A scratchy throat, a report on parasites, and a holiday bitch fest. You're welcome.

Yes, it's been actual weeks since my last post. Believe me, I wish I'd had the time and inspiration to create some posts, but both of those things have been sadly absent from my life. And now I'm sick. Sort of. I mean, I'm not sure what's up. I'm blaming allergies, but basically it's a feeling of general-worn-outedness (more so than normal), banging hangover-like headaches, and the rawest, sorest throat ever. Of course all of this is coming on when I'm wildly busy at work and I've got actual social events on my calendar. Of course.

On the domestic front, after never having them before, The Geej has contracted lice twice since September. The most recent lice-fest began this past Tuesday when she nonchalantly mentioned at the breakfast table, "My head is itchy." And sure enough, looked at her sclap and there those nasty bastards were. I beelined it to Walgreen's and bought a remedy that lands on the effectiveness spectrum somewhere between scalp napalm and tap water. So far, so good, but WHAT a pain in the ass. I kept her home from school that day while I cleaned everything that had come into contact with her noggin for the past week and treated her scalp, twice. We're still treating her each night and looking for those goddamned nits, but the fucking school and aftercare that she attends better be doing THEIR part to check for infestation, or it's all for naught. I alerted both of them about our situation on Tuesday and got a couple of vaguely reassuring emails about their policies, etc., but I think they should put that shit on lock-down until they are sure that shit's under control. Blech. I guess the ONLY good thing about getting lice in this day and age is that there it is far less stigma around it than it was when I was a kid. I got lice in 5th grade, presumably from the new, non-English speaking student I was tutoring in, no kidding, a broom closet. Her name was Ofelia, and she was 14 years old. I was 11. Our school was utterly unprepared to handle the needs of a student who didn't speak a word of English, so they enrolled her in 5th grade (instead of 7th or 8th, where she should've been age-wise) and then assigned a "gifted" student (moi) to sit in a broom closet with her and go over books that were intended for pre-schoolers. During that period, I got lice. And not only was my mother HORRIFIED (I might as well have come home with a lamprey stuck to my face), the school kept it all on the down-low and treated me and Ofelia like we were radioactive. I was so ashamed to have gotten such a "dirty" ailment, and my mother put a stop to my daily broom closet rendezvous with Ofelia and we were, instead, allowed to sit at a small tabel in the corner of the classroom for our tutoring sessions, which meant we weren't quite so close together. I eventually got over my lice, and Ofelia eventually left our school.

Next week is Thanksgiving. I fucking love Thanksgiving. It's during my favorite season, it focuses on my favorite kinds of food, and there are usually copious napping opportunities. Something I do NOT love? Traveling during the holidays and/or traveling on IH-35, both of which I get to do for this coming Thanksgiving holiday. We're actually going to be at my mom's on Thanksgiving Day, which is a short, non-busy drive and will involve her cornbread dressing, which is truly one of my favorite foodstuffs in the world. So that's good. But the next day, you know Friday...Black Friday...the busiest travel day of the year? We're loading up the car with all three kids and heading to "The Christmas Capital of Texas," Grapevine. Sigh. This whole thing is the brainchild of BH's mother, Dixie. And I love Dixie. Really, I do. And I love my brother and sister-in-law and their kids, who are also going to this family gathering. But OMFG, I am not looking forward to the travel. And also? We're going to be staying here, which means that we'll be dealing with the other thing I despise: holiday crowds. I know that The Geej is going to love the shit out of it. And like I said, I really do love BH's family, so I'm just going to have to focus on that. Because if not? I may lose my shit. BH feels the same way about this whole endeavor, btw. Hopefully we'll be able to keep each other from committing sepuku.

Some happier news: It rained earlier this week. Not a whole lot--about 1/2 an inch at our house--but it was still nice to see. And despite the fact that small rains like this (we had another one about a month ago) certainly perk up the grass and plants around town, the drought is showing no signs of letting up. Fucking drought. I blame Rick Perry. Not because I really think he's at fault, but because I hate him.

Alright, I'm signing off for now. Hopefully it won't be another 3 weeks before you hear from me again.

By the way, that there is a disgustingly real looking turkey cake I spotted recently at HEB. Ewww...

Rainbows! And Giggles!!

Well, not exactly. But I'm in a much better place than I was when I last wrote. Today, I finally went back to work after being out sick for four freakin' days. I am SO unbelievably behind, but it was really good to be back among the living today, however minimal my "To Do" list progress may have been.

Monday and Tuesday sucked donkey balls. I was so miserable and feverish and achy and worn out. It was bad. Wednesday, I started to feel a bit more human, but by that point The Geej was home with a fever. I took her to the doctor, and they tested her for the flu, which was thankfully negative. But that night, she had diarrhea, vomited, and had a fever of 102.7. It was scary. This child rarely gets sick, and this was like the 3rd time she'd ever thrown up in her life, and she was very upset by it all. And I was still operating at way less than 100%, so it just sucked all around. By about 1:00am, her fever had begun to come down, and on Thursday she never got above 99.6. So whatever the Hell it was that knocked her on her ass has come and gone, praise sweet baby Jeebus.

Somehow, BH has managed to escape either of our ailments (knock wood). He's Superman. Or a robot. I'm not sure, but I'm glad he's well.

Next fall, I WILL be getting the flu vaccine.

I've got a lot of stuff on ye olde plate in the immediate future: cleaning the HELL out of The Geej's room and getting rid of a lot of clothes, shoes, and toys she's grown out of and just decluttering her space; Going to see the Vienna Boys' Choir with Dah and The Geej on Sunday; Dinner with BH and my in-laws on Sunday evening; Having The Geej's spring conference with her teacher on Monday. (They allot 20 whole minutes to discuss your child with you! Wow!!); Listening to the new Radiohead and P.J. Harvey albums over and over and over; Getting my summer writing workshop application materials (that are due for 2 workshops on 3/1) completed and in the mail; Getting our tax stuff together and sent off to the CPA; Scheduling our new carpet installation; and so on and so on.

It just never stops, does it? No wonder the black circles under my eyes are just getting darker and more circular.

2000th Post

My mom's getting married this evening. They were going to do it on April 16th (and are still planning on having a big party to celebrate on that date), but decided to go ahead and take the plunge on Valentine's Day. She notified me of this new plan last Friday, and I was planning to attend but...I'VE GOT THE GODDAMNED FLU.

It started on Saturday night--that vague, annoying tickle in the back of the throat that almost always preceedes me getting some kind of sick. But this hit me like a freight train yesterday afternoon, and by last night I was feverish and coughing and battling a horrible headache. Got in to see the doctor this afternoon and she sent me home with a diagnosis, a Tamiflu prescription, and the news that I would be contaigous for at least 3 more days.

So my wonderful husband took The Geej and they went to my mother's wedding in Marble Falls. And here I sit, on Valentine's night, by myself, miserable and blogging. Hey, well at least I'll get to catch up on some of the stuff clogging up my DVR. Wait, that's super depressing. I think I'm gonna go hit the NyQuil and call it a day. Hopefully my next post will be filled with rainbows and giggles.

WARNING: Very Whiny Post Ahead

Last Tuesday night, I started feeling yucky. I blamed it on what I'd eaten for dinner.

Felt better Wednesday morning, but by Wednesday afternoon, super yucky. Achy and queasy. I blamed it on what I'd eaten for lunch. Went to bed early.

Thursday morning, felt sort of normal again. Mid-morning, I started to feel like I was going to puke. Felt achy--like I was one gigantic bruise.Got on the interwebs and did a bit of research and diagnosed myself with shingles. But I didn't have a rash, so I really didn't take my diagnosis too seriously. All I knew was that something was seriously "off". Went to company Christmas party that evening, sang some karaoke and even had some wine. But then, overnight, felt bad again. Blamed it on the wine.

Friday, was awful. In addition to feeling achy and nauseated, I kept having this shooting pain that was originating in my lower right back, and shooting straight through my lower abdomen down to where my torso and right leg meet. I'd never felt anything like this before, and when it would hit me, I would just double over. THAT'S how intense it was. Again, went to bed early.

Saturday is when I first noticed the rash. It started on my right thigh and went down, curving around to the back of my right knee. It was also on my right butt cheek. It was red and painful. Went to an ornament exchange party and joked about how I thought I had shingles. Ha ha ha. What a punchline.

Sunday, the rash was worse and there was more of it, and I was running a fever. So I finally sucked it up and went to the urgent care center. (I went to the one at Slaughter/MoPac, and it was very nice, FYI.) And guess what, MOTHERFUCKING SHINGLES. Grrrr... The doctor told me to follow up with my primary care doctor, and I've been too lazy and pissed off to even call for an appointment.

So now, I'm taking a medicine that's supposed to surpress the virus that's causing the rash, but it is most effective if you start taking it w/in 24 hours of getting the symptoms. I was a bit outside that window so who knows how well it's working...or not. And I've also got a painkiller that I'm only taking at bed time b/c it knocks my ass out. And the location of this fucking rash makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to wear real clothes, so I've been wearing sweats, and pajama bottoms for 3 days now. And I've been trying to work from home but I'm so uncomfortable and tired and generally miserable, that I've managed to accomplish very little.

Okay. I feel better having vented. I mean, I feel better psychologically, but the rest of me still feels achy and painful.

This shit better clear up by like tomorrow because I do not have the patience for it to linger.

The conversation that's been going on in my brain for the past few days:

Why are you getting so worked up about this? It's a fairly routine surgery. You need to quit acting like a baby.

Oh my GOD I'm going to die!

You're not going to die. You're going to be fine, and you'll be able to look back on what an anxious freak you've been, and laugh at yourself.

What if...? What if...? What if...?

None of that's going to happen. It's going to go down like it should, all the cancer will be removed, you'll recuperate quickly, get on some synthetic hormones, and live happily ever after. 

I don't have a will. I need to get a fucking will. I'm 41 years old and have a husband and a child and responsibilities and shit. I need a will.

You're not going to die, dumbass!

I need to go make sure all of my beneficiary information is correct on my life insurance, Roth IRA, and 401k stuff. 

You've got plenty of time to handle all of that because you're going to be fine.

What if I wake up in recovery and I totally freak out and start pulling out tubes and stitches and stuff? Sometimes people do WEIRD stuff when they're coming out of anesthesia. Holy crap, I know I'm going to wigthefuck out.

You've got Valium. Sweet, sweet valium to help you be calm tomorrow.

I need to make sure we've got enough groceries and shave my legs and finish the laundry and make sure all my bills are paid and up-to-date. Do we have enough cat food? Oh crap, we're out of milk.

Your wonderful husband is there. Let him help you. Don't think that you've got to do it all yourself.

If I start crying in my pre-op visit today, I'm going to be very embarassed. What a baby!

They've seen it all. Please quit worrying already.

Is The Geej scared? I'm scared. Is she picking up on that? How can I protect her from this when I'm such a basket case? 

She's curious, but she's not scared. She thinks you can do ANYTHING. You're like superwoman to her. And she'll be in good hands.

I'm going to cry again. I'm sick of crying and being anxious. I can't concentrate on anything. I feel like I'm losing my mind.

You are GOING TO BE FINE. Everything is GOING TO GO WELL. There will be NO COMPLICATIONS. Now, go take a Xanax.

The amazing disappearing week.

Seriously? It's 11pm Thursday night?! How the hell did THAT happen?

Oh yeah, I know: I've been home with The Geej almost all week because she was diagnosed with strep on Tuesday after feeling punky and feverish on Sunday and Monday. To say that trying to work from home while a stir-crazy 5 yr. old is battling cabin fever (both figurative and literal) is an exercise in futility is a massive understatement. I DID get a wee bit of work done, but am feeling quite disconnected and behind at the moment. Luckily, she's been fever free since this morning, so as God is my witness, she WILL be going to school tomorrow.

Yesterday I had my biopsy on the thyroid n-word. They offer no sedation for this procedure, oddly, so thank God I had a few spare Xanax floating around to help me through my hospitalphobia and get me in the door. The procedure itself wasn't too horrible, aside from the 2 lydicaine (sp?) shots in the neck. It was just weird and uncomfortable. They ended up taking five or six samples (I lost count), and I should know something by the middle of next week.

One thing I KNOW I have for sure: Olympic fever. BIG time! I didn't even really care about the Olympics before they started, and I got sucked in by--of all things--speed skating short track. So now, you will find me on any given evening watching whatever weird-ass sport they happen to be featuring on NBC. Plus, I'm a sucker for all the human drama stuff and music montages. Can't help it, people.

Kerplooey!

I don't handle stress well. It takes me down mentally at first, then physically. Since taking my little vacation last week (3 days off; quick trip to San Antonio/Sea World with Dah and The Geej), I've come back to A Situation as work that has been eating me alive. First it was just insomnia. Then I broke out--big zits on my face and back. Then hardcore headaches. And today, I actually had to leave work and come home because it was like a huge boulder of doom just rolled down on top of me--I had a piercing headache, I was dizzy, my stomach was in shreds. I managed to make it home and into the bed, and escaped into a deep, hard sleep for about 3 hours. When I awoke, I was stiff and sore and totally disoriented. BH told me that I looked red and green (feverish and nauseous) all at the same time. And he's right! I've got a 101 fever and have been sick to my stomach--BIG time--since I awoke.

What does this tell me?

I need to figure out a way to better cope with and handle normal and extreme stresses in my life, or I am going to drop dead of a stroke before I hit fifty. Yoga. Meditation. Massage. Exercise. Acupuncture. Or some combination therein. Because this? What I'm feeling right now? Not okay.

Cancelled.

The reservations. The dinner. The babysitter. The going out after dinner. The drinking and dancing. The cocktails. All cancelled.

Instead, I will be sitting my sick ass at home eating thawed-out leftover soup and coughing and trying to keep my head from exploding and covering my walls with phlegm.

And the four-year-old? She doesn't understand what "Mommy is sick" means, apparently. I want to crawl in a hole and die.

I'm only doing this because I'm sick.

I don't know if it's the cedar in the air or what, but for the past 36 hours, I've been feeling progressively like a prominent member of the Undead Society. Coughing. Headache. Sneezing. Runny nose. Etc. Normally, "seasonal" and "environmental" allergies don't faze me. And this is saying something seeing as how I live in the Allergy Capital of the Freakin' World. (Does your local weather forecast include and "allergy forecast"? Because it does in Austin!) But maybe they ARE really getting to me for some reason. Or maybe I'm finally catching the bug that has been going around for about 6 weeks and has kicked the collective ASSES of friends, coworkers, and family around me. Who knows. Who cares. I just feel like hammered dogshit and want to feel better so BH and I can go out and have some fun tomorrow night. I mean, we have a babysitter, reservations, and everything!!

So in lieu of having the mental energy to create a REAL post, please entertain yourself with this video of one of my kittehs--Doug--playing fetch.


Enjoy!

Saying goodbye to 2008 from the relative sanity of my cube at work.

I'm not working. I'm eating lunch at my desk, and then I'm leaving to go--gasp--grocery shopping. Why the gasp? Because I was just down in the godforsaken store, and it is a freakin' MADHOUSE, people. But shopping must occur because I'm preparing a vegetarian stew for Miss Lindsay's New Year's Day soiree tomorrow and, well, we just need groceries.

Okay, so lots has happened since I last posted. Here's the update (stay with me):

Tuesday evening (12/23)
Started having very sharp chest pains unlike anything I'd ever experienced while shopping at Whole Foods. Figured they'd go away. They didn't. After over an hour of this mess, I called my insurance's "nurse line," and described my symptoms and my medical history, and they were like, "Get thee to the emergency room!" So my darling husband drove my reluctant and beligerent ass to the ER, during which time the chest pains stopped (natch). But we went in anyway and spent 4 hours having the whole work-up done--blood tests, chest X-ray, EKG, cat scan, etc. By the time we left (around 10:30 pm), we were starving and we had no clue what had caused the chest pains. And they haven't happened again since (thank goodness). I'm really looking forward to getting the bills for that little night of fun.

Wednesday (12/24)
Woke up and started prepping to cook The Monochromatic Feast. First I prepared a breakfast casserole to be baked on Christmas morning. Then I prepped the squash and corn casserole and au gratin potatoes with goat cheese and chives for that evening's dinner. My mom and The Geej arrived from Horseshoe Bay, and I thought The Geej's eye's were going to bug out of her head when she saw all the new presents wrapped and placed under the tree since the last time she'd seen it. She was one excited little girl. Mom brought the smoked turkey breast and dressing, and we rounded out our dinner with a mixed green salad with bleu cheese, walnuts and pears. Needless to say, we were all STUFFED when dinner was over. We somehow convinced The Geej that she needed to go to sleep so that Santa could come and do his thing, and then we followed pretty soon after.


Thursday, 12/25
The Geej woke up at the crack of dawn to see her loot from the fat man. She was very happy with everything she got, especially the new baby stroller to replace her old one that she'd literally worn out. I got BH a set of rowing lessons and a one-month membership to The Rowing Dock, and he got me a gift certificate for not one, but THREE massages. We also got each other garden gnomes--Matthew and Norm--but that's a whole 'nother story. Christmas evening, we went over to La Turista's to visit with her family and chow down on tamales.


Friday, 12/26
BH fetched his boys, and we had a second round of present-opening. They each wanted--and received--kick-ass new skateboards, and the weather was great outside, so there was much skateboarding in the afternoon. BH also gave the family a 40-lb. punching bag and a bunch of boxing gloves so we can punch and hit and kick to our hearts' content. Dah went back to HSB.



Saturday, 12/27 thru Monday, 12/29
Hung out. Ate. Cooked. Napped. Played with the kids. Hung out some more. Played with the kittens. Tried to keep The Geej and BH's youngest from bugging each other to death. Had dinner with BH's mom and step-dad who were visiting. Had another round of present opening during which The Geej received this ensemble:
On Monday, I went back to work.


Tuesday, 12/30
Worked, and then went to happy hour with four of my favorite gals at the recently remodeled and reopened Paggi House. It was AWESOME. We sat outside (yes, it was nice enough to sit outside), drank wine, ate cheese and crackers, talked, and laughed laughed laughed.

Which brings us to today. As I said, I've got to go grocery shop, then I will fill up my car, go fetch The Geej (she's been at my mom's since Sunday b/c school's closed), return home and cook, clean, and (hopefully) take down that dadgum Christmas tree/kitten magnet.

So goodbye, and good riddance 2008. During this past year I landed a new husband and two step-sons, got a new car, and voted in a new president. I watched my 401(k) and Roth IRAs dwindle and the price of gas soar and plunge. I joined Facebook and didn't blog as much as I should've. I had to put the best cat of all time to sleep because he had an advanced, incurable disease, and I welcomed two new, absolutely insane kittens into our family. I watched my daughter complete her transformation from toddler to little girl. I spent my last year in my thirties. I faced very difficult and trying times at work and passed my 9 year anniversary there as well. And I celebrated my 4 year blogiversary.

Thanks for coming by and reading about my silly life. Hope to see you again in '09.

The reason I haven't posted any photos from the wedding?

I don't have any. That's right: none.

My camera is totally broken and BH's was packed away in his luggage. And our event was so small and low-key, that we didn't hire a photographer. They're SO expensive, and honestly, I don't know any wedding photographers worth their salt who would've taken a 1 hr. gig. So we're patiently awaiting CDs of photos from the several people who were snapping away during the event itself. But I'll give you a written recap so that later, when I post the pictures, you'll have some frame of reference.

Our wedding was last Saturday, 11/1, Dia de los Muertos. It was at 11am and was held at the Historic French Legation in the lovely and simple Carriage House. The weather was gorgeous--sunny and warm--and the wedding itself was small: immediate family only, our kids, and my friend Julie (as my matron of honor) and her fiance, Rob. The Geej was the flower girl, and BH's brother was his best man. After the short (but very sweet) ceremony, we took some photos on the grounds and then headed to Moonshine for a luncheon in their neat little "Sunday House" room. It was all just perfect. At the end of lunch, BH and I changed into our traveling clothes and headed to the airport to go to Santa Fe for a few GLORIOUS days of rest and relaxation at a beautiful resort. Our plane, which stopped in Lubbock on the way to Albuquerque, was FILLED to the gills with Texas and Texas Tech fans headed to The Game. Yay.

But we eventually got to Albuquerque, got the rent car, drove to Santa Fe, checked in to the resort, then just barely made our reservations at a swanky (but unfortunately somewhat disappointing) restaurant. By the time it was all said and done, we were both completely wiped out. Luckily, the rest of our trip involved no schedules (except for a few excellent spa treatments for moi) and lots of chilling. The weather in Santa Fe was perfection (as it almost always is). Our room had a big balcony and a fireplace, both of which we made good use of. I would totally stay at this place again, however, it would be great if it was for longer than just 3 nights next time.

Got back on Election Day (we'd early voted), and got the Geej at school. I was so happy to see the little booger. Next day, I went to work and tried to aclimate, but felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work that lay at my feet. That afternoon when I went to get the Geej from school, I walked in and looked at her, and knew she was sick--dark circles under her eyes, listless. Took her home and, sure enough, she had a pretty good fever and was coughing rather harshly. The fever came down with some children's Advil, but the I stayed home with her the next day because the fever was back--and higher. And this time, it wasn't coming down with the ibuprofen. So I got her in to see the doctor at the end of the day and the diagnosis? Walking pneumonia. Yowzah. This is only the second time she's ever been to the doctor for illness, so to say I was shocked at the diagnosis is an understatement.

So she and I have been stuck at home for FOUR DAYS nursing this sickness of hers. Good news is the fever is gone and the cough is almost kaput as well. The bad news is that "overwhelmed" feeling I was having at work last Wednesday? I am fearing the avalanche I can look forward to tomorrow at work.

I promise, as soon as I can, I will post wedding pictures. But hopefully some pictures from our trip will work in the meantime:

The grounds of the resort--

My handsome husband (which is still TOTALLY weird to say)--

See? I told you we had a fireplace--

The only photo of me taken during the entire honeymoon. Yep, that's how much I slept--

Update/explanation about Earl

Sigh. God. Where do I begin...

A couple of weeks ago, Earl basically stopped eating. And you've seen pictures of him, right? Clearly this is an animal who enjoys eating. Anyway, I sort of chalked it up to the prescription diet food that our vet had put him on after his last visit. But then he started barfing, almost daily. Cats can be barfy, but Earl hasn't really ever been, so this started to concern me. Well, after this went on for several days, I started to get concerned. I took him to the vet last Thursday to get checked out. They did a through exam and work up on him (including X-rays and blood and urine tests), but couldn't figure anything out. He wasn't running a fever, but he was a bit dehydrated, and he did act like his abdomen hurt him a wee bit during the exam. But that was it. So they sent us home a couple of hundred dollars later with some antibiotics, and told me that if he didn't start eating/drinking in the next day or so, to bring him back in.

Next day: Friday. I ended up going out for the Karlabration--and after the hella week I'd had--ended up getting TANKED and spent the night in Karla's extra bed at the Omni. Next morning when I got home, I discovered that Earl hadn't eaten and had, once again, vomited.

I called our vet, who is open for part of the day on Saturdays, and took him in. They re-examined him, but then sent me to the emergency animal clinic with Earl's records so that he could be tended to there (since they were closing and didn't have the staff to do an ultrasound on him). So, off we go to the emergency clinic. And we wait. And wait. And wait. And finally we get sent back to an exam room. And wait. And wait some more. Finally the vet comes in and examines him, and looks over the papers and notes we'd come with. During the exam of Earl's (rather substantial) abdomen, the doctor says, "I feel something in there." He performed an ultrasound and, bingo, there was "something that shouldn't be there" in Earl's intestines. The doctor recommended, that since this had been going on for some days and Earl was getting dangerously dehydrated, that they should go in and do an exploratory surgery to figure out what the suspicious something was. I signed the consent forms, kissed Earl good-bye, and went out and bawled in my car in the parking lot.

They finally performed the surgery late Saturday night, when Earl had received enough IV fluids to be rehydrated, and the doctor called me to give me the report at 12:45am: They'd found a section of his intestine where the intestinal wall was swollen and enlarged, clogging the intestine itself up. So he'd removed this section and then sewed the intestine back together, and finished the operation. From what he'd seen, he said he couldn't tell what it was, but that the lymph nodes in that area looked unusual, so it might be lymphoma or a leiomysarcoma that, hopefully, had not had a chance to metasticize. But all of this is conjecture pending the pathology report.

Sunday, Geej and I went to visit Earl at the emergency clinic. He didn't lift his head, but he purred and made biscuits as we petted him. He still wouldn't eat, however.

Monday, I had to go get him from the emergency clinic by 6:30a.m. then transfer him to our regular vet for continuing care. The bill at the emergency clinic? $2,100 and change. Dropped him off at our vet's office, and he decided not to eat or drink all day long. So they asked me to come and get him so that he could go home to a less stressful environment so that he might be encouraged to eat. But before we left, we gave them $340 more.

Went home, and tried everything I knew of to interest him in food, but with no luck. He did seem happy to be there and got some much needed rest. And he went poop, which is a positive thing. This morning, however, his poor paw on the arm where his IV catheter is was swollen to almost three times its normal size. Poor baby!! And he'd thrown up during the night. Sigh.

So I dropped him off at the vet again this morning for some more care and administration of "appetite stimulators", and will be going back to take him home with me this afternoon. After I lay down my credit card once again.

He's such a healthy cat, that it's just killing me to see him down like this. Plus, I still don't know what the results of the pathology are, and if it's cancer, I'm going to fucking lose it. Seriously.

Thanks for your notes letting me know you're thinking of us. I really do appreciate it. And I'm sure that if he could, Earl would give you a big ol' head bunk to show his thanks as well.

I'll let you know what happens next.

Ugh.

I know that technically "ugh" is probably not a word, but it's the only one I have that adequately sums up how I feel right now.

First off, I've got a HELLUVA stomach ache. And I would insist that it's stress related, except that BH has it too. Must've been something we ate, but I'm not sure what. Right now I'm enjoying some Immodium washed down with a lovely ginger ale in hopes of achieving some sort of normalcy before I try to go to sleep. And I'm lounging in my bed with my laptop, literally, on top of my lap in a valiant attempt to tend to this horribly neglected blawg.

God, it's been so long since I've written a real post that there is much to catch you fools up on. So now, in no particular order...

Yes, I have high blood pressure. But my foxy doctor put me on meds, and tomorrow I'm going for the stress-test/echocardiogram. Plus, I'll get to learn the results of my blood test where they did all the triglycerides/cholesteral stuff. Today while at the dentist, they took my blood pressure, and it was darn near normal (136/70), so yay for that. I will say that since going on the meds, I haven't felt the heart palpitations I used to feel at least a couple of times a day. Sometimes these "flutters" would lead to full on anxiety attacks because of the freaky inner dialogue that would go on when they would happen (Stuff like: "Holy shit! I'm stroking out!), so it's nice that they've gone away.

The wedding plans are progressing nicely. We bought our wedding rings. I've figured out where I'm going to get our wedding cobbler. I've ordered the flowers. We're meeting with an officiant this week. My dress came in and is at the alteration lady as of today. And, I found a PERFECT pair of shoes to go with that were on sale for $28.50 (down from $115). I also bought a cool comb-y thing for my hair do on the day of. Now I just need to figure out what jewlery I'm going to wear and figure out who the hell is actually going to DO my hair on the big day. Any suggestions? We've still got to get our marriage license, and BH still needs to find something to wear, but other than that, we're pretty much good to go.

Work is super crazy right now. I'm part of a very small planning committee for a very big company event that's being held in mid-October, and we didn't start planning it until about 2 weeks ago. So...yeah. Of course it's taking up WAY more of my time that I anticipated, and that's on top of my normal work stuff. I'm just trying to keep my head above water at this point. Let me just say that, by the time our short little honeymoon gets here, I will be more than ready for some downtime.

The Geej has started her karate class at school, and she's digging it. It's cool because most of the kiddos in the class are new to her (as opposed to her already knowing everyone in her gymnastics class). I think her favorite part of karate may be getting to wear her "karate unicorn." She's also going through a "baseball" phase where she's wanting for me to throw the wiffle ball for her to swat at with her big red bat every night. Since she's not related to me by blood, she may actually have a shot at having some athletic skills!

I managed to completely avoid the Austin City Limits music festival this weekend by staying totally south of the river. There were a lot of bands I would've loved to have seen, but I've just gotten where I can't DEAL with the hassle of big huge crowds like that anymore. I know...I'm a fucking senior citizen.

BH and I are talking about re-doing our bathroom. Nothing huge--some new mirrors, new paint, new drawers. But I'm excited!! I'm sure we won't do anything until after we get the wedding behind us, but I'll be ready to rock when we finally get going.

If I hear "Wall Street versus Main Street" one more time, I may vomit.

We've been sleeping with the windows open every night since it's cooled off here, and I'm LOVING it. The only problem: I cannot get up in the morning. It's just too comfy and cozy.

I tried to watch the new Allan Ball series on HBO, "True Blood." I gave it three episodes, and then I said, "Screw this crap." I had real hopes for it since I loved "Six Feet Under" and "American Beauty" so much. However, the best thing about "True Blood" are the opening credits. Seriously: The accents, acting, and writing are SO bad that even sexy blood suckers couldn't keep me interested.

I know I've got more to tell y'all, but I'm beat and still feeling queasy, so I'm gonna sign off and go top off my ginger ale.

More soon...

Hack.

Yep. That's me. Hacking and wheezing and bitching up a storm because I AM SICK AS A FREAKIN' DOG up in here. Summer Cold. Happens every year. Low grade fever. Raw throat. Lots of drainage and coughing. Watery eyes. And oh my GOD, the headache.

Usually comes on swiftly--like within 12 hours--and lasts a couple of days. So yeah, I should be feeling better just in time to head back to work on Monday.

Yay.

But for now? NyQuil.

I'm Alive

Don't believe me? Just check out this clip of me dancing with my Muse sisters. (This clip's for you, Mags.)

I didn't mean to imply--by not posting for days after my last "Yuck" post--that I had kicked the bucket. I am still very much alive. Instead, after that last post, I got to feeling humanish on Friday, just in time to send BH off to Colorado and to see GJ "perform" in her Friday afternoon dance class. After that, I headed back down town to the kick off event for my company's big bi-annual Corporate Event. Then, after that, went to our headquarters for a big party/cook off thing (a la "Iron Chef"), and lasted just long enough to have 2 glasses of wine and some finger food. Then went home, showered, got in my PJs, popped some popcorn, and watch La Vie En Rose on Pay-Per-View. Meh.

Saturday, got up and headed back to the Big Event. Was there from 9:30 to about 5:00pm, attending sessions, trying to be charming, shmoozing, etc. Ran home, changed clothes, fed dog and cat, then headed BACK downtown to the event space in order to attend the big company awards dinner/ceremony. It was scheduled to last from 6:30 to 9:30. It finished up at about 11pm. I was seated between the two Co-Presidents and the CFO, so I behaved. But after dinner was over, I headed down to the bar with the Director of PR for a well-deserved martini. I was so tired though, that it was all I could do to get my ass in my car and head home after that nightcap. Showered and got in bed and, with the time change, it was 2am before I went to sleep.

Next morning--yep--back at The Event for the big keynote speech by the CEO at 9:00am. After that, I had lunch and then headed to Costco and spent about $90 on some Big Bulk Items. Came home, showered, cleaned house, and grabbed an hour-long nap before BH called and told me he was about an hour outside of Austin (driving in with his 2 boys who are moving to College Station this week). So after speaking with him, I realized that I needed to go grocery shopping--have you ever seen how much a 13 year old boy can eat? It's astounding--so then went and spent nearly $200 at the grocery store, including an ice cream birthday cake for the younger son, whose 8th b-day was yesterday. Came home, Dah arrived with The Geej (who was VERY excited by both the arrival of BH's sons and the fact that there was a birthday underway), then I cooked dinner, we had b-day cake, I bathed the Geej, and then endured a world-class sugar-fueled meltdown when it was time for her to go to bed. Finally, I went to bed and practically passed the hell out.

This morning, when the alarm went off at 6-something, it was still dark outside and raining. Hard. GOD I did NOT want to get out of bed. I just wanted to spoon up with BH and snooze all morning. But no: It thundered, and soon a crying Geej was in our room, asking to get into bed. Then I had to get up and get ready to a) take her to Gymnastics Camp (she's going Monday and Friday of this week b/c it's Spring Break) and b) go to the final event of the big Corporate Hoo-Hah, the Annual Shareholders Meeting by 9:00am. I wore this shirt

and got LOTS of compliments on it. If you want one, go here and support my kick ass friends Joshelle. They rule.

After the annual meeting, I headed in to the office, worked, met with my boss, had some AMAZING vegetarian pho at lunch, went back to work, worked some more, then went to pick up The Geej.

All of this is to say, I have been pulling my freaking hair out for the last week or so. I know I always say how busy I am, but seriously, this is redonkulous. Sort of like this owl.

Good night. More soon.

Yuck.

Yesterday, I was feeling fine. Until about noon-ish, that is. Then, suddenly, it's like I hit a wall, energy-wise. I felt drugged and sluggish. I was even slurring my words a bit and couldn't think straight. I felt feverish and my head was banging. Went home and got in bed and totally crashed. When I woke up, I took my temperature, and as I suspected: low grade, annoying fever. Managed to get The Geej fed and bathed--with ample help from BH--then got myself showered and got back in bed. Slept like a dead person, then woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. And for the first time in forever, I e-mailed in sick. Really sick. I ate some apple sauce then took Geej to school. When I got back home, I crawled straight into bed at about 9:30 am. I didn't stir again until BH woke me up at around 4:40pm. Again, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck...a mean truck that didn't really care much for me.

I fucking hate being sick. And this? I have no idea what "this" is. I just feel worn completely down, utterly exhausted. Of course, I have a HUGE, important, work event that starts tomorrow and goes all weekend until Monday. So, yeah...

BH travels to Colorado tomorrow to move his sons to Texas. They're moving close--to College Station--and BH is going to drive them back in their mom's car while she drives the moving van. They'll be with us for spring break/SXSW week next week.

We're excited. It's going to be busy. I need to get well, damnit.

Has it really been four days since I kicked my own ass?

I'm still recovering from New Year's Eve. How sad is that? The hangover is long gone, but the bruises. The BRUISES, people!! If I didn't think I'd alienate and/or totally gross out most of you who take the time to read this silly blog, I swear I'd post pictures. The one on my butt is the most amazing. In a few short days, it's grown to the size of a small galaxy, complete with what look like vivid, spindly blue and purple fingers emanating from its center. Sexy.

My knee is better. I can almost walk like I'm not injured. However, I'm still not able to straighten it out completely. Again: Sexy.

And my newest ailment? TMJ. I've been waking up for at least six weeks now with aching, popping jaws and a bitch of a headache. I looked it up on this here Internet thing and, sure as shit, I've got me the TMJ. Symptoms list:

• Frequent aching/popping jaws and headaches? Check.
• Been grinding teeth for a long time? Check. I've worn a bite guard because of grinding problem since I was in my early twenties.
• Chew gum a lot? Oh yeah. Like a cow with her cud. Because it's classy, yo. But seriously: I chew gum like hardcore smokers smoke--frequently and with much pleasure.
• Stress? Yep.
• Insomnia caused because of aching jaws? You know it!

Sigh. I guess I can go ahead and start blowing through this year's medical deductible with a trip to an Ear/Nose/Throat doctor to get this thing officially diagnosed and hopefully get some relief.

See kids? Getting old is FUN!!

I have yet to lift a finger to take down any Christmas decor. I guess I've got to do it this weekend under penalty of law, huh? Really, I'm just kind of sick of looking at it. I'm ready to pack it away and forget about it until next December when I can (maybe) be charmed by it all over again.

Okay, I'll leave you with some randomalia for good measure:

• I find the smell of Play-Dough insanely comforting.
• I'm not buying the Jan/Michael thing on "The Office."
• I'm jonesing for the return/finale of "The Sopranos," but haven't been able to find out shit about when it's coming back on. Anyone care to clue me in?
• I may be going to a work conference thingie in Vegas ON MY BIRTHDAY! Hello, craps tables. I've missed you...
• I'm cooking up the best birthday surprises EVER for my mom. She drives me totally nuts, but she's so wonderful and has been so supportive of me through all of my BULLSHIT over the past year or so. She more than deserves it.
• My good buddy Michelle has been added to the blogroll over there on the right (Ruby Bird). Check her out. She's one of the coolest ladies in the land.

More. Soon. Freaks.

NyQuil* Rules!

*Or in my case, the less expensive CVS store brand NyQuil knock-off.

It started with that damn tickle in the back of my throat on Tuesday.
By yesterday, I'd started coughing up strange looking globs of gunk and feeling run down.
This morning, I woke up and felt sort of like I'd been run over by a Mini Cooper.
Tonight, it feels like I've been run over and then backed up on and run over again by a dump truck.

I'm sick, hence the lack o' posts.

Hack.

Cough.

Could this sickness be caused by the fact that our FUCKING WEATHER can not figure itself out?

This time last week, it was getting down into the 40s at night and was totally, wonderfully fall.
Today, it was 89 degrees with, literally, 85 percent humidity. Tomorrow, the high's supposed to be 90. Global warming much?

Since my last post, it appears if people have woken up and started to smell the proverbial coffee. First, Britney dumps K-fed, then both houses of Congress were snatched from the arrogant-as-fuck Republiccans. As someone who lives on a liberal island surrounded by the rest of my ultra conserative state, it does my heart good to know that the American people have finally used the voting booth to tell that choade Karl Rove and his monkey-puppet GWB that maybe, just maybe, they're not infallible. (If only this could've happened 2 years ago...) And to have that dickwad Rumsfeld gone too? If I weren't so damn sick, I might dance a little jig in my undies right on the lawn of the Capitol. But not tonight.

Tonight, I've got a date with my NyQuil wannabe.

$89,324

That's how much my first bill from the hospital is for. That's JUST for the hospital. Not the doctors' consults, the radiology stuff, the surgery itself, the anesthesiology, etc.

Granted, this $89k amount hasn't gone through the insurance "process" yet (thank GOD I have insurance, or The Geej and I would literally be out on the streets), but still... When you open up a bill and see that amount on it, it's enough to give you a massive heart attack and put you BACK in the hospital.

Cripes.

Dispatches from Casa de Dah.

I'm at my mom's house. The Geej and I came up here for the weekend so that a) my mom could spend some quality time at her house that she's been at very rarely over the past 5 weeks of caring for my sick ass and b) so that I could still have some TLC due to my minor setback this week.

The flaming knives of pain? They're still present, but not as persistent. Instead of flare ups every 5 to 10 minutes, it's more like once or twice an hour. MUCH more tolerable. I think the serious "taking it easy" I've been doing over the past 48 hours and the hardcore drugs are to thank. I quit bending over, picking up anything heavier than a banana, and managed to lie around a LOT more than I'd been doing. I did get my PICC line out yesterday (as planned) which means that my 3-a-day IV antibiotics regimen is fini. YAY!! And I had that CT yesterday around lunchtime and never heard from my doctor afterward, so I guess there's no new abscess to contend with. DOUBLE YAY!!

Slowly but surely, life returns to normal. I cannot wait to be able to look back on this past month of shite and be like, "Remember how SICK I was?! And all the pain?! Well, THAT sucked. And yes, I'll have another martini, you darling cabana boy, you." Having all of this be a distant memory will be like a gift. I will tell you this, however: I will never, EVER take my health for granted again. I mean it. I'm a pretty damn healthy person. Don't smoke. Haven't eaten red meat in over 12 years. Not too fat. Drink in moderation. And yet STILL this seriously kicked my ass. I can't imagine how much worse and more lengthy it would've been if I hadn't been in good health to begin with. You've got to stay healthy in case something like this falls in your way. You've got to be ready to fight it. And it's not just for me anymore: The Geej needs me to be healthy. It's all been a very enlightening experience, I'll tell ya.

Also, I wanted to continue my "Enough already" theme from my previous post. Feel free to add to my list:

ENOUGH ALREADY...

...Mark Foley
...FOX "news"
...Paris Hilton
...Anna Nicole and that shyster lawyer Howard and all that paternity bullshit
...Iraq
...hot weather
...Carol Keeton Strayhorn and her "one tough grandma" shtick
...Kevin Federline
...my mom whining about not having a boyfriend
...potty training The Geej