We really ARE there!

Virginia!! Wow, here we are. It is so beautiful here... and so far, the weather hasn't been horrible. I mean, humidity-wise. The trip was - loooooooong. As in over 2,600 miles long! We went through 13 states! The dog didn't mind, but can't say that about the cat, lol. What worked was tranquilizing him then letting him loose in the car.... he hunkered down beside the car door and back seat where my daughter was sitting, and then he was content - enough. It's interesting living in a tiny one bedroom apartment. Not nice - but interesting. Ha. It's been forever since I've lived in an apartment complex; it's really weird. Kiwi isn't doing well with the move - she's cranky, irritable, grumpy.... and just wants to "go home". sigh. It's hard being a mom, when the world is hard and you just can't fix it. When we get moved to the "big" apt. (still, half the size of the house we left behind) I will get my computer set up, then I'll have lots of pics to share with you!

And off I goooooooo......

Off my rocker, mostly. Someone - I suppose the packing guy - is gonna walk in here tomorrow and find me balled up in a corner, sobbing and gently rocking back and forth..... back and forth... back and forth...ah, that sounds so peaceful, so nice.....

It's seriously that bad. Today when Scooter called, all I could do was cry into the phone. Ridiculous. Saturday afternoon was Kiwi's birthday party, and I spent the morning alternately yelling, then crying...sobbing, really. Now, I've moved a lot. You'd think I could deal with it. I usually do. Not this time. I'm not sure why, I guess because I'm having to do it all alone, as a "single mom", and really, I think it's finally hit me that I am moving 2,500 miles away from my family and friends. And I really don't like that.

So, I thought I'd post one last time before the men in the white coats come to take me away....

Okay, it's really because after tomorrow this computer will be packed up, and I really haven't got a clue when I will be back online.... so, if you think about us, pray for our trip and our move and my sanity.... oh, and that Kiwi finds her Nintendo DS.... needed for the trip, but missing-in-action as of this moment.

I will check back in....later!

How NOT to move (unless, you are crazy like me!)

At least there is one family member who is blissfully happy and unaware of the crap going on around them......

First, agreeing to move - at all - is a step toward insanity. Trust me on this. In our married life, we have moved....uhm, wait, I'm counting..... I think this will be #13. Yeah. Seriously. The dude isn't even in the military!! (that doesn't even count a few stints of staying with parents in between settling someplace else...because, we didn't have to unpack there) What is that all about??! I don't know, and it's my life! I have to tell you, however, that this is the worst yet. I think because it's been sooo long in coming, and because Scooter and I have been apart for 6 months now, and worst of all - he's gotten off scott-free while I'm here going nutsy!! Yeah. That is so not right. To hear him, it's all "yeah, but you'll be done soon, and I have to work for 20 more years before I can retire" yada yada yada....whatever!! But I still have to be here packing and cleaning the garage out and making the arrangements and dealing with the kid and the pets (and the pet surgery) and ...and.... and.... well, okay, at least I don't have to work 20 more years before I retire. He's got a point. I sleep in. I like sleeping in.

The next insane thing to do is to say "yes, of course you can" when your daughter asks you if she can have her birthday party early, as in, here and now, because after all, she won't have any friends in the new town in a couple months when it's really her birthday.... because, heaven forbid she miss out on anything in this life. What were you thinking??? Right, you weren't. Typical. So, it will be 1am and you will be baking a stinkin' cake, and sewing the finishing touches on the poodle skirt (oh, because it has to be themed, of course, this time a 50's party...) because earlier today, when you should have been baking, you took her to a friend's house to go swimming, because, heaven forbid she miss out on anything in this life.... do you sense a theme?? Girl, you need to put your foot down!! She won't be permanantly scarred if you say "no"! Right? Because she still wants one last sleepover.... OH for sanity sake, say no!!

Here's the skirt - and I cheated and used cake mix (geez, they're just kids!) - and that is seriously pink... she wanted it to match her "theme", lol

Hmmmm.....

The way it stands......

...is that my garage is horrid, and I gotta get to it. Or, through it. Past it?? Beyond it?? Anyhooo..... yeah. I was supposed to start today, but what with taking the cat to the vet, and going to the bank (not just for regular banking, but to get my signature notarized so I can get a new title for my husband's motorcycle which we want to sell but of course he has no recollection of where he put that thing) then of course, the DMV... which, I have to say, is one of those things I appreciate about Idaho. It took me about 10 minutes... maybe 15. When I lived in California, this would've been at least an hour+ job. Another thing I appreciate, and will miss, is our trash service. I mean, we have 1 can, but if we have more stuff, you can put it out there, in a bag, a box, whatever....even an old piece of furniture if it's small, and they'll take it. Totally cool about it. My DH told me today that in Virginia, if you have anything that doesn't fit in your trashcan, even a small bag, they'll charge you $5.oo extra to take it. Per bag. Geez. I'm thinking I am gonna be sorry for all the times I've groaned about living in Spudville.

The good news is that the cat doesn't have the disease the rescue center's vet told us he had! Which is great. I kind of wondered about it, since she just arbitrarily told us that was his problem, without any kind of test. I didn't worry about it, because we don't have any other cats he could have spread it to, and he's an indoor cat, but still, it's good to know he's a totally healthy little guy. Very little! He only weighs 9 lbs. Runt of the litter, I guess! Boy, was he unhappy about the trip. Didn't like the vet's office at all!

The dog - she's doing great. Still limping, but leg getting stronger every day.

Tomorrow is the last day of school, even though last Thursday was actually the last day of school. Confused much?? Okay, last week was final tests and all, and tomorrow is just desk-cleaning and assembly and then a picnic. So, a fun day!

This week is going to be a bit hectic - too much to do, too little time. D-day for the move is coming up fast!

Weird advice and too much stress

So, on the "moving front", we are scheduled to pull out of Idaho in 4 weeks, heading off to Virginia. Wow, seemed like it was *forever and ever* away, and now I am suddenly having panic attacks because I "ONLY" have 4 weeks left, and so much to do! I've been trying to avoid going into the garage, because that's what I need to tackle next... and it seems like one more insurmountable mountain. ~full body shiver~ We are seriously considering paying someone to pack the house up... mostly, because I just "don't wanna"! Well, and it will take them, like, one day, as opposed to me starting now and hoping I get it done on time! It's enough that I have to load up all the crap - I mean lovely stuff - onto the moving truck.....

We've had lots of people looking at the house (good, but what a pain!) and we almost had an offer - it was all signed and in their realtor's hand, but then the buyers got scared and changed their mind... and, really, "almost had an offer" is as good as not getting one at all, so, poop. The nice thing is all the realtors who've been thru say our home shows really well, so at least they aren't saying stuff like "seriously, that house'll never sell" so, there may be hope, at least. I am already sick of keeping it spotlessly clean. Altho, I kind of enjoy spotlessly clean.... hmmm.... who knew??!

Now, here's the Weird Advice... our realtors (who are good people; I've known them several years, so I don't think they're being flaky or dishonest here) they are telling us - well, telling us that they can't really tell us but - we should quit paying our house payment. Seriously?? Seriously. "Cause here's the deal - home prices have dropped so low in our area that there is no possible way to sell our house for what we owe. Not that we 'overbought' or anything, we were very reasonable when we bought this place. It's just - life today. Every single comp is either a foreclosure or a 'short sale' so there is no way - even if someone wanted to buy the house enough to pay full price - well, it wouldn't appraise out. So, we're stuck. But, the bank will generally accept a short sale only if the homeowner is obviously in distress (ie: behind on payments) which, we aren't. So, they are saying, well, once you move (next month) you'll have to pay rent there plus this house, will you be able to (not if we want to, oh, I don't know, eat) so, if it doesn't sell, do you want to long-term long-distance rent it (NO! Been there, done that) so, what does that leave you? Foreclosure? So, if that's where you're headed, why throw money away? Quit paying now, the bank may then accept your short sale, and maybe it will be sold before it forecloses, so that's your choice, really, or throw money into a pit......
Wow. Telling me to just quit paying my house payment seems like telling me to, I don't know, start shop lifting or something! You know, it's wrong and mom taught me not to! But, in a month, we'll be living in Virginia, and we honestly can't pay the rent and the mortgage here.... I don't know. I just don't know. It's....Weird.

Well. On to other things! Only two more weeks of school!! YAY!! I was mentally done, like, last month. We may yet make it through....

The dog is doing well. I worry about her daily, but she seems to be progressing. Not sure how long until I can breathe easier.... this Weds. will be her 8 week post-surgery mark.


One Reason I am Crazy

Yesterday marked the 5 year anniversary of my little sister passing away. I can't believe it's been that long. Honestly, I had been trying to decide if it'd been 3 years, or only 2.... then my mom was talking about it.... 5 years. It's really been messing with my head. And I've been crying alot the last couple days. They always say "Time Heals All Wounds" but no one ever explained how slowly time can move......

Buying myself gifts

So, in celebration of my 25th wedding anniversary, it being the 'silver' one and all, I bought myself a gift... a beautiful sterling silver ring with cubic zirconia in it. See, I've gained alot of weight in the last few years, and my wedding ring doesn't fit. I've been told "have it resized" but that feels like 'giving up', as if I'll never lose the fat. Instead, I opted to buy myself a new ring, for the meanwhile. It's reeeeal shiny....lol. And sparkly. ooooooh. 'Cause I love me. I told Scooter "send me the $20 I spent and I'll tell everyone you bought it for me" hahahaha!!!

(The cat likes the ring as well, you can see...)

The realtor came over two days ago, and we are getting it listed as we speak. Or, as I type. Anyway, it's getting done. Sigh. The work ain't over yet, tho, is it??! Now I have to work on the garage. The mere thought makes my head throb.

Merry dog is healing nicely, it would seem. That's the bright light in my otherwise muted existance right now.

A Better Day - or two!

This has been a GOOD weekend! My husband is home for a visit (which sounds wierd, I know!) but that's how it is. Anyway, it's awesome to have him here! ' Cause he changed the light bulbs way up high in the kitchen ceiling where I can't reach. And helped me get the big ol' 100lb. dog to the vet (well, wait - she's only 97lbs. now...doing good!) It is also our 25 year wedding anniversary, so YAY US!! Anyhow, it's been a sweet time.



Another good thing is, the house is going to be put on the market this week! I got it all 'tidied', and I have housecleaners coming in the morning to get it sparkling. (I decided I was sick to death of the household chores, so I'm paying someone else to do it this time around - it'll be so totally faster than if I did it myself, not to mention - I don't wanna!!)



The next good news is that we took Merry to the vet, because I was freaking out, again, about the leg. She's got this funky bump just on the outside of her leg, and her suture site is looking a bit red and puffy... since she fell last week, I was all stressed out. Well, the bump is where she is building up a callous on the inside from where the permanent sutures are tied in a knot and aparently irritating her skin in there, and a little seroma has built up. That should clear up on it's own, but if not the vet can drain it. The problem with the suture site is that instead of absorbing the 'absorbable' sutures, my dog's body is, instead, trying to reject them. So, it's built up a little 'wall' around it, and getting red and possibly a little pus - trying to shove those sutures out of the skin, the way you would a splinter. So, while not "ideal", not a huge problem. Just gotta keep an eye on it. Oh, but I said this was good news, didn't I? Yeah, because the surgery itself seems to be doing well.... the vet tried to push the knee to do the 'drawer' thingie, and he said there isn't even "micro-movement", which means the knee is good and tight and the permanent sutures are holding like they should, and she's building back the muscle tone, so - so far, so good. We still have a long way to go before we can say we've really made it, but it's good news at this point. And! She's lost 3 pounds, which is a good start. She probably ought to get down about 15 lbs....

Well, that's my GOOD weekend! Hope you all had some of that, yourself.

M I A

Wow, I have totally been missing in action around here! I really do want to post every day, but life is just - well, not like that right now. But, here's what's up:

The dog is doing okay. I worry about her alot. Today she is walking pretty good (not perfect by any means) but she has this little lump on her leg, in the knee area. And she seems, I don't know, not quite herself tonight. I am just not loving this whole cruciate - surgery - recuperation business, at all. Far too iffy, in my opinion. Scooter is coming home for a visit this weekend (YAY!!) so one of the 'fun' activities I have planned is a check-up trip to the vet. Oh, yeah, I know how to show a guy a good time!

The house is ALMOST done!!! Unbelieveable. Just a couple more things to pick up and put - somewhere - but I have a maid service coming Monday to do a serious cleaning, then the realtor will be out later in the week. Finally! I'm trying not to think about the garage, then the packing, the actual move.... and of course, now that spring is here, I've had to add watering, mowing, and weeding to my already-too-long list of things to do. Sheesh.

I am having someone else do homeschooling with Kiwi for a few days - weeks - whatever. I need the time to get my poop-in-a-group. Thank the Lord for good friends!

Well, that's about all the news from here. Except that YAY!!!! my husband will be here for 4 whole days!!! I have been missing him, way too much.

Update on Doggie Surgery

Here she is enjoying a nice chew!














Her hair still hasn't grown back in....


Her incision site sure looks tons better!

I thought I'd post a couple recent pics of my dog since the surgery. Things are going well; we are taking little walks now, and I am freaking out less often - so it's all good. Now I have more time to freak out about the fact I am supposed to list this house to sell and it's a ginormous clutter-bin. sigh.... When Scooter comes for a visit next weekend, he may kill me... or stick to his claim of renting a dumpster and a back hoe...... Well, that'd save me from packing, wouldn't it??!

What a week! Flu and post cruciate surgery on dog (ACL)

I got the flu and was miserably sick since Sunday. Now I'm just exhausted. It's no fun taking your dog out on a leash to potty when you're sick. And it's raining. Yeah. Good times.

I am calling the vet tomorrow to see if I should leave the dog in the crate all the time. Supposedly, it's okay to have them loose in the house when you are there, but then they also tell you no trotting, running, or sudden movements. Well, I'm sorry - but when someone knocks on my door, the dog pops up, runs to the door... and how am I supposed to avoid that other than keep her crated 24/7?? She's also been hyper-skittish (she's always has paranoid tendencies, like that Kiwi's backpack is going to eat her when she's not looking) but it's worse now - even a piece of paper flitting down from the table will send her running. So of course I'm paranoid she's already messed up the knee that was just fixed! sigh. It's gonna be a long 8 weeks.....

Doggie Girl Surgery Update

Okay, so there are pain meds for dogs, and she's on them... actually morphine and, uh, I don't remember, Remadyl or something? Anyway, she's still moaning like she's simply dying..... however, when I called the vet today (for like, the 5th time since we've picked her up!) the vet said the pain meds are pretty strong so she's probably more likely feeling sick and miserable because of the meds. Niiiiice. It sucks that dogs can't tell you how they're feeling! My husband reminded me how crappy he felt after his own knee surgery (and he had to add that I seem to be much more caring and sympathetic for the dog, lol!!) Well, she's so much sweeter!! When I told the vet that Merry still won't eat a thing, (and this is the hog-dog extraordinaire) she first said "yeah, that is weird for a Golden Ret./Lab mix" and then started to say something else when my cell went dead.... I plugged it in and called her right back, and she was like "Oh, good! I thought I'd offended you, because I was looking at her chart and was saying how her missing a few meals wouldn't hurt her!" Lol. I'd had the exact same thought this morning when her breakfast was untouched!

Here is something cute, though.... when we left the house today, we had to crate her, and I guess the cat is feeling very sympathetic!

Surgery is Over, now the work begins

Well, Merry came through with flying colors! Our vet said her hips look great for a dog her age and size, her other knee looks good, and he was most surprised that the bad knee had no signs of arthritis to speak of. I guess these injuries usually take place as a series of small tears, so there has been wear on the joint and arthritis begins... but not in Merry's case, so that's good. My biggest concern is getting her through the healing process without breaking the repairs... you see, what they do is drill a hole through the bone and put non-dissolving sutures (the description to me sounded like fishing line) in and around the joint to basically hold things in place as the ligament did when it was there. The idea is that, over time, scar tissue builds up and the muscles firm up and eventually do the job of the ligament, even if after a period of time the sutures would slowly dissolve (but this isn't supposed to happen, except after many years, at which time they probably aren't needed.) The problem is that if the dog were to over-exert the area during the critical 2 - 6 week time period, they could snap that line and the job was a waste, basically. So, I had a vet tech come out to help me put the dog in my car (it's a big ol' SUV and a big jump up) but she - the tech - wasn't ready so Merry tried it on her own... so I'm all freaked out that she messed it up before we even left the vet's office!! Arrgghh. But, the vet said he put double sutures in, just in case since she's a 100lb dog, so hopefully all is well. Poor thing, she's been laying around groaning all night - it's pathetic, really. She wouldn't even eat a treat (to take her medicine) and that is a total rarity for this dog - so I know she's really miserable. Tonight Kiwi and I are sleeping in the livingroom with her - she'd probably cry all night if we shut her out of the bedroom, and we can't risk her jumping up on the bed. Oh, what I do for my pets! In three days, we start physical therapy.... funny thing, that.

Here are a few pics - Kiwi laying with her, reading; the IV site on her foreleg; the epidural site on her rump (an epidural! who knew?!); and the incision site on her hind leg. Icky.

What I may need to make it through

Saturday night the dog was trotting back across the front yard - after successfully chasing off the neighbor's cat - when she yipped and began limping. The next morning she wasn't any better (not putting any weight at all on her hind leg) so we took her in to the emergency vet. (Why must they always do these things on the weekend??) It would seem she has torn her "cruciate ligament" (like an ACL in a human). We have a vet consult tomorrow to see what we are up against. It sounds expensive and not a great outcome, at this point. Like, surgery in the $1,500 - $3,000 range.... and may not be a total cure..... and more likely than not, she'll pop the one on the other leg in a couple years... Why? WHY??? Do I not have enough to worry about right now? Cripes. She's only 8 years old; not a pup, but not old, either. I've been researching on the web.... now I'm on one of those "information overloads".... "surgery is the only option" "surgery often doesn't help"' "without surgery they'll get serious arthritis" "no matter what, they seem to get arthritis" And on and on it goes, even to the dangers of the anti-inflammitories she's now on... There are even 3 - 4 types of surgery for this, and everyone has their opinion as to the best one........ And I can't tell you how fun it is to lift her 100lb. self into the back of my full-size SUV.... then of course, all the other thoughts are swirling around in my head.... Will I have to get a new, lower car? Will we have to rent a ground-floor apartment when we move? Can she ever go on off-leash walks again? Will we have to buy a little doggie ramp so she can get on off the bed? I am a mess, totally. Today, we just hucked school, and we went to a movie then out to lunch. Because my brain needed some time off.

How is this helping??

Why does the cat insist on getting into every box I open up? He's such a crazy thing.... I tried to get the dog to eat him, but she's far too nice for that.

Although I think she was considering it, given the way he must have smelled at this point....

Walking the Dog

I took Glee for a walk today. It's been much too long since we've gone on one, with me working in the mornings now. Was she ever a happy gal! She even wandered into the river, but not deep enough to go swimming - it was after all, like, 30 degrees out! She's not a complete doof. She was a bit more subdued than usual; I'm not sure if it was because of her harness (she does know she's supposed to not be a goober while wearing it) or if, like me, she is just feeling fat and old. I guess we both needs lots of walking.