weekend

:: Chris and I took off work on Friday and headed to Grapevine, TX with Ocho...I was concerned on how well he would travel, since he was in so much pain. He did very well...wanted to lay in my lap, and he stretched out and did just fine. Even stood up and looked out the window after awhile. It was very nice to be able to hold him like that...it had been probably 3 weeks since he'd wanted to be in anyone's lap. After our three hour drive, we finally arrived...there was a little square of grass for the dogs, so we let him out to relieve himself before taking him in to the vet. We experienced the most bizarre 10 minutes...Ocho's tail was up, his tongue was hanging out and he looked so happy...he followed Chris around the square at a trot and even jumped up on my leg. It almost brought tears to my eyes, it was the closest thing we had seen to our normal dog in three weeks. We're not sure what was going on...it may have been that he knew he was about to get some help, it may have been that he'd really been able to stretch out for three hours and was feeling pretty loose and good. At any rate, we were very grateful for those ten minutes, because we ended up having to leave Ocho at the surgery center for five days!!! After a cat scan, they discovered that he had a pretty big ruptured disc in his neck, with a lot of fluid touching his spine. No wonder he had been screaming!! They took him immediately to surgery, and about an hour and half later they called to tell us that the surgery went according to plan and everything looked good. He is staying in the emergency hospital under 24 hour care, and we get a phone call update from the surgeon every morning. Saturday morning, the vet said that Ocho was up walking and even ate a little, but that his back was still arched and he seemed to be having some pain still. He thought this was because of swelling after surgery, and that it should go down...this morning, the update was better...he said that Ocho's pain level seemed to be much lower and he was doing well. A few more days at his little "spa" and we'll hopefully be met with a dog who is much happier and in no pain!!!

:: While there, we stopped a few places...had lunch at Steak-n-Shake (minus the shake, for me) for lunch and McCalister's (no sweet tea for me) for dinner. Found a cute pair of flats at Famous Footwear on sale, and a scarf at Target...we managed to have a very nice day together, even with the stress of the surgery.

:: I have a new part time employee starting tomorrow and I need to get a few things in order for her training...I'm excited to have her!! She is quirky and fun, and should be a good addition to our department.

:: It is a completely gorgeous day today...no wind, bright and sunny, and about 65 degrees. Just perfect!!! I'm hoping for a full week of this weather. And with daylight saving, we'll get to enjoy more of our evenings in the light now! I love this change...

:: I finished The Shack...I'm not going to say much about it, except that it really touched me and I think you should read it.

:: I bought a new book for my pile of future reads...I'm not sure why, but that big pile makes me so happy!!!! The new addition is called "Little Bee" and I was just intrigued by the cover and what it said on the back.

:: Time to do some dusting and laundry...have a GREAT week!