It was good

Christmas is behind us and we are looking forward to the New Year. Life is good in the Mullauer household. We had a wonderful Christmas and I will share a little bit of it with you in the photos that follow. Happy New Year....

My Favorite Gifts.....

These amazing people in my life are without a doubt my favorite gifts this season.

Puppies are high on my list as well. I have this photo framed in my office. Patients actually stand up and walk over to the photo for a better look. They just love this photo and so do I.

Even naughty puppies warm my heart.

And ending the year with 3 healthy puppies is a really good thing!

What a surprise gift this was! We just love her and so does Caleb.

This photo was taken the first day Caleb introduced me to Bailey.

What joy it is to see the pride in his face.

Driving 7 hours in a blizzard to see Jordan's Christmas Orchestra Concert. OK, the blizzard part we could have done without but it was worth it!

Having the love and support of an extended family is a huge blessing.

Knowing that Mom and Dad are always there is a big comfort.

And being able to raid their garden all summer is fabulous!

Seeing Jordan well adjusted at college is answered prayer.

Watching Craig be the father he is to our kids is the greatest gift.

Day trips to fun places with my camera is another of my favorites. And coming across a mother duck and her babies makes it perfect.

Taking the Jeep to Silver Lakes, Jeep rides on warm summer evenings.... all gifts from Craig.

Is it time to go camping again yet? I love our travel trailer. It means we get to go to fun places, go kayaking..... be together!

I saved the best for last.....

Two Weeks Until Christmas!

We are under a winter storm warning. Usually I love a good winter storm, especially when it's the weekend and I can hunker down at home. But of all days for a nasty storm to be rolling in.... tomorrow Craig's flying home and we have plans for me to pick him up at the airport and then we were suppose to head straight up to Big Rapids for Jordan's Christmas symphony concert. It doesn't look like it's going to happen now. We're just going to play it by ear and see how things look tomorrow.

Do you like my tree? I love it. It doesn't change much from year to year except the shape maybe since we buy a live tree each year. I was happy that when Craig was home over Thanksgiving weekend we were able to get the tree.

This cardinal clothes pin is one of my new ornaments this year. You can't tell from the tree but he's a tiny little thing, only about a half inch. He's totally lost in the tree but I know exactly where he is.

It's already Dec. 11th and I FINALLY did some Christmas shopping today. And I actually enjoyed it. I went to this antique shop in Kalamazoo and it just so happened that they were having a Christmas open house. They really did it up. They had a group walking around the store singing Christmas Carols. Boy, could they sing! And they were all decked out in furs and jewels. I wish I had my camera with me. But the cutest was this little boy who was dressed up as Tiny Tim. He was walking around with a limp and a cane. He was also carrying a big basket full of wrapped presents and handing them out to the customers. I loved it!

Bailey and Craig made Christmas sugar cookies about a week ago which lasted all of two days!

Keeping Warm and Cozy

It's been snowing like crazy the last few days but we are finally starting to see some relief. My drive home from work today was much better than the 1 hour of terror I experienced on my drive home yesterday. I've lived in Michigan all my life and you would think that I would get used to it... NOT! We are driving to Big Rapids Sunday for Jordan's Christmas Concert and they are calling for near blizzard conditions over the weekend. Craig is not a bit intimidated. I guess I'll just have to close my eyes all the way.

The Christmas tree is up and all my decorations are out. Craig has put a beautiful display of lights outside. I have my internet radio station set to Christmas music at work. I love it! I have some time off over Christmas and I am so looking forward to it. Bring it on!

The snow is so beautiful outside. I have a big window in my office and I've been enjoying watching the snow fall. Even if it does overlook a Chinese restaurant and a parking lot. I like to dream that there's mountains in the background, a quiet little stream, and birds everywhere. I've seriously thought about sticking one of those window bird feeders outside but I think the building owners would frown on that.

Saturday my Mom is selling her plants at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. The nature center puts on this show each year and only lets people sell things that have to do with natural products, things of the environment, recycled arts, etc. It's different than the typical arts and craft show and right up my alley! I'm looking forward to going and looking at all the exhibiters/products. Last year there was a man there selling little potted succulent gardens. I wanted one in the worst way but talked myself out of it. I'm hoping he's there again, I'd love to have one for my office. Check out the show if you can.

Take care my friends... and stay warm and cozy!

It is what it is

I deleted my last post without most of you probably getting a chance to read it. The post was about the usual.... what's up with my life. I did the post late one evening and someone at 3:00 AM left an anonymous comment. They were too cowardly to identify themselves. They insinuated they had been reading my blog for a some time and that I had previously posted many "dumb" things online. I was then chastised for making comments about Craig being out of town. The comment was rude and meant nothing more than to be hurtful, which it was.

I was in such absolute shock that I quickly turned my blog settings to private not allowing anyone to look at my blog. I knew that I didn't want to leave it that way but until I figured out how I wanted to address the comment I just shut it down.

Anyone that I have shared this story with is in total agreement with me that whoever you are is a cowardly slime bag who only meant to be hurtful. Your half hearted pretense to be concerned about my well being is nothing more than bull. You obviously do not like me so why do you even bother to read my blog... why not stay away?

My blog is simply that... MY BLOG. I blog because I like to be creative and it is a stress reliever for me. I do not throw my blog in anyones face and I certainly do not MAKE anyone read it. I am not there forcing your fingers to click on the link to my blog.

When friends or family talk to me about my blog I am very modest about it. Almost to the point of being shy about it. I think, why do people like my blog or want to read it? It's always the same stuff... my family, my life, my dogs, my birds, my job, etc.... I think it's got to be pretty boring to other people and I do not blog for bragging rights. I blog about things that are passionate to me, what makes me happy and what the loves of my life are. And as far as blogging about my husband being out of town.... our grown son still lives at home and I am rarely home "alone". It is my nature to be trusting and believe in the good of people. I guess that's why it's so hurtful when someone like you comes along. I hope you are proud of yourself now that you've made me wonder what "friend" or "family member" you are.

I have decided to open my blog back up publicly but I have turned off the anonymous comment feature. We'll see how this goes.

My four legged kids

I spent most of the day home alone today. Don't feel sorry for me. I loved it. Just me and the doggies. Craig was out on the trails with the snowmobile club marking the trails, Caleb was hanging out with Bailey. Later in the afternoon I got the itch to take my camera outside. My intention was to take some bird photos. The birds were not cooperating and really it was starting to get dark outside and the lighting wasn't good enough for bird photos. So... you'll have to endure these adorable creatures. They always seen willing to let me shoot away to my hearts content. They don't fly away and they don't complain.

Fiona is my photogenic one. She never takes a bad photo. I think it's the puppy still in her. She's just over a year old now. She is doing really well with her hips. Occasionally we notice her carrying her back left leg but overall we are very pleased with how she's doing, especially after all we went through with her this past summer.

Seadra.... She the whole reason I turned into a dog lover. From the moment Craig and I were married (nearly 25 years ago now) Craig has ALWAYS had a dog. And I can tell you that I never really approved. I tolerated Craig's dogs because they were important to him. And tolerated was all I did. I was never attached to or loved them.

One day I just woke up and out of the blue I asked Craig to buy me a small dog. That's all Craig had to hear and he was on a "mission" to get me a dog. Shortly thereafter Seadra came into my life. I have no idea what the difference was but it was love at first sight. It was a whole new experience for me. My whole life I had never been attached to a dog. I literally couldn't wait to get home from work to be with her. And I'm still in love with my Boo-Boo.

Seadra is very healthy at 11 years old. But in the last year she had developed eye problems. Some days her eyes are so bloodshot they look like they are on fire. We've had her to the vet several times in the last months for her eye issues. The vet keeps treating her for eye infections but they just never seemed to get better. Finally this past week the vet suspected that Seadra has glaucoma. For the past 5 days we've been giving her glaucoma eye drops and I do believe that finally she is getting some relief. My poor baby. She hates having the drops put in and she hides for an hour after each time I give them to her. Oh well... hopefully she'll get used to them.

Zoe is doing wonderful. Her severe case of hepatitis is behind her now. She's been off the antibiotics for about 2 weeks now and she seems fine. We still don't know what that was all about but we suspect Zoe got into some poison or bacteria that affected her liver. Her ravenous appetite is back and we have to keep her blocked out of the kitchen when we are not home becuse she has learned to open cupboard doors, get to whatever she can find on the kitchen table, and she's also learned to open the plastic containers that hold the dog food. Yesterday we left the house for a few hours and we "thought" we had dog proofed the kitchen so we let her have the roam of the house. Caleb arrived home to find an empty bag of puppy chow on the kitchen floor. I don't know how she does it. She's like a Houdini dog.

So for the moment we have happy healthy dogs. We never would have guessed how many health problems these dogs would develop in the last year. We are hoping that these issues are behind us and that we have paid our dues for a long time. But would we do it all over again???....you bet we would.

I'm so ready

So what if it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. The stores are already celebrating, why can't I? I've been tuning into my favorite radio station that switches to all Christmas music during the holidays, and much to my disappointment they haven't made the switch yet. And I've been wondering, is it too early to start playing Christmas music it in my office?

And I can't wait for Dad to show up with his lighted Santa hat that flops back and forth. I'll be breaking out the Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend!

Happy Saturday My Friends......

It's 7 AM on Saturday morning. I'm laying in bed. The room is dark except for the glowing of my computer screen. Seadra and Zoe are cuddled up next to me and I can hear Seadra licking her paws. Other than that the room is quiet. I'm usually up and about by this time, even on the weekends but I decided it felt good to stay in bed longer this morning. I just want to do nothing but blog for a bit.

I just kissed my hubby goodbye. He's off to catch a plane this morning and is headed to Las Vegas for the SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) He won't be home for 9 days! I guess I'm starting to get used to his traveling. It's that time of the year. When he gets home he'll be home for 2 weeks then gone for another 2 weeks and so on.... This will last through Dec. so there is an end to it. I'm just grateful it isn't all year. And above all I'm grateful that he has a job he enjoys.

And speaking of jobs.... I really like my new job. Can I still call it my "new" job now that I've been doing it for 10 months? OK, I'll stop calling it my new job when I've been doing it for a year. It feels like such a huge accomplishment to me that I am now able to say "I really like my new job". I am so proud of myself. The whole transition has been huge for me. So much about it was stressful.... learning the job, being thrown to the wolves, trying to clean up the huge mess I walked into, going from part time to full time plus, losing physicians and staff, gaining new staff, a buy out from the hospital, dealing with stressed out staff. Sounds like a nightmare, huh? And believe me my old self would have run for the woods in the past. I am not one that likes to go out of my comfort zone. It was not easy. There were a few months that I was questioning my sanity. And many days where the tears flowed.

I put my big girl panties on and made it! The challenge has been good for me. I pride myself on the state of my office, organized, caught up, and manageable. It took a long time to get it to this point. I actually feels good each morning when I put my key in my office door and I look forward to what the day has in store for me. Not every day is roses but I've come a long way Baby! And I've said it before... I love the patients. They make my day. It is a joy to help them and offer what little bit of comfort I can be to them. They do not know that they are the ones that bless me.

Well, the sun is now peaking through the window blinds so I must get up and start my day. The weekends are too precious to waste.

Happy Birthday Bailey

Tonight we celebrated Bailey!

Caleb bought her a Kindle for her birthday. She was thrilled!

Caleb brought Bailey into our family about 6 months ago. We couldn't help but fall in love with her. She makes Caleb so happy...... what more could a mother ask for?

A Quick Weekend Getaway

Craig wanted to get one more Silver Lake fix in before they close for the season. So at the last minute we made a hotel reservation and headed up.

Jordan met us for the weekend too. It's only about an hour from her college.

The weather was not the greatest and it rained on and off but we didn't care.

I've never been there this time of year before. Usually it's in the heat of summer and very crowded. This weekend there were just a handful of vehicles in the dunes.

Good Bye Silver Lake until next year!