Happy Holidays! It is hard to believe that it is December 31st and the holiday season is nearly done. I have to admit I've been a bit lazy over the last week. After the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, I really haven't felt like doing much. Sometimes it is nice to spend a few quiet days at home. I'm not sure that the girls agree with that, but I do know that they've been happy to have me home with them.
Before the Holidays this year, I had made big plans to get out and experience as many different fun holiday activities as I could. I was looking forward to seeing so many new things-the lights at the Detroit Zoo, Christmas at Greenfield Village, the Winter Wonderfest in Copper Harbor, and several other things. but what I discovered this year is that I don't need to add a bunch of new activities to my Holidays. I already have several traditions, and those traditions are what make the Christmas season special.
We did start the season with a couple of new adventures. We started by visiting the Old Fence Rider Museum's Old Fashioned Christmas in Edmore. We made a full day of it, attending a local craft show and then hiking a local trail, and as we left town, we saw Santa. It was a good way to get me in the spirit of the season.
I followed that by attending the Wonderland of Lights at Potter Park Zoo. Every year the Marines hold a Toys for Tots toy drive one Saturday at the Zoo. I love to bring a toy or two to donate and, as a bonus, I get free admission to the event. I love to walk around the zoo looking at all of the lights and stopping to see the big cats. It is one of my favorite holiday traditions.
The girls and I visited the Capitol and the State Christmas tree more than once over the course of the month. I love walking downtown and listening to the Christmas music playing in the streets and enjoying all of the sights and sounds of the holidays. I think this year's tree is one of the prettiest I've seen.
I attended the Holiday All-Nighter at the shelter with Cricket. This event has become a big part of my Holidays over that last several years and I always enjoy spending time with my friends there and helping our homeless friends find new homes before the holidays. Cricket and I were there for a few hours and, while she didn't get adopted, I was proud of how well she did with all of the people and craziness.
While I didn't do as much as I have in the past, I still spent some time baking some family favorites. One of Nicol's favorites is my great-grandma's sour cream cookie recipe, and I made a special batch just for Christmas eve. It was the first time that I was able to use my grandma's cookie cutters to make cookies and it was a special experience for me. I'm sure this will be a new tradition that will last for years.
I took the girls out for our annual drive to look at Christmas lights and we also enjoyed some quiet evenings at home just enjoying the Christmas tree and some holiday movies.
Nicol came home for our Christmas eve celebration and all of the girls, even Cricket, were excited to see her. They were spoiled by both of us and thoroughly enjoyed the whole celebration. I was pretty spoiled too! Christmas eve is always my favorite night of the year because I always have all of my girls together and nothing makes me happier than that.
Christmas day was spent at my parent's with my family. There was food, presents, and family time.
This Christmas season the weather has been unseasonably warm. We've had temperatures in the 40s and 50s. It hasn't really felt like Christmas here in Michigan, but I have enjoyed being able to take the girls out on some nice walks. They have also enjoyed being able to spend more time outside enjoying the yard. But Christmas shouldn't feel like Spring. Surprisingly, I have missed the snow. I guess I really do dream of a white Christmas.
Normally, I would spend a few days leading up to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Copper Harbor. This has become a tradition over the last several years, a tradition that I really love. I had made plans to leave yesterday for the long journey North, but Mother Nature had other ideas...and dumped nearly a foot and a half of snow over the Keweenaw Peninsula. Most of the UP and the Northern Lower Peninsula experienced a large storm throughout the day yesterday and into today. Snow, ice, and power outages were experienced throughout the area. And this morning, the snow finally arrived in Mid-Michigan. So for our safety, the girls and I stayed home and are enjoying a quiet New Year's Eve at home. I'm sad to be missing my New Year's Eve in the Harbor, but I am thankful to spend the night with my girls no matter where we are!
I have enjoyed the holidays and I am thankful for all of the memories I made with these amazing girls of mine!
I want to end with an update on Maddie. As you may remember, we recently had her at the vet for an ACTH Stim test in order to test her for Cushing's Disease. The results of the test came back inconclusive for Cushing's Disease and negative for Addison's. With the test results, the chances for Cushing's is unlikely, but still possible for atypical Cushing's. After discussing options, and potential other causes, we decided that an abdominal ultrasound would be the best next step (most of the other possible causes of her symptoms are very rare and very unlikely). The Ultrasound would give us a better idea if she could still potentially have Cushing's, despite all of the testing showing otherwise.
Saturday morning we headed to the vet for the ultrasound. The ultrasound would tell us if there was swelling (or a tumor) of the adrenal glands or anything else going on in her abdomen that could be causing her symptoms. I had a great discussion with the vet who did the ultrasound as she completed the procedure Both of Maddie's adrenal glands are enlarged, but show no sign of tumors. The size of the enlargement is typical for a dog with Cushing's disease. In addition, the wall of her gallbladder is thickened, which is also typical for a dog with Cushing's disease. Maddie is showing all of the signs of Cushing's despite the test results.
Our next step is to take her in for a more intensive test which will take 8 hours and should give us a more definitive answer. She is scheduled for that test next week. Since all of her blood work has come back good and her abdominal ultrasound showed no signs of any tumors, I've decided that if the next test is negative, we won't be doing any other testing and I'll just deal with her symptoms. She's a happy girl and is pretty healthy for a 13 year old, so I feel pretty blessed.
As we end 2019 and move into a new year and a new decade, I just want to say thank you for continuing to follow along on our journey. As I think back over the last year, and the last 10 years, it's crazy to think of all that I have accomplished. I am thankful for my family and friends and the life that I lead, and I am especially thankful for all of my girls. I look forward to the new adventures that 2020 will bring!
Happy New Year to you all!
Before the Holidays this year, I had made big plans to get out and experience as many different fun holiday activities as I could. I was looking forward to seeing so many new things-the lights at the Detroit Zoo, Christmas at Greenfield Village, the Winter Wonderfest in Copper Harbor, and several other things. but what I discovered this year is that I don't need to add a bunch of new activities to my Holidays. I already have several traditions, and those traditions are what make the Christmas season special.
We did start the season with a couple of new adventures. We started by visiting the Old Fence Rider Museum's Old Fashioned Christmas in Edmore. We made a full day of it, attending a local craft show and then hiking a local trail, and as we left town, we saw Santa. It was a good way to get me in the spirit of the season.
I followed that by attending the Wonderland of Lights at Potter Park Zoo. Every year the Marines hold a Toys for Tots toy drive one Saturday at the Zoo. I love to bring a toy or two to donate and, as a bonus, I get free admission to the event. I love to walk around the zoo looking at all of the lights and stopping to see the big cats. It is one of my favorite holiday traditions.
The girls and I visited the Capitol and the State Christmas tree more than once over the course of the month. I love walking downtown and listening to the Christmas music playing in the streets and enjoying all of the sights and sounds of the holidays. I think this year's tree is one of the prettiest I've seen.
I attended the Holiday All-Nighter at the shelter with Cricket. This event has become a big part of my Holidays over that last several years and I always enjoy spending time with my friends there and helping our homeless friends find new homes before the holidays. Cricket and I were there for a few hours and, while she didn't get adopted, I was proud of how well she did with all of the people and craziness.
While I didn't do as much as I have in the past, I still spent some time baking some family favorites. One of Nicol's favorites is my great-grandma's sour cream cookie recipe, and I made a special batch just for Christmas eve. It was the first time that I was able to use my grandma's cookie cutters to make cookies and it was a special experience for me. I'm sure this will be a new tradition that will last for years.
I took the girls out for our annual drive to look at Christmas lights and we also enjoyed some quiet evenings at home just enjoying the Christmas tree and some holiday movies.
Nicol came home for our Christmas eve celebration and all of the girls, even Cricket, were excited to see her. They were spoiled by both of us and thoroughly enjoyed the whole celebration. I was pretty spoiled too! Christmas eve is always my favorite night of the year because I always have all of my girls together and nothing makes me happier than that.
Christmas day was spent at my parent's with my family. There was food, presents, and family time.
This Christmas season the weather has been unseasonably warm. We've had temperatures in the 40s and 50s. It hasn't really felt like Christmas here in Michigan, but I have enjoyed being able to take the girls out on some nice walks. They have also enjoyed being able to spend more time outside enjoying the yard. But Christmas shouldn't feel like Spring. Surprisingly, I have missed the snow. I guess I really do dream of a white Christmas.
Normally, I would spend a few days leading up to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Copper Harbor. This has become a tradition over the last several years, a tradition that I really love. I had made plans to leave yesterday for the long journey North, but Mother Nature had other ideas...and dumped nearly a foot and a half of snow over the Keweenaw Peninsula. Most of the UP and the Northern Lower Peninsula experienced a large storm throughout the day yesterday and into today. Snow, ice, and power outages were experienced throughout the area. And this morning, the snow finally arrived in Mid-Michigan. So for our safety, the girls and I stayed home and are enjoying a quiet New Year's Eve at home. I'm sad to be missing my New Year's Eve in the Harbor, but I am thankful to spend the night with my girls no matter where we are!
I have enjoyed the holidays and I am thankful for all of the memories I made with these amazing girls of mine!
I want to end with an update on Maddie. As you may remember, we recently had her at the vet for an ACTH Stim test in order to test her for Cushing's Disease. The results of the test came back inconclusive for Cushing's Disease and negative for Addison's. With the test results, the chances for Cushing's is unlikely, but still possible for atypical Cushing's. After discussing options, and potential other causes, we decided that an abdominal ultrasound would be the best next step (most of the other possible causes of her symptoms are very rare and very unlikely). The Ultrasound would give us a better idea if she could still potentially have Cushing's, despite all of the testing showing otherwise.
Saturday morning we headed to the vet for the ultrasound. The ultrasound would tell us if there was swelling (or a tumor) of the adrenal glands or anything else going on in her abdomen that could be causing her symptoms. I had a great discussion with the vet who did the ultrasound as she completed the procedure Both of Maddie's adrenal glands are enlarged, but show no sign of tumors. The size of the enlargement is typical for a dog with Cushing's disease. In addition, the wall of her gallbladder is thickened, which is also typical for a dog with Cushing's disease. Maddie is showing all of the signs of Cushing's despite the test results.
Our next step is to take her in for a more intensive test which will take 8 hours and should give us a more definitive answer. She is scheduled for that test next week. Since all of her blood work has come back good and her abdominal ultrasound showed no signs of any tumors, I've decided that if the next test is negative, we won't be doing any other testing and I'll just deal with her symptoms. She's a happy girl and is pretty healthy for a 13 year old, so I feel pretty blessed.
As we end 2019 and move into a new year and a new decade, I just want to say thank you for continuing to follow along on our journey. As I think back over the last year, and the last 10 years, it's crazy to think of all that I have accomplished. I am thankful for my family and friends and the life that I lead, and I am especially thankful for all of my girls. I look forward to the new adventures that 2020 will bring!
Happy New Year to you all!
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