*Yawn!*

Last week... hmm, let's see.

Between the misadventures of Rufus, I was doing my best to shake myself out of a fog. I was sleeping well, waking up fine, but about 10 AM each day, I was becoming incredibly sleepy. That sleepy fog just got worse as the day went on. I left my Dr. a message and finally heard back that I should switch to taking my meds at night instead of in the morning. That helped a lot. By Friday, I was actually feeling like myself again.

That was a good thing, because the weekend was B-U-S-Y! Friday, after work, Jen came up for the Donna Downey event at Scrapbooks Too. I headed over to go out for supper with her and hung out at the store for a bit. It was interesting. The place was packed. Finally I headed home around 9 and headed to bed.

Saturday morning Jen & I were up bright and early, Jen brought me coffee and I opened the store at 8:30. Donna hit the ground running with her first class at 9. She impressed me with the way that she engaged everyone in her classes. I left work a little after 5 and headed over to Minda's to watch Andrew. We played games and watched cartoons. He is a dear boy. Scott & Minda came home around 10, and we chatted for a bit, and then I headed back to the store. I helped Sue do a small portion of the cleaning up, and then at midnight, Jen & I headed back home to bed.

Sunday, Jen & I went out for breakfast, and then met Carrie and her girls and did a little shopping. Everyone headed home, and I had just enough time to give the dogs some love and take a quick nap. Then I headed to Minda's, and we went to the fundraiser for Erin & Jason's uncle. The place was packed, the music was fun. It was really touching to see so many people show up to support the family.

The weekend was so busy, it's a good thing that I woke up!

Mr. Babysocks

Sunday afternoon, I went to Target and got Rufus a few more color options in baby socks. Today he is wearing gray. Last night he managed to get one of his spots bleeding, so this morning we made a quick stop at the vet's office to get bandaged up properly, and to get some antibiotics.
I think he looks pretty dignified here, in spite of the fact that his momma dresses him funny. He must not be too traumatized. It's not cutting into his ability to nap, anyway.

Trial and Error

in the ongoing saga of Rufus, the papilloma dog, I am constantly trying to find a way to keep his spots clean and dry and to keep Rufus as happy and normal as possible. The red doggie booties? They work pretty well for his front foot, but since his back feet are long and narrow, he can pull it off. The bandage alone? Works well on the back, not on the front, and over time, he works the bandage off on either foot. Yesterday morning, when we got up, he had a small surface infection on his back foot. So my next trick was to put the cone on his head. He wore the cone all day, but he struggles with stairs and eating and drinking, since his head and the cone are so low to the ground. Last night when I got home, I thought of something else to try.

I pulled a pair of pink baby socks out of a box in the crawlspace, and taped them so that they can't slip. Maybe this will work?

Call him "Lumpy"

Last fall, some of you might remember that Rufus had a little cancer scare. No, I take that back. I had a cancer scare on behalf of Rufus. Anyway, it all worked out, and I was given the warning that this type of benign tumor could possibly reoccur, and if they did, it was up to us if we wanted to have them removed, since they do no harm to him. Well, this month, he suddenly got two new spots, one on his front foot and one on his back foot.
I took him in to have the vet reassure me that it was ok to leave them alone, so long as Rufus will leave them alone. He had found the one on his front foot, and had been licking it and making it irritated. So, we went back to the booties.

I thought, oh, he probably can't really reach the one on his back foot, right? Ha ha ha. He's more bendy than he looks, folks. Today I came out of my office to get a glass of water, and here is Rufus, again, bleeding, he has licked the spot raw. Poor, dumb, silly puppy. Ok, collect the bandages, tape, sock, scissors, and a can of cat food. Throw it all on the counter. Open cat food. Put dog on counter. Try to bandage dog in the 30 seconds it takes him to inhale food. Tell dog not to take the cover off of the butter dish. Remember why it's nice that dogs can't go on counters.

Is it just me, or is this photo begging for a thought bubble?

Isn't it pretty?

If today was November 11, I might be amused to see the big white goosefeather flakes swirling around outside my window. But no, it's April 11, and I am SO done with the cold weather. SO over the snow. SO ready for spring.

Saaay, you know what? After a winter of parking outside, do you know where my car is? Snug in the garage. Ice and snow-free.

Let it snow.

Happy Easter

This Easter, I did NOT do this to my sweet Rufus....



There was no time this year to get out Rufus's bunny ears. Saturday morning, I got the house ready for the afternoon's festivities. My brother called, and offered me some fresh coconut. Yum. So he stopped over and we chatted for a bit. It was very nice to see him. Then, Dave's parents and older brother & family came, and Carrie and Eva. Everything came together so easily, I was impressed.

After dinner, Dave's parents, Carrie, Eva & I went to Easter Vigil. During the service, I was received into the church. What a special moment.

Sunday afternoon I went to the Crilly's for dinner and games. Such a fun night.

Company's Coming!

Today I worked, went to Good Friday mass at church with Carrie & Eva, came home and made a financial plan with DH, and then ran to the grocery and pet store.

I asked Byerly's to hold 2 "seven bone" beef roasts for me. It was the cut that my Grandma used to get. Nowdays, most grocery stores remove the bones and cut it into smaller chuck roasts, but you can get the seven bone cut if you call ahead! I'm looking forward to eating it. The in-laws are coming over for dinner tomorrow, as well as my friend (and RCIA sponsor) Carrie.

When Dave & I were discussing the budget, he had me figure out the amount I need for food, both dining in and dining out. Ok. Then, he said, what about scrapbooking, what do you spend a month? $25?

Cough. Cough. Ahem.

Anyway, we agreed I would set a budget amount of $75 a month. I think I can manage that just fine. (!?!) But the funny thing that happened then was he said, now what about entertainment? How much money do you need?

See item: "Food" and item: "Scrapbooking"

Seriously.

Ok, I do go to the theatre at least 3 times a year. And I forgot about Netflix. But I try to get my books from the library or from friends... What other entertainment expenses are there?

Oh! I did promise to take a certain young man to the Children's Museum.

0559648-04038 = Happiness

Trying something new.

Today I visited my physician and filled out questionnaires: the depression test, and the anxiety test. I didn't study or anything, but I must be naturally clever because I got high marks on both! But seriously, it was time for a change.

He asked me if there was anything in my situation going on that would have triggered this, and I said, "well, my husband is in the National Guard..." He started writing the prescription right there.

Huh.

So, I'm giving Celexa (citalopram, actually) a try. It's supposed to help with both the depression and the anxiety. We shall see.

What Goes Up...

Wanted to post Sunday... couldn't make it happen.

Posted twice on Monday... deleted them both.

Saturday? Saturday was awesome. Got my hair colored and trimmed (and washed and washed) by Erin, then we went to "mom's" for dinner and scrapbooking. It was great. Laughed til I cried. Twice. Great night.

But Sunday was different.

Monday, all I wanted to do was talk to my husband, but he called me from a restaurant where he was watching the Twins game... I couldn't hear him and he couldn't hear me. Gave up on that.

So there it is. Today I'm working and then working some more. And that's enough.