Welcome

I love being a woman.

I’m a woman who has experience being a wife, a mom, a student, a teacher, and a degreed business professional. I’ve traveled throughout the U.S. and have been to Europe, too, but am greatly fond of western Michigan and its beaches, and the entire Midwest region. My journey is relative to my time, of course. I’m a straight-laced conservative when it comes to education and career, yet a child of the 60’s; a hippie you might say, when it comes to enjoying life. It’s been quite a ride!

My favorite things are my grown children, Ashlee and Krystal, my Colonel hubby, Scott (retired from the military after nearly 30 years but continues to work a civilian job), my mother, Kathy (a pioneer for women who worked in the factory at General Motors from the early 60’s until retirement 27 years later – but who is first and foremost a gentle woman with a strong soul and my forever role model), my pets (Japanese Chin dogs Jake and Lucy, and my kitties, Bliss and Salem), beaches, dragonflies, hummingbirds, and other nature. I might seem complicated at times but truly love the simple things.

My little place in the world, that’s my blog. I’ll be sharing my thoughts about my life, my family, my pets, my job, and how I view the world. I hope you enjoy my stories, my sense of humor, and my insight. This is a chance for us to share that cup of coffee or tea in the morning or afternoon, and reach across the miles that might separate us, and gather close together to catch our breath and a laugh or two. Life is busy. And so are we! So let’s dive in together. And smell the roses, too.

Thanks for dropping by.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Phew!

After a long and teary-eyed weekend spent snuggly and worrying over my boy, Jakie, and pouring over "Vet MD" articles online regarding kidney failure in young dogs, I talked to our vet this afternoon, who said she had good news. Jake's repeat bloodwork came back within normal limits of creatinine at 1.5! 

But, we must be cautious and will redo the tests in about a month. The vet has pondered why Jake would have a 2.2 the first time, and figured that, uh-hem, a high meat diet will cause a false high reading, and if you read the blog from two weeks ago where I had to bribe Jake to take medicine by giving him meat treats, well, that could explain it. Plus, she said Jake was probably dehydrated. So, we will hold our breath until early March, and repeat the test, and perhaps get Jake an ultrasound of his kidneys.

It took a few minutes for this relief to settle in, after thoughts of losing him, and the agony of imaging life without him . . . his quirky personality, his loveable charm; the way he sat on my lap at the vet's office on Saturday, and barked one strong, "WOOF!" at a huge black dog that got too close to Jake and me as Jake made it clear to the dog that, "Hey, this is my master and you're getting too close for comfort, Bub!" Even though he did it with a complete look of panic on his face, he mustered the courage to protect me, and that's special.

When I talk to Jake, he turns his head from side-to-side to try to understand what I am saying, and he is so cute doing this. He has huge buggy eyes, one appears to be a lazy eye, and he has a crooked little underbite. He is not perfect, and that makes him more appealing. He can sometimes be a bit slow to catch on to new stuff, while his "sister," Lucy, is smart as all get out, and catches on quickly, retrieves the ball before Jake realizes it's been tossed, etc. Compared to Lucy, Jake might be a fry short of a happy meal. But they go so well together. And I love them so much.

This past weekend was stressful, and I spent most of it dwelling on Jake and neglecting the other animals, besides his sibling, Lucy, I somewhat neglected the kitties, Bliss and Salem. And Salem had her own drama last week.

Salem was 13 in December, and spry as all get out, until last week when she tried to jump on the bed and landed on the floor, then crawled over to lie on the floor in the corner, which is so uncharacteristic of the bold little alpha cat. When she stopped using her back hind leg, I was worried that she was having heart issues, but then she was limping, so she hurt her foot. A chat with the vet revealed that if she had experienced a heart issue, that most likely, both hind legs would be affected, and she would be SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER!  So, Salem has just been babying her foot.

She just picked the wrong week to get my attention. But she has been snuggling on my belly, while Jake has been cuddling next to me with his head on my arm. Lucy doesn't care so much, since she prefers to lie on my feet, but Bliss, well, Bliss is tired of being ignored, and practically sat on my face this morning as she crowded in on me with loud purrs. I'm still pulling white fluff from my face and shirt.

And Jake is now convinced that I can't live without him, and he's probably right. I have planned on having that little cuddle bug around for many years to come, and pray this will come to pass. I have also learned not to give my dog fatty meats such as pork or beef. I mean this. I will vow to take better care of his sensitive little systems.

Well, I need to run; Salem wants me to lift her over the basement gate, and Jake wants to be petted, so see you next time.

Let's keep it a sunny day. Peace to you.

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