The vet called Sean's house and the poor guy got to relay me the news about Sadie's growth. The good news? It's not bad, well, not really.
Essentially, Sadie's tumor is malignant (which is bad) but usually when tumors like this are removed, the sickness is gone (which is good).
Not definitive news but news nonetheless. . . I guess it's one more part of my life where I am waiting and seeing...
I realized that there have been a few things going in my life that people may or may not be updated on. Not the most compelling post but sometimes a little housekeeping is in order!
Last week, I got a promotion and a raise.
I was really debating whether or not to write about this. We live in crazy times and I didn't want it to seem like I was rubbing my good fortune in anyone's face. The more I think about it though, the more I thought most everyone would be happy for me.
I've been promoted to the editor position on the new website our newspaper is launching in April. That means less copying and pasting what other people write and more editing and writing my own stuff. My boss thinks it would be a better use of my talents.
Interestingly, when he called me to the back room on last Friday afternoon to tell me this, I thought I might be getting fired. You can read my play by play account of the situation here on my Myspace blog.
My new website is actually happening, and soon!
Part of my job these last six months was selling the commercial web design services of our company. Since I've been doing a pretty good job selling (who knew I could sell stuff?), guess whose website got put on the backburner? Mine.
I now have a logo and the template is getting put together. It looks sharp but for those who want a little inside look, I'm including the logo in this post. You may remember I do like hot pink but hopefully it's not too in-your-face. I'm working on transferring the content off Typepad and onto this new site. What a pain, but I know in the end I'll be glad I have it all on my own site.
My dog had surgery on a possibly cancerous growth.
Some noticed Sadie's absence from the Too Cute Tuesday party this week (and me cozying up to another dog). I love that people were concerned enough to email me about it!
I took Sadie to the vet last week to have a weird growth examined. The vet said it is a 50/50 chance it is cancer (given her age and the growth's location) so I decided to get it removed and find out. Her surgery was on Tuesday and she was a little too zonked to hang out with three other dogs and craft so I left her home.
She now seems to be feeling fine but the growth is being biopsied so I won't know for a couple more days whether I have to make a difficult decision or not. To be honest, I knew what I was getting into adopting an older dog (Sadie was 11 four years ago when I got her) but it's still hard. Keep her in your thoughts!
I've lost 15 pounds...and am still going.
I got a little fat a couple years ago and have been fighting to get back to a healthy weight for awhile. It helps to go to the gym with friends and do a little Wii Fit too.
I stepped on the scale at the gym yesterday and had to slide the pointer down further then I was expecting...I don't want to get into numbers but let's say I haven't been in that "decade" in awhile! I'm down 15 pounds from my highest weight last December, and I feel good!
So consider yourselves updated on pretty much everything in my life unrelated to money. How are you doing?
Every Friday, I tackle an affordable idea of fashion or style in a fun segment I call Fashion Forward Friday.
That's right, I'm about to blog about soap. But since personal care falls in the realm of being fashionable and stylish, I figure I'm allowed. Now let me preach to you...
I bought some Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap initially to go on a camping trip (wash me and my dishes with one bottle? Yes please!). I ended up, of course, with a mostly full bottle when I got back so I stuck it in my shower.
This $5 has been working for me since August and I'd like to make multiple cases for this lovely product:
1) Certified fair trade an organic. That's always good because normally there's all kinds of crazy stuff in your cosmetics.
2) Multi-use. This product has 18 uses according to the bottle including pet wash, mouthwash, body cleanser, foot soak, dish detergent and dentures. (Yeah, I know, I finally write something for you denture wearers out there! About time I'm sure.)
3) Clean minty smell. If this doesn't wake you up in the morning, I don't know what will.
4) Good for boys and girls. You don't have to put up with her girly flowery stuff or his boy musky stuff. One bottle for everyone!
5) A little goes a long way. I've had my bottle since August and yes, I do take regular showers. A dab will do you in this case.
6) Fun writing on the bottle. Read Biblical verses while you're hanging out in the shower. You know, because why not?
So if you are looking for a natural cleaner that'll leave you smelling nice at a great price, may I recommend this little bottle of fantasticness. Want to know more? Check out Dr. Bronner's website.
Happy Friday! Did I mention you smell fantastic today?
Other Fashion Forward Friday posts:
Fondue Makes For Cheap And Easy Entertainment
Finding Workable Vintage
So yesterday I noticed that one of the seagrass totes that I have kept movies in has been vandalized by one of the animals. No one has fessed up yet but in any case, I've got a slowly unwinding mess on my hands. Ah, the joys of pet ownership.
Duct tape as a substance has always fascinated me. Maybe it's because I'm from a hardware family of maybe it's that it's just so darn useful but I've always liked the stuff. I used to cover my notebooks with it in high school and I always carry a roll of it in my car. So when life gave me a broken storage container, I whipped out the duct tape.
If you do this project, you may not like the old school look of silver duct tape so try out one of the many colors the stuff comes in. I like the cool, industrial feel of the grey stuff myself.
Materials:
Broken storage containter (could be a basket or even plastic, a smooth surface will mean less coats of tape... I'll explain in a moment)
A roll of duct tape ($5 for a big roll... bargain! The colored tape will run you a little more but a roll of it should be fine for this project)
Scissors
Mojito (because it is summer and what else are you going to do with all that fresh mint...try this recipe from Cheap Healthy Good. yum!)
1. You might as well make a whole pitcher of mojitos for a couple reasons 1) This is a project best done in small steps over a couple of days so if you like to craft and cocktail, you'll drink multiple rounds and 2) even if you have a brown thumb like me, no doubt the mint you planted this summer is growing like crazy. How else are you going to use it all? Making the pitcher of beverage is the hardest part of this craft.
2. Find something to watch like Will and Grace DVDs or listen to like the Satellite Sisters podcast. You will need some outside entertainment for this less-brain-intensive-than-usual craft. Gather crafting supplies and pour a mojito. Take items out of the container you are crafting, if applicable.
3. Cut big strips of duct tape and attach them to the outside of the container. Try to keep lines straight, using the scissors to also trim excess. If you are good at wrapping gifts, channel your abilities for this craft to make defined corners and non-bumpy layers. If you don't have talent, just take your time and overlap strips so no layers on the previous form of your container are showing. If you have a more bumpy material, you will need to go over the area with layers of duct tape two or three times. Sift mojito beverage to stay refreshed.
4. When you begin tiring of this task. Take a break. Return to the task at a later time, adding smooth strips of tape until the outside is covered. If you feel really motivated, do the inside and/or bottom the container. (I only did the inside of the container where most people can see in.) Drink mojitos enough to make you happy but still able to put on a straight line of tape.
5. Continue tweaking your bin until you are satisfied with its looks and water/pet repellent abilities. Say no to flaps or sticky edges.
So for five dollars and some work, you saved yourself from having to trash a perfectly useable storage container and also discourage your animals (if applicable) from messing with your stuff. Aren't you crafty!
Stay tuned next Tuesday for another edition of Too Cute Tuesday for another craft and cocktail. Cheers!
Project: The Zen And Art On Coupon Clipping
Time Elapsed: Two Weeks
So far, I'm a little discouraged on this project. I find that I haven't been able to use a lot of the coupons I've clipped. Often, it seems the store brand still beats my name brand coupon. My last shopping trip I saved...$2.38 with coupons. My Grocery Game savings the same trip were around $10, and I don't really have to do anything for that except print off the list and pay $5 a month. (and hey, saving me $10 in an average week means that it pays for itself and then some for sure). I'll keep clipping coupons though and give this a solid month to trial to see if it's worth my time
The one exception to coupon discouragement is the $8 Hills Science Diet Dogfood I got from Spending Less 101. That website points you to coupons you can get online. I waited until the food was on sale ($5 off this week) and I saved $14 on my finicky dog's healthy food: $17 of food will now last at least two months for her.
Project: How To Get Rid Of Carpet Odors
Time Elapsed: Two months
Thanks to everyone who participated in this, including Debt Free Revolution and Bouncing Betty who suggested Odoban from Home Depot. As the daughter of a small hardware store owner, I hate HD but I went to get this product. $8 and only about 1/8 of the bottle later, smell is gone. Completely.
Project: Blogroll Update
Time Elapsed: Too Long!
I finally updated my blogroll with new (well, not so much new as new to me) blogs that I read all the time.
Personal finance-y blogs: Being Frugal, Cheap Healthy Good, Debt Free Revolution, Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, My Small Cents, Northern Cheapskate, Spending Less 101, and The Baglady.
Other great blogs: Intelligent Travel, Shorpy, Hoarded Ordinaries, and Satellite Sisters.
If I haven't added your blog or website yet and I clearly read it and comment on it all the time, let me know!
There I got all those updates done like I've been meaning to! Whew! Now anxiously awaiting five o'clock for the weekend to start... Happy Friday!
So for awhile now, I've had several projects going. Good for me (right?) but it probably left you wondering, "Hey, what ever happened to that?" I'd like to update you on a couple of fronts.
First of all, you may remember how I decided to become a total stagemom and use Sadie as a meal ticket. Well guess what?!? Cutestpetcontest has come through for us, at least so far...
I'll keep you all posted as to Sadie's winnings. This may be come tease, as half the email is spent telling me how I could go about buying this book that Sadie is apparently in.
Secondly, remember my trying out of The Grocery Game web site? I finally stopped procrastinating last week (the weekly "Guess what you're missing" email from the company in my instance is actually kind of helpful). Sean and I did some of our shopping at "the other store" also known as Shaws since the Grocery Game does not price compare with Hannaford, where we normally shop. One trip saved us $10.91, more than paying for our month membership. (You can also try it for a month for $1.) I'll do this a few more weeks to let you know if it ends up being worth it or not. So far, I get it and I'm a total Grocery Game convert... plus they have coupons you can print off their site. We saved $1 on Sean's contact lens solution last week!
I'd love to compare these with other coupon sites. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
As I was lying in the dentist’s chair getting my teeth buffed and praying for no cavities when I overheard a cutest pet contest on a radio station. It was then I had an idea. Maybe I could make money by doing next to nothing. I Googled pet photo contests only to find a ton, some paying.
My dog Sadie is pretty darn cute. She’s 13 and I often joke that if she weren’t an old lady, I’d be pushing her into show business. And this is mostly a joke.
So for those who want to give me feedback, I’m making a Sadie photo album on this blog. Let me know what picture you think is the cutest and that’s what I’m sending in. Because I don’t often pursue these something for nothing events, I’ll indulge this one time. Plus it’s a great occasion to put together all those great Sadie pictures into one place.
Sean and I are going away overnight on Saturday to visit friends. They have a baby and a dog already so I figured if at all possible, I'd try to leave Sadie behind (I know, look at that face. It's amazing I get to work every morning!)
Rather than spend 45 minutes driving her to my aunt's house (which is in the wrong direction anyway), I'm paying the neighbor's kid to watch her. $25 will allow Sadie to stay in her own house and put some money in a kid's pocket. It's what I'd pay to leave her at a kennel anyway.
I'm hoping that he likes doing this so that whenever I want to leave, I don't have to start going through my address book desperate for a puppy sitter. And knowing I have someone I can count on, I may actually leave a little more often. Sorry Sadie, momma needs a life.
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