Ava Can't Catch a Break

We were back at the vet yesterday. Yep, Ava just can't catch a break. Although, I'm pretty sure she did this one to herself...

On Wednesday night Joe and I noticed that her right eye was all squinty. It brought us back to when she last had an eye issue, so we kept a close eye on it. I tried to wipe it clean and look around as much as I could. We decided if it wasn't better in the morning (Thursday - Joe's day off), Joe would take her to the vet.

The next morning that eye was pasted shut! The poor girl couldn't even open it. I helped pry it open and told Joe he would need to make an appointment.

Of course, by the time I was leaving for work, it seemed fine. It didn't look any different from the other eye and she wasn't squinting it at all. I considered not taking her in, but figured we'd better be safe.

It's a good thing we took her! The vet spent quite a bit of time rooting around in her eye and found two small ulcers AND pulled out a wad of nasty red gunk. It was definitely material of some kind and we realized that it must have gotten in there from her spending much of her day burrowing under our (many) fleece blankets.

The vet sent us home with ointment we have to put in her eye three times a day, and as soon as we got home we stored all the fuzzy blankets and brought out the few quilts and other blankets we had that would be safe.

Poor baby!

My Man

Yesterday was a pretty special day for Joe. He finally received his Bachelor's Degree in the mail! He finished all his credits months ago, but he's been waiting for that all-important piece of paper that just verifies it all. He is so proud of himself, and I am so proud of him, too! Even though he earned his doctorate, he had the drive to finish his Bachelor's as well. I honestly love him for that.

Pretty damn cool. Congrats honey!

A Whirlwind Weekend Trip to Seattle

I had the BEST weekend!

My friend, Heidi, flew me out to Seattle for the weekend so I could celebrate my engagement with all the people I love. And she took very, very good care of me all weekend. We were both running around like crazy women with no time to really sleep or eat, but somehow it was one of the BEST times I've ever had!

I flew in on Friday night. Heidi picked me up at the airport and we headed to her house in Edmonds. We chatted until midnight when we both crashed into bed.

The next morning we got up and headed down to her favorite neighborhood coffee shop for breakfast. They knew her by name, which was pretty cool. Her husband, Scott, met us for breakfast and then we parted ways as we headed out for my first time wedding gown shopping!

What an amazing experience! The first place we went to was very fancy and the consultant was so good - she just seemed to 'get' me and my style. She had me tearing up as I stood in front of the mirror, looking at myself. I have seriously never felt that beautiful in my entire life. Unfortunately, her dresses were way out of my price range. :( By the time I left, though, I was pretty much willing to serve all of you oatmeal during the reception and honeymoon in my own house just so I could afford that dress. But Heidi talked me out of it and reminded me we had two others places to go that day.

I did find some great (cheaper) options at the other two stores, and although I didn't end up buying a gown that day, I have definitely solidified my 'style' and I couldn't be more excited!

Also on Saturday, I got to see our wedding venue for the first time! Everyone was waiting with held breath to see if I liked it. And of course I LOVED it! It's absolutely perfect, I couldn't have asked for anyplace better. Joe's family came up early and met us at the venue as well, and everyone agreed it was perfect.

That night I had dinner with the soon-to-be in-laws and then my soon-to-be sister-in-law drove me down to the airport so we could pick up my mom, who was flying in from Maryland. By the time we all got back to the hotel we were staying at, all of us crashed like a ton of bricks!

The next day, Sunday, was a relaxing morning. We woke up, had breakfast, and then my mom and I hooked up with a friend of mine who had driven up from Wenatchee. We all hung out in downtown Edmonds, walking along the water and catching up. It was great!

All of the above, and I got NO pictures. Serious fail on my part.

Then on to the bridal shower! The shower started at 1:00 and Heidi's in-laws graciously allowed her to host the party at their house. And I have to say, Heidi and her mother-in-law completely outdid themselves. They made so much food and pulled out all the stops. I have never felt so special... seriously.

About 15 of my closest friends and family came to celebrate with me. Some people I haven't seen in years and it was just SO nice to see everyone! And everyone had a great time. Luckliy, my mom and cousin took some pictures, so at least I have evidence of this spectacular party!

No, this was not a baby shower! haha My dear friends Ed and Jessica recently had TWINS (!!) and brought them to the shower so I could meet them. Jacquelyn and Abigail Smiddy are seriously the CUTEST little girls and it was so nice to meet them. My mother (pictured above) pretty much kidnapped Abigail as soon as she came through the door. hmm... is she hoping to be a gramma again soon?? One thing at a time, mom! Geesh!

Jacquelyn and me.

My aunt Kathy, me, and my mom. (Oh, and my Starbucks, heehee)

My cousin Christi, me, and my dad (who just returned from 6 weeks in the Cayman Islands!)

Apparently, something interesting was happening near the door...

My cake! Isn't it beautiful??

I love the way Jessica (far right) is looking at her daughter in this picture. To think she can still look at that little girl with so much adoration, even though she and her sister have pretty much eliminated sleep from their lives. haha

Joe's sister and niece being the gorgeous women they are!

My friend Janet from Wenatchee, her boyfriend Kenny, and my kindred spirit Amanda (a dog trainer in the Seattle area.)

My soon-to-be in-laws, Joe and Connie! I got lucky with these two, trust me!

Janet and Kenny

Christi, Kathy, and my Dad.

I just can't thank everyone enough for such a wonderful weekend. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep! Can't wait to see everyone again - hopefully this time with Joe so he can celebrate as well!

Joe's Booth at the Home Show

I realized today that I never posted this. Bad me! Joe worked all weekend last weekend at the Bristol Home Show, about 25 minutes from where we live. He had a booth and talked to people about chiropractic. It was kind of a slow show, so it wasn't as successful as he had hoped, but he did get a couple new patients out of it. How could you not stop by this booth? Look how cute that man is!

In other news, it has rained non-stop here for the last 48 hours, and now today it started snowing again. I'm starting to think Spring will never come. But I'm getting away from it all for the weekend! Flying to Seattle at 4:40 p.m. today. Can't wait!

Looking forward to seeing a lot of you soon!

More Snow!

We woke up to a huge snow again the other morning. For some reason, the big snows always come when we're sleeping, so we never really get to see it coming down. But even though it snowed all night, it continued to snow throughout the day, too, so we got to see a lot. Joe was thrilled - finally a huge snow!

What we woke up to.

Joe had to shovel out the car... again. (He still lets me take the garage with the car I'm borrowing from my mom.)

Jackson and I starting out on our morning walk.

Jackson loving his snowy walk.

Ava, during most of the festivities.

I did actually get Ava out in the snow this time, though. It's the first time I have coerced her outside when there is snow on the ground. But I just had to at least get her to experience it. As you can see from the following video, she was none too pleased that I made her come outside for nothing.

The snow is sticking around this time. It's really pretty, but I'm pretty much ready for the spring now. Actually, I'm ready for summer. We can even skip over spring!

Valentine's Day

Joe and I had SUCH a nice day for Valentine's Day! First, we treated ourselves to Starbucks. The perfect day starts with Starbucks. :)



Then we took Jackson for a long walk along this trail in Southington. It was the perfect holiday for both our dogs - Jackson got a nice long walk and Ava got to sleep in uninterrupted at home.



After our walk we came home, got dressed up, and went out to lunch at this Thai Place we've been wanting to try. It was great food (and of course great company!).




After lunch, we headed to the theater to watch a movie. We don't get to go out that often, so it was really nice. We elected to watch Wolfman, which kind of cracked us up, since there were a ton of romantic movies to watch on Valentine's Day, but we chose the horror film.

The movie didn't get very good reviews, but we thought it was really good. Definitely worth watching if you like werewolf movies and don't mind a little (okay, a lot) blood and guts.


We headed to the store to pick up some dessert (hot berry pie for me; chocolate ice cream pie for Joe) and then went home and ate our dessert as we watched the newest episode of The Biggest Loser. (I know, something about that seems really wrong, but whatever).


It was a great day!

Joe's Home

Joe made it home safe and sound last night. We were all happy to have him home. As you can tell, the dogs missed him terribly!

Cute, huh?