Dogs Updates

Cesar at 14 is doing well.  He's got a definite limp/swagger when he walks.  That has to do with the herniated disk in his back - I think that's what he's got.  It's at the top instead of the bottom, which is good.  If it was at the bottom, there's a higher chance he'd become paralyzed.

He has coughing fits every so often due to his collapsing trachea.  That could be due to the damage from when he got that greenie stuck in his esophagus and age.

He loves his chest rubs and kissing my whole face whether I want it or not.

Cody at 13 has slowed down a little.  When I pick him up his back crinkles.  But his vet didn't think it was a major issue, especially since Cody isn't in pain or discomfort.  He plays nightly with D and sometimes Mort even is up for a tussle.  And he still loves the kissing game.

Jazz at 15 is definitely salt and pepper - all over her body.  She's my little alpha female and will kick D's ass if the puppy gets out of line.  Despite that, she can also be very timid.  She has a stage 2 heart murmur which is nothing and corneal edema in her left eye.

Mort at...well, he's old.  Blind, stage 5 or 6 heart murmur, LOVES HIS MOMMA!  He plays with Cody and he'll even play with me a little bit.  He prefers chest rubs and me scratching the top of his head to playtime though.  And he hates taking his flurosemide.  I try to keep him calm because excitement causes his heart to beat faster which causes old man coughing and wheezing.

Adele is 6 1/2.  She'll play with D a little.  Not as much as Cody.  She loves, LOVE her belly rubs and loves her granddad.  She's the lookout for The Mafia.  Like a meerkat.  She sees something questionable, she screams.  Normally while she's sitting on the top of the sofa right at my ear.  That high-pitched bark is painful!  But it gets the others running to the door...while she stays at her post.  She's had no medical issues since her week in the hospital for her pancreatitis.

D is 1 year old.  She's come a very long way in the short time I've had her.  She asks to be picked up.  Loves to hug, loves her belly and chests rubs.  She is addicted to her iFetch mini tennis balls.  She will stuff them in the sofa if I'm not paying attention.  She goes to my dad and will even give him kisses.

I got Cody and D DNA test.  Both are 65 to 70% Chihuahua with a mix of other stuff.  <3

Back on NutriSystem

 I got back on NutriSystem about 3 months ago.  I had fluffed back up to 242.

I'm at 231.6 as of 10/4.

They've gotten rid of some of my favorites in the year or so that I was off it.  And I remember the muffins and cupcakes not being so dry.

They also have this new powder that's a probiotic sweetened with Stevia.  It is delicious!!  Berry and pomegranate.  But a 4 oz. jar of this stuff is $40 or $50!!!  It probably doesn't even cost $1 for them to make this stuff and they jack it up that high?!  I'm sure the excuse they use is that it lasts for over a month.  Big damn deal, I still have to add the water and mix it.  And, again, it doesn't cost that damn much to make it.

Luckily, the first jar of this stuff was free.  But they definitely will not be getting me to order it at the price.

I'll try to be better at updating my blog, but it all depends on how I'm feeling.

The Story of D

 I went with Dad to pick up Sugar from the groomer.  She looked so cute with a little red bow at the top of her head!

While we're chatting with the 2 groomers, a spaniel came up to the gate and said hi to Dad.  "Oh! Aren't you cute!  Are you up for adoption?"  Dad said that jokingly.

But one of the groomers proceeds to tell us that she knows of a Chihuahua that is up for adoption.  Dad and I both got real quiet.

The groomer says she's white and that the owner doesn't want her because she won't bond with her.

I look over at Dad and ask, "How much?"

"$50"

"May I have the information please?"

Then the other groomer says that she has her sister.

As we get into my car Dad asks if we're going to get the Chihuahua now.  I tell him no, that I need to go to the ATM first to get money.  But I did call on our way home and the lady's voicemail was full.

Then I try one more time when we're closer to Dad's and she gives me her address and tells me I can come by any time.  So I drop Dad and Sugar off, head to the ATM, then go to this lady's house.

It's a cute little house.  That reeks of cigarette smoke when she lets me in.  I see a very fluffy cat and a very playful puppy.  I hear 2 other Chihuahuas and she lets me see them.  The puppy is sniffing the other 2 through the puppy gate.  She's bigger then them.

I scoop her up and she immediately buries her face in my neck.

The lady's jaw drops.  "She's never done that with me!"  I just shrug that off because this puppy (called Lola at the time) was shaking like a leaf.

And my eyes are watering from the cigarette smell.

She tells me Lola was born in September sometime and that she's had 1 shot.  But wouldn't tell me the vet's name.  Meanwhile, the fluffy cat is head butting my hand.  So I gave it some pets.  <3

She gives me Lola and her little pink flamingo toy.

I had to pry Lola off me in the car so I could drive.

I think I took her straight to Dad's.  When I got her to my house she immediately got a bath - she did very well with that.  And I immediately took a shower after that.  I smelled cigarette smoke for at least a day after all this.  I even washed her flamingo because it smelled like cigarette.

Somewhere in all that Dad and I came up with her name, Dianna Krall.  I call her D.  Diana only when she's not listening.  And I call her Honey Bee when I'm being silly.

She either learned to sit pretty quickly or knew that before coming to me.  She's also potty trained.  She doesn't really like to be picked up.  But she has no problem jumping up for pets.  And for the first week she slept on my neck just like Cesar and Cody did when they were pups.  Lately she's moved down to under the covers to be near Adele or Cody.

She was very timid near Dad and David, but is slowly coming out of her shell with them.

She plays at night with Cody.  And this last weekend she and Adele were running the yard together.

Saturday was her first vet visit.  She has a yeast infection in her left ear which I'm treating.  And she has a recessed vulva.  Which just means I have to wipe her with a baby wipe once a day to keep that from getting infected.  She's 6.8 pounds.  And I put her birthday at 10/3/20.

She's not white.  She's blonde.

The lady that sold her to me asked for photos, so I sent some to her that day and the next.

I also sent a text to the groomer to let her know I had Lola and her name was now D.  That's when the flood gates of the 'truth' opened up.

The groomer is the mother of the girl that bred 2 dogs that brought me D.  The girl was hospitalized with sepsis and during that time was taking care of the litter of Chihuahuas (6) and a litter of Pomeranians.  (I strongly dislike breeders.)  The girl's husband couldn't handle the 2 litters on his own and allegedly the lady demanded that she get her puppy early.  So the first story I was told is that D went to the lady at 7 weeks.

Then a few days later the groomer says D went to the lady at 8 weeks.  Which makes me think it was probably more like 6 weeks.  When I asked the groomer for a photo of her parents she told me that her daughter sold the father, but she did send me photos of the mom and D's siblings.

She looks very similar to her mom.  One day I'll get her DNA tested.  I have a feeling she's a Chihuahua mix.  I've said the same thing about Cody and he's 12 1/2 and I still haven't tested him.  LOL

She and Enya are learning to play together.  D is safe now.  She's got 2 houses of dogs and people that will give her the love, care, and training she needs.

Puppy Pile

D with her Momma and siblings

Cesar and D

Retainers

I bought/invested in retainers.  They're called Hawley Retainers.  You might know them as the old-fashioned retainers.

I didn't feel paying $100 every 6 months to replace my Candid retainer was beneficial in several ways:

• financially it didn't make sense to me
• having that much plastic in my mouth at night was the reason I was clenching my teeth
• they became inconvenient to clean (the Smile Direct cleaning gadget started getting quirky and it was taking me 20 minutes or more to clean them)

There were advantages:

• my teeth stayed clean overnight
• my teeth didn't shift

I decided to look into permanent retainers.  But they only cover the front 4 to 6 teeth.  And with teeth pushing from the back to front, that didn't make sense to me.  Also, the orthodontist said that because the left side of my teeth don't touch and I have a slightly crooked tooth on the bottom front, permanent retainers wouldn't be beneficial to me.

So we talked about Hawley Retainers.  He said there was even a chance they would close that side gap.  And for some of his patients they've lasted as long as 20 years.  So for $640 or so, I got myself some retainers.  And I love them!  I use Retainer Brite, put both pieces into the cup for 14 minutes and TADA! they're clean.

I don't clench my jaw at night any more.  I also don't have extra skin behind my lower, front jaw.

I go back in a few weeks for any possible minor adjustments.  And they also recommend I see them every 2 years to check the wires.

Big Step - Goodbye, NutriSystem

After 2 months of thinking it over, I've canceled my NutriSystem.

I'm at a steady weight now.  Not as slim as I'd like to be, but the meals aren't causing me to gain or lose.  So I figured it's time after 2 years and 4 months to try to eat on my own.

Breakfast is 2 egg whites and 1 slice of wholegrain Ezekiel bread.  Maybe a banana on my way to work.  Protein shake with my coffee that takes me at least till 11 to drink all of it.

Lunch is a small can of chopped chicken, roma tomato, and celery with a tiny dab of mayo.  Maybe 1/2 a teaspoon of mayo.

Dinner varies - I've done a bag 'o slaw with a Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger.  Or a NS dinner that I still have a few of in my freezer.

I've only been doing this for a few weeks.  When I get tired of the chicken I'll get Lean Cuisine egg rolls or maybe make chili or something.

I am nervous.  I don't think I have the portion control thing down.  But I have no desire at all to go to any fast food place. 

I do eat a bunless bacon cheeseburger with fries the nights I bowl.  Though tonight I think I'll switch that up and get a hot dog.

NS isn't meant to be forever.  Though I was planning on it that.  It's just so easy to grab something out of the fridge or out of the pantry and zap it.  However, I know it's healthier to eat non-processed foods.

Snacking is either an apple or grapes.

So we'll see how I do.  :-)

2/16/21 Update -

And I failed the doing it on my own.  I'm back up to 235.  So after my roof gets replaced from damages due to Hurricane Sally, I will be going back on NutriSystem.  I don't feel like I failed and I'm not upset at all that I'll be going back.  The food is good and I know it works.  :-)

Candid Co. Amost Done!!

Put my new set in last night.  6 more weeks to go before I'm done.

I thought they were done with my bottom teeth.  NOPE!  Owie.  :-)

They are also finally getting my top teeth straighter.  I think they left them alone last set of aligners.

I'm really excited about being able to not wear these things all day long.  But I'm also nervous about it.  I've had them in for so long that my teeth will feel unprotected. 

There are moments where I just want them out.  Same feeling I get when I'm wearing shoes.

The photos below - my bottom teeth don't feel as crooked as they look in the photo.  Me smiling is with my aligners in.  And my top teeth look dirty, but I think it's the lighting.

Why I don't like Christmas

A couple blogs ago I mentioned I didn't like Christmas.

Since it's quickly approaching I shall explain why...
I love giving gifts, I love seeing people smile.

But stupid me can't accept a gift gracefully.  I then feel like I have to give you something back.  And I can't do that all the time.

This year will be especially difficult because - none of your business!  LOL
But I have some things going on that won't allow me to spend any extra money at all.

I feel there will be some asshole somewhere - probably at work - that will start the whole, "We should do a gift exchange!"
I'll be the one to shoot that down and then get questioned for it.  "You can't even afford $10 or $20?"
No, I can't.  And even if I could, why?  Don't you get enough shit from your family?  Why do you have to force your co-workers to get involved as well?
Let me wrap up this company pen for you just so you'll leave me the hell alone.

My financial situation is none of your business, co-worker.  I should be able to just say, "Nope, not participating," without any explanation.

Christmas is also fake.  It was a holiday created for consumers to buy stuff.  Not as fake as Thanksgiving, but pretty damn close.

And side note - I like Thanksgiving more than Christmas and I like Valentine's Day better than Thanksgiving.  V Day I can walk around giving hugs and saying I love you and no one thinks I'm weird.  Thanksgiving I enjoy that whole time around it to be thankful for everything I have - my family mostly.

I don't want anything under the tree this year.  I just want to be with my family and have this one huge goal reached the week of Christmas.  And maybe I'll be able to cook them Christmas dinner with David's help.  :-)