A bit late

Once again,  It's a Matter of Cake was amazing. Dad's birthday in October was a great success. And the cake was (I hate to admit) even better than mine. Every part of the cake was edible. It was so cute watching my niece chomp on a nail. Apparently Matt and his family have a history in construction so the belt was right, down to the tiniest detail. I adored the old-style flat, carpenters pencil. It was delicious too.

Van Damme & Channing Tatum - a weird connection

I saw the Jean Claude Van Damme Volvo ad the other day. That guy is amazing and I am so jealous. Who can do that?  While I'm not a huge fan of Channing Tatum, this is pretty hilarious. Although even he is more flexible than I am right now.

MMM (Miss Mini Mutt) is doing very well. I got tons of kissies and affection last night. She is a very happy girl although that may not last past tomorrow. It's neutering day. I'm a bit worried, but that's just my inner Mommy talking.

Wiska is a very happy camper too. He just loves having the puppy around. We haven't taught her to "sing" yet, but that's in the works. She nearly had it last night. I can't wait until it's part of her repertoire.

While I don't usually look at Twitter, I discovered a cute feed called Stats_Canada. No, it's not the real Stats Can.  Today's stat is that 63% of Toronto English teachers cheer for the "Maple Leaves". snicker

Miss Mini Mutt

Molly has gotten so big! It makes me a bit sad. Sometimes she still looks like a puppy as she still has her fluffy, puppy coat and beard, and sometimes she just looks so adult. And she's huge! She can't walk under Wiska any more. She is a brat sometimes though. She won't go into the kitchen when Mike is around, but she doesn't care if it's just me. She knows darned well that the kitchen is forbidden territory! She is very good at going in her house though and getting into the car. And was very well behaved at her first time at the kennel with Uncle Rob (West Carleton Boarding Kennel).

Happy Birthday to Sue

Happy birthday to my dearest cousin Sue..... - of course that was sung incredibly off key, because I scare small children when I sing. It is also the 11th kidney-versary of Sue donating one of hers.

Thanks so much Sweetie. I love you.

The big Five - Oh

So over the weekend we had a big party. My 50th birthday, Mike was still 50 (that will change soon), and it was great. It also doubled as a family reunion for Mike as all his siblings and his parents were able to come. The food was fantastic, but the cake basically took the cake. It was extraordinary. It was made by Matt at  It's a Matter of Cake.  The names on the books are ones that are important to us. The cake was incredibly yummy too - carrot with maple cinnamon icing. Double yum.

Robin Williams take on Canada

He says we're the nicest  country in the world, we're like a sweet apartment over a meth lab.

Love it!

Here she is!

So I'm going to be obsessed with puppy pictures for a while. How can I not? Here is Molly. She jumps on Wiska and he hogs the toys. They are getting along beautifully.

A new baby on the way.

Isn't she adorable? She looks so much like Sonny I cried a bit. But in a good way. We have decided to name her Molly. She is 4 months old in this photo. We will be getting her some time next month depending on how things work out. Doesn't she look like she's smiling?

I had been thinking about going to the local Humane Society but it didn't work out. I filled out an application and the girl I dealt with was both aggressive and condescending. She was so  pushy about getting every animal in the house neutered (Wiska) I thought she was going to force me to neuter Mike as well. And then I sent them the doctor note to exempt Wiska from neutering and followed that up with an email. And received absolutely no response. Oh well. They do good educational work so I'm sure I'll still support them, just not as much.

Food, music, and slots!

So after my annual transplant check up (everything is great) Mom and I went to Vegas for a few days. We stayed at the Paris hotel and if you go to Vegas I would highly recommend it. The restaurants are fantastic and it is one of the slightly smaller ones on the strip. It's harder to get lost in the casino. We ate dinner at the Eiffel Tower restaurant and it was amazing. It had an extraordinary view of the strip and we got to watch the Bellagio fountain. The food was fancy, but not overly so. I had a very yummy parmesan crusted chicken. Yum. The hotel also has Le Provencal and Gordon Ramsay Steak (although we didn't get to eat there, the menu looked enticing).

We also went to see one of the best shows I've ever seen. Donny and Marie. They have 50 years of show biz experience and it shows. There were multi generations in the audience and everyone loved it. They also showed a very moving tribute to all the great stars (some gone, some still with us) they've worked with over the years. Since Andy Williams passed this year they did a special tribute to him. I didn't realize that he is the one who gave the Osmonds their start. They were his opening act. Donny sang Moon River and did it justice. I always knew that Marie had a great voice, but I never realized that she could sing opera. She did a piece from Madam Butterfly and it brought the house down.

We finally broke down and went to see Celine. I'm sorry to say it was a disappointment. Especially after Donny and Marie. All she did was stand there and sing. Yes, she has a great voice. But I was hoping for a little showmanship, and there wasn't really any. I'm sure the die hard fans loved all the home movies, pictures of her babies, and talk of the love of a mother. But I was hoping for a little more. You could have set the entire show to a metronome. No change of pace. Oh well. Now I can say I've seen her and not have to do so again.

Now I'm in the process of planning a vacation with Mike when he graduates. It's going to be a wonderful time. Rest, relaxation, recreation. It will be our first time away without having something looming on the horizon like a transplant, a new term, or exam results. We'll be normal for the first time in a while. I can't wait.

Before and after

So Wiska has had his spring haircut. He now looks like a giant rubber chicken with testicles (won't include those in the pics, don't worry). I think he's happy with the haircut - he's running and playing with Mom's guys.

Anniversary yesterday

I had a wonderful day yesterday visiting with my in-laws. We had some lovely meals, went to a rummage sale (didn't buy much), talked and laughed. It was also the 5th anniversary of my last shot of insulin. It was 6 units of Lantus - a tiny dose. I was still kind of out of it at that point post surgery, but I do remember the relief and joy of not having any shots at all. It was a wonderful blessing to not have to take shots (or bolus my pump) with every meal and then test later to see if I hit the right dose or not. The lack of surprises in my blood sugar is a truly amazing and relaxing thing. I am so blessed and still think often of my donor and his family.

RIP Sonny Oct 5, 2002 - April 17 2013

Yesterday was a rough day. We picked  up the dogs at the kennel and Sonny was lethargic. At the end of the day it turned out that he had some sort of lung infiltration which was probably a fast spreading cancer. We made the tough decision and ended his pain.

He was basically a really happy guy. He had a sick sense of humor and liked to play his jokes. He didn't always approve of the jokes Mike played on him, but he took that in stride.

8 years ago he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Everything I had read about it indicated that big dogs with this typically only lived about 2 years. I let him run and play and do what he wanted so that he would enjoy what life he had left. Well, he pulled another prank and fooled us all. His condition remained stable and he had his yearly appointment with his cardiologist who was always happy.

He snuggled a lot and I always loved that. He would steam up my thigh by pressing against me on the couch. Wiska liked to sneak on, but usually gave up his seat to Sonny. The two got along quite well and Wiska knows right now that something  is off. He isn't sneaking onto the couch or into Sonny's crate. They lived together for years and Sonny, who was the brains of the operation, often shook his head at the antics of Wiska the Idiot.

There are so many stories to tell and over the next while, as I remember them, I will share.

Thinking of others today

Today is the fifth anniversary of a family's loss of their son. I don't know them and have never met them, but their son gave me a new pancreas and a new life as a non-diabetic. The surgery was 5 years ago today. It's a pretty weird feeling. I didn't have these thoughts as much when I had my kidney transplant because it was a living donation from my cousin. So we celebrate every year. I do my best to encourage people to be living donors when the opportunity arises. But it's different somehow when you are the recipient of a donation from a deceased donor.

So please, if you want to help someone when you yourself no longer require it, talk to your family and make the arrangements. You can save lives and make huge differences in the family and friends of the person you help as well.

Going to Disney

It's been a long time since I've been well enough to travel for fun. Today I booked the first part of my first vacation in years. It's the western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy. Woo Hoo! In addition, once the timing for using my time share points comes around I'll be booking some hotel space for a few days before and a few days after the cruise. I'm looking forward to yummy food, warm sunshine, fun excursions, shopping, and not having any special itinerary other than a specific time to show up for dinner. I can't wait.

I saw a promo for the Fantasy the other day and they actually have baby races on deck. Can you imagine? Little toddlers crawling along a 20 foot course in an Incredibles baby suit. It makes me smile just to think about it. That's the beauty of a Disney ship. Being able to watch the kids have fun, and then retreat to adult-only areas. Mom and I, when we last cruised, used to hang out between the family pool and the adults only pool. You got the great music from the family area (live band often) but were safe in the adults only area and avoiding the sound of running footsteps.

It'll be a little bit of a wait until we go, but in the meantime I'll have plenty to dream about.

I liked this.

Crazy dogs - poor me

I can't believe my poochies. It's -40 with the windchill, and Sonny keeps wanting to go out. When I do let him out, he lies in the snow and then comes in limping. 10 minutes later he wants to go out again. Maybe he likes looking at his breath. I don't know. The poor guy had me scream at him to stop him from whining. He looked like Opera Man from SNL with that snooty expression and the words "Well, you don't have to yell" hovering on his lips. Wiska is a little smarter and is  only going out some of the time. I've had to bribe Sonny in with a cookie. I then have to wrap myself up in a blanket to warm up because holding the door opening and calling has considerably cooled down the kitchen. Silly kids.

Happy New Year

I thought I'd ring in the new year with a few funnies. What can I say, it's my style. I was watching an incredibly silly show called Rude Tube but sometimes it's got some great stuff. Including the best way to handle a telemarketer by comedian Tom Mabe.  It's hilarious. I'd never be able to stop myself from laughing if I tried it. I can always dream though.

And there was another one called "Ninja Kitty". This cat keeps sneaking up closer and closer. Add some scary music and you've got a scene from a slasher pic. You never see the cat move.

I hope you all have a terrific 2013.