Doggy Duty.

So far, the holiday weekend has been low-key, but really fun. Saturday started with a trip to the vet for Lilly's annual checkup and a further investigation into some ongoing ear problems, which had spread their way to her eye area and had me really, really worried. Lilly is part Labrador, which means she has "down ears", or ears that have no exposure to sun/healthy wind and therefore are a breeding ground for gross diseases. She has had ear infections in the past, but nothing that hadn't cleared itself up. Last week, her ears look horrible, her right eye had developed a bald patch around it, and her right paw was equally infected-looking. We hauled her in to the vet Saturday morning in search of answers. A hundred and eighty bucks later, we left with 4 types of medication and a referral for a checkup in 10 to 14 days. Somehow, my lovely pooch has managed to harvest 3 types of bacteria in her ears. She is on antibiotics morning and night, a medicated cleansing solution every other day, and prescription ear drops twice daily. Administering these meds is no easy task, but so far she has been a trooper. I think she might feel bad about how much money she cost us, but mostly I think she wants her ears to be better, too, so she's behaving for now. Deane is a champ and said if I take care of the doggy routine for the duration of the medication period, he will take over all my other household chores. Score!

On Saturday afternoon, we hit the lanes for Deane's brothers (31st) birthday party. Bowling is a sport I have never loved, solely based on the v. public admission of shoe size. But a few pitchers in, I was convinced to bowl a few frames (see picture above). I have no idea what I scored, but I do know that I am happy to have discovered Cosmic Bowling. For 2 hours, the bowling alley turned off the lights, turned up the blacklights, and lowered 2 projection screens which featured the latest and greatest in tween pop music videos. Lots of Hannah, Jordin, NSync (Bye Bye Bye!), Jesse, and HSM. I was in Efron/Timberlake/McCartney heaven. I was also happy to partake in some delicious birthday cookie cake, modeled here by Deane's nephew Felipe:

Another fun discovery was a bowling pin-shaped table, which, after more of the aforementioned pitchers, I insisted on having a photo shoot on. Thankfully (for you, the reader) those photos will never be published, but here is one of Deane hanging from this table (which I still plan on stealing at some point).
Sometime during the fun on Saturday, we were tipped off that the judges and some of the crew from American Idol was staying at the one of the upscale hotels on Amelia Island. Ever a slave to potential celebrity sightings, I hightailed it home for a quick flat iron, doggy meds distro, and outfit change. Deane and I hit the upscale bar for some lovely cocktails, but sadly, no Seacrest or Cowell photos were obtained. The weekend is still young, and I am still hopeful!

Tomorrow we plan on hitting the beach before Hanna and the next crop of hurricanes head our way. Tonight I am working away on Anakin's blanket, and deciding how long it really needs to be. I am also counting down the days until the Gossip Girl and OTH premieres (1), 90210 comes back to life (2), the Colts hit the field for regular season play (7), and DLO Country Extravaganza Weekend (12). Here's hoping everyone enjoys their Labor Day!