Thursday, December 19, 2013

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas time once again.  And once again we had to do the dance of when and where are we spending Christmas Eve.  Since my family and HDT's mom celebrate on the 24th it's always an issue of time.  Usually we're at my families in the late morning into afternoon/evening then leave there to go to his mom's for the rest of the night.  His dad has had Christmas Day since his parents split up.

But every so often the holiday falls just right that we can move one of them to the 23rd.  I know my family has done it at least a couple times over the last 15 years.  His mom we were able to convince to do it in 2011. 

After much discussion it turns out this Sunday the 22nd actually ended up being a good day for my family to get together.  Better even than the 24th after all was said and done.  I'm a little disappointed his mom didn't seem more pleased that she gets the 24th afterall.  But whatever. 

We have all but two of the kids gifts completed.  Bought a Santa figure for his mom but that's more of a side gift.  We're looking at printers for her since she could use one.  Have no idea what to do for my mom or his dad and Dorothy.  And we only have a couple days left.  Ugh.

Anyway....

So today at work is our at work Christmas party.  As in we get lunch and do the White Elephant game which we started doing last year.  And this year we added an ugly sweater contest.  No way will I win, knew it going in.  And definitely when one of the girls came in with her homemade sweater.  She cut out a Christmas tree shape from another sweater, an ugly green material and attached it to a red sweater she had.  Put a bunch of jingle bells of different sizes on it as ornaments.  Then framed it with gold tinsel that also has shiny green holly leaves in it.  And she's wearing a headband with a reindeer sticking up on it.  Yeah, I can't imagine her not winning.

I brought in my Scensty warmer and put in iced pine for the scent up by the tree in the front of the office.  So we're set for a great afternoon. 

And I don't mind not winning although the basket looks to be a good one.  Our boss made up a basket with some chocolates, a snow globe, a candle, a bottle of wine, a gift card to Starbucks and some other things that I can't remember right now.  So although I would like to get the basket I'm ok that I won't since I got the last one.

In November before Thanksgiving we had a contest when the Bears played the Ravens.  We had to pick who would win and what the score would be.  I chose the Bears and the score as 24 to 17.  It ended up being 23 to 20.  I was only off by 4 points so I won the Yule log 



So in that basket there was a bunch of chocolate items, cashews which I gave to HDT since I don't care for them, the movie Water for Elephants, a scented candle, a Starbucks gift card, a gift card to an Italian deli/restaurant down the street from our office and a bottle of champagne.  All told according to our boss it was around $80.00 worth of stuff.  Nice. So yeah, I'm ok if I don't get another one.

__________________________

UPDATE:

So we had our lunch and white elephant game and this is what I got:


It's really cute so at first I was disappointed that it wasn't a true white elephant gift.  But when I put the shade on and it's all tilted I was all, ok this works.  It's still cute but you can tell it's been in someone's storage for awhile.  We haven't done the sweater yet but that'll be soon.


Media quote of the day:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas - Judy Garland in Meet Me in St Louis

Thursday, October 31, 2013

I had some trouble with the scissors

Happy Halloween!!!



Media quote of the day;

I got a rock - Charlie Brown

Friday, October 18, 2013

WOOHOO!!!!!!

So, I just got a call from the nurse navigator regarding my biopsies.  I recognized the number but was in the middle of something so let it go to voicemail.  I figured they were just calling to confirm my appointment at 3:00 today.  But she says she was calling to discuss the results.  When I heard that I took the phone away from my ear because I didn't want to hear bad news over the phone.  But then noticed she kept talking so I figured I better listen in case they wanted me to come in sooner.  So I went ahead and started it from the beginning and everything came back benign.  So yeah, total relief. 

She continued to say that she was trying to connect me with the doctor so he and I could discuss the results and also the sites on the breasts and determine if I actually need to go in at 3:00. 

I first called HDT to give him the good news then called the nurse back.  I got her voicemail this time so left her a message to call me back.  So far she hasn't so hopefully soon.

WOOHOO!


UPDATE:  So they called back and I spoke with both the nurse and the doctor.  The doc said again that everything came back benign.  I have a fibroadenoma in the right breast and a benign fibrocystic change in the left.  Both nothing to worry about and they're common.

I guess there is something else in one of them, can't remember which now and didn't write it down when he said it that they want me to come back in six months to take another look at.  But right now it's nothing to worry about.

So yay, cancer free!!!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Quick update on biopsies

So I had my biopsies yesterday.  A stereotactic one on the right breast for the calcifications and an ultrasound for the dense mass on the left.  I'll get my results on Friday at 3:00.  Ugh, I hate having to wait.

The right breast was pretty darn easy.  No issues while doing the procedure and little to no bruising.  My left on the other hand is a different story.  The needle used was different and I don't know if it was that or what but the first sample he took he must have just nicked a vein.  Apparently it happens because there are so many in the breasts.  Anyway, it bled and he started applying major pressure right away to stop it.  I had no idea that had happened yet, just that he was mashing down my breast and it was NOT pleasant.  But eventually the bleeding stopped and he was able to continue.  Took about four more samples then had the nurse apply pressure with an ice pack again to make sure I didn't get a hematoma.  It's very bruised and a little warm now but no hematomo at least. 

Besides going to the grocery store to get a few things we did a bunch of nothing for the rest of the day.  I sat on my ass resting watching tv.  They didn't want me to do anything at all that could cause an issue and I wasn't to lift anything over 10lbs.  HDT was very good about not letting me do that. 

I had my neurology appointment this morning to discuss my abdominal pain with him to see if it could be abdominal migraines.  It's not.  The doc says that those are mostly nausea with some pain but not real bad.  Mine are very bad pain with nausea.  And also I had some episodes while on a preventive for the head migraines so it's very unlikely they would've occurred then.

So they're still a mystery and we'll go from here and just monitor them as they occur.

Good times.

no media quote today.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Bad stuff and ending with good stuff

So, what's been happening in peanutheadville?  Well let me tell you.

A month ago on Sept. 7th I had one of my stomach pain episodes.  Since about '07/'08 I'll get real bad stomach pains over on the left side.  I get nauseated and almost always vomit.  Within minutes the pain starts to dissipate and then next thing I know it's completely gone and it's like nothing ever happened.  It was just about a year between the first and second time and around 6 months or a little more until the third time.  After that it would happen several months apart, usually 5 - 7 months or so.  But so far this year it's happened four times.  Early part of the year, May, end of July (27th actually) and then last month. 

On the 27th I started getting the pains in the middle of the afternoon and it continued to slowly get worse as the day wore on.  By night it was real bad and I finally started to feel sick although I didn't vomit until I finally forced myself to in hopes it would get better.  Took just over an hour for it to.  But sure enough as usual by the time it was gone and the next day for sure it was like it never happened. But I decided that if it was that bad again I'd finally go to the ER.  On 9/7 it got that bad.

Actually it was worse.  Although the pain didn't take a long time to get worse, it got worse right away.  And the nausea was even worse.  This time I vomited a lot, mostly on it's own but a few times I helped it along. Instead of getting better it only got worse.  So I went to the ER.  They did blood and urine tests.  All came out just fine.  Then they did a CT scan.  Nothing was shown but gall stones in the gall bladder.  But the bladder itself was not inflamed.  They put me on pain meds and nausea medicine then when it finally got a little better sent me home with prescriptions for both.  The pain and nausea lasted well into the night.  But I was slightly better by the next day.  Only had to take a pain pill once and no nausea medicine at all.

But that started the ball rolling to find out what's going on.  Had another CT scan with and without contrast.  It showed more stones than the original scan and some fluid around the gall bladder by the liver.  It also showed cysts in the ovaries.  So then I had an abdominal ultrasound and a pelvic one. The abdominal showed that the gall bladder wasn't that bad really.  It isn't the cause of my pain.  My doctor says we'll just monitor it when it happens.  If the pain ever moves to the right side or even to the middle of the stomach area then we'll take another look at the gall bladder but otherwise we have no knowledge for the pain.

The pelvic ultrasound shows the cysts are simple and of no concern.  But apparently I have a fibroid tissue but it's of little to no concern.  It's quite small and benign right now.  But apparently I have a 1cm "something" right in the middle of my pelvis area.  The ultrasound can't tell what it is.  So I have to have that looked into.  Yay.

The abdominal also found a small "spot" in my left breast.  Luckily I already had my mammogram appointment scheduled.  So I did that last Monday the 30th.  They called me back for more images this past Monday the 7th.  So I did more pictures from different angles then they did an ultrasound of each breast.  They found I have a calcification cluster in my right breast.  Normally calcifications aren't anything to worry about if they're spread throughout the breast but when they're clustered together they need to take another look.  They need to see if it's cancerous and if it is is it benign or not.  In my left breast there is a dense mass that they can't tell what it is. 

So I'm having a biopsy on each breast next Wednesday.  Scary but at the same time I'm very optimistic that it all will turn out just fine.  Having read the pamphlets they gave for each kind of biopsy I'm having has reassured me that in 80% of the cases it's benign.  Those are extremely good odds.  But I took the whole day off from work anyway cause it's gonna be stressful despite those odds.
_______________________________

The other big thing that happened since the last time I updated....

On October 6th I had my 18/8 anniversary with my hubby HDiTty.  We got married on our 10th anniversary so hence the 18/8. 

We went to the Saints/Bears game in Chicago.  It was a beautiful day with a beautiful win by our team the Saints!  Afterward we went out to dinner at the restaurant where he proposed.  Then we went home to watch "our" movie The Princess Bride.  We watch it every year on our anniversary or as close to it as possible if for some reason we miss it on the actual day.

Media quote of the day:  Main/famous sayings from The Princess Bride

As you wish - Wesley
Farm boy - Buttercup
Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father, prepare to die - Inigo Montoya
My way isn't very sportsman like - Fezzik
Inconceivable - Vizzini

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Brendan Dolan

I originally posted this several years ago and since then some of my links are no longer in use, I've deleted them so as not to confuse anyone.  I've left the numbers at the ends of the paragraphs to show that this information came from those other sources though. 


Brendan Dolan
Age 37
Glen Rock, N.J.
World Trade Center, 92nd Floor

These are the basic facts that I have to go from to form a tribute to Brendan. Not much really, how do I go about building a tribute that would be fitting? I will do my best.

A few more basics but at the same time such important facts: He was a loving husband to Stacey Dolan and a doting father to Sarah Danielle and Samantha Nicole.

If I weren't able to find out anything more than that about Brendan it would still be ok because really, that information is the most important. He was a devoted family man that told his older brother Charles, "Forget business, you don't get it yet. Work will never bring you the kind of satisfaction you'll have from a family." (1)

Brendan was the Senior Vice President at Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. On that fateful day they had a meeting that brought in many of their employees that normally would not have been there. They had a total of 68 people in their office two floors below the impact of the plane. They were trapped on their floor unable to get out. They sought refuge on the West side but a raging fire was coming straight for them from the North side. All 68 people were lost. (2)

Brendan played football in school, he was the quarterback. He used those skills when it came to his relationships with family, friends, coworkers and clients. Although according to Brendan he didn't have clients, he only had friends. Now that's some kind of man. (3) I found the following on Newsday.com's website:

(Stacey) recalled her husband as a generous person who had a keen sense of humor. "He had a very awesome presence," she said. "His clients were all his friends. They were very fond of him."
As I mentioned in the post below, I remember so much about that day. One of those things is seeing the people who would rather leap out of the buildings rather than stay in one that's raging with fire. According to one of the sites I went to while researching Brendan, he had to see it first hand. A coworker was on the phone with his wife and she asked him if they could get out. His coworker let her know that they were trapped and they saw people falling by the windows. I felt awful while only seeing it on tv, so awful I had to look away at the very beginning of it. I don't even want to imagine what Brendan and his coworkers had to have felt. Especially for a man as compassionate and so obviously a lover of his fellow man.
Along with Douglas D. Ketchum I will now remember Brendan Dolan. It has warmed my heart every time I see that someone has come to my site through searching for Douglas and it in turn helps me to remember him. I can't wait to have those same feelings for Brendan.
I can only hope this was a fitting enough tribute. I know it really wasn't much for the most part, and I do apologize for that. Please click on all my links to learn more about this wonderful man.

(1)
Portraits 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times

Douglas D. Ketcham

I had originally done this post several years ago, I've updated the date to bring it to the forefront.












It's been 5 years but it seems like it just happened. I didn't know anyone that was injured let alone perished but it still affected me deeply.

I remember leaving work to go get my 13" tv to bring back so we could have up to date information since the radio station we were listening to wasn't doing so and the internet was basically locked up. On my way home the south tower fell, I had to pull over, the tears were coming too hard and fast.

I remember finally making it home and my boyfriend was on the couch watching tv but not a channel that had the coverage. He didn't know anything had happened.

I remember explaining to him why I was home, what was going on, as I switched the channel to Peter Jennings.

I remember my legs giving out as the second tower, the North tower, fell. It was worse than the other because this time I saw it happen.

I remember finally being able to get back up to grab the tv and head back to work so the others could see. In hindsight I should have just stayed home with my boyfriend, cradled in his comforting arms but I didn't. I went back to work and my coworkers were very glad that I finally made it back, they were going nuts not knowing what was happening. I can't believe our boss never told us to go home, especially since all we did all day long was sit around my little tv not doing any work.

I remember feeling very deeply for the people who had died in those towers, flight 93, and the Pentagon. I remember feeling very deeply for the families and friends left behind.

I remember every time I see a tv show or a movie that has an image of the towers.

After researching Douglas and learning the few items I have about him I have a small sense of what he was like. Because of this it will help me to remember him by.

I will remember Douglas D. Ketcham.

Douglas was a stockbroker for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was working in the north tower that morning. After the jet hit he called his parents, letting them know he was trying to make his way out.

Thank you to Newsday for the following article. It gives us some of the limited information I could find on Douglas to give us a sense of who he was.

Virginia Native Gave of Himself

Dec. 18, 2001

On the last day of his life, Douglas Ketcham called his parents to let them know he was trying to get out of the north tower of the World Trade Center, where he worked as a stockbroker for Cantor Fitzgerald.

"He called his mother just after [the jet struck the tower] and said there had been a terrible explosion, and to tell them that he loved them," friend John Riley told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "He called from underneath his desk."

That was the last Dennis and Raenell Ketcham heard from their son. None of the Cantor Fitzgerald workers trapped in the upper floors of the tower made it out alive. The north tower was the first hit by a hijacked jetliner.

Ketcham, 27, had worked for Cantor Fitzgerald since his graduation from the University of Virginia in 1996. He grew up in Midlothian, Va., near Richmond, and graduated from Midlothian High School.

"He loved New York," Riley said. "He was very sharp, very bright. He loved to be around people."

Riley told the Times-Dispatch that Ketcham returned to Richmond often to visit his many friends, who in turn came up to see him in New York. Riley said he sent an e-mail about Douglas’ fate to 50 people he counted as friends.

Ketcham’s parents and younger sister Denyse, 21, moved to South Dakota more than two years ago. Denyse remained there to attend the University of South Dakota when her parents retired to Florida earlier this year.

Though they were spread across the continent, the Ketchams chose to return to the Richmond area to hold a memorial service for Douglas. Denyse said the turnout gave her a strong sense of comfort.

"He was undoubtedly the most selfless person I have ever met,” she told The Associated Press. “When we had the memorial service for him, he was eulogized by five people. That was definitely a recurring theme. He was so giving of his time, his energy, personal belongings. Anything."

Family and friends described Ketcham as a giving person with a strong faith in God.
“He was a strong Christian, and he did a lot for underprivileged youth and Christian organizations,” Denyse said. “That’s been one thing that’s really helped us so much through this.”

-- Shannon Shelton (Orlando Sentinel)

He sounds like a wonderful man, someone I would have loved to know and be friends with. Someone you could count on in a crisis such as this. It sounds like he touched many peoples lives and will have a large number of people who will always remember him.

There's another out there that remembers Douglas, it is his friend The Tin Man. Please go there and read what he has to say.

Through researching, trying to find a good photo I found this tribute from his mother.

Please, won't you join me and the others across the globe in remembering Douglas D. Ketcham and the so many additional people who lost their lives that fateful September day. Please go to this site to find the rest of the tributes.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Mardi Gras 2014 bound

So, as the title states we're Mardi Gras 2014 bound.  As long as HDT can get his vacation approved which as of right now he's thinking it shouldn't be a problem since it's March. 

The plan, as long as his work doesn't screw it up, is to leave Friday Feb 28th as soon as I get off of work.  We'll be down there by Saturday morning.  Enjoy the weekend parades through Fat Tuesday, I've never been to the Rex parade, then have a few days after to sort of recover before heading back home either late Friday night or early Saturday morning.  I'd like at least the full day of Sunday to be home and able to unwind before heading right back into work on Monday the 10th.

I'm excited, I can't even tell you how much.  I haven't been to Mardi Gras in years.  As a matter of fact 2014 would make 20 years since I've been back.  And HDT has never been.  I've been trying to convince him for years to go but he always tells me no; he's not a lover of crowds.  But it's one of those things that I believe everyone has to do at least once in their lifetime. 

Now, to get off my ass and lose some weight.  HAHAHA  I say this before every vacation and it's yet to happen but I'm always optimistic.

I think we'll try to get Jim to stay at the house with his girls to take care of the cats and dog.  If they can't stay there I'm sure they'll still be willing and able to come by in the evenings and we'll see about having HDT's stepmother or my mom, go by in the mornings.  Poydras will have to stay with one of our moms or a friends house.  Hmmm, something to think about.
 

Friday, August 16, 2013

Haven't done a Weekend Update in awhile. This one is for 7/26-28/13

Back on July 26th I had a free Friday from work.  They give all us lowly peons 2 free Friday's for the year.  We don't get to choose them though, they're assigned, but that's ok.  The 26th was my first one, my next is in November.  Anyway, HDiTty and I decided to make a weekend of it.  We didn't stay anywhere else but we made plans for the whole weekend. 

Friday we decided to go into Chicago for the day.  I bought Second City Comedy Club tickets for 8pm and that's the only thing that was planned specifically.  We decided to take the train in in case we had a bit too much to drink at the club and also so we didn't have to drive around town and find and pay for parking.  We got a late start to the day but that was ok because it was drizzly and rainy all morning.  By the time we got into the city it was just about done but we still decided to go to the Adler Planetarium rather than Lincoln Park Zoo.  I've never been to the planetarium and he hasn't been since he was a kid.  We bought tickets to see two of the shows which were pretty darn cool.  It is absolutely amazing to know how crazily infinite space is.  Pretty scary too really.

They had a life size replica of the Mars rover which was awesome to see.  I've always pictured it as small, not much larger than a remote controlled car.  I guess because with all the pictures we see of it there's really nothing much to compare it to.  But it's as large as a regular size car.  And really cool looking.  They had it roped off with a worker there to answer any questions whom we did talk with for awhile.  She said it used to be open, not roped off, but because a couple people have actually broken a few items on it they had to protect it.  Even though it's "only" a replica it's still on loan from NASA so they can't let people get close to it anymore. 

After that we took the bus uptown to go to Second City.  We figured we'd find some place to eat near it and we did.  Directly across the street even.  While waiting for our food the Chicago Cupcake truck pulled up and we decided to get a couple.  I had started to get an upset stomach before we even reached the Planetarium that slowly got worse as the day wore on.  By the time we got to the restaurant my stomach was actually growling so I figured once I ate I'd feel better.  I was able to eat but it kept cramping up.  It was not pleasant.  Decided not to eat the cupcake yet.

After dinner we went into Second City and got seats near the front and off to the side, the last two seats in our row.  Good and bad seats.  They were at a bar table so we were sitting up which meant no one was blocking our view but we were also right next to the piano player/other music player.  There were times that it was a little too loud and we couldn't hear the actors.

The whole time I was clutching and pushing in my stomach.  It was the only way I felt not so God awful.  At the beginning of intermission I actually felt like I was going to upchuck and luckily there was a very short line in the restroom.  Got in the stall and of course the upchuck feeling went away but not the pain.  I felt bad that I was holding up the stall but not bad enough I didn't leave before sticking my finger down my throat.  Only a little bit of my strawberry daiquiri came up but I actually felt a little better.

Went back to my seat and continued to clutch my stomach.  HDT asked if I wanted to leave but I didn't want to make him miss the rest of the show.  So the second half starts and as the show is going on my stomach is getting worse and worse to where I felt it again.  I left right at the beginning of the last bit, missed the whole thing.  And again, as soon as I got in the stall all I felt was pain, no vomiting sensation.  Stayed in there awhile though just in case and of course by the time I got out the line was all the way out the door. 

We got a taxi to get back to the train station.  I was in major pain the whole way.  Luckily we had about an hour before the next train.  Well, actually the next one was to be leaving in about 5 minutes but I really had to try to vomit again so....   So I got in a stall and waited and waited and nothing so once again I stuck my finger down my throat. This time a good amount of the contents came up.  I was all clammy and hot and shaky but felt a little better. 

We went up to go get tickets for the ride home and actually saw that the other train was still there.  So we hurried and got on just in time.  The whole ride home I was bent over leaning my head on my arms on the seat in front of me.  Clutching my stomach from time to time but by the time the ride was over (just over an hour) I was actually feeling better.  Still shaky but no painful cramps just unpleasantness.  By Sat. morning, nothing, all was gone. 

We had plans to go to the Bristol Renaissance Faire but HDT had a blister and was not feeling the best himself and we didn't want to chance me getting sick again so we ended up staying home for the morning and then in the afternoon going to see a couple movies and going out to eat.  Saw Despicable Me 2, dinner, then saw Pacific Rim.  Then we came home to watch the Italian Job.  So as HDT likes to say he gave me a Despicable Rim Job of a day.  Heh

Sunday was my nephews graduation party and his exstepsisters were in town as well.  It was one of their birthdays, or actually just had it a week or so before, so we celebrated that as well.  The nephew got cash and the niece got Dr Who stuff.  She and her sister have become huge fans.  So I got her a Tardis blanket, knee high socks and glow in the dark puffy stickers for her ceiling.  She loved them all but especially the blanket.  Her sister was jealous.  I already bought her some items for her birthday in January but I guess I'll have to get a blanket as well.

A nice eventful weekend that of course would've been better if I hadn't felt like shit on Friday.  But oh well.  I still enjoyed the planetarium and the comedy show despite having the stomach aches.

Media quote of the day:

Not really one but....    Your mother is a drug addict!

Heard on the streets of Chicago.  It was pretty damn funny.  When the Second City actors were asking the audience for a saying we heard that day HDT actually shouted it out.  Got a huge laugh but they still didn't use it.  Oh well.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

My wish/bucket list

So I started typing up this list about a year ago.  And I've actually started in on one of the items, did another and actually may do a third on the 26th.

The way this list is going maybe I should have a vacation/site seeing list all by itself. Geesh

Go to Ireland, Scotland and England
Go to Germany and Austria (for HDT more than me)
Get back down to 135-140 and maintain - I'm trying, AGAIN, down 7 pounds.  Got rid of the elliptical and got a water rowing machine that I like more
Paint my walls something other than white
Get some shelves or have them made for the living room - have book shelves finally
Get out of debt and stay out - on my way, canceled two cards and paid them off.  HDT's Jeep just got paid off and will be using the monthly payment from that towards other cards now
See our nation's capital
Go to New York City
And see a Broadway show
Own a cabin in the woods or on a lake/pond or both
See Vermont and/or New Hampshire in the fall
Take a fall scenic train ride
Go to Starved Rock basically in my backyard, mainly want to see in the fall of course
Have a "grown-up" house - i.e. a living room that doesn't have Saints stuff as decorations. Or at least only a few items. - On our way, most Saints items in the finished basement now. Bookshelves displaying books, just need a few more pieces of art on the walls.
Go on an architectural boat tour in Chicago - done in August 2014
Learn how to drive a motorcycle, whether I own one or not
Go to Niagara Falls - done 10/5-6/2012
Go to the Grand Canyon
Go to at least one of the many many caves we have throughout our many states
Get my engagement/wedding rings fixed or remodeled (requires loosing the weight so they're the correct size)
Skydive at least once
Go to Disneyworld
Retire in Kentucky (or somewhere in that area)
Get another orange tabby (miss my Tody) - Didn't add an orange tabby but got a golden one and a black/brown one, brothers named Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings
Get back down to Gulf Shores Alabama.  Not an easy thing to do since HDT isn't thrilled with "beach" activities.
See the Saints in every stadium - on our way, 8 so far including the Superdome: Bears/Chicago, Packers/Green Bay, Bengals/Cincinnati, Browns/Cleveland, Lions/Detroit, Rams/St Louis (now need to see 'em in LA), 49er's/San Francisco

Updated 11/15/16

As I think of other stuff, if I do that is, I'll add to it and of course as I actually do these things I'll update it.

Monday, June 24, 2013

I don't wanna be here

So, is it wrong of me to wish I had a migraine right now so I could leave work and go home? 

Yes, yes it is.  No, I really don't want a migraine.  I just wish I weren't at work.

But I am so here I'll stay until 5:00.  Blech

Actually, I'm quite glad I don't have a migraine and quite surprised too.  It's that time of the month and it's all rainy/stormyish outside.  My two main triggers so really it's quite amazing I don't have one. 

I certainly hope I'm not jinxing myself either, because I really don't want one no matter how much I'd like to go home. 

Monday, June 10, 2013

Whales and the Rest of the Menagerie

So not much has been happening with me, as usual, since the last post. 

Had the first two week follow up appointment after putting on the bottom braces.  As promised he upped the pushing together of the teeth.  The tooth to the left of the space has a much larger gap now between it and the next tooth.  The tooth to the right is moving as well just not as accelerated, I guess he wants the ones to the left to move in more than the ones on the right. 

It's a pain in the ass to eat just about everything.  But does that stop me?  Nope.  

A couple weeks ago I went to do my grocery shopping and as I'm walking into the store I look up into the sky and see a whale there.  Yep, you read that right, a whale.  Look see for yourself.....



Don't know where it was going though.  Maybe to Lake Michigan as it's headed east.  I believe if you click on the picture you'll get a larger version.

So, the following picture is what I put up with most nights, or some version thereof.

My head is that tiny brown spot in the bottom left corner of the picture.  In order from my head up is Merry, Pogo, Pippin and Banderling.  Merry and Pippin are the kittens who are brothers and Pogo and Banderling are 13 year old brothers.

Normally Pogo is the first on the pillow, there sometimes before my own head hits it.  He doesn't quite do what my beloved Tody would do which was race me to bed.  Somehow that cat knew when I was going to bed as opposed to just going to the bedroom for something. He'd actually take off running and jump up and settle on the pillow before I had a chance to climb in.  No, Pogo follows me in and sometimes even waits for me to settle before jumping up.  And other times he's there already.  I guess it just depends on his mood.

So anyway, he settles in and sometimes that's it all night but most of the time at least one of the kittens if not both will follow.  Usually it's Pippin first and he always goes above like he is now, between Pogo and the headboard.   

Merry always plops down in between Pogo and my head/face.  Usually my face.  Just puts his belly right in my face so I can barely breath.  Which is what he did this night.  He was the second one in.

That's usually it because Bander prefers to either be in my face and if he can't because of Merry he'll go to his second favorite spot which is nestled against my stomach.  I'm a side sleeper with my legs bent.  So he's in the lap spot usually.  But for whatever reason this night he decided he wanted up where Pippin usually goes and settled in between Pogo and the headboard.

Then next thing I know up comes Pippin stomping up the side of the bed and with no hesitation plops down on top of Pogo and Bander and slowing because of being so heavy squished them to the sides.  Which of course made Pogo squish Merry just a little more against my face. 

I knew this had to be quite a sight so I reached over to the table and grabbed my phone to take a picture.  It's not the best as Pippin's face is cut off a bit but it's still pretty darn good and definitely represents how I end up with just a tiny patch of pillow for myself.

And this picture of Poydras was one morning after I woke up.  He was all snuggled in against my side where Bander usually goes looking all adorable.



The red comforter just swallows him up.  Ah the joys of having animals.

This morning I woke up to Bander being the only one on the pillow above my head, Pogo stretched out along my back and the kittens at my feet.  One of them was sort of on top of them.  And Poydras was in between me and HDT with his head resting on my arm.  Too bad I couldn't get a picture of that.

No media quote today.  Can't think of anything off the top of my head and don't feel like researching anything that would go with.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Pulled tooth, braces and the good times to go with..... NOT

So, it finally became time to pull the problem tooth (#25) and get the bottom braces put on last week.

The week before that I had my monthly appointment for the top braces, on the 17th to be exact.  So last month in April at the end of that appointment the dr says that next month we'll do the mold for your retainer for your top teeth.  So I said to him, "So that sounds like we're getting close to do the bottom teeth.  Should I make the appointment to get the tooth pulled the same day or what?"  He says to me and I quote, "No, no, no, I'm not even ready to talk about that yet, don't do that yet!"  I said, "ok, but when the time comes should I..." and he interrupts and says again that he's not ready to even talk about that yet don't do it.   OOOOKKKK

So on the 17th they're fitting me for the retainer/bite plate and the assistant is saying how next Friday when you come back we'll have this ready for you and the top braces will come off and the bottom ones will go on.  By the time she was done taking the mold out of my mouth so I could speak she was now talking to the doctor about something then his hands were in there doing the new wire and by the time all was said and done I completely forgot about what she had said.

So on my way into work I remembered she said the bottom ones would be put on so I called them up asking about the tooth, should it be pulled or what.  He apologized and said he had forgotten all about it but even if I hadn't pulled it before hand the oral surgeon I'd be seeing is good enough that he'd be able to do it with them on.  But of course pulling it before hand would be best. Ya think!?! So I asked him since my appointment with him isn't until the middle of the afternoon should I do it the same day so that way I can take the whole day off and get it done all at once.  He said no, because if I do it the same day it'd still be bloody and the blood would get in the way of what he's doing.  I should do it at least a day if not more ahead to give it a bit of time to heal over.

So my appointment for the tooth pulling was on the 23rd at 10:30.  After the 40 or so minutes of letting the Novocain take affect it lasted all of 5 minutes to pull the damn thing.  I did feel it when he had to push down on it to try to loosen it and he said I may hear cracking but not to worry it'll just be the tooth.  Sure enough 3 cracks were heard but he got it out and then he said he could see the bit of real tooth that was still there with the fucked up root.  Fucked up - my words not him.  Heh  That came right out, then all he had to do was stitch it up and I was out of there.

I fully expected to go into work that afternoon at 1:00.  HDT kept telling me I shouldn't but I felt fine.  Well sort of.  I woke up with a headache and both my legs were aching as well and they didn't get any better for quite awhile.

When the dr was done he put a big piece of gauze on it and told me to bite down for 45 minutes.  If after taking it off it was still bleeding put the new piece he gave me on it and bite down for 30 more minutes.  Luckily I didn't have to do that.  It was all to help the blood clot form.  Because my mouth was slightly open and everything that had just been done was done I was salivating pretty heavily.  So I was constantly swallowing.  After being home for about 15 minutes my stomach started to get queasy from all the saliva with some blood mixed in that was going into it.  Also Poydras started sniffing at me and at one point his nose was hitting my chin.  I went to swipe him away telling him to stop and my hand brushed my chin and felt wetness.  I had been drooling for who knows how long right down my chin and it also had been dripping and with all the numbness I didn't notice it.  But you'd think HDT would've being right in front of me and all but NOOOO he didn't.  My shirt had a big ole wet spot on it from the drool.  Damn man.

So anyway, while we're sitting on the bed discussing what had happened, or sort of anyway, I couldn't really talk all that well what with the big ole piece of gauze and numbness, he's also looking at the paper they gave for what's to be done right after and up to a week.  He reads where I was to take the first dose of antibiotics the night before.  Of course I didn't because I didn't have the prescription.  So he calls them up and they say I should've gotten three at the time of my consultation.  Sure, yeah, but that was way back in December people.  Thanks a lot for the reminder when I called to make the appointment a week ahead and their call to confirm it the day before.  Hell, even at the appointment you'd think someone would have asked if I'd taken the pill the night before.  So the lady tells HDT that they'll call one in for me and call him back when it's done.

After about 5 minutes I think I might know where they are if I hadn't thrown them away and sure enough I find them.  He calls them back to let them know we're good.  I ask him to fill them for me up the street at Walgreens so he could get back in time for me to go to work at 1:00.  After another 10 minutes he FINALLY gets out of bed to go to the bathroom.  While he's in there I say to him again to hurry up, don't take a shower, it's now 12:30 and I have to be leaving soon.  While saying that I all of a sudden got a huge flair of pain in the right side on my brain.  And it barely let up.  So I said, ok, he's won I'm not going in.

He called my boss to let her know and she laughed and told him she fully expected me to be calling in, said she thought I was wishful thinking it about coming in.  By the time we got the prescriptions filled and I took the first 800mg Ibuprofen (rather than the hydrocodone they also gave) the Novocain was just starting to wear off.  The pain pill took care of that right away but the leg pain took almost another two hours to go away and the migraine didn't go away until almost 5:00.  Which by that time I was practically falling asleep.  Don't know what wiped me out but man I could barely keep my eyes open.  So yeah, it was a good thing I ended up staying home.

Friday morning I was all better though so I was able to go into work with no problems.  Chatted with my boss for the first half hour or so and then as I'm leaving her office she tells me to take it easy.  Just do easy work until I had to leave for the day.  She's so damn awesome.  I'm so grateful my last place of employment layed me off and I found this place.

So I'm sitting in the chair at 2:00 and the dr's other assistant is working that day and she's preparing my bottom teeth for the braces and she says how he'll show me the retainer/bite plate.  So I ask her if the top ones are coming off then.  And she acted surprised and said no they'll be staying on probably for the whole duration.  There's a small chance he might decide to take them off early but doubtful.  I'm getting the retainer/bite plate now because they still come down about halfway which means they could be hitting the bottom braces and he wants to make sure that doesn't happen.  He tells me I'm to wear it all the time except for when I eat.  Yeah, that doesn't really happen.  I definitely do while I'm sleeping but only partly during the day.  At rest my teeth don't even touch unless I'm actually biting down and really why would I do that unless I'm eating. So yeah, not too worried about wearing it during the day when I'm at work and talking on and off.   But don't worry I do wear it periodically throughout the day.

Within two hours of the braces being on there was already a slight space between the teeth that are moving in to replace the gap and the other teeth on their other sides.  Damn that's fast.  He did say he wanted to accelerate the process too so instead of a monthly appointment I'll be going in every two weeks for an adjustment.

And I have to say that although there is some pain and discomfort it's nothing like the top teeth were which made me very surprised.  I thought for sure with a tooth being pulled and the others moving in to take it's place there'd be all kinds of pain.  Maybe that'll come but right now I'm not hating it.  And I am very happy that it's all finally gonna be done and over with.  I mean, don't get me wrong, eating still isn't pleasant but it's bearable.  Although being that it has just been a week I still can't bite into things unless it's very soft. 

And I wasn't allowed to spit or drink through a straw until today. Which made "spitting" out my toothpaste not very easy. I had to sort of just push it out. And we went to see three movies over the weekend and I had to keep taking the lid off our drink rather than using the straw which was a big pain in the ass. Every time I took a drink I was afraid I was going to spill either the drink all over me or my popcorn all over the floor from balancing on my legs. But neither happened and I was able to enjoy the movies.

We saw Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and 42. Gotta say Star Trek in 3D on the IMAX was pretty damn awesome but between it and Iron Man I actually like Iron Man more. It had more "story" to it. Meaning there was more down time inbetween all the action. Don't get me wrong, I like action but I like story with my action. And 42, wow, what an awesome movie. And if even half of it was true, being based on a true story and all, I learned quite a bit. But I agree with HDT that even though I very much enjoyed the movie and I love me some Major League and A League of Their Own they still don't make me like baseball.  I'm a Cubs fan that doesn't care for baseball.  Heh

Media quotes of the day:

From Iron Man 3
So, uhh, who's home? - Tony Stark
Well, my mom already left to the diner, and dad went somewhere to get scratchers... I guess he won, 'cause that was six years ago. - Harley Keener
Hmm... which happens, dads leave, no need to be a pussy about it, here's what I need... - Tony Stark

From Star Trek Into Darkenss
Are you drunk?  - James T Kirk
What I do on my private time is my business, Jim. - Scotty

From 42
You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back? - Jackie Robinson
No. I want a player who's got the guts *not* to fight back. - Branch Rickey
You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, I'll give you the guts. - Jackie Robinson

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

My home away from home for 6 years

So I go to my Statcounter every few days to see who's stopped by and from where.  I have a few people that come by on a semi regular basis.  Hey there people - *waves*.  Most get here through google searches of Douglas Ketcham and Brendan Dolan who I did the 9/11 tribute posts to.  Or just doing the navigation from blog to blog.

Yesterday someone did the navigation way and wouldn't you know it, they are out of Gonzales, Louisiana.  That's the town we moved to back in 1985 when my mom married the asshole and I had to move from Illinois to there because I was only 16.  Other than about 9 months or so when I lived in Baton Rouge that's were I was for 6 years until I was able to move back home to Illinois.

Although I have no desire to ever live in Louisiana again I love going to New Orleans for vacations and to see my Saints play.  One of our trips down I took HDT to Gonzales to show him where we lived.  It hadn't changed much in the 7 years or so from the time I left till then.  I wonder what it's like now 20 years later.  Next time we get down to New Orleans maybe we'll swing through again to see.  As long as we're there long enough and not just there to see a game.

And for anyone from Louisiana that may see this post.  I love the state, obviously or I wouldn't keep going back and telling everyone I know they need to at the very least go to New Orleans once in their lives.  No, the reason I don't ever want to live there again is the weather.  I hate the heat and humidity.  It's bad enough here in the far north of Illinois.  And there's no "real" winters there.  I love me some snow.  And although it did snow a couple times in my 6 years it didn't stick around.  So yeah, it's the weather, no other reason.

no media quote today, got a migraine and don't feel like thinking beyond what I already did to do this post.  heh

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I shudder

So I received a question a few weeks ago in the comments that I didn't see until today.  Sorry about that.  I did respond there but figured I'd put it here as well just in case it's not seen there.

Melanie Alger said...
Does getting braces hurt? I have to get them soon, and I'm kind of scared... :P
March 03, 2013 3:58 PM
Delete

BloggerKatrina said...
Sorry, I just saw your comment. Hopefully this isn't too late getting to you.

They do hurt, not gonna lie about that. Let's see, when they were first put on I think it took just about two weeks for the teeth to finally not hurt so much. I actually lost a few pounds because I couldn't eat much more than soup and potatoes without it hurting. Although it didn't stop me from some things such as pizza. Heh

Since then with the adjustments every month it usually just hurts for a couple days. Until this last time because he "doubled up" on the wire. Hurt almost as bad as the very first time. But it only lasted about half the time so that was nice.

I just keep telling myself that when it's all over I'll be a happier person. It helps, sometimes.


So yeah, since my last post it did take about a week for the pain to finally ease up.  Now I just feel that some are loose again so they're moving still.  But at least they don't hurt.  I guess you could say one or two are sensitive but not really painfull.  And then it's usually just when I brush my teeth.  I use a Sonic brush so the vibration sometimes hurts them a bit.  In fact when they were first put on in December for about a week I couldn't even use the vibration mode, had to brush like it was just a regular brush and even that was pretty tender.

_________________________________

So what's been going on in the last week and half?  Not much really.  The money for the auction still has never come out of our account.  I've asked HDT to get ahold of them to find out what's going on but he hasn't yet.  I hate, hate, hate being on the phone so unfortunately for him most of these types of things fall to him.  He hates it but really only because he doesn't think I should so much.  He actually LIKES talking on the phone.  Shuuuuudddddeeeeerrrr.

We're pretty boring people really.  Not much else has happened.  Oh one thing did.  I finally decided to watch the first episode of Vampire Diaries that's been in the Netflix queue forever.  And I've completely gotten hooked.  I watch the show when HDT is at work or going on raids in Star Wars, the online RPG that he plays.  But he still catches things every now and then.  So I'm able to "talk" to him about it from time to time.  It helps with the crazy.  HAHAHA   Yep, totally hooked.

We watched an episode with our friend Manon when we were up in Canada visiting her and Mark back in October.  It was in my queue then but we had/have so many things to watch already that I just never got around to watching until now.  She was very willing to answer my and HDT's questions.  I never knew Ian Somerhalder was a bad boy, always thought he was a good vampire.  But I guess that's because he was such a good boy in Lost.  She said he's been the bad boy since the beginning.  And sure enough he has. 

That's really about it.  We may or may not have company over tonight.  Jim's sister's birthday is this week and they were wondering if we'd want to hang out tonight, maybe play some games.  I'm leaving it up to HDT on whether we'll do it or not.  I'm good either way although I am leaning more towards no but that's just because I get antisocial sometimes.

Media quote of the day:  From the Pilot of Vampire Diaries

For over a century I have lived in secret, hiding in the shadows, alone in the world, until now. I am a vampire. And this is my story.  -  Stefan Salvatore

I shouldn't have come home, I know the risk, but I had no choice, I have to know her. - Stefan Salvatore

Dear Diary, today will be different, it has to be, I will smile and it will be believable. A smile that will say "I am fine, thank you... Yes I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents, I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I can make it through.  - Elena Gilbert

I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word. - Damon Salvatore to Stefan

Friday, March 15, 2013

Birthdays, braces and auctions

So, wow, it's been quite awhile since I last posted.  Didn't realize it's been that long.  A few things have happened since then.

HDiTty's birthday happened in Feb.  We went out to our favorite Chinese place, Plum Garden, for a late lunch/early dinner.  Then got him a game.  Then went to Chili's for desert and a drink.  I follow them on twitter and they tweeted about a new chocolate chip cookie molten desert.  Unfortunately it wasn't until after we were served our drinks that we found out our local Chili's doesn't have that desert.  At least not yet.  So we got a different one and called it a night.  He didn't really want to do much else since it wasn't a "big one" so we didn't. 

My birthday happened just 11 days ago on the 4th.  All I wanted to do was go to dinner and a movie.  Ended up just getting the movie done.  But that's ok.  We eat out so much that it wasn't a let down.  We did the movie the weekend after since he worked the weekend before and I had a migraine on the day itself.  Actually it started on Sunday and lasted until Wed. when I left work and promptly vomited once I got home.  Which I was fighting not to get sick the whole drive home so I knew it was gonna happen pretty much once I walked in the door.  Yeah, not a fun birthday week.

In between our birthdays was his mom's.  We took her out to Plum Garden and then to Red Lobster for their version of the molten chocolate chip cookie.  Which is just to die for.  Then went back to our house to hang out for the evening.

For both our birthdays she made us a dinner.  Separately that is, his on his day and mine on the 9th.  He wanted tacos and both sisters were able to make it with their kids.  It was a good time.  No drama which is nice.  My birthday we had steak and potatoes.  Garlic mashed, so damn good.  His youngest sister was able to make it with her daughter.  Later in the evening his other sister was able to swing by but it was late so she came without her kids.  Over all it was another successful evening.  Even with the discussion of the all the Popes and Mother Theresa getting heated.  Heh

Let's see, what else.  Oh yeah, another birthday just happened.  The oldest nephew on HDT's side just turned 11 on the 12th.  We went up to his house for cake and gift giving.  Stayed later than I would have liked because HDT was setting up the Xbox Live account for him.  That took way longer than it should've.  But it's set up now and we had one happy kid on our hands so it's all good.

I've had a monthly adjustment for my braces since they were put on in December.  Today was this month's adjustment.  And I gotta say they're almost as tender now as they were when they were first put on.  I had chicken nuggets for lunch and couldn't bite into them.  I had to tear them in half so I could just pop them in my mouth.  I had to bite the fries off to the side as well.  They hurt so much they've caused a headache.  I told HDT that we'll have to have soup or mac and cheese for dinner, just something that I don't have to bite into.  Maybe Chinese, but I doubt Plum Garden since it's not a quick drive.  They were slightly tender with the other adjustments, nothing like this time.  Ugh!

Let's see what else.....

Oh yeah.  A couple weeks ago we went bowling for a charity event at our local bowling alley.  We signed up with several other dispatchers, HDT's coworkers, and a cop or two.  They had a silent auction going on as well.  I bid on three items and got them all....



You can click on the picture for a larger view. 

The one on the far right was given to his mom as a very early Mother's Day gift although she's displaying it as her Easter basket.  Keeping the wrapping on as well.  The artist is Jim Shore.  She loves his stuff.  They're nesting dolls.

The one next to it with the green bow is another basket but it's full of decorative items for the garden.  It's for my mom.  We haven't yet taken it over there.  There are three little plants in there so I was worried at first but turns out they're fake.  They sure look real though.  So we may hang on to it until Mother's Day actually comes around.  Or the next time we get over to mom's to visit which who knows when that'll be.  We're not the best of kids when it comes to visiting.

All the rest were one item.  But I didn't know it at the time I was bidding.  That huge tin of popcorn and the small bag in front of it were both sort of hidden by the big ticket item in the middle.  I thought I was just bidding on it which it's hard to see but the ticket is a tin plaque that looks like an oldtime movie ticket.  We've hung it up on the wall at the bottom of the stairs to the basement.  In the bag it's surrounded by boxes of candy, the kind bought at movie theaters.  And then in each corner is a movie - The Princess Bride and The Goonies. 

As everyone knows The Princess Bride is mine and HDT's "movie," we watch it every year on our Anniversary.  So when I saw it I wanted to bid on it but wasn't sure if I should since the starting amount was $35.00.  But I had HDT come look at it and he agreed since it's our movie I should bid, especially since the auction was more than half over and nobody had placed a bid.  So I did.  But the next time I went to check on them all I see some person by the name of Erin had her name down under mine.  So I immediately put mine down again and now it's for $45.00.  I go back a little later and she's bid again, it's now $50.00.  I wasn't sure if I was truly willing to bid $55.00 on just some candy, a couple movies we already own (PB in blue ray even) and a tin ticket.  But I thought what the hell I'm gonna do it anyway.  So I did. 

When they announced just a couple minutes left on the auction I went to check on them all again and my name was the last of them all.  But the only one I was truly worried about was this one since I clearly wasn't competing with anyone else for the others.  So I hovered.  LOL  And that's when I saw the big popcorn tin but still didn't see the other bag. 

When we went to pay and collect and they handed the smaller bag along with I was surprised.  In the bag is another bag of white chocolate covered popcorn, chocolate covered pretzel rods and some English toffee.  And then as we're leaving and I'm checking everything out I see a menu in that little bag.  Turns out there's a gift certificate to a little cafe for a dinner and a 20% off coupon to a candy making shop which is were the goodies are from.  Both in a small town not to far from us.  In fact a town we go to all the time because that's where we get our pet food.  Literally a half block from these two places. 

So turns out what I thought wasn't really worth $55.00 but I did it anyway is all worth far more than that.  Pretty cool. 

Media quotes of the day:

As you wish - Wesley from The Princess Bride

Booby trapped, that's what I said - Data from The Goonies    I hope this is right, I'm going from memory rather than looking it up.  Ah well, if not it's close enough.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Moving teeth

So it's been a month and 11 days since I got my braces.  The teeth have definitely moved.  I can now see the bottom of the bottom teeth where as before - nothing. 

I also started to develop a gap between the two front teeth so he put a band to bring them together.  Which has worked so well that they're now touching.  I don't go back again until the 15th so hopefully they won't start to overlap before then.

He worried me when he put a new wire on saying this one I'd feel but other than the two front teeth I really haven't had much pain.  Just a little in one of the ones on the right side. 

But... I can feel when they're getting lose and "moving" into position.  I can't help but play with them.  Which of course for the more sensitive ones it certainly doesn't help because that just makes eating painful. 

Ah well. 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Snuggle time

So, since the kittens were fixed there does seem to be some calming down happening.  Oh, they're still getting into things they shouldn't but that's as much our fault as theirs for leaving things where they can get to them.  Meaning food of course.  But the good thing is I haven't seen or woken up to either of them chasing Pogo and being aggressive towards him.  So that's a good thing.  It's what finally made us get off our asses and get them taken care of.  It was stressing Pogo out to where he'd hiss at them when they just walked in his general direction. 

Although they'd chase him during the day and sometimes in the middle of the night they'd still all end up on my pillow at some point basically pushing me off it.  And since the neutering the snuggling as gotten even better. 

This happened the other night.



Look how much Pippin covers Pogo.  And Pip is not a light cat, in fact he weighs 12.3 pounds.  Where as Pogo is probably only around 8 or 9.  Haven't weighed him in awhile but the kittens were just weighed at the vets.  Pip is 12.3 and Merry is 10 even.  And Pogo definitely doesn't weigh as much Merry does.  Size wise they're about the same but Merry is a very solid 10 pounds.  Pogo isn't.

They don't ever seem to snuggle with Pogo any other time but when it comes to my sleep time they're all over each other trying to get the best spot on the pillows.

Media quote of the day:  Monty Python's The Holy Grail

I fart in your general direction - John Cleese (can't recall which character said it though)

Friday, January 18, 2013

Finally neutered

So, yesterday the kittens went to the vet to FINALLY get neutered.  HDT dropped them off a little after 8am.  They had told him last week when they went in for their initial checkup and shots, when he made yesterday's appointment, that he needs to drop them off between 8 and 8:30 and then he could pick them up late afternoon, close to 5. 

So he drops them off then goes and does some errands.  Just a couple hours later he gets a phone call from the vet and for those first few initial seconds between seeing their number on the screen and having the person talk to him he got really scared.  We had a cat, Alanis, that passed away after being taken in for a tooth pulling.  We came in to pick her up but she wasn't quite ready yet.  She was only just coming out of the anesthesia.  They said that it would probably be at least an hour before she'd be ready.  They asked us if we'd like to see her, we did so we did.  She was awake but barely, we each gave her some love and told her we'd be back in a little while.  We had plans to see a movie and were gonna do that but then decided not to because that'd be longer than the hour they were saying so we went home.  Good thing we did, pretty much right after we walked in the door they called to say she passed away.  Very very sad.  I'm glad we were able to see her and give her some love before it happened though.  So anyway, at that moment he couldn't remember if it was for that or for fixing, he thought fixing though.  So yeah, for about 10 seconds he was really worried that he was getting a call to say one or both passed away.  Because it just seemed too soon for them to be calling.

But luckily that's all it was.  They were doing just fine and he could come by and pick them up any time.  So he got there shortly after the call.  In between doing his other errands he was home and said they pretty much were just sleeping the whole time, when they would get up they moved slowly.  Which is what I observed when I got home.  Normally they're sitting at the back door when I walk in at 5:30 ready for their dinner.  Yesterday only Merry and Pogo were there.  And I was there for a good two minutes before Pippin showed up.  Coming slowly up the stairs from the basement. 

After eating they kind of wondered around a little bit while I made dinner and HDT unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  But nothing like normal that's for sure.  I picked Pippin up a couple times and he just sort of laid in my arms blinking slowly.  Too cute really.

When we settled on the couch to eat dinner and watch tv Merry jumped up and settled down next to my legs on my blanket.  After awhile Pippin showed up and nestled in with him.  And that's where they stayed for the rest of the night.  Even through me getting up a couple times.  They just sort of looked up at me when I disturbed them with these sad eyes.  But once I came back they did the slow blink at me and then went back to sleep.


When I went to bed they came up and settled on my pillow with Pogo as usual. I'm lucky if I get just enough of the pillow for my head. I can't even think about moving because if I do at least one of them, usually Merry, will slide right in where my head was because he's usually leaning on me. Love those little monsters.

Media quote of the day:  Shrek 2

I say we take the sword and neuter him right here! Give him the Bob Barker treatment! - Donkey - he's saying it to Shrek about Puss-n-Boots.  Heh

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Christmas 2012

So our Christmases went pretty well.  My family got together on Sunday the 23rd.  Everyone brought a little something for the food and desserts.  I brought the usual carrot cookies and blueberry fluff. 

Yeah, the cookies.  I made approximately 310 of them.

This is the the majority of them
 
This is the last couple of batches
 
This is now all of them frosted
 
 
HDiTty had a few before they were frosted and a couple more afterward.  I didn't want to try any because my teeth were still hurting with every bite I took.  So it wasn't until we were putting them away into the fridge to keep away from the cats, who had been locked up all day, that I finally broke down and had one.  They were good as usual.
 
I'd fill up one of those circle plates and take it to each house and one to work.  Actually I took two to my mom's knowing the boys would take some home as well.  Also gave a couple dozen to Jim and his girls.  We luckily only had about 25 or so left for ourselves.  I was worried we'd have a lot more but nope.  Although it took me all day to do them, I started around 2ish and didn't finish until almost 1am I believe it was worth it.
 
Anyway.  Christmas at mom's went well this year, no drama as we had last year.  Scott's stepkids (ex I guess I should say) came back so we were all very happy to be able to spend the holiday with them.  I believe all the kids were very happy with all their gifts.  From what I could see they all pretty much got what they asked for.  We adults didn't exchange as we gave that up last year.  But mom had a game that she did that included the kids as well.  We all ended up with 30 bucks.  It was fun and nice.
 
Monday, Christmas Eve, HDT and I were sitting at the kitchen table playing cribbage making a couple jugs of iced tea waiting for an update from his mom on how his youngest sister was doing.  He got a call in the morning that she was doing badly and his mom was taking her to the ER to get checked out.  Around 2pm we got the call that they're back home and both Jess and her daughter are sick, running fevers.  So HDT made calls to his other sister and uncle who both have kids and let them decide not to go over to keep from getting sick.  We decided we're hearty stock and packed up the gifts, the pulled italian beef that had been warming in the two crockpots all day and Poydras and head over.
 
The niece was feeling better by the time we made it over there, no fever but his sister was still feeling down.  But well enough to eat a little bit and play a board game, so that was nice.  In between her turns my MIL was wrapping gifts.  Finally when she was done we went into the front room and opened presents.  The niece got a karaoke machine from grandma so we all had a blast singing songs with it.  Unfortunately for the niece there weren't any songs she new but she still had fun with it.  When we realized it was getting late we called it a night and headed home.
 
Christmas morning we made it up to his other sister's house by 8:15am to see Santa come in for the youngest nephew.  Then he left and grandpa finally made it.  Heh  We opened gifts, ate some more italian beef that we brought with, hung out for a little while then headed out around noon.  HDT had to work from 2 - 6 for overtime. 
 
So on our way home we bought tickets for Monsters, Inc. 3D to go see after he got off work.  We made it up there to meet his dad, stepmom, sister and her two boys.  Her husband ended up not coming.  Very happy to see Monsters, Inc. in the theater again.  Love, love, love that movie.  So much so that I actually have a Boo doll.
 
After the movie we went home and watched a little tv then I went to bed since I had work the next day.
 
Wednesday I had an eye appointment after work and by the time I made it home Jim and his girls were walking in the door to get their Christmas gifts.  We got them a kinect to go with the Xbox they already have.  Since we have the same game that came with it we put it in and had them try it out.  The younger was having a blast, the older who's 15 was a little more shy about it but she still had fun.
 
So yeah, all the Christmases ended up ok, not as planned completely but still ok and fun for the most part.
 
Media quote of the day:
 
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas