Monday, January 30, 2023

I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday AND Tanya today for Prime Purchases which is now on Mondays.

So, I don’t have many pictures from the weekend and you will find out why in a minute. But, first, a little back story. When I started getting serious with Tom he sat me down and said, “Amy, I plan to have a chocolate lab named Archie.” We both came from dog families and I couldn’t wait to get married to have my own dog! I was fine with a chocolate lab because I didn’t really have a preference. Of course I could have had my own dog, but I was waiting until I had someone to share this responsbility with.

So, we had a wonderful dog named Archie for 12 years. He died with our twins were 9. We waited about 8 months and I finally convinced Tom it was time to look for our next baby. Tom was very emotional about losing Archie and wasn’t sure he could do it again. But, we found our Ernie! And, obviously, Tom fell in love with him.

Look at that joy rolling in the grass this weekend!

Ernie turned 10 this week and also was acting off. He didn’t come to bed with us two nights and he just seemed lethargic. Wednesday when he hadn’t eaten his breakfast Tom said he would come home for lunch and check on him. He made the decision to take him to the vet where the vet (not our preferred vet) did blood work and said she thought he had an internal bleed in his abdomen most likely caused by a tumor on his spleen which is common in big dogs, I think. The news was dire and the surgery would be risky and didn’t always result in a good outcome. Tom had dropped him at the vet and had to go back to work and I had left work during my planning period (last period) to go get him from the vet and hear the prognosis. I took him home and loved on him the rest of the day. He was acting slightly better, I thought.

The plan was to go back the following morning to have an ultrasound of his abdomen done by our preferred vet. I took off because the vet of the day before made us think we would have to make a decision on Thursday and possibly not bring him back home with us! Tom and I both took him in. At this point, we hadn’t told our kids because we wanted to wait until this appointment. I waffled back and forth Wednesday evening about telling them at that point.

Thursday morning Ernie was acting pretty normal. He socialized with all the ladies at the desk at the vet and all the dogs and people who came in. He worked the room. When we went into the examining room, Ernie went and sat in the corner by the dog treat jar until our wonderful vet gave him a treat. Our vet did an ulttrasound and said he saw something on his spleen but that the bleeding had stopped and clotted. He did still see fluid/blood in his abdomen. He basically advised us to do nothing, but that we would have to make a decision as he went downhill.

He did tell us that there is a Chinese herb you can put on the dog’s food to help thicken the blood and promote clotting so you can surely bet I went and bought some of that at the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine store. Tom went back to work and I took Ernie to the McD’s drive through and put that powder on his hamburger.

I called and told both kids and they made plans to come home Friday and spend time with him this weekend.

So, it’s been a lot of time at home and a lot of walks and cuddles. The thing is – he is acting almost normal again. The only thing not normal is we don’t think he is eating as much. The vet said that the bleeding had made him weak and that is why he was acting off and the clotting made him more like himself so I guess that would explain his improved behavior.

I am in denial to some degree, but I am holding out hope that they are wrong. Since we had Archie for 12 years and Ernie has been more active and at really good weight I had hoped for a nice 14 years. Ever the optimist, I guess.

I made sweet potatoes for Ernie and made a hash for me for breakfast:

We can’t be with Ernie constantly as will still have to go to work, but I did a few errands Saturday morning when J and M could be with him. Tom had committed to working a boat show for his sister and brother in law’s business, so it was just J, M, and I on Ernie duty Saturday.

I went to the library, to Target for a drive up, and to the Walmart grocery for things I can’t find at Kroger. A WW Instagram follow of mine has posted some fun mocktails/drink recipes. Sonic cherry limeade powder with a La Croix cherry lime that I couldn’t find so I picked this Polar Cherry Limeade and it is great by itself. Adding the powder takes it to the next level. And, another drink is pineapple Crush powder with a Coconut LaCroix. OMG! I am super happy with these new drinks. They will also help me get my water intake where it needs to be. You can add some fresh lime and lemon juice or the bottled kind like I keep on hand.

Our Saturday weather was a gift. I took a long walk with Ernie – he seemed up to it. I think he had four walks on Saturday! I just kinda let him dictate which way and how long we went. I let him off lease by the tennis center near our house and he had fun sniffing and looking for balls. I sat outside and read while Ernie napped in the sun. I ate my lunch outside, too. Like I said in many posts, I have tried to jump every time it has been mild enough in January to do this and I really think it has helped.

Ourside on the patio with my pineapple coconut drink:

I need to try more flavors of this:

Late afternoon as Tom was getting home, J, M, and I went to the shopping center that has Barnes and Noble bookstore and Loft. I had a 40% off coupon to use at Loft and they love a bookstore.

I tried the denim on denim look. I think I need more contrast but I didn’t hate it.

I got a bit sad looking at all of the empty shelves as the bookstore is moving to a smaller space in the shopping center. We have been going to this bookstore for 18-19 years and played on the Thomas the Train table there many a time. My kids have always loved libraries and bookstores, which was a wonderful thing for me.

They thought Blaze sounded good and it is very close to the bookstore so we got it to go. I wasn’t that excited about it, but I got one for me, too.

I opened a new bottle of wine from Trader Joe’s. Recommend! It is a nice smooth red!

Ok, this pizza was really, really good. I hadn’t had one in probably two years.

Sunday morning I did a southwest breakfast bowl for Erica and I for Monday’s lunch:

I made myself another sweet potato breakfast:

My Soup Sunday was Drizzle Me Skinny’s potato chicken corn chowder:

Mason and I went out for coffee and I got this beautiful concoction:

Mason got a Cuban coffee and tres leches pancakes:

I had already eaten so I just had coffee. This is our third weekend coffee shop that we are doing as much as we can! Everytime I left the house this weekend it was just in short increments because I didn’t want to be away from Ernie too much.

I went to bed early both Friday and Saturday nights because not only was I physically tired, but I think I was also emtionally tired. I couldn’t keep my eyes open while watching tv.

Please send some healing thoughts, vibes, or prayers if you are so inclinced for Ernie’s comfort and quality of life and for us to make the right decision at the right time.

Let’s talk about Amazon now…

I tried to be really frugal this month so I feel that most of my purchases are needs more than wants.

I love my new Shark! I got a refurbished machine and I picked the cheapest color – blue. It was $68. Cordless is a game changer. I want to use it! I have found it works great on my kitchen floor and is much easier than getting out the broom and dustpan. Ernie is scared of it, though, so I have been trying to use it when he is outside.

I bought the smallest box of Tide ever created to try the hot water/Tide floor cleaner thing. I used it with my Swiffer and dry mopping pads and I loved it.

You can tell cleaning has really been on my mind this month.

I really like this! It seems much more expensive and better quality than you would think for a $3 foundation. I got this for days I didn’t feel like doing my Seint makeup system.

It’s a little light and I am thinking about getting a darker one and blending to get the best color for me.

See, this is a need. You don’t want to see me without coffee! I love this!

I put these green laces in my white leather sneakers. Love! I am seeing this color green for spring everywhere! Loft had a ton of this color.

I lost my Stanley cup straw and choose these to replace it. They are thinner, but they do the job. They came with a cleaning brush, too.

I finally bought the cuticle oil everyone raves about. I have nothing to compare it to but I like it!

I bought the good stuff. Apparently all cinnamon is not created equally.

I needed more vitamins:

And, that’s it. I did pretty well this month and really resisted the more frivolous items that I might have normally clicked “buy” on.

What about you?

Amy