taking control

OK, I'm still shaking like a leaf, with a splitting headache and dizziness today so I called the doctor and they are going to squeeze me in Tuesday morning before we have to head out of town for the funeral. I am not one to ask for, or depend on medication I don't absolutely have to have, but it seems like maybe I should ask for something. It pains me to do that, "strong Southern woman" that I am and all, but geesh, otherwise it may be the mental ward for me soon. Plus, my blood pressure medicine may need to be adjusted...just not sure what's going on. DH is making me take one of his low dose aspirins, just in case....

Well, I finally got some pictures off of my cell phone, we had to buy special software just to do that, but now I can make my own ring tones, which is cool. (Really I should say DH can make the ring tones for me, I don't know how).
So anyhoo, here's one that I'd taken last fall when we went to Cheesecake Factory for DH's birthday.

These were some kind of Buffalo chicken things we shared, that they served with succotash (and we couldn't stop saying "sufferin' succotash" ala Daffy Duck style while we were eating it...



they were delish. Not a big fan of the succotash part, but the chicken was great!

and my beloved Peach Bellini, which I know Jackie can appreciate, lol



Sandra asked if I was keeping the buttons on the Valentine Message piece and the answer is yes! I appreciated every one's thoughts on that, thanks!

where my heart blooms

Very stressful two weeks = no blogging. My hubby's mother was very ill and in the hospital for several weeks and passed away Saturday. So we're preparing for her funeral, etc. which will be in East Texas on Tuesday....my hubby has been so stressed out, which, considering his heart condition, is not a good thing.

Anyway, it all just seems like too much around here. Neighbor problems, sickness (I had a severe headache for days and then extreme dizziness...now it's just a cold or whatever), the list goes on.

My therapy is my stitching. Thank God for that. This piece by Blackbird Designs was such a pleasure to work on, I didn't want it to end. My friend Sheri said just rip it all out and do it again then. Funny girl.



It does have a mistake on it. That I left. Can you see it?


One of these flower stems is not like the other.



and here's the "action shot" for Siobhan ;) (by the way, thank you all for your sweet comments you leave for me, I appreciate and love you guys!!)



Well, I just love what this sampler says...home is where my heart blooms. So true for me. Too bad that now our home is also a cause of stress.

Sorry for venting about stuff here...usually like to keep things pretty light and fun but just feel like my life is spinning (like my head) right now. Hope to be back to normal soon...

Valentine Message

Finished this up last week, just in time for Valentine's Day!



The design is from Blackbird Designs (I just propped the buttons on for now, trying to see if I like them on there or not)....



and is called A Valentine Message. I stitched it on the recommended fabric with Gentle Art threads (there were only three). I like how it was finished on the cover of the chart, but have a "stitcher's tray" in mind for mine :)

Our 26th anniversary is on Valentine's Day. It was my hubby's idea to get married on that day! Aww...isn't that romantic? You'd think! BUT. He told me years later that he wanted to pick that day so he'd never forget our anniversary! Smart fella.




And here's a little something else I made this past weekend and I think we're as in love with it as we are in each other. And that's a LOT.

It's Pan Fried Onion Dip




And you can find the recipe for it here: Onion Dip!
(It's from the Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa cookbook and on page 53, but the link is quicker ;) )





After following the recipe exactly, here are my tips:
*Make it the day ahead. It's WAY too sweet if you eat it the same day. Once it sits overnight it takes on a whole 'nuther taste sensation, (one that will make your eyes roll back in your head).
*The sliced onions are good, but next time I make it, I'll chop them coarsely instead.
*I only used 1/4 tsp. black pepper, same amount as the cayenne pepper and thought that was enough.
*It's pretty thick when chilled, so we had it on Wheat Thins.

You must go make it. You won't regret it. You may even love me for sharing it with you ;)

last week....

the one in which Astro almost dies. AGAIN.

Some of my readers may remember last summer, when he went to a new and different vet to get "fixed", he had a bad reaction to the pre-op meds and almost didn't make it. Later that fall, he went back to our "old" vet who didn't use the same meds as the new and, was successfully neutered. He had all of his puppy shots with this vet and never had a problem. Until last Thursday.

He went in for yearly vaccinations. The other Pug, Scooby, went in with us (my two daughters go with me to help) for a dental vaccine booster shot. Astro was so calm and Scooby screamed like a lunatic, his usual routine.
We left the office.
We drove a few miles one way to pick something up. Astro is in front passenger seat with younger daughter, Scooby in back with oldest.
We head back home but then on a whim, stop by the bread store to get rolls and bread.
Girls and pugs wait in running car.
I came out and Astro is splayed out on K's lap, he's vomited and lost control of his bowels and is going into shock. K just thought he was overheated and was trying to clean up the mess, but I knew he'd never done that before, gotten carsick or overheated, so I call the vets office, they say bring him back. Thankfully the bread store is only about 4 minutes from the vet's office.
We race back.
They give him "life saving shot" through an IV.
We go home, we have dinner, including the pugs.
Astro begs, so things are looking pretty normal.....




You'd think.

After he eats, he usually cleans his face on the floor, nothing weird there. Until his head pops up and I'm noticing that his face is swelling up. Hmm...

It's closing time at the vets. Call them anyway.
"bring him back, we'll wait".

Stop in middle of dinner.

Rush back to the vet... (and why is it when you're in a hurry to get somewhere, and time is of the essence, that is when the train runs or you get behind a Sunday driver? Every. Single. Time?)

So, the other medicine they'd given him to prevent the hives wasn't working. Give more medicine. Vet says after initial assumption that he'd just had an unusual adverse reaction, she thinks it may have been a bad batch of vaccine, and as we're leaving, we notice other dog waiting with his owner, another bad reaction to vaccinations, so that makes sense.

Come home again. That's when Astro really loses it this time because although the swelling in his face has gone down, it's starting to spread out over his body...

After he raced around the house for about 20 minutes with me trying to calm him down, the medicine finally started kicking in and he started to calm down. He was so tired and stressed out....



this picture of his face is after most of the swelling had gone down, he had huge blisters on his eyelids at the vets office...



it was now moving through his body, he was swelling up in his private area as well as everywhere else and itching like crazy...


he was red all over and this is after he'd started to get better!


And to top it all off, most of us around here are sick with flu or viral infections, my mother in law is in hospital in E. Texas, and another stitcher's life was cut short too soon, so very sad about that...

Needless to say...no stitching to report. Astro is better...just too stressed out about the whole ordeal to blog about it himself. I could use a little peace around here myself...