yesterday was my lucky day!

Hi everyone!

Sorry that I've been MIA lately, but on top of the "stuff of life", I've been a busy, busy Dog Mom ... Buddy has needed a lot of care, poor angel ... lots of meds, dr appts, etc. The first 2 weeks after he came home from the hospital were spent recovering ... he wouldn't eat unless hand fed, he had trouble sleeping at night, etc. But I'm happy to report that he's doing WELL and is getting STRONGER! Along with premiere heart medications, he's getting everything he needs ... his doctor recommended additional protein (known to be good for canine heart patients), so he's getting organic tofu mixed into his meals. And she said that Omega-3 would be beneficial too, but instead of traditional fish oil (it's not animal-friendly!), we sprinkle organic flaxseed oil on his kibbles, a great alternative source of Omega-3. So good for him! We've noticed a return to his old self over the past 10 days or so, including his mischievous side LOL, and it has been so wonderful! So thankful! He had a check-up yesterday at the doggie cardiologist and she was pleased -- amazed actually! -- at his progress! So much so that she didn't see the need to do more bloodwork or X-rays for now, just an exam and Rx refills. Yay for Buddy, our precious furbaby !!!


And the great news continued yesterday when I checked my e-mail to find a message with the subject line "today's your lucky day!". OK! Well, unless it's one of those pesky spam messages, who wouldn't want to read that, right? I opened it to find that I had been invited to attend Inspiration Unlimited 2012, yay!!! :-) I've been on the IU waiting list for some time and, as of August, I was way down at # 41. I wasn't sure how quickly I'd make it up the list, or if I'd get the opportunity to attend at all. The demand is high, and I'm so glad that I can go! It's a Creative Escape-esque scrapbooking event that's held every September in Nevada. Near Vegas, but not in it ... and I'm glad because I'm just not into the whole "Sin City" vibe. Once again, I'll be enjoying a pampering event that includes lots of my favorite things ... travel, friends, scrapbooking, shopping, staying at a resort (with a spa, LOL). Already so excited for September! And 11 months of fun anticipation, and filling the Creative Escape void.

I'll be back soon with pics from a very special (milestone) birthday that we celebrated in my family recently. Trying to get caught-up on everything!

Hope you're having a "lucky day" today!

Susan

Buddy's home!

Hi everyone and thank you for all of your concern, thoughts, prayers for Buddy!

I'm happy to report that he's home from the hospital and is recovering well !! :-)

We're all so happy to be together again! Aruba missed him so much. It's precious to see how gentle she is with him.

I took Buddy for a follow-up appt with the cardiologist today ... we had lots to cover ... an exam, more chest X-rays, bloodwork, and more meds. She's very encouraged by his progress though, and he's taking premiere heart medications that will help him get and stay strong. Today it was sweet to see the nurses and vet techs at the cardio office responding to Buddy's recovery --- with hugs and kisses! Buddy is just so lovable!

Now he's home getting lots of TLC and a calm, comfortable environment to recuperate. We love you, Buddy!

Susan

Buddy's getting better !!

adorable patient

Hi everyone ~ they were able to take Buddy off oxygen late last night, and he remained stable through the night. That's great news!

Here are some scenes from our visits with him yesterday.....

Buddy has to wear a protective "cone" because he's a naughty (yet adorable!) patient and swipes his paws at the oxygen tubes and tries to remove his catheters:

He delightfully devoured the carrots (his favorite snack) that we brought:

The hospital has a "family room", complete with an oxygen hook-up in the wall, where we can visit Buddy in a more comfortable setting, rather than an exam room:

Again, thanks for all of your e-mails, thoughts, prayers. They're so appreciated!

Susan

broken hearts

Buddy was checked by his oncologist last week, and his lungs were fine thankfully, but the X-rays showed an enlarging heart.

So I took him to a veterinary cardiologist yesterday to follow-up on that ... and you can see that he was comfortable on the ride there:

But literally within the afternoon hours his health began to deteriorate before our eyes! He was barely strong enough for the heart doctor to do an echocardiogram, but it helped her diagnose him with acute congestive heart failure. OMG !! We were stunned, shocked, totally devastated. :-(

He needed 24-hour supportive care (oxygen, diuretics, etc), but wasn't healthy enough to travel far to get it. Even a moderate length car ride would be too stressful for him. So we rushed him from the cardiologist's office to an excellent emergency hospital ... just down the street, thankfully!! It's the same facility where Buddy had lung cancer surgery, so the staff knows and remembers our sweet Buddy (he's so popular!). It's a top-notch place with state-of-the-art facilities and highly-trained, specialized veterinary staff. So he's in really good hands, but it was touch-and-go through the night for him.

Overnight and this morning the ER doctors told me that Buddy is resting comfortably, and even ate! Today they'll be weaning him off oxygen, and depending how that goes, he could be released in a day or two. Buddy's such a strong dog! But, he's a heart disease patient now, so he'll have a lot of heart meds to take. But they will help his heart compensate for what it can't on its own anymore, truly a miracle of medicine.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for Buddy. It's so sad that a pup who has endured lung cancer now has a failing heart.

My heart hurts, too.

Susan

a note from Buddy

Hi everyone! It's me, Buddy!

I know that you've been waiting to hear about my mommy's trips to Creative Escape and Greece, and she can't wait to share all about them, but she has been busy. Part of it is because of me. I can tell that my mommy is really sad because I've been coughing more and something seems to be wrong with my lungs, even though my lung X-rays were clear in July. She sat up with me most of last night, and it made me feel better. She spoke with my oncologist's office this morning, and is taking me to the cancer clinic soon. So hopefully we can find out what's wrong. Maybe I just have a cold or something? But my mommy is worried about my lungs. I hope that my cancer hasn't come back, and that I don't have to go on chemo again. :-(

I'm sure my mommy will be back here soon with an update, but I wanted to help her with things today, so I'm blogging for her.

p.s. ~ today is my Grandma's birthday! Happy birthday Grandma, from me & Aruba!

Woof,
Buddy

who doesn't like a little sparkle?

Hi everyone!

I'm (still) sorting/editing my photos from Creative Escape, so I'll be posting about my fab experience soon! But I at least have a little CE teaser to post today.... some fun CE news to share!

During CE, I had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca Cross; she's the founder, owner, and creative director of Pink Paislee, a company that designs very popular scrapbooking products. Apparently the flowers that I custom-made to wear at CE had caught her eye ... they were in CE colors (aqua and red) and sprinkled with -- what else? -- GLITTER ! I wore them in my hair and/or attached to my nametag lanyard throughout the event. Turns out the ready-to-alter (plain muslin) flowers that I customized are made by her company! So she asked me for a photo of them so that she could post my design on Pink Paislee's blog, WOW !! Well, not only are they showcased on their blog today (along with my how-to), they're also on their Twitter and Facebook page! I'm thrilled, honored, and truth be told ... a little giddy.

I'm enjoying my 15 minutes of "celebrity", LOL. You can read her post and compare the "before" and "after" photos of my flowers HERE.

I am ... tickled PINK !! ;-)



Hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend,

Susan

go away, Irene!

This is so NOT what I wanted to wake up to the day before I leave for Creative Escape! :-(



Sal is insisting that I go to the event despite the impending hurricane, and has sweetly offered to take care of things here ... even thought it will mean putting up the hurricane shutters by himself (it's a big job, and I always help him!).

I'm so excited about CE, have been anticipating it for a year, but will be worried about Sal, Buddy & Aruba back home. :-(

Wishing safety to everyone in Irene's path,

Susan

21 years ago today....

....I married my best friend & the love of my life!

Happy 21st anniversary to Sal, my endless love !!

I love you so much, sweetheart!

XOXO,
Susan

hot under the (dog) collar

In my previous post, I was giddy about the joys of summer. But summer's not joyful if you're an animal with an irresponsible or naive pet parent. We've all seen it .... animals left in hot cars! This is CRUELTY, a tragedy that can be avoided.... I'm not sure why people feel that it's OK to leave their animals (usually dogs) in a scorching, baking car while they run into a store, or whatever? But the windows are cracked open? Doesn't help! Think the dog can just pant to keep cool? Not true!

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) recently published an article (below) outlining what you can do if you see an animal unattended in a car. For the sake of the voiceless animal, PLEASE do something! Please speak up, take the time, have the courage, to help that living creature avoid suffering ... or a painful death. Remember, WE ARE THEIR VOICE !! On behalf of animals, thank you.....


You Can Help Pets in Hot Cars

Rayne Nolte was in the parking lot of a Mankato, Minnesota, mall last week when she spotted Roxie, a Yorkie mix, trapped in a car. The temperature was 88 degrees with a heat index of 103, and the car's owner was gone.

You may have found yourself in Rayne’s situation before. Many pet parents believe that cracking a window is enough to keep their dogs cool in the car while they make a quick pit stop—but they couldn’t be more wrong. "Automobile temperatures can very quickly rise to dangerous levels; the average temperature increase in a parked car is 40 degrees, and the majority of this increase occurs in the first 15 to 30 minutes," says Dr. Louise Murray, Vice President of ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. When it’s 80 degrees outside, your car will be a staggering 114 degrees after 30 minutes!

Worse still, dogs can’t cool themselves down as easily as people, and once they overheat, they can suffer extensive organ damage or die. Luckily, Rayne made all the right moves. Follow her lead by taking these simple steps.

Step 1: Try to Locate the Pet Parent
Roxie’s people were nowhere in sight, so Rayne called mall security, who tried to find Roxie’s family through the loudspeaker. (You can ask most stores to do this.)

Step 2: Educate
Rayne couldn’t find Roxie’s pet parents, but if you do, explain the dangers of leaving a pet in a hot car. Make sure the pet gets out of the car as soon as possible.

Step 3: Call 911
Fourteen states have enacted specific laws that protect dogs in hot cars, as have many municipalities—but even in places lacking such a law, leaving an animal in a hot car may constitute cruelty.

Rayne and the mall security officers dialed 911. When the police pulled Roxie from the steamy vehicle, she was very ill but soon on the road to recovery.

Step 4: Pat Yourself on the Back
Pets are counting on people like you to save their lives. Rayne rescued Roxie just in time, and she made a full recovery! And according to the Mankato Free Press, the pet-sitter who left Roxie in the car was charged with a petty misdemeanor.

summer in Florida ... life is good

After Buddy's (wonderful!) appointment at the clinic (see my previous post), I had lab work to do ... so I didn't have time for our traditional celebratory visit to Sonic. Instead, I stopped at a McD's drive-thru to grab one of these yummies:

Have you tried their smoothies? They're pretty awesome (better than I've had at some smoothie shops!), especially at only $2.50 for a small. The mango-pineapple flavor actually rivals the smoothies I enjoyed in Hawaii, yes they're that good! One of summer's simple pleasures....

I hope that you're enjoying summer. The sometimes oppressive heat aside, I love summer here in Florida! ... the water's nice & warm for swimming (I'm a whimp when it comes to water that's colder than 80 degrees F!), the days are longer, the sun's even brighter, the scent of fresh-cut grass wafts in the air, daily late afternoon thunderstorms are "like clockwork", and it means getting some new sandals (found these sparkly beauties at Target on clearance, and they're 100% non-leather (you know my policy!) ... what a find!):

Sal and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors, savoring summer. Last week, we went for a nighttime nature walk led by a naturalist at Green Cay Nature Center. They hold them only once a month, and they book-up immediately, so I was lucky to finally get us in! Before the stroll through the wetlands, she gave a mini-lecture on the ecosystem there, and introduced us to the cutest little owl named Oliver. We got to meet him up close (this photo was not zoomed, yes I was that close to him!):


(Owls blink very often, so I was glad to get a shot with his eyes open ... apparently he caters to the paparazzi, LOL). He's only about 4 or 5 inches tall, and was rescued and rehabilitated after being hit by a car (he needed a wing amputated, poor thing). Now, he calls the GC Nature Center home. So precious!

We enjoyed a lovely nature walk along the wetlands boardwalk and saw birds roosting for the night, and used flashlights to capture the "eye shine" of various other creatures....their eyes shine in the dark! Alligators have a red eye shine; I kept scanning the water surface with my flashlight and spotted a couple gators lurking in the pitch black night. Eerie, but very cool !!

And of course, what's summer without trips to the BEACH ?! It's one of my favorite places to enjoy some of my favorite things ... sun, sand, surf, swimming & Sal. {wink} Our beach has a sign that's updated daily by the lifeguards... they post the ocean temp, swimming conditions, etc. And last weekend, they added a note, "life is good" (lower right). Made me smile! :-)

Hope you're enjoying summer and that "life is good"! :-)

Susan

a great day for Buddy !!

Yesterday, Buddy had an important visit to the cancer clinic. Sal and I were nervous; I had a stomach ache from worry. It was time for his oncologist to evaluate if he could indeed stop chemotherapy treatment, and also to take X-rays of his lungs and lymph nodes to verify that they're cancer-free.

And the answers were all GREAT news !! Buddy is DONE with chemo, his lung X-rays were CLEAR, and his bloodwork and other tests came back with GOOD results!

We are SO thankful, and relieved for Buddy. He's happy and seems to feel very good, playful and mischievous ... despite having arthritis and cataracts.

We love our Buddy, and he is a survivor, a MIRACLE !! Yay Buddy!

He goes to the clinic every 2 months, but never forgets exactly where they keep their GIANT treat bowl, and he's transfixed by it ... so cute! ;-)

Gee, I wish my doctor would have treats waiting for me when I go for an appointment, LOL !! How about a tray of cupcakes at the reception desk? Or a candy jar in the exam room? mmm......

Susan

the Class of 1986

Hey there & happy weekend!

Hope you're staying cool ... whew, baby it's HOT outside! I've been cooling off in one of my favorite places on earth ... my pool !! I love summer! :-)

So we got back from Greece and I was swamped with catching-up on everything.... a month's worth of mail, work at the lab, B&A's vet appts, etc etc ... PLUS ...I had to get ready for my 25th high school reunion! I hadn't decided to attend until during our trip, which meant that when I got home I had only ONE WEEK to buy a new dress (and of course dangly bling-y sparkly earrings to go with it!), get my hair done, and all that. Yikes, no pressure right?!? Ladies - you understand! But, with the help of my Mom (thanks!), I found the perfect "little black dress" and gorgeous earrings. My dress was styled with layers of black lace, very sophisticated ... with the perfect smattering of shiny beads and sequins, for sparkle. And I added some whimsical sparkle with glitter toes...of course!


I loved wearing my new dress and felt so pretty all evening! Sal was my "date" ... and looked so handsome, dapper. How wonderful to walk in with him on my arm! I had a really fun time, meeting up with old friends, reminiscing, seeing my old school colors of orange & green....and hearing my maiden name again, it had been a while!

me & Kay:

Amy, me, Jill & Jody:

me & Eric:

Amy, Eric, me & Valerie:

me & Jeff (who was working in the jewelry store where we bought my engagement ring ... back in 1989):

some of us gals dancing the night away:

Our group photo... unfortunately, this isn't quite everyone who attended...I later realized that not everyone joined in the group photo for some reason??? (that's me third from the right, front row):

The attendance was a kinda low, not sure why? perhaps because of the economy? It was no doubt an expense...the tickets, new attire, travel...but worth it, especially since I didn't attend my 20th. The event was held at a pretty hotel and was spread over 2 evenings; the first was a meet-and-greet with casual dress and snacks. The second evening was formal, with a sit-down dinner, cocktail attire, and dancing (all 80's music... oh, the memories!).

And speaking of music....Lionel Richie was a huge star while I was in high school, and I still love his songs. His duet Endless Love is extra special, it was the song that Sal and I danced to at our wedding. Because the DJ was playing some Lionel already, he snuck in Endless Love and said that it was by "special request" from guess who? Yep, Sal ... MY endless love. We had the dance floor all to ourselves for it. {romantic} and it elicited a huge awwww from the people around us.....

Overall, a lovely & memorable evening ... already looking forward to my 30th HS reunion!

Enjoy the weekend,

Susan

it's Leah's special day!

Happy 11th birthday today to our niece, Leah !! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

We wish you a day full of FUN & SMILES, Leah! :-)

Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

terrific news for B & A !!

Whew, my head has been spinning since we got back home ... lots to catch-up on at home and in the lab... still trying to catch my breath!

But I wanted to stop and share what a WONDERFUL week Buddy & Aruba had !! On Thursday, Buddy took his FINAL dose of chemo! YAY for Buddy! We all hugged and celebrated. He's doing so well, and we're SO thankful. Later this month, his oncologist will take lung X-rays to continue monitoring him ... always such a scary time, but we're hopeful.

And this week we took Aruba for some follow-up with a veterinary internal medicine specialist. She has a nodule in her spleen, poor thing, and we're monitoring it ... however, the specialist did another ultrasound and is not concerned because it doesn't appear to be enlarging appreciably, does not appear diseased, and Aruba has no symptoms. She's as playful and energetic as ever, sweet angel !! And the antioxidants that she's taking for her liver seem to really be helping. Again, we're SO thankful !!

Here's Aruba peeking out the back car window on the way to the vet: For their safety, we don't ride around with the windows down ... but we were stopped at a light and I could tell that she wanted to peek outside, so I lowered the window and then caught a cute view of her from my car's side mirror.

I'll be back soon with pics and details of my 25th high school reunion (it was FUN ... and another reason that I've been busy!) ... oh, and Greece too, promise! I haven't forgotten! Thank you everyone for asking to see the pics and for being so excited. Love my blog readers! :-)

Enjoy the weekend,

happy birthday America!

We're at the beach ... gorgeous night here in Delray Beach ... the barge is getting ready for fireworks! Love this tradition !!


Happy 4th,

Susan
Sent from my iPhone

Greek yummies

I guess Sal can tell that I'm missing Greece!

He went grocery shopping yesterday and surprised me with these Greek delights... thanks sweetie!

I remember after the first time we got home from Hawaii, he had a fresh yellow plumeria lei (my favorite!) shipped home to me from the islands. Sal is always so thoughtful.....

Susan

back to reality....

Hi there! A quick mid-week post ... we're back home, back to campus, and back to reality after our fabulous whirlwind trip! We miss Greece, but it's great to be home too. We had a great visit with my parents when we got back to Florida, and it was so terrific to be reunited with Buddy & Aruba too, we missed our precious angels. They had such fun at "Camp Grandma & Grandpa" and didn't want to leave !!

Back home, we see the problems in Greece festering on live TV news feeds. Sal and I walked and rode in taxis along this street many times while in Athens (that's the Parliament Bldg in the upper right): The country does have economic problems, some were clearly visible... vacant storefronts and abandoned businesses everywhere, never-completed construction projects, hotels struggling to fill rooms, protests, rallies, strikes, 20% unemployment. Very sad. The country is in my thoughts as they try to cope with these difficult issues. The Greek people were so warm and welcoming to us, and we wish them a bright future. If you're considering a visit to Greece, please do not let the unrest there discourage you. Simply avoid spending a lot of time in Athens, where most of the commotion occurs. And while strikes can be disruptive and sometimes affect operations (ferries, banks, etc) country-wide, they generally last only a day or two. You can work around them (we did). Greece is too wonderful to miss! Hopefully, our euros helped stimulate their economy in some small way (I did my best by shopping, LOL)!

I'll be back soon with pics and details of our journey ... after I get caught-up at home/work, and yes, sorting thru 1,000+ photos! I'm also getting ready to attend my 25th high school reunion (where did the time go?) ... thankfully, I already found a perfect new "little black dress" to wear! Thanks Mom!

Susan

"yassas" to Greece....

Just a quickie post from here in Athens on our final night in Greece. Heading back to Florida, saying good-bye (yassas) to Greece ... for now! Sal and I have loved it here, and we'll definitely be back!

Things are relatively calm in Athens tonight, protest-wise, so we spent our final evening enjoying a relaxing Greek dinner on a rooftop taverna looking up at the Parthenon, all while listening to live (and lively!) Greek music. Opa! Such a treat! It was the same taverna where we had our very first meal in Greece.... we came full-circle. Then we took a stroll back to our hotel through our "neighborhood", The Plaka (the most ancient part of Athens), to enjoy this night-time view of the Acropolis/Parthenon from our hotel's rooftop terrace:

Such a lovely way to wrap-up our stay in fabulous Greece! I will miss it here.....

Lots of pics and details of our journey coming soon....as always, thanks for joining me along the way!

Time to pack !!

Enjoy the weekend,
Susan

heavenly Greece

Our time in beautiful Greece is winding down ... my guidebook is tattered and worn, and my Grecian blue pedicure needs refreshing from all the walking, hiking, swimming, shopping (LOL). Signs of another exciting destination well-explored!

Next, we're heading to northern Greece for our final adventure, visiting The Meteora. Can't wait to see the up-in-the-air monasteries amidst the spectacular geology....

More soon,

Susan