My husband thought it was a ridiculous idea! Aren’t there perfectly good puppies here? I thought why not get a puppy from Pennsylvania? It wasn’t my fault that the rescue that had the one I wanted was there. And she would be the perfect mix that I couldn’t pass up. After convincing my husband, one sunny Saturday, 3 months ago, I flew to PA to bring home a 3 month old, 8lb, black Daschund/Beagle mix. This will be a piece of cake I thought! Get the puppy, put her in the carrier, stick her under my seat and home we will go. Well, that was my first mistake. Taking a puppy on the plane that has never met you without bringing sedatives was a bad idea.
No matter what, this little girl did not want to get shoved in a bag and did her best to wrestle out of it every time I almost got it closed. When I finally did get her in there, my face sweaty from the struggle and flush with embarrassment, she started screaming. Not just a normal whimper or bark but a noise I never imagined could come out of a dog. Because there were no assigned seats and I was the last one on the plane, I felt like Forrest Gump boarding the school bus and every person I passed that had an empty seat next to them gave me the curt eye as if to say, ‘taken.’ Finally, at the back of the plane a woman with a 3 year old offered me a seat.
Cali continued to scream and screech for a good 20 minutes that felt like 4 hours with all the dirty looks I was getting. I didn’t realize though that all 8 pounds of her only had so much energy and after the 20 minutes of agony, she fell asleep. Dead asleep. Luckily, she didn’t wake up until we landed an hour later. The rest goes on with the fairy tale ending I had hoped for, sort of. She gets along with my 4 year old Pit mix, Milo. She is a unique, funny (she climbs trees), and loving (she sleeps under the covers) puppy although not quite potty trained and still needs work on the leash during walks. We are glad I took that trip even though the timing wasn’t perfect, and are happy she is part of our family.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Does Physical Therapy work?
That's what I'm going to find out after 4 months of doctors and referrals through my wonderful HMO. After a usual day at the gym, step class and weight lifting, my knee swelled up like a water balloon. I didn't think much of it because it didn't even hurt. After 2 weeks of being swollen (and not being able to jog or do stairs well anymore), I thought it might be a good idea to call the doctor. She had me come in, gave me an Ace bandage to wrap it with and said to stay off it and ice often. I followed doctor's orders precisely. Two weeks later, no change. I called the doctor again, she had me come back to the office. She gave me the same instructions again and said to give it more time. Three weeks later, I called again and was told a referral would be mailed to me to see an orthopedic.
The referral took 2 weeks and the appointment another 2. I am getting very frustrated now because being an avid exercisor, I have no outlet for my extra energy. The orthopedic took x-rays and said everthing was fine but I might have a muscle imbalance. He recommended I go to physical therapy twice a week for 6 weeks. It wasn't exactly the solution I was looking for but at least is was a solution. Then after three and a half weeks, the hospital finally got my referral.
I scheduled 3 weeks worth of physical therapy initially. The first visit was just a consult to assess my knee and strength in my legs. After that the hard work began, or so I thought. The first few sessions we so easy, it was almost laughable and I was having doubts that this would work. I thought, "How are these little leg lifts and squeezes going to help my knee?"
After 2 weeks though, I have to say, my knee is feeling better and not swelling as much. Now I'm not going to enlist in any marathons or anything, but I have high hopes for the future with this physical therapy thing. I'll keep you posted.
The referral took 2 weeks and the appointment another 2. I am getting very frustrated now because being an avid exercisor, I have no outlet for my extra energy. The orthopedic took x-rays and said everthing was fine but I might have a muscle imbalance. He recommended I go to physical therapy twice a week for 6 weeks. It wasn't exactly the solution I was looking for but at least is was a solution. Then after three and a half weeks, the hospital finally got my referral.
I scheduled 3 weeks worth of physical therapy initially. The first visit was just a consult to assess my knee and strength in my legs. After that the hard work began, or so I thought. The first few sessions we so easy, it was almost laughable and I was having doubts that this would work. I thought, "How are these little leg lifts and squeezes going to help my knee?"
After 2 weeks though, I have to say, my knee is feeling better and not swelling as much. Now I'm not going to enlist in any marathons or anything, but I have high hopes for the future with this physical therapy thing. I'll keep you posted.
The green energy blog
Check out this blog for great information on green energy sources. Solar panels, here I come! http://www.greenenergyapproach.com/blog/
Mexico-here we come!
I don't think we have ever needed a vacation this bad with the dogs waking us up at 5 a.m., the construction at our house, and moving my mother-in-law 5 minutes from our home, it has been a crazy summer! We chose Mexico for our getaway.
This will be the first time my husband and I going on an all-inclusive vacation. The destination is Riviera Maya which is located about an hour from Cancun. Aventura Spa Palace is a 21 and over resort so no screaming kids splashing us in the pool or throwing stuff in the restaurants. We even went the extra mile and got a room on the concierge level that garauntees us an ocean view with a balcony and a hammock. I plan on spending many afternoons napping on that hammock.
There are 7 restaurants and 10 bars to choose from and an extensive list of amenities. The website really builds it up. Reading the reviews can always be interesting if not a little scary. This is not a cheap vacation and being that it’s our only vacation this year, I hope it is as good as it looks. However, the goal is to relax and with an ocean, guacamole, and a hammock, what could go wrong? I'll follow up after the vacation…
This will be the first time my husband and I going on an all-inclusive vacation. The destination is Riviera Maya which is located about an hour from Cancun. Aventura Spa Palace is a 21 and over resort so no screaming kids splashing us in the pool or throwing stuff in the restaurants. We even went the extra mile and got a room on the concierge level that garauntees us an ocean view with a balcony and a hammock. I plan on spending many afternoons napping on that hammock.
There are 7 restaurants and 10 bars to choose from and an extensive list of amenities. The website really builds it up. Reading the reviews can always be interesting if not a little scary. This is not a cheap vacation and being that it’s our only vacation this year, I hope it is as good as it looks. However, the goal is to relax and with an ocean, guacamole, and a hammock, what could go wrong? I'll follow up after the vacation…
The 'kitchen' remodel
We are at the tail end of a 'kitchen' remodel and I put it that way because it started off being just the kitchen. Knock down a wall between the kitchen and dining room, throw on some new counter tops, add a breakfast bar and voila! we're done and even under budget! Not the case at all. We live in a typical raised ranch where you walk in and all of the rooms are connected. When we decided to knock down the wall, there was even more of a cohesive feel that factored in when deciding on flooring. When we replace the flooring in the kitchen, we have to do the dining room and that's connected to the living room and that flows into the hallway and the doors in the hallway are really shabby it would be a shame to have new floors and our old gross doors...you see where this is going.
The 'kitchen' remodel turned into a whold house remodel. Not sure what I was thinking about when I thought quartz counter tops would be smashing against our cabinets. And wouldn't the old appliances look okay with the bamboo floor and quartz. Then we have to fit a backsplash in there somewhere...and fixtures for the new cabinets and lets throw in a new staircase too. Our 4 week project turned into over a two month job that is still not done and $10k over budget. So much for that Italian vacation next year.
Then there is the issue of the contractor. He was enthusiastic completing parts of the project with immense speed for the first few weeks. Now that we are nearing the end, his enthusiasm is waning and I keep getting told that he'll finish everything on the final walk through. This final walk through is going to take 4 days at this rate with all the little things left to accomplish. Then again, I think I know how he feels. When you start something and make great strides in accomplishing it, you feel as if you've done enough for now and then the procrastinator in you kicks in. I was working on a few distance learning courses this summer and spent considerable time getting down to the last few tasks. It seemed like it was no big deal even though it was weighing on my mind everyday. With the amount of stress it has caused me coupled with the stress of a remodel, moving my mother-in-law, training a new puppy, and leaving town for 3 weeks for workshops, I should have just buckled down at the beginning of the summer and completed them. So I understand how my contractor has lost steam, I just wonder, will my house ever be finished?
The 'kitchen' remodel turned into a whold house remodel. Not sure what I was thinking about when I thought quartz counter tops would be smashing against our cabinets. And wouldn't the old appliances look okay with the bamboo floor and quartz. Then we have to fit a backsplash in there somewhere...and fixtures for the new cabinets and lets throw in a new staircase too. Our 4 week project turned into over a two month job that is still not done and $10k over budget. So much for that Italian vacation next year.
Then there is the issue of the contractor. He was enthusiastic completing parts of the project with immense speed for the first few weeks. Now that we are nearing the end, his enthusiasm is waning and I keep getting told that he'll finish everything on the final walk through. This final walk through is going to take 4 days at this rate with all the little things left to accomplish. Then again, I think I know how he feels. When you start something and make great strides in accomplishing it, you feel as if you've done enough for now and then the procrastinator in you kicks in. I was working on a few distance learning courses this summer and spent considerable time getting down to the last few tasks. It seemed like it was no big deal even though it was weighing on my mind everyday. With the amount of stress it has caused me coupled with the stress of a remodel, moving my mother-in-law, training a new puppy, and leaving town for 3 weeks for workshops, I should have just buckled down at the beginning of the summer and completed them. So I understand how my contractor has lost steam, I just wonder, will my house ever be finished?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)