Picture Explosion!

Thank goodness I'm a photo-taking-fiend or else I would not know what I have done in the past few weeks!  Or maybe I would, but it wouldn't be as entertaining.  My world:

New bath towels and hand towels happened sometime in November.

Memories of the sickness...round 2 for this season.

Barefoot in mid-November...no big deal...

Someone has the middle initial pi.  SO JEALOUS.

One of my brilliant ideas.  Works like a charm!  (And it's festive...double win.)

Pink garbage truck!

Tackled these bad boys on the 1st of December!  But now they're back...le sigh.

Okay, I guess those were mums behind the garage.

December has been and will be pretty wild.  This is just my work calendar.  (Family/friends birthdays not listed...)

Pie my coworkers and I won for winning the Halloween Costume Contest.  It was pretty good!

Same coworkers plus more decided to decorate for a decoration contest.  These are "post-it" sized squares that we taped to our windows.  I designed the Kwanzaa candles, penguin, and dreidel.  And I actually put up most of the penguin and half of the dreidel.  Festive to the max!

Oops, I lied...NOW it's festive to the max!  My "ugly/tacky Christmas sweater" submission.  It lost.  :-(  Ah well, I still got lots of remarks on it and showed it off around campus as our company broke into groups and did a campus-wide scavenger hunt....which my group won!!!!!  (Yay, $5 Starbucks gift card!)  PS, I sewed this after designing it.  I literally searched Google for visual ideas after thinking that this is what I wanted to do and I found zero.  None.  That is very rare for Google.  I think this was a true original!

Alright!  Seeing as the costume thing just happened today, I think I'm caught up!  See you next time!

10 positives about my current situation

1) PERFECT PRE-HOLIDAY DIET.
2) Opportunity to sleep all day (Stomach Monster willing).
3) 30 minutes of cuddly puppies...then they revert. 
4) SAVING SERIOUS $$$$ due to lack of eating and/or going anywhere.
5) Hygiene is considered a luxury.
6) Saving the planet by lowering water and electric usage (dishwasher, washing machine, stove, etc....though, I will note that the now overuse of some bathroom devices [appliances?] may lower my planet-savingnesscity…let's skip the fancinesses...the toilet and sink faucet should call OSHA on me...)
7) I'm available to call 911 if anyone in the neighborhood needs it (and shouts loud enough for me to hear).
8) I'm able to do about 1 chore per day during an "upswing."  Give me 3 weeks and this house will shine!  And gleam!  And other clean/sparkly words!
9) I get my work e-mail on my phone so I can still respond to those non-overly-important e-mails and probably make my coworkers feel that I'm just skipping out on the day before a holiday.  Nearly the whole week, really.  But, I assure you -- I'm not.  Don't ask me to prove it.
10) The "Bazinga!" moment I have when I start feeling worse later in the day and I had thought about going to work earlier.  I was right, Self!  I win again!

A HEALTH Update?

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think I might be getting healthier by going into the Danger Zone (What?  You don't know what that is?  It's where I go every night when I put my flight mask on...AKA CPAP machine...).  It was a gradual change and there are still some nights when I want to rip the mask off and throw it against the wall, but I'm getting more energy.  And I'm keeping wild hours because of my husband's recent work schedule, so I don't think I'm getting MORE sleep, I think I'm getting BETTER sleep.  I have to sleep with the mask on for 4 hours each night (It knows if you are wearing it or just have it sitting on the bed).  Some nights I literally count down until I can take it off.  Other nights, I wear it all night.  The horrible, "rip-it-off" nights are getting fewer and further between.  Tuesday, I took the day off from work and I mowed our entire yard - front and back - after weeks of growth and I've never tackled both sections before.  Granted, I was beyond sore after that (reminded me of my factory days when standing for a shower after my shift was some sore of cruel punishment), but I did it (mowing and the showers).  And I edged around most of the front yard today, which only took about 20 minutes tops - another feather in my cap since it's something I'd never done.  Then the battery died and my company arrived.  I hope to finish tomorrow unless it rains. 

Also, I think my overall mood is better.  I mean, I'm probably not the best judge of that, but I don't feel so bat**** crazy anymore, which seemed to be happening more and more as I got older.  I feel normal.  I feel tired sometimes, but I'm not nodding off at work.  I feel sad at times, but not the deep dark abyss I've traveled to once or 5,000 times.  I feel happy, but not run outside and jog the block once or 5,000 times ecstatic.  My contract ended at my job and I'm not in freak out mode.  Know that I was always told that I had a spot waiting for me, so I never had to worry about not having a job, but that's still some pretty scary stuff.  I guess I'm just trudging through the emotional toll it is/will take on me.  I was in no way prepared to say goodbye to this small group that gave me a shot 8 months ago.  I hadn't realized that we were so close - that we were actually friends and enjoyed each other.  We lost one of our 7 to another company and time will tell how many more.  I'm just switching to another contract, but that means another building, another desk, different people.  Transitions.  But I'm game.  I'm trying my best to wrap up the contract we lost so I can move full speed ahead into my new contract.

I'm better?

Unfortunately still an UNhealth update

After a frustrating visit to my CPAP supplier, I came home with a different mask and a different machine than I had used in the sleep study.  I have used it/them every single time I have gone to bed...be it for a nap or for the night...and I am still not used to the dern thing(s).  I must have been some kind of weirdo at the sleep study because they put the full face mask on me and I was out.  I slept for the full 3.5-4 hours until it was time for me to go.  With my mask and machine at home, I only just last night got a 3-4 hour stretch in.  Before that, I was only sleeping 2 hours at a time with the machine hooked up.  The machine freaks me out.  It's like it is breathing with me.  The one at the sleep study just blew the same pressure the whole time (I'm pretty sure, anyway...) and I think that jived better with me.  The machine is pretty good at mimicking me, but sometimes I take a long pause between breaths and it gets mad and starts vibrating and pulsing air.  Nothing like focusing on breathing to soothe you right to sleep...NOT.  I was told that it is supposed to be rather loose on your face so it doesn't hurt you and "some leaks are okay."  Hmm...this sounds like "a little poo in your brownie won't hurt you" to me, so I've really struggled with that concept.  At first I tried to go with the flow, but either last night or the night before I realized that the mask absolutely CANNOT be loose when it hits my pressure range because it's too strong.  The entire mask leaks and sometimes even makes a "balloon losing air" (polite description) noise.  After really torquing it to my face, I slept better.  It either rubs my nose or blows air in my eyes, so I'm currently choosing rubbing my nose.  It's a very annoying commitment, especially when I have yet to see/feel the results.  I'm still tired *literally just yawned* all the time.  I'm going to stick with it for at least a week longer.  Every night is getting better, although I still have those moments when I just want to throw the thing against the wall.  I could give some other details, but the main point is that it's not the overnight turn around I was expecting/hoping for, but I think it's getting better.  PS, just for some visuals here:

Current mask that isn't great just yet and may never be



Mask I tried at the sleep study that didn't hurt me, is 20% lighter, not as wide, and is currently unavailable to my CPAP supplier.

 

Even the headgear would be better for me as the top strap is just straight and doesn't try to fit around the crest of my head...a loose strap in my current headgear situation.



Unhealth Update

Since I last wrote, I have learned more.  I found out that during the first part of my sleep study (11pmish-2am) I stopped breathing more than 120 times per hour (I assume I was told correctly, although that seems crazy high) and I averaged not breathing for 18 seconds at a time, although once I didn't breathe for 59 seconds.  I had a thought so I crunched the math and confirmed my thought that I was NOT breathing more than I was breathing during that time (3600 seconds in an hour and I spent an average of 2160 not breathing...).  Is that even possible?  Doc also told me that "severe" sleep apnea is stopping breathing 30 or more times in an hour, so clearly my 120 meets that criterium.  My uncle had asked which kind of sleep apnea I had and was surprised to learn that I have both kinds - Central and Obstructive.  Not only is something physically blocking my airway (obstructive), but my brain is also not sending the right signals (central).  I'll have to research this some more and figure it out.  My doc ordered me in to get a CPAP machine ASAP  (CPAP-ASAP...ha), so I have an appointment tomorrow to pick one out.  After a long day of fighting with Indians yesterday, I also get to fork over some cash because I didn't play by their rules.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.  But I'm looking forward to getting the best night's sleep of my life tomorrow night.  Let's see if it can make up for the literal years I have missed.

My Unhealth Adventures

Thursday morning, I woke up, showered, and went to work.  Knowing I had a sleep study to attend that night (checking for sleep apnea), I read about how to prepare for it.  I was requested to shower "right before" coming in.  I got off work, showered, did a couple of other things, then headed out to my sleep study at 9 (had to report there by 9:30). 

I had been to the place before, and only saw about 2 or 3 beds.  To my surprise, I was instructed (by a very boisterous sign) to have a seat and wait for someone to come get me.  After being the last name called, I entered this Alice in Wondersleepland place and was put in about the 10th "bedroom" I saw.  I was hooked up with wires in my hair, on my face, in my nose, and even a couple on my legs that had to be fed through my shirt and shorts. 

We then tried out a couple of CPAP masks to pick the one that worked best for me, if I showed enough signs to need it by 2am.  Those things are terrifying at first, btw.  Totally took my breath away about the first 5 times.  And the ones that only cover your nose allow air to escape from your mouth when the machine is on, making it very hard to talk.  I had problems getting one single word out.  Very trippy. 

Anyway, she set those aside, shoved a set of tubes up my nose in addition to the wires already up there and then I'm left to relax and sleep. 




"Relaxed" and ready to sleep.




Excuse my fat, but I was pretty stoked that I decided to go ahead and shave my legs right before heading out!  They were checking for restless leg syndrome/night kicking.

 I'm a sleep roller.  If number of sleep turns were an Olympic maneuver, I'd get the gold for my quintuple lux, if we were to put a label on it.  I started on my back, rolled to my left side, attempted to go to stomach, but to no avail.  More sleep-inducing comfort.

Somehow, someway (Actually, just as I had predicted) I fell asleep.  I was additionally told that I fell asleep very quickly.  What a strange compliment, but I took it.  I woke up a couple of times to change positions or adjust my blanket coverage. 

At about 2am, my sleep technician (sandwoman?) came in the room and flipped the light on.  I asked if I met the criteria and was greeted with a nearly sadistic-sounding, "Oh yeah!"  We try on a nose-only CPAP mask.  I try for 5-10 minutes to fall asleep with it on, but it hurts my teeth.  It also took a few minutes to make sure it was set up correctly before I even tried to sleep...overall, it wasn't a good fit for me.  After air-speaking my technician's name 3 times (it sounded like half air/half talking and I couldn't speak any louder or more than one word), she came into my room and we swapped out for a full face mask (nose and mouth both covered).  After I got that bad boy on, I fell asleep rather quickly and don't think I woke up once.  In fact, the sleep technician said she came in the room at one point to adjust the mask and I didn't remember that at all!  Kinda freaked me out, really.  Someone was literally messing with my face and I didn't wake up.  *eeby jeebies*

I get booted at 6am (after detaching me and leaving glue/tape residue all over me) and head home.  I thought I would get a nap in before having to be at another dr appointment at 9am, but I wasn't able to.  And I had to shower for the 3rd time in 24 hours.

The 9am appointment is funny because I didn't even know what it was for before getting there.  And apparently still didn't know after reading what the doctor specialized in (I thought "endocrinology" meant something else...didn't figure out I was wrong until a few days later...thanks Mom...).  I don't think I made myself out to be too much of an idiot, but you never know, right?  Here, I learned that I am still in the running for having a syndrome that I thought another test ruled out.  We'll do a different kind of test to find out.  Awesome!  It was also here that Doctor played my favorite game "Let's look at you and say all the bad things we see!"  It turns out that I am a "big girl" (say that in an Indian <dot, not feather> accent) and I have bad acne.  How much did I pay you again?  Anyway, now I'm supposed to tell her how I'm going to lose weight.  Like, the exact plan.  Lady, if I were that exact of a planner, don't you think I wouldn't have gotten this big?  I said generic stuff and left feeling pretty down on myself.

The next day (Saturday) I decide to mow the backyard at like 1pm because I'm a moron.  Didn't realize we were scheduled for 100+ temperatures that day.  Actually, I think I didn't look because I knew it just had to be done.  The dogs were starting to have a hard time walking around.  My cell phone rings at about 1:15 and it's an idiot and wouldn't let me answer it.  This isn't the first time, nor I assume the last time that it teases me with phone calls.  I can see who is calling, but it won't let me use the touchscreen to answer it.  And the screen is the only way to answer.  I listen to the voicemail and it's the sleep study doc.  He leaves the office number to call back, but he had called on a different number.  I try to call both back, but to no avail.

On Tuesday (today), I am in the shower at 7:30am and my phone rings.  Obviously couldn't answer it.  A few minutes later, I hear my husband up.  Apparently, doc couldn't reach me so he called my husband...at 7:45am.  The morning after a holiday weekend.  By the way, I was planning on calling after I got to work...at 8:30am.  He tells my husband to have me call him after 1pm today.  At 10am, my work phone rings and flashes the number I know all-too-well at this point.  I pick it up and am greeted by a different doctor.  He somewhat fumbles around, mentioned that he "wanted to tell me the news by phone" and finally got to the point:  I have severe sleep apnea.  I stopped breathing over 120 times per hour.  The good news was that the CPAP mask returned my sleep to "normal," not just decreased my symptoms.  My doctor from Friday 9am had told me that weight loss gets rid of sleep apnea, so I asked this doctor if that was true.  He said not for my severity of sleep apnea.  The CPAP mask people will be contacting me soon.  I will need a machine to sleep presumably for the rest of my life.

I have so many conflicting thoughts over this.  I am relieved to have finally found something unusual about me.  A possible source of my constant tiredness.  A possible solution to what I was convinced was laziness, yet couldn't shake it.  That makes me excited to try it.  On the other hand, I detest the idea of requiring a machine in order to sleep.  Literally burst into tears when I think about it.  My husband is very very VERY supportive about all of this, but I can't help but feel like less of a woman for having to wear a Darth Vader-like mask to bed.  I've thought about how terrifying it would be to be falling to Sandmanland and in blinking one last time seeing this plastic monster next to you...and it's your wife.  But as I've been told, it's got to beat my snoring.  And this is Jon's view on it:  he just wants me to feel better.  I know it will help, and I know I will do it, but I just want to get it in the rearview mirror of life.  Yes, I will wear a mask to sleep and yes, I will sleep fantastic.  Let's just get this over with.

Thought Soup

I'm going to coin that...anyway, I would like to share my soup with you:

I'm thinking about not voting for President.  I do not like either candidate for the major parties and I don't think our state allows us to vote for any other than them (BTW, there are more than 2 people running...look it up.  You can start here to get the names.  I haven't actually looked up what their platforms are, so I may not even vote for one of them even if they were on the ballot...ha). 

I just found out that my upcoming sleep study costs over $4000 without insurance.  That sure took the sting out of the $250 that I will have to pay (my deductible, apparently).

I need to find a way to make more money.  I want to be chipping away more at our debt.

I wish thinking about losing weight didn't make me hungry(ier).  Husband wants to try Insanity, but I was told that you basically need to be in P90X shape to even start Insanity.  Awesome.  And diets...I have never been on one and don't want to.  I've seen how they fail and I know they would fail for me, too.  I want to focus on portion control and eating the right amount at the right time of day, not cutting certain food/drinks out of my life completely.  I like salad, but to make your own you have to buy so much stuff and I am unable to eat it all quickly enough before it goes bad.

I would kind of like to start walking our neighborhood, but I don't feel like that's a safe idea.  I feel like our neighborhood is safe, but then I remember it's Tulsa and bad stuff can happen even in good neighborhoods.

Pretty sure we have a dead squirrel in the attic.  It smells like it, at least.  It's so bad.  I'd love to go get it out of there so it stops smelling, but Jon thinks (and probably rightfully so) that opening the door to the attic will just release the smell into the garage and into the house directly.  I wish I knew how long the smell will last.  It might be worth 2 days of gut-wrenching gross as opposed to 3 weeks of musty, light spray of death.  Sorry.  I hope you aren't reading this over lunch.

Where do adults meet friends?  I don't feel like I have many in town and I don't really know where to meet people without being weird.  I had lots of friends in college, then they all moved away (and I guess I did, too).  I like talking to them and keeping up, but sometimes I just want someone to go to dinner with me.  Coworkers are always weird because you spend all day with them, so you probably don't really want to hang out with them at night.  I feel alienated because I don't have kids, so all of my friends with kids have different schedules and needs than I do.  And I have the dogs, so I'm not exactly living fancy free either.  And while I have Jon, we work very different hours than each other, so "double dates" or whatever aren't really an option, either.  PLEASE NOTE that I do NOT wish I wasn't married, didn't have our dogs, or that my friends were single and/or without children.  I don't want our family to be an island - I would like to be in a chain of islands.  :^)

Speaking of children - we still aren't ready for them.  I had thought it was because we didn't feel financial secure enough for them (and I still feel this way), but I was recently told that kids don't really change anything.  If you had $20 left in your bank before, you'll have $20 left in your bank after.  And though we haven't had children, we have felt this effect in our lives already, too.  The more money you make, the more you spend.  This simple statement made me realize that it's not just the money part keeping us from having kids right now.  We both just don't want them right now.  And maybe it turns out that we don't have kids.  I think I might be okay with that.  Disclaimer #2:  These are all "mights" and "maybes" right now.  Apparently these are strong words, so don't take it that we are saying we will absolutely never ever ever have kids....that's not what I'm saying.  Do know that we are not attempting to multiply anytime soon, though.  I think everyone knows that, though, and that's not the tear-inducing statement...we won't go there unless we decide for 100% sure.

Mmmm...that was some good soup, wasn't it?  All gone!

I killed it today

*I woke up.
*I made breakfast (in a convenient, to-go style).
*I worked from 10-3.
*At 3pm, I came home, half fed the dogs, fed myself.
*Then I left for the tag agency.
*Forgot my purse...turned around....
*Then I re-left for the tag agency.
*There, I paid tag/tax/title for the Mini Cooper and I renewed the Mazda tag.  My quote from the dealership was about $150 shy of what the cost really was...letting that go....

Please never ask any questions about this picture.  It is evil in a way I can never explain with words.

*I then delived the new real tag to Jon at TU.
*Then it was haircut time!!!

So loooooong!

Kinda diggin' it!



-Side note: OMG photos are killing me tonight!!!!!!  I am about to strangle you, Blogger!!!

*After haircut, I went grocery shopping and got some good deals and pretty much stocked the kitchen.



*Then I came home.

*Then, it was 6pm.  Boom.

*Doing laundry and other like fun stuff now!





On the other side of the leaf

With the purchase of a new car came the turning over of a new leaf.  The bulk of our money went to eating out because we didn't have the time or energy to cook at home.  So I am proud to say that we are changing that.  We aren't completely there yet, but we are making leaps and bounds.  I am by no means comfortable in the kitchen, but I am trying.  All this to say that I am now eating at home for most of my meals (in fact, I think Jon and I mostly eat out now to socialize...I don't really remember the last time we ate out alone) and I feel better about that.  I feel like it is healthier and I physically feel better most of the time now.  Okay, well, I've been sick with a cold/flu/black plague this past week, but even then I could tell that my body felt more clear eating the stuff we made other than eating out.  I plan to dive deeper into this cooking thing and even into healthier cooking options.  Maybe the "plan a menu for each week" thing needs to happen.  It's overwhelming for me to go into the kitchen and try to pull a meal out of thin air based upon what we have.  *Seriously thinks about this plan a week thing...*  Yes, I do believe this needs to happen.  However, I won't have to cook every night because we will have leftovers.  Yes, this is my plan developing even as I type!  *back burner*  Okay...all that to say that here was my morning:

Jon requested that I make sure he is awake at 6:30am, so this is when I woke up.  I let the dogs out (it was me...now let the song die...), fed them, blah blah.  I didn't really need to be at work until 10am, and I can get there in like 10 minutes, so I really didn't need to be up until about 9am at the earliest.  This left time for me to pay bills.  I paid the gas bill, a student loan bill, our first car payment, and I even paid our phone bill even though we haven't even received it in the mail yet!  Then, I wrote Pikepass an e-mail about how to pay for the couple of times that Jon went through and the Pikepass didn't pick up (he has a paper tag right now AND the Pikepass is not secured to the window yet), complete with picture of his tag!  Then, I wondered if you would be able to renew your tag online and found that you could (I haven't received the little card in the mail yet, so I'm starting to get nervous).  I was almost done when I realized that they were adding an "online fee."  I am supposed to pay you for me doing most of the work?  No.  I will come bother you in person.  Besides, we have to do that whole title thing for Jon's car and I'm pretty sure you can't do that online, so I will have to go in there anyway.  So, I backed out on paying that online.  Then, I went and cooked myself breakfast after Jon left (he didn't want breakfast), got ready, pulled the trash can in from outside, and made it to work by 10am!  Granted, I only cooked an egg and put waffles in the toaster, but it's more than I used to do!   So, that was my morning.  I felt pretty accomplished after it.

WOW.

So, my head is about to explode. Today, I just got my first use-anywhere credit card in the mail. I've had store credit cards, but they don't seem the same to me. I feel like I well-researched all of our options and chose the relatively best choice (We chose Discover because of the numbers, but I know that Discover is not accepted everywhere...). This came about after a recent event where we learned that we NEED a credit card for emergency situations. (I've always thought it was incredibly rude of vets to have a "pay all, right now" policy, seeing as they are in the life-and-death business...) I was raised with a "cash only" mentality and interest charges upset me greatly. However, I see that sometimes things need to purchased right away. And if you don't have the money hulled up somewhere, you need to get if from somewhere.


This also kinda ties in with a new school of thought I had: So many of my friends are getting married and having babies and I've had to tell nearly all of them that I couldn't join in ceremonies, bridal showers, baby showers, etc. because of a tight money situation. I recently had the realization that I've been saying this for years and if I don't start doing something about it, I will be visiting friends I knew as single and sailor-mouthed who now have 6 children and won't say the word "butt" in front of the children. This is NOT okay! I only have this one life to live and enjoy! Not to say I'm going to go buy my dream car and travel the world tomorrow (especially on my credit limit...hahahaha), but maybe my first airplane ride is due... Maybe I'll go to my friend's baby shower so I can say that I saw her pregnant. Maybe I'll babysit my best friend's baby and let her and husband go celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary. Maybe my husband and I will celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary in a different city.


I found out a few more of my friends are pregnant...one of which I just found out today and am really excited for her because she didn't think she could even have kids! I'd elaborate more, but I don't think it's fully public domain yet (even though I found out through Facebook...ha).


Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and just so happens to be the day we got our marriage license last year. I knew our anniversary was coming up, but now it's less than 10 days away! I'm starting to remember what these days felt like last year and I kinda feel butterfly-ey again. Aww...and now I just remember getting Brent and Lyndsey's wedding license with them...that's fun!


Oh, and for anyone who didn't know and wants to, I guess we had some dog excitement a week and a half ago. Walker (my parents-in-law's dog) and Lyka got into a teeth match and Lyka lost. She had a few holes in her from teeth and we took her to the vet just to make sure of how to patch her up, or if we even needed to. She got all her owies shaved (they had to FULLY SEDATE her...we were a little miffed about that...not sure how they came to that conclusion) and told us to take our drunk dog home (she was still WAY out of it when we took her home) and Lyka would heal herself up the best. Thanks. So glad we paid you to shave our dog and tell us that Lyka is the master of her own fate. At least they gave us antibiotic and powerful painkillers for her. They probably could have warned us that waking up out of anethesia is one hell of a trip, though. Maybe I would have been prepared to wake up every 15-30 minutes from 2am - 6am that night. With all of this said, I've NEVER found a vet that I like and I've pretty much just accepted this, but if anyone actually has a vet they like, please let me know. Well, if you live near me. A good vet in California is pretty useless to me. :^) Thanks!

This is how Lyka looks right now and Phaux demostrating how she's supposed to look. (Okay, really he's just jealous about the attention she was getting, so I took a picture of him, too.):




And there was a true blue update on the Kreilauses!


-Mrs. Kreilaus

Recent Life

As usual, it's been awhile. I had some time on my hands and after seeing the last post was in April, I figured enough small events have passed that I can update. My friend Lyndsey had her baby on May 16th (a day before her own birthday!) and my friend Sony had her baby on June 30th (many days before her own birthday...haha). I still have yet to meet either of them, but they are both cute and we'll meet soon. I'm missing my friend Sarah's baby shower today (due October 13th...my stepdad's birthday!) and I'm sad about that. Lyndsey's little sister is officially engaged and getting married in August...in Vegas! And I guess Carrie Underwood is getting married today, too. (I only say that because people I went to church with actually grew up with her so I was kinda wondering if they are going to her wedding. Oh, and when my brother was born, Mom shared the room with Carrie Underwood's mom and Carrie...small world.) A friend from years ago is also getting married today. Joe and Miranda (Jon's brother and his wife) are in town so we are seeing them every few days and will tonight, too. My cousin Mallory's wedding is coming up soon in October. We're fast approaching my first year anniversary of Jon and I's wedding, my phone, and my job (Pretty handy to cover so many milestones at once. ;^P). Fourth of July came and went and the weather lately has been crazy weird. My dogs learned the difference between a 2 yr old toddler and everyone else they've ever come in contact with. I met my dad's new girlfriend and my brother's new(ish) girlfriend. I write letters to my nephew and niece when I get the chance (and when I get letters from them). I've tried and am okay with asparagus, beets, and some other "odd" vegetables that I never thought I'd like. My husband and I still tell each other that we love each other at least 20 times a day. I've made a new resolution at work and I'm trying to stick to it. I don't tend to sleep well at night. I tear up when I see a stray dog out in the country. I teared up yesterday after having to pass up corgies for sale. But then I felt better because I'd rather rescue a dog without a home than buy a puppy that was bred. That stupid Humane Animals Shelter commercial or whatever it's for always makes me change the channel and if I don't catch it in time, I tear up. My husband puts up with me watching Ghost Whisperer so he can watch Criminal Minds (which I put up with). My car now has over 100,000 miles on it, which makes me sad, but you can't tell by the way she runs. Yesterday, I found a caterpillar and my husband and I spent 10 minutes or more playing with it before releasing it back into the "wild".
These are the things that go through my mind and they things that have happened semi-recently. I don't know what else to say. There's a little glimpse into my life and my head.

-Mrs. Kreilaus

2 days, 2 vet calls

2 days ago, I was home with the dogs, as usual, and Phaux comes up to me on the couch and just puts his head on the edge. I first noticed his eyes looked weird (puffy and red) and then I started feeling around on his face and noticed about a quarter-sized really hard puffed up pocket right by his nose. I called the vet and told them that I thought he was having an allergic reaction. While on the phone, I found another quarter-sized pocket on the other side of his face near the corner of his mouth. The vet told me that he probably got stung/bit by a bug and to bring him in for a cortizone shot then a Benedryl-like shot. I did. Here's puffy face Phaux:

So yesterday I go out to Chouteau to hang out with Nikki and I take the dogs. At some point she needed to go to Wal-Mart in Pryor and pick up a movie from a co-worker that we were going to watch that night. We put my dogs and her dog in the dining room fenced in with a baby gate. My dogs have been in here before with minimal problems (pee and poop last time). Well, we get home from Wal-Mart within an hour and what do I spy on the floor? Roach bait. Chewed open. We read the package first, hoping that it was just sticky stuff, not actual poison, but no such luck. I'm guessing that Phaux got nosey and pulled it out from under a China cabinet that was in there that Nikki never knew anything was under it. Nikki called her vet, and the vet told us to give the dogs 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to make them throw up. We choked that down Lyka and Phaux (I didn't figure it was Lyka who did it, but I didn't want to take any chances), and then walked them outside while they threw up about 3-4 times each. Somewhere in there, Lyka thought chicken poop would make a great addition to her shiny coat and globbed a fistful on her neck. Then she must have grazed by Phaux at some point and got it on his back haunches. So when they were done throwing up, we had to take them in and give them a semi-bath to get the chicken crap off. So they're on house arrest for the next few days.



Oh, and on a completely different note, I finished up a 2 week teeth whitening regiment a few days ago. Here's the before/after shot:

That's all folks.

Tabitha

Minor Updates

Today was an exciting day because Phaux F-I-N-A-L-L-Y lost his last puppy tooth!!!! I will finally be able to start playing rough with him again because his adult teeth are nothing compared to the needle puppy teeth. I think this will help with his training as well. And the incessant chewing. OH, the incessant chewing... At least he only chews on his toys and things that are his.

I went "home" to Fort Gibson over the weekend and I went to the doctor for my sickness (ear infection and sinus infection, turns out). I got Amoxicillin (just like I had said I would) and I think I've slowly been getting better. I'm onto that "hacking up stuff" stage now, which I do recall that being the last stage.

I made a few domestic achievements today as well. I've been gathering up my clean laundry for a few weeks now in hampers and I finally got it put away today. AND I unloaded the clean dishes from the dishwasher and replaced them with dirty ones. Wowzers!

Still no job. But still have unemployment checks coming. So, whatever. Ask me if I care. I need to apply for my required 2 jobs for this week still, but I think there are at least a couple that I can just e-mail my resumé (my favorite way to apply--so easy!).

But speaking of jobs...Jon didn't work today for the first time in about a month or 2 straight! It was really nice getting to see him ALL day long!

I think the time is coming near for me to get a new cell phone, but I can't find one I like on the current market today. I don't want a touch screen (not because they're not awesomely cool, but because I don't know how long they would hold up...), I don't need Windows Mobile running my phone, and I want a mp3 player that will support .wma files! Is that so complicated? You have no idea. And I'm biased to certain brands. Not just loyal to some, but hate some of the others. *Sigh* I guess I'll just ride it out to the very end of my contract and see if there's a new awesome phone out then that will satisfy me.

Tabitha