add it to my tab

this has been my husband's phrase for the past week.  oh how i love this man!

please forgive my blog absence.  the last few weeks have tested every ounce of faith and patience in me. my hubby developed a cough about a month after he had sinus surgery last year.  he also suffers from asthma so he's under regular treatment with his allergist and ent.  but this darn cough kept getting worse and we seeked anyone who would listen over the months.  so the past week it all kind of fell down at once...


two upper endoscopys (yes his and hers...not done on the same day thankfully but one thursday and one friday)

a trip after boy's endoscopy to the radiologist for a chest x-ray.

finding out boy has a partially collapsed lung.

throw in a wife that probably ticked off many a doctor trying to get someone to get answers.

finding out crying helps speed that along.

a ct scan.

a hubby that keeps getting weaker.

resulting in a trip to the er.

being admitted right away.

then a bronchoscopy to remove the blockage in his lung that had caused the deflation.

praising the Lord.

and finally coming home today.

i'm so unbelievably thankful to have him with me at home.  this is one of life's moments that brings you to your knees, but what a blessing it has been to have those around us lifting us back up.  my parent's rushed over immediately and swept in and did everything and anything for us and the pugs.  and his nurse's we're beyond amazing.  i cried i think at every rotation because it was so hard to say good-bye.

i'm hoping this chair and i never meet again.

i'll blog in more detail later.  my apologizes if you've been one of the many e-mails sitting in my inbox.  i promise to get around to that later.  in the meantime, i'm going to wash the hospital smell off me, reunite with sleep and love on some attention needy pugs too.

a few things

1. It's March Madness my friends.  Could not be more excited!!  Hopefully KU can make it a little farther this year than last.  Rock Chalk my fellow jayhawkers!

2. I nearly passed out in Target the other day.  I'd like to be dramatic and say it was from the ADORABLE new curtains they're offering, but truthfully I think it was more because it was lunchtime and this girl was starving.  How awesome are these curtains!  I'll take one of each please and the shower curtain at the bottom too pretty please.

i wish this last one was a window panel.

images via target

3. Pug's favorite day came this week.  Food delivery!!  It's the highlight of his life and of course he's got to check out the goods.  Our pug rescue got me hooked on this all natural dog food  right before we adopted Landry and they both love it.  So much better than the fast food dog food I was guilty of feeding them and the company is super sweet.  Oh and they delivery for free...can't beat not attempting to load up 40 lbs of dog food in a shopping cart while the whole store watches.

 Off to enjoy the weekend and some amazing weather!  Have a good one.

book shopping

raise your hand if your tired.

it's such a beating this loosing an hour of sleep business.  if i only i could get my act together and go to bed an hour earlier.  but i will take it because i just love spring!

i'm loving the weather being warm enough to sneak outside for a little bit with a good book while the pugs sunbathe.  i always loving hearing your recommendations and what your reading so do tell.  here's what i've been reading lately:

Read:

"Defending Jacob" by William Landay  There's a lot of hype over this book and although I did like I just didn't love it.  Very well written courtroom drama, just couldn't get into.

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Had me hooked from the beginning.  But I can only recommend this book if you're prepared to shed a few tears or in my case a lot.  I read this one evening when boy was gone and literally just sobbed so hard I couldn't see the words on the pages.  But it's such a good book and so beautifully written.  This girl gave me a copy and I did send her a thanks for the tears e-mail when I was done.

"Postcard Killers" by James Patterson


Don't know why, but I was in the Patterson mood.  Can I be honest?  I dearly miss his early works over what's coming out now.  Just not the same.  There just doesn't seem to have any mystery.  I need to be surprised.  I think I keep going back hoping to get that old style and come away dissapointed.

And that's it on my end.  I think I need some chick lit to drowned myself in.  While were talking books has or is anyone reading the Divergent series?  Doesn't seem like my cup of tea, but neither was the Hunger Games and I loved it.

some happenings from the day and yesterday

Yesterday, I stained our fence. 

I felt like Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer, I can't remember which one, but I do know it was not nearly as exciting and instead of overalls I sported an array of yoga gear that did not even come close to matching.

Then about 10 minutes in I really started to regret this decision and around dinnertime after I had finished I really really regretted it when I could no longer lift my arms up over my head. 

I will never stain a fence again.

Then Landry started to get really sick.  I'll spare you the details.  Just know I really wanted to cry and to just be able to sit down and watch the Apprentice. 

Then boy's crown on his front tooth fell off.  And I did cry, but only from laughter because he looked hilarious.

This morning my sweet Landry was only getting worse.  I phoned the vet (and the dentist) and got an appointment for the afternoon.  Before I loaded him up though I had to run something to the post office to mail.   During my eagerness to get out of there to hurry to Landry's appointment, I accidentally filled something out wrong on the customs forms.  Which can I add are always such a pain.  When the worker pointed it out I made a joke like sorry I'm not trying to be difficult today.  And then he said.

It's okay your just a woman.

It was one of those awkward moments where someone takes a joke just a tad too far.  If my arms weren't so gosh darn sore I would have jumped across the desk and slapped him.  But I smiled and left.

I load Landry up and we head out to the vet.  Our old vet was super close, but I recently decided to switch when I woke up and realized I was being robbed blind every time I went in.  Also, they didn't seem like pet people which is sadly ironic for the business they were in.

I found when looking for a new vet the two best questions to ask are, do you like dogs? and are you putting a child through college now or anytime soon?  So we have a new vet and I adore them.  They love on my boys and they totally remind me of that vet on the movie "Baby Boom".

We get seen right away and come to the conclusion pretty quickly that he probably ate something.  They do an x-ray and some blood work and thankfully find no large objects on the x-ray.  He either passed it and it upset his system or it was small enough to not be seen on the x-ray and it will pass.  He was really dehydrated so they loaded him up on fluids, gave us some meds and special food and homeboy and I were out of there.

Sadly, he can't eat for the rest of the day and as I type this he's curled up next to me and his little stomach is growling so loud.  Bless his heart. 

If I were to bet on which dog would end up in the vet for eating something wrong, I totally would have placed all my bets on the one that eats toilet paper straight off the roll.

the secretary desk

two years ago we had to move my grandpa into assisted living.  when moving him my dad asked if there was anything that i'd like to have.  the secretary desk in my grandparent's family room immediately popped into my mind and i asked if he mind if i held on to it.  i've always loved this desk and it holds many fond childhood memories.  there were many hours spent at this desk teaching my imaginary classroom or running an imaginary (yet very important) business.  i was thrilled to bring it home.

it needed some love though.  i even found the receipt in the top drawer from when they purchased it so many many years ago.  and every time i thought about how i could fix her up and make her look pretty again i began to hyperventilate.  normally i have no problems fixing up a piece of furniture, but the pressure of this piece overwhelmed me.  so it sat for awhile in a corner, naked from a quick sanding, while i dreamed of what she could become.

a few weeks ago my mom called and said she was going with a friend to dallas for an annie sloan class.  i was so jealous!!  i've been dying to try the chalk paints and when she asked if she wanted me to pick up some stuff for myself i jumped with glee at the offer.  i thought this would be perfect to do for my desk.

and so this weekend and some annie sloan paint and wax later...girl's got herself a new look.  and if i do say so myself she looks fabulous.

 

i absolutely LOVE this paint.  such a dream to work with.  although it's a bit pricey i think it is worth every penny.  i didn't even use a quarter of the paint can to cover this piece and it's matching chair.  it goes on so easy, covers amazingly well, and dries fast.  i used "old white" and "paris grey", then used the dark wax to give it a frenchy feel.  took an afternoon...that's all.  my mom and i are going to redo her guest bedroom armoire and headboard with the chalk paint and i can't wait to see how it turns out on a larger piece.

linking up with:

a memo to pug #10

To: Pug
From: Upper Management
Date: 2/27/12
RE: The Loo

Dear Pug,

In regards to this morning's noteworthy event, I ask that you please refrain from using Landry as a fire hydrant from now on.  I'm sure Landry would be most appreciative to avoid any unnecessary baths as well.  I understand you are extremely inpatient when someone is using a spot you so desperately want, but take note...if said spot is occupied please.

My Sincerest Appreciation,
Girl

past memos to pug can be found here 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8 and 9}

tivo confessions

I'm treating myself to a little break from my Operation Organization 2012.  Also, known as Operation Organization 2011, 2010, and 2009.  What can I say...I get distracted easily.  I'd like to say I'm pretty organized, maybe from the outside, but when you dig a little deeper into those closets...not so much.  So I've spent the good part of the morning sorting through drawers and boxes asking myself if I really need to keep my collection of "Jock Jam" CD's wondering if these so called jams, that were the soundtrack to my high school years, are worth downloading to the iPod?  Do I even risk the humiliation of such a playlist?  So as you can see this organizing business is very exhausting.

But on a brighter note, I am thrilled that the good ole' Tivo has some work cut out for him with so many new tv shows starting back up.  So let's talk tv shows were loving, the ones we're excited are starting back up, and maybe even the ones that need to say goodbye.

1. Celebrity Apprentice- sadly, I haven't watched this premiere yet, but I'm ever so excited to watch it.  This one always sucks me in.  I can't resist the board room drama.

2. Bethenny Ever After- oh so excited...she cracks me up!

3. Shark Tank- hubs and I actually just got into this one, mainly because it's on right before Dateline, but are really addicted.  So, were spending some time catching up on past episodes.

4. Tabitha Takes Over- oh bravo, I am so addicted to you.  I love a good makeover show though!

5. Teen Mom 2- I have to add this one in that I'm glad this season has ended.  I watch the show because I so desperately want to see these girls succeed and make good choices for themselves and their kid.  This season was just really hard to watch emotionally.  I'm just really rooting for them all.

6.  An Idiot Abroad: the bucket list- oh how Karl cracks us up.  If you haven't seen it it's on the Science channel and we were so excited that it came back for a 2nd season.  Anyone else watching this?

7. The Office- oh this is so painful to watch.  It makes me so sad because I have absolutely adored this show for so many years.  So many Michael Scott laughs, but seriously someone needs to cut the cord and let it go.  

I'm sure I'm missing a few.  I'm hoping to rent Downtown Abby soon and get hooked on that I'm sure.  What's on your DVR or Tivo up to these days?