DNF - The Summer Fletcher Greel Loved Me - Suzanne Kingsbury

So this is my first Did Not Finish for the year. I'm not even going back to it. Probably not ever. And not for the lack of an interesting story. I really think it's the way it's written.

On Goodreads, this has some REALLY great reviews. I stopped at 15% for a few weeks, then read the reviews, then decided to keep on trucking. I made it to 22%, I haven't read it in about three weeks, then I picked up Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, finished that book in two days, and realized that I should quit trying to suffer through this book.

And honestly, 22% into the book, not much has happened. A big secret is revealed at the very beginning, and you think it's going to lead into all this goodness, but 1/5 of the way through the book, Fletcher and Haley have ran into each other once. How can he love her all summer when the summer is 22% over and you don't know each other?

It just seems slow. That's not to say that I don't think other people would enjoy it, because it really does give you a good feel of the south at this time in history (even though it doesn't give a clear answer to what time that is.)

Not recommended, but not to say others wouldn't enjoy it.

And on to the next!

ETA: I actually started this book in November or December, and I just couldn't get through it. I read the majority of what I read in late December, and picked it back up after finishing Wench. I should have realized that spending months not looking at my Kindle, because I hated that I didn't want to pick it up, meant that I needed to move on. It was a harsh break up. The book I'm reading now has me sucked in pretty good though, and we are only a few hours in.

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn has done it again.

I have now read all three of her books. Sharp Objects, I read in less than 48 hours.

At the beginning of the year, I told myself that I would try to read 2 books a month. That gives me over two weeks for each book. I got stuck on my first book in February, and finally picked this up two evenings ago and devoured it. That first February book, I'm going to delete it off my Kindle. Just wasn't a book I could read. More on that in another post...

Sharp Objects is a great mystery, very dark, a happy place I like to go to every once in a while. This is another book by Flynn when I kept thinking, "I know I know who the murderer is - but who is it?" Just when I think I've got it figured out - BAM! BAM BAM! (Lots of twists)

Definitely recommended. A+. Deranged and dark and wonderful.

Jillie's First A&M Checkup

Hey guys! Jillie had her first check up down at A&M today. They only did a physical exam and a neuro exam, which really wasn't much. The results were that she is 100% normal in all ways, except that she is still apparently completely blind in her right eye. 

So the real news is that because she has had a brain injury that caused a seizure, she will always be susceptible to seizures, especially now that there is damage from previous damage. However, the Keppra and the dosage she is on is a very small dose (and I've been freaking out that she has been doped up, so that's good to hear) and since it is controlling the seizures, it's very good news. The downside is obviously that it's 3 times a day, but we haven't had any problems with that.

Right now, she is pretty much being treated as an epileptic, but for different reasons. They said they have dogs who are a lot worse than her and live normal lives, so she is practically a normal dog :)

They said that she was very sweet to everyone in the back (duh) but of course we are glad to almost be back home.

So there are still no conclusive results. It's kind of frustrating, because it kind of seems like every different doctor I see gives me a different answer about what they think it is. The doctor today (a new one) seemed to be pretty sure it was a tumor or mass, but the neurologist we saw the day we brought her home said she wasn't thinking it was. The problem is obviously that I didn't want to do a biopsy (with good reasons,) so there isn't a definite answer what was in there.

I guess whatever it is, we are controlling the symptoms to have a normal dog :)

I should be receiving her MRI images in the mail within a week, and I'll post the pictures of it. It's hard to imagine how bad it was without seeing the pictures, so I'm just trying to give everyone some insight. Just glad to have a happy dog at home :)

Jillie as of 2/2

It's weird to say that I never thought Jillie would make it to her one month appointment back at A&M, but the time is dwindling near! Here are some updates:

• It does appear as if she is getting some vision back in her right eye. She doesn't flinch like she does with her left, but she does blink. So we are hoping that she is starting to see some shadows and that it will only continue to improve!
• She is having a small problem with flatulence. I know this seems petty, but when I, as a human without a weak stomach, almost vomited when she dutch ovened me in the car this morning, you know it's bad.
• She is working with me this week! I'm lucky to have a super cool boss who is letting me bring Jillie with me. She is a already a favorite in the office. I think she is even scoring me some cool points!
• At her vet appointment last week, she was up to 60 pounds! In case y'all were wondering, she started at 64 pounds, and when she went to A&M after 2 1/2 days of not eating/drinking, she weighed in at 57.2 pounds. She still did not eat for three days after that, so she probably lost close to 10 pounds, if not more.

That's all we have today! Back to wondering how such horrendous stenches come out of such a precious puppy!

Also: 6 AM doesn't appear to come easy for any of us -

Wench - Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Time for another book review! I know I have some family members that appreciate a good book review every now and then :)

So I just finished Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. I had seen the book when perusing through Goodreads, and I will say it was well worth it.

This is a story of four very different black women (told for the most part from Lizzie's perspective) who meet for a few summers at Tawawa House, a resort that white masters take their black slave mistresses for a vacation to the north.

This is probably one of my favorite books I have read in recent years, along with Calling Me Home, which I read last year (similar in that they deal with interracial relationships.) The first of the book was a little slow for me, but around the time that Sweet has her baby, the book picks up and I finished it within 24 hours from that.

This book is actually a pretty easy read, and I would say it would be a great book if you have a couple days and want to read something a little different. I think it truly tells the brutally honest truth about how "masters" would treat their different slave women. (We have 4 women, each of whom comes from a very different master.)

Recommended!

Jillie Update 1/26

I did not realize how many people were following Jillie's story, so when I go without updating it, people start to ask many questions...

The real story is - no news is good news! Jillie is very happy and back to her normal self. Still blind in one eye, but of course, that could be permanent damage left over. We are hopeful that some/all will come back, but we are happy where she is now.

She got blood chemistry done yesterday, which was faxed to A&M for the neurologist to check her blood levels since she has been on heavy doses of seizure medication. The only thing at all that was abnormal was her BUN. Normal is 27, hers was 30 (don't know what these numbers represent.) The vet said that the number is NOT a red flag. If it was very high, it could be a sign of intestinal bleeding or renal failure, but those things have other signs that Jillie doesn't have. At this point, it just looks like she is getting some intestinal irritation from the medication. Hopefully that can be solved with making sure she eats food with her medication. Seems like a pretty easy fix for a minimal problem.

She is such a lazy dog that sometimes I freak out when she is being her lazy self and not getting up to go outside. But I try to remember that if she had done that a month ago, I wouldn't have thought a second time about it. She is just being her normal self, so hopefully the healing will continue to the point where we can take her off medications.

Oh, and we are down to 1/2 of a steroid pill every day! Getting something done, right??

Thanks y'all for the love and support!

Happy Jillie 1/15

Jillie is still doing pretty awesome. We have gotten her to eat a little, she's still drinking a lot. Dad sent a video of her this morning walking down to get the mail - she was trotting and wagging her tail, she is really looking fabulous.

Our only concerns are the shakes/quivers she is getting, which could definitely be a side effect of the drugs she is on, and of course, the fact that the slow motor control in her back end and the blindness could be permanent damage. But, if that is the only permanent damage she suffers, we could truly not complain. She has been functioning like a normal dog, just a special dog :)

Thank you again for all your love, support, prayers, thoughts, etc!