I have so much to tell you...

But SOMEONE is pitching the biggest hissy fit so I'll have to take care of HER instead of telling you all about my trip to the opera, the fabulous dinner, and our right up close AC/DC rock star sighting. Excuse me while I go and detach a small dog from my big toe now.

We like the new Vet!

Today Mavis went to check out the new Vet. We LOVE this guy! He spent about 45 minutes with us going over every little thing. He even had a book with pictures to explain everything she has going on. It also turns out that her health might not be as bad as we thought. Go figure, the medically obsessed mother of the dog (that's me) had made up her mind that the doglet was already an invalid at 2 years of age. She does have a little bit of a collapsed trachea, but a lot of her problem is likely allergies. Duh. We live 5 minutes from a ginormous airport and 3 major freeways. Who wouldn't have allergies. He personally trimmed her nails, and plucked the hair from her ear canals. Yorkies grow crazy amounts of hair down in their ears. Old men got nothin' on them.

We also talked extensively about her diet. He actually gave me a high five on my choice of dog food. It's all natural, grain free, and mostly raw meat. Dogs are carnivores! We talked about the horrors of commercial dog food. It's mostly filler and grains, and even if you buy the big name brands at he grocery store, you'd be horrified to know where some of these ingredients come from. If it takes you more than a couple of seconds to read the ingredient list, it's probably not healthy for your dog. Unless you are brave and really interested, don't read this article. It will freak you out I promise. The whole website is helpful and full of information, and echos what I read in other places as I did my research, and the Vet agreed. He even feeds his dog raw meat and bones for the most part. We discussed how even the often Veterinary prescribed Hills Prescription Diet is full of filler and additives. Many Vets push Hills foods because they are a big contributor in Vet school text books etc. While I didn't obsessively research cat food like I did dog food, I did run across similar information about it. Cat's are carnivores too. I get sad thinking about Beaux Kitty and Pee Wee, and how I might have helped them live a longer and healthier life had I known then what I know now. They both had kidney failure in the end. Hallmark illness for animals fed a sub-par diet.

My hope is that I will keep Mavis healthy, and prolong her life by feeding her the good stuff. It makes sense. You wouldn't stay healthy eating only Cheetos and Ding Dongs every day now would you? The same goes for your furry friends.

**If you live in the DFW area, Metro Pet will deliver for free, and that's where we get our food**

Mr. Spock and My New Camera

We took advantage of the Circuit City going out of business sale this weekend, and I finally got a camera that would take close up shots of the birds that inhabit my backyard. Here are a few that I took of Mr. Spock, our resident Eastern Screech Owl.







I still have much to learn about shutter speed, etc. I took lots of other shots of Chickadees and Gold Finches that just didn't work. I'll read up and keep trying. You can be sure I'll share when the shots get better.

One more thing.....

My friend Joanne just helped jar me back into reality with her post today. It's not Christmas any more. Our tree is still up, and the stockings still hung. Maybe it's denial, I love Christmas so much. Or maybe it's the hope that Saint Nick is still looking for my house.

The year that could be.

I'm one prone to phases, and I'm wondering, am I a big flake? (don't answer that) Or can we call it spontaneous living? (I like that better) For instance I've put on my life list that I'd like to live in a small historic town, like Stars Hollow. And then other days I decide I'd like to live in the big city within walking distance to everything I need, like Pittsburgh. And there is my proverbial "van down by the river". My constant back up plan. The odds are there I tell you, as I am sure we have a relative somewhere that will let us park our van down by the river when the time comes.

I think the core of who I am doesn't waver, but my favorite things seem to come and go in season. Like, this month I've been on a peanut butter and banana kick. I have it every day for breakfast. A couple months ago it was egg white breakfast tacos on whole wheat tortillas, and then the next month oatmeal from scratch. Every day. I mean, I don't stop liking egg white tacos on whole wheat tortillas, I just become taken with the next one, the oatmeal for instance. I read a magazine article and decided I would eat oatmeal to save my life, and loved it. I'll get back to the tacos eventually. This habit of not having a habit makes for a very cluttered kitchen, pantry, and refrigerator. It also causes me to wander through the grocery store, sometimes going down the same aisle 3 times before I'm done. I do some of my best thinking there. But that is another discussion for another day all together. It makes my husband CRAZY.

Music is another area that I wander in and out of. Jazz, Miles Davis for days. Or I get on a Billie Holiday groove. I once listened to the same Superchick CD for over a month straight every day. I've been craving opera lately. Chris is taking me to see Roberto Devereux next weekend. I have referred to the variety I have bookmarked in Pandora in this post, so I bet you get how far my taste in music varies. And I have to be in the MOOD to listen. Can't mix it all up. I have music phases.

Maybe all of these are symptoms of the clutter disorder I seem to have. I think I thrive on it. I'm constantly zooming through the clutter in my mind, and in my immediate world. So I ask you, might this be the year that I get on one track and stay there? Get organized for once and stay focused? I don't know if I would be me if I did. I'm not sure that life would have the same zest without my clutter.

And here Chris, April and Mavis are on New Years Eve. I began this year surrounded with love, one of the things in my life that does not waver. No phases in the love I have for my family.

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Be careful! Bees with honey in their mouths have stings in their tails.


*Whaaaa? I thought all bees had stings in their tails?*

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

The full moon and a dozen other things that have been on my mind...

The moon was a beautiful full one tonight. And as I read here, the closest to us it has been all year. Had it not been so cold, we would have done some moon and star gazing from the back yard tonight after the nice little dinner date we had. This is the time of year that I miss spending time out in the back yard. If I had a pile of money, I would build a gas fire pit like the one we sat around in San Diego. Nice, that would be real nice. I miss Bernie Mac. I digress.

Speaking of cold, did you hear about the snow in New Orleans this week? Crazy. Have you ever said "when hell freezes over"? You should be careful saying that from now on. I'm not saying the NOLA is hell, I'm just saying that if there is lake effect snow and the lake is Pontchartrain, then hell could be next. I have family in NOLA. They hollered about the snow on Facebook. It sounded like fun.

Speaking of Facebook, I've gone now and done something foolish..got a Facebook page. I barely keep up with this blog, Twitter, and my 2 email addresses. My plan is to manage it all from the iPhone. I will go blind trying to read the tiny screen for extended periods of time, but I'll look cool.

Speaking of the iPhone, I love my iPhone. I have an addiction to the App Store on iTunes. I have 4 pages of Apps on my phone, and 5 of them are weather apps. 4 Twitter Apps, 3 for restaurants and points of interest. I have Ebay, Amazon, and of course the voice activated Google - for when I'm driving down the road and need to Google. I love Google. I've got a novel by E.M. Forster that I'm reading in drive thru lanes. I only have 2 games, but they are my favorites - Ms. Pacman and Crash Bandicoot. There is the virtual Zippo lighter, just in case I'm at a concert and feel so inclined. Ooh, and Shazam. I've never used it but I might need it some day, at a concert. And then there are the Apps I use to listen to radio stations, and Pandora. I love Pandora. I have a Mazzy Star station on Pandora and that's just the best. I also have a KC and the Sunshine Band station, a Family Force 5 station, and a Mozart station. My neighbors at the office hate me. Chris says that Pandora and Satellite Radio are going to kill his career. Why can't they all just get along?

I have achieved electronic clutter. And I'm OK with that.

There were a few other things on my mind, but Mavis has chewed off one of my toes and is starting on a second. Jealous dog. It's probably for the best, the rest was going to be a rant. Nobody likes a rant.

The month that got away.

I let November get away. It just flat went. I have to say that since I've gotten an iPhone, and use it to keep up on Twitter, I've really neglected the blog. It's not that I don't have anything to say, I just am saying it on Twitter more. Shame on lazy, lazy me. I go days without cranking up the laptop too.

I've enjoyed the changing of the season - and everything that goes with it. A couple of weeks ago we spent the weekend up at Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Chris, Mavis and I rented a cabin along with our good friends Johnny and Kellie. Since they moved to Tulsa we don't get to see them nearly enough. It was a good time to unplug and just relax. They are avid game players and taught us a new game - Settlers of Catan. You usually have to drag me kicking and screaming to play games. I have a huge allergy to competition. But I really had fun playing this game. The good company certainly didn't hurt. See Chris and Mavis totally focused on the "rock for wood, no I mean sheep for brick" strategy? Yeah, that didn't work. Johnny beat the crap out of us.

We (I)also spent quite a bit of time eating marshmallows by the fire.

So there you have it, I spent November playing games and eating marshmallows. Or so I wouldn't mind remembering it that way. It's been a tough November. Maybe someday I'll feel like writing about the rest of it. Here's to a better December.

PS.. I did go to see the new James Bond movie this month. I have decided that I want Dame Judi Dench to play me in the movie of our lives, the later years. Also went to see "The secret life of bees". Loved the book, and it was a great movie. From that movie I've decided that Dakota Fanning will play April as a young teen. So really I didn't lolly-gag all of November. I also did some casting for the movie of our lives.

Read in a Fortune Cookie....

Now is a good time for a new collection or hobby.

*this is timely since I will embark on the Artist Trading Card project tomorrow*

Saturday Afternoon Multi-Tasking..My Way

I'm spending my Saturday the way I like it. Just enough lounging, but not so much I feel I've wasted the day. It's a beautiful fall day and I've enjoyed coffee on the back porch, and now letting the afternoon sun come in the windows. I'm home alone with Mavis - Chris is working this afternoon. We're watching LSU play Alabama. That's the most stress I'm gonna let in today :)

I gave the doglet an overdue bath today. For those of you with human kids, you're gonna shrug off my despair when it comes to just how hard it is to keep up with this furry kid of mine. For ME, it's like keeping up with a toddler. I've struggled with her at bathtime from the beginning. We've tried double teaming her, me bathing her alone, in the tub with her, sitting on the edge, the kitchen sink, space heater to keep her warm, no space heater... No matter what, she fights bigtime. This time, I tried something a trainer recently told me. I was completely silent the whole time. No "it's ok baby, shhhh, BE STILL!!!". Non of that. I was silent from the time we went into the bathroom. Even the times that I have used a soothing voice all the way through and not yelled it hasn't made a difference. This time, I was shocked to find that Mavis was completely relaxed. So much so that she laid in my arms hanging her legs down while I lathered her head. I have no scratch marks. I'm a believer. This may be the start of a beautiful thing. I also tried a new shampoo. My pooch had an Aveda Shampure spa treatment today. I think she's worth the money. She's a calm submissive silky smooth :) I've tried several shampoos especially for dogs, baby shampoo (which I always still use on her face) and this one made her the most beautiful. It's the little things that make me happy. Now my doglet smells amazing!

I've also managed to hang some pictures that have been stacked and waiting on me. I have a small collection of antique postcards. I've had a few framed and hung them today. I also framed (myself thank you!) a print we got in New Orleans. That goes up today too. This is my most recent postcard find, "Bon Voyage".
I think the last energy I will exert will be gathering together some supplies to work on something artistic tomorrow. Georgianna is coming over and we are going to take a first stab at Artist Trading Cards. I am eager to get my hands working on art again, this is the perfect project. Small and easy to finish. I do think it's gonna be hard for me to let go of what I've created - that's always been difficult to me. I don't think I could ever make money as an artist. Once I'm satisfied with a painting I get so attached to it. We'll see how this goes :)

Yeah, what they said.

A couple of people that I read daily summed it up nicely for me. Jade says trust in God here, and Anne says stop whining here.

Yeah, what they said. Now if you'll excuse me I have some things to get involved in.

Pain Management

Update 11/5 I am cautiously optimistic today that these injections may have hit most of the right spots. Even if the pain relief is short lived, we may have found the source of the pain. Long term relief may be in sight with the next step!

I don't like to talk about it much, but I battle chronic pain every day and have for years. Mostly in my neck, it is my constant keeper it seems. I've tried almost every treatment there is, and yesterday I went back for more of the same. Injections under anesthesia directly to the nerves affected. In the past this has been somewhat effective but not 100%, but this time they hit more spots at one time. I look like I've been visited by aliens after this round of injections - sometimes I feel like it too. I just had to take a picture for the XFiles factor :)


Anyone have any miracle cures for arthritis and chronic pain of the cervical facet joints? I'm all ears. Really I am. I'm getting desperate and am not much good for anyone or anything when I hurt this much. I've tried so many things, but science moves fast. Maybe you've tried something I haven't. Here's a list.

Cortisone injections
Meds (neuro drugs, pain meds. Etc)
Yoga
Bio Feedback
Acupuncture (not going back for more of that)
Traction
Decompression Therapy
Chiropractic (still do regularly)

Besides the stress of constant pain, the stress of spending a pile of money on remedies that don't fix me is a killer. There is a surgical procedure that has been recommended, but we're talking about such a scary place to be screwing with. My doctor says they can destroy the nerve endings (rhizotomy) in the arthritic joints giving semi-permanent relief. I don't know, I'm just throwing it out there. Anyone had this done? Know anyone that has had it done?

Ok, enough said on this subject. Thanks for letting me share.

A Visit to Music City

This week we paid a visit to Nashville to see April in her new hometown. We had the best time doing mostly nothing, our favorite pastime. As long as we eat and laugh it's all good. There was movie watching in the hotel room, several visits to really great coffee shops (Nashville has the best coffee shops), and of course a trip to Guitar Center in Nashville. I thought we would miss our flight - Chris and April were just lost in there. It goes without sayin, Mavis went with us. It was her 2nd trip on an airplane. She's a pro! I just have to stick a foot into her carrier under the seat and she's happy.


Chris, Mavis and I also got the chance to visit with Bernie at A Place to Bark. The folks at my office all pitched in to take a donation for her ongoing building project, which gave me a good excuse to visit. I really appreciated her taking time out of a very busy schedule to visit with us. I got the VIP tour of her shelter, and some always welcome puppy love from the adorable schnauzer pups! (it was FREEEZING - we had to tuck them in our jackets)


In a addition to her obvious passion for animals, Bernie is an artist. She is active in the ATC (Artist Trading Card) movement, having written a book and teaching others how to create in workshops. Bernie gave me a copy of her book, and now I'm getting motivated. I may have to start a shoe box of supplies and get started creating my own cards. I majored in Fine Art/Painting and Drawing in college. I've just let it go over the years. This would be a great way to get back in the swing of things. I've still got some of the old tools, just need to dust them off.

Most of all I'm encouraged by the hearts of others who strive to do the right thing, and give selflessly. Not just Bernie, but my April too. It was a good visit.

A House for Mr. Spock

We got Mr. Spock's house up today! Now we wait and hopefully Mrs. Spock with love the house and we'll have little owlets come spring!

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the local pumpkin patch this weekend. It always has that small town feel and really gets me going for the holiday season. Sometimes I imagine that I live in Stars Hollow while we're there (one of the things on my life list..live in a town like it). There's fresh roasted corn on the cob and made fresh kettle corn right there in a big kettle while you watch.

The corn maze is pretty spooky at night - they hand out flashlights and you can always count on someone to lurk and scare the bajeebas out of you. I've gotten lost in there during the day, which is precisely why I let everyone else go while I stand by ready to call in the choppers to search for them if they don't come back :) I was perfectly happy to sit with Mom on a bench and people watch. Kids running wild with excitement. I love it.


Mavis tagged along and was tortured by wearing her costume for this year, compliments of Aunt Pamela:) She wears these things to make me happy you know. She'll have to wear it again to my office on Oct 31st. So this was a good practice run. She was the cutest pumpkin in the patch.


Of course we went on the hay ride. Half the fun is waiting for your turn, and then spotting the rabbits and foxes in the field at night. My niece Sadie commented that they went way slower this year. I'm pretty sure that was because she is a year older and it just seemed slower. Pretty soon there won't be any kids in the family that still want to do the hayride. What will my excuse be then :)


Sadie made a great Tiger, but sadly, her wild getup didn't help my LSU Tigers at all. While we were at the Patch, they had their first loss of the season. Ironically to Sadie's favorite team, the Florida Gators.


At the end of the night, we all got to pick out a pumpkin or two to take home. I'm grateful for a Mom that insists we all still do these things, and who will always treat us to it.

PS.. April and McKenna, we really missed having you here this year.

The Dog Whisperer

I'm a HUGE fan of the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Millan is hosting a live seminar and I wish I could go (with Mavis of course)

Cesar's ONLY 2008 Live Seminar!
Saturday, December 6th, at 2 PM
Atlanta, GA - John A. Williams Theatre
at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Click here for details. Anyone want to donate a ticket to get us there :) We could really use some Dog Whisperin'!

My Hawaiian Vacation

This is as close as I'm going to get to a vacation in Hawaii any time soon. My sweet friend Marilyn brought me back a fresh flower lei, and some seashells and sand from a business trip to one our Hawaiian offices.

Ya think I should arrange for something to go terribly wrong in my area of expertise so I'll get sent over? No, that would be very wrong. Hmmmmmm.

Update on "The Ugly"

Well the city says that it's not just them but also a state and fed thing or something - if the dish is less than 10 feet - 10 FEET people - it can go where ever Mr. Neighbor wants to put it. I guess I should be grateful that it's not a 9 foot dish. Maybe I should plant a tree to block the view. What kind of tree should I plant?

Mocking Bird at Dusk

Took this dusk shot with my iPhone this evening - not bad. I'm still figuring out how it all works!

Now I'm just sitting with Chris and Mavis enjoying the lightning bugs, some deserved R&R for all 3 of us.