Family photo

Here is our first family photo with Brody!

December 2011

I just went through another round of scans and I am officially 3 years Cancer free! I have definitely put this part of my life in the past...and moving to yearly PET scans is the first step!!

We have been having a hard time saying good bye to Boston. He was such a sweet dog. We came to the realization that we gave him the best home & life we could and it was time to give another dog a great life! We brought home a 11 mo old, 76 lbs, Male Golden last weekend and we named him Brody. He responded very well to Buddy, so Brody was a nice choice. I would be lying if I said he is adjusting well. He comes to us with some anxiety and wasn't taught boundaries. We have already met with a trainer and have our hands full. He is so sweet when he's calm and we hope we can help him find a balanced life sooner than later!!

RIP Boston

We brought Boston into our vet on Friday. At that point he was no longer eating, very stiff, and appeared to be in a lot of pain. We brought him in earlier in the week feeling he had hurt his back, but it was now becoming clear that wasn't what was going on. Our Vet admitted him. Over the next few hours - through Saturday, she did a chest x-ray and several tests - including the liver test, urine and any other rare disease. The x-rays showed fluid on his right shoulder and center chest, but his heart, lungs, spine, hips etc were all clear. So we were going with the idea that he was stung or bitten by a spider. She started anti-biotics.

On Sunday he was more swollen. She decided to start him on prednisone as well. He still wouldn't eat so he was also on a IV bag.

Yesterday morning he started coughing. We decided to do an ultra sound. It didn't show any masses anywhere, but did show some small areas of fluid in his lungs. He was laying down for a few days, unable to get up.

We started leaning towards the Lymhederma diagnosis. We decided to try to bathe him and he started bleeding from his nose. We were then rushed to a 24 hr Emergency hospital in Torrance.

Upon arrival, he was tested for clotting - which came back positive and took another chest x-ray. This chest x-ray showed massive fluid in his chest and he was obliviously struggling. At this point his nose is bleeding and he is coughing blood. They put him on oxygen and did their best to stabilize him over night with pain meds and fluids. Leaving him last night was not easy. We knew he would be touch and go all night. Around 1 am his heart rate went from being very high to very low where it finally stopped at 1:30am. They did attempt CPR, but it was unsuccessful.

Brent and I are obliviously trying to make sense of all this. He went from being a completely normal, healthy dog to one struggling to walk and then losing him in a few days. Nothing makes sense. I am doing my best to focus on the good times we had, the new life we tried to create for him and the fact that he is no longer in pain. Whenever someone (human or animal) leaves this world, we struggle for the whys and that is where we are right now. We are trying to make his life worth something but not allowing this to happen to another dog - and that means finding out how he died.

Below is one of my favorite moments with him, his first trip to dog beach. He wasn't sure how to get catch the tennis balls without fully submerging his face in the sand. Boston is one of those dogs we will compare all dogs too - forever in our hearts.

Boston was admitted

This is a quick update, since we don't have too many answers yet. Boston started having trouble on Tuesday - started walking funny and couldn't get up or down very easily. We took him in that night and upon originally assessment, thought he hurt is back. We started him on anti-inflammatory and was sent home. Wednesday showed no progress up or down. On Thursday he took a turn for the worse. He no longer would eat and could not get himself in an out of the house. On Friday he was admitted. He's had some xrays which showed inflammation of this right chest and shoulder. His lungs, abdomen and bones/spine/hips all looked good BUT his blood panel was way off and is a cause of concern.

He is still there, still won't walk, took in a little water but still unable to eat much. He's on an IV drip just trying to keep him comfortable. Our vet has sent a list and array of samples off for testing, we are hoping to get some answers and we can start treating the right thing.

Keep Boston in your thoughts. More updates to come.

Neurologist

Boston has a successful appointment; in terms of success, we think it was! On a basic assessment, he passed basic neurological function tests, so there was no cause of alarm. We were very happy to hear that. We did get rejected from pet insurance, so if they said he needed an MRI, would of cost us close to $1500! Of course we would have done it, but very happy we don't.

The plan is to up his medications. The Doctor advised us of adding in Potassium Bromide (http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Bromide.html). It is a much safer epilepsy drug treatment. He will be front loaded with the drug for the next few days to allow his blood levels to stabilize faster. We will then bring him to a normal dosage. He will continue to take the Phenobarbital. If he is able to go 6 weeks without a seizure, we are going to explore moving him 100% to the Potassium Bromide. That is what i would like, but it's truly up to Boston and how his body handles everything.

This past weekend we watched the Horns defeat UCLA at the Rose Bowl. It was Greg, Lara, Tim, Brent and I - such a great group!!
Here are a few pictures:

Texas Game

Next stop, Neurologist...

Boston has had a seizure (or what we think are seizures) on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of this past week. Each of them about the same. He always knows they are coming and we too know the signs. We are taking him to see a Neurologist, Dr. Hanson, on Monday of next week - it was the earliest we could both get there (Brent and I). We will keep you posted after the visit.

I went in for blood work about a week ago and it all came back within normal range! Next step for me will be full body scan in Decemeber.

Think about it....

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
- Charles R. Swindoll

Quick Boston update

He does not have Addison's - so we are going to continue on treating him for Epilepsy. He has been having seizures, even being on Phenobarbital, so if that continues, we have to bring him to a neurologist. That decision we will not know for a while...want to try to stabilize him on his meds and see how his body adjusts.

Time to Catch Up

I will do my best to cover a lot with not too many words! I enjoy pictures more, so I am sure you do too!

First, July 16, 2011 - my cousin Sean marries Liz in New York. It was such a wonderful wedding for such a wonderful couple!







Next up, my cousin Meaghan comes to Cali to visit. Talk about an action packed trip. We took her into LA - did the Rodeo Drive, Hollywood mini tour....


San Diego Beaches (of course dog beach too!) and met up with some of our great friends Tim & Lara...






A little Long Beach....




Had such a good time! Wish they all lived closer so we could have more days like that!!

I just flew back from Salt Lake City, UT. I was out there for work. Was a great educational trip - love being surrounded by experience and really get out there to tell the world what our company is all about.

New with Boston -
I went to the vet today and we are starting to explore something other than seizures. Somethings was a bit off on his blood panel - no the basic, but the more detailed white counts. Not going to lie, I heard white blood cells and my heart stopped, not sure if the vet was wondering why I was smiling. All I could think of was don't say the "C" word and when I didn't, I just kept smiling. He is going in for a ACTH test on Friday to test his cortisol levels. We are testing for atypical Addison's disease which occurs when the adrenal glands fail to produce enough hormones to keep the body functioning normally. If the test is positive, we will be taking him off Pheno and moving him to low doses of Prednisone. The test should help point us in the right direction. Bottom line, I want to treat the right disease and help get Boston to a happy & normal life.

I did find this website, so if you are interested in learning more: http://www.addisonsindogs.com/

This is an adorable picture Brent sent to me, post a bike ride with Boston, while I was out in Utah. Happy Monday!

Updates

A lot has been going on in our busy lives. Boston is the new center of attention for sure! We went down to San Diego for July 4th weekend. We really wanted to spend some time with the family. We are fortunate that Boston is a great traveler and very adaptable. We spent a lot of time in the park and at dog beach - this boy LOVES the water. We just starting throwing the ball into the water and he would go face first into waves just to get his face wet. He was good about not drinking the water, so didn't have too many issues there.

Mom and dad had a lot of time to just relax....

Boston got a fun bone to chew on while we all ate....



Here is a picture of Brent and Boston during dog class this week(not too sure who is having more fun!)



This one has to be one of my favorite shots so far. We have central air and it's not that hot (in the 80s) but I work from home, so I need to stay comfortable during the day. The entire house is cool, yet he puts himself directly in front of the fan! Also note how close he is to his water bowl, he will drink laying down, doesn't even bother getting up. He is one spoiled dog!


We did have a few scares and we are in the process of determining exactly what those were. It appeared to be seizures, with Boston, but we aren't vets so we are working closely with our vet to help determine what might be going on. As we learn more, I will keep you updated. It's a good thing I work from home, so I am able to keep an eye on him!

We've been busy!

There has been a lot going on these last few weeks. Brent is busy building back his herb garden, hopefully they will all survive this time! He started back with summer school, so we are all settling back into a routine.

We have signed Boston up for some basic obedience classes through parks and rec. We had our first class last week and we are teaching him boundaries. So far so good! We have introduced him to the dog park - he loved it! He did come completely dirty, but also completely exhausted. We are looking forward to dog beach, but we still need a little more time with him before we bring him there.

We took Boston on his first field trip to San Diego, he got to visit his second home :) He adjusted really fast and of course mom loved having a dog around. There is big park down the street there so we introduced him to the chuck-it. Took playing ball to a whole different level for him, he got tired really fast! We will be back down in San Diego this weekend. Last weekend was a test run to help him get more adjusted on this trip. The family will be in town and he will get lots of attention.

When we've been taking him in the car, we bring his create - we want to keep him safe and don't want him running around the car. The last piece of his VIP area arrived today.... (we now have the rubber mat and the cage so he gets the entire 3rd row to himself)



Tomorrow he is meeting his new Vet - Bellflower Veterinary Hospital\ http://www.bellflowervet.com/ . They were just recommended by our new groomer/pet store Your Elegant Pet http://www.yourelegantpet.com/. We are slowly transitioning Boston to a more natural food - to help with his coat and overall well being. He is getting his first real groom with us Thursday and then we are off to San Diego to celebrate the 4th!

Fun with Boston

Boston is adapting very well to his new home. He is playing catch well, met some new friends (Menlo - puggle and Bella - min pin), and riding a bike!



We think he has some training before he came to us - he knows a lot more than we initially gave him credit for! We have found a few dog classes we want to take him to. One starts this week, but until we get all his paperwork (shots etc) we can't take him. So, hopefully they come soon!

Here are some of our upcoming goals:
- Moving his sleeping location out of our room and into the hallway. He will still be in his crate....
- Responding more to his name, he does come to "come"
- staying on his bed while we eat. It's hit or miss and the fact that he is a hit makes us realize that was his old pattern. Just us being too weak (he does have a cute face!)
- laying down on command

This week, Brent is back to school. It's just Boston and I all day. So far, so good!

Meet the newest member of the Garriepy Family!

We found this cutie through a Rescue here in LA http://grcglarescue.org/ His rescue name was Chad, he is now Boston! He is 2 years old, pure golden.

After playing ball, to run some energy out of him, he found a spot on the lawn to enjoy his new toys.


We wanted to help him calm down with lots of ball, a long walk and some training. we slowly introduced him inside the house. This is the result of the first few hours of play.


He was great sleeping in the crate all night, just needed to go out once. I will update more as we go!

More Wedding Pictures

I thought it was time for a few more pictures and of course a job update! The job is going really well. I am settling into it nicely. Definitely took some time to get my feet wet and to learn a whole new system, but I am off and running now...let the games begin~~

I decided to pull a few pictures (there are so many to pick from!) as a few of our favorite moments. All of these photos have been provided by:

http://www.cheetahdesignstudio.com

Enjoy!

Pre-ceremony shot -



The girls -




Walking with Dad -




When he first sees her! -



Ceremony (Wedding party) -



Mr. and Mrs. Garriepy -



That's all for now~

Home Make Over!

This is how we spent our long weekend.....

Wedding Reflection

I have a bit more time on my hands lately, so I am going to take this time to do a little bit of a reflection. I am going to apologize in advance for the length....(reflection will go in order)

I am going to start with my work changes. I am not going to publicly go into too many details, but a long story short is I was pushed into making a big change in my career. I was ready to make a change that was better for Brent and I and was basically told I needed to pick between my job and Brent. I can't even begin to express how that made me feel or the amount of stress that created. The wedding alone was going to cost us a lot of money, but beyond that, I was ready to start a new job, but my start date was obliviously after the wedding and honeymoon. Then you add in health insurance....let's be honest, I can't be without insurance. Brent and I weren't married yet, I was about to resign, we were losing my pay check..you get the point. I also wanted to be "fair" to my current company. When things became almost final at the new one, I needed to tell them. I was going to a competitor and wanted to treat both companies with as much respect as possible. This round of events would stress anyone out, but to be happening the month before your wedding (that is happening in Massachusetts and you live in California) adds a different component. I ended up taking a leap of faith and resigned from the current company on Friday the 8th of April....on Monday the 11th, the new contract was final! I am excited about the people I am working with and can't wait to get all my wheels under me.

I had a week of "unemployment" and zero job distractions that allowed me to pull all the final wedding details together. A week out doesn't really allow you to really get anything new done, just following up with everything that was already set/planned....and time to stalk weather.com (not a good idea)!!

Brent and I flew out to Massachusetts on Monday night (red eye), the 18th arriving in Boston on Tuesday morning. As soon as we hit the ground, we were running. We had about 24 hours before we were arriving on the Cape and I really didn't want us running around once we arrived on Cape Cod. The Cape was time to start celebrating. My final dress fitting went well, was going to pick it up on Wednesday morning before we left Boston. I went to get my nails done with my MOH Meaghan and BM Colleen before meeting up with a few GM for dinner and drinks. It was good to start being surrounded by some of our closest friends.

On Wednesday morning, my mom met us at the hotel before going to pick up my dress (Brent's suit was shipped to the hotel, so he was good to go). We rented a Tahoe, but with all our luggage and my dress, we were packed! Fitting a Costco run into that car wasn't possible - hick-up # 1. We went from Boston to the Cape, to my Grandmothers, to drop off all our stuff and my mom. The went to the house in Falmouth while Brent and I drove back up to Avon (hour) to go to Costco. We made it through in about an hour and a half (Brent did a great job of coming up with a shopping list), so we had a game plan for sure. We loaded the Tahoe and headed to the Cape.

We knew we needed to get our marriage License, so we figured we'd do a quick swing by the Falmouth Town Hall as we drove by with all the food- hick-up #2. I guess the state of Massachusetts has a 3 day waiting period for marriage license approval.... it's now Wednesday, wedding is Friday. The lady wasn't very nice to us, that's for sure. She was talking to us as if we had done this before. We were finally able to get out of her that we can apply for a waiver and stand in front of a judge the follwoing day.

Thursday we were up and out of the wedding house by 8 am to head to court. Of course the judge wanted to meet us because he wanted to know who would come from California to get married on Cape Cod. This process really wasn't bad at all, was something we can look back at and laugh. It only took us about an hour and a half to get the waiver and then we headed back to the Town Hall. Starting about noon, all our guests started arriving at the wedding house. The vibe in the house just started getting more and more electric, so little drama and everyone was just at home. We didn't a little rehearsal that night followed by a family style dinner.

At this point, our wedding coordinator Linda Shane (AWESOME!) was in following, our tent from Taylor Rentals was set up (all the tables, chairs, linens, glasses etc) had arrived and both our wedding parties were on the Cape. Our flowers arrived later that night, so we really had everything ready to go.

It was very important to us for all our guests to feel at home, we had an open door policy and really wanted as many people around us as possible. We have gone to so many weddings where we hardly saw the bride/groom. That's not the environment we wanted...family and friends around us at all times. The moments that stand out are the girls helping me to get the bobby-pins out, just sitting and laughing. The patio talks, the times where we could all just visit. Even with ample time, it is still never enough!

Friday morning, just about the entire wedding party and their significant others, pitched in to help set up the tables, chairs and so on (with 15 or so people helping, it took no time at all). We have a big brunch, mimosas and music going on all morning. Our wedding party and their significant others were fantasitc!! Weather is was helping to cut limesor helping to relocate and park cars....it was amazing how everyone just started pitching in to get things done. I was constantly asked how I was doing, I guess I was too relaxed?!? My feeling is everything was done that could be, there wasn't anything to stress over! The only stressful part was at about 3:15pm....my hair wasn't cooperating and I was suppose to walk at 3:30pm. The fortunate thing is we weren't renting a hall, everyone helping us with the wedding was also a guest. We were on our own time! I only ended up being about 15 minutes late. I really don't remember much of the last 30 minutes. I remember jumping in my dress and scurrying out of the room. It all hit when I walked down the stairs to meet my dad. I was shaking. The ceremony was perfect! Our ceremony was preformed by one of my best friends, Justin Burkhardt. (He was one of my biggest supporters growing up and a rock for me during treatment. He actually managed to send me a card every week during treatment...always had a way to make me laugh). He helped to make the ceremony personal and it meant the world to us that he was willing to do it.

After the wedding, we had some rock stars left behind to help us get out of the house. We of course bought too much food and a lot of trash! Needless to say it was all hands on deck to get us out of the house on time. Needless to say, we did such a good job that we receive our entire deposit back!! (Special thanks to Meaghan O, Colleen, Lara, cousin Dave and Jane, Matt and Noor, Jon and Monica and my Mom!!)

From the Cape, Brent and I went up to Boston to spend the night. We were flying out to Jamaica on Monday morning. This was Brent and my first vacation together. Whenever we traveled it is/was always to visit family. We have never taken time for ourselves. So this is something that is going to change, we are going to take a vacation a year :)

When we came home, I had a day before starting the new job. In that time period, I received my official marriage license and managed to get over to the social security office! next stop, DMV!

With work, so far so good! I am learning a lot about their systems. We have a big meeting next week, so I will really get my feet wet then.

Photo Booth FUN!!

Here is a little taste of our photo booth fun, enjoy!!

Honeymoon Photos!!

We had a great time in Jamaica! A special thanks to the Wong's for sharing their home and the amazing cake from: http://selenacakes.com/blog/

A look back on some memorable days....

On April 22, 2008 my world stopped. I was told that I was now fighting for my life. It's a day that is forever in my mind. I remember every second of that day. I remember just looking at Dr. Berman with absolute shock waiting for him to say "just kidding". Without the support of my friends and family, it wouldn't have been so easy (using easy very loosely here). My rock, through the every day ups and downs was Brent. He's my partner in life, my number one fan and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone but him.......

On April 22, 2011, Brent and I said our vows, in front of our friends and family on the beach in Cape Cod. The entire weekend was exactly how we imagined it would be and I am still smiling!! We had our photos and flowers done by some of my closest friends. I grew up with these families (swimming of course) and they helped to make this day that much more personal!!

Our photographers website is:
http://cheetahdesignstudio.com/index2.php#/home/

Our florist doesn't have a website, it's her hobby..not too shabby is it :)

Here is a sneak peek at a few wedding photos...I am sitting on the edge of my chair waiting for more!!








This last photo was taken and edited by Brent's dad, Wayne - looking forward to seeing the rest of them!



Once I get more photos/links, I will pass them along......

So much going on!

There is almost too much going on in my life...will do a quick run down....

1. I resigned from my job. I am not going to post on a public forum, (feel free to email if you want details). Bottom line, it wasn't the right place for me anymore....moving on to a great new company! More to come....

2. Been super stressed, but better now. But between the job changes, final planning with the wedding, been a lot to handle at once. Some day I might understand why others are trying to make our day about them and/or their feelings?!? We have just stopped allowing those people ruin our day. We will be surrounded by some of the most important people in our lives.

3. We are getting married in one week!!!!

Sophie Ann Howarth

Berkeley visit

Just turned two and is counting to ten on her own (repeating a few along the way) and up to eight in Chinese. Not too shabby!




When asked how she is going to hold her new little sister (who is due any day now)...

A 2nd Birthday and a Bachelorette Party

So many happening, lots to catch up on. Let's start with the most recent. Dad and I went up to Berkeley for the weekend, it was Katherine's 2nd birthday. She wasn't feeling that great, so she was mello...which also allowed us to just hang out. Was a great weekend. Here are a few highlights!

Waiting to blow out the candles -


The guests -



Supergirl -


Family Walk with Mom to be -


Tired Birthday girl -



Last weekend I had a phenomenal time in Austin with some of my closest girl friends. It was awesome that so many of them were able to make it (Stace, we'll celebrate in April!!) Here is a little taste of the fun we had!

Good thing......

I went to the eye doctor yesterday......they asked who died from lymphoma in 2008? I responded with "pretty sure I didn't die, I am sitting here, right?"

I am pretty happy I am still here. Don't worry I corrected their paper work :)

Checking another few things off the list!

Today was a big day in wedding check lists....

1) Brent booked his bachelor party - he is going to New Orleans! I am so happy for him, he is such a music man.

2) My bachelorette party is planned and ticketed, the fun and partying will begin in just a few weeks....bring it on!!

3) We finally picked out my wedding band (Brent has had his for a few weeks now). After returning the last bands we picked out, which were part of my engagement ring "set", had too much bling for me (yes, that isn't what every girl wants) Zach and Danielle took us to their jeweler. As a referral, they gave us 50% off the ticketed price!! Lets just say I couldn't be happier with how that all went down.

This is what it will look like-



4) We spent some time at Men's Warehouse. Brent tried on a few jackets and he is right in between two sizes. With that in mind and the fact that we are in full blown insanity workouts (version of P90X) we were advised to come back the end of March. That way if Brent's body changes, we won't end up having to buy another new suit because this one was too big. It was good to feel them out and see where he was sitting in the sizes.

5) The 50% deposit is down on all the food, we will pay the remainder once we have a final head count.

6) We are on the final stages of the tenting, layout, supply, linen quote. We just received the final samples to pick the linen colors. I have a few more questions for them and then we are good to go.


It's such a relief when it all comes together. It's been pretty rough planning from this far away, but all I can say is thank goodness for EMAIL! We are doing everything we can to continue to spread out all the costs, makes it all less daunting.

Today is 3 months until wedding day!!!

More to come....

January update

There has been a lot going on here in Long Beach. First off, we have been doing some slow improvements throughout the house and lawn.

1) Our three fruit trees are beginning to fruit - got our first lime!
2) We finished the bathroom makeover (have some before and after photos)
3) Spent Christmas in Berkeley with the family, had a Charlie Brown tree at our house
4) Brent and Dad put in a new front door
5) We are sorting out a lot of wedding details, ready to get to April!

Enjoy the fruits of our labor (no pun intended)......