An update on Abe

Thank you again for all of your kind words and thoughts. Abe is doing alright, but that thing he has to wear around his head that resembles a lampshade is the pits! He looks so silly. However, when we take it off, he tries to eat at his sutures, and lord knows, we do NOT want to pay another vet bill to have that redone. So he's stuck with the lampshade apparatus. We have to monitor him for 10 days and not let him get wet, run, or jump around. He's a lab, so I know he is going to HATE this!

I feel so sorry for Abe with the lampshade on his head, but it's hard not to laugh at him when he runs into things. He hasn't gotten the hang of it yet, and he continually runs into walls, door frames, tables, etc. When he runs into something he will just stand there frozen for a minute or so and then try to walk again without running into the obstacle. It makes me laugh but feel helpless at the same time.

This morning I came out of the bathroom and he had obviously run into the end table because he was standing there, frozen in place as if he was trying to figure out his next move. I tried to coax him to his bed to lay down, but that only works until he hears me rummaging around getting ready and tries to come find me again. And you can imagine that this lampshade is no small thing with his 90 pound frame and large head. It's huge!

Here's a picture of the sweet boy and his lampshade- He does not look amused with me taking his picture. And the shaved part on the front leg is where they had to put the IV in. His back leg is the one that had surgery.

I hope we all make it through these next 10 days without going insane- Abe especially!

Abe needs your good thoughts

My sweet Abe is currently at the emergency vet and I am on pins and needles waiting to hear if he is okay. Earlier this afternoon he didn't get out of the way of WEG and his friend who were turning into the driveway. They thought he had moved, but he hadn't, and his back leg was run over. A chunk o fmeat was just dangling, so WEG decided it would be best to take him to the emergency vet in Charleston since he was in Edisto when it happened. Well, he got to the vet at 3:30, and Abe FINALLY got taken back around 5:15. They told WEG it would be several hours because they needed to do x-rays of the leg, bloodwork to make sure there's no infection (apparently his gums are a little discolored so the vet wants to take all precautions), and stitch him up. But the kicker is he had to be put under for all of this, so WEG is now waiting at his sister's until the vet calls to say the anesthesia has worn off.

I'm ready to get the phone call that Abe is okay and he and WEG are on their way back to Columbia. I am ready to give my sweet pup a big hug- what an ordeal he has been through. Poor baby. Please say a prayer that everything has gone okay and he'll be on his way home soon.

ETA: Thanks y'all for all your sweet thoughts. WEG is picking up Abe right now after 7 hours at the emergency vet. For 2 hours they waited to see a doctor and then they finally took Abe back. Well, apparently they got a late start on his surgery the vet told WEG because things got
"hairy" around there. So that's why it is so late. Now WEG will have to drive an hour and a half home from Charleston, so if you read this, say a little prayer he makes it safely. We've had some crazy rain and I know the roads are probably wet and he'll be wanting to get home quickly!
Oh, and apparently Abe will need to stay inside for several days so we can watch him, but we are not allowed to bathe him. I can only imagine how bad he stinks after a weekend of rollicking through plough mud and swimming in the marsh! P-eww!

Baffled...

I've lost 2 followers in 2 days....did I offend someone?
Maybe it's just the lameness of my posts lately....I know I haven't been very exciting. Maybe when work slows down after the month of September I will have more motivation.
Here's hoping...

It's 7:30 on a friday night....

and I am sitting on my couch, watching TV, catching up on blogs, and already wearing my pajamas.
Party animal? I think not.
Quite comfortable & content? You betcha.

And the winner is....

Last week I said one lucky reader would be rewarded if you clicked over and started following the Pink Magnolias blog.

I wrote all of your names down and numbered them as such:
1. Christina- End of Beans
2. Pink, Green & Southern
3. Preppy Mama
4. Katy- Tripping Down the Aisle
5. Sole Matters
6. Amy- Just Add Walter
7. Gwennie- Northern Girl with a Southern Soul
8. Preppy Bumpkin

I then put 1-8 in the random integer generator. You will have to take my word on the outcome because I couldn't figure out how to put the generator onto my blog.

The lucky number was 4- Katy at Tripping Down the Aisle!

Katy, email me at usc_emily(at)hotmail(dot)com and give me your address and I'll send you a surprise :-)

And if you haven't checked out The Pink Magnolias, do it now!

Vacation...still wanting...

Ugh...I'm not putting anything about vacation on my blog ever again until I am stepping on the plane on the way to said destination.
Costa Rica is probably not going to happen.
I.Am.BUMMED.
Enough said.

Vacation, all I ever wanted....

ETA: A flight to Costa Rica from Charlotte is not $140- that was to San Jose, California. My friend who was looking it up mixed it up. But a flight from Columbia, SC to Costa Rica is $346. Still not bad, but sorry to get your hopes up!

My friends and I are beginning our discussions of a trip to Costa Rica. Well, we have actually discussed it before (and I think I actually mentioned it on here), but we're serious this time. Did you know you can fly round trip from Charlotte, NC to San Jose, Costa Rica for $140 round trip on JetBlue? I didn't either, but sign me up!

We are looking to go in January and we are weighing our options of staying at a resort or renting a house. We will probably stay in or near Los Suenos because we have a connection to a deep-sea fishing boat there.

Has anyone ever been to Costa Rica that can share your experiences, tips, etc? Any advice is welcome!

They say it's your birthday

Since it is officially after midnight on August 22nd, I can go ahead and wish WEG a very happy birthday. Last year I threw him a surprise party for his 30th birthday, so I certainly can't measure up to that, but I hope it will still be a good one for him. He claims that once you get to 30, you can start counting backwards, so I guess that would make it his 29th birthday ;-) Don't we wish it REALLY worked this way?

But I digress....

Although he doesn't read, I want to say happy birthday and I love you, WEG. I can't imagine my life without you and I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you.

And that's as sappy as I am going to get. We're celebrating with friends on Saturday evening with a small get-together at our house. And if I know WEG, you better bring your hard hat....

Don't forget!

If you visit The Pink Magnolias blog and become a follower and come back and let me know, I'll draw one lucky winner to receive a gift from yours truly.
Ashley has fabulous custom made handbags and clogs, and other great items (see pictures in my previous post).
Thanks y'all!

The Pink Magnolias

Hey y'all! I just have to tell you about the CUTEST website to buy custom handbags and clogs...and other things too, but those are the biggies.

You need to go check out The Pink Magnolias (The original home of the bowtie clog and Heuys handbags). Also, you can check out their blogspot page here.

I stumbled upon this website in the most random of ways. At the Concert for Chase on Sunday, I was talking to one of WEG's friend's girlfriend (did you follow that). Anyway, Ashley had the cutest handbag and I told her I liked it and then was looking at the tag to see who made it when she told me it was hers. And then proceeded to tell me she had a website!! The bag she was carrying was this one:

I mean, how cute is that? And, each purse is custom made. You get to choose your fabric (inside and out), your bow, and handles. She is constantly putting up new fabrics, and only orders a small amount of any one fabric. So you can be assured you won't walk down the street and see someone with the same purse. And the best part?? That bag is only $60- seriously, $60, y'all! For a custom made handbag. The Charlotte, above, is a great size, too. Oh, and if you want, it can be monogrammed, too! This just keeps getting better and better, right? And $85 is the highest price of any of the handbags. Can't really beat that.

Here is a picture of another design (The Ethel- $55).

Oh, and not to leave her clogs out- check these out. How cute are those for tailgating in the fall? You choose your color of clog and bow!

And, one last thing I have to show y'all. These trick or treat bags are adorable. Your child would be the hit of the neighborhood carrying one of these.

So RUN, don't walk over to Ashley's website and her blog, and if you become a follower of her blog and come back and tell me, there may be a reward for one lucky blogger :-)

I got all I need...and it's alright by me

Well, I'm back from my blogging hiatus and a wonderful weekend. Details of the wedding will be coming at some point, but I have another post for today.

You're probably wondering what my title is about. If you don't know, those are lyrics from a Darius Rucker song. If you don't know Darius, he was the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. And, you want to know something else?

That's him. Taken with my camera. Not zoomed in.

Okay, so I know what you're thinking. Big deal. You paid for some concert tickets to go see him and had great seats, right? Nope, not so much. It was totally a surprise.

Yesterday WEG and I went to a benefit concert for Chase Towne, a little boy that was diagnosed with neuroblastoma 4 months ago at the young age of 9 months. The concert was at Music Farm in Charleston and there were 3 bands playing. The last band was Occasional Milkshake and consisted of the guitarist from Hootie, bassist from Blue Dogs, and drummer from Cravin' Melon. We were standing in the back of Music Farm when they took the stage and out walks that guy in the picture up there. We couldn't really see that well, and WEG asked the question "Who's the lead singer of this band?" And then he started singing, and all doubt of who he was suddenly was erased. It dawned on us- DARIUS RUCKER! we both exclaimed and off I went to the front to get some footage.

The most touching part is that this man took time out of a busy, busy schedule to be there for a little boy and his family to make their day special. It was truly amazing, and the best part was that the 800 people that showed up weren't there for Darius Rucker. Nobody knew he would be there. The tickets weren't bought with the promise of seeing a celebrity (I mean, after all, our hometown hero Darius weighed in this week at #2 on the Billboard country music charts). Those tickets were bought because a little boy with a huge heart is fighting a nasty disease. Darius was just a bonus yesterday.... a pretty awesome one.

So with that, I'll use the phrase that has become the mantra of the Towne family. A phrase coined by Dabo Swinney, none other than my bitter rival, Clemson's head coach. (Sometimes you have to put aside your differences).

CHASE- BEAT IT!

Time Out from my Blah-ging

I am in a bit of a blogging slump right now- don't know what to write, don't want to bore you with details of my life, etc. Basically I'm feeling blah. Therefore, I am taking at least the rest of this week and weekend off. I will still be reading your blogs, though, and I hope I will be commenting some. If not, please know it has nothing to do with you, I'm just feeling very tired and unmotivated!

I have another wedding this weekend for my friends Bess and Michael, so I will be busy starting on Friday anyway.

As a side note, congratulations to Carolyn & Chris- the newly wed Clarks!! I hope you are enjoying the honeymoon!

Driver's Ed 101

I have mentioned before that I have road rage, so maybe I get more upset about bad driving than others might, but I feel that I need to address some issues. Yesterday, in a span of 2 miles, I encountered 3 instances of bad driving.

1. I saw a wreck that could only have been caused by carelessness due to the way the two vehicles were smashed together. I don't know that this was the case, but it sure looked like it.

2. I had someone nearly nip my corner bumper getting into another lane and not paying attention. I was aware and managed to swerve over a bit, but if I hadn't, she would have hit me.

3. I was on a busy 3 lane road and in the far right lane, someone was just stopped. Not having car trouble. I know this because right when I get around them, they start going again...verrrry slooowly. Not a good thing to do in 5:00 traffic, my friend.

Now, I know that Columbia, SC has been ranked as one of the cities in the U.S. with the worst drivers. I also know that there are bad drivers everywhere you go. However, there are simple rules that we all had to learn to take our driving tests. Also, there are things that are just a matter of simple courtesy. Here are a few that I wish people would really learn!

1. If you are making a left turn at a stoplight, the traffic across from you that is turning right has the right of way. If I am making a right turn and want to turn into the far lane, I HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. If you hit me because you did not wait for me, it will be your fault.

2. When the light turns yellow, it generally does not mean to speed up and run the red light. I was almost t-boned recently by someone who did this. Again, if you hit me, it will be your fault.

3. For heaven's sake, use your blinker. It was put on the car for a reason. If I were a cop following you and you did not use your blinker, you'd get pulled over. Simple as that.

4. And speaking of blinkers, just because you put on your blinker, it does not give you the right to get over in front of me if the space between me and the next car is not large enough for you to fit in. I should not have to slam on brakes to let you over. You probably knew 2 miles back that you needed to be in my lane and waited til the last minute anyway.

5. Do not pull out in front of someone, only to go up the road 5 feet and slow down the traffic to turn. Just wait til the traffic is clear. Usually when this happens, there is nobody behind me for miles. Why can't you just wait?

6. If you pulled up first to a four way stop, it is your turn to go. Do not sit there and look at every other car at the stop sign. If you wait long enough, I will go instead of you. I don't have all day to wait while you try and remember the rules of a four way stop. It's not rocket science.

7. Periodically make sure that your brake lights work. There is nothing worse than following a car that has no brake lights. It's dangerous and if I hit you from behind, I'll probably be charged, but I really don't think that would be the common sense course of action.

8. If there is a sign that tells you that the lane ahead is closed, go ahead and merge like it asks you to do. You hold up traffic more when you go all the way up to the very last place you can get in and then force your way in front of someone. Be courteous. Everyone else is in just as big of a hurry as you are.

9. If you're on the interstate and you are not passing someone, DO NOT DRIVE IN THE LEFT LANE. That's why they put signs up that say "Slower traffic keep right." Pass someone and then get over unless you are driving well above the speed limit. There's nothing worse than traffic being held up for miles because one jack-ass at the front of the pack is driving 60 in a 70 mph zone in the left lane.

10. And finally, if you cannot use your phone safely while driving, put it away or pull over to use it. Do not text or chat on the phone if it causes you to swerve into the other lane or drive 10 mph below the speed limit. It's people like you that cause laws to be made prohibiting cell phone use while driving. The same goes for putting on mascara, reading the paper or a book (yes, I have seen this), and eating. If you can't do that and still drive decently, choose one or the other, but not both!

And if you're still in doubt, please invest in this book..it may give you some pointers:

WHEW- Glad I got that off my chest! Are there any other bad driving examples that really make you upset? I'm sure I have left out a few!

Busy with a capital "B"

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, but just realized that I only skipped one day! Things have been SUPER busy here at work! Just trying to do all the tasks associated with 6 events that will be in September is making us all crazy. Especially since there are only 3 of us in the office now. Without an administrative assistant, it means we have to spend time doing small, mundane tasks that he would have done, and we have had to go back through things to make sure he had done what was asked of him before he resigned. My head is swimming trying to keep things straight! In fact, that's why I am blogging and now and not working on something....my mind is overloaded today!!

Anyway, enough of the griping! This weekend is a very special weekend....yep, another wedding! This time for my friends Carolyn and Chris. WEG and I are both in the wedding (we're both in the one next weekend, too). We love Carolyn & Chris and can't wait for them to be Mr. and Mrs. Clark! Friday starts the festivities with the bridal brunch (at Dianne's on Divine...yum!) and the rehearsal dinner (catered by Shealy's BBQ....another yum!). Then on Saturday it's the wedding, reception, and after party (catered by the people who own Blue Marlin...yet another yum!). I foresee myself eating well this weekend while celebrating with two of our best friends!!

Also, I'd like to thank everyone for your suggestions on things I could get WEG for his birthday. I decided to make him a basket of stuff along with a gift certificate for us to go eat at Mr. Friendly's. I knew that if I didn't get a gift certificate he would never let me follow through on taking him because he never lets me pay the bill at expensive restaurants. So, a gift certificate solves that problem! And in his basket of goodies I got him a grill cover (not a Clemson one because I had to get the custom cover for his grill), new electronic meat thermometer (his old one broke and he's always needing one!), a book I think he'll like (Sand County Almanac- it's quoted in a lot of outdoor magazines), several of his favorite kinds of candy, a new Pelagic visor he wants (it has a marlin on it, of course), and a wine opener.

We agreed I shouldn't spend a fortune since 1) we're not that type of gift givers to start with, 2) I have had so many expenses this summer with being in weddings, etc. and 3) last year was his 30th birthday and I went all out with a surprise party.

So there you have it- what's going on in my life right now. Sorry for the lack of pictures!!

Just call me Cinderella

Why? Because this weekend I spent Friday night and most of the day Saturday cleaning... And by cleaning, I mean scrubbing the floors with a scrub brush; vacuuming around the ceilings, in the corners, and along where the floor meets the wall (places I usually forget about); and cleaning baseboards. I also completely re-organized our kitchen, and now everything has a place! No, I'm sorry to say, everything did not have a place beforehand. I basically did my spring cleaning a few months late.

Then, after I was Cinderella, I morphed into Betty Crocker on Sunday. I made chocolate chip cookies (okay, they were slice and bake- sue me), homemade macaroni and cheese, and monkey bread.

Domestic? I think so.