back surgery successful!

this weekend i was in williamsburg with alex and his parents, because friday morning alex had his back surgery! the exact procedure was a microdiskectomy...basically, the doctor removed the portion of the ruptured disk that was pinching on the nerve. he said the surgery was successful, and alex should experience significant relief from the pain in his back and leg!

it was an outpatient surgery, so alex was back in his apartment by lunchtime after the surgery friday. because his spine was involved, he isn't allowed in public for five days to avoid germs and infections that could cause meningitis if it got into the spinal fluid. also, he isn't allowed to sit upright or bend over for a few days, so basically we had a whole weekend of reclining and relaxing with his parents, watching movies and football and playing cards. he did go outside to walk the dog once, but to do that i had to put on his socks and shoes for him...i told him this is a perfect instance when crocs would be ideal, but he still refuses to invest in the greatest shoe of all time :)

as for me, i'm back in DC now and getting ready for another week of work! whoo hoo!

new year's resolutions

yesterday, kayla, alex, and i were watching the rose bowl at chris and katie's (booo USC and all biased commentating) and katie asked me if i had a new year's resolution...i told her i didn't and that i didn't really make them because i felt like i was setting myself up for failure. i'm thinking about this now while i'm at work, and feeling like it is odd that i, of all people, do not buy in to new year's resolutions; i love to plan, i love setting goals, i love crossing off lists, i am genearlly determined and dedicated when i put my mind to something...you would think i could actually better myself by committing to a good new year's resolution, but i don't...do you all make resolutions? and if so, why do you do it?

holiday blogging...

i am sad to report that over the past few months i have officially become a holiday blogger :( so on the eve of the new year, i figured it was appropriate to renew my dedication to this awesome form of communication...also, i figured out how to access my blog at work, so now i can use my downtimes to write to you all!

so let's see...Christmas was wonderful, i was home in chicago, it was FREEZING when i got there (with Leonidas in tow!), like highs around -3. needless to say, neither the dog or i were very pleased, although i think he had it worse...everything i took him outside to go to the bathroom, he would start shaking and stepping gingerly on his freezing little paws. we tried everything to fix this issue, from his parka vest to a new sweater; we even bought little doggie booties for his feet (they didn't stay on very well and he looked like he didn't know how to walk in them)! we tried to get him to run around with hudson at a school behind my house (they played a ton inside) but he started shaking so much that my dad wrapped him up inside his down coat and carried him home. eventually, we settled for very frequent, very quick trips into the artic tundra and waited for the weather to warm up.

by Christmas eve, all was warmer, we had 8-10 inches of snow on the ground, and it was truly beautiful. below is a picture of the biggest icicle outside my house (we eventually knocked it down to keep it from breaking the gutter). my whole family went to church, my brother and grandfather sang in the choir, and it was all very fun and memorable. Christmas morning, we had the grandparents over for breakfast and presents, followed by dinner with my aunt, cousins, all four grandparents, and my family. the food was delicious but we were tired at the end.

the next few days i spend relaxing at home, until sunday, when the puppy and i reboarded a plane and came back to the east coast. he was a wonderful little traveler, didn't cause any problems on the plane or in the airport, but he and i are both glad to be back.

thanksgiving in chi-town

just like you all, i was so so so ready to come home for thanksgiving break!  it has been a wonderful time to catch up with my family, including some cousins and my grandparents.  leonidas is staying with alex and his family in PA, so i'm getting regular updates on his break too...after a rough first day (and two accidents on the heacock's carpet), he's well adjusted, getting regular walks, and taking advantage of plenty of snuggle time.  i have a feeling monday is going to be rough on the little guy, but i'm glad he's having a good vacation too!

my trip home has been pretty low-key.  i've gotten to help with christmas decorations and cooking and shopping, which has all been fun.  i met a girl on the WM track team who's from this area, knows my brother's friends, and knows alex as well, so that was fun.  it's always a weird experience to find someone at home who can talk about life at WM...it feels like my worlds collide a little bit, and i love it.

other than that, i'm so thankful to hear that jennie is home safely, and that you all are enjoying some time with family!  kayla and i were talking about potentially having a christmas party sometime soon, so if people have thoughts, ideas, or opinions on dates, activities, etc, let me know!  

thankful thursday (really friday, but who's counting?)

today i am thankful for Nature's Miracle...Leonidas has had an intestinally rough week after ripping through a bag of treats and eating the whole thing. as a result, i've come home to two fairly unpleasant presents that required cleaning. thankfully, i've had Nature's Miracle, a product specially designed to deal with animal...accidents, and it's worked wonders!

results are in...

thanks for indulging in my quiz! after some more research about the dogs' various temperaments, size and proportion, and face shape, i think we're officially changing his breeding to tibetan spaniel! interestingly enough, tibetan spaniels are not at all related to other spaniels, but actually descend from the pekingese (a close second choice).

in any case, thanks for playing, and the little tibetan spaniel says hello!

pop quiz

people always ask me what kind of dog leonidas is, and i never know what to tell them, so i figured my guess is as good as yours...tell me what you think!

here's leonidas...
and here are your choices (feel free to google other images if you want...i tried to find ones with similar coloring to his just to make it fair)

A: Tibetan Spaniel

B: Pekingese
C: Papillon
D: Phalene (cousin to the papillon)