Sunday morning conversation.

Me: Looks like things aren’t getting any better in Egypt.
Ben: You should get on that.
Me: I should get on fixing Egypt?
Ben: Yes!
Me: *nod*

I wish I could say conversations like this weren’t the norm around here.

Also, we think the hot water heater is dying. It’s only making a small amount of hot water at a time and the life on them is between 10-15 years. Our house is 12 years old. I’m really NOT looking forward to my shower in a minute because I’m going to have to be FAST and COLD. I like showers so hot I come out with bring pink skin, not BLUE.

And to finish off this little ray of blogging sunshine, I’m pretty sure I have a pinched nerve in my upper back between my shoulder blades. If I look up, left of right I have an intense shooting pain. It’s good and bad.

Bad: Pain.
Good: Getting to be lazy and not move at all.
Bad: SO BORED.
Good: How It’s Made marathon on TV!
Bad: Ben is about to show me how blunt instruments are made. By hitting me on the head with one. Dude just doesn’t appreciate HOW THINGS ARE MADE! I mean who WOULDN’T want to know how metal toothpaste tubes are made!?
Good: Vicodin induced sleep.
Bad: Vicodin. I HATE that groggy pain killer feeling.

It’s a little better today than yesterday and I’m REALLY hoping that by tomorrow I’m well enough to not be miserable at work all day because calling in sick right now is not an option. Mama’s gotta bring home the bacon!

Wow, that sounded cheesy. I better stop now before things get really out of hand!

Happy Sunday, friends.

Taking a nap now.

It’s 4:14PM now. I wrote this at work and for some reason I can’t log onto my WP control panel there because technology hates me. The day has been good to me so far. BECAUSE IT WAS WARNED.

That will make sense in about six paragraphs…

I am SO tired. Had an argument with Ben last night, went to bed with puffy eyes, got horrible sleep, woke up with a MASSIVE headache and with a STUPID blond mistake. I woke up at 4:00AM and realized that I hadn’t turned on my alarm clock so I set it to 4:30AM and went back to sleep. Except I didn’t set the ALARM, I reset the TIME. I woke up later and the clock said 5:26AM and I have to leave the house NO LATER than 5:15AM to get to work on time. I yelled shit, literally jumped out of bed and jammed my knee into Ben’s dresser. PAIN! Then ran around the room, somehow managing to get pants on, found my bra, looked at myself in the mirror, SHUDDERED, brushed my teeth, grabbed my phone to check the time… 4:58AM.

@#&%@&%@$@#

That’s when it hit me what I had done. FUCK!

Then I reset the clock to the correct time so Ben wouldn’t wake up to see the wrong time. Dude only has .75 good knees right now, he can’t be banging them into dressers or doing any kind of jumping.

I have a “nervous stomach” have I ever told you all that before? It can create bathroom drama on demand. When I get nervous, excited, scared or the wind blows south, my stomach is somehow immediately able to make it necessary to find a bathroom RIGHT NOW. So I finished getting dressed, went downstairs and packed some food, then started to head out the door when it hit me in a way that told me to go now before a 45 minute car ride. And then I ended up leaving the house at 5:17AM. Then I got in the car and realized I needed gas. I’m not exactly sure how I made it to work on time but I am thankful that by some miracle there was only ONE other car in the carpool lane all the way to work and he got over when I came up behind him and let me pass. THANK YOU Mr. Carpool lane guy, I don’t know who you are but good karma, YOU HAVE IT!

And there you have it. It’s 8:50AM now and I’m DETERMIED that the rest of the day will not be taking the same path last night and this morning did. YOU HEAR THAT, DAY!? YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

ALSO! My laptop got a virus because I’m awesome and think that anti-virus software is for WEAK PEOPLE. WEAK! Oh, and it won’t go online. Or let me sync my iPhone. So at some point I guess I’m going to have to fix that so that my 365 friends don’t think I’ve abandoned them. I’m still taking pictures, just going to have to wait till I get it all fixed to upload them.

I think that’s it for now.

Have a good day everybody!

Princess Danica has the flu.

I know that you are probably SO SICK of hearing about our dogs but… I’m going to talk about them anyway and I mean, THIS IS OUR LIFE!

For instance, Saturday! Saturday we met a bunch of folks at the dog park to celebrate the birthday of two of our favorite puppies, Max and Reyna. There was a special cake for the dogs and I picked up some cute gifts for both of them. After that we dropped the dogs off at home and met some of the dog park folks at a local restaurant for a late lunch.

Then Sunday! Sunday we met some amazing friends, Kim and Melanie (who we met AT THE DOG PARK), at a local breakfast place. We are dog people now. Especially weekends like this one where Cassidy is out of town at her dad’s house.

Also, Danica is sick. I noticed last Thursday that she felt a bit warm to me but didn’t think much of it. Then Friday I slept till almost 2:00PM because I was in a Benadryl coma to get rid of the HORRIBLE sinus headache (which is back by the way YAY!) and the last half of the day was driving Cassidy to her dad’s house so didn’t really become concerned till Saturday morning that she seemed to have started some odd eating practices.

We are VERY routine with the dogs and they have grown very used to that so when something is different, it’s pretty easy to spot right away. At dinner time they have to sit and then down in the blue room, wait for us to fill their bowls, then when we say “take it” they know they are allowed to eat. They will not eat till you give the command. I’ve accidentally left the room without giving the command and come back like 10 minutes later and they are still laying there and Danica is three feet deep in drool.

One thing that is VERY routine is Danica’s appetite. When you give that command, she is like LIGHTNING on that bowl of food. She also steals chickens off the counter and eats them. And blueberry muffins. And defrosting ground turkey. And the girl has never met a treat, carrot, ice cube, spoonful of peanut butter or piece of chicken she won’t eat. And by eat I mean swallow whole. She has no time for any of this CHEWING stuff.

So when I gave the command Saturday morning and she just sat there I knew something was wrong. Even when I was able to coax her over to her bowl she wouldn’t eat. I got her to take a few bites by hand feeding her a single kibble at a time. Sometimes she’d take a mouth full of kibble and then just drop it all on the floor next to her bowl. We’d finally coax her into eating about 1/2 to 3/4 of her food in the morning then at night and when she got treats at the dog park she ate them but slowly. Like, she actually CHEWED them instead of swallowing them whole.

Then Sunday she started to be really… odd when eating. I can’t even explain it. Luckly, this morning Ben grabbed the camera and got some video:

He called and made an appointment for this afternoon.

Now, I will say that we changed her bowl about two weeks ago and getting her to use it was a chore (ROUTINE! DON’T MESS WITH IT) and so I thought maybe she just hates this bowl! But even when I put her food into her old bowl, she’s still not eating well and it takes a lot of coaxing her to eat it.

Then at the vet today the first thing they did was take her temperature and she had a fever. 103 and normal for a dog is around 101. I felt like an ASSHOLE because I immediately thought back to Thursday when I thought she felt hot and dismissed it as being overly cautious. They said they could give her some broad spectrum antibiotics to cover any infection and keep an eye on her or do a blood test to pinpoint exactly what kind of infection she has. I could tell by his voice that he was trying not to push it on me because it’s expensive and I was like DO THE TEST, STOP TALKING! I couldn’t get the words out fast enough. No question, it’s money which sucks but FIX MY PUPPY.

He took her back for the blood draw, gave her a shot to take down the fever and then got her some water because he could tell she was dehydrated and of course she wouldn’t drink any of it.

Then I sat there.

For 15 minutes.

Scared out of my mind. He seemed concerned, the nurse seem concerned, she won’t drink, she won’t eat the chicken baby food they are offering her, something is really wrong. I am in the room alone with Danica looking at me like this for 15 minutes and it takes every ounce of willpower not to cry. I am scared.

He finally comes back in and… she’s just dehydrated. Other then those results, she is a REALLY healthy dog. One of the healthiest he’s seen in awhile! It’s probably just a virus. Get her to drink as much as you can, mix some boiled chicken in with her food, keep an eye on her stool and don’t get concerned unless she has bad diarrhea or can’t keep her food down and if she’s still not eating and lethargic on Wednesday, bring her back.

I feel so bad for her. She’s not playing very much and she’s not drinking. I did get her to eat all her food tonight for dinner and I’ve been tricking her into “drinking” by giving her ice cubes which she loves but she hasn’t gone over to try and drink out of her dish on her own at all. I just wish there had been SOME definite answer other than “she probably has a virus, keep an eye on her”.

And I’m SUCH a worrier. I don’t like it when a family member is sick and I can’t be there to watch over them every second of the day. I’m sure like he said she’ll be fine in a few days but the overprotective mother in me is not going to be happy or get any sleep till I see her stealing chicken breasts off the counter again. And not chewing. And chasing Kumo around the house driving him crazy.

And I promise next time I post it there will be NO DOG TALK.

Maybe.

Yeah, that was probably a lie.

The End.

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

For as long as I’ve know Ben he’s wanted dogs. But we started out living in an apartment, then rented a house with a tiny back yard, then moved to Gilroy in a house with a tiny back yard, half of which was a pond. Then we got rid of the pond. Then a quarter mile from our house they built a big dog park. Then I didn’t really have a good excuse to NOT get a dog anymore. See, I’ve always been a cat person. I LIKED dogs, they just weren’t the pet for me. I knew how much Ben wanted a dog though so I agreeded to go LOOK ONLY at some dogs at the Salinas Animal Shelter.

And that was the end of that.

KIDIDNG.

Because then Ben made me go and fall in love with this fool.

And while we thought he was cute as hell, that’s about the time that Hans decided we were complete assholes

I don’t know what his big problem was. How could you not love that face.

Even all the dogs at that awesome new dog park loved him. I can’t believe when I look at this that he was as small as Max once! Max is so tiny!

We started taking him to puppy training classes and we learned SO MUCH. He’s a great dog today because our teacher Amy was FABULOUS! She told us that Kumo was the best dog EVER and even though she probably tells ALL the parents that we are pretty sure in our case that it was true.

One time I gave him a bull’s penis to chew on. Ben was not amused. It took a long time for him to stop giving me dirty looks.

We started spending a LOT of time at the dog park making amazing friends… and playing in the water dish.

Kumo spent a lot of time keeping Ben warm during winter naps which is a dog’s greatest job in life.

He also spent a lot of time trying to figure out why the hell I always had a camera shoved in his face. How could you NOT with that face!?

I discovered that he makes an excellent scarf model.

And Cassidy, who spent years being scared of dogs after an unfortunate bite incident, opened up her heart and fell in love with him too.

Kumo has become a VERY proficient ball catcher and chaser and hoarder. He loves the ball. THE BALL IS KING.

And then something crazy happened. One day, out of the blue, this thing showed up at our house.

And although he still tries to act like he doesn’t care, he totally does. Because who else are you going to torture with and endless game of keep away with a stick than a younger sister?

I discovered that Kumo is also an excellent Christmas decoration.

And I think he’s pretty cool because he never gets tired of my camera STILL being shoved in his adorable face.

Because it’s a pretty adorable face.

Although, he’d still MUCH rather be doing this than posing for me.

I was pretty sure when we brought this home, he was going to write us a two page letter, pack his bags and hit the road.

As it turns out, Kumo decided we could keep her. He likes to lick her head like an ice cream cone. An ice cream cone with claws.

Today, our puppy, our baby, our emo boy turned two years old. And although I NEVER intended to fall in love with this fool because he was supposed to be BEN’S DOG, I have. I am utterly and completely and hopelessly in love with him.

Happy Birthday, Kumo. We love you.

<3,

Mom, Dad, Danica, Hans, KC & Samus

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?

On the way to have Ben’s surgery today we were listening to an NPR session featuring TED2008 winner Karen Armstrong about the Golden Rule and how it applies across pretty much every religion. Particularly awesome to me was the point made about how every religion seems to think that they have it right when really, just the act of thinking that your religion might be The One is breaking that rule since you wouldn’t want somebody else to tell you that YOUR religion is wrong, you should in turn never think that about another.

Did that make any sense at all?

Anyway, a lady called in and pointed out that she is an atheist and she raised her children without religion but still taught them The Golden Rule. Karen Armstrong was quick to say that it’s a concept that really has no boundary. Religion or not, it’s universal rule that EVERYBODY can live by, and should.

And all of this was a very long winded way to bring me to what I wanted to post about today which is the question Ben and I inevitably get when he tells people he’s an atheist and I tell people that I’m agnostic: What do you teach Cassidy about religion and what will you do if she grows up to be *insert person’s religion here*?

We teach Cassidy that she should always ask questions. Question everything, even us! If you don’t encourage that then kids learn at a pretty young age to just accept what people say to them as fact and I don’t ever want that for her. I think it’s important to teach her about religion, ALL religions, and let her ask questions and make the best decision for HER about HER beliefs. One of her BFFs is Episcopalian and she’s been to church with her a handful of times. She also goes to church with her step-mom when she goes, and to Bible school when she’s there in the summer. If she wanted to go to mass with a Catholic friend I’d encourage it and if she wanted to go to worship with a Muslim friend I’d encourage it also.

Ben and I have discussed it and think that an important part of her being able to make her own decision about this is to actually experience different religions and since we obviously aren’t going to church, going with friends or other relatives is the best way for her to do that. Yes, we as an atheist and an agnostic, ENCOURAGE OUR DAUGHTER TO GO TO CHURCH. This has elicited the most interesting responses in people you could possibly imagine and I have to giggle to myself each time we explain WHY we do this and shatter the most common misconception people have about us; that we (non-believers) hate all religion/church.

If Cassidy grows up to be Christian, Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim, Wicca or any other religion, I will love her. As long as there is a mutual respect about our feelings and opinions, her religion will not matter to me and I think that is something every parent strives to teach their child regardless of what religion they are, or aren’t.

Whatta day!

Whatta day. I’m going to write this and then I’m going to pass out.

6:30AM – Leave house, drive from Gilroy to Mountain View for Ben’s orthopedist appointment at 7:45AM. Doctor is pretty damn certain that Ben has another torn meniscus in his right knee.
8:10AM – Drive from Mountain View back to Gilroy to get Ben home.
9:00AM – Leave Gilroy to drive to work.
-Get to 101/85 interchange when Ben calls. They have expedited his MRI, it’s going to be either today or tomorrow. Tell him I’m going to still head to work, call me if things change.
-Get to 85/Almaden, phone starts to ring, immediately know they’ve scheduled for today, start to pull onto offramp. Ben starts converasation with, “Don’t hate me.”
-Get off freeway, turn around, head home. Appointment is at 12:30.
10:15AM – Arrive back home.
11:30AM – Head back to Mountain View for MRI.
1:30PM – Head to Santa Clara to pick up VPN keyfob for Ben to access work network from home and eat. STARVING.
3:15PM – Arrive home.
3:25PM – Head to Walgreens. Ben is not allowed to have aspirin, only acetaminophen. We have 78 bottles of Aspirin in the house and no Tylenol.
3:35PM – Home, blog, NAP.

Total freeways: 3
Total miles: 240

It was a long day. Ben has surgery scheduled for Monday at 2:00PM. This is both good (it’s not the tendon we thought was going to take 6-8 MONTHS to heal) and bad (SURGERY!). This is his third knee surgery, second on this knee, plus the back surgery last year. I kind of feel like we are pro’s at this point.

I’m bummed my poor hubby has to go through that painful recovery time again but I’m really happy this is all happening so quickly. Surgery will happen 8 days after the initial injury which is MUCH less than with the first two he had.

So that was my day. Tomorrow I’m driving 100 miles round trip to work, then 226 miles round trip to drop Cassidy off with her dad. This weekend can not come soon enough!

OH! And my Project 365 shot for the day! I take pictures of this Dale Chihuly glass every time go to Palo Alto Medical Foundation. I love it.