Odysseys and Oddities

Tortia is dead.

I'm going to go snuggle my remaining furballs now.

1. A couple of weeks ago, my eldest cat Tortia became obviously ill - she went from just over 8 pounds to just over 5 pounds. Took her in to the vet, who said she had an infection that was most likely caused by the condition of her teeth (she's 15 and has never had her teeth cleaned). So, got her teeth cleaned. That, plus the bloodwork, antibiotics, and various exams, ran us about $400. Worth every penny, of course, because after a couple days on the antibiotics she was more energetic and social than she'd been in months; this infection must have been getting gradually worse for some time.

2. Then there was Squeaker's bladder issues. That, plus the antibiotics, ran us about $350 (this is out-of-pocket AFTER the insurance did their thing). The part that irks me about that? After all the trauma to the baby and the high expense, there was nothing wrong, at least nothing they could find. No infection. I spent $150 on an antibiotic that I ended up tossing out, and $200 for a completely unnecessary surgical procedure. ARGH. I mean, of course we didn't know that at the time, but man it's irritating to discover that in hind-sight!

3. Yesterday, I discover that Tortia is peeing blood. So this morning, I must take her in for a urinalysis. On cats, this must be done via catheterization -- that'll be another $200, I'm sure. On a good note, her symptoms (the blood, straining to pee, frequent visits to the litter box where nothing much happens) are consistent with cystitis, which is treatable with diet alone. We'll see what the vet says this afternoon.

4. When I went out to the garage this morning to get the cat carrier? Water everywhere. Water heater sprung a leak during the night. Plumber just came -- $800 to replace it.

ARGH

I know, none of this is life-threatening or world-ending, and everything turns out in the end. But we are on a tight budget as we are pouring everything we can into reducing our debt as fast as possible, in case I lose my job due to the buyout, and so what's the first thing that happens? Lots of high-dollar issues that must be paid for with the credit card, thereby increasing the debt.

*sigh* Murphy, please go away and bother someone else now!!

Starting october 1, an Army combat brigade will now be stationed on home soil....for USE on home soil. Not the National Guard...but an actual Army unit.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/

It also strikes me as odd that I haven't heard anything about this in the news anywhere?

This week's damage to the book budget is mostly a round out (raise your hand if you see a theme!):

Hell and Earth by Elizabeth Bear

Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear

Dust by Elizabeth Bear

New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear

Misspelled edited by Julie Czerneda

1003 Great Things About Being Jewish collected by Lisa Birnbach, Ann Hodgman, and Polly Stone

The only Bear book I'm missing (that I want) is All the Windwracked Stars which is on pre-order.

Yay!

But my TBR pile is slowly climbing and between work, school, & child, I have no time to read. Well, I suppose I'll get through it eventually. Looking forward to it, that's for sure.

....of pee in a cup!

Took her back in this morning, after managing to get a total of two drops in the sample cup. I was dreading it, just sure that it was going to be a repeat of yesterday (but at least with results, as I was pushing fluids like we were heading to the Sahara).

We got to the office and the doctor told us, since it was early in the day, rather than last thing in the evening like yesterday, we could take our time and see if we could get a sample in the cup. So I took her pants & diaper off in the exam room and proceeded to watch her like a hawk. LOL, she was getting so irritated with me -- every time there was the least little indication that she had to pee, there I was "Do you have to pee-pee? Do you? No pressure, really, but do you have to pee?? No? Well then how about you drink a little more of this cranberry juice?"

Finally, she actually said yes, so I whipped open that sterile wipe, cleaned her off, and then got the sample cup practically suctioned in on her.....and, success!!!

I was so happy. I'm not sure she understood exactly why I was so happy, but she appreciated the excitement.

Unfortunately, they couldn't actually find any definitive signs of an infection in the urine. There were white blood cells, though, so they're sending it off to be cultured and starting her on antibiotics to be on the safe side -- if the culture comes back negative, we'll stop the ABs.

Also, I seem to have lucked out on a daughter who will actually drink unsweetened cranberry juice. That may have helped, as yesterday her urine was dark yellow and cloudy, and today it was almost the same color as plain water.

But she seems in less discomfort already, and there was no more baby torture in the doctor's office! Yay! Oh, and she does not seem to have been particularly traumatized by the events -- she marched on into the office just like her usual cheery self and even gave the nurse a hug!

So ends the story of the pee :o) (Well, hopefully anyway)

When I picked her up at school today, Squeaker ran to me crying, which is very very odd. She kept saying she had to pee, and cry. I got her to go on the potty I keep in the car (yes, I keep a potty in my car. I have a toddler who is potty-training, what else should I do?), and she cried the whole time, kept saying it hurt. And it STANK.
So as soon as we got home, I called the doctor and they said bring her in. So I told her we had to go to the doctor and she said "Go to the doctor and get tushie all better?" Which made me laugh and almost cry at the same time.
We race there and of course she can't produce anything. Can you guess what that means? Yep, fun times -- catheterizing the 2.5 year old.
I had to help hold her down. She's screaming, "Mommy, Mommy, no no no, ow ow ow, it hurts, stop stop stop," and I'm trying not to cry 'cause I figure that would just make it worse. But they couldn't get the damn thing into her bladder, and they'd pull it out and she'd look at me with that red, wet face and ask "Done now, Mommy? All done?" And I'd have to say "No, sweetie, just a little more."
And finally they WERE done, but only because they couldn't get anything -- there was no urine in her to collect.
So I have to take her back there tomorrow so they can do it AGAIN. Unless I can get her to not only pee in the cup in the morning, but also hold it long enough for me to clean her before she goes. Who am I kidding? I'm going to try, but I'm not holding my breath.

I've been through this myself: from when I was 8 until I was about 25, I got chronic UTIs, and not only was catheterized but also underwent several procedures trying to determine if I had renal damage. I just keep telling myself that although it is uncomfortable it is not really excruciating, and it is fleeting -- as soon as the catheter is in place and not moving around anymore it stops hurting, and removal of the tube after collection is an odd sensation but not painful.

But it doesn't really help when I'm listening to her scream in my arms and I know I can't do anything to help.

I really like Jeff Dunham, but I've never seen this one...."Silence!!! I keeel you!!"

I'm getting the silent treatment.

How old are we now again?

LOL

I went to the bookstore, I went to the bookstore :-)
I haven't had much of a chance to get to the bookstore lately, although I've been getting my fix off Bookmooch. But last night I managed it!

I am now the proud owner of:
The Vampire Files I by P.N. Elrod
The Vampire Files II by P.N. Elrod
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Fables : Volume 2 by Bill Willingham
Fables : Volume 3 by Bill Willingham

And 4 new books for Squeaker. Her library is growing pretty rapidly!

I don't know WTH it is today, but I would just like to kill something.
Not enough sleep is part of it.
I'm sure PMS is playing a role.
Usually I'm pretty collected, especially with Squeaker, but today, just about everything is getting on my nerves.

*sigh*
Have to register for school tomorrow. Classes start on the 25th. Oh yay, more stress!

In two weeks, I am going to try to go off the Lexapro again. In 6 weeks, I am going off BCP again. Boy, I'm sure I will be a pure and simple joy to be around!

Heh....although I have been so thankful for the Lexapro since I started taking it 2 years ago, it definitely has an impact on my libido. So hubby is rather looking forward to that. When I reminded him that in all likelihood I would shortly become Bitch on Wheels again, he looked so damn conflicted I almost choked.

1) My daughter has little interest in the Disney princesses. Oh, she recognizes them, but is not obsessed with them. I *think* she may have seen The Little Mermaid once, and I'm sure she'll see the rest eventually, but right now, she could care less.*
2) Her favorite movies are Ice Age and Bug's Life. Oh, and Shrek. None of which I am particularly averse to.
3) Her favorite TV show is Word World. Although she certainly recognizes Dora & Diego (probably from her time at an in-home babysitter, because I've never turned it on at home.), she's not obsessed with them either, thank G-d.
4) Although she does like to play with her babies, her toy kitchen, and her dollhouse, she spends just as much time playing with her blocks, Legos, and Schleich animal figures. (not to mention the toy knight, dragon, and elven princess Momma just had to sneak in there!)
5) Last but not least, she loves her books!

* I don't have anything against the frilly girly stuff, although I'm more of tomboy-type myself. It's just that I think the Disney princesses are CRAP for example-types, not to mention the horrible things that Disney did to the already-toned-down fairy tales themselves.

Yesterday was Open House (Meet the Teacher) at Squeaker's preschool, so both M & I went. Was good to see how she spends her time and what they do, and hear about how she's doing. But then the teacher asked us if we were family. M & I looked at each other like "what?" and I answered, "Well, yes, he's my husband."

And she said, "No, I mean are you cousins or something? You look a lot alike."

O.O

(For the record, I don't think we look that much alike -- we both have dark hair and dark eyes, but that's about it.)

And *yawn* This is totally what happened at my house this morning:


Or would have anyway, if I hadn't gotten myself out of bed!

Now, I'm off to go play with the new toy we got yesterday ... a Wii!!

Oh, and one more thing : to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, Thank you! It was kind of a sad and unpleasant day, and receiving those really helped cheer me up :)

Someday I will remember that nobody wants to take the time to come out to my house.
Someday I will learn that regardless of what "plans" are made, some people will never keep them.
Someday I will remember that there will always be an excuse why I am not important enough.
Someday I will learn not to get my hopes up.

Women's sabre team nets USA's first gold by taking gold, silver, AND bronze!

Yay for our fencing team :)

Fencing is a lot tougher than it looks. I did epee in high school & college (just took classes, never competed), and you leave those training sessions feeling like a limp rubber band. Especially the inner thighs -- holding en garde for any period of time will let you know about muscles you never knew you had.

This is my aunt's Etsy store. She does really beautiful work -- jewelry of one kind of another (earrings & bracelets mostly at the moment) that incorporates beadwork and some of her original artwork. I think I've posted links to her galleries for her paintings previously, but this is much more accessible format for her work, for most everyday people.

Cherry Icing

( Here are some samples of pieces incorporating her paintings: )

...ain't that the truth...

Squeaker started preschool on Monday. She goes 3 days a week (MWF) from 8:30 to 3. For the next couple weeks, she'll be home with me on Tuesday & Thursday, but when the ISD starts up, she'll go back to her babysitter on Tuesday & Thursday, and I will be back to having a whole work week without a child! *gasp* Imagine how much I will get done! It is HARD trying to switch gears from parenting to work at the drop of a hat.

But let's see, when I left her at preschool on Monday, she was screaming "MOOOOOOMMMMY!" It just about killed me having to leave her. But when I went back to pick her up, they told me she calmed down almost as soon as I was out of sight, and had a great day. And she agreed, when I asked her. Today she was headed toward being upset when I dropped her off, but I reminded her "Remember, you'll be here and have fun and learn things, and then Mommy will come back to pick you up this afternoon." And she said "OK" and put on her brave face. And when I picked her up, she came running down the hall to me and said "MOMMY! I'm here to pick you up!" And then "I so happy to see you!" And my heart went *melt*.

Later, after we got home, I heard her say "I so excited to see you!" So I asked her "Oh, are you excited to see Mommy?" Her response : "No. I telling Weebles I happy to play wit dem."

Heh. Put me in my place!

A little while ago, we moved her out of the crib into a toddler bed, as her jumping in the crib was getting dangerous. About a week later, I installed a knob lock on the inside of her bedroom door (so she can't open the door from inside) due to the following occurrence:

Four AM
Mommy : *sleeping*
Mommy : *still sleeping, tosses head, trying to get cat off face*
Mommy : *still sleeping, but starting to wake up as cat is getting REALLY annoying*
Mommy : "GAH!!!!" as eyelids are pried open by little hands, and there is a face RIGHT THERE, where there should not be a face

Apparently, I'm so used to the cats crawling all over me at night, that I did not wake up when Squeaker climbed up onto the bed, climbed up me and sat on my chest, and began patting my face. I didn't wake up until she literally grabbed my eyelids and started peering in there.

So now she's locked in her room at night, because who knows what she could get into wandering around the house in the middle of the night?

But after I put her to bed, I usually see little fingers sticking out from under the door several times. The dog goes to sniff, the fingers disappear and I hear "Yeek!" over the monitor, and her bed goes "fwmph" as she hurls herself back onto it. But hey, at least we're getting a routine going!

School starts again on the 25th. *sigh* I was seriously debating just dropping the program, especially since I didn't finish last semester. But dang, I've come this far, I've got to finish it off now!

Get some of these

And some of these

And learn how to make yarn. And perhaps learn how to knit. Or make more friends who know how to knit and would be willing to make me things.

Also, maybe have some milk-goats, because I love goats' milk cheese.

*sigh*

First, I guess we'd better get out of debt and save up to buy some land! I would really love to someday live somewhere I can have some animals, and I've always thought goats were just the greatest.

Somewhere along the line in the last 8 years, I've gained a lot of weight. Mostly, this is the result of sitting on my butt -- once I quit working the night shift, I quit spending 3 hours a day at the gym, and amazingly enough, I gained weight, imagine that.

I've been waiting for the new gym near us to open up, and then was waiting for specials on the memberships. That happened today, so I'm now a member of a gym again. Yay me!

My primary issue in relation to food is time & organization. I know what I need to do to eat healthy, I have tons of recipes & plans, etc....but between work, child, school, pets, and a husband who is no help at all with any of the day-to-day life stuff, I don't have time. If I remember to eat, it's usually whatever crap is fastest. Not to say that I ate fast food or whatnot, my diet was basically healthy, just heavy on the starches and carbs (breads, pasta, & fruit), and not so good on the healthier carbs (like veggies) and protein.

In the interest of kind of kick starting things while I try to get my time management and organizational skills under control (and also for the next month until Squeaker is out of the house during the workday 5 days a week again), I signed up for a program called Deliciously Yours. It's a meal-delivery program, but it uses fresh foods that require refrigeration, instead of processed, packaged crap like NutriSystem or frozen foods like WeightWatchers or Jenny Craig. It's pricey, but I figured I should choose something that included foods I would actually eat. All I have to do is pull things out of the fridge and pop them in the microwave if I want them warmed up, and pour myself a glass of milk and maybe cut up some fruit.

The week's food arrived yesterday, so I started today. So far, so good. Tasty, for the most part, although they seem to like to season things fairly heavily, which I'm not such a big fan of. And easy! Right now I'm on the 7-day plan, but will probably switch to the 5-day at the end of the month, so that I can make and eat meals with M & Squeaker on the weekends.

Tomorrow will be the first day at the gym. Oh, and I took my bike in for servicing last week, it should be ready on Monday. Of course, not a chance in hell I'm going to be out riding around much until it is less than 100 degrees, but hey, it'll be nice when October or November rolls around!

And not in a good way.

The pool and the lake are tepid. We're staying inside as much as possible -- I don't want to go out for anything. We ate yogurt and fruit for dinner tonight because I don't even want to cook. Hell, I don't even want to toast a bagel!

*sigh*

I hate summer in Texas. I've been dreaming of moving to Colorado for years now, and every summer it just gets worse.