This past weekend, the family on my mom's side got together for a summertime tradition. For more than 10 years, we've celebrated Christmas with a summer camp out.  The locations have varied over the years, but most recently we've gathered in the cabins at the Weigand Campground in Nebraska.  It's a beautiful area with lots of trees and Lewis & Clark Lake nearby. There were a couple of camp-outs I missed over the years because of work, but for the most part, we all make a tremendous effort to get there.  I have one cousin who, with his wife, drives about 14 hours to get to the camp-out on a Friday, only to make the long trip to Texas again on Sunday.  This year, only 9 of us were missing. As you can see from the picture, there were still a lot of us who made the trip.

As I get older, I realize how neat it is that we all still consider family so important that we make an effort to get together.  Now, most of my cousins have babies of their own, so it's a chance for the next generation of cousins to get to know each other and play all weekend long.  For those of us who are now adults, it's a chance to reconnect and find out where our jobs and personal lives have taken us. It's a weekend filled with lots of laughs, lots of memories and lots of food. But when it's over, I think we all feel as determined as ever to make it back for next year's celebration.

On a side note, I just want to thank everyone for their words of comfort since my last post about my dog Griffin. Reading your comments has made this difficult week a little easier.

I have been saving this blog so it's the last thing I did on this workday. Part of me is dreading it as I type.  Yesterday, Fiance Thom and I made the decision to have my dog, Griffin, put to sleep. He had really deteriorated over the past couple of weeks, and I couldn't stand to see him suffer one more day.  It is easily one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  But I think that's just a testament of how much I loved him, and how good he was to me.  I tried to tell myself that I would have peace once I knew he wasn't hurting anymore.  But the truth of the matter is, this is much harder than I thought it would be. I just miss him so much.  For nearly 12 years he was at my feet and at my side... my partner...no matter what city I lived in, or what job I held. 

In the days leading up to his death, my heart was breaking for him, because he was hurting.  Now, my heart is breaking for me, because I know I must return to life without him. Thom says he never knew me without Griffin, so this is new for him too. It's amazing how our pets can truly become a part of our lives.  I know that mine is forever changed because Griffin was a part of it for so long. I will never forget him.

When everyone was jumping on the Facebook and MySpace bandwagons, I was slow to catch up.  Part of me felt I was just too old to be maintaining a website about my life, interests, etc.  But, as time wore on, a growing number of my friends were getting Facebook pages, and some of them were even older than me! So I decided to give it a try. I'm not on it all that much, and sometimes I only check in a couple of times a week. But since I've started my Facebook page, I do have to say, I've reconnected with people I'd lost touch with for years!

It's fun to be typing along at work one day when a message comes up that says a new friend has "added me" to their Facebook page. It's even more fun when that friend is someone from college who I haven't spoken with in ages.  Since there's a place to put pictures on the page, I am often able to see what their husbands, wives and kids look like, and find out what direction their career has taken them.  We don't often spill our guts and talk about the biggest issues in our lives these days, but it is a light, happy way to recall good times in the past, and see how far we've come.

I often wonder what my college years would've been like if Facebook and MySpace would've been around back then.  It was such a different world. Very few of us had cell phones...and if we did...they were giant.  We used computers to type out term papers, and that's about it.  There certainly wasn't an easy way to stay connected through something like Facebook.  At least some of those in my class are able to use it now as "grown-ups".  Proving, it's better late than never...and perhaps you're never too old for Facebook.

This past week, fiance Thom has been on vacation in Colorado.  He gets one more week of vacation than I do, since he's been at KSFY longer.  So, he usually uses that week to go out and visit his family in Colorado.  Throughout the week, Thom's been snapping pictures on his phone and emailing them to me at work.  I'll be typing along, and up pops a picture of Thom holding a giant fish he just caught...or a picture of his mom and dad with a rod and reel in their hands...or my favorite...a moose munching on some foliage by their cabin.  Most recently, the pictures have been from Coors Field, where Thom saw a couple of Colorado Rockies games. I'm sure he'll come back rested and relaxed after having spent such quality time with his family.

I've been trying to "hold down the fort" while Thom's gone...checking in on his house and the cat.  It's been a busy week at work, so thankfully, I haven't had a ton of time to think about what I've been missing. So, while it's fun seeing what Thom's been up to all week, I have to admit, when the pictures come in, I have mixed emotions.  These are the same activities we share when we're in Colorado together.  The good news is, Thom will be back tomorrow. Then he can fill me in on the stories behind all those pictures he's been sending me this week. I can't wait.

This past weekend, my cousin, Jane, held a Movie Night in her backyard.  It was such a neat deal. I was home in Nebraska for the weekend, so I was lucky enough to get to go.  She'd rigged up a movie screen by putting a large sheet on the side of her house.  With the help of a laptop computer and a projector, we were all treated to an outdoor showing "A Night At The Museum".  Several of her nephews, her niece and lots of other neighbor kids were all there anxiously waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start. They'd brought their lawn chairs, their blankets, and some were even in their pajamas.  For me, this was the best part of the night, just seeing the kids get so excited about an outdoor movie.

I kind of missed out on the whole drive-in movie theater phase growing up.  I did go to one when I lived out in Utah as an adult.  But I have to admit, even sitting in a lawnchair watching a movie on a summer night gave a whole new feel to the experience.  Jane said she decided to hold Movie Night as a final celebration for the kids before they headed back to school.  I think it's safe to assume they won't soon forget the late-night showing of the movie.  Even if they didn't catch every line in the film, their applause at the end was proof enough that Movie Night was a hit!

In a previous blog, I've written about my dog, Griffin and the fact that he's getting older. He'll be 12 years old this October, and has been with me through thick and thin.  This has been a tough week for Griffin.  I could tell there was something wrong with him, but couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.  He just wasn't himself.  I took him to the vet after he started "hacking". It wasn't so much a cough, just a dry hack that he started to do more and more.  Driving him to the vet was an emotional time for me.  Since Griffin is as old as he is, I guess I've been steeling myself for the health issue that would eventually take him from me. I was prepared for the worst.

After the vet looked at him, she determined he had what is called a "collapsing trachea". She said it happens in smaller dogs as they get older, and though there are ways to cope with it, there is no cure.  I got some medicine for him to try, and after one day, it seems to be working. However, Griffin is still not himself. He's having even more trouble getting up and just doesn't follow me around the house like he usually does. I called the vet back today and she recommended getting him on Glucosomine.  I plan to do that, but am still concerned this could be the beginning of the end.  Griffy's coming with me to my parent's house this weekend, and they're well aware of what's been going on this week. I hope he's able to have an enjoyable time in the country, and get back to his old self. As for me, I guess I'll just take one day at a time, and try to enjoy him as much as possible.

Another plant & garden-related blog today.  Last year, I had a terrible time with rabbits eating my flowers down to the dirt.  I was so frustrated, because after you spend the time, energy, and money to get them in the pots, you really don't want to see it all disappear overnight.  I sent out a plea for help and someone told me human hair would keep the rabbits away.  I know, it sounds gross, doesn't it?  But I was so desperate, I was willing to give it a shot.  I called my stylist and asked him to save some hair clippings for me. Much to my surprise, he wasn't at all taken back by my request.  In fact, he said people asked him to save hair clippings all the time...for the very same reason I was asking for them! I went home, and put the hair clippings all around my plants, and wouln't you know it?  The rabbits stopped eating them.  My stylist gave me so many hair clippings, I actually had some left over for this year.

When I put the plants in the ground, I didn't put the hair around them right away. I figured I would wait and see if the bunnies were "biting".  To my surprise, my plants flourished, and the rabbits stayed away....right until around the 4th of July.  I was out of town one weekend and when I came back...my flowers were a mess!  Almost all of them had been eaten off in some spots. Thankfully, I was able to track down the left-over hair and salvage my plants.  While most have grown back pretty well...there are a few that will be bare until fall, I just know it.  It's funny. I would think the rabbits would "strike" early in the spring...not so late in the summer. Maybe they were staying busy in the neighbor's garden, and just recently found time to wander into my yard!

In the spring, I went out and bought a tomato plant from the Farmer's Market here in Sioux Falls. It was already well on its way and had a cage around it and everything. It grew very fast, and I was so pleased with my little plant.  I started feeding it with Miracle-Gro about once a week, and soon started seeing blossoms, and even little tomatoes taking shape. It's a Sam Marzano tomato, which means they'll be plum tomatoes, but a little oblong-shaped.

Imagine my despair when recently, I noticed the tomatoes that are already on the vine, are rotting from the bottom up. It starts while they're still green. While they continue to get red, it seems the rotting just gets worse.  I did a little "googling" to see what this could be about, and saw everything from changes in moisture in the soil, to a calcium deficiency.  While some suggest an organic solution, or adding ground up egg shells, others say just let it pass, and that it's something that will run its course.  I'd really hate for all of my tomatoes to go bad this summer.  So if any of you have any experience with this and know of a sure-fire solution, I'd love to hear from you.

By the way, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to fiance Thom! Here's hoping this is his best year yet! Thanks for sticking with me, Thom!

I really didn't think I'd be at work writing this today.  Instead, I figured I'd be on my couch with a wash cloth on my head.  I have the worst sinus headache! I don't get them all that often, and when I do, a good dose of Advil Cold & Sinus usually clears it right up.  But not today. It's hanging on with a vengeance.  The worst part is, I think this headache was self-induced.

Last night, I stayed up late watching "The Last Lecture" program Diane Sawyer reported on Tuesday night.  Fiance Thom had it saved on his DVR, so I decided to watch it. If you know the show or know anything about Randy Pausch and what he accomplished before he passed away from pancreatic cancer, you know it was a pretty tear-jerking program.  When I went to bed my eyes were pretty swollen and I felt a headache coming on, but figured it would go away with a good night's rest.

Was I sadly mistaken when I woke up this morning.  We've all had headaches, so I won't bore you with the details of how awful that can be. You already know.  I hope it's just from a night of crying and not a cold coming on.  If it is just a headache from the emotion of "The Last Lecture"...I have to say it's probably worth it.  The show had many moments that I won't soon forget. If you have a chance, check out a sample...just click here.

It's no secret drinking water is good for you. They say it helps your skin, your health, and probably just about everything else, too.  When I was younger I loved to drink water. I remember when I was in college, my roommates would take study breaks to go and get large Diet Cokes from the snack bar.  I would be content just sipping on a large glass of water. ( I usually ended up spilling it all over our dorm room floor, but that's another story). But as the years passed, I started to drink water less and less and opted for other drinks instead.  While I've never been a huge soda drinker, these days it's unusual for me not to have one a day. 

There are lots of products out there aimed at encouraging people to drink flavored water. I like them, and admit they're a good way to get you through an afternoon when you'd rather have a sweet snack. But it's just not the same as drinking pure water, in my opinion.  So, this week, I'm trying to recapture "the old me"...the one who used to get her daily recommended amount of water...without even trying. We'll see how it goes. Maybe getting back to the old ways, is easier than I think.