M over at Toneybabies tagged me for a meme (and my husband kindly reminded me to actually write it) detailing six random things about myself. So, without further ado...
1) I love Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, but I will hunt down and kill anyone who reveals this fact to my students or coworkers. I have a certain amount of street cred to uphold as an English teacher, which means I live a literary double life on school days. Shhhh!
2) I will be very disappointed if my former classmates drop the ball and decide not to hold a 10 year high school reunion this summer. While I do keep in close touch with most of my good friends from high school there are a few people I've lost track of and I'd love to see them again. I'm also morbidly curious about how certain people I wasn't exactly fond of back then have turned out.
3) All of the artwork on my walls is from Target. That fact ought to embarrass me, but strangely enough it doesn't. That's how much I love Target.
4) We're planning to put our house on the market this week and (unsurprisingly) I'm pretty depressed about it.
5) Work drama is insane right now and one of the reasons I haven't been posting much is that I know I can't discuss it here. Suffice it to say, the first 5 weeks of my final year at this school have been more eventful than the last two years put together.
6) One of my worst housekeeping habits is that I leave my shoes EVERYWHERE. It's driven Juan crazy for years (generally because he tends to trip over them) but nothing has made me change my ways until now. See, lately Luke has declared himself the house shoe police, and anytime he finds a pair of my shoes lying around the living room/kitchen/TV room/any other room you can think of he picks them up and follows me around with them until I put them on. Thus, after repeatedly donning peep-toe pumps while wearing ratty sweats and ballet flats with my pajamas I've decided to be a grown up and put my shoes away in the closet every night.
Showing posts with label the other kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the other kids. Show all posts
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Please skip if you have a weak stomach
Jasper had a grooming appointment this morning, so Luke and I got up, dressed, and ready to go fairly quickly compared to most Saturdays. I left Jas outside for awhile figuring that he'd be cooped up indoors enough today what with the hair cutting and drying, but what I didn't figure on was that he'd find poop to roll around in while he was out there.
Poop. All over the dog. ALL OVER THE DOG. This was no little poop he picked, and he was quite literally covered from head to paw.
After spending several minutes covering the baby's ears while I cursed whatever gods decided to ruin my morning, I decided that A: we didn't have enough time to hose him off before going to PetSmart, and B: I'm paying the groomer good money to wash my dog, so they might as well earn it! I covered the passenger seat of my car with a sheet, said a few prayers, and drove like a maniac before the smell made me puke.
Naturally there was a line to check in when I arrived, and naturally I got dirty looks from all the other pet owners whose clean dogs wanted nothing more than to rub up against my unbelievably filthy one. I wanted to explain to everyone that this literally JUST happened right before we left for the groomer, but figured that a quick dropoff and exit was my best bet. After apologizing profusely to the groomer (and making a mental note to tip her extra when I go back this afternoon) Luke and I practically ran out of the store. Ugh. I'm sure they're making a note in our file as I type "Owner brought dog in covered in poop, charge her double next time" and I can hardly blame them.
Of course, it could have been a lot worse. He could have rolled in the poop right after he was groomed.
Poop. All over the dog. ALL OVER THE DOG. This was no little poop he picked, and he was quite literally covered from head to paw.
After spending several minutes covering the baby's ears while I cursed whatever gods decided to ruin my morning, I decided that A: we didn't have enough time to hose him off before going to PetSmart, and B: I'm paying the groomer good money to wash my dog, so they might as well earn it! I covered the passenger seat of my car with a sheet, said a few prayers, and drove like a maniac before the smell made me puke.
Naturally there was a line to check in when I arrived, and naturally I got dirty looks from all the other pet owners whose clean dogs wanted nothing more than to rub up against my unbelievably filthy one. I wanted to explain to everyone that this literally JUST happened right before we left for the groomer, but figured that a quick dropoff and exit was my best bet. After apologizing profusely to the groomer (and making a mental note to tip her extra when I go back this afternoon) Luke and I practically ran out of the store. Ugh. I'm sure they're making a note in our file as I type "Owner brought dog in covered in poop, charge her double next time" and I can hardly blame them.
Of course, it could have been a lot worse. He could have rolled in the poop right after he was groomed.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Random list of things on my mind
We've been going through a bit of a household purge/upheaval over the last month. First we got confirmation that the roof needed replacing (lovely), then we decided to buy a dining set and replace some ruined couches (courtesy of the lovely Miss Arcadia who's lucky not to be skinned alive over the cost), and then our nearly new TV set developed an unbearable high-pitched squeal that we can't turn off. The TV is probably a goner if what I'm reading on Samsung sites is correct, so that's likely another big purchase on the horizon.
Maybe I'm strange, but all of this change (new roof, new furniture, new TV) is making me twitchy. I like things to stay roughly the same from day to day, and suddenly I'm looking around my house and realizing that I hardly recognize it. It's a little disconcerting.
********************
It took me nearly 45 minutes to vote in the primary this morning even though I arrived promptly at 7:00 am. Our precinct had the slowest poll workers ever manning the Democrat table, and at one point none of the six Diebold machines was being used while all four poll workers took their time v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y. highlighting the names of people at the front of the line and filling out caucus receipts. If I hadn't wanted my "I Voted" sticker to use as an object lesson for the seniors who aren't registered to vote yet, I probably would have just walked out at that point and gone back after work. Note to the Texas Democratic Party--don't assign 80 year olds to man the polls first thing in the morning on election day unless you want 50+ cranky people who need to get to their jobs filing complaints with the Secretary of State.
********************
When my husband falls asleep on the couch and starts snoring it sounds exactly like there's an out of tune radio on somewhere in the house. Very disconcerting, especially after dark and especially when he claims that A: he didn't fall asleep, and B: he doesn't know what noise I'm talking about. I honestly thought I might be having auditory hallucinations for half an hour until I realized what the noise actually was.
********************
The English Language Arts TAKS test is tomorrow and I'm nervous as heck about how my students are going to do. We've been prepping for it for over a month and I know there are still kids who are going to look at the open-ended prompts and totally forget how to write their responses. Stupid TAKS. Stupid kids who don't pay attention in class. Stupid me for not starting test prep before Christmas.
Maybe I'm strange, but all of this change (new roof, new furniture, new TV) is making me twitchy. I like things to stay roughly the same from day to day, and suddenly I'm looking around my house and realizing that I hardly recognize it. It's a little disconcerting.
********************
It took me nearly 45 minutes to vote in the primary this morning even though I arrived promptly at 7:00 am. Our precinct had the slowest poll workers ever manning the Democrat table, and at one point none of the six Diebold machines was being used while all four poll workers took their time v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y. highlighting the names of people at the front of the line and filling out caucus receipts. If I hadn't wanted my "I Voted" sticker to use as an object lesson for the seniors who aren't registered to vote yet, I probably would have just walked out at that point and gone back after work. Note to the Texas Democratic Party--don't assign 80 year olds to man the polls first thing in the morning on election day unless you want 50+ cranky people who need to get to their jobs filing complaints with the Secretary of State.
********************
When my husband falls asleep on the couch and starts snoring it sounds exactly like there's an out of tune radio on somewhere in the house. Very disconcerting, especially after dark and especially when he claims that A: he didn't fall asleep, and B: he doesn't know what noise I'm talking about. I honestly thought I might be having auditory hallucinations for half an hour until I realized what the noise actually was.
********************
The English Language Arts TAKS test is tomorrow and I'm nervous as heck about how my students are going to do. We've been prepping for it for over a month and I know there are still kids who are going to look at the open-ended prompts and totally forget how to write their responses. Stupid TAKS. Stupid kids who don't pay attention in class. Stupid me for not starting test prep before Christmas.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Unreasonable anxiety
The coverage of the horrible wildfires in California has me on edge. Fire is one of the few things I'm truly phobic of. I still have nightmares about the day a 4 alarm fire broke out in the building across the street from our condo back in Maryland. I left for the grocery store and everything was fine, came back and there were fire trucks and visible flames in my neighborhood. Thankfully that fire didn't spread beyond the original building, but it was still the closest I've ever come to a destructive fire.
Now, watching news coverage of what's happening in San Diego and L.A., I'm seized with anxiety and "what if it happened here"s. After feeling horrified when I read that some people only got a few minutes notice before the fires hit their streets, I started to wonder what I would do in that situation. I know I could get Luke into the car quickly--he's never more than a few paces away from me at this point--but Jasper and the cats are a different story. The truth is that I probably couldn't corral both Codi and Arcadia without at least half an hour lead time. That terrifies me. I can't even think about the fact that my car is too small for me, the baby, the dog, and the cats to all really fit without feeling panicked.
I really should turn off the TV and stop reading online stories about the fires. First, though, I'm going to make a donation to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts and read up on wildfire preparedness. Just in case.
Now, watching news coverage of what's happening in San Diego and L.A., I'm seized with anxiety and "what if it happened here"s. After feeling horrified when I read that some people only got a few minutes notice before the fires hit their streets, I started to wonder what I would do in that situation. I know I could get Luke into the car quickly--he's never more than a few paces away from me at this point--but Jasper and the cats are a different story. The truth is that I probably couldn't corral both Codi and Arcadia without at least half an hour lead time. That terrifies me. I can't even think about the fact that my car is too small for me, the baby, the dog, and the cats to all really fit without feeling panicked.
I really should turn off the TV and stop reading online stories about the fires. First, though, I'm going to make a donation to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts and read up on wildfire preparedness. Just in case.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Watch as I distract you with a cute cat story
No baby yet, but we have had some interesting goings-on at our house lately that might at least distract everyone from the fact that this kid is now six (SIX!) days overdue.
Last week Codi and Arcadia decided to go on a rampage. One night they were fine, and the next they were holy terror kitties. They raced around our bedroom at 2:00 am (repeatedly using the bed we were sleeping in as a jumping-off point, of course), attacked each other, attacked US if we weren't actively petting them, and harassed the dog (who didn't really know what to do--he's usually the one chasing them) until he ran into his crate just to get away. In short, KITTIES FROM HELL replaced our normally sweet, cuddly girls.
J and I chalked it up to the full moon or possibly the changing weather. Animals are supposed to be sensitive to both, so we figured that it was just one of those weird cat phases that would pass. It did, however, strike me as odd that the main instigator of the chaos was Codi. For those of you who haven't met our cats in person (or who don't remember my string of Arcadia-centric posts last year) Codi is the calm one. She's the good cat who never acts out, even when she's deathly ill and really should be trying to get our attention in any way possible. Codi just doesn't DO things like bite your feet while you're trying to sleep or attempt to chase the dog.
In any case, after around 24 hours of kitty mayhem, they seemed to calm down. They started crying whenever they saw me, though, which is usually a sign that they're out of food. I checked the hidden nook upstairs where we keep their dishes, and sure enough there wasn't a speck of food left. Piggy kitties had gone through two heaping bowls in less than 48 hours, which was almost a new record for them. When I went to pick up the bowls to refill them, though, I noticed something was in their water bowl. It was small, brown, and had clearly been dropped in there by a cat who couldn't decide if she wanted to play or have a drink.
When I pulled the object out, I immediately realized exactly why my girls had been such holy terrors for the last day. You see, it wasn't just any cat toy they had put in their (full) water bowl. Oh no, it was a catnip stuffed bear.
Catnip stuffed toy in a bowl of water. Picture that for a moment. Then picture the water I poured out of said bowl.
It was BROWN, ladies and gentlemen. Once the water had soaked through the bear, the catnip had steeped in the water creating a kind of tea that Codi and Arcadia had been drinking for at least a day. At some point it clearly got too strong for them, so they switched to the downstairs water bowls (which probably explains why their behavior normalized) but still. They were drinking CATNIP TEA and were high as kites until they switched to the fresh water!
In any case, I'm now keeping a very close eye on all of their catnip toys and making sure to check the bowl at least once a day. I think they learned their lesson--neither of them has played with that particular bear since it happened--but you never know.
Last week Codi and Arcadia decided to go on a rampage. One night they were fine, and the next they were holy terror kitties. They raced around our bedroom at 2:00 am (repeatedly using the bed we were sleeping in as a jumping-off point, of course), attacked each other, attacked US if we weren't actively petting them, and harassed the dog (who didn't really know what to do--he's usually the one chasing them) until he ran into his crate just to get away. In short, KITTIES FROM HELL replaced our normally sweet, cuddly girls.
J and I chalked it up to the full moon or possibly the changing weather. Animals are supposed to be sensitive to both, so we figured that it was just one of those weird cat phases that would pass. It did, however, strike me as odd that the main instigator of the chaos was Codi. For those of you who haven't met our cats in person (or who don't remember my string of Arcadia-centric posts last year) Codi is the calm one. She's the good cat who never acts out, even when she's deathly ill and really should be trying to get our attention in any way possible. Codi just doesn't DO things like bite your feet while you're trying to sleep or attempt to chase the dog.
In any case, after around 24 hours of kitty mayhem, they seemed to calm down. They started crying whenever they saw me, though, which is usually a sign that they're out of food. I checked the hidden nook upstairs where we keep their dishes, and sure enough there wasn't a speck of food left. Piggy kitties had gone through two heaping bowls in less than 48 hours, which was almost a new record for them. When I went to pick up the bowls to refill them, though, I noticed something was in their water bowl. It was small, brown, and had clearly been dropped in there by a cat who couldn't decide if she wanted to play or have a drink.
When I pulled the object out, I immediately realized exactly why my girls had been such holy terrors for the last day. You see, it wasn't just any cat toy they had put in their (full) water bowl. Oh no, it was a catnip stuffed bear.
Catnip stuffed toy in a bowl of water. Picture that for a moment. Then picture the water I poured out of said bowl.
It was BROWN, ladies and gentlemen. Once the water had soaked through the bear, the catnip had steeped in the water creating a kind of tea that Codi and Arcadia had been drinking for at least a day. At some point it clearly got too strong for them, so they switched to the downstairs water bowls (which probably explains why their behavior normalized) but still. They were drinking CATNIP TEA and were high as kites until they switched to the fresh water!
In any case, I'm now keeping a very close eye on all of their catnip toys and making sure to check the bowl at least once a day. I think they learned their lesson--neither of them has played with that particular bear since it happened--but you never know.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Teenagers can be real people when they want to be
My students saved me from having a total breakdown today.
Last night my mom called to let me know that our family cat, the cat I adopted when I was 10 years old, was sick. Really sick. We found out today that she's probably in kidney failure, has diabetes, or has hyperthyroidism. Regardless, she's severely dehydrated, her kidneys are shutting down, and she only weighs 5 lbs. The vet expects to have test results (and a diagnosis) tomorrow, but until then my mom is giving her lots of love and feeding her a prescription wet food.
Anyway, after getting this news, I was a bit of a wreck. Today was one of my busy days at school, so I was kept preoccupied until my conference at the end of the day. I fully expected to just sit in my classroom, bawling, for the entire 90 minute period, but instead I got a wonderful treat. Five of my students (four of whom are failing and needed to do some makeup work) came to my room to work and chat. We sat around, debated some of the symbols in 1984, and really enjoyed each others' company.
I don't know how (or if) they knew that I needed to be with people right then, but their presence was exactly what I needed. Sometimes teenagers can be real assholes, but sometimes (an increasing number of times) they can also be incredibly thoughtful and compassionate. It was nice to be reminded of that today.
No updates on the staying vs. leaving issue today. I could hear something definitive tomorrow, but in reality I think it will probably be closer to Friday before anything is decided.
Last night my mom called to let me know that our family cat, the cat I adopted when I was 10 years old, was sick. Really sick. We found out today that she's probably in kidney failure, has diabetes, or has hyperthyroidism. Regardless, she's severely dehydrated, her kidneys are shutting down, and she only weighs 5 lbs. The vet expects to have test results (and a diagnosis) tomorrow, but until then my mom is giving her lots of love and feeding her a prescription wet food.
Anyway, after getting this news, I was a bit of a wreck. Today was one of my busy days at school, so I was kept preoccupied until my conference at the end of the day. I fully expected to just sit in my classroom, bawling, for the entire 90 minute period, but instead I got a wonderful treat. Five of my students (four of whom are failing and needed to do some makeup work) came to my room to work and chat. We sat around, debated some of the symbols in 1984, and really enjoyed each others' company.
I don't know how (or if) they knew that I needed to be with people right then, but their presence was exactly what I needed. Sometimes teenagers can be real assholes, but sometimes (an increasing number of times) they can also be incredibly thoughtful and compassionate. It was nice to be reminded of that today.
No updates on the staying vs. leaving issue today. I could hear something definitive tomorrow, but in reality I think it will probably be closer to Friday before anything is decided.
Friday, February 16, 2007
How to freak out my dog
Step 1: Husband gets brilliant idea to use new camcorder to take video of my belly in a vain effort to persuade the world that I am, in fact, pregnant.
Step 2: Have equally brilliant idea to include dog in video since, well, he's cute.
Step 3: Take video that consists entirely of self asking dog where the baby is over and over again until he tries to see if I have a treat in my hand. At this point, make a bizarre snorting/laughing sound that will doubtless be mocked by family and friends who receive said video.
Step 4: Hook camcorder up to computer to view video and completely mess with the dog's head when my voice comes out of somewhere that is clearly not my mouth.
Step 5: Dog totally freaks out about the entire situation and proceeds to race around the room until he is forcibly held down by self and husband to get a calming belly rub.
Step 6: Realize that this scene will be repeated many, MANY times in the future when we actually make home movies and show them on the TV. Groan.
Step 2: Have equally brilliant idea to include dog in video since, well, he's cute.
Step 3: Take video that consists entirely of self asking dog where the baby is over and over again until he tries to see if I have a treat in my hand. At this point, make a bizarre snorting/laughing sound that will doubtless be mocked by family and friends who receive said video.
Step 4: Hook camcorder up to computer to view video and completely mess with the dog's head when my voice comes out of somewhere that is clearly not my mouth.
Step 5: Dog totally freaks out about the entire situation and proceeds to race around the room until he is forcibly held down by self and husband to get a calming belly rub.
Step 6: Realize that this scene will be repeated many, MANY times in the future when we actually make home movies and show them on the TV. Groan.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Happy (belated) Blog-iversary
So, the actual 1 year anniversary of this blog was a week ago, but seeing as how I've been drowning in work (and living in a lot of denial about how much I still have left to do every night for the next couple of months) I didn't notice. Oops! So, happy blogiversary to me!
I thought I'd take a look back everything that's happened to me over the last year. Note, this was originally supposed to come with links, but I'm too damn tired and overwhelmed with work to add them. Sorry, but you can navigate by months on my sidebar if you'd like to read posts I mention here
January:
-Began this blog
-Started the spiral into a depression over not being pregnant
-Put our condo on the market
February
-Took a fantastic trip to Boston and Maine
-Had the best Valentine's Day on record
-Got in a car accident
-Finally called my doctor to start the fertility testing process
-Took the infamous photo of a knife I almost stabbed Juan in the foot with
March
-Hit a peak in my depression over not being able to get pregnant
-Had the crappiest 25th birthday on record
-Visited my family in Utah and posted about all the things I dislike about my home state
-Was picked up as an evil liberal blogger on a conservative Utah blog for the aforementioned post
-Still didn't sell our condo
April
-Had my first RE appointment with the most evil Nurse Practitioner known to man
-Took a trip to California with a mysterious "Item X"
-Had my HSG and was officially diagnosed as infertile
-Took a trip to our new town and placed an offer on a house
May
-Lost our contract on the house because our condo still hadn't sold
-Wrote my all-time favorite post on being an infertile 20-something
-Quit my job
-Got an offer on our condo
-Lost our buyer after just a week
-Found out that our dream house in Texas was back on the market and placed a new offer
-Got another offeron the condo from a new buyer
-My dad was hit by a car while riding his bike in North Carolina
-J graduated from medical school
-Left DC for Texas
June
-Took a trip to Vegas
-Entered a new chapter in infertility-related depression
-Closed on our Texas house and moved in
-Did not find a job
July
-Started seeing a new doctor about infertility
-Adopted Jasper
-Got admitted to grad school to become a teacher
August
-Survived our massive flooding
-Still didn't have a job
-Joined Operation Common Thread
-Celebrated my parents' 25th wedding anniversary
-Started school
September
-Had a laparoscopy and FINALLY got a diagnosis for our infertility--scar tissue
-Wrote an angry letter to NBC over a stupid, prejudicial story they did on young, infertile women
-Encountered the centipedes from hell
-Interviewed for a job as a high school English teacher
-Took a road trip to Utah
October
-Didn't hear from the school after my interview, assumed I didn't get the job
-Got another negative pregnancy test
-GOT THE TEACHING POSITION!
-Decided to hold off on calling the RE to start IUIs
-Started my 20th cycle of TTC
November
-Was busy at work
-GOT PREGNANT!!!
-Our cat Codi went into heart failure and spent a week in critical condition
December
-Codi came home!
-Finished my first semester of teaching
-Annouced my pregnancy to my family and the internet at large
I thought I'd take a look back everything that's happened to me over the last year. Note, this was originally supposed to come with links, but I'm too damn tired and overwhelmed with work to add them. Sorry, but you can navigate by months on my sidebar if you'd like to read posts I mention here
January:
-Began this blog
-Started the spiral into a depression over not being pregnant
-Put our condo on the market
February
-Took a fantastic trip to Boston and Maine
-Had the best Valentine's Day on record
-Got in a car accident
-Finally called my doctor to start the fertility testing process
-Took the infamous photo of a knife I almost stabbed Juan in the foot with
March
-Hit a peak in my depression over not being able to get pregnant
-Had the crappiest 25th birthday on record
-Visited my family in Utah and posted about all the things I dislike about my home state
-Was picked up as an evil liberal blogger on a conservative Utah blog for the aforementioned post
-Still didn't sell our condo
April
-Had my first RE appointment with the most evil Nurse Practitioner known to man
-Took a trip to California with a mysterious "Item X"
-Had my HSG and was officially diagnosed as infertile
-Took a trip to our new town and placed an offer on a house
May
-Lost our contract on the house because our condo still hadn't sold
-Wrote my all-time favorite post on being an infertile 20-something
-Quit my job
-Got an offer on our condo
-Lost our buyer after just a week
-Found out that our dream house in Texas was back on the market and placed a new offer
-Got another offeron the condo from a new buyer
-My dad was hit by a car while riding his bike in North Carolina
-J graduated from medical school
-Left DC for Texas
June
-Took a trip to Vegas
-Entered a new chapter in infertility-related depression
-Closed on our Texas house and moved in
-Did not find a job
July
-Started seeing a new doctor about infertility
-Adopted Jasper
-Got admitted to grad school to become a teacher
August
-Survived our massive flooding
-Still didn't have a job
-Joined Operation Common Thread
-Celebrated my parents' 25th wedding anniversary
-Started school
September
-Had a laparoscopy and FINALLY got a diagnosis for our infertility--scar tissue
-Wrote an angry letter to NBC over a stupid, prejudicial story they did on young, infertile women
-Encountered the centipedes from hell
-Interviewed for a job as a high school English teacher
-Took a road trip to Utah
October
-Didn't hear from the school after my interview, assumed I didn't get the job
-Got another negative pregnancy test
-GOT THE TEACHING POSITION!
-Decided to hold off on calling the RE to start IUIs
-Started my 20th cycle of TTC
November
-Was busy at work
-GOT PREGNANT!!!
-Our cat Codi went into heart failure and spent a week in critical condition
December
-Codi came home!
-Finished my first semester of teaching
-Annouced my pregnancy to my family and the internet at large
Sunday, December 31, 2006
So long, 2006--don't let the door hit you on the way out
Can I say how happy I am that 2006 is over? The year started with confronting infertility and starting the testing process, then my dad was hit by a car 2,500 miles from home, then there was family drama, then we moved cross-country, then I was unemployed, then we figured out why we hadn't gotten pregnant yet, then I got my dream job, then our cat almost died, and then I got pregnant. For a year that ended on such an amazing note, though, most of 2006 really sucked. While my family was visiting for Christmas we agreed that our collective New Year's resolution was that no one (save for me in August) end up in the hospital. We'd better all keep that resolution.
I have so many hopes for 2007. Mostly I hope for a healthy pregnancy, but I also hope that J's internship and residency continues to go well. I hope that my sister gets into the nursing program she's been working so hard to qualify for since last year. I hope that my parents and in-laws stay healthy and that we see lots of them. I hope that we have zero pet health emergencies. I hope my friends (who had even rougher years in 2006 than I did) get the news they've been praying for. I hope this war starts to come to a conclusion. I hope the Democrats don't screw up leadership of the House and the Senate. I hope our leaders start listening to reason. I hope for so many things, and have hope that at least most of my hopes will come true.
I have so many hopes for 2007. Mostly I hope for a healthy pregnancy, but I also hope that J's internship and residency continues to go well. I hope that my sister gets into the nursing program she's been working so hard to qualify for since last year. I hope that my parents and in-laws stay healthy and that we see lots of them. I hope that we have zero pet health emergencies. I hope my friends (who had even rougher years in 2006 than I did) get the news they've been praying for. I hope this war starts to come to a conclusion. I hope the Democrats don't screw up leadership of the House and the Senate. I hope our leaders start listening to reason. I hope for so many things, and have hope that at least most of my hopes will come true.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas to All
I hope that wherever you are this Christmas season, you're looking forward to the new year and new possibilities in 2007. Happy holidays!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
More fun with the vet
Codi had her follow-up appointment tonight, and there's good news and bad news. The good news is that not only is she stable, but the medicine is working. She has 50% more lung capacity this week than she did last week. We suspected as much, especially since we saw her chasing Arcadia the other night. The bad news is that she still needs the surgery in the next few months. I think we'll probably schedule it around my spring break in March so I can be home with her while she recovers.
I dearly hope this chapter in our lives is almost over. I've told all the pets that their New Years resolutions need to be to stay healthy.
In other news, my parents get into town tonight, and I can't wait for the family holiday festivities to begin!
I dearly hope this chapter in our lives is almost over. I've told all the pets that their New Years resolutions need to be to stay healthy.
In other news, my parents get into town tonight, and I can't wait for the family holiday festivities to begin!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Brief Codi Update
Codi went to the vet today and there was good news and bad news. The bad news is that the pleural effusion is back. This is the problem we originally took her in for, but isn't the one that landed her in critical condition for the better part of a week. The good news is that she's stable right now, can breathe without too much trouble, and it's very unlikely that she has cancer or heart failure. She may still have a heart problem, though, so if a course of medication doesn't clear it up by this time next week she'll probably need to have surgery. As scary as that might be, right now we're trying to stay positive about her prognosis and hope that the meds do what they're supposed to do.
In other news, my stress level is slowly going down as finals wrap up, and I have ACTUAL PLANS this weekend that don't involve grading papers and planning lessons. Say it with me people, WOO HOOO!!!
In other news, my stress level is slowly going down as finals wrap up, and I have ACTUAL PLANS this weekend that don't involve grading papers and planning lessons. Say it with me people, WOO HOOO!!!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
End of semester blues
Well, it's the last week of the semester and I am (still) exhausted. I have scholarship applications to grade, letters of recommendation to write, final reviews to prepare for, and (my least favorite part of all) failing kids to try to get back on track. Anyway, there's just a week left to go until all make-up and extra credit work is due, and I can certainly make it another week before taking a break.
In the meantime, though, I'm probably not going to have much time for posting, so I'll leave you with these pictures of our Christmas tree and the animals. Arcadia was strangely disinterested in the tree this year, but Codi and Jasper let us photograph them to our hearts content. Codi is doing much better, by the way. She's eating us out of house and home and her energy level has definitely improved. I think she's going to be just fine.
In the meantime, though, I'm probably not going to have much time for posting, so I'll leave you with these pictures of our Christmas tree and the animals. Arcadia was strangely disinterested in the tree this year, but Codi and Jasper let us photograph them to our hearts content. Codi is doing much better, by the way. She's eating us out of house and home and her energy level has definitely improved. I think she's going to be just fine.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Welcome Home, Codi!!!
The vet called this afternoon to say that he felt Codi was well enough to come home, so right after work I got to pick her up! She looks so much better. She's active, eating, and basically behaving like her old self. She's still painfully thin, but should fatten up pretty quickly again. We're going to take her back in next week for some follow-up tests, but for now at least she's not on any heart medication.
I can't even say how good it feels to have her back. We planned to put up our Christmas tree last week, but without her it just didn't feel right. Now our whole family is together again, and it looks like we're going to stay that way for a long, long time.
I can't even say how good it feels to have her back. We planned to put up our Christmas tree last week, but without her it just didn't feel right. Now our whole family is together again, and it looks like we're going to stay that way for a long, long time.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Gradually Improving
Well, the bad news is that Codi isn't coming home this weekend. She's steadily improving but she's started to have some small liver problems that mean that she needs to be tube fed for the next couple of days. Our vet doesn't think this is something we need to panic over, and apparently it's not uncommon for cats to develop these kinds of issues if they don't eat for a couple of days, but since she's still pretty lethargic he doesn't trust her to eat on her own if she comes home.
The good news is that overall her health is really improving, and the major problems that we've been so worried about for the last few days are resolving themselves. In the long run she's definitely going to have health problems related to this episode, but as long as she can recover from the events of this week we should be able to manage whatever those problems are. Ultimately I'm feeling pretty good about her prognosis right now, but we need to wait until these liver problems are fixed before we'll know exactly what the future will hold for her health-wise.
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers for our little kitty, and I'll keep you updated if anything changes. For now, I need to get ready for my last class of the semester (WOO HOO!) and then buckle down for a weekend of non-stop grading.
The good news is that overall her health is really improving, and the major problems that we've been so worried about for the last few days are resolving themselves. In the long run she's definitely going to have health problems related to this episode, but as long as she can recover from the events of this week we should be able to manage whatever those problems are. Ultimately I'm feeling pretty good about her prognosis right now, but we need to wait until these liver problems are fixed before we'll know exactly what the future will hold for her health-wise.
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers for our little kitty, and I'll keep you updated if anything changes. For now, I need to get ready for my last class of the semester (WOO HOO!) and then buckle down for a weekend of non-stop grading.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Cautiously Optimistic
First of all, thank you all SO MUCH for the well wishes you left in the comments section. It means a lot to me and J.
The best news is that Codi survived the night. I've talked to the vet twice today already and he's "cautiously encouraged" by her progress. The pulmonary edema (fluid in her lungs) has resolved itself. Yay!!! This means that she's not having trouble breathing anymore, so he's been able to get her off the oxygen.
The bad news is that her heart muscles are enlarged, which points emphatically towards heart failure. There's medication we can give her to manage it depending on how well she recovers from this episode, but in the long run, heart failure is still heart failure. She's also not eating yet or moving around much, but that doesn't seem to be concerning the vet too much. Given all the stress her poor little body has been under for the last 48 hours, lethargy is to be expected.
The vet is keeping her with him again tonight and we'll re-assess the situation again tomorrow afternoon. I hope she can come home, but I worry about what could happen if she starts having problems again while J and I are at work.
The best news is that Codi survived the night. I've talked to the vet twice today already and he's "cautiously encouraged" by her progress. The pulmonary edema (fluid in her lungs) has resolved itself. Yay!!! This means that she's not having trouble breathing anymore, so he's been able to get her off the oxygen.
The bad news is that her heart muscles are enlarged, which points emphatically towards heart failure. There's medication we can give her to manage it depending on how well she recovers from this episode, but in the long run, heart failure is still heart failure. She's also not eating yet or moving around much, but that doesn't seem to be concerning the vet too much. Given all the stress her poor little body has been under for the last 48 hours, lethargy is to be expected.
The vet is keeping her with him again tonight and we'll re-assess the situation again tomorrow afternoon. I hope she can come home, but I worry about what could happen if she starts having problems again while J and I are at work.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Worst Case Scenario
Codi is in critical condition. J took her to the vet this morning and it turned out that she had a pleural effusion (I know I'm not spelling that right, but I don't care) which means that there was a buildup of fluid in her chest. They drained about a cup and then sent her home with J. Well, she went downhill really quickly, and J called me while I was driving home to let me know that he was taking her back to the vet. The vet did an x-ray and discovered that she now has pulmonary edema, or fluid buildup inside her lungs. Basically, she's probably going into heart failure.
The vet is keeping her overnight (he's actually taking her home with him so he can monitor her heart) and will call us if things get worse. He's giving her a 50% chance of surviving this, and J and I are just beside ourselves. There's a chance that the edema could be a result of how quickly they drained the original fluid--apparently it happens a lot in humans--but the vet didn't want us to get our hopes up.
Anyway, if you can send any healthy thoughts or prayers Codi's way, we'd really appreciate it.
The vet is keeping her overnight (he's actually taking her home with him so he can monitor her heart) and will call us if things get worse. He's giving her a 50% chance of surviving this, and J and I are just beside ourselves. There's a chance that the edema could be a result of how quickly they drained the original fluid--apparently it happens a lot in humans--but the vet didn't want us to get our hopes up.
Anyway, if you can send any healthy thoughts or prayers Codi's way, we'd really appreciate it.
What the...
It's 26 degrees here this morning. TWENTY-SIX DEGREES! Brrrrrrrr! So much for an easy winter.
Codi's appointment is later this morning, and I'll post an update tonight. Thank you all who left well wishes for her in the comments on Tuesday.
Oh, and on a final (somewhat disjointed) note, does everyone see how effed up my template is now? I switched to Blogger Beta, and the navbar at the top looks like it's taking over my masthead when I open up the blog. Does it look this way to you guys? If so, I'll try to fix it over the weekend.
Codi's appointment is later this morning, and I'll post an update tonight. Thank you all who left well wishes for her in the comments on Tuesday.
Oh, and on a final (somewhat disjointed) note, does everyone see how effed up my template is now? I switched to Blogger Beta, and the navbar at the top looks like it's taking over my masthead when I open up the blog. Does it look this way to you guys? If so, I'll try to fix it over the weekend.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Scared
So, I haven't posted about this before because I kept trying to tell myself that it was nothing, but Codi is clearly sick. She's behaving normally (well, as normal as Codi ever behaves) but has dropped at least 3 lbs. in the last month or two. We did switch her and Arcadia to diet food awhile back, but there's just no way that diet food alone would account for this weight loss, and we've both finally realized that she needs to go to the vet for tests. Lots of tests. J is taking her in on Thursday, and my guess is that we won't know anything until sometime next week.
Anyway, this is a big part of the reason why I haven't been posting much. Writing about it makes it seem real, and the idea of my baby kitty really being sick scares the crap out of me. Any good or healthy thoughts you can send her way would be much appreciated.
Anyway, this is a big part of the reason why I haven't been posting much. Writing about it makes it seem real, and the idea of my baby kitty really being sick scares the crap out of me. Any good or healthy thoughts you can send her way would be much appreciated.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Buried in Paper
I never want to see another official form again. Between the school and my certification program, I feel like I've spent the last two days doing nothing but paperwork. Sign here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here. I still need to get fingerprinted and do some (guess!) paperwork at the district office, and hopefully after that I'll be done for awhile.
Jasper seems to be holding up very well to my new schedule. He's never spent this much time in his crate before, but he doesn't seem to be overly anxious when I let him out after I get home, and he goes in willingly every morning. Given how well he's doing with the cats, I'd like to leave him out of the crate during the day, but I'm anxious about Arcadia escaping through the doggy door. So until we solve that problem, he's crate-bound on weekdays.
And with that, I'm going to leave you with the most beautiful thing I've seen in weeks--tonight's sunset over New Mexico.
Jasper seems to be holding up very well to my new schedule. He's never spent this much time in his crate before, but he doesn't seem to be overly anxious when I let him out after I get home, and he goes in willingly every morning. Given how well he's doing with the cats, I'd like to leave him out of the crate during the day, but I'm anxious about Arcadia escaping through the doggy door. So until we solve that problem, he's crate-bound on weekdays.
And with that, I'm going to leave you with the most beautiful thing I've seen in weeks--tonight's sunset over New Mexico.
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