Yogurt and Other Fun Stuff

You may or may not know that I am lactose intolerant. This doesn't mean I can't eat any dairy at all, in my case - it just means I have to stay away from certain things. I can eat ice cream and cheese, but I can't drink regular milk. I have to get the lactose free kind. And I have to use that kind in anything I make with milk, such as mashed potatoes. It's been about seven years since lactose has been bothering me, and once I figured out that was my problem, I've also avoided something I love - yogurt. Well, I recently tried it again, just to see if it would bother me, and it didn't! So I am now enjoying some Yoplait strawberries 'n bananas yogurt. Yum. Eating it makes me happy.

I do not, however, like chunks of fruit in my yogurt. I need to make sure the next kind I buy doesn't have those.

***

So, last night J got called back into work when he had only been home for an hour or so. Sigh. Poor J. While he was gone, I sat and held Gracie, my broken legged kitty, and watched The Jane Austen Bookclub. And it was so good! I really enjoyed it. I'm going to add it to my Amazon wishlist. It made me want to read Jane Austen again, too. :) I have four of her books, so I may be re-reading some of them when I'm done with my current book.

***

Speaking of Amazon (which I mentioned up there), I preordered my Freetime Sims 2 expansion pack a couple of months ago, and it came out yesterday. Have they shipped it to me yet? No. Sigh. I'm very sad now.

***

I've been getting headaches almost every day for the last couple of weeks. I've been getting lots of sleep, so it's not that. I'm eating, so it's not a lack of food. The headaches are mostly in my forehead, which makes me think it's sinuses. Stupid sinuses.

***

And now my computer needs to be updated more. Sigh. So, bye!

Finally Finished

Yesterday, after months of working on it, I finally finished the baby blanket I was making for my great-niece Emma, who was born like three months ago. I'm sure speedy, aren't I? :) Now would be a great time to show you a picture of the blanket, but - I didn't think to take one. So. Yup. But I'm happy that it's done, anyway.

Now I have to go buy some more baby yarn for Michelle's baby girl, due in May. I'll have like two and a half months or something (I'm not sure what her due date is) to get it done before my newest great-niece is born. Will I have it done? I'll shoot for yes, but I'm not even holding my own breath on that one. I know myself too well. There is a new expansion pack coming out for the Sims today, which I'll have tomorrow or the day after, so you know where my free time is going for a while.

Well, that is, the free time that I don't share with J, of course. Spending time with him is still my favorite way to spend my free time, even over the Sims! :)

Also, in case you didn't notice, the 365 blog link that used to be on this page is gone. I thought I'd be able to make at least 5 or 6 updates a week, between this page and my Sims 2 livejournal, but I just wasn't making it, and I'm not going to force myself to try anymore. However, Nanoblogmo or whatever it's official name is can now be done in any month, instead of just November, so maybe I'll sign up for that every two or three months. Maybe. If the mood hits me.

President's Day

It's President's Day (Presidents' Day?) here in the U.S. - a government holiday. And yet I'm at work. What's wrong with this picture? Sigh. I'd much rather be home with J, who has today off. Oh well. Memorial Day is only three months away, right? Groan!

Great Weekend

I had the best weekend. J had to work for about half of it - from 7-3:30 on Saturday, and then from 6:30-11:00 last night - but the amount of time we had together was just perfect. We watched DVDs while laying in bed with puppies (one of my very favorite things to do), we went to a diner for dinner on Saturday, and we just enjoyed each other, you know? If you're lucky enough to be in love with your best friend, you do know what I mean. I consider myself a very lucky woman. And then today was Monday, and I had to get up to go to work, but J had the day off, and he's going to make me some truly yummy sounding pork chops for dinner. How can I not be in love with this man? :)

And the time I had alone wasn't bad, either. Not as fun, obviously, but I played my Sims and had a blast doing it. If I could play instead of working, I would be a truly happy camper. And I let Gracie out of her crate for small amounts of time, holding her and listening to her purr until she started wiggling around trying to get down, and then she'd go back in her crate. Her leg will heal, if I can make it so. Despite her desire to run around and damage it even more.

I also fixed the vacuum cleaner, making me feel all womanly and strong. Hee. It didn't have any suction, despite having a brand new bag, so I removed the hose and tried sticking a broom handle down it - it got stuck just past the handle, and I couldn't shove the blockage very far, so I had to cut the hose, only to pull out an animal toy. Oh the fun of small stuffed toys laying on the floor, for unsuspecting vacuum cleaners to suck up. I taped the hose back up with electrical tape, put it back on the vacuum, and voila! It works again. Excellent.

So, fantastic weekend. A good time by myself when J was at work, and a fabulous time when we were together. Other than him being home the whole time and one of us winning the lottery, I can't imagine anything better.

Cadbury-yum

Easter is coming. I was just reminded of that when I was in the little convenience store at work, and saw these on the bottom of the candy shelf:



YUM! I didn't have any cash with me, and I didn't have enough lunch money left (we get $6 a day for lunch courtesy of work), so I couldn't buy any. I'm going to tomorrow, though. Easter rocks! (Also, I might have to check for these at the grocery store, in bigger bags. Yum!)

I am Twilight

Copied from Cathy.

This actually describes me pretty well!

Bowl Sunday

Yesterday was bowl Sunday - and not just Super Bowl Sunday, either - it was also Puppy Bowl Sunday! If you have Animal Planet, I hope you watched, because it was super cute. Our favorites were Jackson, who was just the cutest, most hyper little West Highland White Terrier ever, and of course Colt, who was a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. He didn't do as much as Jackson, but he was adorable, and I wanted him to be mine. Only not really, because four dogs is enough. But you know what I mean.

But we didn't only watch the Puppy Bowl, of course - we watched the Super Bowl, too. Would it shock you to know that it was the first Super Bowl I've ever in my life watched? Because it was. I've never watched football before I met J. It was fun to watch, though. As for the ads that everyone is always eager to see - eh. Alice Cooper was in one for Bridgestone tires, which we had to watch for because J is a huge fan of his, but he wasn't in it long. Otherwise, the only one I really loved was the Coke commercial with the Stewie Griffin and Underdog balloons fighting over the Coke balloon, only to lose it to Charlie Brown. Excellent! Charlie deserves to win something for a change. Kudos to the people who came up with that one.

My other favorite part of Bowl Sunday? The snacks! Extra sharp cheddar cheese and crackers (and pepperoni and mustard, if you're J), Tostitos, Diet Pepsi - good stuff.

I might just look forward to watching it again next year. :)

Gracie and Her Cast

Gracie had a vet appointment yesterday, to do a recheck on her leg. The cast looked fine, so the vet didn't change it, but she did do an x-ray to find out that her leg was starting to knit back together, but it was going slowly, so she's going to be in the cast for a while. No problem - she wants out of the crate pretty badly, but she's doing well in there. And then this morning I went in to check her food and water, and noticed that the cast had fallen off. D'oh! Damn it! So I had to head back to the vet with her today to have a new one put on, and I only hope she didn't undo the little bit of healing it had started to do. We'll see.

So she's at the vet's office today, getting re-casted, so to speak, and my bill is going higher and higher. Sigh. The x-ray they took yesterday added $77 to the bill. Will they have to do another x-ray today? I have no idea, but guaranteed the bill will be going up again, because even if they don't do another x-ray, they will need to sedate her to put a new cast on. Sigh. I hate bills.

I just hope that the outcome of all of this will be that she heals perfectly and is back to normal at some point - probably in March or April. We'll see.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and J Spoils Me

Today is my Mom's birthday. She would be 70 years old, if she were still here. I love you, Mom, I miss you and think of you always.

*********

I have been so incredibly spoiled this week. J is on vacation this week, and instead of laying around relaxing and watching TV all week, he has been cleaning like mad - the house looks so great I can't even tell you - AND he has been cooking me dinner every night. Talk about spoiled! We had salmon last night, and we've had stuffed chicken and cheesy pasta and corned beef - it has been so luxurious. I can't remember the last time that I have had someone cook for me this much. No, wait - I can remember, and it was my Mother, before I moved out of her house when I was 19. So there you go.

And we've spent the evenings together, when I've gotten home from work. We've watched TV and watched an episode of Buffy (which I really missed - it's been months since we've done that) and basically we've just enjoyed being together. It's been a really nice week.

I'm lucky to have him.

What I Want

What I want to do today:

1. Go back home and snuggle into bed with J. Who has probably gotten up by now, but it's still what I want to do.

2. Spend the whole day at home with J, just relaxing and hanging out.

3. Not much else.

It sounds so good to me. I miss you, J. I wish I were home with you.

Basketball and Cold and Gracie, Too

Yesterday J and I went to they Syracuse basketball game with his Mom. The team lost, but it was a really fun day, anyway. I like his Mom - it's fun to be with her. We went to the game, and had a soft pretzel and a soda while we watched, and then we went to a local diner where his parents like to go, and ate a late lunch. It was a very fun day - long, but fun.

Today it is freaking cold outside, and it's going to be just as bad tomorrow. Brrr. The good news is that we're doing fine on fuel. Of course, we're keeping the thermostat down to 57, and the kerosene heater can only make up so much to get it warm. It's not too bad in here, though - we just bundle up and use blankets. And the dogs and cats sitting with us helps, too. :)

Gracie is doing well, too. She doesn't like being in the create much, but when I bring her out she doesn't want to sit still, so since I can't let her run around, she isn't out as much as I would like. But I just can't let her walk around like she wants to, for fear of her damaging her leg more, so if she won't sit still for long, she has to go back to her crate. What else can I do? Still, she's eating and drinking, and she's using her litter pan, and she looks good, so she'll be okay. Once her leg is all healed again, she'll be running around just like she used to.

Also, J is on vacation this coming week, and I wish I could have at least taken tomorrow off to be with him. It's a holiday here - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - but I didn't have enough paid time off coming, so I have to work. Sigh. Oh well. I guess I'll just go have fun now. :)

Gracie Update

Behold my Gracie Lou, with her leg in a pretty green bandage, decorated with her name and little red hearts. :) My vet's office did the decorating, and I think it's so cute.

I got off work at 4:00 yesterday, stopped at the store to get some litter for her, and then went to the vet's to pick her up. She is doing fine with the bound up leg. It's a little hard for her to get around with it, but she's going to be confined to the crate until it's off anyway, so that is okay. I have to watch her toes for swelling (so far so good), and I have to watch the bandages to make sure they don't start slipping, because she was very swollen when they put the bandages on, and when that swelling goes down, they could loosen right up. But that's no problem, I can do that. I just hope neither of those things happen on the weekend, when the vet office is closed.

So I bundled her up in her crate, and brought her back home where she belongs. I settled her in with the blankets as bedding, filled up her litter box and a couple of dishes with food and water, and let her get comfortable. She seems a little confused at being in a crate with the door locked, but she'll heal better if she isn't trying to run around on that leg, so that's where she'll be for now. I'll bring her out from time to time to give her a change of scenery, holding her in the living room and letting her socialize with the other cats and see a different room for a while.

I'll tell you one thing, though - I can't wait to have her healthy, bandage free, and running around with Sable again. It makes my heart hurt to see her like this. I hope she heals well.

Gracie

Last night when I went to bed, I read my book for a few minutes before I shut my light off. I was in a good mood, because J and I had spent a nice evening together (he had yesterday off), but for some reason as soon as I shut off my light, I started thinking about Gracie (pictured right there). I realized I had only seen her once that evening after work and before bed, and when I did, she was sitting in front of the mudroom, meowing very low and pitifully. I lay there, getting more and more worried about her, so I finally got up to look for her. I wasn't ever going to get to sleep if I didn't. I searched the house and didn't find her. Zelda and Sable were following me around, meowing, apparently thinking this was a fun new game to play at almost 10:00 at night, but there wasn't any sign of Gracie. Finally I opened the mudroom door and called her name, and I heard her meowing from inside the couch.

Yes, you read that right - from inside the couch. This is an old couch that the cats had clawed on the sides, opening a hole where they can climb in and out. They like to sleep in there sometimes. I called to Gracie, trying to get her to come out, but she wasn't interested at all. I tried pulling her out, and she yelled like I was killing her, so I just went to bed and left her there. I got up at 2:00 or so to use the bathroom, and checked on her again, and she still showed no sign of wanting to come out, so I left her again.

This morning when J got up and got ready for work, he went in and pulled her out of the couch for me. He said she yelled like he was trying to kill her, too, but he put her down on the futon and she ran upstairs, and looked fine. I got up 40 minutes or so after he left, and took care of the dogs and scooped the litter and went to give the kitties their treats. Sable came running, as did Zelda and Lucy, and even Kate came out of her house to get some, but no Gracie. So I called her and called her, and when she didn't come, I took some treats upstairs to the cupboard where we keep some blankets - the cats like to sleep there. And there she was, all snuggled up. I gave her the treats, and petted her head, and she was fine, except that her right front leg looked funny. I moved her leg around, and it felt like it wasn't even attached to her body. It was very weird.

So I got a little freaked, frankly. It was just about 7:00 in the morning. I tried calling my vet's office, but they weren't open yet. So I called J to see if he had noticed anything wrong with her yesterday or when he pulled her out this morning, and he hadn't. He didn't see her much yesterday when he was home, and she ran upstairs fine this morning. So I had no idea what had happened or when. I figured whatever it was it must have happened at some point yesterday, though - that's why she was hiding in the couch.

So I took my shower and got dressed, and then it was finally 7:30, when the vet's office would be open. I got them on the phone, and got an appointment for 9:00. Good. They'll take care of her.

I was pretty much ready to go, but it was only 7:40 or so at this point, and I didn't have to leave until 8:30. So I went online and checked my e-mail, let the dogs out, and went out to the garage to get the cat carrier, then cleaned it up and lined it with a couple of towels for her to lay on. Then I went up and picked her up off the blanket where she was sleeping with Lucy, and put her in the carrier - which was much easier than it could have been, but she still fought, even with one leg out of commission.

We got to the vet, and I filled out the paperwork for her, and asked if I could do a payment plan, and the receptionist told me that they don't normally do those, but she would ask the vet. Which made me sweat a little, because I am B-R-O-K-E broke! Btu luckily I used to work there, and the vets know me and like me, so they said yes to the payment plan. Whew! And the Dr. looked Gracie over and took her back for an x-ray, where she managed to spray her anals all over. Ha! That's my girl. She was a little stinky when they brought her back, but she had shown them, so it was fine. And the vet finally came back in and told me that Gracie's elbow is broken. :( Poor kitty. The type of break that it is usually comes from them either getting their leg caugt in or on something, and it gets broken when they're freeing themselves, or she may have jumped to the floor from somewhere and landed wrong. I'll never know which.

Long story short (is it too late? I think it might be), she is in the vet's office now. They're keeping her until tomorrow. My options were a super expensive surgery or wrapping her leg and hoping it heals well, which it should if she doesn't move around too much. So tonight when we get home, J and I are going to set up Willow's dog crate in the mudroom, and I'll set it up with some bedding for her, a small litter pan and a dish for her food and water. At the vet's suggestion, she is going to be confined to the crate for 4-6 weeks, until her leg is healed. That way she won't be able to move around too much and she won't be able to jump. It's like kitty bed rest. I'll post pictures of her in her crate once she's home and set up, and I'll give updates on her until she's all better.

And as for me? I was more stressed this morning than I have been in a long time. But she's going to be fine. So it's okay. So what if I'll be even more overextended financially? At least my cat will be okay.

Sims and Reading and Other Stuff

I need to take some new pictures to post here. I haven't had any in a while, it feels like.

This is my first normal week of work since before the holidays. It's weird to think that I could have gone three weeks without working a normal five day week, but I did. Well, actually, I worked all of last week, but I was out of town for work the first two days of the week, so it wasn't exactly a normal week.

Anyway. Last night I went to my sister's house for dinner for the first time since Christmas, and it was so nice to see her and her family again. I missed seeing them. Her son didn't know I had gotten engaged, because he wasn't there when I stopped by on Christmas night with J. So he gave me a high 5, which was cute. She has a great family.

When I left there, I drove through the snow and got home to spend the evening alone - J was at work. So I took care of the dogs and changed into my pjs and hung out at my desk in the living room. I watched some TV off the DVR, and I got the pictures together for my next Sims legacy chapter. And when I was done, I picked up my book and started reading.

I don't think I mentioned in here, but I got an amazon gift card from my friend Sally for Christmas, and I spent it on the next expansion pack for the Sims (which comes out in February) and the Philip Pullman trilogy. I had been wanting to read that for a while, and thanks to the movie coming out recently, they are in print in a boxed set. And I LOVE the first book! I just want to keep picking it up and reading more. If I could get away with reading at work, I would. It's great. I haven't been reading for recreation much lately, and it feels really good to be this into a book again. I missed it.

Not Much

My eyes have been feeling hot and tired all day at work today. Is it because it's hot in here? Or from staring at the computer screen all day? I have no idea, but they felt fine outside and at lunch, so it's definitely the office. Sigh.

I'm so happy to be back to a regular schedule at work again. The long break at the holidays was really nice, but since then I've made up time last week by working long hours, and then I had to go on that trip the first two days of this week, so working just a normal, 8-4:30 shift the rest of this week feels like heaven. Of course, this doesn't mean I wouldn't rather be home playing the Sims and petting the dogs and cats, but you know. :)

And wow, I am really out of things to say now, so. Bye! :)

Home Again, Jiggety Jig

I'm back home after my short work trip, and so happy to be here! I got home, thinking that J wouldn't be home for another half an hour or so, but he was here! He surprised me. :) I was so happy to see him. And I came into the house, and when the dogs saw me, they got all excited - especially Willow. I feel so loved! :)

I had a good trip home. I had a friend from work riding with me, so I had conversation on the way there and back, which was nicer than being all alone. And oh man, it's so warm out today! Jen (the friend from work) said when we stopped for lunch that she felt like she was on a road trip in Virginia, it was so nice out. How often can you walk around without a jacket in Central New York in January? Not very freaking often, I'll tell you that.

And now it's 8:15 at night, and the cats are coming around to welcome me back (they're not as demonstrative of their love as the dogs, but it's nice to know they missed me, too), while I play the Sims and watch Law & Order: SVU. It's nice to be home.

Oh, and also - J doesn't decorate for Valentine's Day, but while I was gone? He bought two strings of heart lights and strung them up in the living room. :) He's the sweetest.

Hotel Entry

I had to go out of town for work, so I'm sitting in a hotel, my laptop on my lap (ironic, huh?), watching an episode of Friends. And of course, wishing I were at home, because I miss my J. :) But the trip has been fine. I got here safely, and the meetings haven't been too horribly boring. I had to go to a cocktail reception earlier, which I was dreading, because I usually suck at those things, but I got to hang out with three other people from work, so it wasn't bad. I got to avoid socializing with anyone else, so it was a successful night. And then there was dinner. Woo, free burger! :)

The funniest part of the whole evening, though, was fitting nine people in a seven passenger van. Ha! I ended up riding back to the hotel with my boss sitting on my knee. Now that is something you don't say every day.

Also, J is a genius! This is something that happened Saturday, after I posted my entry. J and I had moved the TV up on top of my DVD cupboard, and everything was working fine. Until I went in there with the vacuum cleaner to clean up the dog hair that had been revealed where the end table used to be. I was diligently vacuuming, and suddenly pop! No more power in the bedroom. J went down to look for the popped breaker, and there weren't any. We tried them all, and still no lights. We had no idea what was going on. I called our fix-it guy, but he never called me back all weekend, so we didn't have any power in the bedroom for the rest of the weekend. Sigh. But! J went to work this morning and was talking to some people, and got an idea of what it could be, and when he came home, all he did was unplug the TV, which wasn't plugged in all the way, and plug it in the rest of the way, and ta dah! The power came back on. So, yeah - he's a genius. I wish I were there enjoying the power right now. And the lesson I'm taking from this is that I should never vacuum again. :)

And now since I'm in a hotel room by myself, I think I might plug in the Sims and see if I can play without an external mouse. Night, folks!

No More Christmas

I got a great night of sleep last night, thank goodness. I got up at about 8:00 or 7:30 or something like that, and still felt like I could have kept on sleeping. It felt great, though.

Today J's brother came out to our house for the first time. He agreed to help J move a dresser here that was still at J's house. So J went out to his house and met his brother there, and they brought it home. I think his brother liked the house - it's very large, so it's impressive to someone who isn't used to a house this size. And it was just nice to have another member of J's family see the house and come out to visit, even if he didn't stay long.

Of course, since I knew he was coming, I spent the time after J left and before they got back cleaning. :) I dusted the furniture (and it needed it desperately), cleaned the toilet, cleaned the sheet for the futon, rinsed out and bagged up the soda cans and bottles and I was vacuuming when they got here. Oh, and I stripped the bed and made it up with clean sheets. The house looks much cleaner now.

We also are taking down our Christmas decorations today. I took down a lot of the smaller stuff this morning while I was cleaning, and we just finished taking everything off the trees. We have boxes of decorations in the living room that need to be moved upstairs, but before the night is over, Christmas will be gone from our house for another 11 months or so. I love the Christmas season, and I'm happy to see all of the decorations go up, but I'm kind of glad to get the house back to normal when it's all over.

Also, if you see the pretty blue button over there on the bottom, you'll see that I've done something completely foolish. I've signed up for blog 365, which means I have to write a blog every day this year (except for February 29th - we get that off). I don't have to write them all here, though - the posts on my Sims livejournal count. So I shouldn't have too much trouble keeping up with it for a while. I can also post just pictures or a video and it counts, so when I'm at a loss for words, expect to see a picture of a dog or cat. :) I'm not guaranteeing that I'll actually keep this up all year, but I'm going to try. So check here often! I'll be giving you lots to read.

But that's all I'm giving you tonight, because it's almost time to help J carry the decorations upstairs to the storage room. Later!

Sleep? We don't need no freaking sleep!

Gracie likes to be held while I brush my teeth in the morning (she used to like the smell of the mint in the toothpaste, now she just likes being held), so in the time before I start brushing my teeth, she usually sits on the toilet, staring at me like this, until I pick her up. She's a cutie.

So, last night I was so tired that I shut down my computers at 8:50, and had the TV off, the dogs out and in and was in bed by 9:19. But instead of getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep, I lay there wide awake, until about 1:00 this morning. When I first went to bed, I was thinking about my Sims legacy, and about some scenes that I need to get the next time I play, for a plotty bit that is going on right now. And I planned out not just the next couple of scenes, but the whole storyline. And then when I was done, I went over it again. And I tried to shut my brain off to go to sleep, but it wouldn't cooperate at all. Stupid brain. Finally I was laying there kind of whimpering, because I was so tired! And I was supposed to be getting up at 6:00 so that I could be at work at 7:00, and that was never going to happen now. And J woke up and heard me, asked me what was wrong, and I answered him all pathetic, "I've been laying here for 3 1/2 hours, and I've been awake the whole time!" He told me to roll over onto my side, and he started rubbing my back. He is so freaking sweet sometimes that it kills me. He fell asleep a couple of minutes into the rub, and I was still awake, but I still think it did the trick - I had managed to relax enough that I was asleep shortly after. You should all have a J in your life.

And of course I didn't manage to get to work an hour early, like I wanted to, but I did manage the regular time, so that's okay. And all of that planning that I did last night was actually worthwhile, because the plans I made all make sense, even in the bright light of day. Woo! Still, though, tonight? I'm hoping to sleep immediately and for at least eight hours. You hear that, brain?

New Year's Day

It's the last day of holidailies. :( I'm glad to be able to take some time off when I want to, but I'll kind of miss updating every day.

For the second year in a row, J and I stayed up to watch the new year in. This year was much better, though, because I wasn't laying in bed with a sore neck. Woo! I was actually upright at Midnight! J and I watched the ball drop, and we toasted with Diet Pepsi, and of course had our New Year's kiss, and then we went to bed. I never stay up that late! :)

The first day of 2008 was very nice. We relaxed, and I did some crocheting (it's time to get that blanket done - the baby was born days ago!), and J took down the outside Christmas lights and I made us scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner. It was a good day.

And tomorrow I have to go back to work for the first time in 11 days. Sigh. I'm going to work two extra hours a day to make up time (I didn't have enough vacation to cover the whole break), so I'm going from not working at all to working 10 hour days. Double sigh. somehow I'll survive, though. It's only three days after all, and then it's the weekend.

I also need to start my healthier eating soon. Once I run out of the candy from my stocking, that's it - way less snacking. I need to drop my cholesterol and just get healthier again. We'll see how I do with that.

And now this incredibly lame first post of the year is over. Sixty-two days in a row, people - I need a break. Happy New Year!