Its a Hero

Oscar

saying goodbye.

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Over the last couple of days I’ve been incredibly quiet on social media. Between twitter, instagram and facebook, I’ve kinda ‘stepped away’ and taken a breath. Because we got hit with some pretty rough news on Wednesday. Our beloved Oscar Pants — the pup I’ve had since he was 8 weeks old — hadn’t eaten in a few days and on Wednesday morning, he couldn’t walk. So we took him to the emergency vet. After realistic talks with the vet and some blood work, the vet came back in with some not great news. To be honest, we were expecting not great news.

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Call it a hunch. His red blood cell counts were scary low. Conclusively, it’s cancer. Likely in the spleen. But so terminal that doing any further research into the exact “where” was not advised. He would immediately need a blood transfusion, chemo and surgery to give up a chance of living three months. Otherwise? Just a few days.

So we’ve been soaking up the moments. He’s on a steroid to get him to eat/drink/gain some mobility back. But otherwise? He just isn’t our same puppy anymore.

It’s hard to think that just a week ago Moosh was stealing Oscar’s toy and running through the kitchen while Oscar chased him and Moosh giggled hysterically. Seriously. Just over last weekend. It’s insane how quickly things progress. Also? It’s scary.

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I’m heartbroken to think that we will have to soon say goodbye to my furry best friend, Chad’s furry best friend, and — most devastating — Ari’s only best friend. My heart aches utterly and completely for this dog. And this kid. The kid that calls him “My Ockie!” and the kid who naps with “his Ockie” in his crib. They are two peas in a pod. And I don’t know how to tell him that his Ockie is… no longer around.

But some perspective: Yes, my dog is my first baby; but every day people are affected by cancer and other life-threatening diseases; every day people are given terrible news; every single day children are suffering through the horrors of cancer. If anything this was a wake up call: We are LUCKY. We are LUCKY to have had such an amazing dog in our lives for ten years. We are LUCKY that he was the epitome of a perfect dog for a baby/toddler/family. We are LUCKY to have had a dog that touched so many lives and was loved by so many people.

Sure, it’s nowhere near the ideal situation; and we are devastated that our furbaby is so sick. But I am grateful to have had a couple of extra days to snuggle with him and to say goodbye. And I’m grateful for the outpouring of love and support from all of our friends and family. <3

june dreams and goals.

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How is it possible that we’re already ten days into June!? It seems impossible. And scary. I have a feeling this year summer is going to fly by! Well it’s a brand new month, so I have brand new dreams and goals!

June Dreams and Goals:

1. Go on a wine tour. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and the opportunity is going to present itself this month! 🙂

2. Visit Pittsburgh. It’s been almost two years since we drove to Pittsburgh for a fun-filled day. I’m hoping we get to go back this month.


3. Finish 3 new books. I want to finish reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, a book for the yoga book club, and another book which has yet to be determined.

4. Go with the flow of things, both at work and in my personal life.

5. Workout a lot. I feel so much better when I work out consistently.

6. Do yoga twice a week. I love how I feel after class, but sometimes getting to the studio is the hardest part.

7. Continue to eat meals from home rather than going out to eat. I’ll allow one ‘cheat’ day a week where I go out to eat!

8. Take more pictures. I’ve been slacking.

9. Go on more dates. With the BF, of course!

10. Stick to my budget. Or at least stay closer to it!

11. Purge unused items. Perhaps for a garage or yard sale? We need to create more space in the house.

12. Take Oscar to the dog park. Just Oscar; not Pepper. She doesn’t play well with others.

13. Tackle a few new recipes! Baked goods, dinners, lunches, etc.

14. Focus on my goals. Reevaluate my Day Zero list and my 2011 thus far {does this fall into “contemplate the meaning of life,” R? 😛 }

May Dreams / Goals:

1. Eat meals at/from home every day of the week but one. We didn’t do this every week, but for the most part, we only ate out once to twice a week. It was the BFs birthday this month, so we did go out fora few ‘birthday celebration’ meals.
2. In an effort to clean out the pantry and our freezer; buy nothing from the grocery store except perishables: fresh produce, milk, bread. For the most part, I did well at this! I did restock a few necessary items in our pantry. And then we made a trip to Trader Joes and kind of re-stocked our freezer with TJs items. Oops!

3. Read three new books. Major fail on this one. I’ve been oh-so-slowly 

reading the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. But I didn’t even finish ONE BOOK in the month of May. Shame on me!

4. Try two new recipes. I don’t think I did this either. I think I might have tried one new recipe, but I can’t even remember what it was.

5. Work out even more than I did in April. Success! 
I have been kicking my own butt!

6. Spring clean. Big time. I reorganized the pantry; and started the landscaping. But the rest is coming along slowly but surely!

7. Keep up with keeping the house clean during the week. I did a decent job at this. There’s a definite balance that I try in keep and it doesn’t always work out.

8. Get a haircut. Done! I love my new haircut! The length and color is amazing!

9. Plan the rest of our cruise. 
We haven’t planned the rest of our cruise yet at all. Still.

10. Book a massage. I have yet to book it. Life seems like it’s been so busy lately!
I really need to make this appointment. My sanity is dependent on it.

11. Plan a special day for the BF’s birthday. Done! 
I pretty sure he had a great birthday! 

happy birthday to…

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Happy birthday to my special little man, 
Oscar Stinky-Face Puppy Pants!
Today you turn 6 whole human years old!
It’s amazing that it’s been that long since I brought you
home from the pet store. 
You were 8 lbs and full of energy.
Now you’re 28 lbs and full of energy!
I hope people ask how old my ‘puppy’ is forever
since you look like a young pup 
and not like the distinguished,
older and handsome dog
that you really are! 😉

random. and part of a christmas wrap-up.

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– This weekend kicked my butt. I am still not recovered.
 Nor will I be until I can get a decent night of sleep.
– Our house is a disaster. This morning I found a cookie sheet
{which was in the sink when i went to bed}
on the kitchen floor
{thanks Kobe Kitten}.
– Also? Three loads of laundry need to be folded and
are currently leaning in a laundry tower.
I’m praying this tower does not fall over.
– BF got me a Kindle for Christmas! And. I. LOVE.it!
Here’s photo evidence of my love of my kindle
{includes not only Oscar Puppy and Pepper just staring at me,
but also photo evidence of what a wreck our house was}.
– I also got an iPad 16G + 3G.
BF is having fun playing with it and,
thanks to him, it is now loaded with fun iPad apps.
– BF got a cornhole set for Christmas from my parents.
Painted, of course, in Cleveland Browns colors.
– Last week we didn’t not cook one meal at home. That is craziness.
– I am without a doubt looking forward to catching up on life during my couple of days off for the holiday this week.
– In other news, we have enough wine and beer
in the house to last us until next christmas.
No joke.
– my lovely friend Chelsea over at Pencil Skirts and Pearls sent
me a christmas care package full of goodies!
Thanks to her, my feet were toasty warm in comfy socks
and I had a beautiful scarf to wear over the holidays! Thanks, Chelsea B!

We are those people.

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We haven’t always been those people.

You know. Those people. The people whose animals have become their children. Or, as we like to call them in the land of “have-no-real-children,” fur babies.

It has gotten so bad that my parents refer to themselves as Grandma and Grandpa. And never a day goes by without a reminder that they have to be grandparents to fur babies because they sure as heck don’t have any ‘real’ grandchildren.

Recently “Grandma” bought the fur babies Halloween costume.

Grandpa thinks it’s ridiculous {and secretly, deep-down loves it at the same time}.

So before our trick-or-treaters came by on Saturday
we put the ‘kids’ in their costumes.

{me and Pepper the pumpkin}

{Oscar Pants the Bumble Bee}

We have officially become obsessed with our ‘kids.’