The Scoop on Smokey

So... For those that are wondering... Smokey is fine.  NO KIDNEY FAILURE!!  NONE!!  Oh, how I'd like to punch (in the most Christian way possible) vet #1 for telling us he was on deaths door.  Vet #3 did blood work and said there was NO SIGN of any kidney failure, kidney problems, etc.  He said Smokey might have had a little cold or been sick, so the meds that Vet #1 gave him probably helped with that.  The cat has really perked up this week and seems back to his old lazy self.  But seriously... how does a vet just make up kidney failure?????  Bad bad vet.

In other news... Look at this cutie!  I know, I have a illness called puppy fever.  I think it's an official diagnosis and I do not think there is a cure!  I really have to find something to blog about other than animals!

Mid-Week Quick Takes

1. It has been a week full of ups and downs.  The first down... I took Smokey to the vet on Monday.  I was motivated by my puppy love.  I wanted to get Smokey his annual check-up and shots to get him all ready for Daisy's arrival.  I was surprised that the vet was a new doctor at the same clinic we had been to before.  I expected to see our regular vet, who is a cat specialist.  Nope.  The new vet told me that Smokey's kidneys weren't functioning very well - only working 20%.  He prepared me to tell Doug that we'd either have to prepare to put him down or kitty dialysis (how do they even do that??!!).  This was not good.  It was just suppose to be a standard visit, for the annual check-up and shots!!  Heck, I was by myself at a Cat Clinic! I wanted it to be uneventful and leave with a healthy Smokey.  :(

I even like to snuggle with Smokey in the morning.
Doug obviously took this to capture the rare moment.  

2.  Obviously Doug was devastated by the news.  That was the down of the week.  He decided to call his old vet, who has known Smokey for years, but is now too far away for us to take Smokey for an exam.  We thought that this was the vet that would be seeing Smokey at the first clinic, but she had moved to another location.  She looked at all Smokey's information and said that his health problems did not appear as serious as the first vet told me.  No kitty dialysis and such.  So... which is it??  Is Smokey ok... or not???  Well... we are heading to vet #3 this weekend for the tie breaker.  Meanwhile, we are cautiously optimistic.  And while I am not a cat fan, I'm a huge Doug fan.  I don't want his heart to be broken with the loss of his cat prematurely and I don't want Smokey to be sick.  I just want to know how he is doing.

3. Onto the good of the week!!  I GOT A BIG PROMOTION AT WORK!!!!!!! Finally!  I had been working towards this promotion for almost a year now.  It has been a long time coming and I am beyond excited.  I am moving to a new location in the building and will have an awesome supervisor!  And... I will be out of cubical world and have a window!!!!!!!  WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!

4. We are having a dance party on Saturday!  Yep, a DANCE PARTY!!  He he.  We are not great dancers, but there will lots of it happening at our house.  I got Doug (really me) Just Dance 2 for his birthday.  It is so much fun and such a great work out.  We look like fools when we do it, but I don't even care.  My work gang loves the game too.  That makes for a perfect combination for a dance party/competition.  I think it will be a blast.  We will also finally be able to break out some of the party platters we got for the wedding.  :)

5. With all the uncertainty going on with Smokey this week, one thing that made Doug and I both smile, was our little puppy-to-be Daisy! We received lots of photos and videos of the little pup this week!  I cannot tell you how head over heals I already am for this little ball of cuteness.  She is now three weeks and is growing so much!  The videos were so fun to watch.  All the pups are running around and beginning their puppy play.  Ready for some cute pictures???  Here they are!  Look how big all the puppies are getting compared to the last pictures!!!  Be prepared for lots of puppy pics... I cannot get enough of them!

I mean seriously... it should be against the law to be this cute!

6. Getting ready for Daisy's arrival (one month from now) has been a good experience.  We are reading puppy, golden retriever and the dog whisperer's books like there is no tomorrow.  We are trying to be as prepared as possible for her to come home.  We are well aware that it won't be all rainbows and joy and want to be ready for the puppy pains as well as the good times.  We did go puppy shopping this past weekend.  I'm pretty sure we had the same look on our faces while we browsed the items at the local pet store as expectant parents have when they enter babies-r-us.  We looked overwhelmed and had so much in our cart it was comical.  We left with a full cart and we still have more stuff to get!  Ahhh!  But it's so fun!

We spent a long time in the toy section. 

Spoiled puppy.

7. On a totally different note... we are finally done with the ice in our area!  Did I really just say that!?  I hope we don't get an ice storm tomorrow because I spoke too soon.  We were ice bound for a week and then we had a little break of 'warm' weather.  Now, it's cold again... but no ice!  I'll take it! Come on spring!!

One of the many huge chunks of ice.

8.  Ok... just one more thing.  My godson Leo was baptized!!  I know Beth already posted about it... but it was so great!!! I am so honored I get to pray for this little sweetheart every single day as his godmother.  So thrilled!  He's the cutest little thing ever!

9.  I lied... one more... It is so obvious we don't have kids.  Almost the entire post is about our pets!  Hahahahahaa!

A Valentine to Remember

Today the sweetest man...

Gave me the sweetest little Golden gift...

I've been begging for a dog for about a year now.  I had been relentless.  My DH loves all animals and he wanted to make sure we were ready to be puppy parents.  It was the right time and the perfect Valentine's gift!  We will pick up our newest family member at the end of March!  She is almost two weeks old right now and I am totally in love.  Daisy, as we are calling her, is still with her mommy.  We have a puppy play date in a few weeks and I cannot wait!! I am totally smittin'... with my wonderful DH and my new puppy!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Progress Pics!

I aim to please and you gals have been asking for some pictures.  I finally had Doug take some pics last week at 8 weeks post-op.  I can tell the difference in how I feel and how my clothes fit (and are falling off!!), but it was great to see a real difference when looking at the pictures!  A big thanks goes out to Ann who put my before and after pics side by side for me!  You Rock Ann!

Yum Yum Yummo

I was really craving to do some cooking this week... to try something new.  We had a major snow storm this week and I wanted a warm dinner!  I was looking around and found these little wonderful 'bites'.  There are lots of recipes for these little bites (mini quiche's) on this site and I was inspired.  Granted, there are several that look so yummy that have ingredients that I'm not ready for, but I will be soon and I'm looking forward to trying some.  So, I came up with a few ideas of my own, all with yummy goodness ingredients that I can eat now.  The result was fantastic.  Yummo!

Here's how to do it.  

Step 1:  Find and/or get out mini-muffin pan that was a wedding gift.  

Take it out of the box and get it ready to use. :)  

Have your camera handy so you can document all the step!  Hahaha!

Step 2:  Saute some diced ham and then mix with some eggs.  I used egg beaters.  

Step 3:  Add some delicious cheese to the egg mixture. 

Step 4:  Spoon them into the greased mini-muffin pan.  Add some cheese on top.

Step 5: Cook the yumminess.  

Step 6:  Enjoy the yumminess! 

I made two different kinds - Ham & Cheese and Broccoli & Cheese.  They were both fantastic!  I tried one of each.  They were the perfect size, full of great texture and protein.  They were just the right amount of crispy and soft and best of all... they were warm!  Perfect meal since I've been freezing all day... well, really all week!  

I cannot wait to try some of the actual recipes on the website.  I have a lot more options coming soon and then I can really experiment!  I'm guessing as great as my little creations were, her recipes are even better!  Yummo!