Rough Start

So we had a rough start to our Monday this week. As if Monday's aren't hard enough when the alarm goes off we (really Matti) decided to make this a Monday we won't soon forget. For those of you who have been in our lives since Matti joined my world almost two years ago you know that we have had our fair share of health concerns. The most reoccurring problem we have are allergies. Life would be grand if we could figure out what those allergies are but we tend to learn the hard way.

Whenever Matti has had an allergic reaction one of her eyes will usually start swelling up. With each reaction it has gotten a little worse but this Sunday we made a HUGE jump in the severity of the swelling. I came home from watching the SuperBowl with friends only to find a slight swollen eyed Matti. I gave her some benadryl and headed off to bed. I set my alarm for midnight to wake up and check on her. At midnight the swelling was a little worse but I wasn't too worried.

This is the midnight shot. Doesn't she look pitiful?

I went back to bed and reset the alarm. At 3am I wake up with Matti on top of me working overtime to wake me up. I honestly thought it must be morning and time for us to get up when I realized it was still really dark. I looked at the clock and could tell Matti was having trouble breathing....more so than normal for a smashed nose boxer. I put my hand on her face and could feel the swelling had gotten really bad. I was dreading turning on the light. When I got up this is what I found...

the Matti from midnight had now affectionately become "Bruiser" at 3am. Her eyes were almost completely swollen shut, her muzzle was beet red and she was struggling to breath. I very calmly gave her an epi shot to make sure her airway didn't close. The vet had given me this for a "worse case scenario" allergy and I quickly assessed this was IT! After an hour she wasn't getting any better so off to the doggy ER we went.

Many of you just saw $$$$ signs flash before you eyes didn't you? Yeah, me too! I couldn't let my baby suffer and I didn't know if we could wait it out until our vet opened at 8am. After a 4am visit to the vet, an IV of steroids and another shot we were on our way back home. The vet told me to continue giving her 75mg (3 capsules) of benadryl every 8 hours for the next 24 hours. I had one drunk pup on my hands.

We didn't get off that easy though. Before leaving the animal ER I found out that Matti has a heart murmur. This explains so many things about her behavior for a long time. For example she gets incredibly winded when playing with other dogs and take a long time to cool down. Poor girl! We will just have to continue to monitor the situation and pray it doesn't get worse. I am banking on lots and lots of good years with my Matti!

They Never Knew What Hit Em

Eric, Brandon and I are in Abilene, Texas with seven of our LC student leaders. Every year a school from Texas will host the conference called CASL (Christian Association of Student Leaders). We bring students from residence life, union board, BCM, welcome week and so on to participate in the conference. There is usually a great speaker and band for the weekend as well as the opportunity to go to round tables and get ideas from other schools. This is my 3rd year...LC's 4th year to participate and even though we come the farthest distance and are the only non-Texas school it is well worth our time.

This year Hardin Simmons University is hosting so they are responsible for all the programming. They asked each school to pick a holiday to represent for the Friday night event. Since we are the only school for Louisiana it was only fitting we honor MARDI GRAS. We made a cardboard float and all decked out with beads and masks and garland. We had some entrance music and lots of beads to throw....they never knew what hit em!! We had to make a commercial for a competition so hopefully we will win the prize..I'll keep you posted.

One of the many highlights of the conference was the lady who was paid to come and do "butt sketches". Yes, thats right. Eric, Brandon and I got a butt sketch done and as soon as I get home I will get a picture of that lovely piece of art and get it posted for you all to enjoy. She is a good woman....she gave me the butt I've always wanted instead of the butt I have. LOVE HER FOR THAT!

It's That Time Again...

So in the previous post I confessed my new addiction for television. There is one show I have always been loyal to and fortunately or unfortunately it comes on two nights a week. What show is this you ask....



I love AMERICAN IDOL! I love the people who really can sing...I love the fools who are horrible and don't realize it....I love that the judges always bicker. I love that America loves to hate Simon when in reality he is the only one who says what we are all thinking. This show not only provides hours and hours of entertainment and a sense of community for those of us who follow loyally but it has changed the life of several young artist and put them on the music map. Hello Kelly Clarkson, Josh Gracin, David Cook, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard (went to high school with him by the way). Who doesn't love this show....seriously? If you don't you may want to avoid my blog for a while because I can assure you many post will contain commentary after Tuesday performances. I will go ahead and put my support behind Stevi Wright from tonight's auditions. She is young but has a great voice and a bubbly personality. She will win the world over by the end of the season.

Welcome to 2009

So after talking to my dad the other day I realized that according to my blog I have been missing in action since the new year. I wish I had some great story to tell you as to where I have been and the glamorous life I have been living but it really just comes down to a few things...



...this along with other drugs have been my comfort since I got back to Pineville. I have been sick for almost three weeks now with congestion and coughing. It always starts as a sinus/allergy thing and then moves down into my chest. Usually within a week it has run its course and I am back to normal. This time it's held on....oh the joy of getting older. Mornings are rough but if I can drag myself out of the bed, refill on meds, drink a cup of freshly ground coffee and take a hot shower then I can press on through my day. And here would be the other reason....and truth be told the real reason I have fallen off the blog world...



I got TiVo for Christmas and it has changed my life. I have become addicted to television because I can watch all the shows I like when I want without having to watch the commercials. IT'S AMAZING. It truly is the gift that keeps in giving. Here are just a few of the shows that I record on a daily/weekly basis: The View, The Ellen Degenerous Show, House, Jon and Kate plus 8, Extreme Home Make-over, Nanny 911, Friends, Bromance (that's for you Laura), American Idol, Heroes and the list goes on and on. Have I mentioned I love TiVo?

So this is the reason I haven't blogged since I got back to Pineville....between being sick and being addicted to television who has time to blog?? I vow to do better though!

Thirty One and Having Fun!!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. I have absolutely loved being 30 so 31 was not a hard birthday for me to embrace, unlike some of my friends. I wanted to bring in 31 in style. My dad, Scotty and my sister and I spent the day in Atlanta seeing the sights. I can honestly say I have never been up so early on my birthday before, at least not since I can remember. We headed out of town around 6:30am and our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. It was great fun but we were all a little disappointed because we thought it was going to be so much better than the Tennessee Aquarium. It was fun none the less. Here are some pictures from the aquarium:


first picture of the day and first picture at 31...I don't think I look any older!

jellyfish....cool from behind the glass, not so cool when they sting you in the ocean

the Muslim dauphin (Teri)

the retarded shark (me)

Then is was on the World of Coca-Cola museum. I have been a long long time ago but it has changed quite a bit. You get to see how coke is made and view all the past logos and stuff. It was fun to me....I mean come on, coke is the number one most recognizable name brand in the world. Highlight of the day was probably getting to sit on the couch from American Idol Season 4. I love that show! The tour also included a 4D movie experience that was a lot of fun. At the end of the tour you got to go to the tasting room and try 64 different varieties of coke from around the world. I wasn't brave enough to try them all but the ones I tasted weren't too bad. They had a special holiday blend that was chocolate mint flavored and I LOVED IT!! I wish they would bottle that for sale. I also got a bottle of coke as I was leaving that was made and bottled on my birthday. Cool ugh? I thought so...

Me and my pops just chillin on the American Idol couch

Last but not least was a little walk through downtown Atlanta's Underground mall. I got a homemade peanut butter cup from a fudge shop. Honestly I think Reese's does them better. I also took a little time out to take some pictures with a random statue on the street. I have managed to keep my blog kid friendly but some times you just have to be true to yourself so I am finally going to post an "inappropriate" but funny picture from my birthday adventure...

this is me and my new friend


this is my dad and Scotty


I had a FABULOUS birthday and hope it's just a sign of what is to come this year. Thanks for making it a great one! I loved my road trip and all the birthday calls, text messages and facebook messages I received. I felt very loved. THANKS!! Here's to looking forward to year 31!

A Blast From The Past

I was able to reconnect with my friend Angela the other day. We were best friends all through middle and high school and then lost touch when we went to college. The last time I saw her was about 6 years ago. She had just gotten married. Now she has been married for 6 years and had a 4 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. It was go good to reconnect but wow it was a lot to take in playing with her kids. Joel looks just like her brother so I felt like I was just watching Jonathan in a child form. And every time I heard one of them call her mom I would just look at her and say "that is crazy!"

Thanks to the world of facebook I have been able to reconnect with lots of old friends and its been wonderful!

my friend Angela and her babies

this is Joel Vincent (4) and quite the handful

this is Neely Rene (2)

Unpredictable Weather

So I thought maybe going home to Alabama would insure me some more predictable weather than what I was experiencing in you Louisiana....not so much! One day you wake up and its in the upper 70's and the next day it's back down in the 40's. No wonder everyone is sick this holiday season. This picture is a prime example of what I am talking about. I wish it was a full body shot because you would see that I was wearing flip flops while I had this ridiculous snow cap on. My sister wanted me to buy it so bad but I would never have a reason to wear it. In fact I almost passed out from having in on my head just long enough to take some silly pictures.