FSAF #??? (#5 maybe?)

I didn't forget about FSAF, and I didn't give up on blogging about it. We've had a few that were way too far in between, and I don't have a point and shoot camera anymore. I could use the DSLR but sometimes it's just too big and bulky to carry. Just taking Vincent requires so much... stuff. We did go to the "aquarium" in Tempe a while back, but it was not really an aquarium in the sense of the word as I know it. I associate the word aquarium with the Boston Aquarium. There was no comparison. It was in a mall. A ghetto mall. We went anyway, and it was mediocre. So mediocre I didn't feel like it was blog-worthy. There were a few more that also were pretty unadventurous. I don't even remember them. Today we went to Usery Mountain Regional Park and tried to hike the Wind Cave Trail. I say tried because we didn't make it to the cave at the top. Vincent is quite large (I'm trying to get as much use out of our Kelty Kid Carrier as possible before he outgrows it). I got about 60% of the way up before V got sick of being strapped to my back. His head is basically touching the sun shade now and I think that was annoying him. I couldn't take it off because I forgot his sunscreen. Also he is large. Did I mention he is large and heavy? Between him and the supplies I had in the backpack it was easily 30lbs. Maybe more. I'm not as in shape as I used to be (I hiked Mount Washington with a 30lb pack back in high school). It wasn't a fail because we had fun. I got a little crazy on the way back and decided to go to Tortilla Flat for lunch. Not exactly on my way back, it was 25 miles out of the way.  I remember the food being really good the first time I went. Today it was just okay. Not bad, not good. Just okay. I'm going to wrap up my random thoughts now. I promise to work harder to:
 A) find fun adventurous stuff to do
and 
B) record it in photographic and blogical form.

Is blogical a word? It is now. Maybe blogographic? whatever.
-Joe

FSAF #3 A day in Papago Park

Today V and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden with Alanna. The garden was cool as always, even though there were no special exhibits going on. We walked around, checked out plants, stopped to feed V on a shady bench, got to go in some Tohono O'odham dwellings (they were a native american tribe indigenious to this area). Ground some mesquite beans, then hit the gift shop while V took a nap. I got a pretty cool book detailing all the edible plants in the southwest, so as long as I bring it or memorize it we'll be all set if we get stranded in the wilderness! After that we decided to go climb up to the Hole in the rock at Papago Park. Hung out up in the hole for a while, then climbed down and hung out in the shade under a ramada. Here's some pics, CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS FOR LARGER IMAGES!!!!!!

FSAF #1 DESERT LOVIN'

No, not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter! Ever wonder why we like something? I'm not talking about Facebook, I'm talking real life. Today I took Vincent on a trip up to Lake Pleasant to get some pictures and be outside in the beautiful weather. We drove around inside of Lake Pleasant State Park, checked out the visitors center, took some pics of where I almost rolled our truck into the lake last weekend (that's a story for a different time), and walked around on the trails looking for wildlife I was going to head home. When I got back to Castle Hot Springs road I knew I should go left and head home, but instead I went right. While I was doing this Theresa's words were running through my head. When she had called less than an hour before, she said something to the effect of "don't do anything stupid, you have our son with you. You know sometimes you take dirt roads and trails and realize after it wasn't the best idea". She was right, that's how I almost put us into Lake Pleasant upside down in the Montero the previous weekend. So even with her voice in my head telling me not to, I headed north on Castle Hot Springs road off into the desert. Vincent was asleep so I reasoned that if it got really bumpy or sketchy looking I'd turn around, after all I had very little water for myself, no extra bottles for him, and no tire repair kit. As I explored, and took more pictures, I was thinking about the fact I love the desert. I don't know why, but I find it absolutely fascinating and beautiful. It could be because it's the polar opposite of the terrain I grew up around. Back in New England it's all grass and trees, it rains frequently, it snows way too much. Here we get almost no rain, no snow at all, the trees are few and far between, there are cacti everywhere. See, totally different. But I love it. I know it can be deadly, there are venomous snakes and lizards, the summer temperatures always exceed 100 degrees, the winter nights can get down below freezing. So, why do I love it? Is it because we can camp all year round? Is it because it's so different? Is it all the unsettled land we can go out and explore? Is it because desert racing is so friggen cool? Is it because of all the great mexican food? Maybe. Here's some pics (click on the thumbnails for bigger pics), enjoy!

The McGowan Family Disclaimer

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by Theresa or Joseph McGowan and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of The McGowan family as a whole, specifically Vincent McGowan or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Fur. The McGowan Family make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

The McGowan Family blog reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner it sees fit blog entries or comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, or is otherwise unacceptable.

beagle pain syndrome? what the...?!?!

Baby McG
Baby V is doing well. He has nearly doubled in weight over the past month and a half and is getting so chunky. I LOVE his little rolls. :-) Also, he is sleeping slightly longer in the night. I still have to get up to feed him in the middle of the night, but he has been really good lately and has been going straight back to sleep right after. And I know that will keep getting better. I just have to stick with it and be patient...and strong.

Papa McG
Joe is doing well (as far as I can see, at least). :-) He is a great father. I know, like me, he has countless lessons to learn...but he is great with V and he smiles every time Joe is near him. That little boy loves his daddy so much already.

Mama McG
Read the last post. Oh yeah...and also...I HATE that I have to go back to work. HATE IT!! Like I've said before, I actually do like my job. But nothing would make me happier than to be able to stay at home with V every day and help him grow.

Lucy McG
Lucy just turned 4 this past week...already!! And she is a great big sister to V and I can tell that they will be the GREATEST of friends. But she has had another health hiccup this week. :-(

Remember last winter when Lucy was diagnosed with hip dysplasia?

(Click HERE for a refresher)

Well, she ended up responding well to the initial treatment of it and has been asymptomatic since then. Until now. Just over this past weekend she has started to whimper when moving and shrieks in pain if her hips are touched. So while I stayed at home with the baby on Sunday, Joe took her to the vet to see what they could do for the flare up of her hip dysplasia.

Only...

They took more x-rays and the radiologist on Sunday said there was no hip dysplasia.

WHAT the @#$%?????

Yeah.

That was my reaction verbatim.

So they did some blood work to see if it's possibly valley fever (hope NOT!), and if that comes back negative then they think she might have something called Beagle Pain Syndrome.

Not kidding.

Apparently Beagle Pain Syndrome is a type of meningitis that causes pain with movement, anorexia, depression, hunched posture, and guarding of the neck and genital area. It can, apparently, affect dogs other than beagles, too. It's treatable with steroids.

But here's my "thing":

If they originally diagnosed hip dysplasia and that initial treatment worked and got rid of all symptoms for almost a year, why are they now saying that it's something completely different? What I want to know is why in the WORLD one x-ray would show hip dysplasia and then one year later another shows that it's magically gone. Sorry, people...but hip dysplasia doesn't work that way. It actually gets WORSE over time.

Right now, they are hoping to rule out valley fever and we are just waiting for the results. If it's negative, then they are thinking it's the Beagle Pain Syndrome. But what if they are wrong about this, too? Or maybe they weren't wrong and she really DOES have hip dysplasia.

See? Confusing!!

Now I'm just skeptical about everything.

We have a follow up appointment later this week, so stay tuned for some news. Until then, though, just keep her little painful beagle butt in your thoughts and prayers.

lucy fur the swimming beagle dog

As Joe mentioned in his last post, we had a very memorable weekend. And, part of that weekend was spent letting Lucy swim at Watson Lake near Prescott. We had to keep her leashed, but she still had a blast.

Take a look!



:-)

if you're reading this...

...then now you know that I was NOT rapture-ized either.

Which is a good thing, because I want to be around a little longer to make sure our little baby is okay.

On a boring note, I got an "A" in my Statistics and Measurements class which was no small feat because it was not the most exhilarating course thus far. But (as I'm sure Joe can agree) I worked my ever-expanding BUTT off on that class and I am really proud of myself. I honestly didn't think I could pull it off.

Other than that, not much has been going on that is truly newsworthy other than I have already pretty much gained ALL the weight I lost last year. I know it'll eventually come off again...but the pictures kind of make me upchuck a little. The belly part's cute, so I thought I'd share a picture for you all, but just ignore all the rest of the chunkiness.

Little Baby McG is doing just fine so far. I'm feeling him a lot more lately, too. And that is a good thing because every once in awhile he'll be really lazy and it's always comforting to feel him move again. Makes me realize he's doing okay.

Our monthly checkups have been going really really well so far, too. They have actually been pretty boring, if I must say so. All I do is go, weigh in (my FAVORITE!), get my blood pressure checked, and have my uterus measured. I usually have to wait in the waiting room for about 20-30 minutes, but once I'm in, I'm out again in like 5 minutes. So there haven't been many issues at all.

And that is a good GREAT thing!

This week, though, I have my glucose screening test...which I am actually a little nervous about. Joe has already warned me about this test (he's had to do it a few times over the years), so I'm already prepared for it to taste ridiculously sweet and strong. But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about the results of the test, which will show if I have any level of blood sugar abnormalities. I'm over 25, obviously, and I am REALLY overweight. And those are two of the risk factors for gestational diabetes. But there are other risk factors, too, so I'll be hoping for the best. I just really want everything to be okay, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

On a happier note...

Jim and Bobbie, you should be so proud of your son! Joe has really been amazing throughout the whole experience so far. He is helpful, supportive, giving, calming, and just all around the best father-to-be ever. And I know he's been anticipating a big freak out and/or breakdown from me at some point (don't you just LOVE how movies portray females in pregnancy?) - and, I guess there's always the chance that it could still happen - but I really haven't had many mood swings at all so far. Just a couple that I can think of. But, more importantly, he's been so supportive at all times and ends up just doing something awesome like rubbing my shoulders or holding my hand. Sorry if this is embarrassing you, Joe...just want people to know that you freakin' rock!

:-)

And one more thing...

We are still not announcing our little one's name yet. Sorry. :-( But just don't ask. Joe and I want to keep it a special secret between the two of us for a little while longer.

Don't worry, though. You'll all know soon enough...I promise.

and the angioplasty goes to...

...JOEHAMMED!!!

Okee dokee.

So.

After the procedure, Joe's doctor came out to speak with me and, for some reason, my heart started pounding out through my chest. Not sure why, but I all of a sudden freaked out. It was unnecessary, though, as the doctor proceeded to tell me that everything went fine.

He said it ended up being more complicated than they originally thought. Meaning, they went up through the femoral artery in the left leg (which is what they normally do) and they found that one of the kidney arteries (there are more than one!) showed significant constriction. It was a little more than 75% closed!

So they definitely decided to go ahead with the angioplasty.

The doctor said that the reason it was complicated, though, is because of the way that the kidney was transplanted. He said it was transplanted beautifully, but that the location made it difficult to keep the catheter coming in from the left side. So they realized that it was more advantageous to do the angioplasty from the right side. Which means that they ended up taking the tube out of the left side and putting one in through the right side.

OUCH!!!

But the angioplasty went really well. Hooray!!

They took the balloon and opened the artery and then removed the balloon. They saw that the artery did not stay 100% opened, but the doctor said it stayed at 90% opened, which is significant....and a heck of a lot better than the 25% opened it was before!

Also, the doctor said he was very hesitant to put in a stent to keep it open because he said that sometimes a stent can become consumed by scar tissue and cause additional closure of the artery...plus a stent can never be removed. And he was hesitant to do that because this is Joe's only working kidney, which made him more conservative in this procedure (<-- good thing!). So...he decided to leave the artery at 90% opened and then Joe will go back in about 6 months for an ultrasound to see if there is any closure or if it looks okay.

I am hoping that it will look okay, so keep your fingers crossed!!

all you need to know about renal angiograms

Dear Reader -

This is what you need to know about renal angiography and angioplasty in a transplanted kidney**.

A renal angiogram involves the insertion of a long, thin tube into the femoral artery (in the groin). The tube is then guided up through the femoral artery where it will reach the area where the transplanted kidney is connected to the artery.

A radioactive (X-Ray) dye is then inserted from the tube into the artery so that the X-Ray equipment can detect the movement of the blood/fluid throughout the blood vessels. If it is noted that there is significant loss or constriction of blood flow to the kidney, an angioplasty can then be performed.

A renal angioplasty involves inserting a small balloon-like object through the tube into the constricted blood vessel/artery. The balloon is then equipped to expand and thus open said blood vessel/artery so that adequate blood flow to the kidney can then be resumed. If necessary, a stent (which is a metal or plastic tube-like balloon) can be place into the blood vessel/artery permanently to prevent it from becoming constricted again.

**PS - I am not a doctor. I repeat...I am not a doctor! So please do not quote me. Please.

---

This is what Joe is getting done today.

A couple months ago when Joe had his yearly post-transplant ultrasound and biopsy, the ultrasound showed possible narrowing of the artery/blood vessels supplying blood to his new kidney. So he is getting the angiogram done today and, if there is significant enough narrowing, they will do the angioplasty and possible stent placement to maintain unconstricted blood flow to the kidney.

I must say that I just plain hate hospitals. I know they help sustain life and, come August, will help deliver a new little life into our arms. But I just hate hospitals. And even though Joe has spent enough time in hospitals, it still doesn't make it easier when we have to come back. I know he prefers to stay away from hospitals as much as he can and would probably rather watch paint dry than have to go through a procedure, but he's a champ. He's a real trooper. And I am proud of him!

His doctor for the procedure is super nice and this seems like a really good hospital. So I know he's in good hands. But I just can't wait for this day to be over...

it's time for a break

I have been really bad about keeping up with the blog over the past couple weeks, so I apologize for that. Things have just been a little overwhelming lately…

Work is going just fine for both of us as there is never a lack of work to do. Every day is different and not all days are perfect, but we both really like where we are at (for now!) and it’s just really great to have jobs that we like. The economy over the past few years has been a little scary, so we definitely count ourselves as blessed!

The baby is alive and well and I've felt him kicking a time or two over the past week. One of the times I realized it was a real baby kick and not just gas was last Saturday. We were all sitting around on the patio listening to my dad play his guitar and I think our little Baby McG was dancing along with him. It was weird…but really really cute. :-) So that's exciting!

And our beagle, Lucy, is seemingly healthy - which, if you know ANYTHING about our dog, being healthy is a miracle!! And Joe and I were just looking at old Lucy pictures last night and we fell in love with her all over again. Here is one of our favorites. :-)

So it actually seems like things are going really well and I shouldn’t be overwhelmed. But I am.

I started my statistics and measurements course which is definitely interesting, but it’s hard for me. So much is involved in answering each question, mostly because I don’t know what is going on and have to spend hours just learning about one concept. And it’s just really difficult. I’m doing okay in the class (so far), but it’s still a little stressful. (Maybe I should stop blogging and get back to it?)

Also, we recently found out that a really good friend of ours from back East was in a very serious car accident last week. He was hospitalized immediately and has been there ever since where he has been in critical condition. He had no scratches anywhere except for his head and they immediately had to treat him for brain swelling and placed him in a medically-induced coma to help treat it. They have been waking him every two hours to check on his progress and/or complications and because of the brain swelling, they had to remove part of his skull to allow room for the brain to swell. His left arm and leg have not been responding much at all. Every time they would wake him to check his responses he has reacted severely to the tubes they placed in his throat for food and breathing. This week so far, we have found out that they did a tracheotomy for his breathing and placed a tube in his stomach for feeding. This way, the the tubes are no longer in his throat. The hemicraniectomy, tracheotomy and gastral tube procedures have been very successful so far, so now they are just waiting for his recovery and to see how things progress from here. And over the past couple days he has actually made some really good strides in responsiveness. We are very hopeful for him because he is an extremely strong young man and it seems like things are definitely getting better, slowly but surely. But it’s just very hard being so far away and not knowing what to expect. So him and his family have not strayed far from my mind over the past week. I think about them constantly, actually.

Also…and I hope he doesn’t kill me for putting this out there…but Joe had his yearly biopsy and ultrasounds a few weeks ago. One of the things they noticed in the ultrasound was that his renal artery (which connects the kidney to the major artery blood supply) was looking constricted and causing the kidney to possibly not get as much blood as it should be getting. So they want him to have a renal angioplasty to fix it. Anytime he has to go to the hospital I…well…I just don’t like it one bit! But I want him to stay healthy for as long as humanly possible…so that’s been on my mind a lot, too.

Now...I don’t complain to anyone at ALL (unless you are Joe or my family), so please don’t take this as complaining. There’s just a lot going on in my little world. So, if you have a second, just send some positive thoughts out into the universe. Lord knows, I’ll be doing the same…

our baby is going to be french canadian

Hey everyone!

Great news last week, huh? Yep. We are having a baby! So cool.

We are due in August (the freakin HOTTEST month of the year, might I add) and I am approximately nine weeks along. It's kind of confusing because one book/website will say I'm 8 weeks, another will say I'm 9, and yet another has said I'm 10 weeks now but really 9 weeks and 2 days. Yeah. Confusing. So I'll just guesstimate and say that I'm 9 weeks.

Once everything with the pregnancy was confirmed, I was going to try to wait for the entire first trimester to be complete before spreading the official news, just in case something terrible happens. But I don't really want to live in fear and plus...I just couldn't wait any longer. And I don't think Joe could either because he was itching to post the ultrasound pictures on Facebook.
:-)

The human body is spectacular. And, for the most part, I don't feel any physical differences. Well...other than peeing every hour (even during the middle of the night), feeling queasy pretty much all day, and feeling completely wiped out by 6pm every night. But other than that, it's been just normal. Every once in a while, though, I catch myself really thinking that I have a little human growing inside of me. It's kind of weird, and I feel like everything is still kind of surreal...but it's also exciting and amazing at the same time.

Also, here is another ultrasound picture. It is slightly different than the one form the previous post, but I thought I'd post it as well since there won't be any new pictures until the end of February.

One thing that is kind of funny is that Joe and Lucy have both had so many more ultrasounds than me. And I'm willing to bet that when the pregnancy is over, both of them combined will still have had more. But...I think it's just so amazing that they can do ultrasounds. I know they weren't around when my mom was pregnant with me...so it's really neat that they can check things out periodically to monitor growth and overall development. I think on one hand it makes us all more obesessive and hyper-vigilant about everything...but on the other hand it is really important in case there are potential issues that need to be addressed.

Anyway, they said everything looked great - that the embryo was the right size for where I am in the pregnancy, and that the heartbeat was a strong 179 beats per minute. Sounds like a really fast heartbeat to me...but if they say it's good and strong, then I believe it's good and strong.

On a side note: For those who are following our progress on our teardrop, part of our delay has been trying to decide how to add room for a third little tiny person. Normally teardrop trailers are for two people, but we'll be able to add a little baby perch somewhere inside. We've drawn a couple sketches, though, and are hoping to get started with that project again soon (and finished before August!). Then once we've used the trailer for awhile and the kid gets too big, then we'll just make him/her sleep in a tent while Joe and I get the trailer.

KIDDING, people.

Totally kidding.

It would be Joe sleeping in the tent.

:-)

the eggo is preggo

Dear Family and Friends,

The start of the New Year always brings new hope for a year filled with much happiness, excitement and...of course...fulfilling all of your New Year's Resolutions! This year, among my most important resolutions are:

• Be healthy and exercise 5 days a week,
• Take more classes towards my master's degree program,
• Be more assertive at work,
• Save more money and do less unnecessary spending, and
• Stop biting my nails (Yes, this is embarrassing, but last year I lasted from January until August. So I can do it!!)

Also, from the end of 2009 through the end of 2010, I lost a net total of 35 pounds and am so grateful for that! One of my TOP resolutions for 2011 was actually going to be - lose 35 more pounds!! However, that may not be a realistic goal for this year, and here's why:


Joe and I are having a baby!!

Yep. You read that right. I'm pregnant! So...not only will I NOT be losing 35 more pounds, I will probably be gaining most of it back. But I wanted you to know the REAL reason for the weight gain so you don't think I'm just chowing down on Oreo's all the time. :-)

I love you all and will keep in touch with updates and pictures as much as I can. And keep your fingers and toes crossed for us! We feel so blessed by this and are hoping that everything continues to go well.

XOXO,
Theresa (and Joe and Lucy)

PS - Our scanner is ill or something, so I apologize for the not-so-nicely-scanned scanned image.

tidings of comfort and joy

It's been awhile since our last post. Sorry 'bout that. When we first started our blog we posted pretty regularly with updates about Lucy, Joe's health, life, etc. Everything was interesting. But I've been totally out of the blogging circuit over the past year or so and just can't seem to post regularly. Perhaps it's because I feel that nothing I have to say is very interesting. Perhaps it's because nothing IS interesting. But I'll be making a point to blog more in the coming year. 2011 hasn't begun yet, but I can already tell it's full of excitement! As this year is coming to a close, here is our holiday wish for you:

From the wonderful Southwest, we write this letter
in hopes that you are having a happy holiday season
so far. We know that we don't see you all quite as
often as we would like to (or quite as often as we
should) but you are in our thoughts and prayers this
holiday season and always.

And, as 2010 is coming to a close (isn't it scary
how quickly time flies?), we are reminded of all of
the blessings we have that we sometimes take for
granted.

We are blessed with health, jobs, and a roof over our
heads. We are blessed with freedoms many people
long for. We are blessed with the hope for a better
tomorrow. We are blessed with seriously the most
perfect beagle in the universe! :-) We are blessed
with amazing family and friends like you. We are
blessed with love and happiness. We are blessed
with each other.

There are so many things to be thankful for and we
hope all hopes that your holidays and coming year
are filled with countless more blessings of peace,
happiness, hope, joy, and neverending love...

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Blessings,
Theresa, Joe, and Lucy

alive and kickin'

Hey everyone!

I know it's been quite a while since we last blogged it up on our site, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to procrastinate my homework a little longer and type up a blog because it's really depressing to me that our last one was three months ago. That's just ridiculous. So...

Everything has been going well. Joe, Lucy and I are all good. That is all.

Bye, and thanks for reading!!

he he he

Kidding. Here goes...

• Camping - Joe and I went camping in Tucson for our Anniversary in February and ended up getting snowed out. We were camped at a place towards the bottom of Mt. Lemmon, but decided to drive up towards the top of the Mountain to sight see and walk around only to be greeted by an impending snow storm. It was crazy. A heck of a lot of fun. But crazy. When we drove back down to our campsite, it was raining heavily with a little bit of snow/slush mixed in, so instead of sticking it out and getting hypothermia, we packed up and went to a hotel for the night. We were able to go camping again in April, though. Mom and dad, Joe, Lucy and I went up near Prescott and camped up there. It was WONDERFUL! I love camping so much. It's a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of Phoenix, spend time with nature and each other, and relax. And making campfires is fun, too.
  
• Snow - Joe and Lucy Fur and Alanna and I were fortunate enough to get up north before the winter season was over and played around in the snow. And Flagstaff is so much fun! We spent some time sledding up at the Wing Mountain Play Area just outside of Flag and drove up to Snow Bowl, too. I can't wait until winter again! (and yes...I know it's just barely May).
  
• Camera - My camera was stolen at the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler. Joe, Alanna and I had finished watching a freak show (yeah...interesting) and were walking towards the ostrich races when I realized I had left my camera on the seat. We were gone for only a couple minutes and it was already gone. No one turned it in either. I'm just thankful there were only a few pictures on it. There was one of Joe eating an ostrich burger, so I apologize for those whi were looking forward to seeing that. :-) On a side note, though, I am so disgutsed by the fact that this camera, which was a gift from Joe for Christmas just FIVE MONTHS AGO, is nowhere to be found. Why in God's name do there need to be so many camera models made all the time. I love this camera and apparently will never have another one because it has literally vanished from all existence and is NOWHERE to be found. Why do they have to discontinue cameras so quickly just to make new models that will be discontinued in 6 months anyway?
  
• School - I finally started my master's program and am just finishing up my second course. I've been doing really well, so far (whenever I don't procrastinate) and am actually enjoying learning again. The course I am in right now is called Life-Span Development and it has mainly brushed up on some things I already knew from my undergrad studies, but it's just really interesting to speak with a facilitator who is actually in the field and to learn from what she has to say. The topics are interesting as well. Most recently I have examined my own family tree on both my father's and mother's sides and analyzed different traits of each person to help in determining which characteristics are hereditary and which are a result of environmental factors. I'm probably boring you, so I'll just end by saying that I'm actually liking it a little more than I thought I would.
  
• Family visit - Joe's mom, sister Jen and nephew Jason just came out to Arizona for a visit a couple weeks ago. Jason is looking into attending a school out here in the Phoenix area so they came for a tour and to see Joe and Theresa and Lucy...the most amazing Phoenicians who ever lived. :-) We hung out, walked around Papago Park, played with Lucy Fur, and just had a good time. It is so nice having visitors so please come back! And anyone who wants to come visit, just give us a heads up and we'll get the guest room set up for ya!!
  
• Lucy -Lucy is doing well. She apparently needs long-term medication for her tick fever because it's still in her little body. But she isn't just a lump of fur anymore. She eats normally, is very playful at times, and is fairly healthy overall. But she has to take daily meds for six months. She'll go in for another check up later this year, at which point they will determine if they can lower the dosage or create another treatment plan. But overall, she's good. She's still pretty calm, but does have so normal beagle energy, so that's good. Poor beagle. Stupid little tick. What did she ever do to you?
• People and the never-ending quest to understand them - I am amazed by people and technology. What it is even more amazing is how people use technology. For example, technology is used for things such as relaying big news to family/friends in a quick and easy manner. It is used to keep in touch with long lost friends and rebuild friendships from years past. It is also used...apparently...to "break up" with friends. Sending hateful emails to friends and family, deleting people as friends from Facebook, ostracizing family/friends by blocking them from each other. Technology, while I love it and understand how it is helpful (for doing things like blogging!), has sometimes become an avenue where people lead such passive-aggressive lives. It's kind of ridiculous.
  
• Work - On a lighter note, work has been going well for both Joe and I. I actually really like my job. One thing that happened recently that was a little sad, however, is that the team I have worked with over the past year and a half (or so) was taken away from me. :-( Sad. The entire division was reorganized. It takes me time to build friendships and working relationships with people...especially on a team where there were already "issues" when I first came on board. But relationships are not just an automatic thing for me. I don't meet someone and instantly become in sync with them. And it definitely took awhile for everyone on our team to work well together. Finally, a year and a half later, when we are on a roll, working super well together as as high performing team...surprise! See ya later guys. They switched us around and now we're no longer together. While I know I will still see my old teammates regularly and while I know my new teammates will be good to work with as well, it's still just sad because of the amount of effort I put in to that team. We were like a little family of sorts. I liked them so much! All I have to say is that my new teammates have some pretty big shoes to fill. As for Joe...I know Joe likes his job, too (for the most part! he he), and is also thinking of possibly going back to school within the next couple years as well. So work is good. We have jobs and can pay bills. So that's good enough for me!
  
• Books - I decided to start a book review blog. I only have one review so far, but seriously. Check it out. This book is awesome. And I know this was written MONTHS ago when I didn't have too much going on and there will definitely be more to come, but don't judge. Just read.
  
• Joe - Joe told me to make sure that I add in here a quick note for him because he wants everyone knows how much he loves me. How sweet! :-)

Phew! How was that for procrastinating? :-) Have a great weekend everyone! Hope all is well...

XOXO
T

blogging it up!

Here are some updates on the Arizona McGowan clan.

Lucy:
For a reminder of Lucy Fur's latest health debacle, glance through our previous post. Christmas and the two weeks that followed were a pretty tense time on the Lucy front, actually. But after almost two thousand dollars' worth of testing (and a stressful holiday), they concluded that she had tick fever. The valley fever results came back negative, thank GOODness. They put her on a special bland diet, liver booster pills, probiotics, and antibiotics (why the probiotics and antibiotics don't cancel each other out, is beyond me) and then, after follow up testing, decided to keep her on the bland diet along with doxycycline for the tick fever. We will be having her 6 week follow up this week, at which time we will see if the liver enzymes have reduced (meaning less treatment) or not (meaning long term treatment plan is needed). Will keep you posted.

Car:
In addition to paying for vet visits and beagle meds, we also needed to buy a new car. When I say "new car" I mean new for us....not brand new as in "never been owned before". Over the holidays, Joe's truck finally went kaput. For good this time. And after researching different options, he decided that it wasn't worth the money that it would take to fix it. Sad. I actually really liked that little truck! And also, it's a royal pain in the REAR to have to get a new vehicle. But we ended up looking around to see what was out there in the used department. My dad actually found an SUV that was for sale and parked in the parking lot of where my Granny (mom's mom) moved to. 2002 Mitsubishi Montero, ES Sport, low miles, one owner, maintained really well, minor blemishes, decent asking price. After we test drove it, it was a done deal! Here's a pic. We call him Monty.


And I really hope we don't have to get another car for a LONG time!!

Camping:
Our year has gotten off to a rotten start as far as camping is concerned. We didn't go AT ALL in the month of January!! To our defense, we had outrageous vet bills plus a new car to buy. BUT...we are FINALLY going camping in a couple weeks to celebrate our first anniversary. SO WEIRD!!! It literally feels like yesterday you were all here to help celebrate the start of our marriage. And as cliche as this sounds, time really does fly by when you're having fun. It's definitely been a stressful year at times, but the fact that we don't hate each other yet is good news, right? :-)

Et Cetera:

• We went to the most AWESOME Polish Restaurant last weekend with the family. I don't think I've had authentic polish food since my grandma Bubba (dad's mom) was alive. She used to make the most yummy Golabki. And pierogies have ALWAYS been a favorite. This place was amazing. It's called A Touch of Europeon Cafe. Check it out!!!
  
• I don't even want to tell you all how much weight I've gained over the past 4 years. It's quite disgusting, actually. But I started a diet in November and I've lost about 27 pounds since then. I've been off the diet for about a month now, but I'll be starting again in a few weeks. I'm not quite at my goal weight yet and I know it'll be a neverending struggle, but I'm happy that I've been able to stick with it. Can't wait to lose about a million more!!
• Last, but certainly not least, I am finally Finally FINALLY starting my masters program in a couple weeks. Crazy, huh? It's been almost 10 years since I finished my bachelor's degree and I've struggled with finding the motivation to continue for quite some time, actually. But, since I'm an academic counselor and I speak with students every day, trying to remind them of the importance of continuing their education, I find it quite hypocritical that I don't "practice what I preach." You know what I mean. All in all, I'm scared that I might fail and I'm nervous about how much time I'll have to spend. But I'm also excited about learning more about what I'm interested in and I'm looking forward to having another degree to fall back on. It's going to be hard and I might tell you all (at some point) that I want to quit. But, please....don't let me!!

I hope you are doing well.....we love and miss you all.....and to those we haven't seen in a while, we hope to see you soon!!

do you know what that sound is, highness?....

...those are the shrieking eels!

This post, actually, has nothing to do with the Princess Bride (which is where that quote comes from, for those of us who are uncultured), but it just popped into my head for some reason.

Anyway...

HI EVERYONE!!! I know it's seemed like a bojillion years since we last blogged, so I thought I'd drop you all a line. It really hasn't been a bojillion years, but tons of things have definitely been going on, so we've been a little preoccupied:

SEPTEMBER

• LUCY - We are not millionaires because Lucy did not win the cutest dog competition. :o( For those of you who actually did vote and continue to show your endless support of our gorgeous beagle dog, THANK YOU! Maybe we'll have better luck next year. Or maybe we'll start a dog talent competition, or something. Lucy's pretty amazing at sitting, laying down, rolling over, speaking, and playing hide and seek! Anyway, to see information on the winner of the competition, click here.

OCTOBER

• SWINE - I'm pretty sure I had the swine flu in October. Joe and Alanna and I had planned a camping trip for the first weekend of October and, even though I started feeling like death with a fever of 103, NOTHING was going to get in the way of camping. I had a fever for a couple days and we were scheduled to go on a Friday night and I really didn't want to pull the plug on the trip. So we headed out of Phoenix and during the ride I think something pretty crazy happened because I don't remember much from that night. My fever seemed to skyrocket and I was freezing and burning up all at the same time. I'm pretty sure I was delirious (Joe and Alanna can probably give more details) and it seriously felt like I was actually dead. Not fun. We stayed one night and packed up first thing in the morning. :o( Sad!! It probably wasn't really the swine flu (I tend to exaggerate), but it was pretty brutal. On the positive side, I've hit my sick quotient for the year, so hopefully I won't be sick again for a long time.
• LUCY - Lucy turned TWO!! YAHOOOO!!!! Okay, so maybe this is only exciting to us.
• KIDNEY - Joe celebrated his first anniversary with his new kidney on October 7th!! It's definitely been a roller coaster as far as that goes - being more apt to get diseases and virus due to the suppressed immune system. They are constantly meeting with him, always doing new lab work, adjusting medications due to differences in blood levels and new viruses that pop up, keeping him healthy, etc. The Mayo Clinic and all of Joe's doctors in this city are really top notch. And so is Jen for being the awesome donor!! :o)
  

NOVEMBER

• MOVING - We moved into a new place!! Moving is always super stressful (especially when you realize about 1/3 of the stuff you own could probably just be thrown away), so we are glad to have that over and done with. And, as of yesterday, we have now been in the new place about a month and are pretty much all unpacked and settled in. It's a nice place, too. It's just about 3 miles away from our previous place, so it's in the same general area, but it's about $200 cheaper per month, so we're REALLY excited about saving some extra money. Which is something that isn't easy to do this day and age.
• WILDLIFE - We take Lucy for nightly walks around the new neighborhood and have had the opportunity of seeing and hearing different wildlife such as rabbits, owls, coyotes and even javelinas!! HOW COOL IS THAT??
• WORK - The coming of this month signaled my first anniversary at my current job. It's really crazy how time flies when you're having....fun? Yeah. Amazing. There are DEFINITELY days when things drag and situations get stressful at work (poor Joe never seems to hear the end of it, either) but, for the most part, I have actually grown to really enjoy my new position. This month has been really stressful at work because it's the end of my first year, so I had to work some overtime and work as hard as possible to make sure that I ended it with a bang (want to get some good points on my review!!). It's hard to do with unexpected issues that come up, fires that need to be put out, lives to save, etc. But on the other hand, there is a lot of teamwork involved, so there is a lot of time to continually improve upon communicating effectively with each other. There are great benefits and a lot of opportunity for growth. There are people who really make each day worthwhile. And among all the good and the bad (which you seem to find no matter WHERE you work), it's really been a pretty good experience so far.
• NEW MOON - I have nothing to say about it that won't make you all roll your eyes. So will spare you my thoughts.
  
• THANKSGIVING - It's scary how quickly Thanksgiving has come and gone, you know? My family traveled on a tour of Ireland for the holiday last week (the price was right) but Joe and decided to save our bucks (will visit Ireland someday...) and stuck around Phoenix. We had an awesome dinner celebration at my aunt and uncle's house and hung out and played games afterwards. We went camping amongst coyotes for a few days at Apache Lake, where we went last Thanksgiving. And had a really nice, stress-free weekend. I love Thanksgiving. And I am still so very thankful for everything listed here...and more!!
  

DECEMBER

Dude. Back off. It JUST STARTED!!! he he.

Really, though. December. Ahhh.

• Weather changes (finally).
  
• Holiday decorations.
  
• The season of giving.
• Making new year resolutions.
  
• Spending time with family.
• Enjoying life.
  

Hmmmm. I utterly love this time of year. :o)

Ciao for now!

reflections

The past week and a half have been kind of a blur for me. A lot has happened, both good and bad, but most of all...growth. A lot of growth in myself, growth with family and friends and, especially, growth with Joe. One thing I've learned in the past week and a half is that life throws you curve balls without even a moment's notice, you just have to learn how to catch them.

Today I am thankful for:

1. Family - Especially Mom, Dad and Alanna. You are my most favorite people in the whole entire world.
   
2. Alanna - I am so thankful that your trip in the South Pacific was safe and that you are finally home!
3. Friends - You know who you are. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have you in my life as my lucky stars and rocks of support. I learn more from each of you every day.
   
4. Lucy - My little ball of beagle fur. I am thankful for your hugs, your yawns, your kisses, your stretching, your cockroaches, your zoomies, your growls, your cuddles, the way you smell, the way you run up to us when we get home like we are the most important people in your universe. I love everything about you!
   
5. Work - In these tough economic times, I am so thankful to be working for a solid company that has much interest and support of their employees. Without this job I would not be able to camp, travel, pay rent, pay bills, buy groceries, etc. I am so thankful to have this job.
   
6. Health - I am thankful to be alive. This summer has been pretty rough (especially with regards to heat), but my health is something I definitely need to stop taking for granted and try to preserve. I'm starting to get into the swing of the gym again and, once the weather cools off, we'll be able to go for rides and hikes again.
   
7. Jen - I am so thankful that you gave one of your kidneys to Joe. It is the most amazing gift a person could ever receive. Sadly, words really can't even express gratitude for a gift like that.
   
8. Recreation - I am thankful to have the opportunity to do things like camp, sight see, swim, relax, read, spend time with family, etc. The joy I get from these simplest of things makes the weekends so precious to me.
   
9. (last, but not least) Joe - No matter how flawed you are at times and no matter how perfect you are at times, what amazes me most is how much more I grow to love you each and every day.

4th of July Camping Trip

We had quite an interesting weekend ! Here's a quick(?) recap.

Early Friday morning we left PHX and headed up to the Sierra Ancha Mountains. Our ride was uneventful as far as I can remember. Theresa drove first, then we switched just after Punkin Center, AZ. We got to FR487, off AZ288 around noon. Heading up towards the campground we wanted to stay at Workman Creek Falls. The first interesting thing we saw was a deer in the road (then another on the side of the road). Continuing up we saw an interesting sign warning us of abandoned uranium mines in the area. Finally we reached the campground, and although it wasn't full, people had parked on a few of the remaining flat spots we would have camped on. Since there were no spots left because of the people parking on empty spots, we decided to try to go further up the road towards Aztec Peak. This is where Theresa's panic attack started ! Apparently looking over the side of a significant drop off on her side of the road, the road going from bad to worse, plus my driving near the edge of the road worried her. We made it to Workman Creek falls 1 mile up the road and then almost got stuck trying to cross an old wooden bridge. Theresa got out and directed me so I wouldn't accidentally drive her car off a cliff, and I made a 20 point turn. We headed back down to AZ288 and found one open spot at the Rose Creek Campground. This was actually a blessing, because it was a much more private, quiet campground.

Saturday morning we got up early and decided to drive to Young, AZ before going hiking. There's not much to say about Young, The population was 561 at the 2000 census, there are two restaurants, one gas station, one convenience store, one church (Mormon), an auto parts store, a motel, a small medical center, a thrift shop, a library, and a refuse service. Young also has A resident deputy (one!) and a volunteer fire department. We got ice and water and got the hell out of there quickly. Heading back to Workman Creek campground, we parked there and attempted to hike to the summit. 3 miles. What we didn't think about was the fact we started our hike at 5200 feet elevation (roughly a mile high), and we heading to the top which is 7748 ft (roughly a mile and a half). Starting our hike we realized quickly how difficult it is to breathe when you aren't used to the elevation. Even Lucy was struggling. Even though it was close to 90 degrees, we made it about halfway, seeing some cool stuff (I got close enough to pet a horny toad, and did!), the 200ft drop of the "falls" (not really a lot of water in the summer, best to go in early spring or after monsoon storms) then had to turn around because we knew that we were not gonna make it back if we kept going to the top. I was pretty upset about not making it, there's a fire tower at the top the Edward Abbey (my new favorite author) worked at for 2 years, writing some of his books there and, supposedly, a stone living room I really wanted to find. Back at camp we were to tired to do anything except read. The skies started to darken, and we could hear thunder far off, but didn't think much of it (the same thing happened the day before and we never got the storm). The winds picked up, then it started to rain a little, followed by marble sized HAIL, and torrential downpours. We tried to wait out he storm under our EZ UP, but the combination of wind and rain were soaking everything. After a filming a video of the hail we dashed to the car and waited out the storm. Roughly half an hour later it wound down enough that we ventured out to the picnic table and dried off the seats. After a quick game of UNO (I destroyed Theresa) we made tacos and went to bed early.

Sunday morning we were packed up and out of there by 7:30 to head back and dry our stuff out. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Here's some pics, enjoy !

memorial day weekend

Can I just tell you how much I love 3 day weekends?

I LOVE THREE DAY WEEKENDS!!!

Yesterday, I cleaned a little a while Joe worked on the AC in his truck (he had to replace the AC compressor because his AC isn't working) and then we went down to Tempe with Lucy and swam for a while then had a little mexican food fiesta when Alanna got home from work. YUMMMMM!!! Then today we woke up and went back to AutoZone because it turns out that in order to recharge his AC he had to convert the refrigerant system from R-12 to R-134A (why they don't make a system called R2-D2 is beyond me!). While he was busy at work doing that, I finished cleaning the house so that now you can safely eat off of any surface in the house. Not advisable, obviously, but it's just THAT clean. Then, after Joe came back inside from winning the battle with his truck's AC (it's a good thing because no AC in the summer here = imminent death) and he helped finish up the cleaning. It was amazing how tired we were so we took a nap.

A nap.

On a Sunday afternoon.

It was just heaven!

Tonight we are going to have some dinner, take Lucy to the park for bit and then go see the new Star Trek movie, which we keep hearing nothing but good things about. And tomorrow we're headed back down to Tempe for more swimming, playing with Lucy, possibly board games, and of course getting our food on! I seriously can't tell you how much I love three-day weekends. It's so nice to gets things done and now have an extra day to relax. The joy of it also makes it very easy to forget what the extra day is for.

Memorial Day. Remembering the American men and women who have died during their military service. Through all of our happiness and relaxation this weekend, I'm now a little saddened thinking about the lost lives of so many people who have helped make it possible for us live in this country today. That's really what the holiday is about, and it's just kind of sad that sometimes the meaning slips through the cracks as we gather with loved ones to enjoy the extra day off. And I am admitting fully that I am a guilty offender of this. But on this Memorial Day, I am taking the extra time to actually do what is intended for this day.

Remember...

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Taps
lyrics

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake, From the skies.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor, God keep.
On the land or the deep, Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night Need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone, Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
'Neath the sun, Neath the stars, 'Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know, God is nigh.

---

For something completely unrelated...

For those Goonies fans out there, you will appreciate the following links:

• Where Are They Now - 1
• Where Are They Now - 2

to move or not to move, that is the question...

As I mentioned in the last post, my buddy Heidi and her husband Mike bought Joe and I a trip out to Eugene, Oregon for a couple days. Our time there was so short and packed with running around trying to see and do as much as possible - it was quite the whirlwind trip. But it was so unexpectedly wonderful and seriously one of the coolest gifts. I wish we were still there!

Here are some of our snapshots:

Trying to avoid contracting the swine flu.


Heidi, Collin, and Mike.


Moss covering every inch of a tree.


Joe standing beside a really small tree.

Heceta Head.


lighthouse at Heceta Head.

View the rest of our pictures from Oregon HERE in our online photo gallery!!

For quite some time now, I have wanted to travel up through the Pacific Northwest. I don't really know why - maybe just because of the fact that the weather is quite opposite that of Phoenix. Whatever the reasons were, our time spent there blew my mind - we were able to spend some really nice quality time with Heidi and Mike, went on some quick hikes, visited Veneta, went to the Saturday Market in Eugene, got rained on, traveled out to the coast, enjoyed the fresh ocean air, poked around looking at anenomes, climbed rocks, relaxed, fell asleep to the sound of rain, played with cutie-pie Collin, drove around town, and even saw Portland (even if only for about an hour).

It was just plain awesome.

And a real wake up call for us in terms of figuring out where we want to settle down to start a family. I still have a huge soft spot for New England - the family, the people, my previous employer who I still keep in contact with. But one interesting thing is that the Pacific Northwest, we found, actually reminds us a LOT of New England (just tending to be not as frigid in the winter time and a little greener because of all the rain). On the other hand, there might be an opportunity for us to consider in Illinois with my friend, Anna, and her family. But at the end of the day, I also have a huge soft spot for Arizona - the family, my history here, and the multitude of things that we have yet to explore here.

So this is the question - with Joe and I having explored different parts of the country and narrowing down our choices as to where we want to "set up shop", how do you select one knowing that there will be things that we will miss so dearly, and knowing that our decision affects others as well? We feel like we are being pulled in a few different directions, so how do settle on one, especially when the feelings of family and friends are involved? And how do you know which decision is the right one? This is a decision that we will definitely not be taking lightly, that's for sure.