Riley Is Home.

Our sweet Riley is home!  His liver enzyme levels are still elevated, but are headed in the right direction, so the vet was comfortable with us bringing him home.  Zoey was so excited to see him!  I thought her tail was going to wag off!       

With his new haircut, it kind of looks like he's wearing shorts and Ugg boots.  So stylish.  

As soon as I sit down on the couch, he's on my lap.  It's made for a rather unproductive evening, but work can wait.  I've missed these sweet snuggles more than you could imagine.  He's sleeping in my lap as I write this post, while my laptop is teetering on my knees. 

They sent him home with his cute birthday sign . . .

And a ton of medication.  Riley will be taking a bunch of different pills for at least 4 weeks.  Most of our evening was spent trying to figure out a way to disguise the pills in different types of approved food.  He's quite a persnickety eater and will do anything to eat around the pills (no matter how small you make them).  One thing is certain, he is not a fan of cottage cheese.  If anyone has any tips for getting a dog to take pills, I'm all ears.  We aren't looking forward to giving him 10 pills every day! 

Thanks for your sweet comments and thoughts and prayers.  I really appreciate it!  I'm so thankful he's back at home with us.     

A Not-So-Happy Birthday.

I had big plans to get a bunch of stuff organized around the house this weekend and pick out some remaining paint colors.  But all of those plans were derailed by our dog Riley . . . 

Justin and I were up a lot of Friday night with Riley, who was shaking, throwing up, and drinking and peeing like crazy.  I called the clinic where we normally take him right when they opened on Saturday, and they squeezed him in.  Saturday was Riley's 8th birthday.  Sadsies.  Not too long after we dropped him off, I received a phone call from the vet telling me that based on his blood work, something was wrong with his liver.  She called the big emergency pet hospital here and told them to expect us shortly.

We immediately headed over there.  (Side note: I've known about this pet ER place for forever.  It's well known in the area for being the very best for sick animals.  Every time I pass it, I always get a little sad for the animals and families inside because, if you're going there, you have a very sick pet.  I dreaded having to pull into their driveway.)  Later in the afternoon, after more testing and an ultrasound, the vet there didn't find any masses and confirmed Riley's liver enzymes were extremely elevated from either some toxin or infection.  Everyone thinks it's more likely an infection since we don't know of him getting into anything toxic to dogs (e.g., sego palm, ibuprofen, sugar-free gum).  To put into perspective how sick he was, one of the common liver enzyme levels that is tested is based on a scale from 10-100.  Riley's was 1800!  No -- that's not a typo with an extra 0.  His was 1800.

They kept him Saturday night to give him IV antibiotics and to monitor him constantly.  It was so hard to leave him there, but we knew he was in very good hands.  They even made him a happy birthday sign for his kennel before we left.  How sweet is that?  The people at the clinic are wonderful with dealing with crazy (and emotional) pet parents, like myself.   

Thankfully, we were able to go visit him Sunday morning.  Things are improving!  He's able to eat now and his levels are headed in the right direction.  It warmed my heart to see him walk into the room and get excited to see us!  I missed my little guy!  He looked so much better Sunday than he did when we dropped him off . . . well, except for his new haircut.  His poor belly is shaved and he looks very goofy with a portion of his legs shaved.  But we don't care -- he's still as cute as ever.      

It was hard to leave him again, but the vet thinks he will be able to come home today!  Hooray!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that his levels continue to go down.  Not only do we miss our little snuggler, but his sister does too.  Zoey has been moping around ever since we came back to the house without him on Saturday.  Look at her sad face.  

So please keep Riley in your thoughts and puppy prayers.  We hope he comes home today (and that his levels are normal when they retest him next week).   Once he's home and back to himself, we are going to throw him one heck of a birthday party and spoil him rotten (even more rotten than normal, if that's even possible).

I hope your weekend was less eventful than ours!  Happy Monday! 

        

This Week Was Bananas.

It has been one heck of a week!  Between preparing a brief in record time, speaking at a client seminar, and appearing at a court hearing this week, I'm totally worn out.  I am so thankful it's Friday and I'm off Monday for MLK day!  Hooray!
 
This is totally random (except for the "clever" tie in with the post title), but it's too good not to share.  Thanks to Corporette, I came across this banana slicer on Amazon.  The 2,000+ reviews are incredible and provided many laughs this week when I needed a little comedic relief.   

Here are some highlights from the reviews: 

• I was disappointed that this banana slicer only comes in one model. It works like a charm for bananas that bend to the right, but it utterly useless for left-bending bananas. I end up having to eat my left curved bananas un-sliced like some kind of animal.  

• What can I say about the 571B Banana Slicer that hasn't already been said about the wheel, penicillin, or the iPhone.... this is one of the greatest inventions of all time. My husband and I would argue constantly over who had to cut the day's banana slices. It's one of those chores NO ONE wants to do! You know, the old "I spent the entire day rearing OUR children, maybe YOU can pitch in a little and cut these bananas?" and of course, "You think I have the energy to slave over your damn bananas? I worked a 12 hour shift just to come home to THIS?!" These are the things that can destroy an entire relationship. It got to the point where our children could sense the tension. The minute I heard our 6-year-old girl in her bedroom, re-enacting our daily banana fight with her Barbie dolls, I knew we had to make a change. That's when I found the 571B Banana Slicer. Our marriage has never been healthier, AND we've even incorporated it into our lovemaking. THANKS 571B BANANA SLICER! 

• "Wait, this is a BANANA SLICER??" Oh man, I thought it was a modernistic ladder for a parakeet. My "Timmy" loves the way it curves so he can get to that right perch without doing that big awkward hop. 

• I can't believe I have wasted the first 35 years of my existence on this earth by not having this wonderful banana slicer. All this time I have been standing there at the kitchen counter like a complete IDIOT wasting countless seconds slicing my bananas with a knife. A KNIFE!!!! Can you believe how foolish I was? Listen. This banana slicer will change your life. After slicing a banana, or two, or three (hell slice as many as you want - it takes no time at all)you will feel like you have honey badger blood flowing through your veins and have Charlie Sheen DNA.  

I have no clue how or why there are so many sarcastic reviews, but it's hilarious.  I likely have a very immature sense of humor.  But I'm ok with that.   

And these two cuties always offer some stress relief.  I mean, just look at those sweet faces.

Happy Friday! 

The Perfect Flat + Another Birthday.

I recently got an email from Ms. Kate Spade alerting me of her new items.  How nice of her, right?  Of course I had to peruse them.  And look what I came across . . .  

(here)

The trixie flat (or the most perfect flat ever designed).  I wouldn't have named them "trixie."  They should really be called the "emily" since they are basically my personality exemplified in a shoe -- practical (flats); likes a touch of bling (glitter toe cap); girly (bow); simple, but not boring (black and white stripes).

The terry flat is also totally baller.  But not as much as the emily (er, trixie).
 

Which one is your favorite?

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And happy birthday to my very bestest friend.  If I was a good blogger and blogged every day, I could have given her a shout out on her actual birthday, but since I'm a slacker, two days later will have to do!  Lest you think I'm a bad friend, I did get to facetime with her and my "nephew" on her special day!  And stay tuned, last time we were at their house, I took pictures of Henry's amazing nursery to share!  Happy birthday, Lauren!      

Planners + Happy Birthday.

I know we are already into the second week of January, but let's talk planners . . . 

There was a period of time when I didn't use a written planner -- I just put everything into my Outlook calendar at work.  And since I always had a blackberry or iphone with me, I would just refer to my electronic calendar for everything.  But there were a couple of issues with that method that didn't work the best for me:  (1) my assistant can see my calendar, which is awesome for work stuff, but not so cool for personal things (I don't need her knowing who I'm going to dinner with on the weekend or when I need to go to the store or pick up a prescription); and (2) I found myself making tons of lists on paper for stuff that didn't "fit" nicely in a calendar appointment that would just get lost in my purse.

So last year, I got an Erin Condren planner.  This was the one I got for 2012 (it had my name though, not the hollinger's, but I'm sure they're a lovely family).     

(here)

I really liked how colorful it was and the thick pages were super nice.  But my biggest beef with it was it's size.  At least for me, it was just too bulky to throw in my purse.  If I was just leaving it at home all day on my desk, it would be perfect.  But I like to take my planner to work everyday and to carry it with me in my purse on the go, so if something comes up, I can immediately write it down (rather than trying to remember later what it was I needed to add).  I carry enough other crap in my purse, so I didn't have a extra room for a big planner (and my shoulder appreciates a lighter load).

When we were in Paris in September (which I am planning to recap shortly), I came across a more compact planner at merci (aka the best store ever). 

The merci planner is much lighter and tucks easily into my purse/work bag everyday.  While I miss the brightness of my other planner, pulling out this planner always reminds me of the great time we had in Paris, which is more fun than any bright colors can provide.

The downsides are that it doesn't include the US holidays, but I could easily add them myself.  The paper is also thinner, which is my biggest complaint.  But it works out -- I just use pencil instead of pen, which prevents any bleeding through to the other side.  And now when I tell someone I'll pencil them in, I really mean it.  Ok, I'm done with the cheesy jokes.     

I like that, in addition to little pockets in the front and back flaps, it has a zipper pouch in the cover, so I can easily store lose papers/paper clips/etc. in there.  I still make notes on paper, but I can easily store them in the planner.  (Side note: This was my errand list from this past weekend -- let the organizing commence!  I'll share some of those projects!)      

So I'm curious, do you use a paper planner or are you solely electronic?  

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And most importantly today, I want to wish my mom a very happy birthday.  She's such a wonderful person and I'm so blessed to have her has a mom and a friend.  I love you, mom!

Source: weddingchicks.com via Emily on Pinterest

2013.

Happy New Year!  Hope y'all had a great start to 2013.  We had a wonderful time ringing in the new year with our friends in Austin.

2012 was a great year.  Before I leave it in the dust, here are some of the highlights from last year:

• We sold our first house;
• After quite a search, we bought and renovated our new home (and lived to tell about it);
• I turned 30 (and lived to tell about it); 
• My best friend and her family moved back to Texas from California;  
• We were able to go on some great vacations (Colorado, California; oh, and Paris too!).

I am excited to see what 2013 has in store.  I haven't made any resolutions (gasp!), but I hope to keep these quotes in mind.  As someone who is totally Type A (which is probably an understatement), these certainly resonate with me. 

Source: sterlingstylelove.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: littlemissmomma.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: instagr.am via Emily on Pinterest

So . . . how was your new years; did you make any resolutions?