And so the mystery continues…
Damien’s vet called last night and the intestine tests from a couple of weeks ago came back 100% fine. He also said that they tested the kidneys already as well. So if it’s not the liver, the kidneys or the intestines… they don’t know what else it could be! He advised we lower Damien’s potassium bromide another 1/2 a cc because it can make dogs lethargic, but Damien is beyond lethargic. He’s not eeating enough and doesn’t show interest in food, we force him to the bowl. But he’s not losing weight either, so the doctor isn’t too concerned. I’m walking him daily to keep the muscles in his back legs from atrophying (sp?).
Here’s a cute pic of Damien from last weekend:
Amritz is married!
Amritz and Sarah got married over the weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony at a Presbyterian church in Pasadena. It was very hot too! 101 degrees my car thermometer told me! Poor guys in their suits were sweating like crazy. Josh kept his jacket hanging in the car and only put it on when we were in air conditioning.
The reception was really pretty too at the Rococo room in Old Town Pasadena, a block North of Colorado blvd. Pics here!
Buffalo visit!
I went home last weekend for Josh’s sister, Rachel’s wedding. It was a short but fun trip! Rachel’s wedding was beautiful. Josh doesn’t fly and he was super busy with work and we have 2 sick dogs at home so the 6 day round trip train ride was out of the question. Josh did the next best thing to being there, he sent a cardboard cut out of himself! See below… you’ll notice fingerprints on him in the photo of him with Rachel… that was the end of the night. He got a lot of action! He was all over the dance floor and the girls were all over him, even his cousin Jeff danced with him.
It was a lot of fun! The rest of the trip I visited with family and friends. It was so nice to see Nicole and Lisa again. We have so much fun doing absolutely nothing but hanging out at the house. We had plans to go to this new fondue place but it had an almost 2 hour wait! So we grabbed take out cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and did dessert night at their new house (which is also way cool with vintage-y urban outfitters style decor!). They have 2 black cats… the male- Batman had a thing for me. Apparantly he doesn’t really like people usually but he posing for my camera.
I posted the rest of the pics in the gallery… see link on the right 
New friends!
We have new neighbors that moved here from New Jersey and they’re very similar to Josh and I… so much so it’s a bit uncanny! A very cute couple, they own quads and like to go riding. Lauren likes to garden and cook, she’s very laid back and Keith is like Josh modding all his stuff and very into motorsports. Lauren and I started going to yoga together, I showed her the studio I go to.
And then we found out Lauren has a horse! How cool is that? Her horse’s name is J.D., he just arrived here yesterday after 4 long days standing up in a trailer! We went to see him. He was very sleepy, but adorable none the less. He’s a beautiful all white horse (or handsome?). She’s boarding him at a ranch just across the wash, about 3 miles away. He’s still getting used to his new surroundings and I’m sure he’s going to take a few days to shake off the jetlag too!
Visits!
Mom and Dad left on Friday night and Tracey and Christine arrived on Friday night. We had a lot of fun. Went to melrose shopping and found some cool stuff. Then found rockstar parking right on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Orange Drive afterwards. Christine wanted to get LA souvenirs. When we rounded the corner we saw that the new H&M grand opening was at noon and it was 1:30! It wasn’t crowded at all. The fitting rooms and checkout had no lines. I found sooo many clothes, it was great. That never happens to me! As a bonus the first 100 customers got a free bag. It’s a really nice carryon bag I can totally use on flights or for gym stuff. Later we tried to play tennis and fly kites but that just wasn’t happening apparantly everyone else in Valencia wanted to play tennis as well.. there were lines at every court. So we ended up going for a short walk to enjoy the nice weather. It was a short visit they had to leave Sunday afternoon. We went to the Valencia farmer’s market Sunday morning and then ran a few errands before going to the Flyaway terminal. It was really great seeing them! Hope they can come back again soon maybe in the summer time, but Tracey doesn’t have a lot of vacation time.
I had fun with my parents too. We celebrated Easter a week late. We made pierogi, placzek, braided easter bread and more! I’ll see them again in Buffalo next month for a short time when I go for Josh’s sister’s weddng.
Descanso Gardens
Went to Descanso gardens for the first time yesterday. Went with Mom and Dad that are currently in town. It was really nice.. a bit chilly (60) but beautiful gardens. We didn’t even realize it until we got there, but spring time has the most flowers in bloom. The roses weren’t in bloom, but just about everything else was. Camelias, Lilacs, a bunch of irises and lillies, violets, petunias and so much more. By far the most impressive was the lilac garden. The lilac bushes were 6 - 8 feet tall and we walked a path through the garden, it smelled so beautiful I didn’t want to leave.
Here’s a photo of Josh and I at the tulip garden:
Mandy is feeling better
Sadly Mandy was diagnosed with cancer (soft tissue sarcoma) in her abdomen on February 19th. She went in for a CT scan at the veterinary cancer hospital here and when they put her under anesthesia, she somehow lost feeling in her rear right leg. It was sad to see her the first few days when she came back. It was difficult for her to stand and walk and we tried to help her like crazy, but I think our helping only frustrated her. After 2 days she figured it out herself and walked really well. She learned how to swing her foot forward and walks better. Now she’s walking even better, it looks like she regained some movement in the upper parts of her leg. She’s on some nerve pills that are the equivalent of what Josh took when he got in his motorcycle accident. Those should help her leg. She’s also on pain killers and appetite stimulants. She seems a lot like herself and she loves her turkey and mashed potato meals.
She had 4 treatments of radiation so far and has one more on Monday then the following Monday she goes in for a checkup to see if the tumor has shrunk at all.
Beloved Dupers 1998-2008
Dupers unexpectedly passed away on Monday, January 7, 2008. His spleen ruptured in the middle of the night, we found him the morning breathing strange. We rushed him to the vet and he passed away at the vet while we waited to see if he could handle emergency surgery. He was the most intelligent dog and super kind, gentle and sincere; yet an excellent watch dog and very protective when he needed to be. He even ran away from home once when he lived in Hollywood and found his way home days later… yes VERY intelligent.
“There’s a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge is a verdant land of meadows, hills, and valleys with lush green grass.
When a beloved pet passes, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. Old and ill and frail animals are made whole. They play all day with each other in the beautiful sunshine.
They are happy and content, but there is one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth. So, each day, they run and play until the day comes when suddenly, one stops playing and looks up! The nose twitches! The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group!
You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her into your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated….”
-Anonymous
oops! i broke nucleus…
I broke my nucleus CMS install when trying to upgrade to 3.24 and then move it over to word press… Just the upgrade broke it for a while and I finally had time to play with it and figure it out.
I’m working on getting all my posts over to Word press AND properly tagged.. maybe another week and it will be all set… I’ll post the new RSS link in the last post from this system so if you only look via RSS you can update that feed link…
New Years I did the mini skirts annual rally from Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank through Mulholland drive and PCH and ended up in Santa Monica and the group did some bowling down there. Really fun! 9 minis… which is a LOT more than it sounds like… I’ll post pics in the photo gallery and in the word press post when I move it over
Christmas!
We had an uneventful Christmas this year. But it didn’t make it any less special Josh was sick.. he’s been sick since the weekend and he had Christmas eve off from work so it gave him some time to rest
All our Christmas cookies from the beginning of the month have diminished to almost none, so on Christmas eve we baked “melt in your mouth butter cookies”, which were excellent! (if you like butter cookies.. and i don’t). On Christmas I made my challenging Chocolate Ganache Tart.. it took 4 hours but turned out delicious!
We opened up gifts Christmas morning after church…
I gave Josh a new Fox Riding Co. hooded zip up sweatshirt (his old one is beat!):
Dupe helped open gifts:
I gave Josh a Fox Riding Co. long sleeve shirt:
Josh gave me an ipod car charging kit (battery only dies when it’s in the car):
Josh gave me a jewerly box organizer that fits in the drawer of our dresser upstairs.. oh was it a disaster area, until this came along!… Although I look disgusted (I was midsentence), I love it
I gave Josh a Japanese luxury air freshner (Air Spencer), the only thing that will fight dog smell in a car/truck
As a sort of silly gift, I bought Josh an at home cholesterol test. He won’t go to the doctor, so I’ve brought the doctor to him!
Josh got me equally silly gift, a foot warmer! Because I always complain my feet are cold!!
One more doctor gift… a little theme.. blood pressure checker… to prove stress increases blood pressure!
Josh is the bestest boyfriend ever, he hid stuff in my stocking! A super duper sweet homemade Christmas card and a $100 Visa gift card.. which is a bit of an inside joke..
Who wraps a gift card? Josh does
I gave Josh a creeper for under the car/mechanical work and it transforms into a stool on wheels
Lori Beth sent treats for the doggies! Mandy was very interested…
Josh’s sister gave us ornaments, Peanuts for me:
and A Christmas Story for Josh:
I’ll put all these photos and more in the Photo Gallery later…
