The Poodles

You all know we have lots of poodles.

First of all, we have Melvin. Melvin is the epitome of what a poodle should look like, and he knows it. He's like the grand champion of all poodles, and I swear that "Diva" is his middle name. I mean, just look at him:

Complete diva. He has actually started getting more obedient in his old age - he is almost two. We started using the word C-R-A-T-E, and whenever we say it, he immediately stops his bad behavior, sits down, and looks at us as if we he will do whatever we want in order for him to not be put in that terrible abyss. It works rather well.

Next is mister Boo. Actually, his name is Boo, or Boo Radley, Boo Jangles,  Boo-T-Licious, or whatever ridiculous name we come up with at the moment. Boo has a "googly eye" and a very sweet disposition. He is very silly, and he always looks as though he wants to sit and have a conversation with you. I'd like to know what he is thinking.  He's also afraid of other big dogs, and would prefer to play with dogs that weigh ten pounds. Ha.

Here's evidence of the googly eye:

Ha. Is that not hilarious? Boo also recently discovered his reflection. That mirror has been in our house longer than he has and he just now found it:

Boo is also under the impression that he deserves to sleep in our bed every night. On more than one occasion, after kicking him off, we wake up in the morning to find that he somehow weaseled his way back on the bed, with Mark and I smashed to one side or the other. As evidenced in this picture with Karlie, he doesn't mind sharing close quarters to get his way:

I'm sure you are not surprised that we make up songs that go with our dogs names - mainly Boo, because it's much easier to rhyme than Melvin. Ha. My favorite is "Even when I'm with my Boo.... all I think about is.... Melvin" haha. And the most sacrilegious, (to the tune of "Forever Reign" which starts out, "You are good, you are good, when there's nothing good in me...") wait for it... "Mister Boo, Mister boo, you're the best dog in the world, I love you, I love you." I know - we're loony bins. But at least it keeps things interesting. (-:

A fascinating phenomenon is that these two boys think they will catch a squirrel in our backyard. It doesn't matter how many times they fail, every time we open the back door, they run their hearts out after these squirrels. The squirrels are smart enough to immediately climb a tree, yet the pups never give up. Here is some squirrel watching in action as the dogs stare at the squirrels that run on our roof:

And here is Boo, staring out the window:

They never learn.

And finally, we have Karlie's dog, Bella. When I say Karlie's dog, I mean that Bella will be moving out with Karlie when Karlie graduates from college and gets her own place one day. Bella is likely the sweetest dog we have, and also the least attractive. Karlie rescued her from a puppy mill, and many times people don't realize Bella is a poodle:

Ha. Okay, okay, I know. Not the best picture.  She actually can be kind of cute. Check out this glamour shot:

And in case you are wondering, when it comes down to it, Bella is the boss of them all. She can make Boo cry in a heartbeat.

And there you have it. Our poodles. They are pretty great. And here I am with our herd, on a typical evening of doing homework: 

Man's best friend.

~Kathryn

xoxo

Arthritis 2012

I have to document what recently happened to me on the blog because it has been the absolute strangest and most awful thing. As you may or may not know, some people consider me a "hippie" of sorts because I don't like taking medication unless absolutely necessary, I buy antibiotic-free grass fed meat, eat organic, use paraben-free hygiene products, make my own laundry detergent, use aluminum free deodorant, and clean my house mainly with vinegar, water, and essential oil. So yes. I try to avoid chemicals in my life as much as I can control, but I try not to obsess about it. You may also know I had to get a root canal done last week.

This is quite a quandary. I had a root canal, including a tooth infection - so my dentist prescribed me an antibiotic. I know tooth/mouth infections can be dangerous due to their location, so I started taking the antibiotic on Monday afternoon, with instructions to take it four times a day.

The next morning I was walking down some stairs and I had the feeling that my right knee was going to hyper-extend. "That's weird," I thought - and I shook it off. That afternoon I noticed that I had pain in both of my wrists. Again, I thought it was weird, but kinda shrugged it off. I kept taking my antibiotic. That night, right after I took my last pill of the day, I was taking a shower and as I was standing in the shower I felt like both of my legs were going to buckle under me. And immediately, it hit me. It was the antibiotic. I got out of the shower, feeling sick to my stomach, and looked up the medication. And there, in black and white, was the following:

"Tell your doctor immediately if any of these rare but very serious side effects occur: joint pain/swelling..." 

And I was so upset. I wanted to throw-up the pill I had just swallowed, but it had been about thirty minutes and I knew it was too late. And so there was nothing I could do but wait. I laid in bed, my legs screaming and my brain kinda freaking out, wondering what that medicine was doing to my joints and bones. The next morning I woke up and I could barely even walk. I felt like I had arthritis in nearly every single joint. I worked a part day, limping around, wondering what was happening inside my joints. I washed my hands and my finger joints hurt. I held my phone and texted and my wrists ached. I couldn't stand up straight without having pain. My feet, along with basically every other joint, popped regularly. My hip would hurt if I had a sudden movement. Driving was painful. Holding something in the crook of my arm hurt my elbow.

Get the picture? We're talking really really really terrible crippling side effect from this drug. I texted my doctor and told him I was having joint pain and he said it should go away in a day or two. Of course I had stopped taking the medicine immediately on Tuesday night.

Wednesday came and went. And Thursday. And Friday. And I started adjusting. I used a stool when I was cooking. Mark helped me get up. I rested a lot. This actually happened after I stupidly thought I could grocery shop by myself:

I started popping probiotics like they were candy and drinking water like it was... well... water. Ha. I got come Joint Comfort tea, and some Emergen-C Joint supplements:

And today is Sunday. My hands hurt when I held my microphone while singing this morning, but I do believe today is the first real sign of improvement. When I woke up today, the pain wasn't nearly as bad, and I feel like it really maybe getting better for real. I don't want to get ahead of myself, as it does seem to fluctuate throughout the day, but I really think I am starting to get better. This has been terrible.

So, that's my rotten story. While I certainly believe antibiotics save lives and are sometimes absolutely necessary, please be careful about what you put in your body and know the side effects so you could recognize them immediately if it occurs. I only took this medicine a day and a half. Could you imagine if I had taken it longer? Yikes!

Prayers are appreciated, friends. I have been praying Psalm 118:1-17 (NLT).

Happy Sunday!

~Kathryn

I Voted and I Got a Root Canal

Hi, everyone. I know it appears that I have fallen off the face of the planet. My stress level lately has been a little over the top, so I've kind of put everything on hold for a bit to try to relax. I thrive on doing lots of things, but every once in a while I just need to put on a big red light and slow the heck down.

I thought while I was at it I would get a root canal. Ha. You guys. Have you ever had a root canal? Let me tell ya, they are miraculous. Now, the procedure itself was no big deal. The pain leading up to it, however? I was looking around my house for a pair of ice skates so I could go Tom Hanks a la "Castaway" on my tooth. Thankfully, I didn't find any, and my dentist could get me in the same morning I called. Yikes.

You may or may not be proud to know that I voted. I wasn't going to at first. But my mom guilt tripped convinced me that I should. And since my polling place is literally across the street from my neighborhood, I really had no excuse.

I asked Mark to take a picture of me while I voted. Little did I know he decided to turn the whole thing into a photoshoot. Behold:

Here I am, telling them my party: (wouldn't you like to know - ha)

And here I am signing in. There were other pictures, I would like to add, but it is at this point I realized Mark has gone completely paparazzi with my iPhone:

And Mark decided to follow me to my voting booth. I told him he couldn't get to close, to which the voting volunteers quickly echoed my concern. hehe

It was at this point that the ladies asked me if it was my first time to vote. Sigh. I will forever look like an 18 year old. And here's the final shot of me being all proud I voted:

So that's that. I would recommend voting, and I would also recommend a root canal. They were both productive. (-:

Happy Tuesday!

~Kathryn