turning 90 this year!) and there's a good chance she won't make it. And if one of these options has to happen, we'll probably fly to StL immediately to be with my family. So please say some prayers that tomorrow will go well and she'll be able to go home soon. My grandma's had a good, long life but I'd hate to lose her in a hospital room. Grandma, you're an amazing, good woman and I love you. We all love you.
On another note, today's our 1 year anniversary of living in Dallas--I can't believe it, this year has flown by and we love Dallas (so much better than Austin!). Whoopee.
On another note, today's our 1 year anniversary of living in Dallas--I can't believe it, this year has flown by and we love Dallas (so much better than Austin!). Whoopee.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Dog Park Time!
Well, the dog park finally dried out enough for us to take the boys! I was a bit apprehensive since Max is a little unpredictable sometimes but we were that at 9am before a whole lot of people got there (and before it got too hot though I was sweating after about 45 min. in the sun) and we walked him around on his leash for a few minutes before we released the hounds! Max LOVED it!!! He was whining and yipping when we first got there but I think as soon as he saw that Sam was fine then he was fine too! It was actually pretty sweet because he followed Sam around for about 10 min. or so and then he realized he could play on his own with the other dogs!! He ran around and then bounded back to us, all the while being very sweet to the other dogs. What a good boy!!! We did have to leave because the boys were getting overheated (thank goodness they're getting groomed next week!) but we'll be back!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
God is Good
So, I just got this email a few minutes ago from my younger brother, Joe. Praise God, He is truly good! Calls can't get through right now but hopefully I'll be able to make contact sometime tonight.
Hi everyone, I don't know if you have heard yet, but one of the major bridges that crossesthe Mississippi in Minneapolis collapsed into the river earlier this evening. This bridge is the route which connects the University of Minnesota to downtownMinneapolis. For the summer, I have been living in an apartment at theUniversity, and I take this bridge to and from work every single day. I amjust writing to let you know, that I am ok and all my friends and co-workers(thus far) are ok too. Coincidentally, I was pretty tired at work today anddecided to leave a little early. I crossed the bridge about 45 minutes beforethe accident. If I had left when I usually call it a day I would have been onthe bridge right around the time of the accident. God truly works inmysterious ways. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer months. Please keepthe people of Minneapolis and their families in your thoughts and prayers. with love,Joe
Hi everyone, I don't know if you have heard yet, but one of the major bridges that crossesthe Mississippi in Minneapolis collapsed into the river earlier this evening. This bridge is the route which connects the University of Minnesota to downtownMinneapolis. For the summer, I have been living in an apartment at theUniversity, and I take this bridge to and from work every single day. I amjust writing to let you know, that I am ok and all my friends and co-workers(thus far) are ok too. Coincidentally, I was pretty tired at work today anddecided to leave a little early. I crossed the bridge about 45 minutes beforethe accident. If I had left when I usually call it a day I would have been onthe bridge right around the time of the accident. God truly works inmysterious ways. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer months. Please keepthe people of Minneapolis and their families in your thoughts and prayers. with love,Joe
Monday, July 23, 2007
P.S.
Max and/or Sam ate 3/4 of a bag of tear 'n share plain M&M's while we were at Wal Mart for 15 min.. Sounds like a fun night (and possibly day tomorrow) for us, huh? My little scamps...
Update: the boys were fine, nothing bad came out of either end (though I decided to bring them both to work with me, just to keep an eye on them...and I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon--they were whining and howling anytime they saw someone, which was often, since they were near the fridge! And, it turns out, Max is the howler. Weird.). Crazy boys but I love them!
Update: the boys were fine, nothing bad came out of either end (though I decided to bring them both to work with me, just to keep an eye on them...and I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon--they were whining and howling anytime they saw someone, which was often, since they were near the fridge! And, it turns out, Max is the howler. Weird.). Crazy boys but I love them!
Just Piddlin' Around
First of all, the new job is GREAT!! I love all the people I work with (at least, the ones I've met so far in my first 2 days) and the customers have been great too. I'm learning, slowly but surely, and everyone has assured me that they won't leave me at any task until I'm absolutely comfortable with it (i.e. all the closing stuff at night, doing the deposits, making sure all the money has been squared away, etc.). I've already had to deal with one puppy death on my Observation Day (which is not to be confused with my first official start day) that was very unexpected and I've also had people offer me: a) a gentle Rottweiler (no, thank you! where would I put it??!) and b) a kitty that was left in a crate by the Petsmart doors and was found when they were opening the store last Wed. (again, no thank you--I'm allergic!). It makes me wonder if I'm going to be tempted down the line to take some poor soul of a puppy home, knowing my penchant for rescue dogs.
I also love that I get to wear scrubs and tennis shoes to work! The scrubs are so comfy I could actually see myself sleeping in them (but I wouldn't, really) and the tennis shoes, while less than comfortable right now since they aren't quite broken in yet, will conform in a couple of months and I'll be better than ever (and, in the meantime, I get to buy a foot massager--not a bad thing to have around the apt. anyway!)
Max just peed in the house (hence the title of this entry) and I'm so tired of the smell!! If anyone knows how to get rid of doggie pee smells, PLEASE let me know!!! I want to actually get rid of the smell, not just cover it up, but the problem is that I think he pees on the floor when I'm gone and then by the time I come home, it's already dried up. And smelly. I never had to deal with this with Sam and I'm starting to run of of products to try!! HELP!!!
That's it for now. Time to make some chili.
I also love that I get to wear scrubs and tennis shoes to work! The scrubs are so comfy I could actually see myself sleeping in them (but I wouldn't, really) and the tennis shoes, while less than comfortable right now since they aren't quite broken in yet, will conform in a couple of months and I'll be better than ever (and, in the meantime, I get to buy a foot massager--not a bad thing to have around the apt. anyway!)
Max just peed in the house (hence the title of this entry) and I'm so tired of the smell!! If anyone knows how to get rid of doggie pee smells, PLEASE let me know!!! I want to actually get rid of the smell, not just cover it up, but the problem is that I think he pees on the floor when I'm gone and then by the time I come home, it's already dried up. And smelly. I never had to deal with this with Sam and I'm starting to run of of products to try!! HELP!!!
That's it for now. Time to make some chili.
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