Death in the family

Aunt Grace lost her battle with cancer this morning. Its sad but not unexpected. She was 88 years old and had lung cancer (No, she never smoked. Go figure.) She had surgery back in the fall and was in a rehabilitation center (nursing home) for several months. Luckily she got to go home right before Christmas. She really just wanted to go home. I'm so glad that she got to do that before she died. Anyway, we will be at the funeral on Sunday. Some of the rest of the family will be coming in for this, too. I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. On the one hand, loss is always hard. On the other hand, she was ready for this to be over with, and she told us that flat out the last time we saw her. Good-bye Aunt Grace. You were a spunky little thing, and you always made me laugh whenever we got a chance to visit with you.

Dear Mr, President

Dear Mr. President,

I like you. I have supported you, and voted for you. I respect your intelligence, and your calm straightforward way of speaking. I absolutely adore your lovely family. But seriously? You have GOT to find a better time to hold a news conference than 8pm on a Monday evening. Preempting House, MD is absolutely unacceptable. I know that you are busy what with the failing economy, and the bulk of Washington apparently "forgetting" to pay their taxes and all. But there has got to be a better time to address these issues. Please see if you can figure out a better way. Because honestly? If Hugh Laurie decided to run for President in the next election, even though he's British, and I know that is most probably impossible, my vote will HAVE to go to Hugh if only because he has those gorgeous blue eyes. But whether or not he decides to run for office, the main message that I need for you to hear is this: Do NOT come between me and my House fix on Monday nights. "Yes, You can!" I believe in you.

And because I respect the fact that you have a whole lot going on right now, I will postpone my discussion of allowing pets to be claimed as dependents until some time later in the week. Call me!
Thanks for your time,
Rebecca

Sunday

The antibiotics seem to be working. I'm feeling a whole lot better. Not quite 100% yet, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I think. We went out to eat last night with Hannia and Stephen. That whole infected salivary gland thing made it impossible to eat for days, so I was hungry and ready for some real food. We went out to Olive Garden, which is the worst place to go on a Saturday, but still....it was what I wanted so we braved the crowds and the wait and went for it. We all skipped lunch, so we were starving by 5pm. For some reason, we assumed that was early enough to beat the dinner rush, but we were WRONG. It was already packed, with a 45 minute wait. At least we got a spot at the bar to while away the minutes, so honestly it wasn't all that bad. I had a strawberry-mango margarita that was especially delicious. And for dinner, I had one of their limited-time specials. They have these every month, and a lot of times these dishes are the best thing EVER.....and then they disappear, which is really disappointing. Last night was "4 Cheese stuffed mezzaluna with Shrimp". And yeah, it was extremely yummy. I would love to have it again, but I doubt it will be on the menu by the time we go back again. Sad.

Afterwards, even though we were stuffed to the gills, we decided to go for something decadent, so we went to Krispie Kreme. I know, I know....its the worst thing ever for you. Sugar-coated fried transfats with a little crack cocaine on the side to keep you addicted....hahaha. We try to not go there often. But every once in a while we behave badly. Last night we pigged out. So sue me. It was good. And now I am going to have to get my rear-end back to the gym this week to work off all of this weekend of gluttony. But whatever. It was fun while it lasted.

One little fact about the only Krispie Kreme in town: Its on the corner of 10th and Charles.
And I have to drive by it every single morning on my way to work. People cut across lanes of traffic, darting in there for their morning sugar/carb fix, and let me tell you....its dangerous. I feel like I am going to get killed waiting there at the light, because people are NOT particularly patient to cut across there to get into the parking lot. Its a madhouse there in the mornings.

Potty Kitty

From the title of this post, I am sure you can see where this is going.....But before I get into the tale of Potty Kitty, let me say that I decided to take today off of work. I've been trying NOT to do that, but honestly, this saliva gland thing is extremely painful. I've never had this before. I've had plenty of sinus/ear infections, but not this. I am hoping with some rest and a little more time on the antibiotics I can get myself together again. I just want to NOT feel like crap some time really soon!!!!

But back to Potty Kitty....So Tuesday evening we were all in the den watching tv. The dogs were napping at our feet. Everything was peaceful....for a moment. Of course Vixen was no place to be found, as she goes off to do kitty stuff all the time. She is not terribly sociable with the dogs. Unless she gets in the mood to terrorize the older, more feeble ones that can't get away from her.
All of a sudden, she comes tearing into the room at the speed of lightning. Its not her usual "I wanna play" run. This is her "I'm guilty of something, and I want to get away from the evidence before someone associates me with the bad thing" kind of gallop. She jumped up into her Daddy's lap to try to disguise the fact that she just made an awkward entrance into the room. Of course, Bruce starts petting her, and loving her, but then he said, "Ewww, this cat is WET!"

My first thought was that she had been playing in the dog's water bowl. I thought cats hated water....but this cat is fascinated by it. She bats at the water bowl, and then tries to attack the ripples in the water only to end up splashing doggy water all over the kitchen floor. So I headed off to go clean up the mess. But the dog dish was undisturbed. The floor all around it was perfectly dry. My first thought was "What the hell?" My second thought, "Oh God, she was probably in the bathroom." This cat has a fascination with toilets. Whenever she hears a toilet flush, no matter where she is, or what she is doing, she heads off for the source of the sound at breakneck speed....gleefully hoping to catch a glimpse of the water rushing down into the bowl.
So far she had only managed to stretch her little self out enough to just peak over into the toilet. She wasn't big enough to actually jump up onto it. Until now. I checked out Stephen's bathroom, and there was all the evidence. Water was splashed all over the seat and the floor. I yelled out what I had found to Bruce. He immediately tossed Vixen to the floor and said with disgust, "Gross, I've been petting Potty Kitty." Yuck!

I got her cleaned up. I got the bathroom cleaned up. But the name Potty Kitty has kind of stuck.
And right now, until Potty Kitty learns her lesson, all the lids in all the bathrooms are staying down. Noone wants to pet a Potty Kitty.

I gave up

I finally gave up and went to the Dr. this afternoon, after work. I have felt lousy for what seems like forever now (its been a week, but it feels much much longer). I have had periods of feeling better only to have the whole thing flare up again. Today at work, I started having some sharp stabbing pain in my jaw, kind of under my tongue. And there was swelling, and I got so frustrated that I threw in the towel and headed for the doc's office. No wonder I have felt like crap. She diagnosed a sinus infection, ear infection and an inflamed saliva gland. Oh joy. I should have just gone earlier and avoided all of this nonsense, but I kept thinking it would just go away. The good news is that I am taking the antibiotics and hopefully I will begin to feel somewhat human again soon.

Still Alive...

I am still alive. I've just been dealing with some unpleasant kind of virus/bug that has had me down for a little bit. It started with a sore throat, but never really developed into a stuffy cold. Instead, it settled into my throat, and made all of those glands in my neck swell up and ache like crazy. I have felt achy all over and it sucked up every last ounce of energy I had. It seems like it has gone on forever....But I am feeling better today, so maybe its almost over with??? I never took time off work, but I have been dragging myself home and pretty much sleeping until time to go back to work the next day. I missed a whole week of the gym. I forced myself to go to yoga last night just to get back into the swing. Its so easy to get out of the whole routine, and then so hard to get back into it.

Also? Vixen has decided that its a good idea to sleep with us at night. She settles in and cuddles up and everything is just peachy for a while. But every couple of hours she likes to wake up and walk on our heads. For whatever reason, its always our heads. It makes sleep a little spotty. But after a few minutes, she settles back down and goes to sleep again, so.....I keep dealing with it. I don't have the heart to lock kitty out of our room. She is just way too cute for that. Haha.

Under the Weather

I'm missing the Body Flow class this evening. I am just feeling a bit under the weather. I have a queasy stomach, an aching head, a sore throat, and the beginnings of the sniffles. I hate missing that class, but I will catch up with it on Saturday morning (I hope). Its been a long week. Work has been harder than usual. I keep telling myself to be grateful that I have a job. A lot of people don't, and they would be more than happy to take my place, my paycheck, and my benefits. I know that. We've been hearing some things on the news and through the grapevine that our workplace is in a bit of financial trouble. That changes are on the way. It makes me nervous. Who knows what the future holds? Worrying won't help anything, so I am trying to stay focused on the here and now. Today I have a job. Everything will be just fine.

I've been worried about Vixen today, too. She has felt so bad since that shot yesterday. She hid in her favorite hiding spot under the chair ALL day long. She meowed whenever I tried to pick her up, and her little body felt hot, like she was running a fever. She finally came out from under the chair about an hour ago and ate a little bit of dinner. My girl doesn't usually refuse food, so it was alarming to see her breakfast go untouched. She's up on the couch now, and she feels cooler to the touch. I think her fever finally broke. She's still sleepy and lethargic, but I think (hope) the worst is over for her. Darn those stupid shots. I know they are necessary, but they make her feel so awful.

Ok, I will be fine. I am going to go to bed early, and hopefully Vixen and I will both be back to normal by tomorrow. After all, its Friday. I am looking forward to the weekend!