Ten Things Thursday

1. I think that Mairi Campbell's version of the Robert Burns poem: "Auld Lang Syne" is one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard. (Yes, it started out as a poem before people put it to music ;) )I love that it's not just a song for New Years celebrations...it's for good-byes, memories, and moving you. Love it!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urDzywYAO0I

2. I love Honey Crip apples.

3. I love spoon rests. They make me really happy when I'm cooking and look down to see something bright and happy. My most cherished one I painted with my nephew Cooper at Paint a Piece several years ago.

4. I adore autumn: the weather, the leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin fluff dip, Chrysanthemums, apple cider, scented candles, baking, decorations....ahhh I love it all!

5. If I were a character on "Sex & The City", I would be Charlotte

6. Jack cooked me dinner last night after I had a really, really bad day. It was soo sweet. I also love that he used brown sugar, bell  peppers, and onions in his recipe....not that I needed another reason to love him, but I definitely added a new one to my list! :)

7. I love the Aussie line of shampoos/conditioners and 3 minute miracle hair products!

8. Tiger Lilies make me happy

9. Giada de Laurentiis is my favorite cook! I love her books and her tv shows! :)

10. I wear Volatile flip flops on almost a daily basis

Macy's Story

She sat, unnoticed at The Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County for well over 2 years. She was "just another dog" among a myrid of other castaways that nobody in the genral public seemed to notice or care for, other than the HSUS staff that saw potenital in her deep brown eyes. She's much more than a mix to me though. Macy is well mannered, patient, intelligent, a wonderful companion for Ranger and I, and as sweet as they come! I adopted this wonderful little pup on Aug. 28 and I couldn't be happier! She has already started her training classes and is doing wonderful so far! My other dog Ranger adores her and is his happy-go-lucky attitude is doing wonders for bringing her out of her shell and helping to acclimate her to our home. She literally had never been in a house or car before I adopted her, so everything is new for her.

I also have a soft spot for Macy since I have heart issues myself. Macy has some pretty serious heart issues going on. She has a grade 5/6 heart murmur,Patent Ductus Arteriosus, Subaortic Stenosis, Pulmonic Stenosis, Pulmonary Edema, & Cardiomegaly. That's a lot for my little girl! To put it into perspective, it is exceptionally rare for a dog with those conditions to make it past the first week of life, let alone to around 3 yrs of age. Her life expectancy with matinance medications is around 1-2yrs...but she could always suprise us and live longer; you just never know! Despite all of that though, I believe this little angel deserves a wonderful home where she will be loved and comforted for the rest of her life! Macy is such a sweet girl!

Here are a few snapshots from Macy's first days homes:

A Time To Remember

Today is 9/11/10. Even though it has been 9 years, I still remember the 9/11 attacks as vividly as if they happened yesterday. I was in my 10th grade world history class that day. I remember earlier that morning on my walk to class how beautiful it was that day; I remember thinking to myself, "wow, it's gorgeous outside". The sky was soo blue that morning...

Once I got in class, my teacher took roll and began teaching. I remember our school president comming over the intercom a short while later to tell us about what had happened to the first WTC tower. My teacher went to the storage closet and wheeled a tv out so we could watch the news coverage. Before that day, terrorism wasn't even a word in my vocabulary. That entire day that almost every single teacher had the tv's on so we could watch the coverage. Everyone was stunned and devistated. I remember teachers leading us in prayer that day and trying to comfort us. I remember my eyes filling with tears as we all watched the coverage of the planes hitting the towers, the fire that filled Pentagon, and hearing the news of the plane that crashed in the Pennsylvania field.I remember being horrified that something would happen to my sister Kimmy's family since they lived in Pennsylvania at the time.  I remember watching the video clips over and over and over again...I remember my heart filling with grief for those precious souls that lost their lives that day and their families that would never see their loved ones again. I remember being hundreds of miles away from where the attacks occured, but still panicking because nothing seemed safe anymore and the little "safety bubble" that America lived in had changed for good.


When I got home that day I remember hearing local politicians talking about protecting all of the FedEx hubs (Memphis is the internatial headquarters), the Pyramid, Beale Street, etc...it was scarry.  We were not even close to where the attacks hit, but because nobody knew when all of the attacks would end, everyone was in panic mode. I remember the local news stations listing off a lot of potential targets and telling everyone to stay home. After school practices and events were all cancelled. I remember yellow ribbons, tears, and hugs that next morning and realizing that the previous day was not a just a horrible dream.
 
I'll never forget that day.

Calgon! Take me away!!!! (Well, at least from hospitals!)

Ever had one of those days when you're sleeping peacefully, only to be waken up at the crack of dawn to an excruciatingly aweful stabbing pain? Well, I had one of those days yesterday. I woke up at 7am to the most horrid pain in my left lower abdomen. It literally felt like someone was stabbing me over and over again; I was doubled over in pain and tears. Not good! I tried to tough it out and lay down for a little while. I did NOT want to go to the hospital. I spent enough time at the hospital to last me a lifetime after my heart surgery, I certainly was going to avoid it if at all possible.

Fast foward to a little later that morning and I was calling my dad in tears. He picked me up and took me to my doctor's office. You see, I thought that if I went to the doctor, he would magically fix me and nix the need for a trip to the emergency room. WRONG! He did an exam & ran a few tests and immediately sent me to the emergency room for a CT scan. I was scared and had no clue what on earth was going on- there was mention of a few possibilities: kidney stones, ruptured ovarian cysts, appendicitis...all guess, no answers. For once however, it was not my heart. (I had actually felt very good for several days leading up to yesterday...my heart was improving, I was able to breathe better, and my chest pain was easing up- overall I felt a lot better. I was able to go on longer and longer walks each day with my dogs and feel good- not crappy. Fast foward to yesterday morning however and BAM! Horrible pain!) I would almost say that the pain I felt yesterday was equal to if not worse than the pain after my heart surgery- that's saying a lot!

After a very painful ride to the emergency room, my dad finally got me in to be looked at. (every bump in the road, every breath, every movement, every cough...everything made me hurt!) They ran a ton of tests on me- blood work, urine, physicals...you name it. The last test that they did was a CT scan. I've had CT scans in the past, but they never hurt before. This one however was excruciating because you have to take deep breaths in and hold them during the scans (keep in mind this was excruciating even after several IV doses of dilaudid!). I couldn't even breathe shallow without writhing in agony, let alone take deep breaths. I think the actual scan only took 15-20 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Once they finally got the results and came in to give me an update, I was a little bit shocked with the diagnosis (but soo, soo thrilled I didn't have to have surgery!).

The doctor said that I had a few different issues going on. She wasn't sure what caused it (multiple things can) and there is no way to prevent it in the future...so I'm just praying it doesn't happen again. I've already been doing a food journal/working on loosing a little weight- so I'm hoping that will help keep this at bay. The diagnosis was three different issues: Epiploic Appendagitis (I had never heard of that condition before yesterday. That was the main thing causing me the horrible, stabbing pains. The doctor said it should go away in 7-10 days with antibiotics though, so that's good news. It's a pretty rare condition) I was also told by the doctor that I had an enlarged right hemidiaphragm- not sure how that relates to the GI issues, but I'm hoping my doctor can give me some answers tomorrow. She also said that I had Diverticulitis. I go tomorrow morning to pay my GI doctor a visit, so hopefully I'll get some more precise answers then. I'm frusterated. I know God has a plan for everything and I'm greatful that I didn't have to have an emergency surgery for a kidney or reproductive issue like they were origionally thinking. However, after dealing with heart surgery and now this, I'm not sure how much more stress I can handle! One thing is for sure though, I am sick of my body "attacking" itself, I am sick of bedrest, and I am sick of hospitals! (ok, rant over!)

Just pray that all of this clears up soon so that I can heal up in time for the next session of school & clinicals! In the mean time, I'm back on bedrest and medicine to help clear everything up.

I leave you with my "aweseome photography skills"...apparently this is what happens after 4 very strong IV doses of dilaudid & my camera phone being left out on my bed.

They finally released me from the ER late last night after I spent all day there. I was soo happy to be home and back in my own bed again. I was also happy to have two of the best "nurses" in the entire world looking after me: Macy & Ranger

Note To Self....

Note to self: whenever using a candle warmer/candle for the first time since your last move, ALWAYS check the candle jar to make sure the entire bottom isn't cracked so that wax doesn't melt all over your counter. ;) What can I say...I'm clumsy and well, weird things always seem to happen to me! Candle wax all over my counter? Seriosuly?!

Once I let it dry, the part that stuck to my counter came off in one piece and didn't even leave a mark, thank goodness! I froze the warmer/broken bottom of the jar for a few hours and was able to pop the rest of it off in one piece as well (without getting cut on the broken glass, thankfully). Now, the warmer is all clean and ready for a new candle. What a good excuse to pay Yankee Candle Co. a visit!!

Hope you guys enjoyed a little laugh at my goofy expense today :). I have been a little lax on blogging lately- I still need to post about my heart surgery and my new 4 legged addition, Macy! I'll have to get on that soon!

There's No Place Like Home!

Dorothy said it best when she clicked her ruby red slippers together, "There's No Place Like Home". That statement couldn't more more honest in my opinion! I am home from the hospital and I missed this place (and my pets) dearly while I was away! I actually arrived back home yesterday, but this is the first time that I've really had a chance to post. I had heart surgery last Monday and spent a few days in the hospital. After I left the hospital, I stayed with Jack's sweet grandparents at their home for a few days while I recovered. I will blog about my surgery experience soon (the good and the bad). Overall, I'm still in a little pain and sore (I have four incision sites), but I think I will have a much better quality of life in no time! It is also becomming a lot easier for me to move around now, so I think I'm healing up nicely. I already have color comming back to my skin now too! It's nice to have rosy cheeks again instead of looking a sickly shade of bluish/white all of the time! On another positive note, I'm down to 1, yes 1 pill for my heart now!! Woohoo!

I go for my post-op checkup on the 31st. In the mean time, I'm just going to take it easy and enjoy spending time at home with my furbabies. The doctor told me that it will take about a month for my incision sites to heal up and around 3 months for the tissue of my heart to heal. I will be taking it easy for a few weeks until I start school again (the next session for my class starts in Oct.). It will take several months of healing for the scar tissue to form in my heart before the doctor will know if the procedure worked, but I'm praying that will be my last surgery for a long time and that this will have erradicated the need for a mitral valve repair (next potential surgery if this one fails..but we're going to be optomistic and look on the bright side and hope it worked!)

Leisurely Literature!

I am having heart surgery on Monday. I am NOT thrilled about that little detail, but I am hopeful that I will get a better quality of life back after I make a full recovery. Since I don't want to be glued to a television the entire time I recover (and I won't be able to do too much else) I decided it was high time that I FINALLY indulge a little bit and get some of the books that I've had on my "book wishlist" for an eternity now! Typically I just rent books from the libary, but the last few times I've gone, they didn't have a single one on my list, so I figured it was time to pay Barnes & Noble a visit! (For those interested, Amazon and www.half.com have an awesome selection of books at really low prices too!)


For well over a year and a half I have been consumed with school and clinicals. EVERY book I read was a medical book. Every spare second was devoted to memorization, studying, &  pretty much living in those medical books. Since I am on a break from school now until my heart surgery is over and I recover, I thought it was time to read something a little more pleasurable!
Today I took a fun little trip to Barnes & Noble and picked up some of the books I've been dying to read! Today's list includes:


"Isaac's Storm"-Erik Larson
"The Time of My Life"- Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi
"Free To a Good Home" - Eve Marie Mont
"Sh*t My Dad Says" - Justin Halpern
"Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, & Indonesia" - Elizabeth Gilbert
"Small Miracles of the Holocaust"- Halberstam/Leventhal
"A Dog's Purpose"- W. Bruce Cameron
"Australian Shepherds: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual" - Coile


-I plan to write a little review on each one. Hopefully they will all be great! I have a much longer list than those 8 books, however I thought I would start with those for now. Typically my list would include a Shakespeare play, something by Rev. T.D. Jakes, and a Michael Crichton book, but I decided to break away from my normal mold and go for something else this time! The next time I go to get books, my list will likely include:
"Where There Is Love, There Is God : A Path to Closer Union with God and Greater Love for Others"- Mother Teresa


"I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" - Tucker Max


"Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" &  "My Horizontal Life : A Collection of One-Night Stands" - Chelsea Handler


"The Help"- Katherine Sockett

"Falling Apart in One Piece"- Stacy Morrison

and several more!

EGG-xcelent!!

Let me preface this post by saying that I am out of almost everything in my kitchen right now! Milk, bread, you name it, I need to make a trip to the grocery store today! Since I cook almost everything I eat, I needed to come up with something for breakfast today. Necessity is truly the mother of creativity! Pretty much the only thing that I had left in my refridgerator today was a small carton of eggs. I was starving and feeling a little inspired, so I thought I would try a new spin on one of my favorites.

I used 4 egg whites (I detest the taste of egg yolk in a plain omlet or fried eggs. I only use an entire egg when I'm cooking a dish that requires whole eggs.) Once I seperated the yolk/white into different bowls,  I added a pinch of EVOO (also had a tiny bit in the skillet), tinsy pinch of garlic salt, parsley flakes, dill weed, black peppercorn, white sea salt, and a small sprinkle of monzorella cheese. (I never really measure things out, I always just eyeball it.) I whisked everything in the bowl and then added it to the skillet and let some magic run its course! The result was amazing!! I normally make my eggs with a pinch of honey, fat free lactose free milk, sea salt, black peppercorn, garlic, nutmeg, & butter. My normal recipe is more of a warm, filling dish...what I made today was a very delicious, savory dish (it would be great for brunch or even with some shredded baked chicken for a dinner omlet)

Here are a few pictures from this morning's breakfast! (Sorry the pictues aren't the best, I didn't think to take any until after I had already cut up everything on my plate! It tasted wonderful though!!)

Even though I don't like egg yolk personally, I'm not a fan of wasting food. So, I always cook a little plain omlet for Ranger with what I have left aside. (If you want to do the same for your dog, just be sure to leave out any garlic, onlin, milk, cheese, salt, etc & make sure that you thoroughly cook any eggs before feeding them to your pet. I normally just make his plain. If you're not sure what is safe to feed your pet, do your research and talk to your vet.  The ASPCA has a good link on their website too. ) Ranger only gets "human food" in his doggy bowl to discourage begging. ( "People food" can be very good for dogs as long as it's fed in moderation, your pet does not have an allergies/medical conditions that would contridict supplementing a reglar diet, and you do your research first: Some of Rangers favorites include:  baked boneless/skinless chicken, brown rice, plain yogurt, carrots, cooked eggs, etc)  I cut down his normal dry food portion according to whatever else I give him to keep his diet balanced.

Ranger enjoying his breakfast after a hard morning of training drills!

Mini Update: Haircut, Birthdays,...

I've been absent from blogging for the last week (had a few issues with my heart), so here's a mini-update. On the 28th of July I got about 5 inches of my hair chopped off. It's been way too hot in Memphis to keep it as long as it was! I normally donate to Pantene's Beautiful Length's program, so the next haircut I get I will probably donate then. My hairdresser Brian and I have our own little tradition of taking pictures each time I visit, so here are the pictures from that (my hair was still a little damp):

Ranger decided to check out my new haircut too...

Thursday, the 29 of July was my 25 birthday, "niece" Cassie's 16th birthday, and my kitty Tommy's 9th birthday) The 29th is apparently a popular day for birthdays! Here are a few pictures from the festivities that day:

Jack, Me, & Ranger on my 25th birthday. Jack suprised me with two true white bettas (I collect bettas, so they are an incredably rare find!). He took me to lunch at Sakura since he had to work that night. After he got off of work, he showed up at my door with a dozen roses and a little icecream birthday cake.

 

White Bettas (before they went into their bigger tanks)

Me, Renae, and my momma at my 25th birthday dinner at O'Charley's

Cassie & Taylor enjoying their snocones! We had a little girls afternoon and made a trip to Jerry's Snocones to celebrate mine & Cassie's birthday! :) Cassie is one of my niece Taylor's best friends and my honoary "niece". We all 3 had a blast and enjoyed our WhiteWeddingCake Supreme's!

Me & Tommy on our Birthdays! He's 9 years old now!