Pupdate

The bump on Lacey's arm turned out not to be a third elbow.  (Thank goodness.)  However, it did turn out to be the screw in her arm backing out so we had to take her back that Monday for a second corrective surgery to put in a different (bigger) screw.

(Sticking out so far! My poor baby.)

The surgeon ended up not having the screw that he wanted to use, so he had to put in a different one. He was very vague about the differences and once he could tell that I was worried about it, tried to brush it all off as not a big deal.  I'm not too happy about this, especially since she still had a slight bump on her arm once we took the second bandage off.  I'm really hoping this is just normal swelling and that they give us the "all clear" at her check-up this Saturday.  I'm gonna be one angry puppy mama if they say that this screw is backing out again too.

I swear that I've been religious about keeping her on bed-rest.  She walks when she goes out to go potty, stands when she eats, and walks the two feet from her crate to our bed where she camps out most days.  Other than that, this poor girl has had a pretty boring life for the past month and I will be super depressed if it ends up being in vain.

I love her so much and just can't wait til she can play like a normal puppy again. Seriously though, how can you not love this face?

Also, she's huge now and I can't handle having to carry her everywhere for another month.  Please let this be over now!

Violet VoxBox Review

Okie dokie, here is the promised recap of the products I received in my Violet VoxBox from Influenster "for testing and review purposes".  :)


First up is the Goody Athletique Headband ($6.00): 


Pros: Cute, easy to wear, stays in place, wicks away sweat, kept my ears warm while running, motivated me to exercise 'cuz I love cute accessories. :)

Cons: Now I want to buy more.

I really don't have anything bad to say about this headband.  I love it.  At first, I thought I would have liked it to be a little wider so that it covers more of my head/ears, but then I don't think I'd wear it in the summer.  It covers plenty of my head so I'm happy with it as is.  But I want the pink and purple ones now too!


Next, Sally Hansen New Triple Shine in Sparks Fly ($4.99):


Pros: Beautiful color, large brush for easy application, color stays vibrant and shiny, doesn't chip easily.

Cons: Not sure how quickly it dries, it's glitter so removal takes a little more effort than a normal nail polish.

I did this mani twice in a row because I loved it so much and both times had a little bit of smudging/imprinting after several hours.  I really think it's the white polish underneath that's smudging and not the Triple Shine, but I thought it was worth mentioning in case anyone else had problems with drying time.  All in all, I love this polish and will definitely be recommending it.


SOYJOY ($0.99):

Pros: Yummy, healthy, quick and easy snack.

Cons: Texture takes some getting used to, kind of on the small side.

I was on the fence about this bar.  It was yummy after you get over the crumbly texture - it kind of tasted like a Fig Newton.  My problem was the size, I usually eat bars like these for breakfast with maybe some yogurt or fruit.  I did that with this bar and was sooo hungry by lunch time.  It just wan't quite big enough to satisfy me and I think if I ate it for a snack that I would still want to eat something else with it too. Maybe that's just me being a fatty, but even thought I like these I don't think I'd buy any unless they were a little bit bigger.


Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spas: ($2.49):

Couldn't bring myself to take a pic while wearing it! :/

Pros: Easy to use, barely any mess, skin felt soft and fresh, smelled amazing!

Cons: Was super cold to put on, a little big so it slid around on my face at first

These masks/masques (?) are awesome.  I was very intrigued by the "fabric mask" concept as I'd never heard of it before.  The material felt kind of like a facial wipe type of fabric and just looked like it had been soaked in a clay mask.  I expected to find more clay to kind of smoosh around my face, but it really was just the fabric.  It was super cold to put on, but I guess you could run the package under warm water before you open it to warm it up before applying.  I hardly felt like I had anything on my face to rinse off after I took the fabric off, but my skin felt just like it does when you apply a regular mask to it.  The smell was strong but in a good way and I just love how easy the whole thing was.  I definitely want more of these.


And lastly, Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo ($5.99):

Pros: Got a couple more days out of my hair before needing to wash, removes greasy sheen, easy to use.

Cons: Really strong smell.

I liked this product better than I remember liking it in the past.  I have a bottle of this already and just don't use it often because I don't really get too greasy. I let my hair go a little longer between washings last week just so I could try this again and was pleasantly surprised.  It absorbed the greasy shine without making my hair look too matte and drab.  I don't really remember it working that well last time so I was happy with the outcome.  The only thing I didn't like was the super strong baby powder smell, but since I probably won't be using this every day I think I can handle the smell when I do need it.


Overall, this box was a total hit!  I liked every product I received and loved several of them. :)  If you have more questions about the products, please let me know.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have.  And if you're interested in becoming an Influenster and reviewing some awesome products for yourself, click here for more information. :)

Hope you had a  good weekend, friends!

Why 2014 Is Already Kicking My Butt...

It's been a tough year so far.  Yes, I'm talking about the only 2 1/2 weeks of 2014 that we've experienced.

We rang in the New Year with the both of us sick in bed.  Thank you, Little Stinker Elf, that gave us germs for Christmas... I got sick the day after Christmas and then gave it to Doad (sorry, hubby!) the following Sunday.  It was a doozy of a cold too.

LOL, look at that feverish glow.  

Lacey was very sweet and snuggly tho.  She could tell we were not feeling well and (for the most part) behaved very kindly to us.  

We still have a lingering cough (still!) but we were feeling well enough to get out of bed on the 1st, just in time to clean the house and get ready for work the next day.

So Thursday comes and we make it through work - we're tired, but we survived.  We even made it home safely in the snowy conditions, cuz of course, this story has to have inclement weather involved.

Lacey was having a blast in the snow.  We ran around with her watching her kick up the snow and attack random flakes - it was so cute!  This was kinda odd behavior for her cuz she HATES the cold normally.  She shivers the instant she steps outside and one of her favorite pastimes ever is just snoozing in front of the heater as close as she can get to it without knocking it over.

Right before bed, I decided to take a quick shower and Doad took Lacey out for one last potty before going to sleep.  When I came out of the bathroom, I experienced my least favorite moment of being a puppy mom ever.

While Lacey was outside, she started playing in the snow again.  When she got near the house, she took a jump from the grass to the concrete part of our back patio.  It's not a big leap, but her back feet gave out in the slippery snow and she landed on her elbow and broke it.

:( :( :( My poor baby.  Doad brought her inside by the heater and we tried to figure out how serious it was.  She yelped anytime we got near her arm so we knew pretty quickly that it wasn't good.  We bundled up and slipped and slid our way to the emergency vet in the snow. Most stressful night of my life!!!

We were hoping it was just a sprain or a small break - of course it was the worst case scenario and she needed to have surgery.  They couldn't do it there tho, so they put a splint on, gave her some pain meds, and sent her home for the night.  It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear her moan in pain all the way home and throughout the night as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in.  No one slept well.

We saw the specialist the next morning and they were able to squeeze her in for surgery at 5 that night. We stayed with her as long as we could and then headed home for a quiet night.  I called them several times to check on her, which they were great about, and spent most of my time counting down the minutes til we could pick her up.

So far, the recovery has seemed to go pretty well.  She doesn't seem to be in pain at all and has done pretty good at being on bed rest for a puppy with limitless energy.  Her days have mostly been spent cuddling with me and sleeping/reclining in every weird way possible.

We were very excited for bandage removal day, especially because she has seemed to be doing so well.  We took it off Monday night and had very mixed feelings about what we saw.  The incision seems to be healing perfectly.  The sutures definitely look ready to come out.  But the bone itself seems to have sprouted another elbow or something.  On the side of her arm right under her sutures (which should be flat) there is a rather large bump protruding.

The doctor said it could just be swelling, but it hasn't gone down at all even with the recommended heat packs.  We go in today for x-rays and hopefully some answers and good news, but I'm really struggling not to be nervous about it all.  We haven't gotten tons of good news so far this year.

On top of Lacey's accident, we've also gotten a cracked windshield and a broken refrigerator since we rang in the New Year.

So yea, this year has kicked my butt so far.  I'm hoping for some good news today and maybe a change in our fortunes haha.

How has your New Year been?  Hopefully better than ours!  

I'd love to hear from you. :)

Influenster Violet VoxBox Unboxing Vlog (Say that five times fast!)

I don't know about you, but I LOOOOVE getting goodies in the mail.  It's even better when you get them for free!  Influenster has generously sent me another VoxBox in the mail and it's filled with some awesome new products.  Here's my unboxing video and my first impressions of the items inside:

This is box is definitely my favorite of the two I've received so far.  These items fit my lifestyle and personal style much better and are actually items that I would probably buy at the store - I even have one of the items already!

If you are interested in becoming an Influenster, you can find more info at influenster.com.  Stay tuned for reviews in a few weeks! :)

*Just in case it wasn't clear... I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. ;)

Introducing Miss Lacey and Happy New Year!

*I typed most of this up about a month and a half ago... then, in my typical blogging style, let it sit here and marinate and practically become irrelevant.  But it's my blog and these are my memories so I'm posting it as is anyway.  :)  Just pretend it's from the end of November instead of the end of December.  And hopefully a more current update will be following in a week or two... but don't hold your breath ;)

My sweet little pup has been here for 3 weeks now and I just love her so much!  As always, I thought I'd be a lot better about updating with pics, but honestly, it's just so much more fun to cuddle and play with her than it is to upload all these photos. ;)

Right now she is snoozing away by my side.  She is quite a little snore monster!

These are from our first car ride home with her.  She did so good.  I was worried that she'd be car sick since it's a 1.5 hour drive, but she was a trooper!  She coughed and sort of spit up once, but it was more like drool than anything else.  Then she just curled up in my lap and slept the rest of the way!

She LOOOOOOVES her naps. :)  I think almost all of my pictures are of her when she's asleep.  Partly because its so cute and partly because that's the only time she stops moving long enough to get a non-blurry photo! She has two speeds: 1) super sleepy/zonked out & 2) crazy, hyper, energizer puppy.

Her favorite toys right now are none of the actual toys that we've bought for her, they are empty water bottles that she pulls out of our recycling bin.  She also has a thing for ice cubes as you can see in the video below: 

So cute, right?! I love her to pieces.

Well, there are a million more pictures to share, but I'm afraid I will never post this if I don't stop now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, it's New Year's Eve so I guess I should say something about that ;)

This has been a wonderful year for Doad and I.  We were blessed with a wonderful perfect house at the beginning of the year.  Took a lovely vacation to Canada.  Saw several friends and family members get married.  Welcomed two more nephews to the family and found out that another niece or nephew is on the way.  And of course, we added on to our little family with our sweet pup, Lacey.

God has been super, super good to us and I am so thankful for all that He's done and taught me this year.  I've learned a lot about enjoying the moments I'm in and being content with where I am in life.  I've become more creative and resourceful.  I've learned to take action to pursue my dreams instead of just thinking about them.  Hopefully, I can carry those lessons into this next year and pick up even more good habits.  :)

So cheers to 2014 and farewell to 2013! It's been a fantastic year and I can't wait to see what lies ahead.  Enjoy your celebrations, friends! Stay warm and safe and may God bless you this coming year.