Sick Pup

Just when you think your dog isn't sick anymore, she decides to throw up and poop all over your house.  Yep, that's right folks... On Tuesday, Andy came home to throw up and diarrhea all over our house.  Poor Maddie.  She was so upset.  She knows she's not supposed to use the restroom in the house, and any time she has had an accident (which is hardly ever) she gets really upset.  Wednesday I stayed home from work to be with my sick puppy dog just in case it got worse and I needed to take her to the vet.  Of course, she was perfectly fine - lethargic, but fine.  I cleaned out our spare room which was awesome!  Maddie did fine on Thursday while we were at work but had a little blood in her stool that afternoon when Andy got home from work.  I called a local vet and set up an appointment for Friday.  We really need to get to the bottom of her problems.  Between the throwing up over Spring Break and now this, something has to be wrong.

My sick puppy dog :(

Day off from work = happy smiles! :)

Lonestar definitely enjoyed my work in the spare room.  He loves climbing on everything and laying on anything new.

We took Maddie to the vet today and found out that she has an abnormal amount of the type of bacteria you don't want.  Of course the vet told us the fancy scientific name, but I don't have a clue what it was.  Her physical exam was excellent.  The vet recommended blood work to rule out anything more serious, and we should get those back in the next few days.  Maddie is now on antibiotics and taking over-the-counter pepcid.  Another $300+ later and I am hoping the blood work comes back normal.  I am thankful for the weird bacteria only because I am hoping it rules out any rocks or small pieces of brick that Maddie may have eaten which could cause some serious damage in her stomach and digestive tract.  The price we pay for our crazy dog!!

Bad Days

I hate bad days at work.  I know they happen, but I really don't like them at all.  Today was a bad day.  This time (for once) it wasn't because of my students.  It was because of other professional adults like myself.

Back in November, I was asked to step in as the team lead for all of the Algebra teachers.  It's not a paid position but something that would look good on a resume.  I work with an interesting group of Algebra teachers.  We all have very different personalities and very different priorities in life.  Some are overly social, some are too quiet, some like comic book heroes, some like drinking every night, some are brand new to teaching, some did not choose teaching as their first job choice.  We're just different.  I'm okay with different.  I am not okay with immaturity and incompetence.

We have one teacher who never says word.  He never offers an opinion.  He never volunteers to help.  He doesn't reply to emails.  He's just there.  We have another teacher who's pregnant.  She blames everything on her pregnancy even though she acted like this before she was ever pregnant.  We have one teacher who cusses like sailor and is a very "over the top in your face I don't care what you say it's my way or the highway" type of person.  We have a brand new teacher who is still getting certified through the alternative certification program.  We have another teacher who is the man of few words.  Literally, a few words.  If you ask him a yes or no question that's all you will get - yes or no.  No elaboration or explanation, just simply yes or no.  And then there's me.  The team lead who is a perfectionist and people pleaser.  I get along with everyone.  I may not be a fan of everyone, but I get along with them.  I am not friends with any of them outside of work.  I don't even think I'm facebook friends with any of them.  Now that's sad - lol!

Anyway, today was a bad day.  We meet as an Algebra team every Thursday morning during our conference period.  We typically discuss upcoming lessons/concepts, teaching strategies, how to better help the kids, test questions, etc.  Today's meeting felt like a disaster.  No, it was a disaster.  We had to discuss the questions for our upcoming test.  Well, the teacher who is "my way or the highway" was not in a good mood.  She was very short, rude, and snippy.  She argued with everything that was said.  She is usually one of the two people that give their opinions, and I'm thankful for that.  However, today she wanted to give her opinion but then argue with you when you offered your opinion.  It made me so mad.  No one else really speaks much at our meetings except for myself, one other teacher, and this "my way or the highway" teacher.  Of course, I'm usually the one that conflicts with her because I've taught Algebra 1 for the past 6 years (seven if you count this year), and darn it, I have an opinion about what I'm teaching too.  Instead of listening to what everyone had to say, she just ignores them and continues to push her own thoughts/opinions.

Today she just ruffled my feathers.  She usually doesn't bother me because I can make myself ignore her.  But there are several of the other teachers who are intimidated by her attitude towards them and towards people in general.  This was one of the instances where you could see everyone else just shut down because she was acting so over-the-top.  So instead of sharing with the group, they just talk among themselves and we get nothing accomplished.  Bottom line, she needs to learn when to shut her mouth.  The sad thing is we had two back-to-back meetings right after Christmas break when she wasn't there, and they were probably the best meetings we had all year.  I will say this... she works hard and takes care of her business which is why I can rely on her to help me get stuff done.  But after today, I just want to be done with her.  I seriously left our meeting so angry that I wanted to cry.  Have you ever been that angry?  Then I just beat myself up all day for letting her get to me.  Oh, I guess some info that you might find interesting is that this lady used to be the team lead, but now I am.  There were reasons unrelated to me as to why our principal removed her, but still.  Good news is she asked to teach a different subject next year and they granted her request.  So I will not have to work with her next year.

I just hate bad days.

Beach House

Spring Break Version 4.0

After the rodeo Thursday night, we woke up early to head to Aransas Pass with our friends Brandon and Joy.  Brandon's parents have a beach house there, and we went to have a relaxing weekend before school started up again.  I had thought the whole time we were going to Port Aransas, but Andy corrected me on the drive that we were definitely not taking a ferry.  Well, darn.

At Walmart getting gas

On our drive we saw a crop dusting plane.  It was scary and cool at the same time.  The pilot got so low and close to the road.  I am sure Brandon's truck felt the vibrations when the plane flew over because it was that close (or at least it looked that way).

Woke up from a nap wondering "Are we there yet?!?"

Maddie definitely made herself at home!  But she's a happy camper anywhere when her green ball is involved.

Of course she loved the birds!

Violet was not a fan of Maddie's hyperness, but they
got adjusted to each other by the end of the weekend.

Friday afternoon we hung out and then grilled antelope tenderloin for dinner!  Yummy!

Antelope tenderloin stuffed with cream cheese
and jalapeno wrapped in bacon with
a salad and baked potato

I tried to go fishing Friday night, but the wind was blowing so stinkin' hard that it made it nearly impossible to keep my bobber in one location for longer than 3 seconds.

My excited face about going fishing!  It lasted
about 30 minutes because then I got too cold.

Saturday morning Andy and Brandon went kayak fishing.  They didn't catch fish, and actually they said they didn't even see any fish.  You would think they could at least come up with a good story, lol.  The weather was not great.  It was colder and the wind was blowing like crazy.  They still had a good time.

They at least make for good looking fisherman!!

Meanwhile, Joy and I hung out at the house and talked.  After the guys got back from fishing, we ate lunch and then headed to Rockport for their trade days.  It was pretty neat!  Not very big, but like I said the weather was not cooperating.  We stopped at an antique shop as well.  Ended up having coffee and ice cream there.  After that we had to stop by Tackle Town for the guys to look at fishing supplies.

I have to pause in our timeline of events to talk about Maddie because we ended up having an emergency visit to the vet.  If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip this paragraph because throw up is going to be the common factor.  Thursday morning Maddie threw up at the house.  The most throw up I've ever seen from her.  She's definitely thrown up before, but it's usually yellow bile with some grass in it.  This time it looked like human throw up, and there was so much of it.  Then Friday after we got to the beach house, she threw up again, not once but twice.  However, she drank a lot of water as soon as we got out of the truck, so I figured she just drank too much too fast.  Then Saturday morning she threw up three times.  Ugh!  At this point, I was worried.  So I called our vet, and she said to give her some Pepto-Bismol to calm her tummy.  After we got back from the trade days, she threw up again.  Of course I called the vet again.  Because it was after hours, I got the after hours lady who would contact the vet and then call me back.  Well, our vet actually ended up calling me back.  They normally don't do that, so I felt pretty special.  I absolutely love our vet though!!  Anyway, she suggested taking Maddie to a local vet just to make sure there wasn't anything obstructing or hurting her stomach because Maddie will eat anything.  And I mean anything - rocks, plastic, electrical cords, blankets, wood, june bugs, you name she'll try to eat it.  About $350 later, Maddie's x-rays didn't show anything obstructing her stomach.  Whew!  The local vet gave her some anti-nausea medicine, and she couldn't play for 48 hours.  We also had to feed her can dog food instead of her usually dry food.  She loved the food!!  (Update on Maddie:  She is doing perfectly fine and completely back to normal.)

My sick sleepy puppy

All she wanted was Andy...

Back to our weekend... Saturday night we decided to eat out.  I mean, who goes to the beach and doesn't eat seafood at some point!?!  We ate at this local place called Crab-N.  And I couldn't lie to you about a name like that.  I have the proof in a picture.  From outside, you're thinking that's not too fancy of a place.  Ha!  Well, it wasn't fancy in the sense of clothing because the host who seated us was totally wearing fishing pants with his shirt untucked.  Now when we got the menu that was a whole other story.  It was definitely a little pricey.  Andy and I shared a seafood platter, and their food was delicious by the way!  We all had a margarita and they were very tasty as well.  Heck, they better have been tasty at a lovely price of $8 each.  I'm used to the cheap margaritas we get at the local Mexican food restaurant.

We left fairly early on Sunday because we had to back to the house so I could go to the grocery store, wash laundry, and get ready to go back to work the next day.  On our drive we stopped at this really neat gas station/smokehouse/restaurant called Prasek's Hillje in El Campo.  Andy got some snacks, and I got a hand-dipped dutch chocolate Blue Bell ice cream waffle cone with sprinkles on top.  Yep, just like a little kid!

Before we left.  She still wasn't feeling all that well.

Being sick meant she got to ride inside the truck.

Totally cool sink at Prasek's

And this is how she naps in the truck...

Houston Rodeo Part 2

Spring Break Version 3.0

On Wednesday of Spring Break, Andy and I spent time together returning some items at the mall, doing a little shopping for the rodeo on Thursday, and buying some things for our patio.  Here is a picture of our patio now.  You'll have to look past the broom and shoes in the chair.  We plan to replace the brown plastic chairs with chairs similar to our Texas star bench.  I'm a matchy-matchy type of person, so this is totally blowing my mind that the chairs don't match.  We'll get there eventually though.

Our friends Cara and Cody texted us to see if we wanted to have dinner Wednesday night.  We went to our usual Mexican food restaurant - Tony's.  It's always a great conversation with Cara and Cody!  Since most of our friends are teachers, it's nice to hang out with a couple who have jobs other than teaching.

Couples selfie on the way to dinner :)

Thursday was rodeo round two for me and round one for Andy.  A family friend of Andy's got us tickets, and they were FABULOUS!!  We invited our friends Brandon and Joy to go with us.  We visited the petting zoo, did a little shopping, and enjoyed some BBQ before the rodeo.

Pictures before the rodeo...

 

Waiting in line at the petting zoo...

Baby kangaroo - soo cute!  The baby goats were adorable too.

Shopping!

Andy's rodeo tradition - getting his boots shined up!

I always have to stop by the candy shop.  They are great for treats
during the rodeo and when you're waiting in the
parking lot for forever after the concert.

BBQ baked potato.  So delicious!

Like I said previously, our seats were awesome!  They were the action seats - the part in gray.  Here is the map of Reliant Stadium...

We sat in the action seats section in section 123.  Bull riding is my absolute favorite part of the rodeo, and we were so close to the chutes.  It was fan-freakin'-tastic!!  Not only were they great seats for the rodeo, but they were pretty darn good for the concert too.  We just so happened to be seeing Maroon 5 that night.  I cannot even begin to describe to you how many people were there for the concert.  There couldn't have been an empty seat in the place.  It was so loud!  It was definitely interesting to see "non-rodeo" people at the rodeo.  I didn't sing along to all of the songs, but I was impressed with how many I did know.

Same photo as above, just the Instagram version.

We actually had to look up at the big screens!

Andy got a free koozie.  Yep, I'll be more than
happy to take it off his hands.  I think it's more my style anyway.

Definitely like his "look" on The Voice much better than his "concert" look.

Selfie during the concert

Happy couples after the rodeo/concert!

Apparently, Adam Levine got in trouble several years ago when Maroon 5 performed at the rodeo because he decided to drop f-bombs and say a lot of other four-letter words.  He said he was fascinated by the scrolling screen that typed everything he said.  Yeah, he was not asked to come back to the rodeo.  I assume the rodeo committee had a change of heart or were desperate for some other big artists since they came back this year.  Adam did apologize for his language from several years ago and explained that that was why he didn't use the curse words in his songs.  I thought that was rather nice of him.  And I am glad that he realized the Houston Rodeo is not his typical concert crowd and that there are children present who do not to need to hear profanity.

Houston Rodeo Part 1

Spring Break Version 2.0

SB '14 was a busy one!  Last year was mine and Jillian's first year to make a trip to the rodeo as a girls trip.  We decided to make this an annual trip and plan to make a tradition!  :)  This year we saw Jason Aldean for the concert.  I left for Jillian's apartment early so that we could make it to the rodeo early for some shopping.  Little did I know that Jillian decided to give up shopping for Lent!  We ended up just getting our rings cleaned and walking the aisles to talk instead of shop.  Totally fine by us because we hadn't seen each other since Thanksgiving.  We had A LOT to catch up on!  We take a lot of pictures, drink margaritas and just truly enjoy each other's company.  It doesn't hurt that Jason Aldean put on an awesome show!  We sang along to every single song.  Jillian even threw in a rap for Dirt Road Anthem.  We love our country music!  Here are some pictures from our fun night together...

On my way to Jillian's apartment

We could be sisters... seriously.

Enjoying our margaritas!

"Big Green Tractor"

Great concert with great company!

Comparison photo - last year vs. this year
As Jillian said, we are aging beautifully!

Meanwhile at the house, Andy put together our little shed in the backyard.  It now stores all of our lawn equipment, poisons, gardening tools, paint and gas cans, and whatever else Andy could fit in it.  Slowly but surely we're going to get everything out of our garage and have a normal garage that we can work out of.  Mainly I just want my car to park in it - lol!!