Update

Wow! It's been over a month since I last posted. A lot has happened and frankly, I was burnt out on the computer in general in the evenings.

Kodie recovered from his grooming ordeal. He also survived his double surgery on April 17th. There's a time in every male pup's life when a boy become a man becomes an it. While he was getting sniped, we also had his declaws removed - they are black, very hard to cut and the way he tries to chase squirrels (EVIL CREATURES that DELIBERATELY taunt him), we were afraid he would rip them. The first night I felt like the worst mom on the planet - he was collapsed, pathetically, on his little mat, his ears off to the side, his eyes half shut. When he later got up to go outside, he was walking stiff legged in the front (had little half casts on his front feet) and bow-legged in the back. We didn't want to leave him by himself, so I took him up to bed with me. He spooned in front of me and had ragged breathing, like someone who is silent crying. Every now and then he would whimper softly. The next morning he seemed quite a bit better and by the next day he had completely forgotten that he had had surgery. He also didn't appear to hold a grudge because he got excited at the vet's.

I kept busy all April with work. We had our quarterly earnings and report at the end of the month and put in overtime.

However, in mid-April I started having chest pains. On the second day, I was taken to the hospital for testing. After an EKG, x-ray and bloodwork, they determined that it wasn't anything life-threatening, although it could be anything from a pulled muscle to a viral infection. I've been to the doctor 3 times since, have tried different treatments and am still suffering. Hopefully we'll figure this out soon. It's not nearly as bad as it was, so it might stop as mysteriously as it started.

Right now my parents are here. They came last Sunday and will be here until Saturday. I've taken 3 days off so far and will take one more before they leave. Sadly, it is what is known as "Blackberry Winter" here right now. We tend to have 3 cold spells in the spring and this is the third of them. Luckily, we have had a couple of days where the rain has held off and we've been able to spend time in Knoxville on the river and enjoy some hiking.

The day they leave is my MS walk. I've been really blessed by good friends all over the States and Canada (several whom I have never even met in person!) who have donated generously to the cause. I've surpassed my goal and it means so much to me that we've been able to do this.

That brings you up to date!