Our Short Time with Luna as Dog Foster Parents

I have always had a love for animals, dogs especially. I had one special dog when I was a little girl but she died when I was six and we never really got to have dogs after that. So when I got married and became a grown up, the first thing I wanted was to get my own dog. I have fallen in love with my Ralphie. He is spoiled but also disciplined and I couldn't imagine life without him.

I wanted to help other dogs, but I didn't want to actually GET any more dogs right now. Nick said I should donate money to our local shelter, but I wanted to do something more. I saw Huntsville Animal Shelter advertise on the local news how they needed foster homes for the animals in their shelter. Perfect! We have trained Ralphie all by ourselves and we have a great living location for a dog to run. I contacted the shelter and they linked me up with a foster program for dogs called Ruff Tales K9 ResQ. All I had to do was fill out an application and specify the type/size of the dog I am willing to take in. Since Ralphie is only 20lbs, I didn't want anything bigger than him. After a few weeks, I got notification on a Friday night that a small dog needed a place to stay for 2 weeks, and we picked her up that next Saturday morning. Just like that!

Her name is Luna. She is a small chihuahua who is house and kennel trained and loves to cuddle. All she wants to do is lay next to you. She appears to be an older dog, does well on a leash, and is content wherever she goes. She was taken out of Huntsville Animal Shelter into this foster program in the hopes of finding her forever home.

Luna came with everything: her kennel, food, water, toys, blankets, leash, and her collar. All we had to do was provide the home. She seemed scared at first but warmed up pretty quickly.

She was pretty exhausted her first day. She had a big move and a big environment adjustment, so all she really wanted to do was lay around.

She would growl around Ralph at first. I think it was because she was so scared of him. As a little dog, I'm sure she felt like she couldn't defend herself, so that was her defense mechanism. After day one, she did much better and even started playing with Ralph!

I posted her picture and description on my Facebook page, had a couple "likes" and "shares" and BOOM, someone messaged me saying they wanted her! Luna is going to a perfect family too who is already in love with her. Once the adoption paperwork is complete through the foster program, she will be off to her forever home.

Goal achieved!

What a blessing it has been to be a part of Luna's life for this short time. The best thing about fostering dogs is knowing you are saving two lives: the life of the dog you're fostering and the life of a dog able to go into the shelter since you took a dog out of the shelter into your home.  Helpless dogs are killed every day because there is just simply not enough room in the shelter. Ruff Tales K9 ResQ is in need of short term foster homes (1-4 weeks). You can fill out an application on their website or message them on their Facebook page to find out more information. I know I can't save every dog, but I can at least try to save a few and hopefully impact the lives of these dogs and show them that they are a blessing and they are LOVED!

Can't wait for our next foster!

When You Fall in Love with A Dog

When I was 7, my favorite dog in the whole world die. Her name was Sue-Sue, and she had been with me since I was a baby. She was a puppy whenever my sister was born, so she was around forever. Sue was one of those dogs who knew everyone in the neighborhood and everyone knew her. She would go door to door to get her daily treats, and she would even look both ways before crossing the street. Sue stole my heart at a young age, and ever since then I've been a dog lover. We buried her under the dogwood tree in our backyard.

After Sue passed, we had a couple other dogs here and there, but none could compare to Sue. When my sister and I would get home and one of our dogs after Sue wasn't there, Mom would always say they ran away, but I'm pretty sure she gave them away. No dog could amount to Sue.

Seventeen years later I'm now married and don't have any parents at home to tell me that I can't get a dog... :] So at the time I was working at the hospital and one of my friends' Toy Australian Shepherds mated with a blue healer and made THE CUTEST little puppies. I couldn't resist. It was almost Christmas time so there wasn't a more perfect time to bring a sweet puppy into our family. Nick didn't really want a dog, but of course I talked him into it. We went to look at all the puppies one evening. I was set on getting a girl, but when we got there, I fell in love with this sweet soul pictured below.

How can that face not melt your heart! Like I said, it was almost Christmas time and my favorite Christmas movie is The Christmas Story, where the kid, Ralphie, almost shoots his eye out and gets a black eye. That's where I got the name Ralphie. Plus he literally looks like he has a black eye.

He was soooooo little! And too cute not to dress up in a Christmas sweater.

 This was the first day we brought him home. Tee-tiny next to Nick!

Look at that face!

Nick and Ralph's birthday's are two days apart, so what a better way to celebrate than with a Ralph cake?

Ralphie is my first love after Sue. I never realized how much you can actually love a pet. Ralph is more than just a pet, though. He is my baby. Since he's half Toy Australian Shepherd half blue healer, he is SO DARN SMART. Literally. He can sit, speak, lay down, roll over, high five, play dead, play fetch, go get his ball and his toy (and know the difference between the two), give kisses on command, come, stay, and anything else I tell him to do. He loves learning new tricks and he picks up so fast. It amazes me at literally how smart he is. I could never imagine loving another dog as much as I love Ralphie. He's perfect, minus all the dog hair around the house. He knows when he's not supposed to be doing something and gets in trouble, and he knows when we are about to leave or go to work. He knows where home is, and he knows his dog buddies live right next door. He doesn't have the urge to adventure off into the woods, he stays very close to home. He stays awake and full of energy all day, and at night he knows when bed time is and he sleeps all night. He might be the best thing to ever happen to me. Ralph has shown me what selfless love is and true devotion and loyalty to another. He's unique. I don't think he could be any cuter, and I don't think you ever know what true love is until you love a dog, and he loves you back.

Living Life with Headaches

Woah, it sure has been a while since I've posted. I guess I've been busy!

Anywho, today's post is about me (go figure) and my struggle with headaches. If you don't know me, here's a little recap of what I've been going through lately.

I started having a horrible toothache one day. I have a lot of mouth problems, believe it or not. Everyone says I have a pretty smile, but man have my teeth caused me LOTS of problems. My toothache got a lot worse, so I waited until I couldn't stand it any longer and called the dentist. He worked me in that day and started poking around. Then he put down those horrible sharp utensils and started feeling around on my jaw muscle. He asked me if I had headaches and I told him everyday. He noticed my jaw popped every time I opened my mouth and every time I closed it. He came to the conclusion I have a dysfunctional jaw muscle. It has been overworked every time I chew. My teeth don't line up when I bite down on my food, so every time I do chew my jaw is going in a zig-zag motion.

My dentist told me I needed to only eat soft foods. I also didn't need to open my mouth all the way or close it all the way either. Very difficult considering one of my favorite hobbies is singing in the choir. He said I need to alternate ice and heat, usually heat being the best, and take anti-inflammatory pills and muscle relaxers. Well, nurses don't like to take medications, so that option was out, and no matter what I did take, my headaches won't go away.

I went back for another appointment and they did a TON of molds, pictures, xrays, etc. After about 45 minutes of molds and stuff, my dentist came in a massaged my main jaw muscle points to figure out which ones were hurting the worst, and then he made me open and close slowly to figure out which tooth hits first and where. My dentist is an expert at this because he said his daughter started having this problems a few years ago so he did a lot of studies on it. He couldn't fix his daughters problem until recently because he said you have to complete growing before he tries to fix the problem. He is still looking at my molds to figure out if he can actually fix my problem or not with a mouth piece, and if he can't, he will have to refer me back to my orthodontist for braces..... OMG NOT AGAIN!

My dentist said once we get my jaw problems fixed, my headaches will go away completely. I sure hope so. Until then, seriously nothing works on getting rid of my headaches. I have a headaches everyday usually. Most of the time I go to bed with a headache. One of the WORST feelings in the world is going to bed with a headache and waking up with one. The struggle is real.Getting a massage helps me relax but that's just temporarily. I can still function with these headaches, but it is very difficult too. I do have migraines too so I know the difference pretty well. I would much rather stay in bed and just lay there, but I've realized whether I'm laying in bed or working out or going to work or whatever, I'm still going to have a headache. So I just suffer through.

It's hard. Some days are better than others. When I don't wake up with a headache, it's an awesome feeling, but then later throughout the day I usually develop one. The left side of my head has been pounding lately, but it's not like a headache pain, it's like a brain spasm or something. Really. It makes my left eye twitch and my neck just tucks down in pain. I'm just hoping these headaches are nothing serious and my dentist can just fix my problem.

I find out this week whether my dentist is going to be able to make my mouth piece or not. All prayers are very appreciated. I really don't want braces again, but if that will fix these headaches, I might be okay with it. Also pray it is just my jaw and nothing more serious.

Thanks everyone! I hope y'all have a great week!

When You Stop Putting Crap In Your Mouth

I have always loved chocolate. And bread. Oh, how I love bread. Somehow after I got married my body completely changed and there went an extra added twenty pounds. Then when I started stressing about the extra weight I've put on, there went another added  ten pounds. AHHHHHHHH! Awful, I know. I guess after I got married I got into a completely different schedule with work, bills, and cleaning the house, which by the way, I have no idea how my house gets so dirty so fast so I'm blaming it on Ralphie. Anyway, back to my weight gain.... I decided a few weeks ago I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. So I made a few life changes and have learned a few different things along the way.

First thing I did was go to the dentist. Yes, you heard me correctly. I started having a horrible toothache that hurt so bad I couldn't even eat anything on that side of my mouth. The dentist said I have a horrible, messed up jaw muscle that functions completely different than everyone else's. Wonderful. I have an overbite, and every time I bite down my teeth are all touching at different times causing stress on my jaw muscles. He said that's one reason why I have such a fat face. Okay, he didn't really say that, but that's basically what he meant. I pretty much have a body builder jaw muscle. My tooth pain was caused by my stressed out jaw muscle. The dentist told me I didn't need to open my mouth too much, but I also didn't need to close it all the way. Also, he said only eat soft foods. My gosh, am I just an 87 year old woman in a 24 year old body... So there was a good excuse to seriously start a life style change.

Next, I cut back on my portions. WAY back. Like eating half of what I was eating on a daily basis. I was "hungry" the first couple days and found myself just wanting to pick up some food when I was bored or didn't have anything to do. I have found that it's amazing how much food your body needs when you're giving it the correct amount and type of food. Depending on your daily activity, your body really doesn't need as much as I thought. I haven't been starving myself, but I also haven't been stuffing my face to the point I can't breath.

Next, I cut the crap. Junk food, including stacks and desserts, foods full of sugar, and bread. Yep, I cut my one true love. Spark helps me with morning and afternoon cravings. After 3 weeks, my "skinny" jeans said thank you. It might feel good at the time while you're eating those things, but they never really make you full, they just make you want more of it to try and make you full. It's amazing how much better you feel when you cold-turkey quit the junk.

Last, I've been weighing myself every other day. I hate the scale, and I never would weight myself. Probably one place I went wrong before. Now that I keep up with my weight more closely, I can see that if I've gained a little, I'll think back to what I ate the day before and change my ways. So far I've just continued to lose, but I know there will be a time where it might go back up. I just have to stay strong and don't give up because I just seriously have no choice. 

Nine pounds down, twenty one to go!

FINALLY FRIDAY!!

Whew, what a week! So happy it is Friday and I get to enjoy the weekends doing whatever I want and not working. That's SO nice. Here's my week in recap!

Monday: Meh... That's what I think about Monday's. Work, of course, and then I have Upward cheerleading practice. We have our games every Saturday morning, and last Saturday I had the girls cheering by myself (my partner had to work). They were not feeling it Saturday. Not paying attention, pouting, and most importantly not listening to me. So Monday I walk in practice a little late and the other coach is giving them a talk on respect and how they should have listened to me on Saturday. They all looked so sad, but they listened the rest of the practice and some of the girls even apologized to me. I love my cheerleaders, but man does it confirm my decision why I am NOT ready for kids.....

Tuesday: Everyone freaked out about the weather, what's new. Yes, it was snowing that morning and in SOME places sticking, but it quit shortly after 9am where I was. All of the schools around us closed, so the company I work for decided to close at 12pm! That was awesome! I got to come home and clean the house, and the roads we not bad at all so I got to make a trip to Kroger and just relax. It was nice having a half a day off!

Wednesday: One of my busiest days right now. I've been having to wake up earlier and go to the Town Creek clinic because there isn't a nurse over there right now and my doctor goes over there on Wednesday mornings. I usually just stay half a day but I had to stay a whole day this past Wednesday and didn't leave till a little after 5, and it takes me at least an hour to get back home because of all the traffic from people getting off of work. I didn't get to make it to church, and after I came home and showered, I skipped choir practice (sorry choir peeps), and went straight to bed!! I was exhausted.

Thursday: I woke up very disappointed it wasn't Friday yet! Since it's almost Valentine's Day, everyone at work was bringing goodies like chocolate, cookies, and cupcakes and I'm over here starving trying to get ready for summer. If you know me, I've been dieting HARD CORE recently and have lost 7lbs (YAY)! I haven't eaten bread or junk and have been doing great, and THEN a rep comes in our office and brings in THREE dozen hot Krispy Kreme donuts....... I gave in. I couldn't resist! So I came home and worked hard on the spin bike for 45 minutes and barely ate supper. Oh, the things we do for a little cheat snack. Grey's and Scandal finally came back on, and I hate to say I just wish Grey's would end already. I LOVE the show, but after Derek died, a little part inside me died also. Nick makes fun of me, but I'm still upset. Scandal really disappointed me, too. Olivia is a little huzzy. I wish she would just pick one guy and stay with him!

Friday: WOOHOOOO!!!! It's going to be a great day. I have to do some Valentine's shopping when I get off, and plan to clean the house.

Everyone have a great Friday!!!

When You Start Spending Your Weekends Nights At Home

When you start spending your weekend nights at home more often than you go out and do things, you're officially a grown up. No, maybe not really, but that's the conclusion I've come too.

After a long work week, I want nothing more than just to relax and do a whole lot of nothing. Can I get an AMEN? My dad asked me what time I normally go to sleep and I responded with, "If it's 9pm and I'm not already in bed, then I'm going to be tired in the morning."  I don't know if I'm just more tired lately or what but I need my sleep. I don't see how all you working mothers sleep like 3 hours a night. I think I would go into shock from lack of sleep. Ralph also starts winding down about 8:45ish and he's just too cute not to cuddle with in bed (that's my sweet baby dog, by the way)!

I don't have the desire to go and stay out all night anymore either because it sure is exhausting! I used to enjoy doing things like that but thank goodness my heart is in a different place now. Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." That's so important for everyone to remember, and I've really taken that to heart.

SO... ain't no shame in going to bed at 9pm. Get your rest, wake up early, watch the sunrise. I think that is the best time to spend with yourself and The Lord. I enjoy doing my quiet time at night before I go to bed, but being able to have that special time in the early mornings just to think about the day ahead and pray for the upcoming day, you couldn't start out any day better than that!

Now, GO TO BED! :]

When Your Patients or Their Families Say "Thank You"

I never expect a "thank you" from any of my patients or their families. I do what I do because it is my job and it is something I am called to do. Most of the time patients are hateful and they expect you to drop everything you're doing because apparently the world revolves around them. When patients are hateful, I just have to remind myself that there must be a bigger issue there and they're just taking it out on me. Which is fine, whatever. I may take it too hard sometimes, but at least I can go home and be with my family and spend some time with God and be happy no matter what the circumstances are. 

For every 50 hateful patients, there's at least one grateful one. One patient I had told me all of their life problems and how they just had no where else to turn and didn't know what to do, and all I did was listen, and they told me they've never had someone so sweet to talk to and they were just so thankful I listened to them. It makes you feel good inside even when you respond with, "Oh, it's not a problem darlin', it's my job and I enjoy doing it."

I've never had more grateful patients than when I worked hospice. I loved getting to know my families and somewhat becoming a part of their family  for a short time. Even while their loved one is passing from this world and you can't do anything but comfort them and pray with them, that's okay. Sometimes that's all people need is just your presence. Working hospice, my nursing skills weren't needed much, but my presence was needed on a daily basis. Of course I had my patients to take care of, but I also had their families, too. 

During Upward cheer practice, I've been teaching my little second graders on how meaningful the words "thank you" are. It really does mean more than you think when you say it. God knows just when you need to hear those words, too. It'll be right after a long, awful day where you think you're just not in the right place and someone takes the time to write you a note, send you a letter, or tell you in person what a difference you made in their life and they couldn't be more thankful for you. It means so much.

Just two simple words go such a long way. I think it's so important for nurses to hear a "thank you" every now and then. And not just nurses, "thank you" should be used everyday in your life to show others how much you appreciate them. Let's all take some time today and tell other's "thank you" for simple acts of kindness or what a difference they're made in your life. You never know when someone just needs to hear it!

This was a year or so ago when I worked at CRMC. I had an awful night and leaving my shift I had a family go to Jack's and buy my breakfast, AND bring it back before I even clocked out. It's the little things.