Christmas Song Quiz - Link

Click here to view the song list.

The Halls Have Been Decked... kinda

Working full-time and doubling up on classes has proven to be a little much to tackle during the holidays. As many of you know, I am usually knee deep in creating handmade gifts and creative Christmas messages by now and the Christmas tree would have been set up right before Thanksgiving.

Well, I finally found a few hours of time a few weeks ago to put up the tree. At this rate, the house should be in full Christmas spirit by Easter.

I do love my tree this year. I found a slim 9 foot tree that would fit in the front room without having to rearrange and remove the furniture. I added a few more berry and twig things this year, but the big change is the spanish moss. I collected a bunch of spanish moss during one of our hiking adventures at the ranch and used it as garland for the tree. I love it! - plus, it helps fill in all of the bare spots in the cheap tree.

Now... I wonder how I'm going to get all of that moss off the tree...

(click photos to view larger)

Poster Child for Pet Insurance

I think Mr. Magoo should be the poster child for pet insurance.

$1,200 knee surgery... $250 candy bar... and now this...

I've always known that Magoo has "selective" hearing. Over the past month or so it has seemed to get worse. He stopped waking up when we walked in the house, he started barking at nothing, he wouldn't come inside when you called him unless he saw you standing there, etc.

So... I took him to the vet on Wed. just to have them look at him. I figured it was just old age and there wasn't anything you could do about it. The vet confirmed that thought but when she tried to look in his ears he freaked out and wouldn't let her. He's never done that before with an ear check. They took him in back and tried again, saw some gunk, and tried to swab it. Then he REALLY flipped. She said that it looked like there was something in his ear but it could just be dirt and gave me the option of having them sedate him to take a closer look. I gave my o.k. and now I'm glad I did.

After they got in there she saw a chunk which she thought was just debris or a piece of glass. When she removed it, it turned out to be necrotic tissue with pus below it to his ear drums. BOTH ears were like that! She was able to fully flush the left ear, but the right ear had tissue that wouldn't come out. I've had to tackle him for the past two days to put drops in his ears and then took him back this morning for a follow up appointment. They ended up having to sedate him again and to try to flush the right ear again and see how his ears are healing.

The vet said that his eardrums are damaged, but hopefully they will heal. We are seeing a minor improvement in his hearing already. He met me at the back door yesterday when I came home - he can hear the garage door again. :)

As for what caused it, the vet suspects that he had ear infections when he was younger that never quite cleared up, causing a blockage that built up in his ear canal and eventually led to the necrosis. In her opinion, this has probably been years in the making.

If Magoo's hearing does considerable improve, I may take a few other people to the vet and see if it helps. ;)

Gone Country

Stephen, Tyler and I spent this past weekend with Stephen's parents at their ranch. What a wonderful weekend! We didn't leave until after dark on Sunday and Stephen had to drag Tyler and I out of there - we didn't want to go home! Tyler had fun just being a country boy, and I felt like a kid again. :)

Tyler has shown an interest in bow hunting, so Grandpa Woody got him a bow and gave him lessons. We found yet another use for the "Texas Grape Pickin' Machine" when Tyler wanted to try out the new bow and it was already dark.

The rest of the night was spent laying in the backyard looking at the stars. There are so many more stars in the country! Tyler, Mimi, Magoo and I had to cuddle together to keep warm, but the chilly air was worth it. We even saw a few shooting stars! We were all surprised at the interest Tyler showed and how long the stars kept his interest. He even made us go outside again on Saturday night. We'll be back laying in the grass in a couple weeks to watch the meteor shower. It should be amazing!

Sunday morning after breakfast Tyler was back out practicing with his bow and arrow. Both Stephen and I tried it as well and ended up with matching bruises on our arm where we snapped ourself with the string when releasing the arrow. During all of the fun, Goo was in his favorite element - bathing in the sun.

In the afternoon we all put on our hiking clothes and headed deep into the woods. Tyler and I climbed mud covered cliffs, crawled across downed trees, caught a baby frog in the creek, and hunted for the perfect walking sticks. (Yes, that is me in a John Deer hat.)

And, if I had any doubt left in my mind after all of the weekend adventures, I knew Tyler was a true country boy when his first experience driving a vehicle was driving Grandpa Woody's tractor out into the woods!

Weekend in the Hill Country

This past weekend, Stephen and I managed to sneak off for a long overdue few days alone... without an internet connection. :) We decided to head for the hills to a bed and breakfast in Canyon Lake called Biscuit Hill. This place was WONDERFUL! There are six rooms in the main house and the owners live in a house next door. The only time we saw them was for the amazing breakfast each morning. The first morning was an egg bake, mixed fruit, baked spiced peaches with a cake bottom, and biscuits. The highlight of the second morning was the apple dumplings. I brought a cookbook filled with her recipes home with me.

Besides the view, comfortable rooms, and amazing food, another thing that made this place special was the interaction with the deer. They had a container of corn for the deer right off the deck. As they heard you fill a bucket they came running. We sat only a few feet from them and watched them eat! (click here to see video)

Besides relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather, we spent a few hours in Wimberly visiting Bella Vista Ranch - the first, and one of the few commercial olive orchards in Texas. It is a small, family run business run by an old, retired computer guru. You would have never guessed his background from the looks of him, but he was one of the most intelligent and entertaining people I have ever listened to. From his ranch, we brought back fresh, cold-pressed olive oil, wine, and handmade soaps - all produced, bottled, and packaged on the farm.

Biscuit Hill Bed & Breakfast




Bella Vista Ranch
<-- olive press

Yes, we're still alive...

Since it's currently 20 minutes past midnight, and Shanda's still working, I thought I would just post to let all of you know that we're still alive. Shanda's holding down her full-time job and -- just so she doesn't get bored -- is now taking TWO college classes over the next few weeks. She's currently in Biblical Christianity and starting Macroeconomics. It's gonna be a fun September.

Tyler is now one month into 7th grade and hopefully is getting the hang of it. I'm not sure *I* could manage the schedule they have him on: football practice at 6:30AM, different classes on "red" and "green" days, a new school to navigate...well, you get the idea.

Me? Travel for VMware has slowed down quite a bit now so I'll be doing a lot from home.

More pictures on their way as soon as we have the time. Which may be a while!

School Pictures Gone Bad

This is what happens when your 12-year-old son forgets to tell you that today is picture day.

By the way, his shirt says "MAYBE I WANNA LOOK LIKE THIS"
...how appropriate.

Grow, garden grow!

After three years on my "to do" list, I finally have my salsa garden!

$250 Candybar

Magoo has been known to dig through the trash for a chicken bone or scrap of meat. We've returned home to find pizza crusts laying in the hall. Once, he even covered the kitchen floor in trash trying to dig out some meaty scrap (see photo). But, he has never touched any candy or snack food left on the livingroom table... before today.

When Stephen and I left the house for lunch, there were two giganto, Easter-sized candy bars sitting on the living room table - one dark chocolate and one milk chocolate. Now, if Magoo was feeling the need to go on a chocolate binge, it would have been in his best interest to opt for the milk chocolate. (Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, and the "darker" the chocolate the more toxic it is.) Magoo is a smart dog and understands many words like "treat," "wanna go?" and "squirell," but "chocolate is bad for dogs" was probably beyond his comprehension. Fortunately, somewhere along the way, this knowledge had been engrained in my head and I knew to take him to the vet immediately.

At the vet's office, I was informed that the amount of chocolate that Magoo ate was lethal. One technician took him into the procedure room while another explained what they would need to do - basically, induce a whole lot of vomitting and then coat his stomach with active charcoal to absorb any remaining toxins. I sat in the waiting room and tried to remain calm, which is not an easy thing to do after hearing the words "lethal amount." A few minutes later, the vetrinarian came out to introduce herself and tell me that Magoo had puked up piles of chocolate. This was very good news. I later found out that the bad news was that he puked all over one of the vet techs.

When I was finally able to see Magoo, he was all hopped up on morphine and looked quite pathetic. He laid in my lap whimpering while the vet explained the medicine and special food I would need to give him for the next few days. We were nearly ready to leave when Magoo suddenly jumped from my lap and barfed all over the floor. You know that embarrased feeling you get when your kid is picking his nose in public? Well, this was worse. Magoo had already puked on the vet tech and now he left a pile at her feet.

After a short rest period to make sure he wouldn't puke in the car, we were finally allowed to go home. Unfotunately, there was one last stop to make on the way out. When I got to the receptionist's desk I learned that my $2 candy bar just cost me another $248. That was definately the most expensive candy bar of my life.

And the lesson in this story - when you buy a chocolate bar, eat the whole thing right away. Saving part of it for later may nearly kill your dog.

Rocky Mountain Sunset