Good News for Nala Bear

We finally had a bit of good news for Nala Bear, our 13yr old Rottweiler/Doberman mix.  She has suffered from hip dysplasia for many years now and seemed to be going downhill fast this last month or two.  She has been getting these shots in her hips twice a week for the past three weeks.  They're kind of expensive, but if they improve her quality of life then it will have been worth it.  During that time we noticed that she has lost about 8 lbs since her last checkup in November.  She seems to be holding steady in the 72-74 lb range right now.

I was quite concerned about leaving her for two months.  She's my first dog and I really want to be there to tell her how much she is loved right up until her last breath.  It seems that I should be able to do that.  Dr Don did her blood work again this week and it came back with very good news.  There is no metabolic reason she is losing this weight.  The only spike in her blood work was because of the stress of her hip pain, so she is on an additional pain medication now and seems to be doing much better.

Maybe the activity of having Y around for almost three weeks combined with Goofy's attempts to become the alpha dog of the pack are making her be more active during the day, when she used to lounge around and snooze.  It seems that Nala's favorite thing to do inside the house now is to "referee" the doggy wrestling matches between Goofy, Miko and Squirty.  Makes for a noisy evening at home.

Natalie

TX

I hate NY (and TX, too, for that matter)!

My husband got served with papers from TX this morning about his previously owed back child support.  Thing is, he settled all of that AGAIN in NY last July.  And we have the paperwork to prove it.

However...NY never told TX or anyone else that his debt was paid!  This is getting beyond the ridiculous by now.  He is supposed to show up in court about week 7 in Ukraine for me, so I hope I am home with Y by then.  I know I have no say in child support court because they aren't my kids and it is a privacy issue and all, but I sure would like to give someone there a piece of my mind.  It's not like Bill hasn't called both NY and TX at least 6 times each in the past 6 months about this issue.

Wouldn't that be funny, though, if I leave for Ukraine and then this all FINALLY gets settled AGAIN and Bill gets his passport?

Natalie

TX

President Barack Hussein Obama

It was absolutely wonderful to be able to watch the inauguration of President Obama and Vice President Biden into office yesterday.  Such a historic moment gives me hope that our country can heal its wounds and move forward.  I for one look forward to teaching my son about community service.  We'll just have to find something that he enjoys and is interested in helping out with, whether that is working at the local food bank or advocating for children in the courts or helping out at the animal shelter, I'm sure we'll find something he likes to do.

I read a post by someone on a list serve that warned that children from the former Soviet bloc countries have a hard time adjusting to America's competitive culture.  She said something to the effect that they do not have a lot of ambition for themselves and are content to be part of the group.  I'm sure I'll find out if that is true.  I'm not really sure how getting ahead in life and helping others are mutually exclusive.

Natalie

TX

Here We Go STEELERS, Here We Go!

Can you guess what my favorite NFL team is? Betcha can't.

But, they will be playing in the Superbowl on Sunday February 1st at about 6pm or so. Guess what I'll be doing then? If there are no delays into/out of JFK, I will be on a Delta 767 bound for Kiev.

UGHHH! The first time parenting conflicts with my Steelers, and I won't even be a certified parent yet! I sure hope they can get the Superbowl on those little tvs in the airplane. Or, maybe I can pay big bucks and connect my computer up to some sky-internet thingy and watch it from there.

Either way, my boys will be eating some of my Pap-Pap's favorite bird that evening!

Natalie
TX

Certifications!

My trainee at work is certified on two positions now and he should be certified on another one by the end of the month! I feel like a momma bird who has just watched her chicklet take it's first flight. Of course, that would be after the chicklet said, "Why do I have to do that?" about four hundred million times (or every time I told him to do something), instead of doing what I told him to do and then asking questions later after we were off position!

FYI- I'm an air traffic controller and sometimes there is not time to ask and answer questions while working live airplanes. Needless to say, I'm sure my trainees' head has been figuratively ringing from all of the figurative slaps up-side the head I've given him in the last four months. I think this trainee has been God preparing me for a teenager (my trainee is in his early to mid 20's).

Natalie
TX

Goofy's Great Escape

I swear, Goofy is the perfect name for this 105lb golden yellow lab.

We have three gates to access our back yard doggie retreat. One leads from the deck (right across from the back door) for convenient doggie access, another is at the side of the yard right next to the garage for convenient lawn tractor access and the third is wedged between the edge of the deck and the garage for convenient containment purposes, or so we thought.

Last week, Goofy was out in the back yard with Nala for about an hour in the morning. He and Nala did quite a bit of barking for about 5 minutes and then they shut up, so I thought nothing of it. Then Nala gave her, "I'm ready to come in now!" bark, so I went downstairs and into the breakfast room to let the brats back inside (it was a gorgeous day, Heaven forbid they actually spend it outside like dogs).

Needless to say I was a little surprised to see a huge yellow head with a big wet tongue hanging out of it staring at me through the breakfast room door. Goofy had gotten out of the yard by pushing over the gate wedged between the garage and deck and made the humongous 30 ft trip all the way to the back door. What a doofus! He had the whole world and all he wanted was to come inside with us.

Natalie
TX

Borrowing iron for Ukraine

Jeri-

I would love to borrow your iron for Ukraine. How can I get it from you?

Natalie
TX