Fall Back

I've been 30 for one week now. It wasn't a great week. Marley got sick. It started with an upset stomach but he quickly got too weak to walk and he was vomiting so we took him to the vet. We switched vets a year or so ago because the people at Blue Ridge Animal Hospital are rude! The new vet was out of the office so Marley saw his substitute. The sub said that Marley probably had cancer because it is very common with golden retrievers that are his age (he is only 5!) and he said that he could do exploratory surgery but he thought that we should consider having him put to sleep to avoid subjecting him to unnecessary pain. I thought that was crazy so I called my Mom (that's what I do when I am upset-I'm a big baby) and she got us an appointment with her vet for a second opinion. Dr. Patch is the best vet ever! We didn't think that he was accepting new patients (that's why I had my Mom call-I'm also sneaky) but they said that they would and now we have a new vet! He thought that the lump in his belly could have been a cancerous tumor but was more likely and object so he gave Marley and IV to help with the dehydration and they kept him overnight to flush his system. The object moved out of his intestines and we were able to bring Marley home the next evening. He is skinny but back to his happy self. I am so thankful that he is feeling well. He really is the best dog that I have ever had and it just wasn't the same around here when he wasn't home.

Alex surprised me with a huge breakfast on my birthday, then my family came over and we all went to Lieu's Chinese Bistro for dinner. It was fantastic, even my Nana liked it! I can't believe that I haven't been there before. We came back to the house and played Rock Band and ate cake. It was a great evening. Alex bought me 1960: The Making of the President, one of the games on my wish list. We haven't played it yet but I have read the rules and I hope we will get to it this week since it's already dark when I get home from work. My neighbor, Mark, gave me some really cool stools that his father got while he was in Japan. I have been coveting them for quite sometime and he gave into the pressure. I will have to take a pic soon.

The cruise was loads of fun and very relaxing. It was quite a contrast from our honeymoon cruise that we took six years ago. Back then, we we spent tons of money and we did all kinds of crazy stuff. This time we relaxed and I got sunburned. I was able to talk Alex into entering the Hairy Chest Contest but he was eliminated in the first round. I think he was robbed. Most of those men were a lot older than him so he may have a chance in about 30 years. We were so frugal on this trip. I am so proud of us, $8 umbrella drinks do add up fast! I love that I am not as careless with money as I used to be! I posted some pics to my Flickr account. We also went to Kennedy Space Center on our way home. I love space! We got to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour being transported on the crawler to the launch pad! I haven't been able to upload those pics yet because I am close to my monthly limit on Flickr. I am considering a pro account so I can upload everything. My photography skills stink but I am going to try to improve. It is just not my thing but I have so much to document so I will have to work on it. I also really want to start Project 365 on January 1st. I think it would be good for me. I don't really like having my picture taken and I can't make good photos so maybe a year of making myself uncomfortable and taking pics will help.

My Mom is raising money for Jerry's Kids© and MDA, I know it's a long shot but I thought I would post her donation page just in case anyone reads this and feels like being charitable.

I have so much more to write about but I am going to stop now. I will keep the ideas for days when I don't have anything to say.

Happy November!