The Life of Reilly

Oh what it would be like to be my dog! This past week we finally bit the bullet and enclosed the meadow below our house, or " the South Forty" as it is affectionately called.

It cost a bundle! Three gates and 698 feet of fence later and my dog is SO happy!!!

Friday night the fence was complete, so his BFF Gretchen came over and they had a lot of fun. Well, Reilly had fun, poor Gretch is a bit out of shape for that kind of running. But that's ok, we'll get her back in shape again.

Saturday morning Reilly got up BRIGHT and early ready to go down there to play. Unfortunately *I* was not up for going down there with him and the area is still new, so I am kind of still watching him when he's down there. ( Pretty soon he'll be able to go on his own).

We finally got down there Sat evening and played a bit. I was getting ready to head up to the house to get a drink and then call him up later when the coyotes started sounding off. So I thought better of leaving him down there alone.

Sunday morning when he got me up, I went down there with him and read my book, till he came up and told me he was ready to go back inside( this heat is killing us ALL!).

He's having a great time and I LOVE seeing him run full speed through the grass chasing his ball or frisbee! Last night he capped off his evening of play with a REALLY good roll in the grass. He was in heaven!

Summer is here!

Summer is definitely here - you can tell by the heat, the humidity and my hair :). Also my dog is not eating which is a sure indication that it's just too freaking hot. Period.

Another fine indicator of summer is the fact that we got through our Summer Classic horseshow. It's something that I look forward to every year, and this year was no exception. We have such a great crew out there - I love seeing everyone - trainers, riders and show committee people and we have such a good time. Thanks to everyone ( especially Camily) who worked their butts off all weekend.

Horseshow related, we stayed at the "horseshow" hotel again. This is a hotel that is so close to the horse park in Conyers it's just too convenient to pass up. Last year however, we chose to pass it up because we couldn't stand it anymore. Between the grubby furnishings, uncomfortable beds and missing light fixtures/towel bars/whatever - oh and the rodent poop, we were done.

This year they PROMISED that they had done 1.5 mil in renovations. So we were very very optimistic and decided to take our business back there. Seriously, you can't beat it, it's so easy to get back there for a break, it's hard to resist.

Well um, I don't know WHERE they spent the 1.5 mil, but none of it got to my room. They painted the room, but * I * could have done a better job and I HATE painting. It was all over the ceiling and missing in some places.

We had NO towel bars in the bathroom, but you could see the holes in the wall where they used to be.

My pillows and linens smelled of stale smoke. Apparently none of the 1.5 mil was to go to Bed Bath and Beyond to get new pillows.

On the flip side, thanks to my bitching Cam and I got a HUGE suite with a balcony , which was nice, but when did we have time to enjoy all that room. The LAST thing I want to do at night after spending all day outside is sit on the balcony. I'm just sayin.......

OH! And they are charging a $100 NON REFUNDABLE pet fee PER DOG. Yep, that's going to draw the Horseshow people in. Really.

My vote is back to the LaQuinta.

The BIG 4-0

Yes, ladies and gents, I turned the big FORTY this weekend - ugh..

In my honor, my DH and my friends threw me a John Hughes/80's themed party. It was supposed to be more JH specific, but it was REALLY hard to find costumes that would reflect the genius in his movies.

John was able to score a Red Wings jersey( Cameron from Ferris Bueller) and he's here with DH, pre party:














We had a couple of people show up as Bender( Judd's character from Breakfast Club) but everyone else just got into the 80's spirit.

Here is a picture of Catherine, Wendy and I - again pre party( There are some party pics floating around on FB, I'll let you hunt for those ;) ) :














( you can't see but I am wearing cool pink Converse sneakers!) My hair just didn't want to behave, but I didn't have long hair in the 80's so I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

Our friend Sarah came in a great prom dress she grabbed from a thrift store - it was awesome! I don't have a pic of that though, again see FB.....

We had a great time, some of us drank a bit more than others, and there are some VERY fuzzy moments, but I remember a lot of dancing, laughing and just general fun... oh and Bilijana is never allowed to sing again at a party - that was determined on the spot!

But the dance floor is gone, the only memory that remains is the lone disco ball hanging from the ceiling in the basement, waiting for the next big party. I love having a disco ball in my basement, it's AWESOME!

And A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to my DH - Cat and John( LOVE YOU GUYS!) and all my friends who made it a GREAT birthday.

And a big RASPBERRY to those of you who missed it( but not Susan, since she had to work and couldn't help it. She gets a pass)

What MORE Can I Ask For?

Two weeks post surgery and BOOM - I am feeling like crap all week! What's up? I was supposed to be feeling better? I have nausea, I am achy and just generally feel like crap.

I finally called my dr today and WHAM - drug withdrawal. REALLY? SERIOUSLY? WHY did no one tell me about this post op? Shouldn't this have been included in the little packet I got on what *might* happen after surgery?

UGH! Double UGH! I *WANT* my life back. I am getting tired of this. I want to plant flowers, go to dog shows - hell - I would even like to mow the LAWN!

Grrrr....

Ok, enough whining, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Day 5 Post Surgery

And unfortunatly Day 5 has felt like the past 4 days. But now the increased boredom is setting in.

Cat came over today and watched a movie with me which helped a bit, but then in a fit of crying got Doug to come upstairs and do the crossword puzzle with me.

I can't help it, I am irrational right now. And who WOULDN'T be? Not only am I laid up from surgery which sucks in itself, but I got my "friend" on Monday. Gee thanks God. Just what I needed.... Anything else you want to throw at me? A stomach virus maybe? That would be the great triumvirate. Poo.(literally).

Today I actually did feel like sitting at the computer a bit, and I am really only blogging bc I am afraid to get up out of the chair. I know it's going to hurt and well, I am just procrastinating really.

My friends and family have been great though( thanks for the yummy food Angela!) with flowers, food and company - I really couldn't have asked for more.

But I probably will - and soon.

The need for food is forcing me out of this chair and to venture into the kitchen and see where my DINNER is! :)

Love to all

Prep for Surgery

Had the pre op today. Not my idea of the fun. I am thinking the surgery might be less painful. The poor woman couldn't find a vein and it took 3 tries to get 2 vials of blood. Fun for her - not so much for me. To her credit she was very nice and kept apologizing.

So that's all over with. If it turns out I don't have any jungle diseases then I will be cleared to go on Friday. Good thing - it's a short surgery. Bad thing- it's not till 2:30 or 3 - which means no food for me. But I will probably be too nervous to eat anyway. I did beg my dr to let me have something to drink - he said as long as I have it before 7am. So I'll get up early, chug some water and go back to sleep :). Speaking of water, I have been told to drink GALLONS of it to help with my vein issue( apparently it's MY issue, not the nurse's issue).

I should be up and around in no time. I can drive as soon as I feel like it, but I will probably stay down for at least the first week.

I have plenty to stay busy - Kindle books, laptop and of course tv ;).... I am all set!

Surgery - 4/23

Well a lot has happened since my last post, one if which is that my disc has decided to bulge out( well actually UP not OUT - leave it to me to be abnormal) and so I am going to have to have surgery on the 23rd. I feel bad that I haven't blogged in ages, but truth be told, I just haven't felt up to it. These days it is taking all my energy to get around and act somewhat normal.

I have access to pain meds, but I am taking them sparingly. I don't want to have another hurdle to overcome once the surgery is over.

I am getting around a little better than I was a week or so ago. I don't know if I have just become used to the pain, or if it has gotten a little more tolerable. Either way, I am still not pushing myself. Although, I have been going to agility - more for Reilly than me. He needs to get out of the house every once in awhile. And we have been walking the courses. We have a show this weekend, it's only 3 classes with hours between them and I may still go and just walk around the course with him instead of run. It's not really about qualifiying, but he needs the ring time.

We just got back from a fab trip to Lexington and the Bourbon Trail. I will blog about that, with pics, in a different post!