Wordless Wednesday

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Random Notes

• I just found out my contract has been extended through March 31st at my job.  I'm extremely grateful since it was supposed to originally end December 31st.  My friend works there too and her email said that her contract may be extended beyond March 31st.  My email didn't say that.  Still, I'm just grateful to know I'll be working for a little while longer.
• Shiver is doing OK.  He still breathes heavily sometimes, although not as often as he was before .  I was supposed to bring him back this week to run some tests but my paycheck was short and I can't afford it so it'll have to wait until next payday.  The higher dosage of meds seem to be helping more, even though he's still not 100% normal.  
• It was suggested by a couple of people that I create a Go Fund Me for Shiver.  I did that for Chico and feel bad about doing it again for Shiver.  It's hard to admit you need help.  I'll wait until we see the vet first and find out what treatment options are available, then think about it some more.  I hate not being able to afford to get him the care he so desperately needs.
• So one of my two New Year's Resolutions is to pay forward some of the kindnesses that have been bestowed upon me in recent years. Does anyone have any ideas on fun and/or unique things that I can do? I'm looking for suggestions beyond opening the door for someone or buying a coffee for the person in line behind me. Please keep in mind that I'm credit card and student loan poor so I can't do anything too extravagant.
  

Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Shiver Health Update

Last week Chico kept me up all night wheezing and sneezing and breathing snot bubbles.  Benadryl just wasn't cutting it, so I made an appointment for the vet the next morning.  I figured I might as well make an appointment for Shiver at the same time.

Chico's part of the appointment was over in a matter a few minutes.  He apparently has a cold and is on antibiotics. He's doing much better now, thankfully.  The steroid is still working and keeping those nasty cancer sores away.  He goes back in a couple of weeks for a checkup.

Shiver never seemed to 100% fully recover from his seizure or whatever it was that happened to him in mid November.  He got really close though and everything seemed fine for a few weeks.  He stopped the medication and started going downhill so he went back on it.  He seemed better over the next few weeks and all was well.  Only he started breathing heavily again and ate very little.  He used to be such a big eater, so this was particularly concerning.

The vet now thinks in addition to the heart failure, Shiver probably also has Cushings disease and diabetes.  He says we need to treat the heart failure first, because he won't have any chance if we don't get that under control.  He's on a much higher dosage of medication and we're giving it time to work.  We go back in a few weeks and will run some very expensive tests.  Once we have better answers, we'll talk about realistic treatment options.

I have no idea how I'm going to pay for any of this.  My job will be ending soon.  I make a decent wage, but I can barely cover the bills.  My credit card is maxed out.  Everytime I make a payment on it, it seems like something else happens and I have to use it again.  I'm literally drowning in debt.

Shiver is a fighter though.  I know that and I know that he's not ready to go yet.  So I'm praying for a miracle that everything will be OK.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

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Thank you, Chewy, and Snowpocalypse 2017

I got the nicest surprise this past Thursday!  I came home to a Chewy box sitting on my front steps.  It seemed odd since I hadn't ordered anything recently, so I didn't know what to expect.  

Opening the box, I fully anticipated either a toy or a bag of treats for the boys.  I was delighted to discover two bottles of champagne and glasses to go with them!  I love the glasses -- they're nice and thick, with the Chewy logo printed on them.  I toasted Chewy as I drank the first bottle.  The second bottle will be saved for a special occasion.

Thank you, Chewy!  This was a wonderful surprise!

Snowpocalype 2017 is upon us and I'm absolutely hating it.  This was a record-breaking year for snow.  We haven't had this much in 35 years.  

My neighbor and I shared a driveway and he always took care of it, plus the sidewalk in front of our houses.  I didn't even have a shovel!  My neighbor passed away a few months ago and no one lives there now.  I've tried to keep on top of it and it's just been miserable.  The snow is endless and just keeps coming.  A friend has more than one shovel and has been kind enough to lend me one of hers until I can get one.  This is the view from my front steps.

The snow is taller than my chi's.  I've gotten my car stuck in it more times than I care to admit.  Fortunately, someone has always been kind enough to stop and help shovel me out.  The picture below is of my neighbor's house.  Look at those icicles!

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December Chewy Review

I meant to post this last week, but life and laziness got in the way.  Mostly laziness...

As always, there were lots of good treats to choose from and the boys had lots of deliberation.  They love Chewy.com and knew they'd be happy with just about any of the options availabe.  They finally settled on Purina Pro Plan Savor Tender Strips.

They received a one pound bag to try.  As you can see, they're made with real lamb and sweet potato.  In fact, lamb is the very first ingredient on the list!  They smell kinda smoky and kinda remind me of bacon.

They're soft enough to easily break apart so are good for dogs who maybe don't have the bestest teeth.  Shiver and Chico would prefer a whole piece each, but I tear them in half and make them share.  I gave them a whole one the first time they taste tested and it was a bit big for them.

Chewy suggests using them while training.  Because they're so soft, I could easily see making one piece last during a training session - you could tear off a bit as you needed it.  

Each bag is only $5.80, although you could set up it for autoship for only $5.51 a bag.

Shiver likes Purina Pro Plan Savor Tender Strips.  Here's he's telling me he needs more.  I told him he needs to finish eating what he has first.

Shiver and Chico both give this four paws up, for a total of eight paws.

We were not compensated financially for this post, but were provided a free bag of treats in return for our honest opinions.

Wordless Wedneday

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Merry Belated Christmas, Everyone!

I hope Santa was as generous to everyone else as he was to me.  He brought extra gifts this year.  Shiver and Chico got several goodies too, which they're particularly pleased about.  Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, I'm off on Monday too.  That in itself is a gift!

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, and now seemed like as good a time as any to do another one.  The questions all came from here.

1.  What keeps you up at night?

Worries.  I mostly worry about not being able to pay the bills and about losing my boys.  Sometimes if a situation is coming up soon and I'm particularly anxious about it, that'll keep me up too.

2.  What's the last music you purchased?  (online, CD, whatever)

I bought a song from the Alexander Hamilton soundtrack on iTunes yeterday.

3.  What scent (candle, soap, perfume) do you think should be banned because it's just so annoying?

I've never particularly like vanilla and if it's really strong, sometimes it makes me feel nauseous.

4.  Show and tell.  What comes to mind first when you see this picture?  Or tell a story if it reminds you of one. 

This picture is labeled as food coloring.  I don't have a memory of the actual event, but I do remember my parents discussing it several times through the years as I grew up.  My parents had colored eggs for Easter while my brothers and I were sleeping.  I was quite young still and apparently woke up before anyone else in the house.  Food coloring bottles were left out and within my reach so I grabbed them, ran off to my room, and sprayed the color all over at least one wall.  My parents painted the room when we moved, but the food coloring bled through -- even after several coats.

Almost Wordless Wednesday On A Thursday

...because I was too lazy to upload these sooner, even though I already had them saved on my computer...

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Wordless Wednesday

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IT'S C-C-C-O-O-O-L-L-L-D-D-D

Not only is it cold outside, I actually have a cold.  The people at work like to share.  Everyone seems to have it, so I was destined to get it too.  Instead of shopping for Christmas presents, I spent the weekend in bed with a fever.  It's been awhile since I've had a cold and this one feels like it's hit harder than usual.  Shiver was quite the pain between trying to steal my tissues and insisting on being petted.  Chico was his usual sweet and cuddly self.  Took some Nyquil Saturday night and had some very weird dreams.  Feeling better now, just wish the extremely stuffy nose would clear up.

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We've gotten our first and second snow, then the rain came and washed it all away.  The rain froze, making driving dangerous.  We're due even more snow in the coming week.  The boys hate the white stuff and it's hard to get them to go out in it to do their business.

My contract was supposed to end with my current job at the beginning of the year.  Thankfully, it has been extended another month.  My boss says she thinks they'll probably keep me at least through March.  The department is closing sometime in the new year, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay on.  I'm just extremely grateful and hope I can continue working there for awhile longer.  I'd just barely started to get some bills paid down, then Shiver got sick and now I'm right back to where I was before I started, debt-wise.

Shiver is still doing well.  He still isn't 100% back to normal, but close enough.  He just has one very small side effect that doesn't affect his quality of life.  He's down to being weaned off one last medication and if all goes well, he won't need to go back on them. Chico is also doing well.  Looking at them, I don't think anyone else would ever guess that anything was wrong with either of them.

Wordless Wednesday

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