It can't get much worse for Sadie

This poor dog! By the time this is over she'll be listed as a medical miracle and she better not die for a really, really, really long time.

Yes, Miss Sadie isn't doing so hot yet. After she coughed up blood yesterday I was instructed to take her to the Doggie ER. After 3 hours, x-rays, etc. I returned home and Sadie spent the night in the hospital, which I just found out will be followed by a second.

This poor dog, by the time I left she was incubated, had an IV, Catheter, some thrombic paddle (continuous stimulation on the chest to loosen the "gunk"), hooked up to Oxygen, and was running a 105 temp. Yup, doesn't that sound fun. Overall, she has severe doggie pneumonia. Let me tell you how much fun this is. It sounds like we may get her back tomorrow, Saturday.

It's been fun this past week with her......I've slipped in some stuff she coughed up on the wood floor, been up over half the night with her wheezing/coughing, and administering meds to 2 dogs around the clock. I feel like a regular pharmacy.

And to think, we adopted this dog to give her a good home and a relaxing life......something about this isn't relaxing yet.

I'm ready to the weekend or maybe a margarita by a pool......I wonder if the association allows that?! ha :)

Miss Sadie

Poor Miss Sadie....that's all we can say.

Her previous owners dropped her off at a pound where she spent one week in a kennel before we "rescued" her. Then, she was spayed and had a hernia fixed before we could bring her home. We get her home and find out she contracted Kennel Cough at the pound. Her immune system was so supressed that it spread a little further and we are now trying to fight the onset of pneumonia. We've been to the vet twice this week with Miss Sadie, so she's now on 3 different meds and running a 105 fever.......and trying to fend off Elvis and Dibs from their desires to run and play with her. She also hasn't eaten since Saturday. She's in great shape....can't you tell?!

Poor Miss Sadie, the dog has no spunk and coughs up "gunk" all day long. It's thrilling. I'm tell you, if I think this is bad, we definitely are not ready for kids. Dear God, I think I've slept minimally this week since she's up half the night coughing up and wheezing. I love dogs!

PS. Jeremy picked a great week to travel to Panama. Ha Ha....lucky. :)

A week ago we went kayaking. Here's a photo from our adventure

One more

She loves to pose for the camera. You turn it on and she sits immediately and looks at you like this. She could almost be a model - perhaps a past career.....

Smiling Sadie

Welcome Sadie

Why wait 9 months for a kid when you can adopt.....

.....yes, we adopted today. It's official, Elvis and Dibs now have a sister. Yes, another female joined our family today so I am not the only one. The little one has a ton of hair, golden color, and dark brown eyes. She's not a newbie, but a 2 year old. We may be entering the terrible twos (as they're called). From what we know she likes to chew and has thus far stuck to the bones. Outside, she is addicted to any ball she can find and will gladly bring it to you if you'll throw it for her.

We know you all were wanting us to add to our family so we did. A child is a big commitment so we thought a second yellow lab was the logical thing to do. Elvis and Dibs are adjusting well and learning that she's a "sister" not a "girlfriend." Elvis welcomed her a bit to much by licking her face and then licked her mouth, which she in response barked at him for.....we tried to explain you never go for a kiss on the first meeting.....especially when she's your sister, duh! However, we feel she will be a great companion for Elvis.

We have photos but I won't be able to upload them until tomorrow. For now, this is a picture from my phone.

Weekend 'O' Fun

We just completed our "Weekend 'O' Fun." What more can we say aside from..... it was fun!

We realized we hadn't really had a weekend since we got engaged, last August 25, that was completely free. Free from the feeling we had to plan a wedding, visit family, or buy a house. I must say......it was rather relaxing.

We did a whole-lotta-nothing! Well, I guess we bummed the city a little and went kayaking and golfing. We classify that as fun though. By the way, I'm not ready for the LPGA yet. Jeremy, on the other hand is a very good golfer, so good he lent me some balls and tees after I lost my 9 balls......5 on the same hole. We did see a coyote on one hole; we didn't bother him and he didn't bother us. I think he's taken up residency there.

Next weekend, we may try fishing in the mountains on Saturday morning. Heck, Elvis may get to join in and even go for a swim. We'll leave Dibs at home to "guard the fort." We'll let you know how that goes.

FUN....FUN...FUN....

(Pictures to follow)

Vino

We leave our parents alone for 5 hours and we return to 3 empty bottles of wine......kids!

Elvis posing for the camera w/ his tennis ball....time to play fetch!

A change of pace...

So usually our blogs are full of smart remarks and are very light hearted.

However, I think it's time to really think about how fortunate many of us are. Right now many people are fighting mother nature and unfortunately, it's seems like an endless battle. 1 month ago an earthquake flattened a school in China and took the lives of many children. Today, levy walls are caving and the lives so many have spent years developing are being washed away.

Take a moment and just think....
What would it be like to watch your house get swept into the river?
Would you sit and cry for the loss of material possession and photos which cannot be replaced?
What would you do? Who would you turn to? How would you grasp the severity of the situation?

I think sometimes we get caught up in life and the daily rat-race trying to "get ahead." I think we find a way to see the wrong in situations and forget that other's may "have it worse." I think we forget to be truly grateful for the here & now, for our family, for our friends, for the little things as simple as a smile from a stranger.

Sometimes putting things in perspective takes our focus off the challenges we all are facing. Everyone is worried about gas prices and the economy, but do you think someone sitting in a hospital next to a child with cancer is worried about gas prices or are they focused on the well-being of their family member.

Truly, it's easy to become distracted, but put everything into perspective. Be grateful for what you have, be willing to help those who "have-not," and remember there is a reason for everything. It may be difficult to accept that at times, but every difficult situation eventually passes and a positive one follows.

You can call this a rambling blog if you'd like, but it's just full of thoughts.

The Parents Came to Visit.........

So our parents came to visit.....yes, both at the same time and everyone survived!

It went very well actually and I must admit they emptied 1/2 of the wine cabinet with us. It was great! I knew we gained our appreciation for wine somewhere. Anyway, here is an update on the visit and our accomplishments.

They arrived on Tuesday and we did a ton while they were here. We landscaped the back yard, our dads powerwashed the fence, they built a workbench/shelving unit in the garage, our moms set up a garage sale, we hosted a garage sale, they planted flowers, we had a grill out with 50 of our friends on Saturday and the men went golfing on Sunday (as an early Father's Day treat). It was busy!

We thought since they helped so much they deserved good food. That's one thing you can be guaranteed when visiting us, good food. We made some homemade spaghetti, a beef tenderloin, steaks, grilled chicken, etc. Nothing like roughing it while in Colorado. I'm guessing everyone took a day or two of fasting after they left to develop hunger again. HA!

It was a great visit and we really enjoyed having everyone here. We can't wait to see them again.

And seriously, we did empty over 1/2 of the wine rack......is that a bad sign? Nah..........just quality control.....

I'll post a few photos this week for you to see all our work.

E = Empty

A forgotten blog, but definitely a necessity......

2 months ago while driving back from IA, following our wedding/honeymoon, we had a bonding experience. We were driving along I-76 in CO, towing a U-haul, and fighting 60 mph winds and Jeremy commented that we had ~70 miles to empty. I asked if he wanted to stop for gas and he said he thought we could make it further. Oddly though, while driving we noticed that the miles to empty odometer dropped about 2-3x as fast as the distance we had actually driven.....meaning, we would probably not make the next gas station. Suddenly we were down to 20 miles to empty, then 10 miles to empty and then when we hit zero miles to empty the mountaineer turned off......yes, we were out of gas. The car did not lie, there was no reserve. We coasted to the side of the road and just starred......3/4 of a mile ahead we could see the exit and the gas station, so close and yet so far away. Jeremy looked at me and just said, "looks like I'm running" and took off. He got the gas station, filled a gas can and asked the state trooper sitting there for a ride back. It only delayed us 40 minutes but it was a priceless experience.

The most entertaining part was that morning before departing IA, my parents were talking about the 2 times they ran out of gas and to make sure you never do, especially on the roads we travel....there is absolutely nothing in NE Colorado.

A bonding experience.

Our First House Guest

We had our first house guest this weekend.....John Bonnett!

John's quite lucky in my opinion, he was the first to meet me when Jeremy and I were dating and he was the first to see our house and spend a weekend with us here.

We had a great time. The first thing you should know is when we entertain we focus on the food. SO......Saturday night we made Chicken & Mandarin Oranges; a true favorite. Sunday then Jeremy made his signature omelets (yes, the guy who doesn't like eggs now loves omelets and makes them to order). We then headed to the driving range and mini-golfing. Mini-golfing was going well until we hit the 14 hole. That's when we all were dealt a surprise......a snake.....yes, a snake! I was walking by and heard a hiss which caused Jeremy and I to jump 10 feet in the air. John went up to investigate and we then learned it was not a rattler snake, it was a bull snake, so not harmful......no offense, but a snake is a snake and whether isn't poisonous or not, I just don't like them. So we left the 5-6 ft long snake alone and I rushed to finish the remaining holes. 1 snake is 1 too many for my liking. Anyway, it was an adventure and a fun time overall. Jeremy won with a 51 and John came in a close second with a 53.......I just was happy to finish after seeing the snake. Sunday night we made some amazing steaks, potatoes and corn. Nothing like a good mid-west meal while living in Colorado.

Tomorrow John, takes off for home. It was great spending the weekend with John. He's a great guy who works harder than anyone I know. I thinking driving long distances is difficult after a few days and he does it day after day. We love this guy!

As for this week I'm sure we'll have plenty to write about. We have both sets of parents coming to visit and help us with our First Garage Sale and First official grill-out. So many first are happening.....whatever will be next?