"Avec ceci?"

Avid Reader, my travels have brought me back to one of my favorite places in the world: Paris. There's just something about this city that's familiar and grounding and comfortable and charming. It amazes me that in my youth I was always so nervous to come here, but now it feels oddly like a second home. I feel like I know Paris. Understand her.

Sadly, I cannot claim to have had an amazing day of adventure, though realize that just being here is. For example, after checking in, I thought to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be lovely to enjoy jambon fromage in the sun in a beautiful park somewhere enjoying the sights of Paris?". Then made it happen! The hotel isn't three blocks from Champs de Mars, so my light therapy was watching people (this DS-playing trio was a HOOT!) and enjoying what might be the best food on the planet in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

All in all, not a bad day, eh? People ask me a lot about my work and my travels and I find myself saying 'it's a lot less romantic than it sounds'. And, Avid Reader, it is. I'm jet-lagged, back-ached, and Copper-missing.

However, these adventures make my life incredibly rich; I am incredibly thankful.

A "Special" Form of Colitis

Taken from: Mar Vista Vet; (COMMENTS MINE)
HISTIOCYTIC ULCERATIVE COLITIS - A SPECIAL FORM OF COLITIS

This condition is also called "Boxer Colitis" (WHAT?!) because the Boxer breed seems predisposed. This form of colitis is particularly ulcerative (SUPER... "particularly ulcerative"...) and involves infiltration of the tender colon lining with cells called "histiocytes." These cells are the cells that are normally called into the scene of inflammation relatively late so that they can absorb the dead cells and debris that have been created by the inflammatory event.

Dogs with this condition typically show symptoms at an early age (less than 2 years)(DAMMIT! Copper qualifies!) and become more debilitated by their symptoms than the usual colitis patients do (NO KIDDING). It is currently believed that this condition results from an inappropriate immune response against the common bacteria of the colon. Dogs with this form of colitis do not respond well to the usual remedies but instead seem to show an excellent response to the antibiotic enrofloxacin.

Histiocytic ulcerative colitis can be confirmed by biopsy though signs of colitis in a young Boxer are highly suggestive of this condition (AND MY BOXER HAS IT -- BOO!).

Don't mean to gross you out, Avid Reader, but indeed Histiocytic Ulcerative Colitis has likely descended on the Moore household. Poor Copper is el-sicko and has been for the past week. She was having VD (volcanic diarrhea) as of last weekend and blood began to show in her stool as of last Monday. She started a couple of meds this week that only stablized the condition, but it never improved. After some blood-free samples, Copper took a turn for the worse today and I took her in only to have more probing (Copper took it like a champ!), more meds and her first x-rays. We're on what I call "horse meds" now as she's getting Clydesdale doses of anti-bacterials now. But more white rice/cottage cheese meals, runny diarrhea, and colon challenges for Copper. Cross your fingers she improves for her first birthday party in three weeks!

SOUNDERS! SOUNDERS! SOUNDERS!

Since I haven't been on the road in a few weeks, I've been able to have adventures at home of late. The biggest adventure being the start of the SoundersFC 2010 campaign! Which also means Guy Time(!), pre-funcs at the DoubleHeader(!) and furious rounds of Screw Your Neighbor(!)!

We're 2-1 at home this season -- with a 2-0 MLS Opener against expansion team Philadelphia Union, a 0-1 loss to New York Red Bulls, and an amazing 1-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards this past weekend. Bottomline, love our tickets, love pomp & circumstance, love the game! GO SOUNDERS!

Happy Birthday, Amy Weaver!

We celebrated Amy's birthday on Friday with a small night out at FONDI -- one of our favorite pizza places! I don't get to see Jace Paulson as often as I like (every minute of every day), so it was fun to get to celebrate with him as he continues to become a little man! He's definitely in to birthdays now and even picked out a card for Amy for her big day. A fan of surprises, he also told her what was on the card before she even opened in... "GURRAFFE! GURRAFFE!".

All this is to say... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY!

(In even more recent JaceMan news, this 28-month-old is an official COWBOY and rode is first horse! Check out the video on Jesse & Steph's blog and be sure to listen closely at the end to his pronouncement!)

Pleasant Surprise!

I got a pleasant surprise in my email inbox yesterday -- this photo!

On New Year's Eve, we celebrated lunch at Biergarten Restaurant in "Germany" at Epcot's World Showcase. At our communal table, we had a great time with some honeymooners from the midwest (Chicago?) as well as a couple with their 7-year-old son. We took photos of the entire gang and promised to email photos when we returned to our home towns. I was horrible and sent my photos off in late January and forgot all about others that might be coming...

It was a pleasant suprise and reminder of an awesome week in DisneyWorld with John & Amy!