A Medic and her Dogs

New blog address...

2008-12-03T12:41:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have started a new blog...Life in Tall Tree Subdivision. Check it out if you are interested.

Contemplating...

2008-12-03T12:19:00.002-05:00

Well, I have been thinking about restarting this blog...much has changed since I last posted on here...I got married, got a new dog, moved, and other things I am sure I will think of later. ;-) I am thinking of also using this as a forum to share some recipes I use...some good ole standbys and some new ones that I try. I know I always enjoy trying new recipes and have found some good ones on other's blogs...so I was thinking of posting some on here...we will see...

Right now I guess I need to go bundle up and hang the garland outside. :-p Brr...it is cold for SC!

Time comes and goes...

2007-07-11T12:44:00.000-04:00

So, I was able to post a few things from the beginning of my vacation...but once I got to MI, I did not really have computer access. :-) The rest of my visit went fine. I got to spend time with my parents and John's family at my aunt's cottage on Lake Wixom. (I had also taken Laura's 2 oldest girls with me.) Then we drove down to Brooklyn, MI for a Swaffer family reunion. It was nice to see many people I had not seen in about 5 years. Wow, I hadn't realized it had been so long.

Since returning home, I have pretty much been doing the normal...working, eating, sleeping. :-) Sparky had his yearly vet check up. He is pretty healthy physically I guess...but we are still working on some behavioral issues. Bless his heart! I love him dearly, but he really needs to work on a few things. I hope and pray he will get "better". He goes to the vet next week for a grooming...because they will have to sedate him to groom him. (Naughty little boy!)

I had an adventure "building" a bed this week. I bought a "loft bed", in an effort to create more space in my room. Well, Kendra helped me get it home from the store...and then I set to work "building" it. Yikes...there were ABSOLUTELY NO directions in the box! So, it was just me, the parts, a picture on the box and my brains. :-D All in all...I guess I did a pretty good job. The only thing I couldn't figure out was what washers went where...so they are still in the box. ;-) So far, the bed has not collapsed, so I take that as a good sign. :-)

June 27, 2007 Day 2 of my vacation

2007-06-27T23:35:00.000-04:00

Ahh…life as a kid is so fun! We have read about Julius the Gorilla, Harry the Horse, and all the things we saw "On Mulberry Street". We played matching cards and Chutes and Ladders. We painted with water and chased lightening bugs. We made homemade ice cream and ate it too. Aunt Lana gave lots of rides…horsey rides, piggyback rides and even airplane rides, wow! We have painted our toe nails and burped the baby. Cleaned up childhood "disasters" and all drove down to the Drive-Thru. Yeah, life as a kid is great…maybe when I "grow-up" that is what I will be. :-D

More photos on my Facebook page.

June 26, 2007

2007-06-26T22:49:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Ohio. I arrived at Laura’s early in the morning. We hadn’t told the kiddos, so they had a "surprise" waiting for them when they woke up this morning. :-) We spent the day in Newark, eating at Sonic, doing some shopping (what else do sister’s do when they get together?) :-D, playing miniature golf and stopping at Marble Slab. Allie lost one of her front teeth at Sonic, seems she has a knack for losing her teeth at restaurants. Carrie seems to have quite a knack for golf…being the first to score a hole-in-one. :-) I have posted some photos on my Facebook page. :-)

Link to Mylie's site

2007-06-17T15:02:00.000-04:00

Here is a link for a webpage we have done to keep everyone updated on Mylie's Progress. Thanks for all your prayers. She seems to be doing well overall.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/myliecheriewest

Please pray for my niece Mylie

2007-06-09T17:15:00.000-04:00

I would like to ask you all to remember my niece Mylie West, as well as my sister Laura and family in prayer in the coming weeks. Mylie is having open heart surgery on Tuesday, June 12, at Columbus Children’s Hospital to repair 2 holes in her heart. (For those who don’t know, she was born with Down’s syndrome. The doctors wanted to wait until she was at least 6 months old, but weren’t sure she would be able to go that long without having to have the surgery…we are grateful that she was able to wait until 6 months.)

A few specific ways you can pray include:

Mylie’s current health – the healthier she is, the better…and she is currently struggling with a respiratory infection that she can’t seem to shake…
Wisdom for her doctors
Safety and efficiency during the surgery
Rapid healing and no complications after the surgery
Peace and strength for Todd & Laura, as well as the rest of the family
Traveling safety, the hospital is 45 – 1 hour from where any of the family live
Todd’s job situation
God’s grace for the other kids, Carrie, Allie & Drew…as their lives will be “disrupted” too

Thanks so much, and I will try to keep you updated.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-06-03T13:59:00.001-04:00

Not a whole lot to say...I guess. ;-)

2007-06-03T12:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I have not had a chance to blog in a while. I have been pretty busy lately, but it is mostly good...I think. ;-)

Let's see...some friends and I have made several trips for fun. We visited the Georgia Aquarium in ATL...spent a day at Six Flags near ATL...attended a Hot Air Balloon Festival in the county...and who knows what else. ;-)

I got a housemate around the middle of May. Kathy and I knew each other from college (worked together on DPS) and she graduated and needed a place to stay. Unfortunately we rarely see each other, because of our differing work scehdules.

Seems like there is more that has gone on, but I guess it is just the day to day stuff. ;-) Laundry, dishes, housework, blah, blah...

The dogs are fine, crazy as ever. ;-) "Bless their hearts"! ;-)

:-D

2007-05-03T02:45:00.001-04:00

Hi. Things have been pretty much the same for me around here. The weather has gotten a lot warmer...having to run the AC. I think the dogs were thinking of mutiney the other day...it was 85 degrees inside and I was trying to hold off on turning on the AC. We had the fan on, so there was a breeze...but I did break down and turn on the AC. ;-)

Really not a lot new to report around here. Seems like I stay busy doing things, but not quite sure it is anything "newsy". :-)

Few thots...

2007-04-19T02:35:00.001-04:00

Well, just wanted to update a bit...not that I have much to update... :-)

Let's see...we have been having see-saw weather down here...but it is warming up again, for which I am glad. A lot of the azalias were frozen a few days ago. Some stuff is making a recovery. I heard rumors that the peach crop suffered, but I don't know for sure.

The dogs are fine. We went for a hike the other day...it was fun. I forgot that Sparky likes the water, so when I let them go to the creek for a drink...he jumped in...then he proceeded to decorate his back end with debris from along the trail, which stuck to his now soaking wet fur. Poor guy, kept trying to figure out what was following him! :-D Ha, ha! The next day he got a haircut...already scheduled and definitely needed. Shadow went for her yearly check up and seems to be still healthy. The doctor is always amazed at how much non-stop energy she is!

This weekend I am going to GA with Kendra. Kendra is participating in an adventure race called MedWAR. I am going to volunteer and also get a peek at what is involved so that maybe I can join a team next time. Lynetta was planning to come visit me this weekend, so she is going with us. It ought to be a lot of fun.

Work is going fine. Nothing really exciting to report. :-p

Well, my tummy is hungry, I have already eaten, and I really should get a nap. I have a lot to do tomorrow to get ready for the weekend!

A late update :-)

2007-04-06T01:09:00.001-04:00

Well, I thought I would take a few moments and update. :-P It has been a while...

Dogs are doing fine...they are pretty good friends now. Shadow had to go to the vet the other day and poor Sparky whined and acted very bewildered when she went back without him. :-D

Work is fine, trying to balance the need for OT with the need for time off. Mostly routine stuff lately. No new babies delivered or anything like that. :-)

My friend Nick is recovering from necrotizing fasciitis. I can only imagine how hard and frustrating it would be to be bed ridden for weeks! Wow! The docs seem pleased with his progress...though it is not fast enough in his eyes (understandably).

We have had incredibly spring/summer weather here the past few weeks. Last night the temps dipped down to the 40s. Boy are we spoiled... ;-p

I do wonder why redbuds are purple?

The weeds are growing rather well and unsolicited in my little "garden" area.

I actually have a holiday off from work. I am looking forward to going to church Easter Sunday...my friends and I haven't decided if we are going out to eat at Sticky Fingers or if we are going to grill out at Stewart's house?

Speaking of friend's and their houses...we watched Facing the Giants at Nate's house the other night. A pretty good movie...

Went to Carson's Steak House on Tuesday night...it was pretty good...it was sorta' last minute, so not many people were able to make it...but some did come. We ate without the others anyway. :-D

Working a 36 hr shift at one of (VERY) outlying QRVs!

Made some Lemon Poppyseed muffins from a mix yesterday...the mix came with a glaze to put on top...I don't think I like the glaze...it just becomes a very sticky, slimy mess everywhere! But I didn't know that and put it on all the muffins...that is what I get for following directions. :-P

:-D

My birthday

2007-03-04T23:54:00.001-05:00

Laura and family, Brian and family, and Lynetta managed to pull off a surprise 30+one birthday for me. I was not expecting it at all. It was fun. Thanks to them for everything! :-) Here are some photos. (Sorry it is rather delayed...but I had some problems getting the photos uploaded.)

It is me again...totally random compilation of thoughts

2007-02-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I would try to update a little. I have been having trouble with coordinating my internet access. In order to get something actually posted, I do not promise any organization to my thoughts. :-D

I am currently at work. I have been working at different stations throughout the county the last while. I have a different "probie" partner than at Christmas time (which is probably the last time many of you all heard from me.) We have had the usual mix of actual emergencies and things people think might possibly be emergencies. Also, one of the medics from my shift was in a really bad wreck last week. It seems like she will be okay, but I know she would appreciate your prayers.

The dogs are doing well. Sparky had a few things he needed some help with, so he spent a week at boarding school. He seemed to do really well, and is behaving much better now. I need to spend more time working on his lessons with him, but he seems to be doing well when we do work on them. If for some reason you happen to visit us, or we see you...please help us out with his lessons. If you don't mind, I may hand you the leash and ask you to take him for a little walk...all you need to do is walk several feet away and then you can return. Also, if you don't mind, check to make sure it is okay to pet him...he has to learn to behave a certain way before he gets attention. But when it is okay, he really is an affectionate puppy. :-D He will just randomly come up to me and wait for me to pet him. :-) Awww...it is nice to be loved. :-D He and Shadow seem to be getting along really well. They seem to keep each other entertained when I am gone and occupied when I am busy doing things around the house. Fortunately they keep each other out of trouble, and have not conspired together against me yet. :-D

The weather here is somewhat confused. We fluctuate between 20's and 70's. This weekend is supposed to be fairly decent. That is nice. Lynetta plans to come to visit. Maybe we will get a chance to do some hiking with the dogs. I took both the dogs for a walk around the lake at the nearby state park the other day. Sparky learned a lot that day. Apparently he had never seen a large boulder in his walkway, or a large fallen/cut tree.

Well, to borrow my favorite Aussie's term...I am feeling a bit peckish, so will go in search of food.

Our new little "boy"

2007-02-15T19:22:00.001-05:00

January Christmas at Brian & Molly's

2007-02-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

Please visit this site...

2007-01-10T00:44:00.000-05:00

I recently have become familiar with a site that will print and send Thank you cards to our servicemen and women. Please take the time to visit Let's Say Thanks and send a note of encouragement to them!

What we did on Christmas Day

2007-01-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

By "Christmas Day" we had finished all our official "celebrations"...but we still enjoyed time together. Dad showed us around Keim Lumber's new addition/building. It is quite the showroom and I would think it would be impressive, even if you were not into building.

That evening John taught us a new game...In a Pickle. Considering how competative our family is...some of the logic was rather creative! Ha, ha...but we had fun nonetheless! :-)

Christmas Eve happenings

2007-01-01T11:48:00.000-05:00

After church we tried to get a photo of the cousins, decked out in their Sunday finery. We got several shots...though we are missing Andrew. :-(

Christmas Eve day was also Kaili's 3rd birthday. After church in the morning we had a nice dinner and birthday cake to help her celebrate...she also got to open more presents. :-D Sunday night Mom and Dad's church, Calvary Baptist in New Philadelphia had a candlelight service. We sang a lot of Christmas carols, that was nice.

December 23rd happenings

2007-01-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

I few into Columbus in the afternoon. Laura and Todd and family came to pick me up. I got to meet Mylie, the little cutie pie! Then we drove to Mom and Dad's in Sugarcreek. John and Maria and troops had arrived just before us. I still had to wrap all my presents. (I was grateful that I had left them all unwrapped for the journey...as once again my luggage was "randomly" chosen to be searched by security!) I still am not sure why I ALWAYS get searched...I guess I should try a little harder to avoid looking like your typical terrorist! Hmm...Maybe I should wear something on my head? Anyway, I was sequestered away in the guest room at mom and dad's house, trying to wrap the presents and my dear brothers are pounding on the door wanting to know if I am done yet, so they can unwrap them! Silly boys! Anyway, when I finished wrapping my gifts...we started unwrapping all of the presents. :-D

Andrew's 1 year birthday party!

2007-01-01T03:16:00.000-05:00

My nephew Andrew turned 1 year old on Nov. 15th and I got to go see him for his birthday party. We had a fun time and I enjoyed getting to see all of them. Andrew had his own birthday cake that Molly had created for him. When she gave it to him...he touched the frosting and then tried to pick up the plate...consequently the entire cake fell on the floor! ;-D Oh well...there was another entire cake that we could eat. :-)

My trick dog

2006-12-30T02:25:00.000-05:00

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

I am trying this format out for posting "video" to my blog. This is a video from the summer. I think it is funny and cute when Shadow walks on her back legs; that must be the "poodle" in her. :-D

Funny cartoon

2006-12-22T02:46:00.000-05:00

Steve Berry draws some pretty funny EMS cartoons...here is a holiday one that I found amusing. I won't post it on my site, d/t copyright issues...but I posted the link. :-)

My Christmas letter

2006-12-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

Greetings from South Carolina

I trust that each of you is doing very well. As usual, my life has stayed busy this year. In March I celebrated having Shadow for one year. She is a lot of fun and we enjoy being buddies. She tends to be a bit on the mischievous side, but really does want to please and tries so hard to obey most of the time. It is so cute…if she wants something and I haven’t given it to her, she will go through every one of her “commands” (sit, down, etc.) and just look at you wondering how you can ignore those mournful puppy eyes! Ha, ha! Okay, sometime I do give in. One of her more mischievous accomplishments this year was learning that she can jump onto the table! Yikes! I come back to the table and wondered what had happened to the blueberry muffins I had left in the center of the table…yep, she was lying there on the floor, looking as innocent as ever but I am sure I saw some blueberries on her teeth. I have since occasionally found her walking around on top of the table trying to see what is there. Silly girl! She does know she should not be there and generally waits until I go out of the room before making her move, but if I am quiet I can catch her still up there!

In April John and Maria came to visit, with their kiddos. We had a lot of fun, even went to Riverbanks Zoo. We got to see several of the feeding sessions for the animals, which was fun and educational.

In May two of my friends, Kendra and Holli, drove to Ohio with me for Brad’s graduation party. We made the trip up and back in one weekend. It was fast, but fun at the same time and I am really glad that I was able to be there.

I made a trip to Wisconsin in June for the funeral of my nephew, Jeremiah Enoch, who was still born to John and Maria. It was a sad time for us as a family, but we are comforted in knowing that God does not make any mistakes and look forward to meeting Jeremiah in heaven.

Laura and kids came to visit me in August. We had a lot of fun mostly hanging out in G'ville. The kids even came by where I work and got to have a tour of an ambulance.

Then my best friend, Tanya, came from Australia for 7 weeks! Yippee! We had so much fun being with each other again! I was able to swap several days at work with some people and we went to Washington, DC for almost a week. We had a lot of fun, saw a lot of things, and walked a TON! September 4th Tanya and I left on a 3 ½ week road trip across the southwest USA. We had an incredibly awesome time!!! We spent 4 days backpacking the Grand Canyon, several days in Sedona, AZ, stopped at Bryce Canyon in Utah, met up with a friend from Ohio, Jason Axt, at Arches National Park, and ended our trip with several days in Colorado Springs. By far the backpacking trip in the Canyon was my favorite…but we had a wonderful trip overall. You can check out our vacation blog at http://fairemaidens.blogspot.com/.
Near the end of October, John and Maria visited again. John & Maria were pretty busy with the kids from school (they were at the High School Festival) but the kids and I carved pumpkins, went shopping, and Maria came with us to the Children’s Garden.

In November, Dad and mom came to visit their “southern” children, spending several days here with me and also visiting Lynetta at Ambassador and Brian, Molly & Andrew. Lots of us went to Brian and Molly’s for Thanksgiving and as usual enjoyed a time of feeding and fellowship. The day after Thanksgiving, Laura and Todd welcomed a new daughter into the world, Mylie Cherie West. Mylie was born with Down’s Syndrome. Initially we thought that she did not have many of the cardiac complications, but the week after she was born it was discovered that she does have 2 holes in her heart and will need open heart surgery sometime in the first year of her life. Though I have only seen photos, she is a beautiful little bundle and I can’t wait to meet her in person!

I continue to work for GCEMS. I really enjoy what I do at work, and I enjoy the people I work with. In October I had the privilege of getting promoted to an FTO (Field Training Officer) position. My current probationary employee is brand new to everything (EMS and the state) so it has been a fun challenge to help him learn.

Lana

My baby's Christmas pictures

2006-12-17T23:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of my darling puppy, Shadow!

(I figured out a different way to add photos to my blog...and I think it is a lot easier! Let me know what you all think.)