Just Keeps Getting Better

http://s570.photobucket.com/albums/ss144/AGutierrez219/STEM%20Conference/


That's a link to the pictures I took during my off time last week on South Padre Island for the T-STEM Best Practices State Conference. I love my sunset pictures... the one with the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway is my absolute favorite!

I just keep getting better and better at this! :)

I'm cheating - just like Barb :)

25 Things About Me


1. I was born in Kansas City.... Missouri.

2. I've lived in Kansas and here in Texas I have lived in Brownsville, Los Fresnos, McAllen AND Mission.

3. I'm jealous that my brother has the life he wants, but am ecstatic at the same time (I'm going to be an Aunt :D ).

4. I love to sit in a quiet house, no tv, sometimes some music, but the tv noise irritates the hell out of me most of the time.

5. I took 8 years and one semester to get my Bachelor's degree.....and I don't wanna go back for a LONG time.

6. I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a sister to do things with, and an older brother (although Luis is my older n younger brother wrapped into one).

7. I call my brother wicho or bis (like bees but with an 's' sound at the end, not a 'z').

8. I always wanted to do something in forensics or involving the human anatomy.

9. I only got a degree in English and History because it was my quickest way out of UTPA after 6 yrs had passed. But I love anything CSI-ish :D

10. I miss going to see movies at the theatre.... but people annoy the hell outta me now with the talking and the disrespect and the cell phones!

11. I miss my cat, Cali, still - and it's been almost 2 years.

12. I still have stuffed animals on my bed (1).

13. I want to have at least one kid by the time I turn 30.

14. I want to travel nationally AND internationally.

15. I love to bake and wish I was better at it.

16. I loved spinach as a kid... and I still do once in a while now.

17. I've never been drunk, or done drugs and my parents never had much trouble from me... people would tell my mom that it was only a matter of time until I exploded into some horrible phase, but it hasn't happened.

18. My dream job is to be a stay at home proofreader or editor. I want people who write screen plays, novels, short stories, things that are going public to send me their stuff (even from across the country) so that I can edit it for them and correct any errors. I will sit at home and just edit.

19. I want to have twins....YES - even I think I'm crazy, but I do. It runs in my family, too.

20. I hate watching the news because it's always so and so killed so and so and a lot of bad news.... I just want to see the weather.

21.I hate pork, and am not a fan of beef either. I can eat steak, but it takes forever because there can be NO fat, and I can eat burgers, but I get sick of the taste of it after about half. I can do shredded pork or beef, but I have to have a LOT of bbq sauce. I can eat chicken or fish everyday :)

22. I love hugs.

23. I want one tattoo, but not until I find something that means a lot to me. (maybe LOL)

24. I am afraid I have a brain aneurysm every time I get a headache ever since my friend, Alex, died my junior year ( it's been 10 yrs.) of high school from one. He would always have headaches and then at his senior prom he passed out and never regained consciousness. Since I found out - I've been paranoid... not extremely but that always runs through my pounding head :(

25. I love old music, and new music and any type of music...... except for some spanish and some country.... it depends.

BONUS: I love to take pictures and plan on taking classes to improve and learn everything!

Puppies For Sale (we cannot ship - sorry! LOL)

**Female puppies - group photo**

**Sable males - group photo**

**Black & Tan males - group photo**

**one black & tan male**

**second black & tan male (dad calls him the old man cuz of his chin)**

**One Sable male**

**the second sable male**

**one female**

**second female**

**third female (we have a hard time distinguishing the second and third shown here - they both have white on their chest and a bit on their chin)**

Our sweet lil sugar's (not to be confused with our kitty, Sugar) are still not quite ready to leave home yet, but we're taking names of people and we already have 4 serious inquiries! YAY - and one of them wants 2 puppies (cross your fingers!). Mom's making a website for the dogs... we don't see the puppies as a business - we aren't breeders - mom says "We just have these dogs as our pets, and nature takes it's course so we have puppies about twice a year." :D But posting an ad in the newspaper is SOOOO expensive. I forget the numbers but I heard mom telling granny about it and I was shocked. I think for only advertising in Sunday's paper it is $50 ?? Something like that - well if you consider that not all of the puppies are going to sell in one week - it starts to add up with all of the advertising. So we (my parents) decided to create a website and get a waiting list going, if possible, that way when the next litter comes around we just have to notify people that they are born and then when they're ready - something like that. Tasha should be next in line to have puppies. Duchess' puppies, the ones we have now, are SO cute, and getting big. They look a lot better than Tasha's did last year... although they got parvo - the poor things, so it's not their fault LOL. I took the official puppy pictures for the website... I'm probably going to have to take more if they don't sell and they start changing. Gotta keep the puppy-site up to date. Mom even thought about setting up a "puppy-cam" like those people did with the Akita's or whatever that breed was that the video link was going out all over the internet. But we'll see if that happens. Hope you enjoyed the pics, Barb - I think you're the only one who reads my blog :D



Have a great day!

Damn! - I'm getting GOOD!

Here are some pictures from when my mom, Aunt Jane, grandparents went to Austin on New Year's Day** Margarita that my Aunt Kathrin made**

**My Aunt Jane, cousin Jahsenta, and my grandmother**

**Jahsenta Angel**

**Isn't that a FANTASTIC picture??? I'm really getting good!**

**Jahsenta and my Uncle Jim**

**Aunt Susan (Jahsenta's mom), her boyfriend (not sure how to spell his name - he's from Morocco), and my cousin Kendall (Jim's daughter)**

**Accidental picture taken at the Central Market on Lamar in Austin, but I love it**

**Kendall**

**Sunset on our way home on Jan 3, 2009**

**New Year's Roses at my Uncle Jim's house**

2 days after.....

I had a fabulous Christmas! I got new jammies, a perfume set, a gift card to Ulta, makeup cases, Monopoly: Here & Now - World Edition (SO COOL!), Mamma Mia! and an Elvis dvd, the HP: Order of the Phoenix dvd, and the SOOKIE STACKHOUSE NOVEL BOX SET!!! I am so excited! I think I got more stuff... but I am not looking at the stash right now, so I'm probably forgetting. I took pics of course and thought I'd share with y'all :)


http://www.flickr.com/gp/33734160@N02/385j1z


I was really hoping to get the box set of books from my Secret Santa, but I got the dvd then my mom told me later to open a box from B&N and it was the books! She said she had ordered them because she just knew I was going to put them on my list :D So when I didn't get them, and told her that I really wanted them, that's when she told me to open the box. YAY!!!!


I love Christmas, but I hope next year I'm able to buy things for everyone (not just 1 person) and I hope to get more gifts.... I'm not really all about the commercialism, it's just that it's really the only time of the year that I get new things LOL I rarely go shopping during the year.

I was happy to see Barb's pictures - I LOVE snow.... It's actually raining here right now with thunder n lightning .... not very Christmasy at all. I do love rain though :D

I'm hoping to blog more often... I just don't have a lot going on and don't wanna write every day about there being no jobs LOL.


Let me know if the link for the pictures doesn't work so I can fix it.

Hugs to all!
Adriana

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I am actually pretty good at wrapping... I get kinda anal about it too. I am also a taper... I make sure there is NO part of the wrapping that might snag and tear LOL

2. Real tree or Artificial? We have an artificial tree because of my allergies. I am allergic to trees, weeds, grasses... not to mention mold, mildew and animals - So we COULD have a real tree (and I DO love that tree smell...) but I'd probably suffer for long time :(

3. When do you put up the tree? We usually try to do it the weekend after Turkey Day, or whenever we get around to it :D

4. When do you take the tree down? ..... whenever we get to it :D

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think I've really ever had eggnog... I'd like to try it, but I may not like it... maybe with a lot of rum ;)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I remember getting a purple bike, and I always loved getting jammies LOL I still, to this day love jammies!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Everyone! I totally agree with Aimee. We usually make lists and that makes it easier... either as a guideline or to buy something directly off of that list. This year we just did a Secret Santa and made a list of 3-5 things ranging from $20-40 and we buy one gift from the list for the person we picked. Hopefully next year I'll be able to afford presents for everyone :(

8. Easiest person to buy for? The person who's list I picked ;)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - but mom hasn't put anything up in the house this year... she's been really busy at work.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? This year I decided that I was going to start mailing Christmas cards... I need to start an address book. I mailed them out yesterday, so I know they are going to arrive late, but better late than never, right? I'll be more organized next Christmas, I swear.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? hmmmmmm I don't really remember?

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love Elf too! Love Actually, Family Stone, A Christmas Story, How the Grinch stole Christmas........ the list goes on and on and on!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I can. I think I will, when I have money again, look for gifts year 'round, but I probably would start in Novemberish? I dont really know.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not really - though I should this year :D

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? 7 layer cookie bars, fudge, sugar cookies with frosting, and a ton of other stuff :D

16. Lights on the tree? PRE-LIT!!! White lights with a ton of color ornaments.... or colored lights with silver or white ornaments

17. Favorite Christmas song? I love most of them.... This Christmas (by Harry Connick Jr.!!), Christmas Canon, and that Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve/Sarajevo song.... there's actually too many to think of LOL

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? We usually stay home... I would LOVE to travel. We did go to Mexico City some years ago and had a blast! We stayed with my Tia at the house my dad grew up in. I love going to Mexico but I would also love to go to NYC at Christmas time or to visit Barb LOL or anywhere cold... because it's nice to visit the cold and the snow since you don't have to shovel it and you go back home afterward :D

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Easy! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Either/Or I love both :) Our tree has a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? the crowds!

23. What theme or color are you using? my parents have a red/gold color scheme

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I HATE HAM lol but that's what we usually have :( Except this year mom is making a ham and a small turkey :D YAY!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? the Sookie Stackhouse Box Set plus the 8th book, a fish tank (10 gal) so I can have some fishies.... a trip to Austin :(

If you do this tag (as you should!) tag as many people as there are days left till christmas.


I can't tag anyone because no one reads my blog regularly LOL But I guess Barb and anyone who reads lol If you don't have a blog too u can do the survey in the comments section! :D

Elf Yourself This Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

PUPPIES!!!

We have 7 puppies! There are only 5 in that first picture. Duchess is a great mommy. Her puppies are gorgeous! I dont' know what more to say about them... The second picture is my dad sitting and watching - I was sitting beside him. We don't do much, just help out... well he does - I'm afraid to touch them LOL We just keep an eye on her to see how often she is having them and to see if she needs any help. Also, sometimes momma's will bite the umbilical cord too short and we're there with string just in case we have to tie it off to stop the bleeding... or else the pup will bleed to death. We only had to tie the first one, she did a great job on all of the others.

She started having them at 2:45pm and had them pretty much on the hour except for the 3rd pup, which was born 8 minutes after the 2nd!!

The 5th puppy was born around 5:30pm and she didn't have anymore, so we figured she was done... it was already past 11pm and my dad checked on her once more and got things covered because a Northern front had come through. I went to check on her at 12:40am and I noticed it looked like way more than 5 puppies. I counted... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 6, 7 (WHAT!?!) so I looked around the box and there was an 8th! but he was off to the side and he was not alive :(

We think that maybe he was still-born and he was holding up the show and it took her from 5pm til midnight-ish to get him out, and the other 2 followed right behind him, because 3 puppies in an hour is rare.


I wish these pictures posted in the order I uploaded them and not from the bottom up. Oh well! Expect more pics :)

Princess Luna Bucket of Hope

Friday morning (12-12-08) my dad came into my room at about 8:30am and said, "Mijita do you have the number to the vet - I think Luna is dying? I went out and it took forever for her or Duke to come to the patio, then I saw Luna come around the corner and she was walking really slowly and her breathing was labored. I put on some gloves and stuck my hand down her throat to see if maybe she was choking on something, but I didn't find anything. Her stomach is inflated and hard."

So I decided that if my dog was going to die then I need to get out of bed, even though I had fallen asleep at about 6am, because she is MY dog and I have to be there for her. I got my butt out of bed and got dressed. Before I went outside, though, dad was on the phone with the vet and after explaining everything to them they asked if we could bring her in 30 mins and he said yes.

We got her into dad's truck and headed over to the vet's office. I'd say we got there at 9am and they didn't see her til almost 10. They took 2 xray's and they confirmed that it was GDV, or bloat. Her tummy had bloated and flipped, I suppose, a full 360degrees. The vet proceeded to tell us that she needed emergency surgery, but they don't do the surgery in that office often. They usually send animals to a specialist... the thing, though, was the specialist didn't work on Fridays. He said they would try to get ahold of the specialist and see if they could get him to go into his office. While they were gone, my dad and I tried to get ahold of my mom to tell her what was going on because she was at work. She was in meetings all day so I had to have someone pull her out of the meeting and then I had to text her the info as the vet informed us. The vet said that the surgery with the specialist would cost $3500-5000!!!! With them it'd be about $1500-2000, but they don't do it very often. He said they could go ahead and do the surgery, which consists of them opening her up, unflipping the stomack and tacking it to the sides so that it doesn't flip again in the future. But, most times they open up the animal and some vital organs have started to die from lack of blood flow because when the stomach flips, it pinches a vein and cuts off the blood flow. Then he said, "About half of the dogs we open up end up dying on the table." Part of what dad and mom discussed was if it was more than they could afford, did she want to consider the "other option". It wasn't just the money that led all of us (mainly my parents lol) to the decision we made... the odds were against her. She was 10 years old, which isn't old, but it isn't young. She had heart worms, or at least she had had them at her last visit for which we treated her for, but we weren't sure if they were gone. We hadn't had a chance to take her in to see if they were gone. She also had had a tumor removed when she was younger and she had 2 new ones - I'm not sure how big they were. So we really weren't positive that she'd even come out of the anesthesia. She was obviously in a lot of pain and terribly unhappy so the decision to have her put down was made......

I was SOOOOO not ready for that.

Even though "I think Luna's dying" is one of the first things dad told me that morning, I didn't think it was as serious as it was until we were at the vet.

The vet asked if we wanted to be present and we told him yes, and he gave us some time alone with her and we had to contact mom again and tell her. After I talked to my mom and cried I figured I should call my younger brother, Luis. I knew he'd be asleep because I talked to him the night before and he was going to work 11pm-7am, but I called him and woke him up to tell him. I told him that I'd put the phone to Luna's ear so he could say goodbye to her, and I did. The vet came in with the syringe and they shaved a bit of fur off of her front paw. She was facing the wall, and there was a bit of space between the table and the wall so I wedged myself in there and was petting the top of her head and trying not to cry, I was the last face she saw. It was quick and, I assume, painless. She just stopped breathing and after the vet was done, he checked her with the stethoscope, and told my dad and I that she was gone. Oh, my dad was on the side of the table petting the top of her back. I started crying because now that she couldn't see me, it was ok. The vet leaned down and gave me a hug (he's a really nice guy - he's seen our kittens and the litter of puppies who had parvo) and shook my dad's hand, then he gave us a few minutes to be alone with her. It was weird... she wasn't there anymore, but her body was.... Death weirds me out - I'm not scared, but I half expect things to jump or make noises LOL Minor phobia?

Anyhow - I didn't cry much after it was done... it was all so unbelievable. I think even now it still hasn't sunk in that she's gone. I didn't go into the yard much, which now I wish I had... but I can't dwell on the coulda woulda shoulda's. She knew I loved her. I saved her life when she was little for Pete's sake! Long story short she was a pup in a litter we had of younger pups, and we also had a few from a litter of older pups. I heard a puppy crying and went out and it looked like she was stuck in between the two 5 gallon buckets of water that we used to have for our dogs' water. The male we had back then, Sultan, liked to dump the buckets over and cover the patio in water. I went to pull her out from between the buckets and she wouldn't budge. I moved one bucket and noticed it was on top of both her back paws, and it had cut to the bone. Dad said that she'd have to be put to sleep... I pitched a fit! "If I had a cut on my arm that was to the bone you wouldn't have ME put to sleep... you'd have it stitched up and it'd heal." So my dad stitched up her paws HIMSELF and bandaged it. We went out of town for my grandparent's 50th anniversary and when we came back a couple weeks later she was fine. I asked dad if I could have her and he said yes! (He did say the next day we should try to sell her, but he had already told me yes LOL) I named her Princess Luna Bucket of Hope ;) The rest is history....

She was a great dog and I will miss her SO MUCH. She was my sweetie. Two years ago when 3 new puppies ransacked HER yard after she had been alone for about 7 years, she became the Alpha female and I think was pretty stressed. Now she's in peace with her momma :)

The amazing thing to me, is the night she passed was the night that the moon was it's biggest and brightest in 15 years! It's amazing because her name is Luna which is 'moon' in Spanish :)

GOOD NEWS THOUGH!!!

Duchess, mom's sweet doggie, is in labor as I type. We should have a few new puppies in our backyard by day's end tomorrow... it'll be a LONG night, but I'm ready! She's so cute! I'll be taking a ton of pictures. I'm so ready to have puppies because I'm still so sad about Luna. I love doggies :D Expect puppy pics soon!

I need to address and send out my Christmas cards, hopefully tomorrow. I think I'll start tonight, unless I can't bring myself to leave Duchess' side ;-)

Lots of hugs! - and thanks for all of the hugs given to me Friday.

**Adriana**

Luna

So I plan on blogging about Luna and what happened yesterday... but I have to go pick up my Aunt Jane from the airport like NOW - she's flying in from Alaska. So I'll do the blog tonight. Hugs to all! :D

Adriana