Hypothyroidism

In my post about my day off last Friday, I said that I took Minnie to the vet for a checkup and the vet, in return, took all my money.  I didn't give you much details.  But now, let's back up a little (pun intended - just wait, you'll see). I didn't make an appointment for Minnie.  I just showed up and asked if someone could check her out and luckily, they said they could.  Once in our little room, the vet tech asked, "What seems to be the problem?"  "Well," I said, "we're having bathroom issues.  There seems to be a lot of licking going on, but not a lot of going, if you will."  There were lots of nods and mmhmms and oks from the vet tech as she wrote everything down.  "Anything else?"  "Yes," I said.  "She's also such a grandma."  Yep, those were the technical terms I used.  "A grandma?" asked the vet tech.  "Yes, she is soooo slooooow and just taking her outside takes forever.  It takes ten minutes just to get to the corner of our block!"

The vet tech finished with her notes and left to get the vet.  When he arrived, we went over the same questions ("A grandma?") while he poked and prodded her.  Eventually, he stood up and said he was going to get some supplies and would be right back.  A minute later he was back with an assistant so he could check out Minnie's condition.  I won't say exactly what he did, but I will say it involved a glove, some gooey stuff, and is what I imagine to be one of the worst job duties of a vet.  The vet confirmed that there was a lot of stuff in there, and that Minnie was a little backed up (there's the pun!).  He also mentioned that her back was still hurting her (an ongoing issue, she is a dachshund afterall) and that it probably hurt her to use the bathroom.

Long story short, Minnie spent the afternoon at the vet's office getting cleaned out.  She also got a shot of pain medicine in her back and they did blood work to send off to the lab.  When I picked her up, I was handed a bag full of pills to take home with us.  That's why I said she was now an official pill head.

The weekend was great.  We followed our pill schedule to a T, and one neighbor even commented that she seemed to be moving around much better.  Yay!

Fast forward to yesterday (Tuesday) when I received a follow-up call from the vet. 

Vet Tech: I've got good news and bad news. Me: Ok... Vet Tech:  The good news is Minnie has problems with her thyroid. Me:  Wait, that's good news? Vet Tech:  Yes! It explains so much.  And it's fixable. Me:  Ok...then what's the bad news? Vet Tech:  She also has problems with her liver enzymes.

So there's the short and sweet version of our exchange.  At the encouragement of the vet tech, I got online and researched Minnie's condition, hypothyroidism.  Here are some of the symptoms I found:

(I read a lot of different articles and don't remember where I read what, so I'm about to list some things without citing sources.  English teachers, look away!)

• Sluggish-ness (check!)
• Frequent napping (check!)
• Lack of interest in play (check!)
• Tiring out on long walks (see Grandma comments above)
• Dry skin (yep)
• Weight gain (Um, have you seen Maxi Minnie?)

It's like whoever came up with these symptoms really knew Minnie and was talking about her!  This weekend, I made the comment to Doc, "Remember when Minnie's tail used to have long hair on it?  Now it just kinda looks like a rat's tail or something."  And whaddaya know, one of the articles listed "rat's tail" as a symptom.  I kid you not - they used the same description I had just used.  Crazy!  I also read that hypothyroidism is an inherited disease.  I'm pretty sure my grandmother had thyroid issues, so maybe that's where Minnie gets it from... 

Anyway, like the vet tech said in her phone call, this is good news because all of these symptoms can be "fixed" with a thyroid supplement.  Minnie will take a pill twice a day probably for the rest of her life.  Every article I read said we should be able to see a dramatic difference in about two weeks.  She'll get her spunk back and could even lose weight!  It will probably take more like four weeks for her dandruff to clear up.

About those liver enzymes...I didn't do as much research on this.  All I know is that "normal" is a 70 and Minnie is at 296.  Yowzer.  At the vet yesterday, I picked up the thyroid supplement along with pills for her liver.  She'll take this medicine once a day for a month.  I'll take her back to the vet in two weeks so they can test to make sure her levels are getting better.

With the addition of the two new medicines, Minnie's section of the counter now looks like this:

As you can see, I had to label all the medicines with instructions.  Some of them have to be on an empty stomach - one an hour before she eats, one 15 minutes before she eats.  Some just get taken at night, others just in the morning, and some get taken twice a day.  The pill in the tupperware on the left smells horrible, but Minnie thinks it's the tastiest thing ever.  The orange one in the top right corner has to be given with a syringe.  We call it her kool-aid and she licks it out of the syringe just as fast as she can.  The pills we wrap up in cheese.  This morning she figured out how to spit the pill out and eat just the cheese. 

I started writing this post this morning and it was supposed to end here.  But, as it is, the story goes on...

Today (Wednesday), I had to run home for lunch to meet the carpet cleaner guy who was finally returning our rug (spots are still there, boo).  I opened the kennel and Minnie b a r e l y creeped out.  Right outside her kennel, she had an accident.  Times two.  Then she moved under the kitchen table and just stood there with her head down.  She wouldn't move at all, and wouldn't even look at me.  I didn't scold her for her accidents because I could tell she didn't feel good.  The carpet cleaner guy rang the doorbell and she didn't make a sound.  Not a peep.  And the whole time he was there unwrapping the rug and rolling it out, she never moved an inch.  This is all very unlike her, so I called the vet and told them what was going on.  The vet advised me to only give her the thyroid medicine tonight, nothing else, and that they'd call back in the morning to see how she was doing.  I discovered later that she had also had an accident in her kennel.  Poor thing.  I cleaned up her messes and threw her bed in the washing machine.  When I left to go back to work, I put her in our half bath with a bunch of towels to lay on.  Who knows what I'll come home to.  I plan on leaving early to check on her.

Phew! Long story.  So that's where we are now.  I'm assuming she's just way drugged up and hopefully it will wear off soon.  I guess only time will tell.  Poor, poor Minnie.

Productive Free Day

The week before Thanksgiving, I received an email at work announcing that, as a gift, all employees were receiving one free vacation day that could be used any time before January 14.  Some business hand out holiday bonuses; we get a free day off.  I'm not complaining, though.  It's better than nothing. I claimed this past Friday, January 14th, as my free day off and now, after enjoying my day off, I think I have finally figured out the secret to beating the winter blues:  shorter work weeks.  Thanks to the Christmas and New Years holidays, our trip to Indiana, the stomach bug that knocked me out for two and half days, and this free day off, I haven't worked a full forty hours in weeks!  (I'd add last Monday's snow day to the list except, unlike everyone else in the city, I had to go to work.  No snow day, only a delayed start.)  And thanks to Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I'll enjoy sleeping in again tomorrow (Monday) morning followed by another short week.  I think all this time off has really improved my mood towards the cold weather.  It really isn't as bad if I can stay snuggled up by a fire and just read all day.  Now I just have to start thinking about how I'm going to get more days off in the weeks following this one.  As long as it doesn't involve a stomach bug or someone getting hurt or sick, I'm up for anything.  Anyone got any creative ideas?

So anyway, I had a whole day off with nothing to do, but it turns out I was able to find LOTS to do!  As soon as I finally got up, the first thing I did was move almost every piece of furniture in our bedroom and living room.  I had already scheduled an appointment with Service Master so they could come clean our carpets and a rug later that day.

The floors in our room looked nice and bare by the time I finished moving everything out of the way.  Our two nightstands are full of books that we've read, and I had to drag those into the bathroom.  I wish I'd had Doc around to help cause books are heavy, y'all!

I couldn't get this chair into the bathroom so the carpet cleaner guy just had to work around it.

Downstairs in the living room, I shoved all of our couches and other furniture to the sides so he could have complete access to our rug.

Since this isn't my first go round with getting our carpets cleaned, and I know it's recommended that you don't walk on them for several hours while they dry, I thought ahead and brought down everything from upstairs that I thought I might possibly want to play with during the day.

Lap top, camera, kindle, clean laundry to fold, pictures to hang, a couple of sewing projects...I had no clue what I wanted to get into on my free day!

But before it was time for the carpet cleaning appointment, I had to get out and take my sweet baby girl Minnie to the vet.  Seeing as how it was her issues that were the cause of us needing the carpets cleaned anyway, I figured it might be time to get things checked out.  Poor thing was not very excited about being at the vet.

I left her there so they could run some tests and headed back home.  The carpet cleaner guy arrived and while he was upstairs shampooing away, I decided to tackle our hall closet.  I was sick and tired of it looking like this:

All of our coats have been hanging on dinky wire hangers that couldn't handle their weight.  They were constantly falling on the ground.  So I switched all of our coats over to wooden hangers and cleaned out and organized everything else.  I feel much better about the closet now.

By the time I finished organizing the closet, the carpet cleaner guy was finished with the carpets and was looking at the rug.  I joined him in the living room just as he started rolling it up.  "Woah, woah, woah," I said.  "What are you doing? Can't you clean it here?"  Apparently the answer to that question is no.  I listened as he talked about the different sprays and rinses and fumes and hanging to dry and deodorizing and yadda, yadda, yadda, and finally I said ok and that he could take the rug.  Totally didn't see that happening when I made the appointment.

So now we're rug-less for a few days.  I really hope it comes back soon.

After sending the carpet cleaner guy out the door with all my money, I realized I was pretty hungry.  After several texts and phone calls, I found myself sitting in a cafe with my friends Allison and Mary Elizabeth.  I just love an impromptu lunch, especially when I don't have to rush back to work!  It was a total fluke that we were all able to meet up but I'm so glad that it worked out.  Good food + good company = good day off.

Since I was out of the house, I stopped by a local hair salon to get my bushy eyebrows cleaned up a little.  I'm pleased to say they now each have their very own unique shape.  Matching eyebrows are so overrated (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Back at home, I surveyed the dining table full of toys and decided to tackle the sewing project.  It's one that I had put off for a long time because there was nothing fun about it.  This is how our pillow shams normally look on our bed:

When we picked out the bedding, I loved the ties on the side of the sham.  I thought it was a cute detail.  Now, though, I hate them.  Half of them have fallen out so I can't tie them and the shams are always gaping open, exposing the white pillow inside.  Last weekend I finally remembered to grab some velcro while I was at JoAnn's.  Since I had all the supplies I needed, there were no more excuses to continue putting it off.

Before going to the sewing machine, I cut off all the ties on the side.  Lots of sewing guesswork and a broken needle later, my shams were all velcro-ed up!

Perfect!  (Well, as perfect as they were gonna get with me doing the sewing.)

Doc and I both went to pick up our sweet puppy at the vet.  I thought the carpet cleaner guy ran off with all my money, but it turns out it was the vet that really cleaned me out.  My free day off was pretty expensive!  Minnie got sent home with a bag full of medicine.  She's an official pill head now.  But since she was such a good girl for the vet, I rewarded her with a new collar.

Out with the dingy green and in with the new purple polka dots!

She wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a picture of it on her, so you'll just have to take my word when I say she's looking pretty cute.  The next time you see Minnie, be sure to compliment her on her new outfit!

We let my dad treat us to dinner since my mom was out of town.  Then, back at his house, we gave him a few minutes of help with a project he's been working on (pictures coming soon!).

We ended the day on the couch watching the most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy.  It was such a great day off...I seriously have to figure out how to get more free vacation days!

25 Things

I'm struggling for good blog material right now.  Until I find something else to talk about, how about we talk about me?  Really, I'll do the talking (writing), and you can do the reading. I never did the whole "25 Things" thing when it was going around on Facebook.  Better late than never, right?  Plus, I'm sure you've been dying to know more about me.  I tried really hard to come up with random facts that you might not know.  So, without further ado, here are 25 semi-interesting-at-best tidbits about yours truly.

1.  I sleep curled up in a ball.

2.  I can't eat a popsicle without rinsing it off first.

3.  I'm a fan of Eminem, Pink, and Avril.  Apparently, I like artists with a bad attitude.

4.  I have two freckles on the bottom of my right foot.

5.  On road trips, my snack of choice from a gas station pit stop is always a Cookies N Cream Hershey's Bar.  If for some reason I'm not in the mood for chocolate, then it's either Laffy Taffy or Air Heads.

6.  I don't watch or read the news; I'd rather not know what's going on.

7.  I love to shop for anything.  I get overly excited about perfect purchases. 

8.  I can't sleep with socks on.

9.  A Few Good Men and Shawshank Redemption are the movies I will always stop and watch on tv.

10.  I really want to have twins.

11.  I think tiramisu smells better than it tastes.

12.  I don't throw away old tennis shoes.  I still have my last six or seven pairs.

13.  My left thumb is double-jointed.

14.  I have to read something - anything (book, magazine, email, facebook, twitter) - before turning out the light almost every night.

15.  I have been parasailing once.  The rope keeping me attached to the boat broke.

16.  When I get excited about a project, it's all I can think about.

17.  I don't like driving at night.

18.  I sleep in retainers.

19.  I like the taste of Dimetapp, liquid Tylenol, and some cough syrups.

20.  I love dogs.  I would have tons of them as pets if they wouldn't make my house dirty and weren't so expensive.

21.  I wear a camisole underneath my shirt almost every day.

22.  My handwriting is a connected print.

23.  I am terrified of technology taking over the world.

24.  Pipes creep me out.  I don't like to look under sinks, in janitor closets, boiler rooms, etc.

25.  I like being told I'm just like my dad.  He's a good guy.

Well, did you learn anything new?  Do we have anything in common?

2010: Done

When one year ends and the next begins, a recap post of the past year's adventures is in order.  Or at least that's what I'm learning from reading other blogs.  So I figure, why not? I'll do a recap post, too. But first, how about some stats?  Wordpress sent me an email the other day that had all these fun facts about how I did as a blogger in 2010.  I managed to crank out 164 posts during the year! Not too shabby, eh?  When I decided to start this blog, I thought I'd easily write a minimum of 200 in a year.  Obviously that was before I actually wrote a post and realized how time consuming they can be.  Uploading pictures doesn't happen at the snap of my fingers, unfortunately.  My first several posts took me hours to do! I was so lost.  Luckily for me (and Doc, who doesn't like it when I spend the entire night with the computer in my lap), I'm getting a little bit faster at spitting them out now.

Did you know that I can tell how many people view my blog each day?  It's true, I can.  According to the email, April 19th was my busiest day, when my blog was viewed 99 times.  Really? One more person couldn't have looked at it to push me into triple-digits? Geez.  My daily average is no where near that many views.  On a day that I publish a post, I receive around 30 or 40 views.  On other days, I may only get somewhere in the teens, sometimes even less.  I can really tell when you teachers are out of school and not getting on your computers regularly!

Over the entire year, my little corner of the internet was viewed about 4,300 times.  I don't know if I should feel proud you readers cared to check in on me that many times, or scared that all of my silly stories and grammatical errors have been seen that often.  It'll be interesting to look back next year and see how Give Everybody Nice Sweaters does in 2011 by comparison.

Another thing Wordpress can do is tell me how viewers came to find my blog.  As most of you know, I've got my privacy settings set so GENS won't show up in search results, so I can really only see that you guys come from links in your email or from your Google Readers.  Maybe one day I'll get brave and make the blog public so we can see what crazy searches lead googlers my way.  Possibly searches on the song lyric the blog's title comes from, or searches on making fabric banners, choosing paint colors for your house, cupcakes in jars, or how to turn a hutch into a puppet stage.  Heck, we might even get a few visitors from searches about how alpacas like to do it.

So, who's ready for that recap?

January's when this little blog got started.  It was a New Year's Resolution of mine and one I'm glad I stuck with.  My family and I went on a ski trip in North Carolina and when I got home, I helped redecorate a friend's master bedroom.

February was hard.  I tackled a really old mantle that had lots of lead paint on it, and then decided it was time to kick the ol' caffeine habit.

In March, my birthday month, I finally got around to hanging pictures on one of our bare walls.

April had its ups and downs.  I got a New Boss at work, which has been interesting, but Doc and I also went on a fun trip to New Orleans with friends.

Our first anniversary was in May and Doc surprised me with a trip to New York!

In June, we turned a headboard into a bench, lost Minnie for a few hours, and then went on a fun beach vacation with our friends.

In July I turned Doc's trash into my treasure and then hosted a baby shower for three of my friends.

The parties didn't stop there.  In August we had a girls' weekend in Greenwood, MS where we learned how to cook at the Viking Cooking School, and then I prepared for an upcoming shower Doc and I were hosting.

The Couples' Shower was in September and so was the Heimke wedding that I helped coordinate.

In October I got to stand by Jenny while she married Darrin.  Later in the month, Doc and I went on a weekend trip with Chris and Allison and I decided that I love life on the farm.

November was busy! I spent all my free time in the shop getting ready for the sale, but we managed to squeeze in time to take family pictures and build a lemonade stand.

December was busy with all the normal holiday festivities, but we also had the shop sale, completed another half marathon (Doc running, me cheering), and attended our first ever one-ring circus.

And there ya have it: 2010 all crammed into one post.  So far 2011 has already knocked me down with a stomach bug, but my fingers are crossed that it's going to make a comeback and end up giving 2010 a run for its money.  I guess we'll see...

Final Christmas Celebration

This past Saturday may have been New Year's Day, but for us, it was another Christmas celebration.  We usually get together with my mom's side of the family the weekend before Christmas, but this year it didn't work out that way.  It was our turn to travel to their house, so after ringing in 2011 Friday night, we loaded up our cars and hit the road. Here's a cast of characters.  First, my mom and dad on the right, and my mom's sister Kim and her husband Ron on the left.

Here are the boys from my generation.  From left to right: cousin Joel, brother Nick, husband Doc, brother Ben, and cousin Roger.

In the girls picture we have me, cousin Rebecca, sister-in-law Beth, cousin Paige (holding Sevens), and sister-in-law Erin.

This last picture was the hardest to get - and you can see why! Here's the youngest generation, from left to right: Parker (2), Jett (5), Bren (2), Carter (2), Gracie (8), Roaney (2), Sevens (1), Neely (4).  (I think those are the right ages.)

Talk about a full house!  The little people love getting to play with each other.  Gender and ages don't matter - the boys fight over the tiara and the girls play with the guns, too.  And sometimes, they all end up with a boo-boo.

Bren was the first to need a band-aid for her boo-boo.

Parker, while sharing doritos with Bren, noticed her band-aid and needed one too.

And then, of course, Carter needed one too.

It's a good thing we didn't invite the DFS to our Christmas meal since it looked like we'd been beating the kids.

The girls headed out on a mini shopping trip and left all the kids at home with the boys.  I think the kids wore them out!

Luckily, when we got home from our shopping trip, lunch was about ready to be served.  We sat down to a delicious meal of steak, potatoes, shrimp, salad, corn, and rolls.  It was yummy!

We all waited patiently (sorta) while the kitchen was cleaned up before we could open our gifts.

I got to sit next to Roaney while she opened her presents and guess what she got...a new makeup kit!

She spent the rest of the afternoon turning herself into a beautiful little princess.

New Year's Day is also my uncle's birthday, so we got to have cake to celebrate.

With that many candles, it's extra impressive that he was able to blow them all out!

It was getting to be late in the day so we all stuffed our faces with cake and then hit the road.  It was a great end to the Christmas season, even if it did fall in the new year!