One Year Anniversary

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already. It was 8/24/08 when, in the parking lot of JoAnne Fabrics, we became parents of Drama and Brother Boy. Sounds so seedy, I know. But that's how it went down. And our lives haven't been the same since.

They are the center of our lives. They have so much love to give, and expect so little in return. Whoever would have thought WE would have dogs! We hit the lottery with these two. We are so lucky to have them in our lives. Everyone should be so fortunate. Take care.

Sunday - what a weekend!

Well, I had my knee surgery on Wednesday. I had torn meniscus that had to be removed and cleaned up. It went very well. I was home by noon. Thursday I just rested and iced my knee and took pain killers. We also went to the optometrist Thursday afternoon. I'm trying contacts again. Both Thursday and Friday, they gave me a horrible headache. Friday I worked from home. I felt good most of the day, but had to lay down for an hour or so due to the headache from the contacts. It was debilitating. Friday night, Dennis and I stayed at home and went to bed early.

Saturday, Dennis got busy cleaning the bedroom. The dust was starting to pile up, making it difficult for him to breathe. He washed the sheets, vacuumed and was just getting ready to mop. He went into the garage to get the mop bucket and stepped into a puddle of water. That's when he discovered that the hot water heater was leaking from the top, spilling onto the floor and seeping into the baseboards and walls. Ugh. We turned off the water main to stop the leak, and paused the washing machine. We called a plumber, but they couldn't be here until 4 (it was noon). So we called another plumber who could get here quicker. The guy arrived and within 5 minutes, determined that our water heater was shot and needed to be replaced. At the same time, we also called our home owner's insurance and ServPro.

It was a crazy day. ServPro got here and started ripping up the baseboards, taking pictures, testing for moisture. It was insane. I was trying to rest and ice my knee, but kept having to get up to look at this or that or answer this or that. After all of the commotion, we ended up with a new gas water heater, a new valve, a new hose bib, and 6 ServPro fans and 1 ServPro dehumidifier in our house. The fun is only beginning. We are considering taking the opportunity to remodel our bathroom. Ray's coming Monday to look it over. ServPro is coming Monday to see if every thing's dry and take their equipment back.

I added a photo album of the pictures Dennis took while all of this was going on. It's quite a mess.

Saturday after all of this was done, Lyn and Dan came down for cocktails. Lisa and Patrick came later. We had a great time drinking, hanging out, listening to music and goofing off. We did a little karaoke later in the evening, and Lisa and Patrick left about 2:30am. It was LONG day. The boys let us sleep until about 8 this morning (WOW). We haven't done much today - the boys have done a lot of sleeping.

Tomorrow it's back to the office. I'm ready for it. My knee feels pretty good. I'll just have to take it slow so it can continue to heal. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. I also posted a new link on Examiner.com if you would care to check it out. You can get there by clicking on the link to my page that is to the left under the Picasa album of water damage.

Have a great week!

Picture: water heater platform and water heater after damaged unit removed.

Post Op Update

It's Thursday morning and I'm awake. Barely. Vicodin kicked my butt this morning when I took it at 5:30. It is helping with the pain, though.

My knee surgery went well yesterday. They took me back about 9 and I woke up at 10:55. They immediately got me up and kicked me out. Dennis pulled the car around and we went to Walgreen's to drop off my prescription. He then took me to Arby's for brunch. After picking up the medicine, we went home. It's the funniest thing, the boys HATE crutches! The instant I start using them, they both start barking like maniacs. I tried to use the cane instead, with similar results. It's curious what must have happened to them before we adopted them to make them bark insanely at crutches or a cane!

I slept in the bed last night, and the boys were pretty good. I was up a couple of times to go to the bathroom and refresh my medication. Both times, they protectively followed me to the bathroom to make sure I was alright. They were nice enough to wake me up at the usual 5:30. Dennis let them out and I immediately sat down and fell asleep after taking the Vicodin. That brings us to now. Thank you all for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers.

Dennis' birthday was last weekend on 8/14. We went camping at Clint's Well with 10 friends in their RVs. We arrived Thursday to enjoy a 3 day weekend. It was FANTASTIC! The weather was great, the company was awesome and the Karaoke.....well, it was fun, too! So much great food, good liquor and fun times. It was amazing!

This weekend is recovery time so that I can get back to the office on Monday. It's also the 1 year anniversary of us adopting Drama and Brother Boy, formerly known as Bubba. They are such loyal and loving companions!! Thanks again for the well wishes for recovery. Have a great week and weekend!!

Pictures: doggies on the back of the sofa; Forest Road 751 near Blue Ridge Reservoir.

Check out my updated Picasa Album from our buggy ride on 8/15/09!!

New Article on Examiner.com

Hi everyone! I have a new article posted on Examiner.com. There's an RV Show in town this weekend inside the air conditioned University of Phoenix Stadium. Enjoy!

http://www.examiner.com/x-16754-Phoenix-RV-Lifestyle-Examiner~y2009m8d10-RV-Lifestyle-101--Whats-the-best-way-to-shop-for-an-RV

Thanks for reading! If you subscribe, you'll get an e-mail whenever I post an article. Thanks!

Rodney

Hump Day Update

It's Wednesday already. Wow, this week is flying!

We had a fantastic weekend camping. We left home about 3 with Dennis driving the motor home (got it fixed Friday morning - YEAH!) and me and the boys in the car driving behind. We got to Clint's Well a little after 5, after stopping at Mustang to fill up with gas. The weather was glorious! It was 77 when we arrived. We grilled and watched some TV. It got a little chilly overnight, the boys were snuggled into the covers by morning! Saturday after getting up the 2nd time (first time at 5:00 at the request of the boys), I made us some eggs and Dennis made coffee. We went for a buggy ride. It was so calm and quiet in the forest. Dennis went hunting for geodes. He found a few cool ones. When we got back to camp, we gave the boys a rinse in the shower, and I took a shower.

Saturday afternoon, we spent a great deal of time outside on the "patio" enjoying the weather. It was so nice - about 83 degrees. We had perfect shade from the forest, then our awning until sunset. We grilled for dinner, then watched a movie. By the time the movie was over (Step Brothers), it was almost time to go to bed. It was a VERY relaxing day! Sunday, we got packed up and put the buggy and motor home in storage. We left camp a little after 11 and got home just before 1. What a great weekend!

Sunday after we got home from camping, I went bowling with a Wells Fargo group. Only one person showed up. Fortunately, he brought 2 friends so the 4 of us had a great time bowling. It was great to meet some new friends.

Monday was fairly uneventful, except that I got all the way to work and realized I had left my laptop at home. I stopped in my bosses office to let her know I had to go home to get it. We started talking about things going on, and an hour later, I finally went home to get my laptop!

Tuesday I got new tires put on my car. Now I need to go to Honda to get them to do an alignment on my car. It was their car's fault that the tires went bad so quickly (less than 20,000 miles). They fixed the problem that wrecked the tires but wouldn't replace the tires. Now they need to give me a free alignment so that the steering wheel isn't 5 degrees left of center. Drives me nuts!

Wednesday Dennis and I carpooled, so we got to the office at 6:40. I had computer problems, and didn't get logged in until 7:15. So much for getting in early! It was a productive day, and we left about 4. We had a scrumptious dinner, then watched some MMA on VS, I farmed on Farm Town, and we'll be heading to bed shortly. Tomorrow, we're carpooling again. Friday, we'll see!

Pictures of our camp site.