Got an itch?

We might have a little problem on our hands.

This little cutie went to the beach on Saturday and while he absolutely loved it and it knocked him out for the rest of the day and we were even able to let him run off his leash....

we think he may have fleas now.

After the beach we noticed he was a little red down-under near his man parts. I honestly thought he had a bad case of chaffing: it was red, there were little specks of black (which I thought were sand), he was running in salt water for hours... it seemed logical to me. The next day it was significantly less red so I thought it was confirmed.

Then he started itching, a lot. Yes, I know dogs itch but it seemed like significantly more than usual. And all over his legs and belly. He would itch with his foot and go crazy with his little front teeth. His skin was getting red and I kept noticing the little black specks. This is when I knew it was something different.

So thanks to Google, I learned that the little black specks are called Flea Dirt and are basically excrement from the fleas. They say you can scratch some of them off onto white paper and add water to them and they'll turn redish brown because they're actually bits of blood. However, Ollie was not in the mood to have me scratching around near his junk to get some of them off so I can't be certain about that. I made an appointment at the vet and were going in a few hours.

I'm not thinking that getting rid of the fleas on him is going to be very difficult. There are flea shampoos, collars, medicines, etc etc. The thing that I'm really worried about is our apartment. Because cleaning the pup is only half the battle and it wont do any good to wash him if there's more fleas in our apartment.

So I spent the morning doing laundry on his bed cover, the towels he sleeps with, the pillows on the couches, and the blankets on the couches. I then deep vacuumed our whole apartment; every spot on the floors, moved all the furniture to get under & behind them all, used the vacuum adapter to get on and in all the cushions. I plan on repeating this process on Thursday morning and again this weekend. The trusty internet said that the first step to getting them gone is to vacuum. Then to use some type of insecticide.

I'm hoping that we caught the problem early enough that infestation shouldn't be a huge issue for us and we wont have to result to fogging our apartment or anything too crazy. I haven't actually seen any live fleas and J and I don't have any signs of bites. I know it'll all be fine in the end but believe me, this is not how I planned on spending my Tuesday.

Have any of you ever dealt with dogs and fleas?

What did you do/do you have any tips?

Day #1

I'm taking a little less serious and different approach instead of a literal answer to my 30 Day Challenge Day #1 prompt so bear with me....

Something you hate about yourself

I hate that:

* I haven't been able to motivate myself to take time to go to the gym lately. I feel like a slob. We've been eating out a lot and not eating very healthy at home either and it just puts my whole body in a funk. I think gym time needs to go back up higher on my priority list.

* I don't have a ton of money to update my wardrobe like I wish I could. I'm in desperate want (not need) of a shopping spree. Some new jeans, a handful of flowing or knit or floral or anything from Forever 21 tops, some cute new heals or boots.... stop me I'm drooling.

* I can't figure out if I want real bangs, side bangs or no bangs. I always feel like I want whichever I don't have... ain't that the truth for life though? I hope that I'll be happier with my hair once it grows a little more and it's out of this awkward partly-grown-out-but-not-quite-enough stage.

* I haven't heard back about any interviews yet. As if the stress from school and secondaries I haven't finished yet isn't enough I hate the waiting game even more. Why does it have to be such a tough process?

* it feels nothing like fall around these parts lately. I know, I know, I live in San Diego but come ooooon. It was 100+ just a week ago so this coming week of 70's in the forecast is looking mighty pleasing. I'm not wanting to wear boots and scarves and jackets yet but it'd be nice to be able to wear pants at least.

* my puppy is getting so big. He is 4 months and 1 week old and weighs 52.2 lbs according to our "super accurate" measuring techniques aka Jeff weighs himself and then holds Ollie and weighs again.

* I can't be the one to weigh Ollie anymore. I seriously can't lift and hold him for more than up onto the bed. Another reason for me to get back to the gym? I think so.

* my hair isn't as curly as it used to be. I really have to work to get the natural, beachy-look these days and I think it's effecting my hair's ability to hold any style now too.

* I've been so MIA from blog land lately. I feel like I haven't even been keeping up on reading other people's blogs let alone posting anything for myself. And the worst of it all is that I don't really have a good excuse this time. So I'd like to say that I love anyone and everyone that is still reading my blog and I appreciate all your comments and love and mentions and everything. I promise I'll be better.

Wordless Wednesday

I guess it can't be completely wordless because I have to explain the picture.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is an acid burn.

Nitrous acid to be specific.

Across my middle finger on my right hand.

Trust me, you don't want one.

Link up here

30 Day Challenge

Here in blog land we all most of us experience blogging-block. For those of you who don't, who happen to always have something interesting or inspiring or creative etc etc etc to write about, who never experience "it's been days or weeks since my last post because my life is boring" well... congrats. I however, am not one of those people.

That all changed when I happened to stumble across a solution. Renee at Closed on Sunday wrote a post sharing the 30 Days of Truth challenge. The way that it works is that there are 30 (yes, what a shocker I know) post topics for you to write about. From what I understand, they are supposed to be answered/responded to on consecutive days/posts. But I thought I'd change it up a little bit.

I don't want to feel like I am forced to follow a strict schedule when it comes to this list. Therefore I have decided that while I will blog about the topics on the list in order, I can't guarantee that there wont be other posts in between. If I have something real to blog about, say a medical school interview (please please please please please) then I'll have the freedom to write about whatever that situation may be. Because who knows, maybe writing on these topics will spark something else to write about.

So here then, is The List.

1. something you hate about yourself
2. something you love about yourself
3. something you have to forgive yourself for
4. something you have to forgive someone else for
5. something you hope to do in your life
6. something you hope to never have to do
7. someone who has made your life worth living for
8. someone who has made your life hell, or treated you badly
9. someone you didn't want to let go, but just drifted away
10. someone you need to let go, or wish you didn't know
11. something people seem to compliment you the most on
12. something you never get compliments on
13. a band or artist that has gotten you through some hard days
14. a hero that has let you down
15. something you couldn't live without, because you've tried living without it
16. something you definitely could live without
17. a book you've read that changed your views on something
18. your views on gay marriage
19. what do you think of religion and/or politics
20. what do you think about drugs and/or alcohol
21. your best friend is in a car accident and you two got in a fight an hour before. what do you do?
22. something you wish you hadn't done
23. something you wish you had done
24. make a playlist for someone and explain the reason for each song
25. the reason you believe you're still alive today
26. have you ever thought about giving up?
27. what is the best thing in your life right now?
28. what if you were pregnant today?
29. something you hope to change about yourself
30. write a letter to yourself

I am not going to start today so keep an eye out for day one. I hope to be able to link back all the posts together so that someone who's interested in finding out more about me will be able to. Plus it'll be a neat way for me to reflect on and change my opinions etc. I'm hoping that this can be a creative outlet for me to think about parts of my life. I plan on being brutally honest for each topic but promise that I'll try to make it as interesting as possible. So stick around if your interested or feel free to join me for the whole 30 days, or even just one.

I am off to a hopefully very productive day but first, some play time with the pup. Happy Thursday.

Art Dealer Teal-er

Did you know that September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month?

Did you know that the color teal is the awareness color for OC?

Did you know that you should paint your toes the color teal right now, I mean after you finish reading this, to help bring awareness and save lives?

Well now you do.

To show my support I decided to paint, not only my toes but also my fingers in the traditional bright teal color. Realistically any shade of teal will do (OPI has an awesome Ski Teal We Drop color that is a little more subdued) I just figured Go Big or Go Home right?

So I picked up my new teal nail polish and painted away and I hope that people notice. Because that's the point.

Friend: "Oh I like the color of your nails/Wow your nail polish is bright/etc etc"

Self: "Yes, thank you. It's to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer. Teal is their color."

Friend: "Ovarian Cancer huh?"

Self: "Yep, let me tell you about it...."

* OC effects over 25,000 women in the US every year and is the 5th leading cause of cancer in women

* 75% of OC cases are diagnosed too late, the cancer has already spread and treatment is unlikely to help

* 93% of OC patients that get diagnosed earlier are able to survive it

* There is no test or screen to detect this form of cancer (not even a pap smear) so you must trust your instinct and see a doctor if you have persistence of any symptom

Symptoms

- Bloating

- Pelvic and/or abdominal pain

- Frequent or urgent need to go #1

-Having a hard time eating

-Feeling full quickly

Remember, you MUST see your doctor if you have any of these symptoms daily for more than a few weeks because early detection is crucial to the treatment of the disease.

So go out there and help save baby makers and the lives of women around you.

The information I have listed here as well as more can be found at the Teal Toes website.

And they even have a huge list of teal nail polishes in many brands incase you don't know which one you want to use.