Sorry I haven’t been posting in a while. It has been a crazy month. Here is an update.
Maya’s Birthday
My Maya is now seven years old. Go check out this cute photo of her I posted on my other blog yesterday: Maya’s Birthday
Doctor Who
Sometimes I just don’t feel motivated. I think it is tied to my cycle. I call it depression, but I’m fine for the most part. I just don’t have any energy. Mid-August was like that. I found myself cuddled on the couch with Maya and Pierson three days in a row and watching Doctor Who. It was a great way to spend a depression but I obviously didn’t get much done.
Iowa State Fair
I’m vegetarian now so going to the Iowa State Fair where they display animals that are soon going to be butchered seems a contradiction. I suppose it is, but I heard the Iowa State Fair is one of the biggest in the country and so wanted to see it at least once. Despite the fact that many of the animals will soon become someone’s food, I loved seeing them. The horses are my favorite. The Iowa State Fair also had an art show. There was a ton of different art work of different media and different subjects. As an artist, I loved this part of the fair.
Ikea and Mall of America
A few days after the fair, I went with a friend to the Mall of America in Minnesota. We also went to Ikea, which is across the street. I didn’t buy much there, but I did buy lots of stuff at the Blick Art store, which we happened to drive by on our way to lunch at Good Earth.

Yes, I love SpongeBob SquarePants and so when I saw him at the Mall of America, I had to get my picture taken with him.

This was outside Ikea in Minnesota. Yes, I’m copying Emma from MyGBGVlife who always shares these finds. 🙂
Road Trip
The day after that trip, I broke a tooth and went to the dentist. Then the day after that I went to Wichta, Kansas to see a doctor for my fibromyalgia. Maya and Pierson went with me. I don’t like to travel alone and my husband couldn’t go, so Maya and Pierson eagerly agreed to make the boring trip.
Motel 6
I opted to stay at a Motel 6 because I knew they didn’t charge much and that they accept my two big dogs without charging extra pet fees. If you want to stay at a nice fancy hotel with all the amenities and free breakfast, Motel 6 is not the place to go. But who needs a fancy motel when you’re mostly going to be out?
I discovered how great Motel 6 is for us when we got stuck in Oklahoma during a terrible ice storm. This Motel 6 in Wichita on Kellogg Dr. was even better! The bed was so comfortable, the room was clean, the property was quiet, and it even had a mini fridge. But what made it the best was the manager and the staff. The manager, Ron, told me, “Without customer service, I’m just another hotel chain.” So true!
My Mom
You all won’t believe how well my mother is doing. She has terminal brain cancer, but that is not stopping her one bit. A month or so ago, she was in really bad shape. She couldn’t keep food down, she was sleeping 22+ hours a day, one of her hands went numb, she can’t see out of one eye, she started to have uncontrollable ticks, and she was so weak she could no longer walk. My stepdad had to get hospice care in to help.
Now my mom is up out of bed and dancing!!! No more hospice care either. My mom is able to eat again. She says her sleep is back to normal. She still can’t see out of one eye but the ticks are gone. And she can now walk an entire block and back. I so totally can’t believe it! But if anyone can kick brain cancer’s butt, it’s my mom.
One of my sisters lives closest to my mom and has been visiting her often. She gives my mom foot rubs and has been painting her nails. Recently, she did a leopard theme to match my mom’s leopard print robe and my stepdad bought her a leopard print hat to match. (leopard print, not actual leopard fur… no way!)

My mom has always loved leopard print. The only thing missing in this photo is her leopard print slippers.
Well, that’s all for now! How has your month been?
Tags: birthday, doctor who, fair, ikea, mall of america, mom, motel 6, road trip, Snoopy, spongebob squarepants
August 29, 2014 at 9:36 am |
GREAT news about your Mom!! It always warms my heart when I hear of people battling cancer (of any kind) with great “I’m gonna beat this!” attitudes. My Mom had that same attitude, but her body just couldn’t fight it any more. That was in late ’79.
Things have been crazy around here, too. Mostly dealing with Shadow’s sensitive stomach, trying to find the causes by eliminating one thing after another from her (and her sisters’) diet to see if it helps. MAYBE, just maybe, we’ve come to the end of the tunnel. I hope so!
September 1, 2014 at 1:17 am |
It’s great news that your mom is feeling a bit better and enjoying life!
I love the Snoopy, but it doesn’t seem quite right without Emma in the photo!!
September 2, 2014 at 10:18 am |
I like your opinion about Motel 6 on Kellogg, you should post your experience on “TripAdvisor”. It is not too often people share good experiences, only negative.
September 2, 2014 at 12:26 pm |
Thanks, JSantino. I posted on TripAdvisor too 🙂
September 2, 2014 at 2:09 pm |
Yay for your mom!! As I told you, I was a bit worried. I think we all go through bits of depression at times, I’m glad you got through it and are feeling better. I hope you got good news at the Dr. in Kansas.
September 3, 2014 at 5:59 pm |
Wow, that IS a crazy month. I honestly don’t know how August is over. My husband and I met some friends in Vegas in the middle of the month for one weekend and that’s about all we did, but it still went by so quickly!
I’m so, so happy your mom is doing so well. Love the leopard print. I have leopard print slippers myself!
September 4, 2014 at 7:22 am |
[…] posted a little bit about my road trip with my dogs, Maya and Pierson, on my American Dog Blog, but I thought I would share a few more details here. Namely, what I did to prepare and how we made […]
September 5, 2014 at 1:23 am |
So glad your mom is better, that has to be the best news out of all the news of the month! 😀 I can understand the cycle thing, I get it in a bad way and that is when I miss a post or two, hoo hoo. 😛
Feel Better!
September 10, 2014 at 5:03 am |
Your Mom is an amazing lady. I am so far behind and have been so busy, a tv marathon sounds good. 🙂