We finally named our puppy last night. It was my idea too. The decision on her name was unanimous, instantly everybody said "yea!" Puppy Noel is now known as Loki. The name Loki comes from the Norse God of Mischeif. Of course, we refer to her as the Goddess of Mischeif. I believe her registered name for UKC will be Jenny's Goddess of Mischeif Loki. Loki is constantly exploring, very energetic, and chewing on everything. Including hands- Gimlet described it the best- her teeth feel like rose thorns. Puppy needle teeth hurt! We try to provide her with an alternate chewing source as soon as she starts nibbling. Mr. Hippo (a fleecey hippo with a squeaker inside) is her favorite toy. She loves to chew on it and carry it around. The toy is bigger than her head, so its very funny when she does that. Last night she claimed another item as "hers". We have had a stuffed squirel with a squeaker in it for a while, orignially we were going to scorch it and place it on friends mailbox, that resembles a generator. However, last night, Loki wandered over to where it was under the coffee table, picked it up, and placed it in her crate. So the squirel is hers. It was the cutest thing.
It's official, there is a new puppy in town. Yesterday afternoon, we got a female yellow labrador retriever!! She is soo tiny and sooo cute. Puppylupagus is her nickname. She doesn't have a name yet, but here's the ones that are in the running: Aqua, Misty, Raine, Sunshine (I put that to appease mom, but puppy will not be named Sunny). I am pulling for Raine b/c when we got her it was raining. One of the vet assistants came up with Aqua...it has potential. Puppy went to the vet this morning and was a good girl, everything checked out okay. Puppy weighs 8.2 pounds, so right now I can carry her around. Which she is making me do; we go to Petsmart to get her a "puppy" leash, a brush, and some tennis balls. I put her down, saying she is going to walk...nope she just sits there, while everybody oohs and ahhs over her. So I ended up carring Puppylupagus throughout Petsmart. Froggiegirl and Gimlet might come and see puppy tonight; be prepared to lose your heart to her. I love this puppy so much already. I am going to foot the bill to get her registered, so her official name will be Jenny's something. I am also going to be one of her main trainers. If ya wanna see pics of her, go here.
Well, Puerto Rico was defeated by Cuba (4-3) and ergo got knocked out of the tournament. Domincana and Cuba advanced to the semi finals. Team USA was defeated by Mexico, so Team Korea will face off Team Japan. So now I guess I'm rooting for Dominicana w/ Albert Pujols on first base. Cardinals third base coach, Jose Oquendo (who was the manager for Puerto Rico, Catcher Yadier Molina, new pitcher Ricardo Rincon(Team Mexico) returned to Cardinals Camp. Molina enjoyed playing for Puerto Rico, and even though he was the back up catcher for Ivan Rodriguez, it still was a honor and great experience for him. Molina is quoted as saying "It was unbelievable...It was likeplaying in the World Series. Everybody was excited" Another great qoute from Molina : Quotable: "I wasn't expecting the crowd. That many people there, I wasn't expecting that. That surprised me, like 22,000. That many people live in Puerto Rico?" -- Molina, on World Baseball Classic attendance in San Juan(stlcardinals.com).
Friday afternoon we recieved a sympathy card from out vet in the mail. The vet and all the people in the office signed it. We also got a little card called the Rainbow Bridge- it talked about where animals go to heaven. It was so sweet. Mom and I almost started crying.
Tuesday afternoon, we took our beloved dog, Shadow, to the vet to be put to sleep. Silly dog didn't realize what was about to happen. She was all happy, she has always liked people and going to the vet. I gave her one last hug and a kiss before we left. I started crying after that. We were just about to leave when dad found Shadow's fave toy as a puppy, her wooby. So I ran that in to the assistants to put with Shadow. It feels so odd not to have her with us anymore. I come home from classes, and there is no dog to greet me and demand food. No heavy breathing, or silky ears to pet, or sad innocent brown eyes to gaze at. I came home Wed, and upon remembering that Shadow was gone, said out loud "This sucks". It really does. We are discussing getting a puppy. We have all agreed that the new puppy will be a Labrador Retriever, just like Shadow. It will not be a black lab, that would be like we are repacing Shadow. And we're not, that's impossible, no dog will ever come close to replacing my dog. I want to get a Chocolate lab, dad does too now (I've lured him over to the chocolate side, lol). Mom and troll boy want a yellow lab. Dad wants to wait until summer when mom is out of school to get the new puppy. Mom, Golum, and I don't want to wait that long. So we are slowly trying to wear down my dad. I am hoping to get a puppy either next Thrusday or Friday b/c I only have one week until spring break, so I can be home all day with puppy. Since I can't go to New Orleans with my brothers as I wanted to, I am doing absolutely nothing. So hopefully, we will be getting a puppy soon.
This is going to be a long and hard week for my family. After 13 wonderful years with our Lab, Shadow, we have decided to put her to sleep t/m afternoon. We believe that she is in a lot of pain b/c of the way she keeps falling and breathing so hard. How am I supposed to say goodbye to my dog when she looks like shes happy? She looks at me with her big sad brown eyes and I can't say goodbye. I feel horrible for what we are doing t/m. She won't feel any pain, she'll just get sleepy, go to sleep, and never wake up. How am I supposed to rationalize putting her to sleep when she is still acting like a puppy one minute and falling over the next. What if she feels like we're abandoning her? She has no clue what we are going to do t/m. She doesn't know that tonight is the last night that she will sleep on my parents bed. That t/m is her last day with a family that loves her so much. I hope she understands that we love her and we are doing this so she won't be in any more pain. Silly dog doesn't have a clue why we are all so sad. Shadow has been with me since late elementry school, all through middle and high school. Almost all they way through my college years. I love my dog so much, she is family, and I don't want to lose her yet.
The World Baseball Classic is in full swing. All four pools have started playing. Pool One has already produced two teams to advance to the next round: Japan and Korea. Mexico of Pool B has advanced to round 2. USA will play South Africa today and will have to win to advance to play Mexico (who they beat 2-0), Japan, and Korea. Puerto Rico is doing very well.They beat Panama 2-1 in their first game and then they smashed the Netherlands (who the heck was on the Netherlands team and how did they assign players?) 8-3. Needless to say with their 2-0 record in round 1, they advance to round 2. Puerto Rico is looking really sharp, they have great defense and strong offense- a very good combination. Puerto Rico is a dominant force, and play Cuba tonight. They beat Cuba, and Cuba goes home. Puerto Rico will also square off with the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols(Dominica) and Yadier Molina (Puerto Rico of course) will face off in round two. Dominica has a strong team, they defeated Venezuela 11-5 their first game. The stakes are higher and things are getting much more exciting. I will be cheering for Team USA to kick butt, and watching avidly Puerto Rico as they take on Cuba. When Puerto Rico plays Dominica, I will cheer Pujols on good saves and hits, but ultimately I will root for the home of my ancestors; Puerto Rico. Third (or second-depends on how you look at it) generation Puerto Rican in the states. My grandfather was born in Newy York, NY a month after his family imigrated there in 1930. So my family hasn't been here that long. This is my mothers side. Dad's side? Don't know much, just that they have been in St. Louis for some time- definately longer than my mom's family has been in the states. So Go Team USA!! Go Puerto Rico!!
Whoohoo! The doc has three options before sending me to the neurosurgeon and let him give me his options. So lots of options before ppl even think of sending me under the knife! So it looks like I am going to get an epidural- a big old shot in my lower back. Can you say ouch? Seriously, I can't stand needles, I even hate IV's (and I've had more than my share of those thank you very much). "It'll just feel like a bee sting" they say soothingly. Bee stings hurt!!! So what the doc wants to do is have someone who does these things all the time and shoot steriods into my back, just below my spinal cord. The cord isn't there but the nerves are. There is small chance (very small) that something could go wrong. Unfortunately for yours truely, I happen to slip into those small percentages almost every time. Ex- this only happens with 10 % of patients...I was one of that percentage. Even my doc has noticed I do this a lot. Not my fault, by any means, I am just odd like that. No comments from the peanut gallery please. Wish me luck, I probally have to call the doc on Monday and get the injection set up. Oh joy!
That's what everyone keeps telling me about my back. Well, apparently my body doesn't give a rat's tail about my age. I got my results from my MRI, if you hadn't figured it out by now. I have a herniated disk. The doctor wants me to see a neurosurgeon, and I tell my parents this and they both say "You're not having surgery!". Umm, I didn't know surgery was an option at this point. Way to freak me out, thanks. So now I'm scared b/c I don't know whats going to happen or how I'm supposed to get better. My Spring Break plans are gone; I can't go and do what I want b/c my stupid back. Great. Could somebody please invent a shot that cures everything and give it to me? When that is invented, let me know!
After spending 5 and a half hours waiting online, dad and I managed to get tickets to a game in the new Busch Stadium. Our tickets will be mailed to us in 4 to 5 weeks. We are going to the August 31st Game vs. Florida Marlins. We have really good seats too. We are in section 232, row 3. Meaning instead of walking up to our seats, we actually get to go down some stairs!! We are right off of first base, foul ball territory!! Definately will have to bring a glove. Odds are we won't catch a foul ball, but we will enjoy ourselves all the same. At the moment, this is the only Cardinals game I will be attending all season. But things do change, like last year I petsat for Froggiegirl and Gimlet and they took me to a Cards game for it!! I will definately take that again instead of money, when I petsit when they go on their honeymoon. Hint, Hint. Okay, seriously, I don't know if I will only get to go to only one game or if I will get the opportunity to catch more than one. If you ever have an extra ticket on hand or can't go to a game you have tickets for call me! By August 31st I will have graduated from UMSL, so going to a Cardinals game and having awesome seats is my kind of celebration!! So until that day, I will be catching every game on FSN Midwest, WB 11, KTRS 550, or online via gameday. Here's hoping for another winning season. Let's Go Cardinals!!
So spring training is well underway for our Redbirds. Catcher Yadier Molina left Saturday to report for Team Puerto Rico. Third base coach Jose Oquendo is excited and thinks that Puerto Rico's chances are good. General Manager of the Cardinals offered Oquendo some advice, telling him that he doesn't need his backup catcher. Puerto Rico's backup catcher is Yadier Molina; Ivan Rodriguez is the starting catcher. Puerto Rico played the New York Mets (Mommy's fave team b/c she is from Queens, New York) today in an exibition game. Puerto Rico beat the Mets 6 to 1. Yay! Highlights : Carlos Beltran drove in two runs with his single. According to a report on the game, the Puerto Rican team looks sharp and extremly alert for a team that had assembled two days earlier. I caught a few innings of the game, and did see Molina behind the plate, also I saw the new Molina jersey with his new number, 4, on it today while at the St. Louis Dugout at South County Mall. Puerto Rico plays its first offical game on Tuesday, March 7th at 8 PM. They are scheduled to play Team Panama at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan Puerto Rico. Team USA is also scheduled to play on Tuesday at 2 pm vs Team Mexico at Chase Field.
Okay so on Thursday I began using Crest Renewal Age-Defying Whitening Strips. They are supposed to remove up to 20 years worth of stains. I'm only 23 so I didn't fit into any of the age brackets, but this one was a dollar cheaper than the Premium Whitening strips. I have to wear these strips on my upper and lower teeth for 30 minutes twice a day. Today is day three, the date I should notice some difference, and I am happy to report that I think my teeth look whiter! I am going to be soooo happy if this works. Then I will happy nice white teeth for Froggiegirl and Gimlet's wedding!! How exciting is that?! My teeth have always been okay, but not as white as I wanted them. With lipstick on you can really tell how white or in my case how not white they are. So after months of saying I was going to do it and procrastinating and being cheap, I went ahead and purchased the strips. I am happy with the results so far, and considering that the gauruantee is 100% satisifaction or my money back w/in 60 days of purchase, things are looking up.
So I had my MRI this afternoon or as I named it Merciless Reverberating Irritant. I went the wrong direction on Tesson Ferry and ended up being three or four minutes late to my 2 pm appt. Usually not a problem, b/c doctors or xrays don't run on time. Wrong. B/c I was late, I did not get an open MRI like I had insisted on. No, I got the CLOSED MRI. I was not happy. So I had to hurridly fill out some forms, and just as I sat down, they called my name. This little old lady was sitting in there saying she was next. The person doing my MRI said that there were two different slots; one for MRI's and one for mamograms(which the little old lady was having I'm guessing). The little old lady reminded me of my grandma. Not the nice grandma, but the mean old tyrant inside my grandma's body. So since I had this closed MRI, I had to calm myself big time. Thank goodness I know how to do this. I thanked GOD at least three times that I'm little. The lady who did my MRI told me to lay really stiff and when I heard the noises it was important to breathe normal and relax. So I listened to the radio on the headsets (the left side was the only side working), relaxed my body, closed my eyes, pretended I was on a beach and tried to take a nap. It worked. I was only midly irritated by the noises. Towards the end, I'd had it. My right knee (which has two screws in it about inch/inch and a half long) from a previous knee surgery started hurting and burning. So I intentionally caused pain in my thumb in order to direct pain to another part of me, and so I ignored my knee and didn't panic. It took about an hour. So I treated myself to chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, oreos, and chocolate chips for being so relaxed. Results should be in t/m. Hopefully the doc can figure out what the heck I did to my back and I can get better. I am so sick of my back hurting. Its so irritating.
Spring Training is officially underway and the Cardinals have a new coach. And its someone they know very well; former left-fielder Larry Walker!! He is enjoying his new job, and is of course being ribbed by everybody. Third base coach, Jose Oquendo, who is also the manager for the Puerto Rican Team for the World Baseball Classics, is giving him a hard time insinuating that Puerto Rico is going to beat Canada. Puerto Rico has a really good line up of imposing players. Here is their story. Juan Encarnacion arrived in Jupiter yesterday, and Devi Cruz and Juan Mateo are expected t/m. A few other players are experiencing problems with visas; such as Ricardo Rincon, Hector Luna, and the three players above mentioned (thats why they are just now arriving to camp even though Spring Training started on Monday with full workout on Tuesday). The Cardinals, even with several new editions to the roster are still expected to be the team to beat in the National League. Scott Rolen is getting healthier and expects to back to top shape in time for opening day (Notice the counter I have). That's all for now. Be sure to check back later on next week for more Cardinal updates or do what I do and visit their website everyday! (or at least I try to).
So this year Spring Break is going to be very different. One, I'm actually getting out of St. Louis, two: its a cheap trip, and three: I could very well get lots and lots of service hours for it. Where am I going or thinking of going? New Orleans, LA. I am thinking of going with a group of students from Campus Crusade for Christ to help rebuild after the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. So far, I know of three of my brothers in my fraternity that want to do this. I think I want to go, it will only cost $30 and for that we get three meals a day, a place to sleep and warm showers- not the Ritz, but thats okay. I just don't want to drive. I want to have someone else drive their car; I will help with some of the driving and hopefully ride down with my brothers. So what should I do?
I was inspired to give my blog a "facelift" by my friend Froggiegirl who recently renamed her blog. So I chose my same template- just selecting it as new so the date of the posts wouln't be huge as they were before. What's with the new name? Well I grew up and still reside in South County. When I was younger I had a website through AOL called Bears Den. So this is the more mature title or new age(whatever you want to call it). The bear part remains as my nickname from day 1 on this earth has been Bear. Hope you enjoy it. There should be a counter coming soon aluding to how many days until Opening Day!!
The boys are back in town, the boys are back in toooowwwnnnn! Well, not quite. Catchers and pitchers reported to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida today. Workouts start Friday, February 17th. Two of the pitchers will be a few days delayed due to visa problems; Ricardo Rincon and Juan Mateo. Starting catcher, Yadier Molina, has decided to change his number. Molina will be starting his third season in the big leagues with the new jersey number 4. This means I have to go and get another Molina shirt (oh darn ;) ). The reason: Molina wanted a smaller number. Molina, teammate John Rodriguez, and third base coach Jose Oquendo will not be in camp long however. The three will be leaving to begin preparing for the World Baseball Classic; they will be representing mi abuelo's home land Puerto Rico. I can't wait until baseball starts up full swing again. Until then, I will have to be content with the Olympics and then the World Baseball Classic. Go Team USA and GO Team Puerto Rico!!
I kinda stole this idea from Liz, but what the hey. This window is used in a lot of my business classes. Click here.
The Winter Olympic Games are offically here! I will be watching avidly Speed Skating, focusing on short track- watch Apolo Anton Ohno- he is really good! Singles figure skating, of course bobsledding. I want to watch the Snowboarders Halfpipe for the first time- there is a 19 year old redhead, Shaun White aka "the Flying Tomato" who is expected to do really well. Well, the Flying Tomato from California snagged the gold medal for the halfpipe. For all Olympic Info go here. C'mon Team USA! Let's get some Gold Medals!!Also, a point of interest: Michelle Kwan, who was granted a private trial for the Olympics- and won a spot on the team, has withdrawn from the competition. In my opinion, she should have not requested the special treatment- she was hurt and in no shape way for the Olympics. This withdrawing after special treatment b/c of her name is not good. Here is her story.
