We’re back, safe and sound! And I’m celebrating by going to work today.

We had a great vacation in California and enjoyed seeing family while we were there. I want to give updates on our visit, but I think I’ll go backwards and start with our last night, hanging out with my cousin Ryan.

Ryan now lives in Long Beach, which is, of course, where I grew up. Its really cool that he’s so close to my mom and that makes it easy to visit when I come home. Anyway, Ryan’s neighbor had a party on Saturday night and we stopped by for a little bit.

From that night, I have two interesting YouTube videos to share. Make of them what you will!

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Apparently Wordpress has problems with the embedding that YouTube provides, so here are links to the said videos:

So, I was wrong. Its not Wordpress that’s the problem, just the editor I was using. Okay, here ya go.

This first one is a bit long but its worth it.

This one is pretty silly, but apparently the guy takes his work very seriously. He even goes on tours in the UK.

So tomorrow we leave for San Francisco for four nights, before heading to Long Beach to see my mom and brother. In San Fran, we have a few activities planned, including tickets to a comedy club, a wine country/redwoods tour, a 49ers game, and the typical touristy stuff. Actually, I’m not sure if we have a free moment left in our schedule. Should be lots of fun.

Then, we head to Long Beach until the 30th to spend Christmas with my mom and brother. This will be the first time ever that Jason and I have spent Christmas morning together at my mom’s house. Awwww. Its also the first Christmas morning where someone other than me, my mom, dad and brother was present. Said another way, it’ll be the first time since my father died that there will be four people in front of the tree, so it is significant in many ways. Christmas morning is one of those things in my family that is a tradition, and its about the only one we have that’s tried and true. It was hard being away from home last year, but everything evens out in the end.

Our friend Helen is watching the dogs and the house, which is a great comfort while we travel.

We also get to see my BFF Meredith and I’m so excited about that. On Friday the 28th, we’re taking a day trip down to San Diego to go to the zoo. I haven’t been in sooooo long, and, of course, Jason has never been.

It seems this trip holds a lot of “firsts” for us, which is nice after being together for 6+ years.

Here’s to many more “firsts” yet to come!

Its that time of year again when we have to come up with good gift ideas for our parents and in-laws with little or no help from them at all. I have been talking with my co-worker about said dilemma and she has some excellent suggestions that I thought I’d share.

1. Tervis Tumber - These cute tumblers have a lifetime guarantee to never break and come in all sorts of personalized designs. You can pick your own glitter colors, if that’s what you like, or you can have someone’s name put inside the plastic. If one ever breaks, you just pack it in a box and they’ll send you a new one, no questions asked. For family members who have everything except a personalized tumbler, here’s your chance! Single tumblers range from $3-$15 and sets range from $38-$42 depending on size. Not bad for a lifetime guarantee.

2. Wireless Football Scoreboard from Brookstone - Listed under the “Gifts for Him” section, this clever gift keeps busy by updating the NFL scores every 15 minutes via satellite (I wonder what it does during the off season). No wireless service or plan is needed, it all comes with the purchase of the gadget (for a cool $99). Too bad I didn’t see this one until just now or someone I know probably would’ve gotten it! Maybe for next year…

3. Gifts from The Cosmetic Market - For the mother-in-law who has everything, The Cosmetic Market has a wide array of skin care and pampering products that any woman would enjoy. From Bumble and Bumble to Philosophy to Urban Decay, this place carries some of the most popular and trusted cosmetic brands out there. Little did I know that there are only 2 locations in the US and they are both right here in Nashville, one in Green Hills and the other in Cool Springs (their website announces that they will soon be in Charleston, NC as well). You can bet I’ll be making a last minute trip to The Cosmetic Market this weekend. And maybe I’ll get something for the MIL too.

4. Christmas Ornaments - I’m not usually one for Christmas ornaments but my co-worker insists that its a great tradition to start early in your marriage. Then you have a solid gift you can give every year and most parents (at least here in the south) enjoy personalized or meaningful ornaments. The ones I’ve linked to (and picture below) are from Pottery Barn, but you can find them anywhere from Target to Kohl’s to Macy’s. Its something to think about….hunny, what do you think?

5. Napkin Rings - This idea falls under the same category as the last one, and is another tradition you can start anytime. For families that like to decorate at the holidays (or anytime really), napkin rings are creative yet simple way to add a personal touch. Just like the ornaments, you can find napkin rings in most stores, including Hallmark, Hot Pink (in Brentwood), or even Tiffany’s.

So that’s about it! I hope this list helps someone other than me; I found my co-worker’s ideas to be quite unique and thoughtful. Maybe she’ll share a few more!

Its a little difficult to follow up that last post with something so trivial, but I’m going to do it anyway. I haven’t given my Thanksgiving update, so I figure I’m due for it.

This Thanksgiving we decided to make a few dishes to take with us to Clarksville and one of those was a green bean casserole. Jason had been talking about how he hadn’t had one in so long and how great it would be, yadda yadda. Anyway, I was curious to see how difficult it would be to make it from scratch and found a recipe on a blog called “A Veggie Venture”. It looked a little complicated, but since we were not having T-giving dinner until Friday (which means we had a whole day to prepare), I thought I might as well go for it.

The recipe boasts as being the “World’s Best Green Bean Casserole” and I have to agree. Everything is from scratch, including the topping, although I opted for the traditional fried onions cause I didn’t want to go too far out on a limb. I may try the topping for my next holiday potluck, coming up in a few weeks. Anyway, you start by sauteeing the mushrooms in butter, garlic and salt & pepper and then add the sauce ingredients to that. By the end of it, the house smelled so good. On Thursday I only made one batch and realized it wouldn’t be enough to fill half a casserole dish, so on Friday morning, I made a second batch. It was much easier the second time and came out just as yummy. It was a hit at the dinner table and we even had leftovers to enjoy. I finished it up last night. Yum yum.

Other than that, there was nothing much remarkable about Thanksgiving. We left the dogs at home, seeing how Dexter is still recovering from his back surgery and that there were already going to be 5 dogs in attendance. Speaking of Dexter, he is doing really well after his surgery. We are still cautious about him jumping up on things, but he’d love to do it if we let him. He’s managed to make it down the stairs once when we weren’t looking and has jumped off the couch a few times before we could catch him, but for the most part, he’s taking it easy. I think he’s suffering a bit from cabin fever seeing how he keeps trying to play with Clementine. She seems to know that he’s not supposed to play too hard and mostly just lies there, which makes him bark even more. Its really very cute. Its good to see him energetic and in good spirits.

On Saturday, Jason’s parents and his sister and her husband came down to Nashville to see the home renovations. They were very complimentary and let me show off all the work. Afterwards, we talked them into going down to the Gulch for dinner at Rusan’s. They’d never been before but everyone found food to enjoy. Kinda hard not to when you go to Rusan’s!

This year, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday instead of tomorrow. Jason’s sister’s husband (I guess that makes him my brother-in-law-in-law?) is in the army and is just now starting his Thanksgiving break. Seeing how they live in NC and have to drive here for the customary dinner, it will most likely be late tomrrow or early Friday before they arrive. Se we are delaying our dinner until then, as you might imagine.

This will be the first time my in-laws have had both of their children married at Thanksgiving, so I wonder if that’s crazy for them. First Jason and now Jennifer. No longer their “babies”. I know my mom had a hard enough time when I got married, I wonder what it will be like when/if Brett gets married. I say “if” not because I think he won’t find someone to share his life with, but because he has expressed distinct disinterest in the concept.

Anyway, I think Thanksgiving on Friday will be nice. Mostly because we can avoid the travel traffic on Thursday. Then again, we run the risk of running into Black Friday traffic too. I’m debating whether or not I should do a little early morning shopping. I’ll probably opt for not. The only time I’ve done that was with Melissa who now has a 3 week old baby. I doubt she’ll be out doing any early morning shopping…unless Jim decides to stay with lil Brody.

I’m rambling.  So yeah, Thanksgiving on Friday. For those of you celebrating tomorrow, have a happy one and have safe travels!

As some of you know, I went on vacation last week to see my mom for her 65th birthday. I started out on Wednesday and headed for NYC to meet up with my brother. The original idea was for me to use a companion ticket he had through his new AmEx card. I bought my roundtrip ticket to NYC before he found out he wasn’t going to get the ticket for some reason, but he used miles to still get me a free fare.

So Wednesday night and Thursday, we hung out in NYC. I got to see a high school friend who lives in the city and we had a nice chat, plus I got to meet her boyfriend’s dog and cats. You all know how crazy I am about animals, so that was a great little surprise.

On Friday, Brett and I flew to CA and mom met us at the airport. We immediately went to get lunch because American Airlines now charges $5 for wrap sandwiches, which is bad enough in itself, but they were also SOLD OUT by the time we wanted one. Anyway, we enjoyed some yummy mexican food at Enrique’s in Long Beach, a local favorite. Later we saw “The Assassination of Jesse James”, which I hadn’t even heard of until then. How did I miss that Brad Pitt did a movie about Jesse James?? Well, it was pretty good, told in an artistic way (maybe too artistic for some of the audience in Long Beach) and Casey Affleck was marvelous.

Saturday we headed up to Santa Barbara as a little “getaway” for my mom. As with most of my childhood, I don’t remember going there, but my mom assures me I’ve been there. That, of course, hurts her feelings because I remember so little of my childhood, even though it was pleasant and I was exposed to many wonderful things that most kids don’t get to see or do.  Oh well,  I can’t help that I don’t remember stuff! So anyway, we met up with one of my brother’s friends from Harvard who now lives in LA, and my aunt and uncle, who I haven’t seen in probably 6 years. We had drinks and chips on the beach, then headed back to our hotel to change for dinner. We ended up going to this amazing indian food restaurant on State Street. A good time was had by all.

Then on Sunday, Brett went golfing with his friend while mom and I walked up and down State Street. We found this cute dog/cat clothing/toy store and spent some time looking around. Cute stuff! I didn’t end up buying anything though. Later, we met up with Brett and his friend again, plus another aunt and uncle, and my cousin’s wife and daughter (I know, even I get confused about it). Two other friends joined us and we had a great meal at a mexican restaurant on State Street. This was the big celebration for my mother’s birthday. Everyone seemed to have a great time and me, Brett and mom went to a few bars afterwards to hear some live music. Everyone else was driving home so they hit the road.

On Monday, we drove back to Long Beach, after stopping at an outlet mall to do some quick shopping. Of course, I found some good deals at Ann Taylor, but had to mail the clothes to myself since I didn’t have room in my suitcase. I didn’t buy a ton but it was enough to make a difference. Monday night we saw “Eastern Promises” with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. My advice? Save your $8.50 and see something else. It was overly gorey and the plot was a little muddy. Plus, the screenplay was really rushed towards the end.

Tuesday we flew back to NYC, which took 8 hours due to a delay on the ground in LA and then a delay in the air circling JFK. I guess the weather made the landings difficult; they even shut down Newark for a while. We eventually made it back to Brett’s apartment around 12:30am. I left the next day for Nashville and here I am, back at work.

Overall it was a nice visit with family. I wish I could’ve seen a few more friends while home, but with only a very short time actually at home, that made things difficult. Oh well!

Today is a big day for 2 reasons:

1. Dexter is squatting to pee now. This may sound like a small step, but it is a signal of greater muscle control in his hind legs. We’re seeing progress everyday, and its very exciting. He is still not able to walk, and cannot stand up from the squatted position, but its the first step.

2.  Our house should be pretty much done by the time we get home. We’ve been waiting on the electrical to be finished and had a snafoo with one of the sinks, so they couldn’t put the granite in last week. But both of those should be done today. They are also moving furniture back into place so we can put stuff away. Finally! A functional house!

I used to think dog kisses were gross. I mean, why would you want a dog to lick you on your mouth with the same tongue they…you know?  Well, try going a few days without them after having them for years, or even worse, try having your dog not want to kiss you cause he’s so anxious or in pain.

We were soooo excited to pick Dexter up yesterday. Even moreso because he kissed Jason and me right away, whereas two days ago, he wouldn’t even look at us.

Dexter’s surgery went really well but he is still not able to move his back legs much yet. They say it will seem worse before it gets better. We tried water therapy this morning, but I’m not sure I have the hang of it yet.

Of course, they decided to do the second coat of polyeurythane today so we have relocated to the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel for the night. Nice set up. Its a little pricey but its close, comfortable and dog friendly.

Dex and Clem are sleeping comfortably on the king duvet. I make sure to get some kisses every now and then.

After looking at the CT Scan and reexamining Dexter this morning, the surgeon has decided that we should do the surgery now. Like, they’ve already started the IV and are prepping his back right now. I have a lot of faith in this surgeon, but I guess I have to. We’re doing all we can and that has to be good enough, whatever the outcome.

We should hear from him in about 2 hours and then we have to go pick him up and take him to the all-night emergency clinic so they can monitor him overnight. We’ll take him back to the animal hospital in the morning where they will continue to monitor him throughout the day. We should hopefully be able to bring him home sometime tomorrow.

Dr. Calfee says that, because of what he is able to see on the CT Scan, this should be a very predictable surgery. Of course there are risks, but we got him in as soon as we possibly could and the cause seems to be very clear.

Clementine is confused and worried about her “brother” but she is also a great comfort while Dexter is undergoing this procedure. The power of cuddling should never be underestimated.

Our wiener is broke.

Nine days ago, Dexter could walk perfectly. He could jump up on the couch, run up the stairs, and chase the squirrels. But something happened during the night of the 10th. On Sept 11th, Dexter displayed a noticeable lethargy and general slowness. So much so that I stayed home and ended up taking him to the vet that afternoon. Thinking he might have an obstruction or other intestinal bug, I was expecting to walk outta there with some antibiotics and a promise of success.

Instead, the vet shook his head and confidently asserted that it was classic dachshund back pain. He gave him a steroid injection and sent us home with 3 new medications to try for two weeks with the charge to bring him back if he’s not better by then, or, dog forbid, he gets worse.

He got worse.

Monday morning Jason got up before I did, which is rare, and when I heard him coming back up the stairs shortly after he left, I knew something was wrong. His speed and light-footedness were very different from his normal return from the bathroom.

That morning Dexter had a noticeable wobble to his back legs and that sent us scrambling. We immediately took him to the vet who confirmed that the wobble was a display of neurological damage and suggested we leave him for x-rays. After a few hours, the vet informed us that Dexter had noticeable calcifications on his spine and space between some of his vertebrae. She suggested a consult by a local canine orthopedic surgeon. He wasn’t able to come to the hospital until 5pm, so we met him there at 5:30pm.

After a good hour wait, Dr. Trey Calfee came to speak with us to give us the odds. If we did nothing and confined Dexter to a crate for 6 weeks, he has a 50/50 chance of getting better, and the same chance of getting a lot worse. If we did surgery now, he has a 95% chance of fully recovering. The choice was obvious to us and we scheduled the surgery for Friday morning, as well as a CT Scan for Tuesday (yesterday) so that the doc would have a better idea of the exact problem.

Yesterday we took him to get the CT Scan and were told he did great. They gave him a tranquilizer to calm him so they could easily administer oral anesthetic. We were told this tranquilizer would exacerbate his symptoms for a while, but would wear off throughout the day. However, from the moment I picked him up from the radiologist, I noticed a concerning lack of control of his hind legs, more-so than before. This did not/has not worn off and we are scrambling again.

Except now we are playing the waiting game. Dr. Calfee is in surgery this morning and we have to wait for him to call us to find out if he can do the surgery before Friday. The longer we wait, the more permanent damage is done to the spinal cord, which means more likelihood that Dexter will not regain function in his hind quarters.

Its just all happened so fast. Not to mention that he’s only four years old, and this is just sucky timing with the home renovations and everything. We, of course, will do everything in our power to heal our baby, but its going to be very difficult. We have an Open House in 2 weeks and I’m thinking of making it a charity event to help pay for his surgery, which is going to set us back quite a bit. Anyway. Words of encouragement, prayers, whatever, are very welcome.

Hug a wiener today.