Michelle, Flagyl is a good first-line treatment for giardia in dogs so that should be enough; some vets use fenbendazole in combination but I've rarely done that unless I have had to back off on the Flagyl dose (Flagyl can have serious adverse effects if over-dosed). Giardia is fairly contagious in kennel and dogpark situations where fecal-oral transmission is likely, and of course diarrhea is hard to clean up so that increases the risk of environmental transmission. Many adult dogs seem to be relatively resistant to the effects of Giardia infection so your adult dog may not be clinically ill even if infected, but then the risk of re-transmission to the puppy is also lower.

Bogey had giardia when we got him--probably picked it up at the pound before the rescue got ahold of him. He was pretty runny for the first couple of days but the meds kicked it fast! I was told to clean indoor messes with bleach if he had an indoor accident and to pick up outdoor poops immediately and wash off as well as possible so Misty wouldn't get it (she didn't and frankly we didn't keep a close eye on outdoor poops. He only had one indoor accident before the meds kicked in.).

Today I accepted an offer to step back to an earlier point in my career. My brain is sad to give up the intellectual challenges of my current group, but every other part of me knows this is the right thing to do. Escape? It surely is that, in the name of preserving my sanity and over the long haul my physical health. Now starts the negotiating between my two bosses - how much transition time, how many hours can each get out of me, etc. It's a relief to have committed to a decision. I feel like I can now start going forward again.

Bill- I eat frozen blueberries practically every day. When they are in season I kind of forget about buying them because I'm so used to the frozen ones. I put them in my yogurt in the morning or just eat them - I now prefer them frozen to fresh.

Allison- congratulations to DD! Mine graduates next week!

Saef- that's what happens to me when I have a day off of school -- I always schedule too much stuff. And then, because I am off, my husband will always say "oh can you go pick up...?" and a million other errands.

Dagmar - that takes dedication to finish those classes! Keep learning to keep the brain from leaving. I am always learning new programming languages and working on things like that, which I love doing. This summer (actually started already) I'm learning Unity3D.

Michelle, What aggravates me is that our kids can't get loans at the very low interest rates. Yet at one of the colleges where I teach (which I am quitting after Thursday night's class and the final exam!), all the students there are getting grants and/or very low interest loans. Sadly, I don't think many of them will finish and they will never pay back the loans. My DD would have paid back the loans but we refused to get a loan at the rate they wanted to charge -- so that's why I have been working 3 jobs the past few years. Apparently they get loans or grants for more than the tuition so after they get their check in week 2, they just disappear. I don't get it! They get an F and they are still going to have to pay back that money.

It's so hot here already. Everyone is discussing that we didn't have a spring. That happens every few years. Actually more often than not, so when we get a Spring, I am always so grateful. On Mother's Day I ran a 5K at 8am and it was brutally hot! I had a terrible run time (well, not terrible, but the worst I've had in a 5K). I only ran it because it was for a local pet rescue organization -- the one where we got a dog 3 years ago and they are really great. It was nice because in addition to the 5K, they had a 1 mile run where you could bring your rescue dog. So lots of cute dogs running/walking. I didn't realize that or I would have done that instead. Next year!

I also had Chinese take out for Mother's Day. My weight was up a pound but every Monday it is up because of riding my bike and running. I rode 75 miles this weekend in addition to the 5k!

Well done, Becky. Preserving your sanity and your physical health sounds good to me.

I agree! As we get older the physical challenges to the body become harder so, IMO, the more we can do to minimize those stresses the better off we will be. Better to have a bit less of a challenge at work and be able to retire and enjoy the retirement than to suddenly drop dead while still working our *sses off.

Dagmar

Becky - I know it was a hard decision, but it sounds like you did the right thing! Life is too short to spend all our time working and stressing about work. I need to do the same! I did quit one of my PT teaching jobs - only one more night to go this week.

Becky, that sounds to me like a well-balanced life. Though work becomes less stimulating, the freedom you've gained will enable you to build a richer life outside of work & get fulfillment & a sense of purpose from something else.

For me, I felt like I was starting to really gain some momentum in my career during the past two years, and having more of a presence in the larger organization outside of my department. Now I've been brought up short. And I have to figure out how to live under a different manager. And if she is as authoritarian as she's always been, then I may end up detaching emotionally and putting my energies into somthing else. Maybe this last job before the reog was my peak, professionally, and maybe it will never get better than that. I don't know, but it makes me sad to think that maybe I peaked, and I didn't even know it.

And yeah, for me, there's nothing worse than decision-making and weighing risk. It fills me with anxiety and there is a tremendous emotional release in getting out of that state.

Becky-- I know you struggled to make your decision, but it sounds like the right one for you, and you seem at peace with it.

Saef-- who knows in life, right? You just don't know what can be around the corner. One of my mottos that I truly try to live by is "never say never". You just don't know.... I'm sure you haven't peaked without knowing it but it probably feels that way in the face of uncertainty.

I sure hope Ellie turns around soon. She has been on the flagyl since Saturday and then we added the second medication yesterday. Still soooo loose.... I want to back off the cottage cheese and rice mixture but I'm not sure if that will make it worse. She has an appointment with the vet for shots today because he didn't want to do them Saturday. The good news is no pee in the crate this morning. I set my alarm for 3:00 but woke up at 2:45 and took her out. My real alarm was set for 5:00 but I heard her at 4:45 and took her out again. She isn't making it during the day yet without peeing in the crate even though I have a pet sitter come mid day. I'm sure we'll get there soon but I'm exhausted!

Sorry about all the potty talk!

Sharon-- that is crazy about the students not repaying their debts. Doesn't that wreck their credit? We have helped dd's as much as possible but they have still taken loans. Since one went to a private college and the other is out of state, the fees are high!

Speaking of things causing stress, we need to figure out our mortgage situation and it is stressing me out! When we moved here (CA) 9.5 years ago we only thought it would be for a few years. We were encouraged to take a 10 year interest only mortgage so the payments would be lower (as home prices here are INSANE). We did, assuming we would move. We aren't moving anytime in the near future. Our mortgage will go up exponentially in a few months. When I checked into refinancing a couple of years ago to preempt this situation, we were upside down in our mortgage due to the housing crash, so refinancing wasn't an option. We are hoping now that the home market has rebounded substantially that we will be able to refinance, however, the mortgage is likely to still be much higher. Fear of the unknown.... how much higher will it go??

Best of luck in your new position, Becky. Staying sane is important.

Hoping all works out for you, saef. Fear of the unknown is stressful.

Sorry about your mortgage situation, Michele. That sucks.

We're not upside down in our mortgage, but we have an old RV that isn't paid for and we don't use it and no one wants to buy it. We can pay it off in a few months and we intend to do so. After that, if we still can't sell it (I reduced the price yesterday) we're considering donating it to charity. Has anyone here done that? Is it a pretty good tax write-off? (I intend to ask my CPA before we do it.) It's just that at $140/month for storage plus taxes, license and insurance is expensive for something we don't want.

Anyone here want to buy it? LOL

I'm glad to hear that Ellie's bug has been identified. Just hang in there a few more days, Michele! I had a puppy with giardia once, and I've dealt with cocci too. With good hygiene it should be cleared up soon. It's been almost 7 years since my youngest one was a puppy. Last night we gave both dogs the three month oral med for fleas and ticks. It is supposed to start killing the ticks within 12 hours, but I think we'll wait until Wednesday to burn all the straw bedding. It's so weird - for 25 years we never had a tick and never treated for them, but in the past year they have suddenly appeared on the property in force. I hope you can cut a good refinance deal. We live in a double wide with improvements which was paid off years ago. Overall I'm happy that we opted for a minimal house on acreage instead of something more expensive. Our little house is warm and dry and adequate, although I would like a fancier kitchen and better internet access.

Saef, I don't envy you an authoritarian manager. I left my last dept 7 years ago to escape one of those. She still probably makes more than I do, but my one consolation is that she gained a lot of weight, which I know bugs her, and I lost a lot of weight, which probably bugs her more I think it is fantastic that you did not gain weight after your accident, and you are actually losing a significant amount lately!

Becky, congrats for making the decision that is best for your health and life in general. I think it was a good choice! Now practice relaxing.

Sharon and Allison, congrats on the graduating offspring! Despite offering to pay our son's way through college, he could never get focused enough to progress. Now he's 21 and the Army is paying for his training to be a helicopter turbine engine mechanic. He seems very happy and is tops in his class so far I guess he just needed the structure the military can provide.

Allison, I think I would donate the RV just to get rid of the headache and the expenses. But I see a lot of RVs on the road, so I would think if you drop the price enough you'll find a buyer. You just have to figure out if the savings in taxes is more than a cheap selling price. We don't itemize our deductions so I can't help you there.

Ladies and gents, forgive me a little pity party. The weather turned cool and rainy. I am tired, feel beat up by work, am all achy. All I want is to eat fist fulls of sweets to give me energy for the rest of the day.

Oh, and I just yelled at my kid and sent him to his room for disobedience. The kid I need to start homeschool lessons with about right now...yuck. I want to crawl under a rock.

I suppose sugar isn't going to totally improve this whole situation.

Georgette, I came home from work at 6 pm, took 2 younger DS's to music lessons from 7-8 pm, got home with them close to 8:30 then started to review youngest DS's spelling words with him. Got a HUGE tantrum from 8:30 to 8:45 about my ridiculous expectation that he spell the words out loud, and that I insist he attempt re-spelling the ones he got wrong until he gets them right. Yes, even if that means trying it 3 times [sigh]. Oh, how I wanted fistfuls of almonds and apple chips. Instead, I've locked myself in my room to prevent a recap of last Tuesday's evening binging. So far so good, but man life is hard.

Georgette- pity party is permitted. Better to talk about it than hold it in and then eat it out!
Michelle - I'm no mortgage expert but I think you will be okay - if possible try to contact a mortgage lender now. The rates are pretty good right now. My DS and his GF (future wife) are buying a house and they got a great rate.


Georgette & Andrea - You are doing just what you have to do, as hard as it is. But you know that! Glad my kids are grown. I've blocked out all of those battles - sort of like childbirth, you forget that it actually hurt. My 10 pound babies just popped out!

Isn't it so frustrating that when you feel bad, you want to eat sweets (or whatever your vice is) and then after you do, you feel even worse? Yet we still continue to do it! We've had a series of plumbing leaks lately and my DH handles all of that department. I'm the computer/network person of the house - and he's all other things! But anyway, we got the 3rd leak fixed a week ago and were happy it wasn't too expensive and didn't damage walls, like the first two did. Then yesterday we get a call from the guy who cuts the lawn... there is a pipe burst outside - water gushing -- a pipe that goes into our house! Poor DH had to rush home to turn off water in the middle of his busy day and then try to fix it last night. House is 23 years old and we need to get it replumbed at the cost of several thousand. At least DD is done with school. It could have happened in the last 4 years so I guess we are "lucky" there.
Anyway, DH wanted to go get dessert after that stressful day/evening and so I did. I was okay because I had run 5 miles in the morning, but worried about him.

Well, I didn't make it through the evening unscathed. Instead of the "hard stuff" (candy etc), I ended up eating multiple servings of white rice (sugar once-removed). But, there was an end, I took care of myself in other ways too (skipped the monthly church meeting and watched a movie with son). My weight is the same this AM, and hopefully if I eat light today it will stay that way. My linear trend line has been pointing down for a few days on my excel weight tracker, this is the longest streak I have had.

Andrea, yes, those dumb power struggles. I avoid them as much as possible. How old are your kids?

I really don't care if my son gets a high paying job or goes to a good college or even skips it, as long as he has the skills to follow what he wants and to enjoy people, his life, and his body/physical existence....the "unschooly" homeschool mantra, sort of. But we do get into it. He has a very stubborn and antagonistic bent in his personality, and I do better if I can come up along side it rather than meet it head-on. But we have a code "that's orders from headquarters" and that means instant obedience is required. And he has really been pushing against that lately. Time to batten down the hatches!

Sharon, thanks for endorsing my pity party! Things are always worse when work feels out of control. Loose ends will really get to me. Also, the cool weather makes me feel achy and grouchy too. So I'm set up. Best prevention is a plan for me today:

Breakfast-omlet
S-fruit and cheese
L-tacos with beans-better pack this and take to work, as I'm working late today without much break.
S-smoothie
D-Big Salad with Salmon
Ds-ice cream sundae.