Weekend Fun

Hung out in the sunny living room (FINALLY!) with Stormin' Norman:



More Roller Derby Action:



Guns & Roses Cover Band @ halftime:



Can't see them? Here's a shot from their website, just so you don't miss the effect:



Nice wigs dudes.
And now for something way cuter:



Pretty new purse! This wasn't planned, but when we met in Patina, I couldn't leave her on the shelf. I think it's going to be a perfect travel purse for my upcoming adventures (TBD). Even the back is cute!



I'm slowly feeling better from all the shocking muscle usage at circus class & Rollerdome, just in time for another session of each! Can't wait to see what this week brings :)

Something is Rotten in Denmark...

It's my dog. He's had two baths and still smells like a farm. I'm considering dousing him in perfume to make it through the night.

You all remember my neurotic rat terrier, right? He's the one that ate a half pound of dark chocolate a few months back, which was terrifying but thankfully ended up okay. He also perpetrated the great cinnamon roll fiasco, and now that I've finally watched it, I can see he's modeled his life after Marley from Marley & Me. He's basically the Woody Allen of house pets.

Well Normy had a big day! It started with a long C-A-R-R-I-D-E (the word is generally spelled, lest he hear you and race for the garage) to Henderson, MN where we met Olivia for family photos. We got there early and took a long walk through the prairie grass, and Norm was nearly overwhelmed with things to sniff and pee on. He nearly pulled me down a muddy slope several times, but we managed to keep him reasonably clean until we started photos. He was awful and wouldn't play along, but definitely loved the nature preserve. He found many great scents to roll in. He'd take off, wriggle around on his back for a while, and then randomly decide to listen and come back to us for a snapshot. And one of those times, hubby & I snuggled up next to him and screamed.

Poop.

He had rolled in poop.

He was covered in poop.

He reeked of poop.

The photos came to a screeching halt.

We trashed his bandanna and luckily I was carrying around a giant can of Clorox wipes, so he got an impromptu sponge bath. It sorta worked.

The mood was pretty much gone. We wrapped it up and set about cleaning him up for the car ride, but the damage was done - that was a long smelly ride! When we got home he went immediately into the tub for a full scale scrub down, and he didn't even fight it - he must have known he stunk.

We also cleaned ourselves up and curled up on the couch for a few hours before heading off to a wedding...but the smell was still there. Egads.

He didn't fight the second bath either, and this time we used scented girlie shampoo, hoping it would mask any lingering stench. So far, so good.

No pictures to post of this long exciting adventure, but hopefully Olivia caught a few good ones before the bloom went off the rose :)

On the plus side, I got to wear my new coat & scarf, and I love them! Can't wait to see the pictures!

Normy Update

Norm is at home resting and watching a Harry Potter marathon. He did well through the night and had no additional complications, other than his high blood pressure burst a lot of the blood vessels around his eyes, so they are very red. They said he even ate well last night, which is surprising and positive. He's licking at the area they shaved on his arm, but hadn't yet destroyed his bandage, so he must be pretty out of it still.

We need to watch him closely for the next 12 hours before we can be sure he's out of the woods on the chocolate toxicity front. His heart rate is down, so that's good, but there is still risk of damage to the kidneys and liver. Hubby is home with him for some quiet time while I'm at work and my first day of class.

Norm was still very wobbly and sedated this morning, but definitely cuddly and seemed happy to be home. He's clearly tired and I suspect he'll sleep most of the day. He's being incredibly affectionate and snugly.

My carpets look pretty rough - they were essentially doused with chocolate sauce, and even after a night of "OxyClean"-ing, they still look pretty awful. There's one on each floor of the house - so this could be tricky.

The emergency vet we went to was really great. First we called our normal vet, St. Francis Animal & Bird Hospital, and their after hours message referred us to St. Paul Animal Emergency Clinic. They were really great about everything. I think there's a lot of guilt when your pet gets sick/hurt, and you go through a lot of "should have/would have" situations, but they don't blame you at all - they gave great care, and were very reassuring - especially since I was an emotional mess. They were clear about the costs and presented them in a straightforward and honest way - we were given a minimum and a maximum range, had to pay a deposit of the minimum and be prepared for the maximum - but luckily it really was in the lower range.

And hopefully Normy will be okay. There is some risk of additional complications which would arise in the week following a chocolate overdose - but we'll take those as they come.

This was a really interesting learning experience for our family. My dog has always been one to find and steal food, and with the variety of things he's eaten, we laughed off his "iron gut." But just because they haven't gotten sick YET, doesn't mean they are immune.

I learned the warning signs of chocolate toxicity - excessive panting, hyperactivity, and vomiting (especially vomiting chocolate I guess), among others. I know anyone who knows Norm is laughing at the hyperactivity - but it's relative. He was actually very sluggish but clearly uncomfortable and trying to get cool by laying on the basement floor far away from us. That's when I googled the symptoms, and while I was on the computer he started throwing up and we called the vet immediately.

At the vet, we had to decide on an advanced health care directive for our dog. I'd never even thought of this before, but when you go to an emergency vet you have to decide if your dog is DNR, or if you want CPR. CPR is a base fee of a few hundred dollars, + around $25 per minute. Beyond that, fewer than 1 in 4 dogs with CPR have a positive outcome, and of them, none are ever the same. They gave us information and time to think about it. It was a tough decision, but we had to check one box or the other.

I also learned that even though we didn't *THINK* Norm could get up into my craft room with it's closed door and full flight of unappealing steps, he apparently can and does - and that means a lock will be installed on that door shortly. The dangers of crafting don't just affect the crafter.

I would have quite enjoyed a Harry Potter marathon today myself, but I'm starting a class in my new Direct Marketing Certificate Program and can't miss it, so I'm just going to power through on adrenaline and caffeine. Hopefully tonight will be less eventful.

Thanks for all the support and good wishes.

The other side of a day of ups and downs...

I never thought I'd be a dog person. I didn't have pets as a child, save a parakeet that just drove everyone nuts for a short while the mysteriously disappeared from our lives. Like any kid I occasionally asked for a dog, but my mother's response was always "there's only one thing poopin' in my life at a time, maybe after your sister and brother are potty trained."

They didn't get a pet until my brother was in high school. I'm not drawing any conclusions from that.

Enter Norm.

Norm is supposed to be a rat terrier, but a rat terrier should be 8-12 lbs. Norm weighs about 35. He sleeps with his head on a pillow and likes to be under the covers. He steals food compulsively. He is an escape artist rivaling Houdini. Once he ripped up the carpet in our apartment trying to dig under the door to escape. And then of course there was the recent cinnamon roll fiasco.

We "bought" Norm from a breeder, but I consider him a rescue. We answered an ad in the paper and drove to a farm in the Glencoe/Silver Lake area. It was winter, and all over the yard the snow was all bloody. There was a pack of mini collies roaming wild, and I swear a banjo playing cousin on the porch with missing teeth.

I picked the fattest puppy who had no interest in playing with us, all he wanted to do was eat out of the dog dish. The dog dish that contained a whole apple pie. No lie. I didn't initially know it was an apple pie, that I found out when we loaded up our puppy and drove around the first cloverleaf back on to the freeway and he threw up apple pie all over the car.

Norm has a few quirks.

George calls it "personality."

I've called him a lot of things over the years (nearly 9) we've all been together, but the truth is he's absolutely found his way into my heart. He's always excited to see me when I come home, and he curls up to sleep in the crook of my knees when I'm cold. He licks my tears away when I'm sad, and his entire body lights up if you say the phrase "car ride?"

Tonight Norm is in the hospital at the emergency vet. He's on IV fluids and a heart monitor.

Sometime while we were out, Norm got into my craft room which is the attic. He's never shown much interest unless one of us is up there, and even when we are he seems annoyed to climb the full flight of stairs. But at some point today he decided to investigate, and during that time he found a bag of dark chocolate Wilton Candy Melts. Those are the melting chocolate wafers I use to make candy or dip strawberries or s'mores on a stick.

They are highly toxic to dogs.

We've all joked about Norm's iron stomach, and he's eaten chocolate before, so I wasn't that worried when I found the half eaten bag ripped open.

Until a few hours later Norm started to pant.

Then he kept walking over to strange areas of the basement away from our company, which he never does. He seemed like he was hot, and it was far from hot in our basement.

When he threw up we called the ER immediately. It was like pure chocolate sauce. Plus a few mini pepperoni slices I guess, but mainly chocolaty.

When we went upstairs to read the candy bag to the vet he threw up again. They told us to come in right away, and we did.

They induced vomiting, administered charcoal, and admitted him for the night. Chocolate has two toxic chemicals, and they affect the heart and the kidneys. His heart rate was off the charts, even after sedation. The plan was to put him on the IV to flush the chemicals out of his kidneys/bladder, and to monitor his heart rate and rhythm.

Poor Normy.

When we got home, we found he had also puked all over the bed & bedroom carpet.

Did I mention all of these carpeted areas are cream colored? We've been scrubbing and laundering for hours, in between worrying and wondering.

I never thought I'd be a dog person, but I'm pretty wrecked over this.

Get well, Normy. Please get well.

Whistle while I work...

I find lists very comforting. Sometimes I make "to do" lists and include things I've already done, just for the satisfaction of crossing them off. I don' expect a gold star or dozen roses, but man, I feel like I've accomplished a ton since I got home last night!

1. hunted all over the house for hidden cinnamon rolls, and I *think* I got them all...

2. vacuumed & swept up all the big chunks off the furniture, then oxy-cleaned the sticky residue left behind.

3. vacuumed and lint brushed all the furniture, and covered the big red dog hair magnets (I mean chairs) with throws.

4. Swept & vacuumed the living room and hallway.

5. Removed the sticky throw pillow covers and threw them in the wash.

6. Replaced the bag on my mini Oreck - it was so full it exploded when I opened it, and I had to re-vacuum all the previously vacuumed stuff back up.

7. stripped the bed and pillows and changed all the linens (necessary before I could even crash, since there were cinnamon rolls mashed into the sheets.)

8. moved all the furniture in the bedroom to find cinnamon rolls he had actually shoved under and between furniture. This also involved scrubbing said mash off of walls.

9. dusted, vacuumed, and de-cluttered bedroom (it looks so foreign right now!)

10. unloaded and re-loaded dishwasher

11. stripped the cover off the dog bed (this had to be done outside because there was so much mashed cinnamon roll it was practically a cake) and tossed it in the wash.

12. 2 loads of laundry so far, many more to come...

13. emptied and sprayed down the shower with scrubbing bubbles

14. watched a few episodes of "True Blood" re-running on HBO

15. had a dream Alison served grilled cheese at her wedding (fine by me!)

16. took out 2 bags of garbage

17. wiped down the kitchen walls

I still need to finish the kitchen and bathroom, and head up to make sense of the craft room before a friend comes over to work on wedding stuff...but first, I think I've earned a Maverick's roast beef sandwich as a reward for all my hard work.

My Not So Sweet Cinnamon Roll Fiasco - Thanks, Norm...

I really love these two bite cinnamon rolls from Costco. When I left this evening, this box was about 1/3 full, pushed to the back of the counter next to the stove.

When I got home, it was was on the floor in the living room.
Empty.

I guess Norm had a snack.

We always knew our dog wasn't normal. Most of the time we can laugh off his quirks - call him "The Woody Allen of Dogs" and be more careful about where we leave food, plastic bags, or kleenex (he likes to destroy all three).

But I really hate it when he gets hold of large quantities of food. While this is the first time it's happened with cinnamon rolls, every few months he manages to grab a loaf of bread off of a counter, and the process is relatively the same.

But Norm doesn't just EAT the bread, or cinnamon rolls, or bagels, or apples. That would be much too simple. Instead, he destroys the packaging (he particularly loves shredding plastic bags) and then proceeds to stash pieces of the food all over the house.


ALL OVER THE HOUSE.

Did you catch what I said there? Like an alcoholic in denial, he hides secret stores of said stolen food anywhere he can think of.

Like under the pillows on the couch.

And my new chairs.


In laundry baskets, preferably full of clean clothes.

And in his bed.
(He also decided to unstuff a pillow, which is where the white fiberfill came from. Thanks dog).

And in MY BED.



!@#$ and double %^&*!

So when I rolled into the house late this evening ready to crash, that couldn't really happen till I went on a treasure hunt for hidden sugar bombs, changed all the blankets, sheets, and pillow cases, and vacuumed all the furniture. ARGGGGGGH!!!

I have about 8 loads of laundry to do tomorrow now, on top of scrubbing sticky cinnamon & sugar paste off of all the furniture and thoroughly vacuuming every nook and cranny.

Not exactly the projects I had planned, but I suppose the house was due for a good cleaning...

Now I just have to wait and see if my dog goes into insulin shock or a diabetic coma...