next
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 26, 2008 -- Four Years of Marital Bliss Pete and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary by going to dinner at Beni Hana. Since we were dressed-up for the occasion, I thought it would be nice to get out the camera and tripod, and take a picture of ourselves in our back yard before we left the house. (And yes, my eyes are open in this picture, although I do seem to have a problem with squinting when I'm having my picture taken outdoors.) I enjoyed having an occasion for which I could wear this new maternity dress, one of the many great pieces I bought used from Craig's List. |
 |
| June 25, 2008 -- "Boy Parts" At an ultrasound I had today, the technician spotted "boy parts"! Now we know!!! We are lucky to know so early on in our pregnancy. It's great to have some advance knowledge of the sex, so we can start thinking about names, and we can buy "boy" clothes with confidence! |
 |
June 24, 2008 -- More Good News Terri and Terry are pregnant! Yea!!! Their due date is around mid-February. It sounds like, except for waking up most mornings at 2:00 with morning sickness, Terri is doing pretty well. C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! ! ! |
 |
June 24, 2008 -- Tomato Plants Wow, these babies have quadrupled in size, and there is even a small green tomato making an appearance already. I have been watering them faithfully, and using Miracle Grow tomato fertilizer once a week. So far, so good! |
 |
| June 23, 2008 -- Giving Up Miles Unfortunately, Miles's behavioral problems exceeded the limits of our dog training abilities. Biting, accidents in the house, hyperactivity, and excessive barking that even caused neighbors to scold him from their yards, were some of the reasons we decided that Miles was not a good fit for us (or my parents). We relinquished him to the rescue we got him from earlier this month. I hope they will take my recommendations into account when placing him with his next family. I was very fond of Miles, and this was a hard decision. I had previously thought that people who relinquished their pets to shelters were cold and heartless, but now I have a little more understanding of why someone might do that. I also feel that perhaps some of the responsibility lies with the rescue organization; they did not do a good job finding a family for Miles that would be able to handle his special needs. I hope with all my heart that someone will adopt Miles who has professional dog training skills and will love him as much as he deserves! |
 |
 |
June 21, 2008 -- Playing With Miles My parents' dog, Miles, has proven himself to be quite a handful. Due to his many behavioral issues, my parents don't feel he is a good fit for them. Before giving him up, Pete and I wanted to have him for a week and see if we could train him to be a better-behaved dog, since we have had some dog training experience from going through obedience school with Casey. Miles is a very energetic dog -- we had fun playing with him, and we made some progress with his behaviors, too. |
 | June 20 -- What Every Woman Wants... ...is a slice of six-layer Chocolate Motherlode Cake, with chocolate chips, walnuts, and fudge frosting, from the Claim Jumper restaurant. Late Friday night, Pete and I decided to go out for coffee and dessert. You already know what I ordered, and Pete ordered a piece of mint chocolate chip mud pie with a chocolate cookie crust. Alas, the Chocolate Motherlode Cake (which I feel deserves to capitalized as a proper noun), was too much for me -- I had to take most of it home in a to-go box. I then enjoyed it over the next several days. Mmmmm! |
 |
| June 18, 2008 -- Cast No More Pete's doctor removed his cast today. The bones are not 100% healed, but his orthopedic surgeon says the sooner the joint can start experiencing gentle movement, the less short- and long-term stiffness there will be. Pete says he can tell he has lost strength in his left arm, but he will continue to do physical therapy to regain full range of motion and strength. He enjoys being able shower, wash his hands, use the garden hose, etc. without worrying about getting his cast wet. He's been able to do more cooking, too! :-) |
 |
 |
June 16, 2008 -- Baby News! You guessed it -- we are having a baby! Our parents and grandparents are overjoyed with the news! And of course, we're quite pleased, too. Our due date is December 16th, which means that I am about three months along. It is too early to know the sex yet, but either a girl or boy would be fine with us. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago, which showed that this is a single baby (not twins). |
| June 8, 2008 -- 500 Cookout Our monthly card group had its annual cookout/potluck day. It was fun, as usual. During the final round, I took a huge risk-- a 10-bid -- and made it, which not only gave me the high-scoring round, but also overall high score for the day. Yea! |
 |
| June 1, 2008 -- Tomatoes I am trying my hand at growing tomato plants in containers this summer. I am growing medium-sized tomatoes in the left pot, and cherry tomatoes in the right pot. I hope they do well -- I love homegrown tomatoes! (Maybe Miles does, too!) |
| June 1, 2008 -- Miles My parents adopted a new dog, a Pomeranian named Miles. He is gorgeous! He is two and a half years old, and weighs 16 pounds. He is a little fireball -- full of energy, and wanting as much petting and attention as he can get! Miles and Casey met for the first time today, at a park near our house. At first, they did not get along at all. They barked, snarled and snapped at each other. But eventually they settled down and were able to co-exist somewhat. I'm sure they'll eventually come to enjoy each other's company. |
 |
 |
May 29, 2008 -- Rental Property We went together with my parents on purchasing a rental property! It is a two-bedroom townhome in Grand Junction. Grand Junction is attractive to us because the rents are higher than the Denver market, due to the oil shale industry and the expanding college there. I'm excited to be a part of this venture, and I hope it will be profitable in both the short-term and long-term! |
| April 30, 2008 -- Both Arms Broken Pete had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, who confirmed the break in his left wrist and also identified a fracture in the greater tuberosity area of his right arm. Pete was fitted for a new cast (see picture at right), and referred to a physical therapist so his shoulder won't get stiff while his arm heals. The orthopedic surgeon said Pete's bones should take three to six months to heal. May 15, 2007 Update: The physical therapist seems to really know her stuff. Pete's range of motion is improving each week, and although I still help him shower and dress, he is able to do more and more things on his own. |
 |
 |
April 26, 2008 - The Doggies Go Home Chris and Linda returned from their cruise and picked-up the dogs. Tyler and Trinity just about jumped out of their skin with excitement! I thought I would end their visit with two cute pictures of our guests. Trinity (left) had fun carrying this stick around the back yard, nevermind the fact that it was almost as big as her! And I liked this picture of Tyler (right), because he looks shy and like he's hiding behind the wall, which is funny, because his personality is definitely not shy at all. Bon voyage, doggies! |
 |
 |
April 25, 2008 - But Wait, There's More (Evel Knievel Update) When Pete woke up this morning, he couldn't move his left hand, and it was throbbing with pain. He suspected he might have broken a bone in his hand or wrist. I was skeptical, because I thought as painful as broken bones are, he would've felt it yesterday. I took him to an urgent care facility, where an x-ray confirmed that one of the bones in his left wrist, the scaphoid bone, is indeed broken. His arm, wrist and hand were put in a cast, and now both arms are out of commission for a while.  Adding to the drama of the day, on the way home from picking-up Pete's car and skis from the ski resort, my car died at Quebec at C-470, which is an extremely busy intersection in Highlands Ranch. There was no shoulder to pull over to, so unfortunately, I blocked a lane of traffic for about an hour. (Sorry, fellow motorists.) We have AAA, so I called their customer service number and they sent a tow-truck. Because it was late in the afternoon on Friday when my car arrived at the repair shop, I won't have my car until Monday at the earliest. But since Pete can't drive, having only one car in the family isn't really a problem at this time. :-) |
| April 24, 2008 - Computer Geek Thinks He's Evel Knievel (I felt this headline was a little mean, but Pete encouraged me to use it, saying it was humorous and more attention-grabbing than my alternate headline: "Skiing Accident".) Pete was skiing at Loveland, and while coming off a jump in the terrain park, he fell and dislocated his right shoulder. He had to be transported by ambulance to a Denver hospital. Doctors feared his right arm bone might be broken in addition to the dislocation, so they took x-rays. The first x-rays showed a possible hairline fracture, but once the arm was back in place, he was re-x-rayed, and they couldn't find any fractures. He was sent home with his arm in a sling and a prescription for vicodin. I'm happy to report that he should be back to normal in a week or so. |
 |
 |
April 14, 2008 - Treats! What good doggies, performing the sit-stay command. They inspired me to make my own "Successories"-style poster. Also, I am back at my temp job. I don't know how long they'll need me, but it's good to be back! |
| April 13, 2008 - Signs of Spring The vinca starts that my cousin Karen gave me last fall have survived the winter, and have developed beautiful blue blossoms! |
 |
 |
April 12, 2008 - Dogsitting, Continued At the Laird house, doggies must lie down while we are eating at the kitchen table. No begging allowed! |
| April 11, 2008 - Dogsitting We will be dogsitting two dogs for two weeks. Tyler and Trinity are short-haired basenji mixes. Casey has been fascinated with them and loves to hang out with them. The dogs have been good in the house, no accidents and no chewing-up furniture or anything. They are a bit strong-willed on walks, however. I joke that I am going to stand on a skateboard and let Tyler pull me. As you can see in the picture, we still had snow on the ground their first day here. |
 |
 |
April 9, 2007 - I can fly! The office where I recently worked as a temp (and have been asked to start working at again next week) included me in some employee fun -- I got to join the gang for an evening of indoor skydiving! I'm so honored that they included me even though I'm just a temp! When you first arrive at Sky Venture, they make you sign a waiver that releases them from liability if you pass out, break bones, die, etc. (Die, did you catch that...?) It had the effect of really scaring me about doing it. But I did it anyway. You next watch an instructional video that teaches you how to enter and exit the wind chamber, the hand signals your instructor will use to communicate with you in the chamber, and how to hold your body. The correct posture for beginners is to lie flat on your stomach, chin up, legs partially bent, and arms out in front. (Picture Superman flying and you'll get the idea.) Then, you are issued knee and elbow pads, a flight suit, ear plugs, a helmet and goggles. The instructor takes each person into the clear glass wind chamber one at a time. It is a two-story chamber with a powerful fan underneath that blows you up into the air with 120 mph winds. Depending on how you hold your body or change your position, you float to the top, spin around, and enjoy the sensation of flying. It was really fun! |
| April 4, 2008 - Grooming Time Shedding season has begun! So, Casey went to the groomer's today. The groomer said she has never seen that much fur come off a sheltie before. (Technically, Casey is only half sheltie, and half eskie.) Casey hated this collar the groomer put on him, but I thought it was adorable. I think he looks like an Anne Geddes baby! He got to take the collar off just after I took his picture. p.s. We got a new camera, so I expect to have more pictures to fuel this blog with now! |
 |