My Loving Husband Surprises Me Again!

My husband surprised me this morning with a new shirt.  The first I saw it was when we went on our early morning walk together with our dog.  This one really made me feel good!

Isn't he sweet?


Share this:

Vet Visit For Spunky Doodle - Good News and Bad News

Chunky Spunky at 13 lbs, March 2010

Jan. 2014 (perfect weight) when we started using the feeder toy to slow down her eating to keep her from regurgitating her food.

Spunky Doodle had to go to the vet today for her regular comprehensive exam and routine vaccines.  It's so hard to find the right amount of food to give her to keep her weight where it should be. I think I need to give Manny more to eat too because he's looking pretty thin as well.   In 2010 Spunky was way overweight, then I finally got her at 10 lbs, her perfect weight, but now she has lost too much.
  


Good News:

  

Today I am Skinny Spunky, just 7 lbs.

Spunky gets to eat more often because she lost too much weight now  (Spunky liked hearing this!)  I see more salmon and sardines in her future.  I knew she looked too thin!  No wonder she's always hungry, she's not getting enough to eat!

Her heart is strong, no arthritis, and clear lungs.

She was very good at the vet and even let them pet her furry stomach.

She got out of getting those shots today.

UPDATE 7/22/14:  Her blood work and stool sample results came back good!

The bad news is:

She has an ear infection in her right ear.  That means I have to squirt in some ointment once a day for 21 days! 

We have to go back again in 21 days to see if she's gaining any weight from just being fed more food.  Hopefully she will and there are no other problems.  The ear infection should be cleared up by then too so she can get her shots then.

Going to the vet is so stressful and expensive.  Just the trip today without even the vaccines was over $300, but Spunky is worth it to us.  We hope to have her with us for another ten years!

Share this:

Happy Birthday to Spunky Doodle

This is Spunky Doodle's 10th Gotcha day so time to celebrate!  She is still spunky, living up to her name.

Mom says since I have pretty much outgrown toys but love to eat and hunt for food, she has a  special treat for me today.  Maybe she'll finally let me have some of Abby's dog food!  Or, maybe she'll actually share her ice cream with me.  I don't know what it is but maybe you could help me guess.  What do you think my special treat will be?

You WILL share your special treat with me, won't you?

I got my special treat for lunch:  Salmon juice and bits of salmon--yummy!

I LOVE this juice!

Manny managed to get a little too!

Thanks, Spunky.

Abby got to lick the bag.

When we got back from playing tennis, we found the recycle can knocked over and the Salmon package separated from the rest of the stuff. 

Guess the cats wanted more!

See other cats in this Feline Friday meme.

Share this:

Now I'm Excited About The Browns This Year!

The Browns announced today that they will have a live dog lead the team on the field.  I am so happy that they finally are going to have a real dog for a mascot.  It's name is "Swagger" and it is a bull mastiff.  Looks like a pretty sad dog, don't you think?

Source:  Bleacherreport.com
Read all about it here:  Real Animal to Lead Browns Onto Field 

Share this:

7 Benefits of Raspberries--Eat Up!

I like raspberries so I was happy to see they have many benefits such as:

1. They are low in sugar and high in Vitamin C.
2. They contain Maganese which protects against bone demineralization.
3. They contain Omega-3 fatty acids which fight inflammation, increase calcium absorption and help to maintain bone density.
4. They contain anthocyanins (flavonoids) that help improve brain function.
 Because they contain ellagic acid:
5. They promote neurological health.
6. They help to prevent cancer--it can actually kill cancer cells!
7. They prevent wrinkles and inflammation associated with too much sun exposure.

When I was a kid, the neighbors behind our garage had a raspberry bush and they would come through the fence.  I remember eating those and liking them.  We will definitely be including raspberries on my shopping list.  How about you?

Source:  "Build Your Bones With This Berry Delicious Summer Treat" by Vivian Goldschmidt, M.A.

Share this:

Mystery Outing Goes On In Spite Of Stormy Weather

We had a special "Mystery Outing" for my Sunday School class yesterday that I went along on.  This is a fun event because the kids are not told ahead where they are going.  Normally we go to a park where we have a cookout, play some games, and then hike on hills and in between rocks in search of the "ice box" cave at Virginia Kendall Park.  This is the standard Kids Day Out day every year for those going into 6th grade in the fall.

Since it stormed and rained yesterday, it also became a real mystery outing for me.  The forecast was rain all afternoon and it started around 10 a.m.  That pretty much made it easy for those in charge to determine to use the rain plan instead.  What are they going to do that would especially fun for the kids for 5 hours? I was disappointed because I knew the kids would have really enjoyed hiking at Virginia Kendall; however, our summer interns who assist with children and youth ministry for the summer did a fantastic job on coming up with an alternate plan the kids really enjoyed.

As they arrived, they were invited to join in a game of "spoons" using popsicle sticks. Then they worked on creating a container to protect an egg from breaking when they dropped it from a balcony.  They came up with all kinds of different ideas.

We had hotdogs, munchies, fruit gummies, and veggies for lunch.  By the time we finished lunch, it stopped raining so we went in the van to a nearby park.  As we rode, we saw a group of 5 or 6 raccoons cross the road and go into the bushes--they were sooo cute!  (That was the highlight of the day for me!)  We went to West Creek  Park and the kids each got a list of things to try to find along the way as we walked on the path.  Then it started to drizzle again so we headed for the building where there is interactive exhibits about water.  There is also a big room with comfortable seating, large windows and a fireplace where we had a devotional on God's creation and why we were created.  It rained hard while we were in the building but finally let up.

The minister of children really was eager for the kids to be able to be outside so we started out once again.  This time, almost as soon as they left, it poured down rain again before all of our group even left the building.  They ran down to the other little pavilion to take cover.  By the time the ones left in the building borrowed some umbrellas to go rescue them, they were headed back the other way and got pretty wet.  They boys loved it!

Egg Drop Winners

Back to the church we went to do the egg drop. Two of the kids and one of the interns successfully dropped their egg hitting the target without it breaking.  We'll never know if Joshua's broke or not because he had it wrapped so tightly with painter's tape that he gave up trying to undo it.  My personal favorite was the one protected with playdough which was a winner (created by boys in picture on the right). 

First stir up the food coloring concoction

Then mix with bottle of glue

Then they made some slime using a whole bottle of glue, some water, Borax and food coloring. Some turned out very well and all the kids seemed to have fun making it.






 
The sun finally came out around 3:00 when we headed for Steak-n-Shake for milkshakes for everyone.  Two girls in our group never got their shakes until everyone else was finished so they finished theirs on the van heading back to the church.

It turned out to be a fun time after all!

Share this:

How We Spent Our Holiday

Before breakfast while Gerard and Abby went for a walk, I found a great website for a resource for teaching my Sunday School class:  www.churchhousecollection.com.  It had cute clipart for the 10 plagues (my lesson this week) and pointed me to another site where I found The Plague Song that I am going to use this week. 

This morning we went to the Parma 4th of July parade.  It was a bit cool this year so we wore our red, white and blue Indians jackets.

Abby sitting nice watching the parade go by.

Abby finished off the biscuit she got quickly--it was practically gone before I could take the picture! 

The Dairy Queen float gave out free Dilly Bars!  Gerard got one for me but didn't get a picture.  I ate it pretty fast . . . didn't want it to melt.

Other people brought their dogs too.  Abby liked meeting them and they all liked her!

 

One church even brought along some puppets!

I thought I could finish my book, but the parade was too distracting.

I had a taste for a burger so stopped for lunch at Wendy's.  Gerard got a fish sandwich.

We played tennis--was a beautiful day for that.  Wasn't so hot and I didn't even have to bring any water along.  I also found out that from directv.com I can actually set up movies to be recorded on our DVR!  It's much easier to browse on the website for them than it is on the TV. 


Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and had a safe and happy 4th! 


Share this:

Friday Fragments (Life, News, Books)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post.

July

Happy Independence Day!  I am so thankful I live in America and still have freedom.  I just wish it was still a Godly nation.
  
July is a good month for us: Off for the holiday July 4, looking forward to having a mystery outing with my Sunday School class on Tuesday (off work); helping to prepare for Vacation Bible School (VBS) Treasure Island on Wednesday; then off the whole next week to help with the fourth graders in VBS. 

Cedar Point--New Ride

I saw on the news this week that Cedar Point now has the slingshot ride.  It looks quite scary and you have to pay an additional $25 to ride it!  For another $20, you can purchase a picture of you on it.  Neither Gerard or me would ride that one!  What about you?

False Alarm

I don't know quite how to describe the feeling I had when I thought I lost my cell phone on the bus Monday. I guess sad and shocked might cover it. When I went to make a call, that is all I could think of when it wasn't in my pocket. I was so distracted that I accidentally opened an envelope marked "confidential" that was for one of the attorneys I work for. Read my post: "Oh, Oh! I Lost My Cell Phone" to see what happened.

Sunset from porch

Porch Time

We've had some hot weather this past week so I enjoyed sitting on the porch in the evening. I love summer!!!!!!

Reading

We've read some very good books in June. To see our reviews, visit Grab a Book From Our Stack.

Gerard's Favorite

Karen's Favorite

Share this:

Loving These Warm Summer Nights

I went out on the porch Tuesday night and took a picture of the sunset.  Read for a while on the porch (Those Who Wish Me Dead) and then forgot to bring in my camera.  Gerard saw it on the chair today when he went out to brush Abby.  Good thing no one took it!  I think this is the first sunset I ever took.  Time to go see another one.  Which shot do you like better, the first or the second?

It was a good day--an easy work day and I always feel good when I set a new record on a Lumosity game.  Last night I set two new records!




Share this:

Oh, Oh, I lost My Cell Phone!

When I went for my cell phone yesterday to make a call, it wasn't in my pocket.  I knew I had it when I left the house because I actually remembered putting it into my pocket.  I figured it must have fallen out on the bus.  I immediately prayed that I would get it back.  It's not a smart phone and can't even text or take pictures with it.  Just a basic phone to make and receive calls.  I do use the timer on it and sometimes the stop watch, but it's nothing fancy.  I would think if someone found it they would try to return it.

I started thinking what I would do if I found a lost cell phone and think I would try calling some of the contacts who could maybe recognize the number and call that person to let them know who has their phone.  If it rang, I would probably answer it hoping it was the owner of the phone trying to locate it.  Is that what you would do?  That's what I did.  It just rang and rang and rang and rang.  I let it ring long to give the people on the bus a chance to find it and answer but no one did.  Then I called my husband to let him know I lost it so he would be aware I didn't have it in case he tried calling me on it.

About an hour later, my husband called with good news--he found my phone!  Yea!  What a relief!  It had fallen out of my pocket in our car when he drove me to the bus stop before I got on the bus.  At lunch time he just looked in the car for it and there it was, in the passenger seat.  Thank God! 

What would you do if you found a lost cell phone?

Share this: