Sunday, October 17, 2004

Well, we did get another dog. Turns out I am somewhat obsessive, so I got some medication for that as well. Mike finally agreed after I drove him crazy for 2 weeks that we could get a dog. The only way he would go along with it is if we got a puppy. I had wanted a dog that was 1-2 years old, so we wouldn’t have to deal with a lot of the puppy issues, but if this was the only was I could get a dog, I decided to go for it. After having Ivan (not after the hurricane) for a month, we have decided we do not want kids. We are too set in our ways and can not deal with it. He is Satan in a dog suit. I swear he reminds me of a bad mannered child. He is a 5 month old mutt. Very cute with floppy ears….and sharp teeth. We had to enroll him in doggy obedience school, after he bit my lip and drew blood. We checked out tons of books, but none of the stuff worked. He is a lot better now after his 3 weeks of school, but is still a terror. My latest injury due to Ivan is a broken ankle.

Obedience school had a policy to drop off the dog between 7-10 am and pick up at 5:30 at the absolute latest. The past 3 weeks I have been going to work early so I could make sure to pick him up before the 5:30 deadline. Since we got home before dark, I would take him out back so he could run off all his excess energy. He likes to play keep away with one of his outside fetch toys. I managed to be sneaky enough to get it away from him while on the deck. As I was walking to the yard, he got tangle in my feet causing me to lose my balance. I still don’t know if I made it down the steps before falling or if I fell while still on the steps. All I know is I heard/felt a crack/pop sound while falling, landed in the grass, moaning and crying loudly, and pulled up a few clumps of grass. It hurt. The neighbor across the street was outside working on his mailbox and did not come over to help me. I was loud enough for him to have heard. I managed to get inside, and call Mike to come home. We were at the emergency room for 4 hours. Turns out I have 2 chips in the bone close to each other, and the popping/cracking sound I heard was the 3 tendons surrounding the ankle tearing. So, the ankle is broken with a severe sprain. I am on crutches and am afraid I am going to hurt myself worse on them, so I also have knee pads so I can crawl around without hurting my knees.

The first week we had Ivan I wanted to take him back. I don’t now. He is soooo cute, even if he has issues. We are working through them and by the time he reaches adult hood, he will be great. Part of me wishes he would stay the 35-40 pounds he is now. (2 weeks ago he was 35.2 pounds, so who knows.)

I was going to start exercising again on Monday, but now have to push that back. I have gained weight since I quit smoking and started on the pill again. I need to control my eating habits. Turns out I also have an under active thyroid. I found that out this month and am on medication for that as well. Before I went on the meds I could never get full, now I can, so I hope that will help somewhat with my desire to eat less and lose weight. I’ve babbled enough for this month….later.

posted by Beth Paddock 9:04 PM

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Sunday, August 29, 2004

Okay, this is odd. It appears the comments section works, it just does not show up for 5-7 days.

posted by Beth Paddock 12:14 AM

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Saturday, August 28, 2004

I will be getting another dog in the near future. I had Tippy for 13 years after wanting a dog for most of my life. The companionship is not something I am willing to give up.

I have started a "Dog Adoption Fund" to save money for a new doggy. The average adoption fee in the area is around $100, plus all the new stuff I would need like a collar, leash, food dish, etc. Mike wants me to wait a few months before I get a new dog, so I will. I have $41 saved so far. I have stopped buying sodas to help save $$. It was suggested by my mother that I find a doggy piggy bank to put the money in. I finally found one today, after going to at least, 50 different stores. I found one at Walgreens. It is a plush dog that barks and glows when you put money in it.

We are allowed to bring out pets to work, so there are several dogs to play with there. I am jealous of those who bring the dogs to work cause they still have dogs, yet am grateful they bring them. It has helped me tremendously to be able to hug and love on the dogs at the office, so thanks guys!!!

The weather this summer has sucked for us pool owners. It is too cold to use the pool on weekends. During the week it gets hot, but as the weekend approaches, the temperatures cool off to way below normal. The temp in the pool today was 75 degrees. I did have a floaty thing that kept me mostly out of the water when on it, but I accidentally broke it, and they are sold out at the stores. End of the season and all that. I want to lie in the pool and sunbathe, but it is too cold. That is so wrong for the end of August in Missouri. The average high for this time of the year is around 90 with the humidity around 110%. I know it is on purpose. This is the first year we have had a pool and no season pass to Six Flags. Okay, Mike is the one who brought that up.

I do not know why the comments section does not work correctly. It does whenever we test it. Mike will be working on it. He does the technical stuff, I do laundry. :)

posted by Beth Paddock 11:48 PM

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Saturday, August 21, 2004

I've discovered I do not know how to deal with really strong emotions. I had to have Tippy put to sleep Friday, somewhat unexpectedly, and am having a hard time facing her not being here. She would have been 14 in 2 months, and for a 70 pound dog, that is old. She apparently had a problem with her liver that did not come into focus until the last few days. She started throwing up, running a high fever, and would not eat. I took her to the vet on Thursday, the vomiting had started Wed. night, and they took blood to run some test. Part of me knew before the vet called with the results Friday morning, cause I had to carry her outside so she could pee. She had never been sick the whole time we were together. On Friday, she just laid on the floor and panted. She couldn't stand, and would not eat. The vet called and said that she either had cancer of the liver, or a liver disease, and with her age and her not walking, recommended euthanasia.

God I miss her! I miss having her follow me everywhere I go upstairs, so much, that I am having a hard time staying in the house. It isn't as bad downstairs. Her hips were bad enough when we moved to this house, that she never came down here. She would stand between me and the counter when I would cook, hoping that this would cause me to drop some food. I love my cats, but they are not the same. I want to get another dog, so I don't have to deal with these feelings. It would help block them. Mike will not let me get a dog right now, and he is correct. I do want to get one for my birthday/Christmas present, so we will see. At least until then, I do have the various office dogs to hug, and take for walks. It's not the same.

I got Tippy a few months after my father died. She helped me get through that. She was my best friend for so many years. She was my family. This hurts as much as having a human family member die. Been there, done that, I know. It does hurt as much. I did not expect that. I cried so much yesterday that I could not breath through my nose last night, and could not find a medication to take that would work. I am trying to not cry today so I can avoid that. I left the house to go window shopping, and learned that Adopt a Stray at the mall is off limits for awhile. I didn't even want any of the dogs there, it was just knowing my baby girl was gone. I don't know what I did in life to deserve her, she was a wonderful friend, and knowing she is not upstairs right now, waiting at the head of the stairs for me, breaks my heart.

posted by Beth Paddock 11:46 PM

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Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Melissa and I went to the gym today and it was great.  I seem to have recovered my desire to exercise.  I also plan on going on a strict diet for a few months to lose weight.  My jeans do not fit, and that was a big wake up call.  I figure I lost 56 pounds in approximately 6 months 2 years ago, I can lose 15-20 in 3 or less. I need to figure out my routine.  Do I want to do all my cardio (at least 1 hour a day) at the gym, or do some at home in the mornings.   

This time I plan on sticking with the healthy eating and exercise once I hit the size/weight I want.  Since I quit smoking, I might as well go completely healthy.  There is one good thing that has happened since I quit smoking that I failed to mention in my rant the other night.  I haven't had to use an inhaler since I quit.


posted by Beth Paddock 10:57 PM