Hubs and I are back from Alaska. It was a fabulous trip and I'll have lots to say about it once I vacation from my vacation. Blog updating will resume soon, including the monthly reading list but until then I leave you with Nyac, teh cutest otter ever:
It's been an absolutely crazy week and it will likely get crazier still. Of course, the best way to deal with a to-do list that is miles long is to . . . blog. Right? Last week, Deborah of the Rhythm of Write blog tagged me for a meme.
You've probably heard this song before, it goes a little something like this:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.So here they are, six "interesting" things about me:
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.
Apologies for the temper tantrum in the last post. Lately a lot of the MFA stuff has come back to haunt me. That's the thing about returning being a full-time writer. You get to live the dream, but you get all the nightmares along with it.
Speaking of nightmares, I may go silent for the rest of the week as I'm working on revising the last story I wrote. There are some major overhauls ahead and I have a feeling I should be concentrating on that and not buying and selling my friends on Facebook. (Thank you, hujhax.)
In other addiction news, Hubs brought home SingStar Rocks last night. We got SingStar 80s on a whim a couple of weeks ago and I feel a new addiction being born. I can totally rock 99 Red Balloons. Maybe if the writing thing doesn't work out I can be an 80s pop star. . .
Let's start with the end of the story first: Mr.B is diabetes free. At least, that's what the tests show anyway. We had a vet appointment early this morning and after four days being off the insulin, his blood sugar was perfectly normal.
The vet was also quick to point out that is a rare case. I'm not saying this to brag on Mr.B (though he is the best cat ever), but to warn anyone who might google for feline diabetes info and think that feline diabetes is something that can come and go in a month. Seeing the blood sugar levels return to normal this soon after diagnosis is pretty rare and we are very lucky. In the meantime, we're keeping both cats on the diabetes diet management plan to make sure Mr.B is stable and because it seems to be helping his IBD. We'll go back in four weeks for more tests to see just how stable Mr.B is.
Now, this story actually begins with a less happy trip to the vet. Last Thursday Hubs woke up at two in the morning because Mr.B was pacing in circles on his leg. Now, Mr.B is a weird cat, but this kind of behavior is unheard of. So we woke up, watched him for about two minutes and then I sent Hubs to get the Karo syrup. We gave him a little and then a little more, but he kept pacing and then fell off the bed. At that point, Hubs doled out another half teaspoon of Karo and I called the emergency animal hospital.
By the time we got him in, his blood glucose numbers were back to normal and we were sent off with instructions to watch him for the night. I stayed up until 5 and most of my "observation" consisted of watching Mr.B sleep.
I'm glad this turned out for the best. As I told Hubs last night, I'd like one week, just one week, where Mr.B would stay healthy and I didn't have to call my vet. From the looks of things. I might get four of them.
Now that I'm back in town and have no foreseeable plans for travel, ill heath, or vet visits, I'm going to tackle my to-read list. It's been growing uncontrollably since the holidays. It's sad. And it comes from a bad habit of shelving all my books immediately, instead of keeping a separate stack of titles to work through. So starting with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I'm tackling the to-read list and going on a book diet until I am at least eight books down.
Or maybe six.
In other adventures, diabetes kitty is doing well. We've gotten into a routine with the shots and, other than being mildly offended at having to wait longer for dinner, mister cat is handling it nicely. He's putting all his weight back on, in any case.
Oh, and I signed up for a Twitter account because, you know, I'm just not on the Internet enough. I'm here. If you have an account, please let me know so I can stalk follow you.
Again with the apologies. Hubs and I went off to Las Vegas this weekend to make our annual donation to the Casino Association of Nevada. Well, Hubs did anyway. My idea of gambling is to put $10 into a 25 cent blackjack machine, lose it, and call it a day. Although, this time I made an attempt at playing craps, but more about that later.
Anyway, it's been hectic here and that means no writing. Instead, I have a week filled with vets and pet sitter interviews. Before we left last week, I took White Cat to the vet for the third time in the last two months. He has feline IBD, but lately he's also been losing weight and acting funny. We did some blood work and he was diagnosed with feline diabetes. There is nothing that will make you feel worse than getting news like this, then hanging up the phone and getting on a plane to Las Vegas. So today we have an appointment to learn the ins and outs of feline diabetes, including how to give White Cat a daily (or maybe twice daily) shot of insulin. Good thoughts, prayers, and other vibeage directed toward White Cat will be much appreciated.
On top of that, we returned to find that Tabby Cat, our normally healthy, resilient cat had been ill while we were gone. I blame the food, but am also feeling like a terrible Cat Mom for leaving them in their hour of need. And on top of that, we're leaving them again in a couple of weeks so I have to quickly find a trustworthy pet sitter who can give insulin injections.
So, yeah. Not writing today. In the meantime, I'll have some pictures from Vegas and some highlights from our trip up on the blog shortly.
It figures that I spent the weekend before New Year's Eve grounded by head congestion, coughing, sneezing, and overall fatigue. I've been down for the last two days, but the combination of yesterday's bed rest and today's Day-Quil (or store brand knockoff thereof) seems to be doing the trick. Anyway, on to the year-end reflection.
There are some years that suck. 2005, for instance, was one of those "don't let the door hit you on the way out" years. I won't go into the details, but it involved an ex, a psuedostalker, and a lot of ill health in my family. Given this last month, I kind of feel like 2007 should have been one of those years as well. Between the deaths of two grandmothers, general anxiety and stress of major life changes, and ending with the cold from hell, this seems like the kind of year to usher out the door without ever looking back.
But on the other hand, so much good has happened this year. I married my best friend and I had him to help me though all the rough parts of the year. I also took an exciting chance to try to do something different with my career. That, naturally, has brought on a lot of the aforementioned anxiety and stress, but I'm still happier on my worst writing days than I was in the cube farm.
Shortly after my grandmother's funeral I told Hubs that I'd never known I could experience so much life in such a short time. This year has been chock full of it. Of weddings and funerals an taking risks and making gains and well, life. It hasn't been the best year ever, nor has it been the worst. It was what it was and when all the changes have subsided, I'm sure I'll be all the better for it.
I found this blessing on a knitting forum and it seems applicable to closing out this year. "May the best of your 2007 be the worst of your 2008. May all your wishes come true and that those who have found pain will again find joy."
Happy new year, everyone.
