Happy Birthday, Baby Bear!
On Thursday Teddy (a.k.a, Theodore, Teddy Bear, Baby Bear) turned 8 years old! I never thought my asthmatic baby (who has almost died multiple times) would make it to being a "senior"!

Some of my favorite creations paired with one of my favorite songs!

I thought I was Oscar!
Thank you to Frosty for pointing me to the Sesame Street Personality Quiz. Oscar the grouch has always been my favorite character. And sometimes (especially during my chronic headaches), I can be grumpy. So, I totally thought the test would tell me that I'm Oscar. But, surprise- it said I'm Bert! I actually can see that in some ways, but the really freaky thing is that it said that one of my passions is bottle caps!!!

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you lovable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you live your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

No Pain, No Gain
A while back I mentioned that I'm taking a Fitball class. I had never heard of it before, and I think most people haven't. So, I'll try to describe it. You use a small inflated ball like this:
to improve your flexibility and strength. The balls are firm, but flexible. Physical therapists and personal trainers user them for warming up muscles prior to working out. It's a form of self-administered acupressure; the ball and your own body weight exert pressure on specific points on your body. It works really well on upper legs. Sometimes it's also called "self-message," but I refrain from referring to it that way b/c it might evoke other ideas!

I chose to try the class b/c it's supposed to help you ease tension in your body. I was/am hoping it will help reduce the frequency of my headaches. So far Mom and I have attended all 3 of the weekly classes. We have 4 more classes left. I plan on buying a fitball (they provide them in class) so that I can do it at home too.

Poor Ruthie
Please send positive vibes, prayers, etc to my sister's St. Bernard, Ruthie. She's recovering from pancreatitis. After a week in and out of the hospital, she's finally doing better and it seems that she'll be ok. Not an easy thing for a senior citizen dog to do!

Knitting Machine
Since my mom retired she's become a knitting machine- lucky me! She's made me many hats, socks, and lotsa sweaters for Sandy. Since
he's gotten old, he can't thermo-regulate much anymore. Sometimes he has to wear 2 sweaters even with the heat on in the house just to stay warm. Here he is sporting his newest gift from grandma. She even personalized it with his name!

Birthday Fun

The delicious cake my mom made me. The blue shapes are sparkly stars!


I'm opening the awesome necklace from my sis, brother-in-law, & nieces. Notice my mom's dog, Herby, watching attentively in the bottom of the pic.


Here I am modeling the hat my mom made me. It's dark gray with a blue evil eye embellishment and ear flaps. Just like I wanted! She also knit me a gorgeous pair of colorful socks.