Rusty DuBois

Don't Grieve For Me

Don' grieve for me, for now I'm free; I'm following the path God laid for me.

I took His hand when I heard Him call; I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day, to laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way; I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void, then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss; Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow, I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savored much; good family, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seems all too brief; don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lift up your heart and share with me,

God wanted me now, He set me free.

My brother Rusty DuBois went to be in Heaven this morning at 9am. My entire family is grief stricken like you would not believe. I couldn't be there when he passed on and I find it hard not think "does he think I didn't love him?" "Was he scared?" "What happens now?" I know I can't beat myself up but I am a "What If?" person. The thing that makes an animal dying worse than a person is that you can not tell him what is wrong, what is happening to him or what will become of the situation. My dad has been laying with him at the vet twice a day since this happened and he said he can not bear to look Rusty in the eyes one more day, to see him suffer and not be able to fix everything for him. I do believe Rusty was loved more than any other dog I know and his life was happy but that doesn't make this any easier.

We love you Rusty and you can not imagine how much you will be missed.

Break....

I am taking a few days off, I will let you know more about Rusty then. And in the meantime it just doesn't seem right blogging about fun happy things while me and my family are in the midst of something so sad.

Update on Rusty..

Ok, things are so complex so please bear with me while I try to relay information ....I just got off the phone with the vet. I called and asked to check on my brother Rusty and she knew who I was and said "Hi Nicole"

This is essentially a disease that causes an inflammation of the nerves around the brain and inner ear which in return is causing the vertigo. Which it is not even vertigo.. it is SO much more complex than that.
They have him on a fluffy bed and were able to hand fed him some lunch...they were also able to support him and hold him to walk outside and go potty. Which was hard because with this it makes him want to roll or walk into things.
I asked if he is suffering or in pain and they said no but that he is confused and doesn't know what or why this is happening to him. They said he wagged his tail, Thank You God!  His eyes are kinda crazy and have been rolling and this has caused him to have a head tilt which may be permanent.
They said 80% he will have a full recovery (for a 14 year old dog) BUT this is something he will have and could have more spells as his life continues.
He is not out of the woods yet, so please continue the prayers and THANK YOU so much for the kind emails, messages and comments. They mean alot to me and my family.
I think one reason why this is extra hard for me on top of the main reason which is LOVE...is that animals rely on us to care for them and we can't tell him what is wrong and I don't want him to be upset. I get to go and visit him at lunch tomorrow, I will cry. Funny, I am known as the girl who doesn't cry (ask Matt) and here I can not even make it thru a phone call with vet without sobbing!

My Other Brother

First off, YES....you love that picture above don't you?? Rusty is a Sooner!! What Rusty also is, is my brother. Rusty is 14 and he is an old soul.....let me tell you a story...

When we got Rusty as a baby my parents were going to have him as an outside dog and his first night at our home he cried his little eyes out on the back porch, and what did I do? I got out of bed and slept on the back porch with him and that is how we have such a deep bond. And a couple of days later Rusty was welcomed as an indoor dog! Rusty is 100% my brother and you know just by things I post how deep this love goes. Moving on.........

Last night I had Bunco night with my JH ladies and we had SO much fun and on the way home I felt the need to call mom and dads house, well as soon as my mom picked up I asked "What is wrong"....My mom tells me that Rusty fell over and would not move or get up and my dad had rushed him to the animal ER. We talked about what the ER said and they told me to not stop and try to see him just to go home....so I cried the whole way home, praying God would take him if it was Rusty's time to be in heaven because I can not have him suffer or I prayed that God would heal him if he was no tready to go. It was a hard night. And here we are 9am and I just got word of what happened..............

Rusty has Geriatric Vestibular Disease and this can literally happen just like that WHAM, and he has it. What is this?

Symptoms of idiopathic vestibular syndrome include ataxia, which is a lack of muscle coordination. Ataxia may cause the head and body to sway from side to side. Ataxia may also cause the dog to lean and fall to the side, or, in some cases, repeatedly roll onto one side. An abnormal tilting of the dogs head, simply called head-tilt, is also a common sign. Nystagmus, a rapid up and down or side to side motion of the eyes, is usually present as well. Some dogs will experience severe vomiting, which is caused by the feeling of dizziness associated with Nystagmus.

What are they doing from here? My family said ANYTHING you can, so the problem on top of everything is he will not eat, drink or use the restroom and if that keeps up he can't go like this. But they are giving him medicine and doing everything they can to bring him back around and they said Rusty is special and he could make a great recovery. (If he does this will always be a possibility of flaring up again) But for now this is day to day.....hour by hour. I know some of you may think "he is just an animal" ...and shame on you, he is so much more. Here I am at work a wreck crying my eyes out at my desk as I type. This to me is just as serious as if a "human" relative is sick and dying. I ask one thing of you............... Pray that if it is his time that God will take him and free him of his suffering but if it isn't his time pray that God will heal Rusty and give him strenght.
I will keep you posted.

Congealed....

congealed (Verb)1. Solidify or coagulate, esp. by cooling: "the blood had congealed into blobs".

So things are not going my way today.....tonight is a Junior Hospitality Club function for potential new members and I signed up to bring cupcakes (shocker) and well, I may be buying store bought!!! Instead of making something I know , I wanted to try something new....I made Almond Cupcakes last night and when I got to the end of the recipe there was no icing recipe. What to do? I could make my buttercream, I am good at it....but NO I decide to try something new...an icing made on the stovetop, Pioneer Woman approved. I just got back from lunch, I went home to make & ice the cupcakes and things did NOT go as planned. The icing is weird so last minute I added powered sugar to thicken it up and give it a buttercream texture and it's a no go.....after I topped the cupcakes with icing it has started to congeal! Just that word is gross! So I am sure in 5 hours when I go home to pick them up God knows what I will find. I will tell you I had one and they were SOOO Good! But I can not serve cupcakes that look gross! UGG!!!! What to do??????????

Sunday Supper

This past Sunday myself and Matt's whole family volunteered for the second time at the Ronald McDonald House by making and serving Sunday Supper!!! We had such a wonderful and fulfilling time last December that we are making this a twice a year thing. I did what I usually do and I baked.....I made the Pioneer Woman's "Best chocolate cake ever" and chocolate chip cookie bars, both were a big hit!!

Matt & his dad did a wonderful job on the "Fill up the bun" assembly line!!

We served a wonderful BBQ bun, homemade coleslaw, baked beans, watermelon and chips!!

Everyone was very pleased!!

Matt and I in the House Kitchen......all of us work so well as a team!

The set up, serving and the clean up was a breeze!

Here Matt's whole family in the kitchen getting ready to open the buffet line!

This was such a great evening and we all left feeling so good about what we had done. In fact I enjoyed this so much this is one of the Community Service nights I have planned for JH !!

A Dadoo???

Ok, I have a Monday afternoon laugh for you all! Now we all know how adorable my God Daughter Kendall is but do you know how silly she is too??!!!! Here is the picture and below is the story behind the picture from my bestie Melissa....

So…..last night I went to pick up dinner and when I was pulling into my driveway, John calls and says “how good of a mood are you in?”….I’m like why? He says “well Kendall just wrote all over herself”…I asked with what and he replied a black sharpie!!! He said she also took it to the walls and tile and cabinet! Oh my goodness, I walked in the house and had she ever. But I couldn’t help but laugh because she was showing it off to me saying “Mommy, Wook! (look)”. So I got the sharpie off of the wall, tile, and cabinets (thanks to Magic Eraser) and took her to the bath. To my surprise it came off pretty well, all except for on her knee, where she had fallen on Saturday and scraped it pretty bad so I didn’t want to rub it too hard. Well this morning I’m driving her to the sitter’s house and she says “Mommy, wook, I gotta daddoo”….i turned around and said you got a what? She said a “daddoo” and pointed at the area around her knee where the marker still was. Oh my goodness, she was telling me she has a tattoo!!!! I about drove my car off the road! I replied back to her and said “oh you have a tattoo?” and she said “yah”. My 2 year old knows what a tattoo is and that’s what she was trying to do last night! Ha! it all makes sense because she is always pointing to John and I’s tattoos.

Sketch to Screen

Let me start by saying sorry to my friend Susan, we talked about going to the museum together but when I took off last minute on Friday my mom and me made a quick decision to go! So Susan, I am sorry!
Ok............
Friday was a blissful day like I mentioned before and I started the day at the Oklahoma Museum of Art, I have never been. And let me tell you...you should go!!!! What I really enjoyed was the portrait hall some paintings dating back to the 1600s.
Below is the beautiful atrium that greets you when you walk in.........

The building itself is beautiful, you should bring out of town guests to get a peak of downtown thru the eyes of this museum. Not only does it house exhibits but a movie theater and a cafe'...

My mom and I had lunch at the YUMMY Museum Cafe'....if you remember one of the cooking classes I have taken was taught by the Cafe's head chef! I had the fresh Cafe Club and a to die for Lobster Bisque topped with cavier and a puff pastry disk! Delish! The Cafe is solid glass and overlooks the Civic Center, you should check it out! We talked about how it felt like we were somehwere else for well at least an hour!

The reason I wanted to go was to see the exhibit..."Sketch to Screen" and it did not disappoint!!!! This exhibit showcases over 50 costumes worn in the movies as well as the original sketches...everything from the original dresses worn in Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Mama Mia, Legally Blonde and Gladiator just to name a few!! The bummer was...no camera's and trust me they follwed you around!!! BOO! This was so much fun and the exhibit runs thru August 15th!!!

The Oklahoma Art Museum also houses the largest Chihuly collection in the US, I sneaked the picture below with my IPhone! It is truly a must see! To learn more about the Museum click HERE!!!

Movie Mania

So on my blissful day off on Friday I went to the movies to see Salt, and no going by myself doesn't bother me at all. Salt is about Angelina's character being "framed" as a Russian Spy and her trying to clear her name....but it isn't exactly what you think. I don't want to give anything away BUT I can tell you there will be a sequel and actually the movie was like The Bourne Series....but for a woman. Angie is the girl Jason Bournce kicking butt and taking names. This was fast paced and fun.........I HIGHLY recommend this movie!!!!!!!!!!

Next up.............Inception!! Matt & I saw this movie Saturday afternoon and I LOVED all 2 hours and 40minutes of this movie. It is so complex that I am not even going to get into what this is all about, I will spare you! But this is GREAT...I was so stressed out towards the end I could hardly contain myself....everyone in this movie is perfect and the way the story unfolds and gives you more details as time passes is brilliant! Go see this!!!

Hi Friends!

I am alive...I know I have been MIA for a couple of days! I took Friday off of work to just enjoy the day and if you don't know me I "unplug" over the weekends...I never get online or check email on the weekends unless it is a quick Facebook look on my IPhone! I am on the computer so much during the week that I need a break!
Today I woke up with a BAD migraine and want to cry here at my desk....go figure that is what I get for taking Friday off! And my insurance does not kick in for ONE more week...so I just spent $98 at CVS, that is enough to make me more ill!
I will be back later to catch you all up on my weekend!
ps.....have I mentioned I HATE MONDAYS?

Well Lookie Loo...

Hey Okies.............. Go out and grab a Oklahoma Gazette today!!! Why???
1. It is free and it rocks
2. Me & My JH Ladies are in it!!!!!!!!!!

So you know.....4 years ago I saw an ad like this in the Gazette and because of that ad I joined JH!!! And 4 years later and I cold NOT be any happier!!! Below, the pictures are small but we have a "vintage" sub sandwich blitz picture and then 2 group shots from my camera (cheese) of us out volunteering at the Miracle League and The Children's Center!!!!! You probably recognize them from my blog posts!

We are opening our membership and if you are interest please shoot me a message with your email!! To check out more about JH ..... here is the BLOG!

5 Stars of Fun....

Meena Harper is a young soap opera writer who possesses the power to see how people are going to die. This ability has allowed her to save the lives of those she cares about, but it's also made her something of an outsider. Her dreams of becoming the head writer on her show, Insatiable, are dashed when the job is given to a well-connected rival who wants to add a vampire character to the sudser. Meena is dismayed by the turn of events at work until a mysterious stranger named Lucien rescues her from a bizarre bat attack. Their romance takes off, until a smoldering vampire hunter named Alaric breaks into Meena's apartment and tells her the man she's dating is the prince of darkness

This book was SO much fun!!! I really needed something light hearted after devoting 3 weeks to The Passage! When I saw this book I have never read Meg Cabot before who also wrote the Princess Diaries Series! This book was a fun, sexy, vampired filled page turner! The thing about this book is that they acknowledge the "Vampire Craze" and even poke fun at it as Meena the star hates all things "Vampires" until she finds herself in LOVE with the one and only Prince of Darkness!!! This took me 3 day and I couldn't wait to read this at night!!! I highly recommend this summer read!

Ok, so...

Blogger is all new to me, I literally clicked something and my template changed SO...I have been playing around with it and I am not sure if I like it or not??? Thoughts? I know my header is not straight BUT I do NOT know how to get it straight! And where is the HECK are my FOLLOWERS?!?!? They have disappeared over a month ago and I could scream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, my point is my blog is in transition and I am unsure what I think.
And PS......I have been so boring lately, I am sorry friends!!! bear with me!

French Salad

Please excuse these sad little pictures, they were taken with my IPhone! But this was a delish salad I made last week and my first time to poach an egg!!!! I will tell you this was a very rich and heavy salad with bold flavors, I will most definitely make this again! I served this with some yummy French Bread with my homemade butter!!!!

Butter Lettuce with Lardons and Poached Egg
Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
Ingredients
•2 slices bacon, cut into lardons
•4 eggs
•1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
•1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
•Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
•Water, as needed
•1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
•1 head Boston lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
•1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Directions
In a small saute pan, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until almost crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. To the pan, whisk in the mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and black pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.

Fill a medium saucepan 2/3 with water. Add the distilled white vinegar and bring to just barely a simmer. Cook's Note: like very active club soda.

Crack an egg and place it into a small ramekin. Very slowly and gently place the egg into the water by placing the ramekin right next to the water and letting the egg slide out of the dish and directly into the water. The ramekin should be touching the water. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Each egg should cook for 3 1/2 minutes, exactly.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the tomatoes in the bacon dressing and divide the mixture among 4 salad plates. When the eggs are ready, carefully remove with a slotted utensil, and blot briefly on a paper towel to remove the excess vinegary water. Gently place an egg on top of each salad. Grind some black pepper on top of the eggs, top with lardons and serve.

Do you know what this means?

Well...what this means is August 1... I am back in business!! I will officially have health insurance again as of August 1st! How ?? Well, the details are not important and frankly not for the sharing over the internet! But the fact that I will be able to buy my prescriptions that total over $1200 a month without insurance is a load off my back! Not being completely stressed out about not having meds will be amazing! I just wanted to share the good news with my extended blog family!

Weekend in the craper

well not ALL of the weekend...but Saturday night I laid on the couch while Matt went riding...so Sunday night was the only night I got to spend with him and actually eat a meal together in 7 days! So that sucks. Then Sunday I woke up and felt like I was hit over the head with a bulldozer, I was so sick and had the worst migraine ...I wanted to die! I went back to bed until noon and then felt like crap all day! And how do I start Monday morning off? With NO AC!!! So after paying $300 to the AC guy I finally made it to work! Whew! I hope this day and week picks up quick!

Refreshed!

It is SUMMER!!! Oklahoma temperatures are almost in the100s !!! And lucky me just got a visit from my good friend Becky (you can visit her here) with an afternoon pick me up!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for my Sonic Cherry Limeade! I think I can maybe tackle the afternoon!!! Is is 5 yet?

So neat...

I saw this story on the Today show this morning and thought...how cool! Things like this are rarely discovered in the US....and to find an 18th Century ship beneath the World Trade Center, this must be an archaeologists dream....
By Wednesday, the outlines made it plain: a 30-foot length of a wood-hulled vessel had been discovered about 20 to 30 feet below street level on the World Trade Center site, the first such large-scale archaeological find along the Manhattan waterfront since 1982, when an 18th-century cargo ship came to light at 175 Water Street

To read more about this in the NY Times article click HERE!!!

Goodbye Chandler

Well I did it....I picked up Chandler from the vet yesterday and he was just happy as a June bug on the drive to my father in laws work. (The "drop off" point) The guy Spike was not at all like I pictured....very nice and assured me his neighbor would take great care of him! AND he will be indoors! Chandler will be living in Hinton, Oklahoma!!!! Isn't he so dashing in the carrier? Even thought I only knew him less than a week....I miss him and I hope he is happy!

Snow White...

A good friend of mine Allison B told me I was like Snow White with animals flocking to me! And I said "Why Thank You"!!! Funny thing is......when I was little maybe 4 or 5 my recital dance was Snow White, we wore the costume and all. Premonition maybe??

Here is a picture of me when I was little...I always loved animals from the beginning funny thing is I have a black cat now....

Billy goats too...