Another year: Review

Review of 2010 Post: 2010 vs. 2011
Well, Holy Wiener Dogs! It's been so long since I've posted. About a year to be exact. I stopped posting when my father, Pappa Cakes was diagnosed with advanced stages of Colon and Liver Cancer. It's been a year of fighting for his life and I'm so damn proud of him. Everyday he gets up and goes to work...even though he is 78 and retired. There's been good and bad days, but I wouldn't trade spending the time with him for the World! It's been a huge year of change.


Little did I know I was about to enter into a "serious" relationship and now I'm sitting in a new house, with a new dog, new car, and a new almost to be hubby.

Yes, I still have my 2 wieners....Fritz and Kraut...they are both getting older. Fritz is gray and Kraut finally decided to be a big dog and is housebroken. We tease that he is part special ed....but, this year he has come into his own. I'm a proud momma.

Which reminds me....Momma Cakes' cancer is still there, but she is doing fantastic....Multiple Myeloma is a tough bone and blood cancer...but, she is a trooper and takes the best care of Pappa Cakes as possible.

More posts will ensue....to explain the new characters in my life.

*Still dreaming of living next to the ocean and teaching on the waves!*
 
Last Post of 2010:
Holy Wiener Dogs, once again.  I read through my post from around the same time last year and can honestly say...while not much has changed...a lot has changed!
1- PappaCakes is still giving cancer a fight.  Although, all year he went thru chemo treatments, the cancer has finally won out.  He is on an experimental treatment that we were told has a slight chance to help.  He is more tired and frail, and my mother is pushing him to eat, but there is a clear change for him and I'm not looking forward to facing 2011 when it comes to my parents health issues.
2- My MommaCakes cancer has come back and she is on a chemo-like pill, that is not experimental and she has slowed down some also.  But, she takes care of my dad, and he takes care of her.  What I don't get is how the insurance company only covering a part of the cost.  At $10,000 a month out of pocket....we are lucky my parents can afford the drug.
3- I still have my wiener, Fritz and wiener, Kraut....but, what I didn't expect this year was that we'd also take on a girl wiener, Gretchen.  She needed a home, is as timid as can be and is hard to train.  Not sure what I'm going to do with her, but she is becoming part of the family with her sweet (but quirky) personality.
4- 2010 started great with a new job offer, which I took and went gang-busters with it...until, the owner spent all the start up money and I was laid off in July.  Disappointed because of the poor management skill of the owner and feeling defeated (by not finding a full-time teaching job) I continued to be unemployed.  Although I am proud of the amount of progress and knowledge I did learn with that defunct company. I have a certain name for my now ex-boss, but decided not to publish it) *jerkface* I have used some of my talket to pick up a freelance writing job for an online newspaper (Hartland.Patch.com), a couple bloggin jobs for local business', and am entertaining an offer from a large newspaper for staff writer. Life could be worse. I'm doing another thing that I love, writing.
5- An online newspaper has offered me my own weekly column and I think I'm going to take it since I have no other prospects, other than going back to the University to become a Principal.  Yes! Me a principal!  You didn't read it wrong.
6- Aside from all the above, I moved into a larger house in March and sold my city house in August....taking an $86K hit on what I paid for it.  But, the house I live in now is on 23 acres, with a woods, creek and fields. The birds, deer and coyotes run freely through the property and the dogs love not having to be on a leash and no fences.
Oh, and I guess there is also the news that I got engaged.  I'm in no big hurry to get married, so it kinda slips my mind....but, I am living with him and it has been a huge adjustment from single to not single.  I sometimes wonder about my decisions....but, what can ya say? If you don't try it out, you'll never know.
 
In the back of my mind, I think about the years down the road, when I'm ready to move back to California, and what kind of adjustment that will be for my fiance.  I know that I really don't have a whole lot holding me here in Michigan, unless I come up with a job.  So, the path I will take in 5 to 10 years may be one that the jury will be out on...for a while. But, this is where I'm at and I'm going to live a happy postive life until those decisions need to be made.
 
The upcoming year, I'm expecting some ups and downs.  But, the one thing I know I can count on is the wieners keeping me company no matter what happens!
Happy New Year Everyone!