food prep

just a note:

there is a difference between a recipe, and the assemblage of food. this seems to be confusing to some people out there, so i would just like to clarify.

if you:
buy a package of brownie mix, a jar of caramel sauce ice cream topping, and a carton of ice cream or cool whip, AND
make brownies from said package, AND
pour caramel sauce on top of said brownies, AND
top with the store-bought cool whip/ice cream,
you are NOT working from a recipe. if you have to write this down and refer to it as if it were a recipe, you should leave the kitchen. immediately. this is assembling food. it has nothing to do with the actual preparation of actual food.

however, if you:
make brownies from scratch, and caramel from scratch, and whipped cream or ice cream from scratch, AND
THEN assemble the food you have just made, from scratch,
this requires a recipe. and i mean for the brownie, caramel, and ice cream parts. not the part where you plate it.

there is a difference. you can't say you have this great recipe for caramel brownies when you take the first route. you can, however, say you have a great way for assembling an easy, lazy dessert without having to actually make anything. and please lord almighty don't write it down like you may forget that caramel sauce could taste good on a brownie. if for some reason you can't remember something as such, and write it down, certainly don't share it with anyone.

kick in the ribs

i had my first official kick in the ribs from oliver today. it didn't hurt but it wasn't exactly very comfortable! certainly made me sit up straighter. :) he's been kicking like mad... soccer or football kid for sure. it's so strange watching him KICK on the outside of my belly - he's gotten a few good ones in over the past week!! 3 more months and i can only imagine the kicks i'll get as he grows even more...

back to the grind

the wisconsin dells vacation was a success. it's an ungodly tourist trap, but we managed to have fun. ;) hannah planned our first day there, as her prize for winning monopoly (she totally hustled us). we got on the road around 6:30am thursday, and ran into some serious rain. we got in around 9am, and were able to check into our hotel right away.


then we headed over to the canyon creek riding stables, where bryan and hannah had a blast riding some horses while i sat and read my book. the ride ended up being a great deal; $20 for a one hour ride, and they had all sorts of stuff set up in the woods to look like parts of an old western town - plus we had coupons! hannah thought it was the neatest thing.

we then hit the indian trading post, a childhood favorite of mine. bryan got a cowboy hat, as he had been wanting one for some time and they were a good deal so i could hardly turn him down.


from there we stopped at the dells mining company, which is a giant rip off, but hannah loves panning for gemstones so there you go. she got some rocks, and that makes her happy. they charge you waaaaaay too much for the buckets and then they try to get you in the shop so they can tell you how you can spend more money to have them make jewelery from their rocks, but we managed to avoid that.

we went to danny's 90/94 diner for burgers, which weren't that fantastic, but like i said - this place is total tourist.

we went to the downtown dells to walk around some. after a few blocks, i let bryan and hannah know that it's all the same so there's no reason to do it all - t shirt shop, knick knacks, fudge, t shirt shop, candy shop, bar, t shirt shop... we ended up going to ripley's believe it or not, which was fun and weird.




we picked up some candy (including sour candy liquid shots which bryan and hannah did - hilarious video taken by me), including of course fudge and salt water taffy. after that we headed back to the hotel for a cooling dip in the pool before dinner.

we ate dinner at marley's jamaican, which was way overpriced for what it was, but it wasn't horrible. i had the jerk chicken and bryan had the jerk combo platter - pork, chicken, and red snapper. the meat was at least smoked, so it was very tender and flavorful. the place itself is kind of overdone, and they put umbrellas on everything (including water and the food) so we ended up with quite a pile by the end of dinner. we got a coupon for 50% off the mini golf place next door when we paid, so we headed over there and played 18 holes. hannah loves mini golf and she does pretty well so that was fun.

friday was waterpark day. we ate an early breakfast at mr. pancake then headed to mt. olyumpus. we hit the theme park first. bryan and hannah had a total blast on the roller coasters, and of course the go carts. i ended up sitting and reading by the wave pool, which nearly put me to sleep (i do love naps). we then hit some of the water attractions, though the weather wasn't cooperating much (overcast most of the day) so hannah didn't last too long wet. we ended up going back to the theme park for more of that fun. all in all, i wish we had had better weather for water fun, but we spent the day there and hannah is now officially a coaster chick.

for dinner, we went to the cheese factory, a gourmet vegetarian place i had read about online before the trip. it was fantastic! the food was great. they even had a real soda fountain, so bryan and i had handmade phosphates. we started with their "rattlesnake" tofu, (Seasoned charbroiled tofu served with our homemade BBQ sauce and black beans), which was tasty. i had the lasagna (A hearty serving layered high with spinach, mushrooms, veggie “meat” (gluten), and Mozzarella, Romano and Ricotta cheeses, on a bed of marinara sauce, with garlic bread). it weas very good. very cheesy, very flavorful. bryan had the delhi delicious (A unique blend of flavors & textures filled with the aromatic spices of East meets West: crisp fried eggplant, chickpea stew seasoned with fragrant Indian spice blend, served in a nest of organic brown rice. Garnished with cranberry chutney, deep-fried banana and sour cream), which he enjoyed very much. hannah had the kiddie grilled cheese, always a favorite. hannah was too full for dessert, but i had the glorious chocolate cake (Devil’s Food Cake layered with rich chocolate mousse filling and covered in chocolate ganache) and bryan had the hazelnut torte (Toasted hazelnut and pecan cake between layers of sweetened whipped cream. Covered in a smooth chocolate coffee frosting). both were giant pieces of cake which we didn't manage to finish, but leftover cake never sucks. ;) we bought the cookbook since we were in need of a really good vegetarian one, and the place was so great.

after dinner, we went to the tommy barlett exploratory, which is the height of 1972 cheese. i'm pretty sure the exhibit hasn't been updated since it opened. it has space, and science, and optical illusions and such and maaaaaaaaaaan is it outdated!! it was pretty amusing though, and hannah loved it (she got to ride the gyro) so all is well i guess.

saturday we began with breakfast at denny's classic diner (not that denny's!). it was a lot of fun! lots of old school kitsch decorating the place; the little rascals played in black in white on the tv while the wurlitzer offered old classics. definitely old school diner. the food was good - classic diner food for sure. i had a giant omlette with hash browns and it totally hit the spot.

next, we headed on to the original wisconsin ducks for a tour of the lower dells. hannah got to sit in front and be co-pilot. :) it was a lot of fun. our tour guide reminded me a lot of my sister katie - totally snarky. she was a lot of fun.

we went to the downtown dells to try out the wizard quest, which bryan had found good reviews for online. the idea is that you have to free 4 wizards in these different realms. you explore the realms and find clues to answers for a list of questions they give you in the beginning, which you then input into a computer (at the "dragon depot") to earn "glimmers" in order to free the wizards. depending on how many wizards you free in what amount of time you win!.... a discount in the gift shop. the place was dark, and some of the clues confusing, and there were kids running all over yelling. hannah thought it was SO COOL but bryan and i have been more impressed. ;)


we grabbed a quick and late lunch at moosejaw pizza. we ordered the taco pizza, which would have been fine except they used marinara sauce (and they serve it with a side of taco sauce so why don't they just use that??) and by "tortilla chips" they meant "doritos", which was kind of disappointing. they do brew their own soda and beer though, which is kind of neat.

we stopped by an antique shop to pass some time, where i actually found something i wanted to buy - but they had lost the keys to the case it was in so i was out of luck. go figure.

we had a reservation to see the 4pm show at the broadway dinner theater, which was disney's high school the musical. for those of you not familiar, high school the musical is an absolute phenomenom with the 6 - 13 yr old set. it's grease in 2006 for the 'tweens. hannah was pretty pumped and enjoyed the show a lot, even if it wasn't exactly like the movie. ;) during the closing number, i realized one of the dancers looked like a girl i went to high school with, which i confirmed after the show. small world! hannah bought a poster and got signatures from the main stars. she got to meet the girl who played sharpei, and about fainted she was so excited.

we had a small dinner at the cheese factory. i had the grilled cheese (A grilled double decker of Wisconsin sharp cheddar and Swiss cheeses with Roma tomatoes on sourdough bread), which i had been eyeing. it was huge and delicious. the salad that came with it had a raspberry dressing that was so good! bryan had the reuben (Veggie pastrami (gluten), Bavarian sauerkraut, smoky mustard sauce, and Swiss cheese on home made dark caraway rye bread). in his past kitchen travails, he had attempted to make a veggie reuben but was never successful. so he was happy to be able to try a good one - and we have the recipe in the cookbook so i expect to be eating one soon! :) we were too full for dessert this time, unfortunately. we headed back to the hotel and sat by the pool for a bit while hannah swam before bed.

sunday, we checked out of the hotel early and began the day with another breakfast at mr. pancake, at hannah's request. then we drove over to the wisconsin deer park. hannah thought it was soooooooo coooooooool that you could pet the deer - no fences! bryan was impressed by all the animals with horns. shocker, right?

we headed back to the indian trading post so hannah could spend the rest of her money. i let bryan talk me into buying a cowboy hat (i have no idea where i'll wear it), and we sat around while hannah chose a selection of rocks. she got one huuuuge crystal that she's pretty excited about.

our last stop was the market square cheese shop, which is a tradition. i'm just mad i forgot to get a picture of us with mr. mouse! :( i picked up an 8 yr old cheddar (makes the BEST grilled cheeses), and a nice parm reg, and bryan found a swiss spread. we ended up using the parm in a salad we had for dinner last night, and it was very tasty.

after that, we jumped on the highway for the trip home. we stopped near madison to visit with dirk some, and had some tasty lunch at a new-ish old school diner in the area. my hamburger was super messy and quite good. after that, we were back on the road, where hannah and i had a little post lunch nap. we made it home by 3 or so, to some very happy doggies. i was happy to be home and see them!

tonight is national night out. shannon is coming over, since hannah has been dying to have a sleep over with her. we're going to hit up this night out thing and hopefully have some fun.

tomorrow night is the lucinda williams concert at the pabst, which we're pretty pumped about.

wednesday hannah leaves. :( then it's back to house work - painting, getting ready for the baby, and the other stuff on the giant list i've made for bryan.

milkfat

this weekend was fun and busy, as usual.

my friend maggie came for dinner friday night. we chatted for hours. it was really nice. i'm really looking forward to seeing her more often!

saturday, we had my company picnic at the zoo. hannah and bryan, amazingly, tired out before i did. we only saw about half the zoo! i was pretty beat too, though. the weather couldn't have been more perfect. that evening, we went downtown to the history museum to see an imax film on black holes. hannah wasn't too keen on going, but once the imax movie started and stars and asteriod were zipping around us, she thought it was the coolest movie EVER. she was convinced that the entire auditorium was moving. :) i guess that the imax did it's job!

sunday morning we went to church. we would like to have oliver baptized, so we had to pick a church (and by default, a religion). bryan was raised lutheran, so we started there. our main concern was tolerance; all religions preach love and tolerance... but conditionally. it's simply not something we can begin to understand and thus couldn't associate ourselves with. we found a branch of lutheranism that actually practices acceptance of ALL believers. we attended the service, and i have never been to any religious event or place where people were more welcoming or friendly. from the moment we walked in we were greeted, welcomed, and introduced to everyone. during the processional song, the pastor ran over to me to greet us; we had emailed and she wanted to see if i was jen. :) after the sermon, the pastor asks all the kids to come up front so she can relate the gospel to them in terms they will understand. overall it was a very nice service and a great community. we definitely plan on going back.

after church, we ran some errands (shocker!), and i baked those pecan squares you see pictured above. i didn't make it to the chocolate dipping, but i'm pretty sure they contained enough milkfat nonetheless. the crust is butter, with just enough sugar to sweeten and flour to bind. the rest is butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and pecans. oh and some lemon and orange zest. i'm pretty sure for all their density they would still float in water. we brought them to my mom's annual family picnic/reunion, where they were a big hit. i am also currently enjoying a leftover one for lunch. milkfat is probably my favorite thing ever. :) the picnic was a lot of fun. unfortunately, it wasn't really warm enough to swim, which didn't stop a lot of kids. hannah forgot her suit though so we stuck to the picnic area. it was nice seeing the family as usual.

tomorrow is bryan's birthday, which means the month of bryan is almost officially over. we're having my parents and sister over for a steak dinner and bryan's special cake.

thursday morning we leave for the dells!! we're pretty excited. hannah gets to be in charge for a day and plan everything, after she totally rolled bryan and i at monopoly last night and won that privilege as a grand prize. apparently, she plays a lot of monopoly at mom's house. we didn't know. all i know is that she kept making stupid offers and bryan and i kept trying to help her, and then suddenly bryan and i had no money and she had a lot of money and properties, and we had to mortgage a bunch of stuff to pay her rent. i'm still not clear on how she pulled that off, but suffice to say, she gets no help from us next time!! :) hopefully the weather holds out for us so we can at least get a good waterpark day in. i'd also like to hit up the ducks, the deer park, and of course some fudge and indian trading post shopping. shannon will be puppy sitting, and i'm sure they'll be fine and have fun, but i hate leaving them anyways.

i have a ton to get done at work before we go on vacation, which will be made all the more fun since i'm in all day classes the next two days. we shall see.

i'm going to go wallow in my milkfat food coma now.

"Atlanta Falcons officials said they were troubled by the charges against star quarterback Michael Vick, who faces up to six years in prison if he is found guilty of involvement in a dogfighting ring . . .
According to the indictment, dogs that didn't show enough fighting spirit, or that lost matches, were put to death by a variety of methods, including shooting, drowning, hanging and electrocution. Prosecutors allege that on one occasion earlier this year, Vick participated in killing eight dogs . . .
If convicted of both portions of the conspiracy charge, Vick could face six years in prison and a $350,000 fine, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia . . ."

this kind of crap makes me sick. anyone who would do this should be tried "by a variety of methods, including shooting, drowning, hanging and electrocution." the 6 years in prison/$350,000 fine maximum punishment is no where near as harsh as it should be. and we all know he won't get fired by the falcons, fined by the nfl, or go to jail. at worst, he'll get a $50,000 fine for his association. the nfl should ban him and he should be sentenced to life in prison, along with the rest of the group. i hope the aspca is all over this one.

party photos have been posted

http://greg2790.phanfare.com/show_album.aspx?username=greg2790&album_id=349750&mt=4ZdBp6CswvBYefvjMJoJ&pw=d0e5f4e5f2f3&po=1

the comfort

i may get to sit on the couch tonight. after my 8 hour workshop at work, then my chiro appt, and target, and dinner, maybe while laundry is going... i could sit on the couch. you don't know how exciting that is for me.

bryan's dad and his wife took us to dinner last night for bryan's birthday. we went to mader's, a german restaurant founded in 1902. it was nothing extraordinary, but it was good. they don't do anything crazy and new to the food. it's what you'd expect to have in your grandmother's kitchen if your grandmother was german. nothing surprising, just well executed german food.

we started with the Sausage and Cheese Platter (Grilled Usingers sausage and knockwurst served with Swiss and Cheddar cheeses). the crackers and cheese were disappointing - i expect to get better cheese in wisconsin, especially across the street from the usinger cheese shop. but the sausages were tasty. bryan had the Bavarian Sauerbraten (Marinated for ten days and oven roasted. Both served with red cabbage and spaetzel. Served with our ginger snap sauce.). the roast was perfect - moist and tender. the sauce was good as well. it was more stock-y than mine, which tastes more like the gingerbread and vinegar, but it was still good. we did prefer my sauce, however. hannah had the kid's menu version of Kassler Rippchen (A delicacy from Kassle. Smoked pork loin served with applesauce and mashed potatoes with a light smoked thyme veloute.). the sauce looked much more like a white gravy, though i did not taste it. hannah was thrilled by the crispy, bacon-like fat on the loin, which she smushed into her potatoes. that's my girl. ;) she liked it a lot, and ate pretty quickly. i had the Wiener Schnitzel (Strauss Veal cutlet lightly breaded and pan sauteed, served with chive buttered Spaetzle and lemon.). the veal was super tender, and the breading nice and crispy. the spaetzle was a little dry but had good flavor. linda had the Beef and Mushroom Strudel (Beef sauerbraten with grilled red onions, sauteed mushrooms and smoked ham rolled in crisp phyllo pastry baked with enthal cheese. Served with ginger brown sauce and julienne vegetables.). it was very good, very flavorful, and big!! bill had the special, which was a sausage and schnitzel platter.

for dessert, both bryan and hannah had the cherry strudel with ice cream. i had the apple strudel sans ice cream. it hit the spot. linda had the molten chocolate cake, and bill had a cream pudding. linda was very happy, since she and bill had seen an ad for mader's in the back of a magazine they picked up on the miller brewery tour yesterday, which had a picture of the molten chocolate cake. she had been drooling over it, so she was happy to have had the experience of dining there.

kate came with me to the doctor's yesterday to hear the baby's heartbeat. she was totally wowed. so weird and so neat! i'm glad she got to experience it.

pictures from the party are forth coming, probably late this week.

wish me luck with my plan to try to relax some tonight.

tick tock

today is an excruciatingly slow day. i have a billion things to do today and tomorrow to get ready for the party, and sitting here at work isn't helping me accomplish any of them. it wouldn't be so bad if i wasn't just 1 of about 5 people in the office today. it's hard to be super productive on fridays around here. half the office is generally out on fridays (lots of people work flex hours here), and half of whoever is left is out on vacation this week and next. so it's pretty quiet and slow. the list of things i need to do is just running through my mind.

i am excited for the weekend though. we're pretty well prepared for the baby shower/birthday party tomorrow. shannon and i have our schedules planned out and it won't be too difficult to get ourselves set up. the list of things i want to complete tonight is daunting but i'll find a way, i am sure. the tables and chairs are being delivered today, and i think we have most of the supplies covered. just a few last minute items like balloons and flowers to pick up in the morning. i'm just hoping the storms they are predicting for tomorrow either don't show up (as has been the case lately), or stick to the morning like they promise. if that works out for us it should be a beautiful afternoon/evening to have a bbq.

speaking of bbq, we have something like 50 lbs of meat to cook. mom got a good deal on ribs, so picked up 30 lbs, and another 10 lbs of chicken, and 10 lbs of pork butt. it's a good thing i made something like 8 cups of bbq sauce, plus an additional 3 cups of vinegar sauce. we are picking up a new barrel smoker, so hopefully between that and bryan's current smoker we can cook everything. it's not really something you can do in shifts since everything takes hours. should be interesting... and delicious!!

now everyone who rsvp'd just better show up! :)

like butter

bryan and i took mom and dad out to lake park bistro for dinner last night, in thanks for all the help they've been giving us. they were pleasantly surprised by our choice, which was a good thing. dinner was absolutely superb. to be honest, i was scared that the food wouldn't live up to all the hype. it's often that bryan and i go somewhere everyone raves about and are disappointed (especially when we spend good money for it). so to have the food exceed my expectations was great. i guess that's why the chef was nominated for a james beard award! :)

we started off our meal with the Escargots Bourguignons en Croûte (Traditional Burgundian snails seasoned with garlic-parsley butter and baked en croute with mushroom and diced tomato under a flaky puff pastry crust) and Assiette de Charcuterie Maison (Housemade country pate, dry-cured sausage, silky black-truffle liver mousse, French ham with Meaux mustard, cornichon pickles, and rustic bread). the escargots were the best i've had yet; piping hot, swimming in the perfect combination of butter, garlic, and parsley under a perfectly tender, flaky puff pastry crust. simply divine. the charcuterie plate was delish as well. bryan and mom enjoyed the pate and liver mousse quite a bit.

next came the salads. mom and i both had the Tranches de Betteraves et Salade de Cresson (Thinly sliced marinated red beets, watercress salad, shaved fennel and red onion with horseradish crème fraiche). the beets were thin, silky, with the crunch taken out of them just enough to still be firm. the flavor combination was just delicious. dad had the Salade Maison (Mesclun field greens and sweet herbs with Roma tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers tossed in sweet rice wine vinaigrette). bryan loved his Œuf Mollet avec Asperges et Truffes (Sauteed asparagus with a fried whole soft cooked egg, frisee lettuce, and black truffle toast). he was very impressed with how they managed to soft boil, peel, dredge, and fry the egg without over cooking it.

we then moved to our entrees. bryan had debated long and hard over the calves liver special or steak, and settled on the Entrecôte aux Champignons (Garlic marinated bone in ribeye with bacon roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and red wine sauce). the steak was rather large and he didn't manage to finish, but was not disappointed at all. i had the Bistro Frites (Grilled “hanger” steak with thin French fries) with red wine sauce. it was definitely in the top 3 steaks 've ever had. tender, perfectly cooked, and the sauce was great. they certainly didn't skimp on the butter in the buerre! no complaints from me. :) it was heavenly. mom had the Fletan Rôti à la Provençale (Roasted halibut with caramelized fennel, sauteed spinach, and a Provençal style olive tapenade), which she enjoyed very much. she doesn't get a chance to eat much spinach or olives since she's the only one in the house that likes it, so that was a bit of a treat for her. she found the fish perfectly cooked as well. dad loved his Canard “Deux Façons” à la Sauce Marchand de Vin (Duo of duck with the breast pan-seared and the leg slow-cooked “confit” served with sautéed spinach, Provencal potatoes, and red wine sauce). he hadn't had duck for awhile and found it perfect. he cleared his plate. :)

for dessert, bryan had the chocolate mousse with coconut ice cream, dad had the praline, mom had the chocolate cake with mint ice cream, and i had the lemon curd tart with honey lavender meringue and berries. everyone liked their desserts. my lemon curd was very tart; though i found the meringue was a little too thick for the lemon flavor to come through strong enough for me. i love lemons so much i turned down molten chocolate cake, though, so perhaps it's just me. :) i did taste bryan's mousse, which was perfect.

all in all it was a perfect meal. we'll be going back soon (i hope!). i had been wanting to go for some time, so was glad we finally had the occasion to do so. the bartolotta group holds food events all year round as well, so we're looking forward to those (since the chicago Dames seem to be falling down on the job). we definitely plan on hitting up the heirloom tomato festival late next month, and the garlic festival in september. i simply can't turn down ridiculously good food. :)

i just saw a "fat free half and half" in the fridge here at work. that is simply not possible. half and half is, by definition:
"...a mixture of milk and cream. It must contain at least 10.5 percent milkfat, but not more than 18 percent."

half and half, therefore, CANNOT be fat free. you could call it fat free articifially thickened milk product with cream flavor, but you cannot bill it as half and half.

totally makes my head hurt and reminds my why i hate people.

still running around crazy

the baby/shower birthday party is fast approaching (saturday!), which means an action packed weekend. bryan's dad will be in town thursday - tuesday. we are thinking of going to chicago sunday. it will be really neat to take hannah there to see the museums, navy pier, etc. i also realized we would then have the chance to eat dinner at a rick bayliss restaurant. now, i am sitting at work looking at his menus and giggling like an idiot. i love eating good food. i even love reading about good food and tasting it that way. being there is way more fun though. ;)

however, before sunday even arrives, i have mucho work to do in order to get ready for the party. we have most of the supplies, though i still need to get a few and verify mom has all the food so i can start prepping for that. it's going to be a tiring week but i'm pretty excited. it should be a good party, and i can't wait to see our out of town guests!

the month of bryan is in full swing, though he hasn't had a chance to relax as much as usual. yesterday we took an easy day and mostly stayed at the house. hannah and i hit the pool, which was so awesome in yesterday's godawful heat. i told bryan to play video games but he ended up doing work. i guess that's our lives for awhile...

tour de france started saturday. i missed the prologue (hannah and i were out shopping all day), but caught stage 1. luckily we had our cable installed last thursday, so we can dvr everything and thereby miss nothing. it should be a very very exciting tour.

hannah and i had a blast shopping saturday. i had allotted less time than we actually ended up spending being out, but that was only because i underestimated the amount of time we would spend at the limited too. i should have known! even though hannah had all of $3 left on her gift card, picking a dress for the party was quite an ordeal. she found a super cute one, though, so everyone's happy. i managed to find a perfect dress at mimi (along with a few other things), and shannon found a super cute top at the limited as well. we also found hannah some great accessories (white rimmed sunglasses, a strawberry necklace) and the CUTEST sparkly sneakers ever. she is such a fashion maven. too cute!

we're taking mom and dad out to lake park bistro on tuesday in thanks for all the help they've given us. they would never take themselves, and i've been dying to go - the chef was nominated for a james beard award. it should be a fun evening of decadence. hannah has no desire to go, which is funny, because she's usually so excited about eating at fancy places (and could never understand why we wouldn't take her to bacchnalia). i think the idea of spending the evening home alone with shannon is waaaaaaaaay more exciting.

ally's been doing well. she looks like she's feeling alright, and her leg doesn't seem to bother her much. she's even been jumping around on it. i've caught her licking it a few times, but i get the feeling it's more because the stitches are itchy. she gets them out on friday and i'm looking forward to that. i should also hear soon about the lab results on the tumor, which i'm pretty antsy for.

we have so much prep to do and not much time to do it. it's going to be another tiring week. looks like i may be able to relax in august, though...

ally the trooper

ally's surgery went well. the vet expects to hear back early next week on her full biospy; until then, i just have to wait in suspense. ally is doing really well. it's pretty sad to see her so subdued when she is normally so active, but she is moving around really well. she was pretty out of it when i picked her up after her surgery, and i think her pain meds knock her out a bit as well. but overall she's not complaining and is toughing it out. she doesn't enjoy taking her pills but a little roast beef treat helps some. she'll get her stitches out next week friday. the incision is looking good and she's staying away from it, so that at least is healing well. moose is being super sweet and gentle. he hasn't tried to rough house with her at all and isn't getting upset when she gets lots of attention like he normally would. he's a great little brother. we've all got our fingers crossed.

today's the day

i dropped ally off at the vet this morning for her surgery. she was all fine and excited until i handed her off to the vet tech to take her in the back. she was very confused as to why i wasn't coming and almost refused. they'll call me after 2 to let me know how it goes. i'm sure it'll go fine, but i can't help feel nervous nonetheless. luckily i don't have too many meetings today. i'm fairly distracted. ally is a very special girl, and i am constantly praying that everything will turn out alright.