The New Guy

There is a new guy in our newly married lives, and his name is Sirius Black. 

He is just about the sweetest thing there ever was. 

This is his story: 

Back in July, my favorite bakery in the whole world (Muddy's Bake Shop- what what!) posted on their blog that a sweet dog had walked up to their off site bakery (where they make their big orders and such). A sweet lady working there had taken him home and to vet and they had named him Sirius Black-- and did anyone want to adopt him?!?! My husband (!!!) and I had been talking about adopting a new dog post wedding and naming him Sirius Black. We saw this blog post, and though- THAT'S OUR DOG! However, I was going out of town that week, and we just kinda figured someone would adopt him right away- he was just so cute!

Cut to my bachelorette weekend- Muddy's posted ANOTHER blog post that Sirius still hadn't been adopted. Nate and I texted and agreed that we should contact the lady who was taking care of him. I sent her an email, but she said that he was going to an adoption event that weekend. She told me that she would let me know how the event went and get back to me. 

Of course, about 4 different people put in an application for him. He quickly went off to the home of the first lady who put in an application. We were sad, but just figured we would adopt a dog after the wedding- after all, adopting a dog right before a wedding and a honeymoon is just a stupid idea.

BUT- a few weeks later, we got an email from the Muddy's lady that the trial period hadn't worked out and the other families who put in applications had adopted other dogs--- were we still interested?!?!

The answer was YES- of course we are still interested- but we are getting married in a few weeks SO can we figure this out?

Well turns out Sirius had heartworms (I have learned WAY too much about heartworms but the skinny of it is- DONT EVER MISS A MONTH WITH YOUR DOG'S HEARTWORM TREATMENT), and he was due for his first round of treatment on August 15th. Well apparently when she took him in to get treatment, the vet asked if she could come back at the end of August. The adoption group (yeah Streetdog Foundation) wanted to make sure he did okay through that first round of treatment which happened to be over RIGHT WHEN WE GOT BACK FROM THE HONEYMOON!

I arranged with the adoption group and the Muddy's lady to pick him up the day we flew back from the honeymoon.

My husband (!!!) had to fly to Chicago to go on tour (Life as  Musician's Wife, by Me) so I flew into Memphis to complete the adoption and drive him to Nashville to live FOREVER!!!!!

We stopped by my dads house to grab Luna (she was partying with Dad's puppies while we were on the honeymoon).

So after a few minutes of butt sniffing and meeting Uncle Milton- Luna took up the back seat and Sirius curled up in the front with me.

The drive was totally easy- no problems. I even shared some of my turkey sandwich with him.

When we got back to Nashville, I took him on a short walk around the block like Cesar says to do, and then I walked him around the house on the leash --- rules, boundaries, and limitations people.

He and Luna are just the oddest set of siblings. They are pretty much opposite in every way. Sirius is a snuggle bug, super calm and easy going. We all know Luna is high energy, only snuggles when she is tired, and a little bit neurotic. But here are they- fast friends.

Sirius had to go through another round of heartworm treatment in early October. He has to keep quiet and calm- no exercise, has to go out to the bathroom on a leash, no playing with Luna, you get the picture. So when we leave the house- he has to stay in his kennel. (Don't worry he gets to play after Thanksgiving!)

I have discovered, through the evidence of disheveled bedspreads, that Luna sleeps in the bedroom with Sirius while we are out of the house. SO SWEET. I CANT HANDLE IT.

They really are precious together.

And they both love peanut butter!!!!!!!!

The truth is that we both have fallen in love with this guy. He is cuddling with me while I write this blog post. Nate fell in love the minute he walked through the door. Sirius and I had a moment- a special moment. 

See, it took me a little while to know what to do with a second dog. I have raised Luna since she was a month old. I know everything about her - I know her barks. I know her quirks. I know what she might do and when and why. When I got Sirius home that first week, I felt uncomfortable. I didn't know him. Everything he did was new to me. It just felt so awkward. How on earth was I going to love him like I love my Luna? 

Well turns out, all it took was a trip to the vet. 

Sirius had to stay overnight at the vet for his heartworm treatment. As I was paying, I felt a little nudge on the back of my legs. THERE WAS MY LITTLE BUDDY! The vet tech had brought him out, and he was so excited to see me that he he was waggling his little tail and giving me a big smile just like this one.  

 I fell in love with his little face right then and there. The vet tech said it was the happiest they had seen him during his visit. He loved me and I loved him- plain and simple.

Everyone who comes to visit loves our sweet little man. He is the perfect fit for our family. He and Luna are just dying to play together. They will get to do that very soon.


But until then- it is just snuggles on the couch. I think I can handle that for a little while longer.

ALL KINDS OF ULTRA LOVE,

Elise

How long's it been?

To any Georgetown Hoya, the appropriate response to the questions is to begin singing our fight song... "It's been so long since last we met, lie down forever lie down!" Etc...

But for my blog people out there, the answer is over 6  months. Sorry folks.

Much has happened since Luna's injury.

I spend most of January and February rehabing my girl. First week- 5 min walk. Next week- 10 min walk. Third week- 15 minute walk. 4th week- add in 5 minutes of running. You get the idea.

We finally seemed to be totally healed and got the clear to play moderate fetch (hah- as if Luna is capable of this) but then I noticed she had this tumor type thing on her bad knee. the vet looked at it and said it was an inflammation spot. What does that mean? Well, it meant that we had to start rehab all over again. But really- we just had to stick with 10-15 minute walks until the spot was gone. We have an appointment next week, and I think we will get the clear to play again. Poor Luna- even dogs get injuries and have to rehab it up.

But Luna isn't the only injury prone Addington. I tore a disc in my back. It's the very last disc in my spine- between L5 and S1 for all you medical folks out there. I have no clue how it happened- I just noticed that my back was hurting more than it should have been and the pain wasn't going away. At first, my new back specialist thought it was a stress fracture or arthritis (what?!) but an MRI confirmed a disc tear. The pain is a result of my disc touching my nerves.

I opted for the trifecta attack on the pain- anti-imflammatories, physical therapy, and a steroid injection. (My handsome fiance wants me to do acupuncture... any thoughts?
So Luna and I have been PT buddies. My physical therapist informed me that my legs are disproportionately strong for the rest of my body. My body then defaults to using leg muscles when I should be using core muscles, thereby causing strain on my lower back. My PT thus includes crazy amounts of core strengthening exercises. Next entry will be a run down- they are pretty fun.

On top of that- I had to quit the yoga for about three months while we figured out what was wrong. I am back in the game though, but it is a totally different class when you have to spend the whole time focusing on tightening your lower abs. I also have to sit out all back bends and spine twists. My doc says I can probably do those again in about a YEAR. Yes, discs can take almost a YEAR to heal. Ugh.

In addition to all those things, I have been:
- aggressively wedding planning
-putting on 7 Youth in Government Conferences
- buying a house!!!
- taking 3 students to Colombia, South America for two weeks
- taking 25 students to a conference in North Carolina

and generally going a mile a minute. Perhaps I can get back on the blogging wagon- it might be therapeutic.

Ultra Love,

Elise

A Birthday Disaster

Friday was January 11- the day Luna entered this world (Praise Jesus!)

That morning I woke up with grand plans- we were going to play TWICE just for Luna's birthday. We marched down to our field, and I threw the ball. Off she went. After a couple throws, I thought her run looked funny, but I wasn't sure. So I threw the ball one more time- and she ran back on only three legs. I just knew something was wrong, so we headed back home.

Once back home, I kept an eye on her, and she started to limp even more after about 20 minutes. I called the vet and scheduled a 10:15 appointment. My handsome fiance took her because I was a mess. And by mess I mean I just cried and cried all morning.

Our vet thought that she might have partially torn her ACL and directed us to see a specialist. In the mean time, we were supposed to keep Luna fairly sedentary (HA) and make sure she didn't jump on or off anything.

Today, we had our appointment with the specialist who was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things about this guy. He checked out her joints, reviewed her x-rays, and told us that he didn't think she would need surgery. THANK GOODNESS. He said if she tore her ACL, it was probably a very small tear, and she had a good chance of healing just fine over the next few months.

However, he said that in all likelihood, she would eventually fully tear her ACL. The surgery they do to fix this is crazy. They basically cut out a chunk of Luna's bone and reposition it so that there is no need for an ACL to stabilize the joint. Apparently, dogs recover about 95% of their previous activity capacity after that. Impressive.

The solution to all this is that Lu has to be eased back into activity- aka- no fetch for about 3 months. She will be miserable. We have to take her on slow, short, easy walks for about 1 months before maybe adding in jogging. It will be rough around these parts with an active lab who will want to run and play, but I am so glad that she isn't badly injured.

Ultra love,

Elise

I WILL!

Good news, y'all.

I'm getting hitched!

A couple weeks ago, my handsome man planned a romantic evening and changed his status from "boyfriend" to "Beyonce", I mean, "fiance."

This is why I heart him so much:

And this is how exited we are about getting married. 

I don't think this will become a wedding blog, but if I post some wedding related things, forgive me.

Also- In the Episcopal church, the couple responds with "I Will" instead of "I do." My personal favorite part of the whole service (makes me cry every time) is when the congregation is asked if they will love and support the couple, and they reply "We Will!" So beautiful. I am more excited about planning the service than flowers and table decorations, but I am fortunate to have bridesmaids who are good at the latter. They make me feel like I can do those kinds of fancy-crafty things. SO MUCH LOVE EVERYWHERE.


Ultra-getting-married-love

Elise

Roids

I am currently taking steroids, and after day 1, I am 99.99% sure I would never take them to be better at a sport.

Lesson of the day: Taking steroids doesn't make you ripped. Steroids help you body recover more quickly. This means that you can get back in the gym doing higher weights and reps than you would if you weren't taking them.

Example: Most people can only lift their max once every 3 days. On steroids, you would probably be able to lift your max twice in one day.

I am taking steroids to reduce the inflammation in my ear (caused by the car accident/driver's side air bag deployment) that is causing slight hearing loss and a ringing in my ear. My new ear specialist tells me I have a 50/50 chance of this working.

Basically, I am on a SUPER high dose of roids for 2 weeks. I started today, and I am not a fan. By afternoon, my heart was racing a little bit. Now- I have a raging headache. And in general I can tell that my body doesn't feel normal. All things that I would rather not have. Therefore- I will not be taking roids recreationally.

The benefits are obviously important- we need to fix my ear. But these also might help my poor knee that is trying so hard to heal. It has made progress, and maybe a little inflammation relief will do the trick.

We shall see what other side effects I have, but until then- you can find me in the gym, beefing up. HA just kidding. But I will be at the gym because I do that anyway.

Ultra love,

Elise

PS- a lady in my fundraising department ran her first ultra this past weeked. she had a gnarly cut and bruise on her leg to prove it. can't wait til I get my chance. put me in, coach.

Never let anyone tell you how to....

Drive.

A week and a half ago I had a car accident. I was driving down a major street- 2 lanes both ways and a 3rd right turning lane going my direction. Traffic was heavy, and the two main traffic lanes were back up about 3 blocks. The right turn lane, however, was wide open. Since I was about to turn right at the upcoming intersection, I got into that right lane.

And then I hit them.

The people in the lanes next to me had waved a left-turning car on through so they could turn into the white castle. The car that was turning left didn't even see me coming- perhaps didn't even look.

At impact, my side airbags deployed. Either the airbags or the shock of the accident caused me to lose my hearing for minute. I just sat in the car- my ipod still playing the Lord of the Rings. Once I came back to my surroundings, I got out of the car to see if the two people in the other car were okay. But at that moment, 4 men in the Army came running across the busy street to help. One gentleman walked me out of the street and the other 3 checked on those two people.

At this point, I still can't ear out of my left ear. I am also shaking and crying. The nice man asks me if I have  phone/my insurance etc. I tell him it is all in my purse in my car (thank goodness I was not texting or even looking at my phone). He graciously goes to grab my things, and hands me my phone. The phone is my new iPhone 5- which I had activated 20 minutes before and had no idea how to work. Through my tears I manage to tell the man that I don't know how to use my phone and he calls my boyfriend for me. Unfortunately, my boo was in the studio with his phone off. Thankfully, my boss had texted me minutes before and thus, her number was in my phone.

She came to pick me up. By that time I had spoken to my dad and he told me to go to the emergency room to have my hearing checked out. My sweet wonderful boss took me there, and stayed with my until my boyfriend picked me up after I got checked out. I have an appointment at a hearing clinic tomorrow.

The people I hit:
1. had no insurance
2. had a suspended driver's license
3. did not own the car they were driving
4. were most likely not wearing seat belts
5. had to be cut out of their car
6. went straight to the hospital in the ambulance

I have no idea what happened to them. But I do know what is going on with me. I am jittery driving in the car and hyper-aware of everything. I have had my neck adjusted twice, and I got great relief from going to yoga the day after the accident. My soreness went from 100% to about 10%. But I also struggle with how to feel. I feel bad that I hit these people. Yes, it was 100% their fault in many different ways. The accident should have never happened because they should never have been driving in the first place. But I have changed their lives in a HUGE way. The driver might go to jail, and I am certain that their injuries were worse than mine. I know that I am not supposed to feel bad about this, but I do. And i suspect that I will feel bad for a while, much like I will be jumpy in the car for a while.

At the end of the day, I think that I just will plan on not ever having a car accident again. Can I get an amen?

Ultra love,

Elise

Awesome.

THIS.

I spend most of my time with these two people: The man in the socks and the sweet sweet face staring at you.

I spend the other parts of my time at work and working out.

I recently went on a lovely vacation to California with the sock man's family, sans sock man. It was very relaxing and very fun. what did I do? I ate food. I slept. I read books about dogs. I played with a baby, a toddler, and two 4 year-olds. I went on a 45 minute barefoot beach run. And I went to California Bikram Yoga.

I am about to describe that experience to you. However, I have been informed (from various other renditions of this story) that most Cali studios are NOT like this one. Most are super intense- like, the front row can't sit down ever or drink water .

(Side note: Luna just licked the WHOLE top of my man's recently filled with Arnold Palmer Tervis Tumbler. HA!)

This studio was the opposite. I am going to run through a few bits of dialogue, and please read this in your most breathy California female accent.

"You are doing soooooooo awesomeeeeeeee. This just feels sooooooo gooood. Okayyyy, now if you are comparing yourself to anyone else in the room, just laugh at yourself. This is not a competition. You should not be working hard. This is about just breathing and being in this room. Don't push yourself" ---------- if any of you have ever been to a bikram class, you would know that the WHOLE FREAKIN POINT is to push yourself. otherwise you wont make any progress. I wanted to ask this lady if I should just leave....

and to top it all off- this is the story she told during our rest times.... dont forget your breathy voice...
"So a few years ago, I had to get my neck adjusted like every week. One day, my chiropractor was like, When was the last time you cried? I think you need to have a really good cry. So I was like, whatever. But that day, my grandmother was in the hospital and I went to visit her. When i got there, I just cried and cried and cried.... I swear, I never had to have my neck adjusted again."
I nearly lost it. For real? really? what is this story?

Needless to say, I did not go back to that studio after that. I dont need any of that feel-good BS. That's why I have a dog. When I go to work out, I want to work out, ya know? So i just ignored her for most of the class and imagined what Tu would have been telling me to do. Worked fairly well. :)

Next blog post is going to be about Gerry, my favorite work out teacher man, and his Cardio Blast class. Gerry is the ultra best. YEAH.

Ultra Love,

Elise