Amber in Real Life

Okay, so I’ve been back a couple days now, but today was the first day back to work since returning from our anniversary vacation in Florida. I managed to only get a little sunburned…on the first day of course. Clarke and I spent the week hanging at the beach mostly, but we also did an airboat tour of the Everglades (I will post a video snippet soon), para sailing, a sunset cruise, and also visited the zoo in Naples (which I would not recommend, by the way). It was a pretty zoo, but it took us an hour and a half to walk through the entire thing and cost almost 40 bucks to get in. Para sailing was awesome. We could see the whole ocean, including some dolphins. We also saw a shark that swam right beneath the ladder of the boat as we were getting off. Naples has some really great little restaurants, but by the end of the week I was very tired of eating out. But I’m glad to be back home. I missed my dogs…and am still missing one presently. I’ll get Ernie back this weekend. Gracee was very glad to see me. Now I am refreshed and ready to work another entire year before my next vacation (ha,ha).

Clarke and I are finally getting ready to leave for our vacation to Florida!!! Today will be a busy day…we’re taking Gracee to the vet for boarding and then heading out of town to meet my parents in Emporia for some pre-mothers day dinner. We’ve decided to leave Ernie with them for a couple weeks. He doesn’t fair well when he’s boarded. My family is planning on coming to KC for Memorial Day weekend, so they will bring him back to us then. Tonight will probably be spent packing and making any last minute arrangements. Can’t wait!! Hope I don’t get too sunburned!

So I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved the Kite Runner, which is his first book, but I have to say, I think this book was even better. A Thousand Splendid Suns looks at a female perspective of growing up in Afghanistan, tying in events that have occurred over the past 30 years in the country’s history. It really is amazing what women have endured during this time. The bond that two women form in this book is amazing and the things they go through together are heartbreaking. Khaled Hosseini does an excellent job pulling your heart and soul into this book. I don’t know what else to say….READ THIS BOOK! I couldn’t put it down.

Well, Gracee had her surgery last Thursday. Everything went well, but I noticed last Friday that her incision looked swollen and red and realized that she had been licking it all day. So Clarke and I made a trip to the emergency vet clinic to get her a collar, or “cone” as we like to call it, to prevent her from getting an infection. The first couple hours in her cone were hilarious. She kept running into doorways and tripping over things. She’s since gotten used to it, but everytime I try to take it off, she begins to lick again. Looks like she’s going to be wearing it for awhile….

Also since her surgery, she hasn’t been sleeping as well. I think it’s because she isn’t getting enough exercise. We’re supposed to keep her from running and jumping….like that happens. The other night she decided she wanted to stay up and bark or whine all night, leading to me getting only three hours of sleep and Clarke getting about an hour of sleep. Thankfully, she slept through the night last night (probably because I let her run around the backyard for awhile). You’re not supposed to say “I was up all night with my dog!” They really are like babies sometimes….