Poked, Prodded, Cut,Waxed and Bored...

Yesterday...well, yesterday was a day alright. At 9am I went in for my long awaited tests on my leg. Stupid leg is still numb - what a shocker. It's been 3 weeks now. 3 WEEKS! Sheesh! So I went in for a nerve conductor test, and an EMG test.

The nerve conductor test consisted of a doctor hooking up some type of electrodes to my foot and behind my knee. Then the thingy-ma-jobbie was turned on, and my foot twitched like crazy. It was involuntary, and felt similar to the feeling when a doctor hits you on the knee with the little hammer thing to check your reflexes. Times about 100. The electrodes were moved around to different places, I got zapped again, and the doc made a bunch of notes. Fun. If nothing else, the doctor was very pleasant, and we had some nice conversation while he was zapping me. Talked about music, kids, and dogs. At least the time with him went by quickly.

The second test was done by a different doctor. A very serious older gentleman that had the bedside manner of a brick. He said nothing to me other than the bare basics. "Turn onto you side now." "Back to your back now" "Down with your foot" blah, blah, blah. Yeah, he was a real gem. He didn't even warm me when he started sticking needles into my ankle and leg! Geeze! Thankfully, the were very thin needles, similar to what is used in acupuncture. But still! He could have warned me. (Thank Goodness the first doctor told me what the second one was going to be doing!) Anyway, he proceeded to stick these little needles in my leg, and then send electricity through them and monitor what the response from my stupid numb leg was. Only a couple of the needle sticks actually bothered me (felt like a tiny bee sting) because the rest were put into the numb part. He had needles going from my lower back (yeah, I felt those alright!) down to my ankle. Lots of zaps, and jolts. Needless to say, I was GLAD when that was done!

Of course I won't know any results until my regular doctor gets the test results. Hopefully SOON!

Anyway, after that, I decided to go visit Bear, at the salon where she works, to get a haircut. Is it a bad thing that I asked her to shave my head? Of course she didn't, but I'm telling you, sometimes I don't think it would bother me. I've never been a "hairdo" kind of girl. I don't like to do much with my hair, and like to keep it as short as I possibly can, without Hubby getting cranky. Bear did a great job, cut it nice and short, and, yes, Hubby was a little cranky when he saw it. Oh well....my standard answer..."It'll grow!"

From there, Bear walked me over to the place where she gets her eyebrows waxed. It'd been quite some time since I'd had mine done, and they were starting to look a bit like Andy Rooney's. Not great for a girl.

I had a nice little young lady lather them up with hot wax, and zip! there they went. YIKES! As if I hadn't been poked and prodded enough already, I subject myself to hot wax and hair being ripped from my face. Ah, the things we do to ourselves...

While I ran around and got my tests done, and a little girl maintenance

...the pups were at home, bored stiff.

Poor babies...

A Peek of Blue

It's been stormy all morning, and most of yesterday. I stepped out earlier, and saw this...it made me smile.

A "Religious" Sign? If only...

I got this in an email from a friend.

If only they really did make

signs like this. It might actually

get people's attention!

What would YOU do?

You know how sometimes strange things happen, right?

Well, last night there was an episode of 20/20 or Primetime or one of those news shows on. I recorded it to watch later, and just skimmed through it. It was called "What would you do?" and featured some set up scenarios of bad situations, and filmed people as they responded to the situation. For example, one scenario they set up was a car parked on a busy street in front of a coffee shop. Inside the car was a baby (not a real baby) who'd been left unattended. They had a recording of a baby crying that was playing in the car, so, it really did look like a baby alone in a car. What would people do? Well, thankfully, most people walked by, saw the baby, and immediately tried to help by calling 911. Some looked around for the parent, (an actress played the part) and berated her when she did show up. Some just walked by without stopping, saying that they'd heard the baby, but they'd assumed there was an adult in there with the baby. The people were all told that is was a social experiment, and asked why they'd done what they'd done. It was pretty interesting.

They did the same experiment with a dog left in the car. A Golden (of course) was left in a car, windows up, but sunroof partially open. It barked and panted, (but it was safe at all times...) some people stopped, some people didn't. Again, it was very interesting. One of the people that stopped to call the police about the dog was a young teenage boy. Others had walked by, but he'd stopped. He knew that what he was seeing was wrong. He called the police (who were in on the experiment) - he'd done the RIGHT thing. Seeing this young man made me stop and remind myself to save this show to be sure to show my kids. As great as they are, I wanted to reinforce how important it is do to the RIGHT thing.

Remember... this was on TV last night.

Flash forward to this morning...My Mom goes out to their garage. She closes the door from the house to the garage as she goes, and opens the large garage door. She steps to the far end of the garage and her foot catches on something. She falls down. Hard. On her left side. She can't get up. She tries to call out to my Dad, who is in the house, and can't hear her. She yells for help. Nothing. She sees a neighbor across the street sitting in his truck in front of his house. (An older man, that she doesn't know by name.) She thinks she sees him look her way. She yells again. Nothing. He sits there and ignores her. She continues to yell for help for quite some time, until, at last, a young man walks up the street. He approaches. He sees her laying there and asks if she is ok. She tells him she needs help. He helps. He asks if he can call someone for her, and he asks if she wants him to help her get up. She does. With his help, she is able to stand and make it back into her house. Her legs are ok, she thinks her arm may be broken. My Dad calls my house (I was at a doctor appointment) and gets ahold of Bear. Bear gets in the car and heads to their house (thankfully we only live 2 miles from them) - they call Urgent Care, and decided it's best to call 911 and have an ambulance come. The paramedics come, and take her to the hospital. I get there shortly after they bring her in. We wait, her arm is x-rayed, and yup, it's broken. Right up the by the shoulder, in a place they can't cast. She is in a lot of pain but will be ok. She's got a sling and some pain medicine and will need to take it really easy for a while. Thankfully that's all. It could have been so much worse.

That young man could have not walked by. He could have walked by and ignored her like the man across the street. Thank God he didn't. Thank God he stopped, and he knew the RIGHT thing to do.

Yes, Thank God indeed...and shame on the man across the street.

You just never know when something like this will happen. Challenge yourself to do the right thing. Step up when others hesitate. Some many people out there won't. Be the person that makes a positive difference. A family somewhere will be thankful.

Mom, happy to be heading home...

People-Smeople, time for some random facts from the pooches point of view!

There have been a lot of lists going around lately about getting to know your friends better, etc. If you've got a Myspace page or a Facebook page, or blog, you've undoubtedly been "tagged" by such a list. Most of them are fun to fill out, (list your nickname, favorite food, song, etc.) and fun for your friends to read. "I never knew she did that!!" I thought it might be fun to change it up a bit, and give our pooches the opportunity to give us their 2 cents.

Consider yourself tagged by me. Here is my challenge to you. If you've got a blog and an animal, (or several) that share your life, let them tell some facts of their own. Even if you don't have a blog (you know who you are), feel free leave a comment with your animal's facts.

Hey, this isn't rocket science, it's just supposed to be kinda fun. No pressure, just give it a try. You never know what they'll tell you.



Jack says:

I am the oldest and noblest Golden in our household.

I will eat almost anything, including poop, if I'm in the mood.

My Mom and Dad had to get swimming lessons for me because I was petrified of our pool. They say it was the best $60 they ever spent on me. Now I LOVE to swim.

I can be super irritating when I want your attention. I sometimes drive my Mom nuts with my barking.

I am a great retriever, but a lousy "giver-backer."

Our Mom loves me best.

Jill says:

I had hip replacement surgery when I was only 2 years old.

I am the perfect example of a ditzy blond. (I often scratch at the tile in our house, trying to fluff it up before I lay down on it.)

I love everybody! My Mom thinks I'd be a perfect therapy dog.

I couldn't care less about fetching a ball, or playing with toys.

When I was little I was scared of the vaccuum, so everytime my Mom turned it on, I would run outside, and go into the pool, becuase I felt safe there. My Mom and Dad finally broke me of that habit, but it took a while!

Our Mom loves me best.

Kona says:

1. When I was little, I was often car sick. I still get sick in the car every so often.



2. I am sometimes mistaken for a Great Pyrenees.



3. I am extremely good natured. My Mom can look in my mouth, clip my nails, take food, bones or toys away from me, and pretty much anything else, and I never grumble about it.



4. I am a "shoe gatherer" - I pick up my Mom's shoes, out of her bedroom, and bring them to my bed. I snuggle with them, but I never chew them. Having her shoes with me, especially when she is not home, is comforting to me.



5. I love to play with my dog friends and family. I especially love to swim with my real brother and sister, Joey and Kealani (who live with Aunt Valerie) and to wrestle with my friend Bonnie Blu the Boxer.



6. Our Mom loves me best.

So, there you have it...straight from the dogs' mouth. Your turn now...and there aren't even any rules on how many facts you come up with. Just have fun - we did!

Momma, May I?

"Yes, Kona, of course you may..."

25 Random things about me - tag, I'm it...

...And now you are!

I got "tagged" with this silly little survey thingy on my Facebook page. You are supposed to write 25 totally random things about yourself. And, well, my blog is called Random Ramblings, so I guess it's right up my alley...I also figured it might be fun to pass along to anyone who is interested. It does make you think a bit about yourself, that's for sure. Read mine, then make your own list and post it if you'd like. No pressure...

So, here goes. 25 Random things about me...

1. I love to paint, scenery, not walls. I’m not very good.

2. I love to take pictures even more than I love to paint. I am much better at taking pictures than I am painting them.

3. I always listen to the radio when I am on my computer. I find that if I turn the TV on, I get sucked into watching whatever is on, and then I get nothing done. Nothing.

4. I love taking my dogs places with me. It is a lot of work to take them places by myself, but it’s worth it.

5. My dogs are great company.

6. Picking up my dogs’ poop doesn’t particularly bother me. Going to dog parks and seeing that other people don’t bother to pick up after their dog does bother me. A LOT.

7. I rarely leave home without a camera of some type. I’m sure that the one time I am out and about without a camera will be the one time I run into Brad Pitt, and I won’t have proof.

8. I am an awesome dancer. In the kitchen, with my dogs, I rock. You will, however, never, ever catch me on a dance floor in public…unless I’ve consumed a LOT of rum, which is a pretty rare occurrence.

9. I hate wearing shoes. Especially “big girl” shoes. If I could live barefoot, I would. My shoes of choice are Reef Flip Flops, or Ugg Slippers.

10. I LOVE to blog. I’ve been blogging for nearly a year straight, and it makes me a little crazy to go through a day and not blog. I think I’m addicted.

11. I’ve met a lot of great people through blogging. (And a couple of strange ones!)

12. I’ve fought my weight my entire adult life. My weight usually wins.

13. I’ve found that people, in general, are much nicer to you if you are thin, or at least on the thinner side. It’s not fun, or easy being heavy.

14. I am sometimes incredibly lonely.

15. I love to read a good book, but rarely find that I have time.

16. I started the S.D. Golden Retriever Meetup Group to meet some new people that love their dogs as much as I love mine.

17. I now have 591 people in my Golden Group.

18. I’ve been on TV several times, and always hate how I look.

19. I don’t like to talk in front of a bunch of people, but I’ve heard I do a decent job.

20. I think I could be great friends with people like Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Jenifer Aniston without it being a big deal. (Jen, girl, you’ve got to stay away from that dirt-bag John Mayer!)

21. Crunchy Peanut Butter on toast and a glass of chocolate milk is my very favorite breakfast if I’m at home. Hence, refer to #12…

22. I have walked the 3 Day, 60 Mile Breast Cancer walk twice, and plan to do it again in 2010.

23. I’ve had acrylic nails on my fingers for nearly 20 years. I have “baby hands” without them.

24. I love entertaining at my house. I would have people over every weekend during the summer if I could, to BBQ, hang out in the pool, and chit chat. But it gets expensive…

25. I throw one heck of a rockin Halloween Party.

Now, it's your turn...