Happy Payne Day!

I'm big on birthdays. Will hates this about me, but I can't help it. I just love to celebrate birthdays! This isn't always an easy thing to do when you adopt an animal.... some people celebrate the day that they adopted their animal as "gotcha" day, but we call it their "Payne Day"! It's the day that they became a part of our family, so why not celebrate it like a birthday?

With that being said, today is our sweet mandog's Payne Day!

 

The top left and bottom right are from the first day we had him.... he was so fluffy!

It's been a hard year for him and us, but we're taking it day by day and making sure he's as healthy as possible.

Happy 2nd Payne Day sweet Riggs, we love you tons!

(he's actually 8 years old, we think....)

Why Didn't I Catch This?

When Will is on call or working late, I find myself channel surfing, on the couch, with a poodle or two snuggled up on my side. Politics have calmed down, for the most part, and I find myself doing this much more than ever before. 

I often think to myself "you live in a large city now, why are you on the couch?!" and my answer tends to be the same...."I don't know.." LOL! It's just something that happens. I found that when I do go out of the house, Will tends to come home, and I hate missing what little time I have with him. However, this isn't what this post is about......

I realize that it's 2015...... but I'm just now catching on to a show that started in 2009.

Parks and Recreation

I can't seem to get enough of this show! I see so much of myself in each of the characters it's unreal. Even Will enjoys it! I'm sad to see it end, however I'm so glad that I found it! The Esquire Network shows reruns all the time, so I tend to watch them at night, but Will and I plan on watching all 5 seasons soon. EEK!

Has this ever happened to you? Do you find yourself binge watching shows that you never knew about? I did this with Game of Thrones and don't regret one second I spent watching it. :)

A Free Dog Is Always The Most Expensive Dog....

If you're friends with me on Facebook, then you know that our sweet man dog, Riggs, has been sick for quite some time now. No, we don't know what's wrong with him, but the vet has an "idea".

In November, Riggs started drinking water excessively, only to throw it up about 2 minutes later. At first, I didn't think much of it, but after a few days I was concerned. I took him to a vet close by the house and was told that he had a kidney infection and to take this medicine to make it better. 10 days and a completed prescription later, things were worse. 

We got a referral from a good friend to go to her vet; which we did. After 2 visits with her, she decided it was time to go to a specialist. Mind you, within this 3 week time frame, Riggs was still throwing up, wasn't eating, and had lost 10lbs. I was a total wreck. I didn't want to sleep because I was scared Riggs would need something or something would happen and I wouldn't be there for him. 

The 2nd vet thought that Riggs had either kidney failure or cancer, so off to the specialist we went. Two ultrasounds and about 9 different blood tests later, we still knew nothing. It had been a month now and although Riggs had improved, we still didn't have a diagnosis. Finally, after our last specialist visit, Riggs had improved with 5 different medications and special homemade food (which I'll blog about later). He was eating and drinking normally, started to play again, and finally gained some weight back! We still have a few more pounds to go, but we'll get there.

With that being said, the vet still wanted to do more tests to find out what was wrong with him.... this is where I had to make myself choose what was best for Riggs, not for me, which is easier said than done. The vet wanted to do surgery to get a biopsy to test for cancer. Surgery. That word floored me. Would I do the same for myself? Hasn't he gone through enough? My heart sank. I didn't know what to say. There I was, in a small room with a semi-healthy dog, and they wanted to do surgery? I couldn't give her an answer. After talking to Will and my mom, I decided against the surgery. Let me explain....

Over the past month, Riggs has gone through 7 different medications, 9 different blood tests, 2 ultrasounds, and so many vet visits, I've lost count. It got to the point where he didn't want to get in the car anymore. He knew if he did, someone would poke, pull, or do something to him again.... this broke my heart. He had improved with the new medications he was on and seemed to be getting back to normal. How could I make him go through surgery if we weren't even sure it would be conclusive? We had already done so much that the vet "thought" would give us results and we still had nothing.

I told the vet my decision, and to my surprise, she agreed. She told me she was proud of me and my decision for Riggs. If she did surgery and the biopsy came back positive for cancer, then what? Chemo? No way. Chemo isn't the same for dogs as it is for humans. Chemo can work wonders for humans, but in dogs, it only pro-longs their life a few months, if even that. There was no way I could put my sweet man dog through that.

For now, he's as healthy as he can be. Gaining a little over 6lbs, never complaining about his medicine, and terrorizing his sisters, I'm one happy dog mom. This was an experience I never thought I'd have to go through with an animal, and quite frankly, hope I don't have to again. We got sucked in to the thought of "what if we aren't doing enough" and ended up doing too much. Do what is best for your dog, not yourself. You'll make your dog a happier pup in the long run.

A Place to Speak Your Mind....

In Midland, I wasn't considered your normal twenty something year old. I was a proud, outspoken Democrat. I wore Democratic tshirts, had Democratic bumper stickers on my car, and wasn't afraid to say, "Hey! I'm a Democrat!". These are simply things most people in Midland were afraid to do; it could compromise their job position pr make people upset. Some people just didn't feel comfortable being as out in the open as I was about it. This is why the state Democratic convention is socially important to people from small towns.

The last weekend of June was the state Democratic convention, held in Dallas, TX. It was a blast. There were so many events going on, interesting people to talk to, and most of the candidates on the Democratic ticket were there. We ran in to Leticia Van de Putte and Wendy Davis multiple times, just by walking around the venue! This is something you could call a safe haven. This is a place where everyone believes in the same things, politically, as you do. A place where you can be open about your beliefs and stand strong on issues that are most important to you. It's a place you won't feel judged or looked down upon, simply a place you feel right.

 This may not be the best picture, but it's one of my favorites. This was during the woman's caucus, while Wendy Davis was speaking. The energy in that room was unbelievable and something I'll never forget.

One of my favorite moments of that weekend was Sunday. My guests were preparing to leave, and each one of them had on a Democratic shirt to wear home to Midland. It made me so happy to see 4 women so fearless to be proud of who they were politically in such a Republican county. Here's a picture of my guests at convention :)

 Lastly, I'd like to thank David Rosen. He took me under his wing, so to speak, when I lived in Midland. Him and his wife were so nice and accepting of me right off the bat. David not only made me his Vice Chair of the Midland County Democratic Party, but he taught me so much about politics from county level to nationally. He's also taken me to a few extremely awesome fundraisers for candidates, such as Wendy Davis, Leticia Van de Putte, and Pete Gallego. I thought I knew about politics until I met David. Thanks for everything, David.

I miss my Midlanders, a lot. I miss my Democratic women, my favorite County Chair of all time, and just the Democrats in general. I miss making a difference with them, but I know they'll continue to make me proud.

Love all of you so much, see you soon; but until then, let's turn Texas blue!

A Place for Friends, Family, and Dreams

It's July.

{ Let that sink in for a second...... }

June is, as always, a crazy busy month for this Payne family. Between my mom's annual dance recital, our anniversary, my dad's birthday, Father's Day, and the State Democratic Convention every other year, June just seems to fly by us!

While I could bore you with photos from the State Democratic Convention... I decided to post about our house. Although this is not our first home together, it's a special one. This house is a new start for us, in a new place, with nothing but new people. Will and I moved to Fort Worth without knowing anyone; which has proven to be a challenge at times.

When we were telling our friends and families about our move to Fort Worth, it never failed that one of us, if not both, would say "we can't wait for you to come visit us!". Finally, 4 of my friends from Midland accepted that offer, which means I had to get my butt in gear!

I am not a decorator. Let me repeat, I AM NOT A DECORATOR. So, of course, decorating a house this big was a challenge for me. My main goal was making sure that the guest bedrooms were complete. I had a vision for a British themed guest room, but just couldn't seem to pull it together. Maybe in the future.....

In the meantime, how about some photos?

Once I get the rest of the house "together" I'll share those with you. Until then, I'm off to prepare for my parents to visit! Just got the call they are on their way :)

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!