Monday Night

First I'll just get the obligatory Gracie mention out of the way - she did fine last night. :) She seemed a little lost without the routine of sleeping in her crate, but after sleeping in there for three months, I guess that's to be expected. She eventually settled in and slept on the futon all night, so that was good. As for me, I'm still watching her, just not as closely as I was. When I see her jumping from something, I hold my breath until she is safely on the floor, but I do let her make the jump on her own. That's progress, believe me. Also, this whole experience has made me really glad I'm never having kids. If I worry this much over a cat, how would I be with a kid? It's a scary thought.

Anyway. Life is settling back to normal, now that she's out of the crate. Spring is here, so J is doing stuff in his rooms upstairs again (it's awful cold up there in the winter). We decided that he should take over the spare room for his music, so it's his studio now - and still a spare room for when we have overnight guests again someday. I'm glad he has someplace to practice his bass with plenty of room now.

So he was moving stuff around last night, and I helped him a bit. And then he made us some yummy fish for dinner (and let me tell you, I can't believe I'm actually eating fish - he has performed a miracle here), and some cheesy mashed potatoes. I love having real food for dinner. It's hard to believe I only really used to eat cereal and microwaveable stuff. I also got some Simming done. It was a quiet night. And now it's almost time to go home, so bye!

Great News

Great news! I called the vet and left a message, asking how I would know when it's okay for Gracie to be out of the crate full-time, and when the vet tech called back, she said to go ahead and let her free. Woo! So Gracie will be officially released from her crate as of this afternoon. And I'm sure I'll stop watching her like a hawk and worrying about her leg soon, right?

So that's the good news, but then of course the fact that my vet had one of the techs call me back instead of taking two minutes to call me herself, and that they said to go ahead and let her loose without even asking how she was doing on the leg - well, it's just one more sign that it's time to change vets. When I take Bernie for his annual shots this year, he'll be going somewhere new. I need to find someone I like and trust as much as I used to like and trust these people.

Anyway, so Gracie will be happy to get her freedom back, I'll be happy to stop worrying about her (I'm sure it'll happen someday soon), and J will get to bring his weights up from the basement and put them in the mudroom, where the crate Gracie has been living in is currently sitting. So overall, it's good news.

And unless she hurts herself again, this blog will stop being all Gracie, all the time. :)

And before I sign off, I just want to say - J is off today, and he's going to cook me dinner tonight. How cool is that? He is pretty much the best, I think. :)

Excellent Sunday

Today was a really good spring Sunday. J and I watched a movie this morning, then we went out and did yard work for the first time this year. The lawn is mowed, weed eated and looks so pretty. By June I'll be sick of mowing the lawn, but for now it's fun. And then we went to a local diner for dinner, and had some great burgers, fries and ice cream sundaes for dessert. Yum!

And Gracie continues to do great! She is limping, but her bad leg hits the floor every time, which is great, and she's getting stronger. Pretty soon I'll get brave enough to let her jump without stopping her, and she'll be free of the crate for good. It'll happen soon.

Boring entry over. :) Happy Sunday evening!

Encouraged

Gracie is starting to put her foot down when she walks - at least when she walks slowly. She's not putting her full weight on it yet, and she's still hopping on three legs when she moves more quickly, but when she's just walking along at a slow pace, she's putting it down. I am SO happy. I feel like maybe her leg really will heal, and maybe she'll be back to having the run of the house all the time in the next couple of weeks, even when I'm not here to watch her.

Her leg and foot had been rather swollen, too, and that seems to be going down. Her foot looks like a more normal size today. Woo! I needed these good signs. Now I can stop worrying about her so much.

So today is going to be a quiet, boring kind of day, I think. I'll be watching a Netflix movie this morning so that I can send it back. If I get it in the mail today, I should get The Golden Compass on Tuesday, and I really want to see that, now that I've read the books. And other than watching that movie, I have a Sims story to write and maybe some Sims to play, I have a book that I'm close to finishing (Duma Key, by Stephen King) and I have two weeks worth of ellens and three weeks or more of General Hospitals on the DVR to watch. I might not stick with the GHs, though. I'm getting kind of sick of it, after five years of watching it every day.

And now I'm going to start my movie and hold my kitty, who is healing so well. I hope you all have great Saturdays.

Suck It, Bologna

Screw the bologna sandwich today - I'm having cheese sticks for lunch. Yum. :)

Exhausted

I tell you what, having a cat who is recovering from a broken leg and has to be watched like a hawk is exhausting! I've had her out of the crate for most of the time that I've been home from work - about an hour and a half - and I'm tired already!

I also called the vet back, because she is getting around great - but she's doing it on three legs. She isn't putting her formerly broken leg down at all. It's also a little swollen. So I called them to find out what they should have told me yesterday - what to expect while she's recuperating. And apparently, it's normal for her to not want to use her leg right now, and in fact it could be a couple of weeks before she does start using it. And I also found out that what I'm doing is exactly right - she should stay confined in her crate while I'm at work or sleeping, and only be out when I'm there to supervise her and stop her from jumping off anything.

It would have been nice if they had told me that yesterday, though.

Anyway, in the time I had her loose before I made myself dinner, which was about an hour, total, she about gave me a heart attack twice. First she tried to jump on the counter when I was putting my mini pizzas in the toaster oven. She almost made it, but not quite, so I had to grab her really quick before she fell. And then she was sitting on my lap, and Bernie (my dog) came over and got into her face (because he was wanting loving from me, not because he wanted anything to do with her), and she jumped off my lap. But luckily she didn't hurt herself.

So I think for a while she is going to be out for about an hour at a time, or so, longer if I hold her on my lap too. Recuperation is going to be a long, slow process. Sigh.

Cows, Horses, Hay Mazes and Signs

It is such a beautiful day outside today. I had to go to one of the dining places on campus today, to coordinate the installation of a new sign for it, and found out on the way over that it's Ag Day here on campus - Agriculture Day, that is. There were horses, one with a foal, cows and calves penned up in the middle of campus, there was a hay bale maze for kids set out, plus some shiny farm equipment. Kids had been bussed in from the surrounding schools to see the animals and there were a bunch of them running through the maze, honking the horn on one of the tractors and looking at the animals. It was fun to watch, while I was standing there waiting for what turned out to be three people make the decision on where to put the sign, and two more to say that it was okay, because there shouldn't be any wiring in that spot.

Work done by committee is always fun, isn't it? What's more fun is that when we got it all decided and okayed, I left the installation guy to do his thing, and I went to lunch. When I came back, I saw that he had angled it wrong. Sigh. But it's already in the concrete, so I don't imagine there's much that can be done. Oh well. At least the sign is there, right?

Cast Free Gracie

Gracie is home, her cast gone. She's limping on the leg a little, and I don't trust it enough to just let her loose in the house. She was loose in the mudroom for a while, and I tried to bring her out to the living room, but she just ran limping back to the mudroom - for now, I guess that's where she feels like she needs to be. I'm sure she'll get over that eventually. And I'm sure I'll get over thinking her leg is made of glass, ready to break again the first time she jumps down on it. It may take me a while, though.

The vet's office disappointed me again, too. I know they were doing me a favor by not charging me to take off her cast, and I appreciate that, I really do. But I went in there today with Gracie, and the receptionist took her to the back and they took her cast off, and she just brought her back out in her crate. I never talked to a vet at all. After she's spent three months in a cast, and even though they're taking it off, they're not sure how good her elbow is healed, shouldn't they talk to me and give me some instructions on what she should and shouldn't do? Should she just be loose in the house right away, or should she just be in one room or in the crate still? No one told me anything. Shoot, I didn't even get to see her out of the crate until I got her home. So I think I'll be finding a new vet. And that makes me sad, because I've gone to these people for years, and always trusted them, but now for two visits in a row, I've been treated in ways that I don't like.

Stupid vets.

So, since I didn't get any instruction from the vets, I'm just going to keep her in the crate for a couple of days when I'm not home and at night, just to make sure she doesn't try to do too much too soon. And then I'll just watch her when I'm at home, to make sure she doesn't re-break her leg.

In the meantime, her leg needed a lot of grooming. It was full of dead hair, which I pulled out as much as I could - she groomed it herself the rest of the way, but I didn't want her swallowing anymore of that dead hair than necessary. It looks good now, just with way less hair than normal, and a bit of a bald spot on one side, where the cast must have rubbed it. But I'm sure it'll look normal again soon.

8 Years

Double updating today, because I need to mention - it has been 8 years today (well, at about 11:55 tonight it'll be 8 years exactly) since my Mom died.

I love you, Mom. I miss you every day of my life.

In the first two years after she died, I thought I might never get over it. By the third year, I had finally accepted that she was gone, and started to move on, without being plagued by grief and depression every day. Now, eight years later, I think of her every day, and I still wish she were here, but it's not a constant pain like it used to be. I still miss her like crazy, though. She was opinionated, she was fun, she loved ribald humor, and she was my mother.


High School Mom


1987 Mom in Hawaii

She was beautiful. And can't you just see the love of life shining in her eyes? I can.

Gracie and the Cast

I just talked to Gracie's vet. The radiologist didn't see any real difference between this x-ray and the one from 3 1/2 weeks before, so they're just going to take the cast off and see how she does. I'm hoping for good things. We'll see. If it breaks again from her just doing her usual stuff, then the leg will have to come off, so cross your fingers for me that she is really healed, okay?

Also, I said something to the vet about her office making me pay the whole amount of the visit from last time. She said she would have okayed me paying just my regular $50 payment, if she had been there. Which doesn't help me be any less broke this month, but at least I had the satisfaction of talking to her about it. Which doesn't really do anything, but oh well. She also said she wouldn't charge me for taking off Gracie's cast, so that's a good thing. I really don't want this bill to climb any higher than it has to. (Another good reason to hope she is healed for good.)

I'll update tomorrow afternoon with how she's doing, sans cast.

People are Nasty

I was just in the restroom at work. Someone came into the stall next to me, peed, wiped, and then just walked out of the stall. No flush. Then she went to the sink and did something - fluffed her hair with her pee-germ covered hands, presumably, and then left, without washing her hands. I tried to see who it was, to make sure it wasn't someone I work with, and I don't think it was - I think it was a student.

Still. What the heck, people? When you go to the bathroom, you FLUSH THE TOILET. And when you've done that, you go to the sink and WASH YOUR HANDS. It's not hard. Your Mama should have taught you to do that when you were just a wee little tyke learning not to fill your pants. Just do it. You're making you Mama sad, and you're grossing the rest of us right the fuck out.

Yuck.

Gorgeous Spring Day

Wow, today it is just absolutely gorgeous outside. It's extremely windy, but the sun is out and warm, and it's just great. The farmers have been spreading manure in the fields across the street, so it's been rather stinky, but they tilled the fields today, and suddenly the smell is bearable. We've been outside, scooping dog poop and getting the lawn mower started for the first time after a long winter. There hasn't been any mowing done yet, because J is going to change the oil in it first, but it's at least been started. And now J is outside working in the garage - picking up more of the crap I had back there (I really had filled the garage with crap, which most men would find to be a horrible offense, I think). Little by little, he's reclaiming the garage as usuable space.

So, it's just a very nice day. I love weekends - I just wish they lasted longer. Going back to work tomorrow is just going to suck. At least once Tuesday is over, my schedule at work should go back to a more normal state, meaning a less frantic pace of work. Which is good. I've enjoyed the fast pace, but I'm ready for a break.

J and I have done some doggy maintenance today, too. J cleaned out the dogs' ears, because they just get so incredibly dirty. And when we were sitting outside, enjoying the nice day, I got the dog brush out and brushed Bernie, and J brushed Duff and Rosebud. Shedding season is here, you know. Bernie has started dropping large amounts of hair every time he shakes himself - or stands up or sits down or lays down or just breathes - and the more hair I can brush out of him outside, the less hair ends up in the house. Which is good.

And now I'm going to go back to enjoying the day. I hope you are doing the same!

Vet

Sorry I forgot to post last night. I'm not doing very good at this posting every day in April thing, huh.

Anyway. I took Gracie to the vet yesterday, so very hopeful that she would get her cast off. She didn't, but she's really close. The vet wanted the radiologist to look at the new x-ray and see if she thought it was there, or if Gracie needed more time just to make sure. So she's wearing it at least until Tuesday, because the radiologist is only in on Monday afternoons (apparently there aren't many animal radiologists around, because this one travels from one vet clinic to another, only spending part of one day per week in mine).

So I was disappointed to take her home with her cast still on, but I can live with waiting until next week, I guess. And I got to see the x-rays - this one and the one from her last visit - so I got to see the new bone filling in around the break. And there is one dark line in the middle that seems to be a weak spot to me, so if the radiologist says we should wait a few more weeks, as sad as it'll make me to keep her in the crate that much longer, I'll accept it. I don't want her leg to just break again the first time she jumps down onto it.

Anyway, so the visit went pretty well, and Gracie was really good - she loved getting attention from the vet and me, and just made friends with everyone there. But then the visit was over, and I walked out to the lobby.

Now, when I first had to take Gracie in for this, I arranged to pay them over time, because I just didn't have the money to afford paying the whole bill in one shot. J was kind enough to offer to lend it to me if they wouldn't do a payment plan, but they did, so it was okay. I could get Gracie taken care of, and not have to worry. And I'd have them paid off by July, latest, anyway. And that's been working great so far. I go in with her, I pay my $50 payment, and they have me fill out new payment agreements for the new total of my bill. It worked great, that is, until yesterday.

For some reason, yesterday they decided that the payment arrangement was only for the last visit, and they needed me to pay the total amount for yesterday's visit. It was only $100, which may not seem like a lot to some people, but for me, that means there is a bill that isn't going to get paid this month. I don't have extra room in my budget right now to pay extra to anyone. So I was very upset about that. And not only that, but when I got my receipt for the first visit, it said on the bottom that rechecks were free. The first time I took her back in, that was true. They charged me $75 for the x-ray, but nothing for the recheck. And then last time, they added $25 to the bill for a recheck. I asked about that last night, and suddenly they know nothing about free rechecks, either. So they're adding that little bit extra to the bill every time I bring her in (and of course I was stupid and threw that first receipt away, so I have no proof of the free recheck thing).

So, obviously I wasn't very happy when I left there yesterday. I'm going to write them a complaint letter today. I've always had good experiences there. The vets are caring people who I don't have any hesitation trusting with the care of my animals. The one vet endeared herself to me forever when Bo had to be put down - she called me in on a Sunday to put him down, because she was afraid he wouldn't make it to Monday, and she didn't want him to die alone in a cage. She even let me take him outside, and she put him down out there. So this experience yesterday has just left a very bad taste in my mouth. I need to tell them about it.

And I guess this is where I'll end that story. I'll update next week with the decision from the radiologist.

Fading Fast

The concert last night was SO fun. So fun that the band didn't want to stop playing, apparently, because they were on stage for about two hours. Woo! And then two of the members of the band came out to sign autographs, which was amazing - I've never seen a band do that for the general public before, only for VIPs. So we stayed to meet them and get J's stuff signed. Then a quick trip to Wendy's, so that we could get overcharged for dinner (thanks, drive-up dude), and we were home. I crawled into bed at Midnight. Did I mention that I'm a wuss who is usually in bed no later than 10:00? Yup. I am. It was worth it, because we had a great time, but - oh man, I'm so tired now. I drank a soda this morning, and was doing pretty well, but now, after lunch, I'm fading fast. Zzzzzzzzzz.

So, the band wasn't the only show being put on last night, though. People watching can be so much fun at events like these! I spent a large majority of the show watching a few people.

First, and foremost - the woman I couldn't take my eyes off of. She had short blond hair, which was tossed around with abandon. A red halter top, to show off her large chest. Tight blue jean capri length pants, with white stitching on her ass. She was obviously very drunk (and this venue doesn't serve alcohol, so she accomplished at least most of that state before the show). Her boyfriend was this doofy looking dude who had this stupid grin on his face all night, like he was saying, "Can you believe I get to nail this every night? Every night! Woo!"

Anyway, so she spent most of the show throwing her head back and forth, doing lap dances on her guy's lap and pretty much doing a strip tease dance, only without the stripping. But she had the hip grinding and the chest thrusting and the sexy looks all working for her. There were two guys (and their girls) sitting at the same table as this lovely couple - lucky them. The guys couldn't help but stare at her, so I kind of felt for their girls.

At one point I looked over, and this woman had passed out, draped across her guy's chest. LOL! She woke up when the band hit a high note, and then she was back to dancing. Her guy was either going to get very lucky last night, or else she was going to pass out as soon as she got to the car - one or the other (and I'm betting she passed out).

Then behind me, there was this boy who looked to be about 13 or 14 years old. Old enough to have his hormones going crazy (and yes, he was aware of this chick in red). He was with his mother. Fun, right? Well, actually it was kind of creepy, because she kept rubbing his back, like you would your lover's. She wasn't just rubbing the middle of his back, or his shoulders - she had her hands on the small of his back, too. Inappropriate, much? I see that kid growing up with serious Mommy issues.

Also going on, at our own table, was something I didn't hear at all - J told me after the show. A couple was sitting next to J and apparently they fought throughout the whole show. Fun!

And of course, since this is an older band, the crowd there to see them was mostly middle aged people (which I guess J and I are now, too, sigh). It always seems so weird to see pudgy, gray haired old people with glasses bobbing their heads at a rock concert. Where are the teenagers, dancing in their seats and brandishing their lit up cigarette lighters in approval? I may not have gone to many concerts when I was a teenager (okay, only one), but that will always seem normal to me. I don't know where all these old people came from. :)

Okay, back to sitting here working on stuff and trying not to fall asleep (she says, as her eyes close and her head bobs forward).

Asia

Tonight J and I are going to see Asia. :) That should be fun! I like going to concerts with him - we have a good time at them.

Anyway, so I'm leaving work early to spend some of the day with him, which should also be fun. :) I always enjoy leaving work early.

Speaking of work, it has been so crazy busy! I've never been this busy in this job. It's kind of nice, though, really. The days are going by much faster. And when I start to get overwhelmed, I just stop, write down everything that needs to be done, and prioritize it all. It makes it seem much more manageable. And then I get things done ahead of time, and can plan a little afternoon off! So it works.

So I guess that's all I have for now. (Except - two more days until Gracie's vet appointment, woo! Cast free cat, here I come! I hope. :) I hope you're all having great Tuesdays out there!

Right Now

Watching Bones. Commercials muted. Gracie on my lap. J sleeping in the next room. Bernie on the floor next to me. Willow growling on the couch. Space heater running in the dining room. Belly full of peanuts (and yummy fish).

8:27 p.m., Monday, April 14th, 2008.

(Exciting entry? No, but it's kind of hard to type with a broken legged kitty on my lap.)

There Will Be Milkshakes

J and I watched There Will Be Blood today. The movie was disappointing - long and boring. Daniel Day Lewis was great in it, but the movie itself - blah. There was, however one scene that we both loved. Here is our favorite part (if I can get the code to embed this to work correctly), featuring a line that J will be saying over and over from now on:



"I drink your milkshake!" :D

McDuff's Birthday!

Today is our little McDuff's 10th birthday! Happy Birthday, McDuff!



This little cutie stole my heart shortly after J did. :) He's the sweetest little guy you've ever seen, he loves to kiss and he really likes nothing better than going into the bedroom and sleeping on the bed with me, J, or both of us. He gets along well with my two dogs - okay, he doesn't like Willow much, because of her extreme grouchiness, but he seems to think of Bernie as a cool big brother. He follows him around the yard when they go outside together, and he gets very excited when we first get home from work,and we let Bernie out of his crate. And of course he loves Rosebud to no end. He likes to curl up with her, with his head on her back, and I often see him grooming her, by cleaning her face and even in her ears. He's a good little dog. (And it's insanely cute, seeing him get his little face underneath her huge floppy Basset Hound ears.)

Happy Birthday, little Duff man! I hope you stick around with us for 10 more.

Tired Now

Oh, so tired all of a sudden. Yawn. I think it's going to be an early to bed kind of night.

So, work has been kicking my butt lately! I have a lot of projects going on - well, a lot for me. I'm kind of used to sitting there hunting for things to do. But now they've got me busy almost non-stop. It's exhausting! The week is going by really quickly, though.

And because of work, I had to change Gracie's appointment. I'm going to have to be at a work thing Friday afternoon of next week, so I changed her appointment to Thursday. So, one week from today, I'm hoping she will be cast free! It's exciting.

And now, probably because of the tiredness, I'm out of things to say. So. Happy Thursday night to you! I'm going to go back to playing the Sims 2 until it's time to go to bed.

A Real Entry Today

Sorry for that poor excuse for an entry last night. Work has been getting really busy for me lately - a situation which is very unusual, as I normally have ample time to sit on my ass at work and write in here if I want to. But this week has been non-stop working, which is good because the days go by really fast. It just makes updating here a little harder. And who wants to update from home, when there are fiances to hang out with, Sims 2 to play, TV to watch and books to read? :)

Anyway. So, J got home from his trip at about 1:00 on Sunday, and then he was kind enough to want to hop back into a car to drive me to the mall to try to buy me a spring jacket. Of course, we weren't successful in that quest, because apparently spring jackets are in the stores when it's still winter outside, so there weren't many still around now that it's actually spring. Sigh. If I had wanted a bikini, though, I'd have been all set.

But the trip wasn't wasted, because he was kind enough to buy me a new pair of sneakers, to replace my worn out, stinky ones, and I finally used my Border's gift card to buy a couple of books. And we ate at Johnny Rocket's, which I had never even heard of, much less been to. The food was good, and I kind of wished my Mom were still around, because she would have loved the 50s ambiance and the music they were playing. I miss her all the time, but certain situations make me think of her even more.

Since the week started, nothing really exciting has happened. Gracie is getting ever closer to getting rid of her cast. I'm still loving playing Sims 2. I'm writing the most recent chapter of my Sims 2 legacy story. J and I watched Hell's Kitchen last night, which is always fun.

So, yup - nothing too exciting. :) But at least I got a real entry in for today, woo! And now I have to get back to work. Sigh.