Salivary Gland

When I arrived home a little early to scoop Sadie up for her appointment at the vet she looked so excited. Even though she’s received several rounds of shots and was spayed at the vet, she still is excited to go… but then again, she’s always excited to go anywhere.

Sadie’s nerves kick in at the vet’s office when we go into the examination room and she is put on the display table. It’s heartbreaking to watch her little tail tuck under her legs. She looks at me with those scared little eyes that clearly say, “Mama, help me!” Gosh, I am the biggest sucker in the world.

Thankfully, today’s appointment went really well. I was immediately comforted when the vet said that the swollen lump was not one of Sadie’s lymphnodes… phew!

Apparently Sadie has a swollen salivary gland. Our vet told us that she should be fine, but to be sure to bring her back in if it gets any bigger. I think all of your warm thoughts helped! 😀

Dog Park

To celebrate Sadie’s healthy state, Ryan and I took her to the dog park for some running, jumping, throwing and catching.

Sadie was really feelin’ the other dogs tonight. Normally she just wants to play fetch and run around with us, but today she made the most of her time with her canine playmates.

Dinner

After the dog park fun, we came home to make a warm dinner, fit for a chilly evening.

Grilled cheese and soup!

Ryan slurped on beef stew while I elected to enjoy chicken noodle.

I’ll be completely honest with ya… this soup was not that great. I finished the whole bowl, but it definitely wasn’t an amazingly delicious bowl of soup. Not a chicken noodle soup I’d buy again.

My grilled cheese, on the other hand, was fantastic!

I don’t know if it was all the salt in my dinner or what, but I wanted dessert almost immediately after dinner.

I opened up a Healthy Choice fudge bar and it hit the spot!

Yummy delish!

Why You Can Work Out for an Hour, But Still Get Winded Walking Up the Stairs

This has always boggled my mind. Why, when I can run or work out for an hour +, do I feel winded walking up a few flights of stairs?

Today I read an article on Health.com that broke it down for me:

“Unlike running, stair climbing has a vertical element. The upwards movements make your lower body muscles—quads, hamstrings, and glutes—work harder to lift your body weight against gravity. Common activities such as running, swimming, and biking get your heart rate up, but none of them have the vertical element. Most of your daily activities move you forward instead of up, which is why our bodies aren’t used to fighting gravity.”

Maybe I should go find some hills to run… though that might be difficult to come by in flat-as-a-pancake Orlando. 😉