Bye Bye Bed...

Well...my bed is gone. My first big girl bed. I'm kind of sad, but glad at the same time. It was the first actual bed set I got, and it was the one that moved me from a twin size, to a queen. I got it in like 2004 I think. It moved into my first apartment with me...back to my parents house, and then to the double d. The biggest reason we wanted to get rid of it was because it's just TOO big for our bedroom. I thought about maybe just sticking it out, because it's a really nice set, and it would be nice to have when we move again, and get a bigger house, with a bigger master bedroom. BUT, we both know that when we do move and get a bigger bedroom, we want a king size. I just had to keep reminding myself how nice it's going to be to have a set that fits in our room. I was having second thoughts about it last night when I saw V taking it all apart, because it's just so nice. Really nice quality and stuff. But it's gone, so there's no turning back now! Our bedroom is in shambles at the moment...mattress on the floor, clothes in piles...see for yourself!

'Tis sad for me, but I'm sure after we find all new pieces, I'll feel better about it. I decided that I want a platform bed, and I'm going to make my own headboard! I just searched for ideas on apartment therapy and found this one that I REALLY like! It's covered in burlap and I love the idea! However, our walls are really bare, and since there's no furniture, they look even more sad! I need some pictures and decorations to put on the walls. As for night stands, I've decided that I want to get two shelves for each side of the bed, and mount them on the wall at the height of a nightstand would be, and on the bottom shelf we can put a little basket to keep unmentionables in, so they're not exposed! I think it's a great idea, I just hope we can find the shelves. We're going to ikea tomorrow to get an idea of everything, and maybe buy something if we find what we want!

Jessica Dances

I made this video to congratulate my sister on her purchase of her Toyota Prius. This was in July of 2006...almost exactly 5 years ago which means I was in my last year as a teenager! This is still exactly how I dance, in case any of you were wondering. You'll never see it in person, unless you're one of my sisters.

SCHOOL!

I got my ASL test back...it was a partner test, and somehow it was my worst grade yet! An 89%! Now, most people wouldn't be unhappy with this grade, but I am! If it was an A, I'd be fine. I guess it's just one grade though, so whatevs.

As for A's...my humanities is kicking my ASS.

I noticed last night that we (me&V) completely missed a discussion assignment. TOTES MISSED IT! Got a 0 out of 100. ZERO. That's the first time I've ever missed an assignment in an online class. I noticed at like 8:30 last night that we had another discussion due at 11:30pm...I have all the due dates on my calendar, and I was staring at it and was like "well shit...today is the 28th!". Right above it, on the SAME DAY, it said "HUM: Unit 3 Exam" as well..but for some dumbass reason, I thought we already did it, so I didn't even think to check...until I got home from class today (10 hours too late!). So we both totally missed that assignment as well. 0 out of 200! I mean, V still has a 90% and I still have an 86%, but STILL! GAH!!!!! That will not be happening again! And from here on out, I need to get A's on every other assignment, because I'd really like to pass that class with an A, but I guess I'd settle for a B if it comes to that.

GUAC!

Shit is SO good!!!! It's all I'm having for lunch...at 4:11pm. Because I love it so much, I want to eat it all!

This morning I woke up early to get to the tag agency to renew my decal on my license plate. It was so packed! I only waited a half hour though, which I was surprised about! It was a quick transaction, and now my license is valid for another year. Woot.

After that I decided to stop at Walmart to see if I could find anything to spend my birthday gift card on. I ended up finding this super cute workout tank top, that would be perfect for yoga! So I tried it on and loved it, but while I had it on I noticed it had black marks on the side of it (it's a white top), so I took 10% off! I threw it in the washer when I got home and the stains totes came out! Yay!

Then I came home to pick up Ellie and bring her to the specialist. They were very happy with her progress and said to keep her on the same med she's on now, and bring her back in two weeks. It's so good to hear :]

Once we left there, I dropped her off at home to rest, and brought Lacey to my old old work. A doggie daycare! To visit my friend Marcos, who worked there with me! This is his last week there because his band is going on tour, and ever since I left like a year and a half ago, I said I would go visit him, and never had! I figured since this was my last chance, I would go. I'm glad I went, it was good to see him, and catch up. It was so fun working there, but I hated working weekends and holidays...otherwise I'd probably try and go back.

Now I'm home watching the trial, eating my delicious guac. Have I told you how bomb-ass my guacamole is, blog? It's amazing! I think it's better than any guac I've had in a restaurant, just because I can put the exact amounts of what I like...like a lot of lime :]

That's about all for today. School tomorrow and probably homework, since I didn't do any today!

Sisters

are awesome.

Happiness Hit Her...

 like a train on a track

 coming towards her, stuck still no turning back

 she hid around corners and she hid under beds

she killed it with kisses and from it she fled

 with every bubble she sank with a drink

and washed it away down the kitchen sink

 the dog days are over

 the dog days are done

the horses are coming so you better run

 run fast for your mother run fast for your father

run for your children, for your sisters and brothers

leave all your love and your loving behind you
can’t carry it with you if you want to survive

I feel old, blog.

AHH!

I missed yesterday's post! BOOOOO! After J.Mo was praising me for doing so well all year long with posting a picture everyday...I miss it!

Yesterday was so crazy, between my party and all the RAIN! Things were a little hectic at first, but after the rain let up, and we got to hang out outside and swim, everything was better. I had a really great time and it was so nice to see all my friends :]

I painted my nails with my sister the other night. The colors reminded me of a watermelon :]

Hopefully I'll get pictures from my party from my sister, so I'll make another post later today to make up for missing yesterday!

Good News!

I got a call from the specialist today...they got the results back from Ellie's test for mysathenia gravis and it was NEGATIVE! YAYAYAYY! I'm soooo glad she doesn't have that disease. I told her the steroids seem to be helping a lot, and she's been standing on her own with no problem, and walking a little more too! Earlier today she walked the length of our hallway, which is about 10 feet? Then through the living room...which was about another 7-10 feet! It's so good to see her heading in the right direction!

We have an appointment to go next Tuesday, so we'll find out then what the plan is now. All I can say is that I haven't been this happy for the last like 2 and a half weeks!

See my fancy natural hi-light in my bangs? So fanc!

My birthday was pretty good yesterday. Pretty is italicized because there were some super shitty things that happened, but whatevs. Over all I had a pretty good day. I'm 24 now and I feel a little different. Like I'm looking at my life in a different way.

Pool party tomorrow and I'm finally really excited about it! Hooray!!! I did a ton of cleaning inside and outside of the house today so get ready for it...I'm really looking forward to having all my friends over and eating some delicious tacos! Woo!

TWENTY FOUR!

Woke up this morning to V singing me happy birthday before he left for work <3

I've spent my morning cleaning up a birthday present Ellie left me on the carpet, watching the trial, and eating bfast. A bowl of raisin bran crunch, and a cheese pastry :]

Then I opened my present from my sister who lives in Providence...the shirt I'm wearing in my picture! I love it! It's super cute, and fits perrrfectly!

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! I'm 24 today! Holy cow!

My other sister is coming over in a little bit to hang out and we're probably going to spend some time by the pool...I was hoping to go to lunch with my dad, but he said we can't today, but maybe tomorrow (bummer). V offered to take me to lunch, but my sister is coming over, so we'll see about that!

Tonight we're going to yoga and then having my birthday dinner at Pom's! No bowling this year on my birthday...things changed! Yoga is more important, lol. Maybe we'll try and go this weekend...I would like to, honestly.

Ellie seems to be doing well, she was standing up really well yesterday and taking a couple steps every now and then :] I'm happy the steroids are helping her...and that it's happening so quick, but I'm worried that she will become dependent on them. Idk, just what I'm thinking. We have an appointment to go back to see the specialist next Tuesday, so we'll see what they say about it all.

1

I'm finally getting a little excited about it!

Today is most definitely a much better day than yesterday was. No trips to the specialist. Ellie is laying on the couch resting next to me, and I think the steroids are starting to help. I stood her up earlier to get her ready to go outside and she stayed standing on her own...then too TWO steps without falling over! But then she shook off, and toppled over. Silly girl. This is the first time she's been able to stand on her own and move in about a week! I'm pretty pleased so far...and I hope things keep getting better from here on out.

:]

Steroids

Today started off pretty good. I woke up and went to V's work to pick something up from him, then went grocery shopping. And got my first (and most likely only) birthday card in the mail:

When I got home around 1, Ellie was normal (well, as normal as she can be right now...), but panting. I figured it was just because she was all excited about me being home. But an hour and a half later, she was still panting. So I called the specialist and they told me to bring her in because she might be having trouble breathing. A bad sign from her muscle weakness is that all of her important muscles might get too weak, causing her to have a hard time breathing, and her heart to have trouble beating D:

I brought her in and they took her back to do an exam. The doctor came in and told me that she's not having trouble breathing, and they were finishing up her exam and she'd be back in soon with the other doctor. The two of them came back in to talk to me about her and said that although she's breathing alright, she is digressing. Her reflexes are worse than they were on Friday, and her muscles seem to be weaker, so they wanted to start her on some steroids. So we did. That, and two more antibiotics. I guess the steroids can cause her to be very thirsty, which means she'll have to pee a lot, and make her want to eat everything, but I was told not to tend her every hunger, just to keep her on what she gets now. But to watch out for vomiting with black chunks in it, blood in her stools, or black stools.

I'm so tired. Emotionally. Just drained...and so sad. I'm not one bit excited about my birthday on Thursday, or my party on Saturday.

THREE DAYS!

My birthday is in THREE SHORT DAYS. It really doesn't feel like it. Usually I'm super excited about my birthday, but this year it's like "meh".

I had class this morning and then I went to my sister's house so we could go to Gap to exchange the jeans and shirt my mom got me for my birthday. I didn't like the shirt like I thought I would, and the jeans were too big! So I took them both back and ended up buying another pair of jeans that were on super sale, a t-shirt (that I didn't try on before I bought it, and I don't like it, lol) that was also on super sale, and a new bottle of perfume and still had money leftover that I got put on a gift card! Woot!

Now I'm home with my Ellie Bell, watching tv. I did some humanities homework earlier and later tonight we'll be going to yoga :]

Usually on my birthday we go bowling, but since last year we've taken up yoga, and we go Thursdays...which just so happens is the same day my birthday falls on, so I wasn't sure what to do! We're going to yoga though, lol. We might go bowling later this week, but we'll see.

This is from yesterday when my sister and her fiance were over.

Father's Day

I went to my parent's house this morning so me and my sister could cook my dad breakfast for father's day. We made him a potato mix with sausage and onions, and some goat cheese and chive scrambled eggs. It was good, but not as good as when he cooks!

Got some sun this afternoon and now we're spending the rest of the day relaxing at home. V is napping because he stayed out late last night at our friend's party. I went, but came home at like 12 and went to bed around 1, he didnt get home until 3 or so, and woke up at 7 to meet his dad to spend the morning with him.

We went out with my parents to Brio for my birthday dinner before the party. They have the BEST crab cakes in the world! They're my absolute favorite. After dinner we stopped at The Cheesecake Factory so I could get a slice of their wild blueberry white chocolate cheesecake (that's not my flickr, some random one I found that had a piece of the cheesecake!). I looooove that cheesecake! It's so yummy!

1 CUP!

I have NEVER been more excited to see Ellie eat a whole cup of food. That's the normal serving she gets, twice a day (morning and evening) and hasn't eaten more than like a half a cup ALL DAY for the past week and a half. When we went to the specialist yesterday, they weighed her and she lost a pound, and it scared me. So I mixed her food with peanut butter and a little chicken broth this morning and she ate it all up! SO HAPPY! We had lots of water to drink too, and we'll be making a trip outside to do some business in about an hour :] Now it's the little things that make me happy. Seeing her eat more, drink more, hold herself up when she is laying on the couch, lick her butt (lol). I never thought twice about those things two week ago, but now they mean the world to me. I freaking love this dog SO much.

On the phone with my sister. This is usually how we watch the Casey trial when something intense is going down. Hehe :]

What a Day...

Ellie's appointment was at 10:30 this morning at the specialist. We got there just before, but went to the wrong side, so we went over to the other side and waited to see the doctor. It wasn't long before she came in and started asking us questions about Ellie...then about 10 or 15 minutes later, she took Ellie back for a neurological exam. I would say approximately 45 minutes later, she came back in and said that we saw the wrong doctor, but the neurological doctor would be back to see her soon. About another 45 minutes passed...by this time we had been there for about 2 hours. She came back in and told us that the neurologist had two other dogs she had to see before Ellie. Yeah. V went up and asked the receptionist about 30 minutes later and asked how much longer it would be, because we wanted to go home if it was going to be a long time. The receptionist went back and asked and came to our room about 5 minutes later to tell us that she was sorry, but apparently when I scheduled the appointment yesterday they thought I said IVB, not IVD, which is why they sent in the wrong doctor at first.

Things finally got taken care of, and the neurologist came in to talk to us about Ellie. She said she did an exam on her and all of her limbs were weak and she listed three things she thought she might have...then explained what we could do to check for said things and gave us an estimate that was WAY more than we had. So we told her that, and asked what few things she would recommend doing first, to see if we could find something out. We ended up getting her bloodwork checked, and an x-ray to make sure her esophagus wasn't swollen, and I would come back in two hours to pick her up.

I picked her up and they got the results back from the bloodwork and the x-ray, and everything looked normal. So we're sending her bloodwork off to a lab (I'm guessing) and they're going to run a test for myasthenia gravis, which was the first thing she mentioned when she was listing the possibilities. The only thing that sucks about that test, is that it takes like a week and a half for the results to come back. In the meantime she told me that if I see her digress in any way that I need to call them immediately.

Now my princess is home resting...after her long, stressful day. Poor baby. I hope within the next two weeks we'll know what's wrong.

While my darling is resting, I'm at my sister's waiting for V and my sister's fiance to get back from playing a half round of golf, then we're going out to dinner! I got a birthday coupon to a bbq joint for buy one dinner entree, get one free! Holla! Maybe it'll take my mind off the Ellie for just a little bit.

Hair Feather & Flair!

This morning my sister came over because I had a lady coming to look at my bed set that I put up for sale on Craigs List. She TOTALLY bought it! She gave me a deposit of $160 and said she'd be back in 2 weeks to pick it up and pay me the remanding $390! AWESOME!

After that I went to get my hair cut, feathered, and flaired! I got a trim and a hair feather put in, along with a hair flair which is just a sparkly strand...mine is brown so it's subtle, and my feather is kind of hidden, so it's not visible all the time. I absolutely LOVE it! My hairstylist said it would last about a month, and I'm pretty sure that whenever it does fall out, I'll be getting another one!

That's a little sparkle you see to the right of the feather. I feel so hip and cool! I know that sounds corny, but it's how I feel! I love it so much!!!

We're taking Ellie to the specialist tomorrow to get checked out. When I called to make the appointment, I asked how much she thought it might cost and the office visit alone is $145 (!), if she needs an ultrasound, it's $315 (!). Yikes :[ We'll see how that goes. I'll most likely try to avoid the ultrasound to the best of my ability...unless they have some kind of payment plan they're willing to give me because we do not have an extra $500+ at the moment. Ugh. I just wish she was better :[

Wed-Nes-Day

Well...I got a 94 on my ASL unit 2 test! Woohoo! I was busy today...class, target, grocery shopping, lunch, mall, a little more grocery shopping, and now I'm doing some math homework (and blogging!) before yoga!

Tuesday Schmoosday

Panting and resting after a trip outside.

Lunch time :]

Laying in bed with me this morning.

My sister got me this romper for my birthday and it's super cute, but SUPER see-thru! Like, even if I wore skin color underwear, you'd be able to see them. No good! I'm going to exchange it and hopefully get another romper. I love 'em!

Oh Ellie

The vet called today and asked how she was doing. I told them there hasn't been much of any kind of improvements, and she's not eating as much. Apparently I misunderstood the vet when we were there, and he thinks that if she's not improving at all by Wednesday that we need to go see the specialist. I wish she would just start getting better already because I hate seeing her like this and I really don't have the money to take her to a specialist.

I've taken her to this specialist before...a little over a year ago, because she wouldn't stop drooling. Just for them to see her it was $95...her head x-rays were $80, sedation was $50 and her prescription was like $15 or $20...totaling $245... =/

My poor princess...(there's nothing wrong with her eyes, thats the glare from the computer screen!)

Babysitting Queen!

I went to meet a lady today so she could see if I was fit to watch her daughter. She's 3 and absolutely adorable! The lady was super nice and said she liked me, so I got the job! It doesn't start until October, but whatevs...we can make it til then...right? lol I'm looking forward to it, especially because it will really help financially!

This morning we followed my sister to the airport to drop off her rental car, then she took us out to breakfast! We went to Keke's and it was prettttty delicious! After that (around 11:45), we dropped my sister off at her friend's house, and we headed home to get ready to go to V's grandpa's birthday lunch at 1:30. Day full of eating! Now we're home with nothing to do for the rest of the day and I couldn't be happier! (Well, I could be, if Ellie was all better, but she's still not walking...much...at all...)

Relax

My Smelly Bell has been sleeping/lounging for so long. I really hate seeing her like this because it's just not her. It's like when a human is sick and all they can do is sleep on the couch; thats exactly what Ellie is like, except she feels okay. I've been having to hand feed her because she can't stand to eat. But at least she's eating. I'm happy about that. This morning I decided to wash the couch cushion covers and V has been in the back yard doing random things to clean up for my birthday party (which is coming up so quick!). I really hope Ellie is close to, or completely better by my party so I don't have to worry about her!

We're heading out to the beach this afternoon, which I'm really looking forward to!

Ellie

Okay, so remember my post about Ellie's legs on Tuesday? Well, I decided maybe she sprained or pulled a muscle, and I'd see how things went over the next couple days. Wednesday came and went and she wasn't worse, but she wasn't better. Same with yesterday. This morning I woke up and got her off the couch (because she can't jump up/down on her own), and set her down on the carpet close to the door so she could go outside. Her legs spread out to both sides and she collapsed. I picked her up and put her in the grass so she could do her business and she tried to crouch down to tinkle and couldn't. She peed standing straight up. When I got inside I called the vet and made an appointment. I'm taking her soon and I'm very scared and nervous.

:[ I'll let you know how things go at the vet.

EDIT:
We are home from the vet, she has been diagnosed with IVD, or a herniated spinal disc :[ We were sent home with some anti-inflammatory pills and some to ease her pain. She's supposed to take them with food, but she hasn't been eating much, so when we got home, I wanted to give her the meds to try and make her start feeling better as soon as possible, so I hand fed her, and she ate! About as much as she normally does in one setting, so thats great. I also gave her some water, and she drank a good amount. I've tried assisting her outside (holding her back half up with a towel while walking), so she could try and go potty,  but she won't even walk with the towel, and she cannot keep herself up without it. Doctor said we need to keep her as immobile as possible for the next 2 or 3 weeks (!). He suggested keeping her in a crate but she absolutely hates crates and I didn't want to stress her out if I could avoid it, so I have a little corner set up for her in the living room with some water and a pillow and I keep her in with a baby gate. It works perfectly. That will only be used if I'm not sitting in the living room because if I'm at home and not busy, she just wants to be next to me. Proof:

Laying across my lap.

I hope she gets better a lot quicker than estimated. I want my happy, energetic, crazy Ellie back. It makes me so sad seeing her like this because it's just not her :[

PonyTail

Going to babysit in a little bit for a couple hours. Babysitting again tomorrow night! Gah!

15 Days Til My Birthday!

Can you believe it?! In 15 short days I'll be 24 years old! My oh my...!

I was going to post an ASL video today and I made like 5 or 6 different short videos but I hated all of them, so you don't get to see any! Sorry! Maybe later this week I'll think of something better and share it with you...maybe.

I took my first math test in college algebra last night and got an 88! Then today I took my first test in biology and also got an 88! Not too bad, although, I'm pretty sure on my biology test I should have gotten a 90...I emailed my prof about it, so we'll see!

Summer Sandals

So I got home from my sister's this afternoon to my darling Ellie not acting right. Usually when I'm putting my key in the door she's already scratching...nothing. When I walk in the door, she barely lets me walk through the door. Nothing. She seems to be walking funny, kind of wobbly, and she cant stand on her back legs like she normally does. She can't even jump up onto the couch; I had to pick her up. I do NOT like seeing her like this, but I don't know what to do. I don't want to jump to conclusions, and I don't want to spend any money that I can save. I texted this girl I know that works at a vet's office, but she hasn't replied...I'm going to wait it out today, but if she's still like this tomorrow, and she doesn't look any better, I'll most likely be taking her to the vet. Which vet you ask? I don't know yet, probably the one my sister goes to because she loves it there.

However, I did get some pretty shweet sandals from Forever 21, for only $9.50!

Cute, right?!?!? I love them, especially for less than $10! They're my new summer sandal :]

My birthday is coming up quick...it's the 23rd! Only 16 days away! I'm going out with my parents to celebrate the weekend before, and on my birthday I'll probably go out to lunch with them, and hopefully go bowling with V (it's our tradition!), and then the weekend after my birthday I'll be having a pool partay! I'm hoping before my celebrations begin I'll be able to get a quick haircut and get a hair feather put in! I'm really diggin them...like a lot!

Similar to hers, but I only want one...

Unit 1 Test

I got the grade for my unit 1 test back today in ASL, I got a 97!!! I got a 10/10 on the fingerspelling quiz, and a 34/40 for the vocabulary quiz, not too bad! We got a new list of vocabulary words, it's a lot bigger than the one from unit 1! I'll post a video later this week, when I get more familiar with the signs.

I'm pencil sketched!

I did all of my homework for humanities today, so I don't have to worry about that for the week. I'll probably work on my math homework tomorrow and hopefully have that and my biology homework done by Thursday. We have to take our first math test tomorrow which I'm a taaad worried about. I guess we'll see!

Cocoa Beach

We drove out to the beach yesterday evening and spent some time there...standing in the water and watching the sunset. It was loverly :]

TONS of dead jellyfish