Additional Funeral Information

Here is the information regarding the Tucson services:

The local obituary will be posted in the Tuesday edition of the Tucson Citizen.

1/1/09 -- Visitation from 8am - 5pm at East Lawn Palms Mortuary

1/2/09 -- Funeral at 10:00 am at Saint Pius Catholic Church

1/2/09 -- Graveside Burial at 11:30 am at East Lawn Palms

1/2/09 -- Reception at 12:30 pm at Saint Pius Catholic Church

The Worst Kind of News

Many of you throughout the years have had the pleasure in meeting my good friend, Melanie. For those of you who know her I wanted to pass this information on. I received a phone call yesterday from a friend that Melanie's husband passed away. He suffered a sudden and unexpected heart attack in the arms of his wife. When I know more about the Tucson services I will pass that information on.

Below is the obituary posted in the Pueblo, Colorado newspaper:

Joe F. Titone, 34, passed away suddenly on Dec. 26, 2008. He had a wonderful Christmas with his family, mother, sister and nieces. Survived by wife, Melanie, 31; daughter, Savanna, 5; son, Cade, 3; mother, Pam; and sister, Tracey of Arizona; father, Pete; stepmother, Robbin; and sister, Bre of Oregon; and brother, Chris of New Mexico. He leaves behind many friends and family members throughout Arizona, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado. His seven-year career with State Farm brought him to Pueblo for one day short of a year. He loved Pueblo and the people who came into his life in that short time. He touched so many lives so deeply in his short time on earth. He was loved always and will be loved forever. Memorial service, 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29, 2008, St. Therese Catholic Church, 300 Goodnight, reception to follow. Funeral service will be held in his hometown, Tucson, Ariz., over the new year. We will celebrate his life. Arrangements pending. Arrangements through Imperial Funeral Home.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Wishing all of you out there a very special, safe, and enjoyable Christmas.

AMEC Christmas Party 2008

Here are pictures from Matthew's company Christmas party. Not enough people within his office RSVP'ed to this shindig and the food was already paid for, so they let us bring my sister and her boyfriend, Tim. The party was at the Terra Cotta Restaurant and all of us (I hope) had a good time. At least I know Teresa and I did since we had a few too many drinks and were giggling and laughing in the backseat the whole way home as our designated drivers gave us funny looks.

Doesn't she look lovely?

We are adorable!

The awesome foursome!

Trudy has "Fat-Girl" problems...

Last Friday I had to take Trudy to the vet because she has some rotten teeth that need to be pulled. The doctor and I decided that since she is 8 years old now to do some routine bloodwork, check her Valley Fever, and Heartworm.

Here are her results:

All of her bloodwork is great except for her urine pH levels and her triglyceride levels. Apparently the triglyceride levels should be around 150 but hers are at 260. We now have to put her on a "fat-girl" diet of special food that is mostly protein and exercise her more regularly.

Her Valley Fever is fine...no need to medicate her or be concerned.

Her Heartworm came back negative so we can start giving her preventative medication.

She has surgery scheduled for the first week of January where anywhere from 1 to 3 teeth will be pulled. Her remaining teeth will be cleaned and polished. I asked for a discount, you know, since she doesn't have many teeth left and they said they "would take it under advisement". Whatever that means.

So needless to say we are broke as a joke right before the holidays but at least our baby got the medical attention she needed!

Funny Picture of the Day

Professor Trudy says "stop playing around and do your homework!"

So Close...Yet So Far Away

Hello Everyone! Just a little post to let you know that we are home safe and sound from our short trip to Kingman for the Thankgiving holiday. The pups faired well, Piper did reasonably well on her own (there wasn't nearly as much pee to clean up as I expected) and the trip was rather uneventful. Can't ask for much more than that.

Now crunch time begins. Finals began for me today. I finished my first one this morning for OCHM lab. It was a tough, 2 part final, but I think I pulled off a good enough grade to get an A. We'll see...

My next final is this Friday which coinsides with a test in OCHM lecture. Lets just say I am feeling a little pressed for time. Both require a great deal of attention and studying, but there is only so much time left.

My last two finals aren't until the week of the 15th, so there will be a short break in-between exams. That short break should give me time to study and get Trudy to the vet since she has a tooth that needs to be pulled. I know, poor little girl doesn't have many teeth left, but the ones she does have seem to be rotting right out of her head. Poor baby!

Anyway, you might not see much of me for the next couple weeks, but I will definately be back after December 19th...the day of my last final.

Take Care!

P.S. We're moving again...I don't know when or where, but the decision has been made.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To All My Family and Friends,

Wishing each and every one of you a very safe and relaxing Thanksgiving!

The Cutest Infestation

Matthew sent me this website about a week ago and I have gotten such laughs out of it, I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

http://cdn1.ustream.tv/swf/4/viewer.45.swf?cid=317016

And here is an article:

It takes a village of some 4 million to raise six cuddly pups, or at least to ogle them for hours on end.

What began as a way for a San Francisco couple to keep tabs on their pet Shiba Inu dog Kika’s litter while they were at work has become an unlikely Web sensation. Viewers flock to the Internet site Ustream.com to monitor the 5-week-old brood’s growth, watching the energetic pups paw and play with one another and have at it with their chew toys.

It's like having puppies in your own house without having to clean up the poop!

Enjoy!

Diverticulitis: Update

I had my last appointment, as least for the foreseeable future, with my gastroenterologist yesterday. Overall she says I am making good progress, the intense pressure in my abdomen has lessened and my bouts of pain are only about a couple times a week. For me, this is progress.

I have been on antibiotics for at least the last 12 weeks, trying to clear up the infection in my lower GI tract. That regimen will be done in about 2 more weeks. Her advice from now on is: eat better, get plenty of sleep, exercise, and drink lots of water. I can accomplish all of these on my own except for the eating better part. Where does one begin? So, now I am seeking a nutritionist, hopefully free through the university but if not, through my health insurance company...who can put me on the right track in terms of what I should be eating. Those with diverticulitis are not supposed to eat popcorn, nuts, or seeds of any kind. Other than that, that's all I know. Hopefully a nutritionist or dietitian can tell me how many veggies, fruits, dairy, and meats I should be eating eat day/week with the condition that I have.

The only other problem I foresee is the "plenty of sleep". I am going into finals in about a week or so and I doubt much sleeping will be going on...but I will try.

High School Moment #1

Yesterday I was walking to my bike, had my helmet on and was getting my iPod out for the ride home. From a short distance away I heard someone call my name and I looked. It was two of the girls from my Organic Chemistry lab. They smiled and waved, I smiled and waved in response. I suddenly realized that the "cool" kids just waved to me and I was wearing my grubby clothes, my hair was a mess, and had my pink bike helmet on...how stupid did I look? I felt a rush of embarrassment and awkwardness and couldn't wait to get out of there, afraid of what they might think or say.

Than, two seconds later I realized, I'm not 18 anymore -- I am almost thirty and no longer do I give a darn what the 18 year old "cool" kids think or say about me.

On the ride home, I laughed out-loud and thought -- Isn't it sad that even when we are older and more mature some of those old high school moments sneak up on us out of nowhere?

Post Election Day Response

I am only going to briefly comment on the Presidental race. My candidate didn't win and I am disappointed. I thought he brought a lot to the table and would have been a great and honorable president. I am getting used to the idea of having Obama as my President and truly hope he brings the change he promises to America.

Now onto the Arizona elections!

Let's be honest Arizonans, we aren't very happy with the government we have in place or many of the policies they support. Which is why the election results are so stiking. I did a completely non-mathmatical tabulation this morning of who won and who didn't. Would you be surprised to hear that out of the approximately 64 races that took place in Pima County alone, apporximately 49 of those resulted in the imcumbant(s) staying in office? Would you also be surprised to hear that a vast majority of those 15 races which resulted in a new candidate taking office, the incumbant wasn't running against them? Don't you also find it interesting that not a single judge was unseated?

This state needs help and it needs it desperately! Our school districts have no money, our prisons are overcrowded, illegal aliens are crossing the border into our state EVERYDAY, our streets and highways need improvement, crime is on the rise, the list goes on and on!

SO WHY DO WE INSIST ON KEEPING THE SAME MORONS IN OFFICE?

I urge all Arizonans, shoot I urge people from every state, at the next election take a good long look at our (your) city/state/country and if you don't like what you see, for heaven's sake get rid of the people running it.

The Circle of Life Displayed Right in Front of my House

A couple of days ago Matthew was playing video games and I was doing homework, when all of sudden we heard an odd sound outside. Upon our investigation (ie: opening the front door) we discovered a dead pigeon lying in our flower bed. Two or three feral kitties were anxiously licking their lips and cowering in the bushes at the side of the house. We thought, "well that's strange, if they killed that bird, why are they hiding?" We walked around to the front window which gives us a different vantage point of the front yard and lo and behold, sitting on the roof of our living room was the biggest hawk I have ever seen! It was red and white and so very magestic. A stare-off between the feral kitties and hawk followed for what seemed like an hour....and than the hawk flew away. Amazing! I am just glad that the feral kitties didn't get taken away by that ginormous bird!

This is reason number 227 why NOT having a digital camera sucks!

P.S. Keep an eye out in the next few days for my post-election day response.