Baby Chloe

I was just looking through these old pictures of Chloe and thought I would share them.



She was so tiny and cute! Brace yourself and warn those sitting around you. You might start to squeal at a very high pitch when you see these... :)

Today

Today was rough and it ended with an emergency trip to the vet.

Chloe is going to be fine. She's had a cough and it's been triggering her to get sick. This evening when I got home, she threw up blood, and I rushed her in to her vet. Her vet thinks that she just broke a blood vessel.
She's on some antibiotics and everything else seems to be fine, so thank goodness for that!

They did some x-rays and her vet found something that she can't quite identify...so she's going to have a radiologist take a look at it tomorrow. I asked if maybe it was a tumor, but thankfully she doesn't think it is. She said if anything it's just her little intestine doing some acrobatics. Let's just hope she's right!

Oh, my little dog. She's been to the vet more times in the past 6 months than she has in her whole 4 years of life. I wonder if the vet would start taking paintings as a form of payment? ;)

Stage 2

Chloe's vet called me Thursday to give me the results of Chloe's biopsy.

She said that the margins around Chloe's tumor weren't as clean as they had hoped. There was about .3 centimeter between the tumor and her muscle tissue. So, although she did get all the cancer out, there is a slight chance that it could come back. She said that overall it is a very positive outcome and that she thinks that Chloe is going to be just fine!

It wasn't exactly the news that I had hoped for, and I'll admit when she said the words aggressive, stage two, and tumor all in the same sentence, my hand started to shake and I almost dropped my phone.

I've thought a lot about it over the last few days, and I've gotten some very kind words from my friends. My friend Leigh says, "One day at a time. " and my co-worker put it best when she said,"Of course it's scary. It's something you have no control over."

So anywho, I'm taking it one day at a time. Hoping it doesn't come back. Ever.

If there is one positive outcome to this whole ordeal (other than the cancer is pretty much all gone) it's that I have taken a whole new appreciation for my little pup. I've also come to the realization that I'm not alone in this. That there are some really wonderful people in my life that I can count on when things aren't so great.

My Sweet Girl

Originally uploaded by michele_maule

about 4 weeks ago I noticed a weird bump on my Chloe. I kept my eye on it thinking it might go away.

It did so I chalked it up to a bug bite.

It came back, went away, and came back again. Not sure what it was, and having very little money for the vet, I didn't know what to do...

Well, it got to a point where I just didn't want to ignore it anymore. I took her in and lo and behold it tested positive for a mast cell tumor.

Ugh. I felt sick. I felt like I should have done something sooner. I felt like if anything happened I would never forgive myself.

The vet informed me that it's common in Boston Terriers and that it would definitely need to be removed.

She gave me some info on the growth, but I'm pretty sure it freaked me out more than it gave me any reassurance. The first line on the second page stated, "Mast cell tumors are notoriously invasive and difficult to treat."

WTF does that even mean?!

There was no way in hell I was going to let some stupid tumor make her sick, or take her from me.

Needless to say, I've been beside myself for the past week. I think general panic and freaking out are better terms, actually.

I couldn't let anything happen to my girl. She's only 4 for crissakes! Right?! I'm aware that pets die but I was no way prepared for anything like that, yet.

I talked to just about anyone who would listen to my situation and I consulted with many dog owners, especially those who also have Bostons.

The general consensus is that many dogs get them and many survive just fine. I also talked briefly to the vet and she assured me that there was a very slim chance that the tumor was more than just a skin growth...

So, fast forward to today, the day of her surgery. I don't think I slept for more than 3 hours. I kept thinking about how much this little dog has changed so much of who I am.

as someone who deals with anxiety and depression, she has brought me so much joy and happiness. She has taught me not to take life so seriously in certain moments. She makes me laugh out loud almost every day.

The vet called me a couple of hours ago to inform me that her surgery went well and that she was just waking up.

I felt like I could breathe for the first time in a week. It's going to take a few days to get the test results back in regards to the spread of the tumor, but the doctor feels like she was able to extract it very well.

She informed me that Chloe will have to be very quiet with limited activity for 2 weeks. I have no clue how I am supposed to keep a Boston Terrier "quiet" for 2 weeks, but at this point I am so happy that she got through the surgery I don't even care.

There, that's all I have to say about this. I can pick her up in a few hours and I will be so very happy to see her little face.

Smile

Things that made me smile today:

Chloe. always. We bought this cute bench this past weekend, fully intending it for Chloe Bean. I'd love to have it re-upholstered someday. It's super cute, and Chloe instantly jumped up so she could keep an eye on the neighborhood.

My neighbor Caroline. She's about 65, born and raised in Portland. She's about 4' tall but has the biggest laugh and an even bigger personality. We've been going on walks when the weather cooperates, and that always makes me smile.

My hair stylist, Staci. I've been getting my hair cut by her for over 10 years. She always makes my hair look so amazing. I often wish I would run into ex-boyfriends after getting my hair done, by her. I never do ;)

Whoa!

HEY!!

Sorry!! OMG. Things have been beyond crazy and nuts.
Nate bought a house, we moved, I got a HUGE wholesale card order, my friend from highschool (whom I haven't seen in 10 years) came for a visit, and I'm moving out of my studio.

Whew! It's been a crazy, crazy, month and honestly I haven't had time to think straight since my last post.

Sorry to worry anyone! I do believe that is the longest I've gone without blogging.

Things are going well though! We're almost unpacked and Chloe loves her new backyard. I am sad to be leaving my studio space...this past year has been really hard on me financially, so I've had to say goodbye. I will be able to keep my press there, and use it when I'd like, so that part makes me very happy.

I'm also kind of excited about working from home. I live within walking distance to work, so I am almost totally car free!

okay, back to it. Next week I am really hoping and wishing to get back to painting!

Chloe Corner

I made this little cluster of Chloe portraits today.I've been meaning to do this for quite some time.
These are all portraits that have been done by some great people I've met through Etsy!
aren't they just so awesome?! I really love how they look together.

1. Trish Grantham
2. Brian Rubenacker
3. Leigh Jackson (Noisy Dog Studio)
4. Two Dog Studio

I love them all!! I'm so glad I finally got around to doing this. :)

Rain rain

It's a rainy lazy day.

We started out with a beautiful morning, but it quickly turned to grey and rain.
I'm okay with that.

I'm feeling pretty lazy.
a little known fact about me is that I love playing the computer game, The Sims.

I'm thinking I might veg out and play some Sims once I get laundry, my workout, and grocery shopping done.

Chloe is feeling a little lazy today too...

Oh Wednesday.

This is what my day looked like...

I'm still not ready to start making art again, and I am really enjoying taking some time for myself. I feel so good about taking this time to regroup. I'm thinking maybe I'll get back into the studio next week. Maybe ;)

That's all I have for the day.
Hope you're all having a good day.

PS. I'm going to extend the sale for all of my blog readers.

Enter in "I Love Coffee" in the notes to seller, and I will send you a revised invoice. :)

I'm Back!!

I'm officially back from my mini vacation :)

It was great. We rented a cabin in Waldport, Oregon, just a little north of Newport.
The best thing about going to those small coastal towns on the Oregon coast, is that there isn't a whole lot to do, except hang out in your little house and do nothing!

It was just what I needed.

Our cottage was right on the beach, literally right outside the living room and bedroom window. You could hear the ocean at night while you fell asleep.


Chloe had a fabulous time. She LOVES the beach. She loved running around, catching her ball, and chasing the birds. She was wiped out at the end of every day. She also really loved the fireplace we had there. Nothing like staying toasty in front of a fire on a chilly, rainy, Oregon coast night.

I'm glad I went. I want to go back.

It's True

I loved all the responses that I received with my last blog post.
Thank you.

I'm glad I'm not alone with this. I often wonder, as most bloggers do, how much is too much to show? How much do I really want people to know? I don't have an answer, but I guess that's okay too. I'm just happy that other people were able to identify with what I wrote. Thank you.

Yesterday was really good. I was so busy I didn't have a chance to write a post. So I'm doing it tonight. I got two new paintings started! Woot woot! Little typewriters. Chloe joined me in the studio. We have some shared space heaters now, so I grabbed one and set it up next to a little bed that I made for Chloe. She seemed to love it and napped most of the day.

I then went to the grocery store and bought food! Food to make stuff with! Yes! It's true.
I made coconut rice with honey marinated egg plant and some lime cilantro chicken. Whew! It was quite a task. Everything was going really well until I realized that I slightly under cooked the rice...while trying to fix the rice things just kind of fell apart. I over cooked the chicken and the egg plant and I don't think I fully recovered the rice....

BUT! I tried. That is the important thing. Yes.

and of course, by certain miracle, I photographed it all! The picture quality is not great, I need to invest in a nice camera, but you get the idea ;)

Well, it's late. It's been a long day and Chloe is ready for snuggles.
Hope you all are well. xo

Summer Monday

It actually doesn't really feel like summer today. More life Fall. That's okay with me. The heat was getting to be a bit much.

I had a good weekend. I went out on Friday, and saw some old friends.
Saturday we headed to Silverton, Oregon to hang out with my friends Angie and Nicole. They live next door to each other, on kind of a farm. Nicole runs a bug farm, where she provides bugs for pet stores, and television shows. You know, those television shows where they get people to eat bugs for money? Most likely those bugs came from Nicole's farm :) It's true.

She also has chickens, turkeys, goats, and peacocks. Chloe escaped from us and got to chase after a chicken. She had a lot of fun.

Then yesterday we went to a friend's birthday get together in Peninsula Park. Good times. I'm happy to be back home. Very happy.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos this weekend...but here are some Chloe pictures I've been meaning to post.

Hope everyone had a good weekend too!

3 weeks!!!

O.M.G!

We leave in three weeks.
I was going to give you a run down on the thoughts running through my head, but decided I would keep my panic attack to myself. Spare you all the ugly details. Instead I'll leave you with some of the images from my lovely rainy day :)

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts...

Chloe Baloney!

So yesterday I got a really nice surprise from Wendy of 2 Dog Studio!
She sent me a couple of prints of this painting that she had done of my dog Chloe :D

This makes the fourth piece of art that has been painted of her.
The third one I got at the beginning of the week from Brian Rubenacker!
Michael ordered it for me as a surprise :)

So we added two more pieces of Chloe art to our Chloe art collection. Trish Grantham painted one for me last year, and Leigh Jackson sent one to me in December.

I want to get them all framed and hang them above her kennel when we move back to Portland.
My little girl is so popular, and she doesn't even know it :)

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday!
I will be posting my secret blog dealy tomorrow!

Four Years!

Today marks our four anniversary!
Michael and I started dating four years today. :D

We went to our friend Angie's Birthday party. Happy Birthday Angie!
We were at Angie's party four years ago playing Bunco. Which is very rare for me. Playing a game with people I don't know. But, I didn't want to seem like a party pooper in front of him, so I decided to join in. At the end of it, we both won all the money and called a cab with our winnings.
Several of the people that were there that night became really good friends of mine. Yay!

In other news! It's almost Valentines day! Well, according to the candy and card companies. This means that once again it's one of my favorite times of year for candy!!

So I bought my first bag of Brach's Conversation hearts today. Not to be confused with the Necco Conversation hearts which pale in comparrison.

Well, it's suppose to snow another 6 inches tonight and tomorrow. Looks like another snowed in weekend. Blerg. Snow.
Hope you all have a wonderful, eventful, relaxing, weekend!

I Hate Snow

We are suppose to have a snow storm here tomorrow. The same day as the Detroit Sounds and Spirits show.

Argh.
Why can't it wait until Saturday to storm??

Oh well, I am going to wait and see what happens. Maybe it will all blow over us! :)

Anyway, today has just been a weird day.
I haven't gotten a single thing done. Well, I did make some cookies for the crossing guard, Janice, down the street. She bought Chloe the cutest stocking filled to the brim with treats and sweaters! She also bought toys for all the kids that she helps cross the street every day! What a sweet lady. So Chloe and I made her some cookies, and gave her a Christmas card :)

Speaking of Chloe...guess who has been immortalized once again? Yup! Baloney and all.
Leigh Jackson of Noisy Dog Studio painted Chloe from one of the pictures I have on my Flickr page! So cute! I think I may have found my Christmas present to myself :)

Anyway, hope everyone is having a good Thursday!! One week to go until Christmas!!

Monday!

It's Monday.

Not the most fun day. I had a 9 am dentist appointment, and a trip to the PO after.

Eh. It was okay. I wish dental work was free. I use my Care Credit card for my appointments. It has a very low interest and can only be used for medical work and some vets take it too.

I wish it was free...

Anyway, I don't want to talk about the dentist.

Um...it's almost Christmas! Holy cow! 10 days! :)

We aren't really doing anything fun. We are staying home this year because we can't afford to travel. Anywhere. It should be fun. We might go see a movie, and of course lots of food to be eaten. I'm thinking we should eat all the food that is REALLY bad for us. Mike and I eat relatively healthy, so I think we should go all out for Christmas :)

um...if you haven't checked out Paper n' Stitch yet, you really should.
I just signed myself up for another month. I really like it.
I can't really tell if it's added to my sales. Mostly because I am also signed up over at Trunkt this month too, and Etsy doesn't provide any stats as far as how people find your shop...

It's funny that a site like Flickr provides awesome stats. For free...

Anyway, I just really like the ladies who run it, and it's really easy to manage.
Also, I love the layout. It's really cute.
So check out my shop and leave a heart! Just click on the little heart up in the left hand corner.

The person who has the most hearts at the end of the month wins a free month and $150 bucks! Sweet! :)

Alright, hope everyone had a great weekend!
Chloe did. She got lots of playing and napping in. Tough life...

Winter is Here

Fall was way too short.

There's about 4 inches of snow on the ground.
I miss Fall.

Chloe isn't a fan either.

I found her sleeping on the radiator yesterday.
Silly girl. I put some jeans that were still a little damp on the radiator to dry,
and it had been awhile since I had seen Chloe, so I went in to check on her...
there she was, snoring away...

I think if she had her choice she would live in Arizona...