Happy Halloween!

So there comes a time in ones life where we must embarrass ourselves. Well, today was one of those days for me. I went to work this morning dressed in my normal work attire...with no plans to dress up for the festive occasion. I hadn't been at work for very long when everyone began asking me where my halloween costume was...I didn't have one. As luck would have it our loan department decided to have everyone dress up as pumpkins for a pumpkin patch theme and they had an extra costume (one employee was out today for a family emergency). And yes, they decided to have me join them in their pumpkin patch.

I felt very naked and "open" today as I walked around in my little pumpkin costume. Oh, I had to go commando for this costume, which is probably why I felt naked. You see, I stood in the mirror after putting this costume on and I realized you could see through it...and right at my black thongs I was wearing today. So, they had to come off....

Anyhow, here are two pictures that were taken today. The first picture was a group shot taken today in the loan department. The second picture is one that Jim took right after I got home...enjoy, and yes please laugh at me if you please.

Luckily, I'm now sitting here in comfy cloths just handing out candy to all of the kids that come by. No more costume..

Fall Has Arrived

I was standing outside in the driveway after I got home from work tonight talking to my mother when I was suddenly struck by the fact that the leaves are really changing colors now. The temperature has begun to change here and there are now leaves resting on our driveway. When mother left I decided to grab my camera and take a few pictures of the tree in our front yard that is in full fall colors...gorgeous actually. Anyway, I thought I would share these photos with all of you.

Puppy Update

Well, I thought I would give you a quick update on our ongoing puppy fever. It's official, we decided to go ahead and get a puppy. I found what appears to be a wonderful breeder in Ravensdale WA. I came across this breeder through terrificpets.com which is pretty much classified ads for dogs. I was struck by a simple picture that was advertising their own website. The malamute in that picture looked just like Nanook, but darker, so I had to investigate. There was something about their site that really struck me...I can't pinpoint it, I just knew these were wonderful people.

While searching their site I was able to find the dog that was pictured on terrificpets.com...his name was Champ Blaze and he was beautiful. So, I sent them an email and told them we were interested in a male puppy possibly from Champ Blaze. I also told them we weren't in any hurry and would prefer to wait until after the new year. Oh, I also included two of my favorite pictures of Nanook. Anyway, to my surprise they responded to me right away (I'm still waiting for a response from the breeder in Colorado that I came across) and I was told that Champ Blaze was set to breed with Staray any day now. Well actually Staray was suppose to be pregnant now, but I was told the timing has been off and they're hoping to have her pregnant shortly. I could hardly contain myself....

So, it looks like we found our match and I'll be sending them my deposit shortly and waiting patiently for word that Staray is pregnant. Since they reside in Washington they did tell me I could have the puppy flown to us, or we could just drive up there. Jim really wants to make the drive but I'm a little reluctant. It will probably still be winter when the puppy is ready to come home and I'm a little concerned about the weather. For some reason I'm thinking that Washington gets hit pretty hard with snow and I'm afraid of road closures. However, it seems kind of weird to have a puppy shipped to you...although we're thinking we should be able to pick him up in Albuquerque.

So, the next subject is what to name the new little guy. Both Jim and I are stuck on Odin..which is a norse god meaning god of war. However, I wouldn't mind at least considering other names. So once again I'm asking all of you to help us out, if you come up with a great name we'd love to hear it. I do want to find something that has to do with Alaska or northern gods. Oh, if anyone is wondering Nanook comes from the inuit mythology meaning master of bears.

If you would like to check out the site for Wokini Alaskan Malamutes their address is as follows:

http://www.wokini-alaskan-malamutes.com/index.html

Puppy Fever

So Jim apparently has puppy fever. We've been debating all weekend about adding another animal to the household. A good friend of ours recently got a blue healer puppy and both Jim and I fell in love with him. So, I did a little internet search and I found a malamute breeder in Colorado. I sent the breeder an email this weekend asking if they have any puppies available and they have yet to respond to me.

Jim and Jimmy are up for a puppy. However, neither one of them has ever dealt with a puppy, and neither one fully understands how hard it will be. Jim says the ball is in my court and the decision is now entirely up to me....ugh. Of course all weekend I've been trying to figure out if a puppy would be right for us and I've made the mistake of viewing malamute puppies on the web most of the weekend. So, how would it impact the house? Let's take a look...

1) Housebreaking a puppy sucks and its very time consuming! I can clearly remember housebreaking other puppies and its no fun at all.

2) Can our furniture hold up to a puppy? Puppies chew...and I still have images of some of our old dogs chewing on the legs of furniture (because they were teething and I'm guessing their gums liked splitters).

3) How would our other animals react? I'm sure Nanook would be happy as hell. I feel bad that he doesn't have a daily playmate and I would swear he looks depressed on some days. Sasha...I think she'll adjust after a few days. Although she will not be happy during those first few days and I'm sure she will not allow any of us to touch her during this period. Corki...I'm afraid another dog will throw him over the edge. He barely tolerates Nanook and he already has mental issues when it comes to him not getting enough attention. The good news here...he'll be bald in about a week and that's less cat hair to vacuum up.

4) More fur....I already vacuum about three times a week so I don't think the extra fur will be a problem.

5) More poop....I know it's gross, but it's also the truth. Jim currently cleans up after Nanook so the extra "yard cookies" will be his responsibility.

6) Two dogs instead of one dag to walk. Unfortunately, I don't walk Nanook nearly as often as I would like...with a puppy I would really have to go walking more often.

7) More sleepless nights. This will be entirely me, I always seem to be the only one that gets up in the middle of the night with Nanook.

8) Two large dogs to feed. Nanook isn't very expensive, but he really doesn't eat a lot. Hell, some days he doesn't even eat at all. Don't get me wrong, there is always food in his bowl, he just chooses not to eat it everyday.

Alright, so that's how it would impact all of us. I must say though...puppies are so damn adorable! Not to mention Nanook really does need a little friend. So, what would you do? Is this the right time to get a puppy? Please help me decide....I'm stuck.

Here We Go A-GAIN

I think most of you remember when I got my appendix removed last summer (July 2006). I was getting persistent pain on my right side on and off for about six months. I made several trips to the ER as a result of the pain and no one could figure out why I was getting this pain. I spoke to one surgeon whom thought it could be a chronic appendicitis which they are just now starting to talk about in medical school. Its pretty rare, but we thought it might be the cause of the pain. So I decided to have my appendix removed and I hoped for the best that we found the source of my pain at last.

When I had my appendix removed I started calling it my miracle surgery. As it turned out my appendix was covered in scar tissue and it did need to be removed. However, only time would tell if the pain on my right side had been stopped. Six months after the surgery I was feeling great and finally confident that I was cured. Having my appendix removed also cured a few other oddities that I suffered from for several years (not realizing it was my appendix). One year post surgery and things were still great!

Four weeks ago I began waking up at about 4am with a dull pain on my right side (centered around my ovary) all the way through to my back. I didn't think anything of it...especially since after I got up, showered, and got ready for the day the pain would stop. On Sunday I started my period and oddly I didn't have any pain on that right ovary. At this point I started to think, okay, it must have something to do with my period. On Monday the pain returned, but this time it was all day and it was more of a throbbing pain rather then a dull ache. On Tuesday I started to panic and I started to entertain the notion that this was in fact the same pain I was getting last summer. Jim urged me to see a doctor and after debating for a while I started calling OBGYN's yesterday morning. I didn't know where to begin since I really don't have an OB. However, I did feel like I needed to be seen that day. Eventually I was able to get an appointment with my former infertility doctor at 3:30. I left work at 1pm, in pain but at least it was bearable. By the time I made it to Santa Fe the pain was no longer tolerable, it was constant, and my feet and hands were going numb. I knew I would never make it to Albuquerque on my own, so I called Jim and asked him to drive me (it was very difficult holding the gas pedal down with a numb foot). 15 minutes later I picked Jim up and instead of going to Albuquerque we went straight to St. Vincents Hospital in Santa Fe.

While at St. Vincents they did an ultrasound, an internal exam, and lots of blood work. And as usual, they found absolutely nothing wrong with me (oh, my feet and hands were going numb because I was hyperventilating). I left the hospital with painkillers and I was told that I suffered from"ovary pain"...kind of sounds like a bullshit excuse in my opinion. So, here I am back to square one on the quest to find the source of this pain so that I may prevent it. I can't help but ask, why did it take over one year for this pain to resurface? What took place during the surgery that placed this pain at bay for over a year?

Today I'm still in some pain, but not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. I've called Dr. Thompson's office already and I'm waiting for a nurse to call me back. Is it possible to suffer from "ovary pain", or is it just an excuse. Anyway, I'll keep all of you updated on this quest as information becomes available.

Midwest Nationals

I wanted to go ahead and make a quick post about our weekend. I spent the weekend with my softball team in Dallas attending the Midwest National Tournament that we qualified for while Jim and Jimmy spent the weekend in Omaha NE. I had a wonderful time in Dallas and our team placed 7th at the tournament. Our defense did really good but unfortunately our batting was not as good as it normally is. Our team consists of several batters that are really good and always get really good hits, but for some reason our bats were not alive this weekend and our consistent batters struggled (very unusual). I think one of the biggest obstacles was the fact that our team is not use to playing in that kind of humidity and as odd as it seems the ball doesn't carry as far in the humidity and that elevation.

As for myself, I wasn't hitting well at all and I never even made it to second base. Since I started playing golf this year I've picked up a very annoying "golf swing" when I'm at the plate. And unfortunately that causes me to pop the ball straight up in the infield...which I did on numerous occasions.

Since we didn't really have a lot of teams compete they ended up mixing both the D division and C divisions together and combined the tournament into one day. The one day tournament worked out great and left us with another day to sight see. So on Sunday most of us got together and did the Dallas World Aquarium, The Sixth Floor Museum, and The Palace of Wax Museum. Of course I took several pictures during the weekend so I plan on sharing those with everyone (except for The Sixth Floor Museum that doesn't allow photography).

I'm not sure which adventure I enjoyed the most but The Sixth Floor Museum was very interesting. That museum had footage, facts, and chronicled the events of the day that JFK was killed...very interesting and very moving. Here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Here's a team photo taken right after we were cooked for the day.

Here's a group photo of all of us before we entered the aquarium. We were lucky enough to get a group discount since there was so many of us.

I had problems with my camera in the aquarium, so I have very few photos that turned out decent.

The following pictures were all taken at the Palace of Wax Museum.

So Julie would kill me if she knew I published the following photos....shhh, don't tell her.

Here are a few pictures I took of Ica...she wont kill me for doing this.

Here's me with Opera.

And finally I can't leave everyone without including pictures of Julie, Ica, and myself testing our love factor.

So Julie's love factor is boring....

My love factor came up as lovable...

And finally we have Ica, whom came up as a teaser. I love the look on her face here.

Just Stuff

Instead of making my final post about San Francisco I think I'll talk about something that happened while I was gone. Just before I left for San Francisco my four year old washing machine broke yet again. In April of last year I replaced the motor and apparently the motor went out again. I remember when I bought that washer and dryer, I used the last of my tip money from when I was a waitress at Peppers to pay for them. They were suppose to be a top of the line washer and dryer, so needless to say I wasn't happy when the motor first went out last year. So when the second motor went our two weeks ago I decided they needed to become paperweights at the local dump.

I went shopping for a new washer and dryer the day before I left for San Francisco and I finally decided on the Frigidaire front loader. I know it sounds stupid but I was so excited about the new washer and dryer...I could hardly contain myself. Although I'm not sure if my excitement was for the new machines or for the fact that I wouldn't have to go to the laundromat anymore to do laundry. They were delivered while I was gone so Jim was the first to play with them and so far so good. I've only done two loads at this point and I'm amazed at how quiet they are. You have to be standing right next to them to know they are even running. I would highly recommend these.Today I think I'll also go ahead and include this picture I took of Sasha yesterday. Apparently she wanted to help me load the dishwasher.