My Baby girl, Jade is 1 year old!

Jade is shaping up to be a good dog. I have Ryan to thank for some of that I think. He's played a big role in raising her for the past 5 months...Then there is also the help from Timber. He disciplines her regularly...quite funny I must say.

Jade turned 1 year old May 14 and is now weighing in at 70 pounds (closing in on poor Timber who is 73 pounds).

Taking a break on our hike at Contra Loma

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Jade

The BIG 3-0 is closing in...

My 30th birthday is growing near. I'm not really freaking out about saying good-bye to my 20's as much as I'm in a state of "WTF am I doing?" It's tough to swallow that I'm in such a weird place, nowhere that I envisioned I would be if you asked me 10 years ago, that's for sure. I'm taking it day by day and hope that I will be where I want soon.

I try to remind myself that I'm not alone and many people are in this weird state of flux as well. I have a supportive family, a few close friends I can count on, two adorable dogs and a cuddle-bug cat whom need me and keep me going, a decent job with good people, and a roof over my head (even if it's a shared space and not my own).

Speaking of great things...my parents totally rock! They really want me to be happy and enjoy myself for my birthday...so they are sending me and one of my closest girlfriends on a 5-night cruise to Mexico! We are leaving from San Diego on August the 8th and spending two days in Cabo San Lucas! I've never been to Mexico so it will be fun.

My friend and I are both single, young and I know we are going to have a blast! I will certainly be making use of my language skills on this trip! And this may be an odd opportunity for translation as well...My friend is Deaf, we may encounter Spanish-speaking people as well (but probably not a high probability being that we are going to a big tourist location! lol)....never the less, it'll be fun. I get to talk shit with my girl in sign language and most won't have a clue! ;-)

I'll be back in San Diego with my friend on the 13th, the day after my birthday and I will fly home the next day...just in time to be home for my mom's birthday on the 15th. Good times and a nice week long break from work....CAN'T WAIT!!!!

My new pup, Jade

I adopted a puppy from my former dog, Jade's litter. I wanted a girl in case I decided to have Timber and the new dog breed (something I'm not positive I will actually do). Jamie kept 3 of the 10 puppies; one girl and two boys. The owner of the sire, Sparta took home a female pup. This left me with 3 girls to choose from. Of the three females, my little girl was the smallest and had the shortest hair. Since I chose the name Jade for the mother when we got her three years ago, I wanted to keep that name; thus I named my pup after her momma, Jade Aurora Borealis.

She is adjusting well and Timber adjusted quickly. His play was a bit rough at first, but he is learning her limits and she is learning to push right back! Baby Jade is a little spitfire and very spunky. She is very different from the way Timber was as a smaller puppy. She is a jumper, a climber and a mess-maker with the water dishes. Jade scales the baby gates and digs in all the water dishes; inside and outside! Between playing in the water and Timber biting her neck and back, she is usually soaked!

My mom loves the new pup and is glad that she has a "granddaughter" finally, even if it's a four-legged one. She will have to wait a while for a human granddaughter or grandson from me. LOL

As for my dad, he's a trooper. He really didn't want another dog in the house or yard...But he's a softie and loves both the dogs. I planned on having Jade live at someone elses house until I moved out, but my dad didn't like that idea and said she could stay here. I am looking for a place to move out for rental until the divorce goes through the courts so I can buy a place, but everytime I mention it, my dad says I have a place to live...here. He's a great dad, very supportive and flexible...but I need to move out and give him some relief and get these dogs out of his house and yard. When I do move, I'm going to hire a landscaper and housekeeper to come in and fix up what my dogs and I destroyed. :-) LOL

So tired...lots of changes for this little girl...

Relaxing in the backyard...

Adjusting to the new home...

The car ride home from Chico...July 12, 2009

More to come....

I have quite a bit to post from the 4th of July up in Calpine....Been busy and tired since I went back to work after the time off. Since the 4th I have brought home another puppy! I got one of Jade's puppies as of yesterday. I have quite a bit of pictures of her, I named her after her mom, Jade. Timber and her are adjusting. When I get time, I will post some pics and more info...Until then.....

Timber update: March 28, 2009

Timber is 24 weeks old today. I took him to Petsmart to weigh him and he is still gaining an average of 2 pounds every two weeks. He is weighing in at 55.3 pounds. When I got him at 9 weeks old, he was 16 pounds. His owners said that his mom weighed about 45 pounds and his dad was about 65 pounds. They estimated that he wouldn't be more than 60 pounds. I think he will exceed his father's weight. Chrissy still believes that he will top out at 72 pounds, she has since he first joined our family in December. I decided I'm going to take guesses from my readers for how much they think he will weigh in 6 months.....if I have any readers! Ha Ha!

24 weeks old

9 weeks old

Looking at his pictures side-by-side for the first time...It's amazing how much he's changed.

Terrible Two's for dogs?

Timber is now 5 1/2 months old and weighing in at 52.6 pounds! He is becoming more defiant and I can't figure out if it has something to do with his age or maybe because I'm gone during the day at work now and not home with him.

How does the age calculation work with dogs? Does five to six months of age in a dog equate to the "terrible two's" in children? I'd certainly like to think so! If it isn't a stage, then that means he is mad at me and is beginning to favor my dad over me since he is home with Timber during the day! What in the world is going on while I'm gone during the day? I need to get a nanny cam!

Speaking of behavioral issues.....when Timber is left home in the backyard and no one is home, he cries constantly according to the neighbor and upon arrival home, we find him scratching at the back door and wall, scratching his toes raw on the stucco! Thus, he must be kenneled when no one is home from now on to prevent him from destroying his paws......he can only blame himself. Ha! As if he would get the connection!

I suppose it's time to suck it up and go take a dog training class... Ugh.

***Maybe I'll wait until after my vacation in Maui since it's three weeks away! Yeah!!!

Timber update and other tid-bits

I've decided after a few days of observation of his behavior, Timber is healthy and doesn't need to go get blood work. His appetite has returned and of course he is still energetic. I haven't seen any discolored nasal discharge in quite awhile. I suppose his antibiotics finally did their job after 3 weeks and took to the last minute to show they finally worked!

Yesterday after my visit to my new employer, I had to run out to Martinez to get a new copy of my birth certificate. The moment I need my social security card, I can't find it anywhere. As luck would have it, the alternative documentation for taxes is a birth certificate....and guess where that is? The same place as my social security card!....along with those documents, my pink slip for my car and my marriage license (which I'm not sure I need due to the pending divorce)....But needless to say, I'm frustrated about the missing files... I've searched the boxes in storage, the boxes in the garage and my entire room with no luck. So, I've decided to stop thinking about it and maybe I'll remember where they are when I'm not thinking about it....you know how things like that work. ;-)

....So anyway, back to Timber....I brought him to Martinez with me for the drive, he's a mellow backseat driver and nice company. After dealing with my paperwork and getting a new Birth Certificate copy, I decided to take advantage of the break in rain and let Timber explore the new surroundings.

We went to a park on the harbor and had so much fun getting muddy and wet! Timber chased after the geese and ducks. He ran after them on the beach of a nasty pond and all the way into the water! Then with me in tow...in the soggy, marsh-like grass! We walked out to the rocky shore and without hesitation, Timber climbed the rocks to get to the shore. He fetched sticks that I threw way out in the water. He was soaked from chest down! We ran down the dock, with my shoes sloshing and his paws dripping and scaled the benches. Again, Timber made me proud and got right up on the bench and walked it! He doesn't show any fear for new things and activities...I feel so lucky to have such a great dog.

I don't have any pics of how muddy Timber and I got because we were having way too much fun to take pics! So next time we go I'll take some! ....Of course we are going again! But first, this weekend I'm planning on going to a dog walk activity, so look for pics. :-)

Employment!

The news is in!

After my "visit" to the school yesterday, they asked me if I wanted the job! I happily accepted and start work tomorrow. So, I have returned to the workforce and will be working every day from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, with exception to every tuesday the hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm for staff meetings.

I'm of course in need of health coverage, but if I can ever get the county hospital on the line without getting disconnected, I may be able to arrange for some county health benefits that are available. I attempted to go straight to the source today to speak to them, but unless I needed to be seen at the ER, there was no chance at talking to their financial representatives. Oh, well, I'll keep playing the phone game.

For the time being, I am so glad to be making money again! And ecstatic that the school is so close to home! I don't even have to get on the freeway!

Poor Timber, he's going to have to get used to his mommy being gone all day! I don't know who I feel more sorry for, Timber or my dad, who has to put up with the crying and barking! lol

My pup...just to get my thoughts down for me...

Today, Timber is 20 weeks old and we had a follow-up at the vet today regarding his health concerns. He weighed in at 45.2 pounds, up 1.2 pounds from last Saturday's vet visit. So, he's still gaining weight, has tons of puppy energy and loves to play and "talk" but his appetite is poor. He is still sneezing, has a runny nose which is off and on discolored. After over 3 weeks of being sick and on antibiotics, I'm not pleased with his lack of progress and recent decreased appetite which was never a problem until about a week ago.

At this point, the vet has not made me feel any better about what is going on with my little man. I'm not sure how much faith I have in the quality of care *undisclosed vet clinic name* has at this location after discussing how hit and miss encountering quality vets are at the varied *said clinic* locations per a family member in the veterinary field.

Which leads me to the need to search for second opinions and scout for fee differences. At this point, *said clinic* can only provide the option of running basic blood tests and urine tests as well as doing a basic nasal swab culture....all adding up to a hefty bill over $400. I love my little guy, but this is getting more expensive by the week. I can't decide if I'm over-reacting to the symptoms or if there is truly something going on.

An option the vet mentioned would require referral out to a animal hospital to anesthetize him and scope his nasal passages for possible embedded foreign bodies in his sinuses or worse, fungus. If it's fungus, it has to be addressed ASAP otherwise risk it spreading through the thin barrier of tissue and bone to the brain. For those who don't have pets, going to such lengths to determine a cause doesn't come cheap....I don't have an estimate at this point, but you can bet it will cost well over $500.

Needless to say I'm beside myself with concern and quite conflicted. Since I haven't been working, I've had to ask my parents to assist and that kills me since they've already done so much for me since I left Jamie and Timber is my responsibility. Here's to praying I get that job so I can provide for my dog's care for what I hope is nothing serious and easily treated. Losing my little guy would break my heart.

Crossing my fingers

Finally after 2 months of searching, soliciting and applying...I had a job interview! It went well, got to check out the school and meet some kids...one classroom shared their snack with me, tuna sandwich! lol

There are no health benefits available with this job. However there is an upside...besides the obvious income that has been missing for so long! The school is about 10 minutes away from my house!!!! For a gal who struggles with getting up early in the morning, has trouble getting her a** out the door and lives in a city with too many cars crawling to work every day on the parking lot they call Highway 4......This is awsome!

Last time I had a job that was so close to home was in Chico! Coincidentially, this school's program is set up the same way as the program in Chico. Half-day programs, working hours are 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Although this program is so much better! Instead of a mere hour between the morning and afternoon program...30 minutes of which is lunch time....there is 2 hours! Talk about a relief for teachers! Prep time is so valuable and difficult to come by.

Props to my youngest nephew's former preschool teacher for putting in a good word with the director and giving me the heads up about the position as soon as it opened up!

Cross your fingers....I go in on Monday for a couple hours to hang out. Perhaps I will know by the end of next week if I have a job...or better yet, Monday! :-)

New Teeth!

Call me a dork, but Timber and Chiara are the only kids I have and since Chiara is all grown up...I have to follow Timber's growth and share. lol

He has some new big boy teeth and it's quite a sight at times...he looks like he has buck-teeth! :-D

New family member....Timber my Husky/wolf pup!

Meet Timber

Born October 11, 2008, adopted December 13, 2008

weight 15 lbs.

December 16, 2008:

Timber's first visit to the Vet....good lil' patient isn't he?

He weighed 16.7 lbs

December 14, 2008:

Meeting my cousins Patyrk and Christian.

Patyrk wiped me out!

Pat adores Timber!

December 13, 2008:

First night at his new home

He's much happier driving to his new home in my lap!
December 13, 2008:

Timber isn't too happy about leaving his home in a cage!

This little guy was my early Christmas present from my special friend Cesar on SoCal...by far one of the best presents I could ever ask for!

My big bro turned 31 years old?!

Well, my big brother, Jason turned 31 years old today. We went to Cocina Medina for dinner, his favorite food choice for celebrations. He had two margaritas and then the restaurant proceeded to give him two free shots of tequila! If you've never seen my bro drunk, you're missing out! If you thought he was a dorkis sober, you ain't seen nothin! :-) But you gotta love 'em!

My bro, Jason...taking his free shot of "ta-kill-ya"

Free shot #2 of tequila, thanks Cocina Medina for making my bro an even bigger dork!
Patryk, Papa and Christian

My mom, the sombrero thief and me

Ain't Pat a cutie?

Bub aka Christian showin' us his "horns"

Yes, these two are always like this! Well...except when they're getting on each other's nerves!

Sept. 26-28 '08: A little R&R at Fallen Leaf Lake, South Lake Tahoe

On our hike/walk along the lake

The View from the Back Deck

This weekend would have been my 5-year wedding anniversary. With that part of my life coming to a close, I needed to make a new memory for September 27.

With the generosity of a friend, I was able to stay in a beautiful cabin for the weekend right on the water of Fallen Leaf Lake in South Lake Tahoe. He and I enjoyed wine, good food, a marithon of "The Office" on DVD, hiking, star gazing, a bit of gambling and a lot of relaxing. It was a nice getaway. Molte bene!

Gracie Fabrizio!