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Okay, taxi arrives in twenty minutes, so I'm off for now. Everyone have a great weekend! Hopefully I'll be having a great time in sunny San Diego! Adios!

I'm skinny! Not! haha

I just weighed myself on the house scale and it came out ten pounds less than the gym scale says. Heh. I don't know which one is correct, but I'm still fat, haha.

4.5 hours till plan takes off

Ever since last evening I stopped being excited and started being freaked out about the plane again. I just get freaked about leaving the kids. I said lots of Love You's to them this morning, and wrote them an I Love You note that is on the fridge and Spike gave me a hug goodbye - Buffy ran out the door for summer school before I could get a hug and probably doesn't even remember I'm leaving. But that's okay, I love her anyway. Just freaked out. I don't want anything to happen and I don't want to leave them.

I know everything will be okay, it's just that I don't really know everything will be okay. I'll be happy when the plane lands. Both times.

WHAAAAAAATT???????

I thought Neil and Anya were going home, I really did. I'm sad that Jesus went home, but not that upset. But I don't get the ouster of Jessie, at all.

If she had danced that cha-cha last night she never would have been in the bottom three. Or maybe so, because I was shocked the week she was in bottom three for her beautiful bird dance. But I don't get it tonight. She danced her ass off with Pasha, then danced pretty good on the dance-off. Lauren sucked on her dance-off but is usually fantastic otherwise, so I get that. But Anya never really impresses me THAT much, and after her dance-off tonight I thought it was a given that she was going home. I never would have guessed in a million years that Jessie was going home after that dance with Pasha.

And not even one snippet of explanation from the judges. Not one comment as to why. If I was her I would be very very angry about this for a long time. I hope she's not though. And I hope she stays healthy.

As for Cedric, I called it last night. I knew he'd make it, HAHAHAHA, that's what the judges get. I mean, holding the funeral before the death is not really proper, eh? Heh. I'll bet a million dollars though that Cedric never draws a Wade Robson dance out of that hat. Those judges will NEVER let that happen. They'll make sure he's gone by next week.

Speaking of choreographers:

Mia Michaels: I hate her kind of dance, but I have to say every dance I've seen her choreograph on this show has made me cry. And that's saying quite a lot.

Wade Robson: Um, what can you say about him? Saying he's a genius is like not even giving him enough credit. I mean, that's an obvious one.

Tice Diorio: The first time I heard Cat say his name, with her accent, I thought his name was "Tasty Oreo". Go ahead, say his name out loud in an English accent and you'll see what I mean. And I thought that was a pretty cool name for a choreographer. Tasty Oreo. Anyway, every time I see him now I think "Hey, there's the Tasty Oreo guy!" Heh.

Okay, that's it. Poor Jessie.

Hey Paula - did you really approve this???

Ummmm....

I just watched Hey Paula...
Did any of you?
What I really want to know is, Did Paula??? Did she really approve this?? After she watched herself?? Or did she really think this show that is designed around "Paula has insomnia and that's why she is acting drunk as a skunk" would really convince us that insomnia is the problem?

Goodness. I kind of feel sorry for her, because if she thought this was a good idea... you know, there goes Paris looking smarter now. And again, if you're looking stupid in comparison to Paris...

Oh Paula.

Almost vacation time!!!

Omigosh, in exactly 24 hours my plane with be taking off down the runway!!! Unless there's a delay... I don't want any delays!!

90 minutes later we'll be touching down in San Diego, pick up our rental car, and drive to the Doubletree Hotel Del Mar.

We go to a wedding dinner that evening. Saturday at 2pm is the wedding and Partay!!! And Sunday we have all day to ourselves to explore San Diego in our rental car. Back to the airport at 4pm, and we'll be back home at 7pm.

I think it will be a very nice weekend. And no, you won't be getting any new posts after tomorrow morning!

Bald Eagle Alert!

In other "real" news, the American Bald Eagle is off the endangered species list. YAYYY! I remember when I lived in Alaska as a kid there was a bald eagle who lived by our house, and every time we let our little maltese outside we had to check first for the eagle. He would swoop our poor little dog and try to grab her if the eagle was outside! Regardless, I always loved the bald eagle, and I'm glad it is no longer endangered.

The Bully Cycle

edited to add even more below.

So I'm watching the news today and all the Paris Hilton/Larry King recapping, and once again I really am disappointed in our media coverage - although I don't think Paris even qualifies as "news", but if you're going to report, do your research and report accurately.

It seems that everyone feels that the big bad bully (Paris) has been pulled off her pedestal, so now it's okay for US to be the bullies. Isn't that how it works? We're all better than Paris now because we didn't go to jail, so to make us feel even better about ourselves we're going to keep kicking her just to prove a point.

First of all, Larry King conducted a stupid interview.
Larry: "Do you have your license back?"
Paris: "Yes, it is fully reinstated."
Larry: "So you won't be driving anymore, right?"
Paris: "I, uh, what?"

Why would she not drive? She has a license, fully reinstated. Apparently Paris needs to become Saint Paris in order for Larry to forgive her. He tried to push her into saying she won't ever drink again. Give me a break, let's all please act like adults here and acknowledge that we never saw Paris slumped over in her car with her mouth hanging open (Lindsay!) or bashing a car with an umbrella after shaving her head (Britney!) or driving the wrong way on the highway (Nicole!). She did drink and drive, that is inexcusable, but she did her time, and she did more time than most people do for that crime. She may prove me wrong but I don't think she's going to do that again, and she has the resources to pay for other options. She doesn't have to join the Amish, she doesn't have to wear high buttoned up collars, she doesn't have to adopt seven orphans from third world countries to change her ways.

Today on the news they slammed her for not having the details already set for how she's going to give charitably. SHE JUST GOT OUT OF JAIL for gawd's sake. How is she going to set up a charitable foundation in 48 hours?? She DID mention the causes she wanted to help, and she DID say she was willing to work with MADD. But there was no mention of that on the news.

She was slammed for not being able to instantly name her favorite Bible passage after Larry King asked the question completely out of left field. I have read the Bible and I'm afraid if I was put on the spot to answer that question I'd probably say "The story of Noah's Ark" which would sound pretty dumb, eh?

Believe me, I hate that I am defending Paris Hilton. I shut down our televisions for two years partly because I was so disgusted with "The Simple Life". But we can't all just jump on the lynching wagon here, that doesn't make us better than her. If you haven't given up drinking, can't name your favorite Bible passage, don't have a charitable foundation in your name and/or spend quite a lot of visible time donating your time and money, and haven't spend 23 days in jail then you cannot keep stomping Paris Hilton into the ground unless she shows that her lesson has not been learned. She did her time, she says she wants to do good in this world now, and I think we should all leave her alone and let her get on with her life.

Another reporter this morning AGAIN claimed that Paris has no job and does "nothing". Except that Paris listed out the things she does and she is correct: She has made movies, written a best-selling book, had her own jewelry line, stars in a very successful television show. That doesn't mean she is talented or that she succeeded in all her ventures, but that doesn't mean she doesn't work. If you're going to hold yourself to such high standards as we are calling for Paris then I hope all of us are president of the companies we work for. I know I am not.

Lindsay, Brittney, Paris and Nicole, I have ranted and railed against each of these girls at various times in the years I have been writing. And until Brittney went wacko I probably hated Paris more than any of them. I absolutely loved that she was sent to jail, twice, and I spent time gleefully laughing at her. But she did it, she completed her time, she completed 90% more time than the average person does for that crime, and she is coming out of jail stating that she is going to make changes that the average person does NOT make. It is time to step back and see what she is going to do (good or bad), it is NOT time to put her on an even higher, saintly pedestal and wait for her to fall off, and it is WAY past time for the media to start reporting accurately instead of like little spoiled brats.

edited to add:
Speaking of spoiled brats, The Today Show really earned that title today. They lost their coveted "first interview" with her so they conducted a horrendous interview this morning bashing her. The female reporter had obviously not even seen the interview as she contradicted what happened several times so she could just report what The Today Show wanted you to hear (the bashing of Paris). Her interviewee, from TV Guide, made comments like "Paris spent a lot of time complaining about the food." Well that's because stupid Larry King spent a lot of time asking her about the food. This is a Larry King defect, not a Paris Hilton defect. "Her written notes were pathetic." Well, yes, they were. Paris is stupid and uneducated, she wasn't taking university classes in jail, and her drawings were borderline mentally or emotionally retarded. Does that mean she's a bad, unforgivable person? No. "There was no point of contrition." Blatantly untrue. She absolutely said she was wrong to drink and drive, she said she hopes others learn their lesson from her and was happy to say that she received letters from people stating so, she said she would work with MADD, and she said she had a lot of lessons to teach her future daughter. "...and she complained that she was treated unfairly." She did say this, and she is also correct. The fact is, normal people serve 10% of their sentence for the crime she committed. I think it took the 23 days for her to learn her lesson, but the fact is that she was treated more harshly than the average person. It is also a fact that she did NOT complain, but said that things happen for a reason, that she learned a lesson and hoped to teach others from it.

The fact is, she did not act like a spoiled brat on Larry King. It is the media who are acting spoiled and holier than thou. US Magazine, you're fooling nobody with your "100% Paris Free" issue. You didn't score the first interview but you'll be back to reporting on her just as soon as you can.

I don't care if she drives, I don't care if she parties or drinks while she parties. It would just be nice to see her put some good into this world that has treated her so kindly up til now. That's how you live a good life, by giving as much good as is given to you. There should be no person in this world bashing Paris unless they are holding themselves to just as high a standard.

edited also to add: Yes, She flat out lied when she said she never used drugs before, as the pictures of her smoking pot and openly carrying pot in her purse have been all over the internet for forever. This is where Larry King should have stepped in and called her on it. In the end, I don't really care what Paris does... I just would like the media to start reporting stuff accurately. Larry did a shit job yesterday, and the rest of the media did a shit job of reporting on it today. So let that be the end of any Paris update from me for quite a long while. Whew!

After writing the post below I looked around for some wood and saw my wooden ruler. I gave it a good pounding with both my fists, heh. But it worked!

Work went well! Got lots of work done!
Body felt great all day after my swimming!
Took Spike to the Dentist - and took a nap in the waiting room! (sitting up, haha)
Drove home - and Phoebe ran in front of the car to greet us! Just like old times!
Brought the Taco Bell in... And Phoebe kept jumping on the table to steal Spike's taco!
WOOOO! The kitty is improving again!
Took Buffy home from swim practice - and she's still behaving!
Realized I'm leaving for San Diego on Friday! Good Times!

Also... watched Paris Hilton on Larry King... I actually was pretty impressed. I really was. Am I crazy? This is the first time I've ever seen her act like a grown up. She stumbled on a few answers, but mostly due to Larry King's idiotic questions. (Seriously? GAWD he was stupid. And looking stupid next to Paris Hilton? Maybe it's time to retire, Larry.) 30 minutes into the interview I realized I was looking at a gorgeous 26 year old woman. Who is not perfect, but certainly seems to see things in a different way now. I'm going to go out on a very precarious limb here and say - I think she will change. The dumb act certainly was dropped this evening. We shall see. But if she does change, if she starts doing charitable work - and I don't even care if she parties, that was never an issue, the stupidity and bringing no value into the world and being a bad example was the issue - well, I may just learn to love her a tiny little bit.

I hope she doesn't screw this up, because if she does I'm going to have to sort through a lot of posts to find this one and delete it so there's no incriminating evidence against me. Ya'll will still love me, right?

A better day so far...

Went to the gym, swam 52 laps, and feel pretty wiped out right now (but also goooood)...
Came to work... donde estan los beach balls? It is very quiet this morning at work! (hee)...
The stock market is doing okay at 10am, so I'm crossing my fingers that downward spiral is over for the week...
The maids come today...

Yes. Yes, so far things are going well. KNOCK ON BIG BLOCK OF WOOD.

Today didn't go that well, but it wasn't horrible or anything.
~Burned my hand with hot oil making french toast this morning - nice bubble on my thumb now.
~Missed my gym time so I could attend a work phone call that was canceled without telling anyone in my office - felt like I lost a gym session, had my entire morning wasted, and not happy that no one thought to tell me or my co-worker. This post not directed at any work people who read this, just venting because those ten minutes on hold actually wasted four hours of my morning. JUST VENTING.
~Went to work, the report I need to DO my work STILL isn't printing correctly, and for the umpteenth week in a row it looks like I'll get it three days late.
~A certain manager at work believes it is okay to pound a beach ball back and forth IN THE OFFICE, hitting it against ceiling tiles, and yelling like she's partying at the beach. I don't understand this. She slammed it into several cubes whose owners happened to not be there. When one cubicle dweller returned, she was surprised to see a cup of water on her desk was knocked over and spilled. Stupid Manager sat there quiet as a mouse and never admitted what she did. I (with the help of my co-conspirator) stole one of the beachballs and brought it home where it can be played with in the back yard where it belongs. I set my co-conspirator on a mission to shred the other when everyone left.
~But then Buffy surprised me by saying she was at her dad's house typing out her notes for her science test tomorrow.
~And then came home and did all her chores as soon as she entered the house. Am bracing myself for the story behind all that.
~Phoebe's progress has halted. She does not jump higher than a chair and isn't as spunky as she used to be. Also shows possible brain damage in some minor ways, but only in ways that make me laugh. But I hope she does regain her spunk.
~Tried to start reading Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" for my research paper and discover that I hate it just as much as I remember - I don't know how I'm going to finish it, it makes me crazy.
~Spike went on a dinner date with a very nice girl he has known for years. Took her to Pasta Pomodoro, paid for their dinners himself, then took her to Starbucks where he taught her to play poker. Sounds like a lovely date to me!
~Oh, also, he quit his gelato job because he was hired as a lifeguard at Raging Waters! For more pay! And much better hours!
~Looking forward to swimming at the pool tomorrow morning. It's become something I really look forward to.

See? Good and Bad, and nothing traumatic. Tomorrow I get to swim, the work phone call is scheduled later in the day, my work report has finally been run correctly tonight, hopefully the beachballs will all be dead, and hopefully Buffy continues on - dare I say it - the correct path.

And now I go to bed.

Happy Freedom Day Paris!

I am happy for Paris, that she is home now. I look forward to seeing what she's going to do next.
As a firm Paris/Lindsay/Britney hater, I actually think Paris may now turn her life around. We'll see.

(But you know I look forward to all the news!!)

I actually got to go to Aptos this weekend, sans kitty cat, and had a very nice time.
We saw "1408" which scared the shit out of me.
Went to Cafe Rio on the beach. After what, four years? they finally changed their menu, and I had the most delicious scallops (wrapped in prosciutto) EVER. Yay for the new menu.
And came home to two very fat, happy, content and not-missing-me kitty cats. Which made me happy, because that is how it should be.

Next Friday Scott and I take a flight to San Diego for a wedding. I am happy happy happy to go traveling again, even if it is just to San Diego. Airports mean traveling far away, rental cars mean freedom, nice rooms in hotels mean good times. Yay for weddings in San Diego.

The following Saturday we go to another wedding for his nephew, the son of my old boss. But it's only an hour away.

As of today, there are only 42 days until the kids and I head to Mexico on a big giant cruise ship - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

For those who weren't aware of "the Plan":

I am in school as an English major, hoping to finish my Masters so I can teach English Literature at the college level. I am just starting my Senior year to get my BA, but it will take me three semesters because I need ten more units of Spanish. A Masters requires 20 units of a foreign language. After my BA it should take 4 to 5 semesters to finish my Masters.

And then I'll be on my own, all growed up!

I got them all!!!

Whewww!

Four seats left, and I got one of them!

So my classes next year are:

Intermediate Spanish
Mythology in Literature
Individual Studies of Ovid
Shakespeare

Yayyyyyy!!!!

High blood pressure day Part Two

10:10am, there's still 6 seats for Shakespeare, 15 for Mythology and 27 for Spanish. Only 2 hours ten minutes to go. It looks like I'll probably be okay. I gotta keep my fingers crossed though because this semester I didn't have any Plan B!!! Doh!

The twice yearly high blood pressure day

Today is the day I register for my classes. My appointment online is at 12:20pm.

At 8:55am, right now, the Shakespeare class only has 6 openings left. The Mythology class is half full. There are plenty of seats available in Spanish (of COURSE), but I need that Shakespeare class.

I am going to be biting my nails for the next 3-1/2 hours.

Phoebe is still taking babysteps to recovery, but if you met her today you'd never know something was ever wrong - except for the various shaved areas on her body. She's getting fatter, she is jumping higher and higher. She is eating a lot and is getting much fatter and is strong enough that it is a PAIN IN THE ARSE trying to get her medicine down her throat.

In fact, the only things I can think of that she isn't doing are jumping as high as the counters (she can get up on chairs with no problem though) and I haven't seen her climb the fence or a tree.

She did decide to go visiting for the first time today. She was gone for most of this afternoon. Came dawdling back around 7pm and promptly was swooped up and wrapped in the blanket for her dose of medicine. She promptly left again - she gets so pissed at us!!!

Whatever was wrong with her, stroke or whatever, I feel confident finally that she is better. The money I put in for her paid off, and so did the 24 hour care and worry.

Yay!

Oh Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy...

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.....

My silly silly silly little wanna-be-big-time city...

It seems that the police have a lot of problems at 2am when the bars close here. Drunken, rowdy crowds don't wanna go home and the police are tired of fighting with them.

The solution?

They just passed a new ordinance allowing the bars to stay open until 3am.

Yep. That'll solve the problem. (am I the only one who doesn't get the logic here???)

Spike was inching his way out the door to go to lunch with this "girl" he's been sort of seeing on and off again, "nothing serious" from what I have been hearing.

"She's driving you? Has she had her license for a year yet?

"Oh yeah. She's had a license for a LONG time."

"What does that mean?"

"She's twenty."

And he closed the door behind him.

Reason #333228 why I hate the high school.

So I'm just getting everything together to leave for work today and my cell phone rings. It's one of Buffy's friends from school to let me know that Buff is in trouble, but that she really didn't DO anything this time, and that Buffy is really upset and distraught, and honestly, she didn't even DO anything, she SWEARS, and they're just calling to tell me that this time, Buffy really didn't do anything.

Jeeez.

Immediately my cell phone starts beeping again - it's ANOTHER friend, telling me the exact same story.

So I got in my car and drove to the school thinking I would be getting a call from school any time now. Of course I didn't, because actually calling parents is something they can never do and that is reason number 837288 why I hate that school.

I get to the office and Buffy is standing there in tears with the "Friend who is a very very very bad influence" (FWVVVBI). FWVVVBI says "Buffy didn't do it, she wasn't even there, I did it. It was all me."

Did you TELL someone that she wasn't there? "Yes." You told them it was YOU and not Buffy? "Yes." So why is Buffy still sitting here in the office? They didn't know.

And so where is the counselor? (Not to mention my phone call). She is no where. Buffy breaks down sobbing again because "This is the last day of school and they're RUINING it, I didn't even DO anything, and they said I'll need to have a PROBATION OFFICER and I wasn't even THERE and I just want to go outside for lunch and talk to my FRIENDS!!! *SOOOB*"

So some adult walks over and asks what the problem is. I told her the two girls were in trouble, they were told they had to sit there, and I was here to find out what was going on. Where is the counselor?

She didn't know. "What would you like me to do?" she asks me. How about you find the counselor?? "Well, I don't know where she is." Okaaaay. I blinked at her. "So what would you like me to do?" Are you fucking kidding me? I would like you to find the counselor so I can find out what is going on so I can go to fucking work, THAT is what I would like you to do. "Well I don't know where she is right now. What should I do?" ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????

After 15 minutes the counselor comes in and asks me and Buffy into her office. She tells us that Buffy is suspended. Because FWVVVBI was caught trying to set off a stink bomb in class and the teacher was pretty sure she saw Buffy with her. The counselor acknowledged that Buffy says she wasn't there, that three other students said she wasn't there, and that FWVVVBI said she was there on her own. But the other teacher, who does not know Buffy, thought she saw her. And for this Buffy is now suspended on the last day of school. And being threatened with a probation officer - and you should know right now there would have been HELL to pay if she was given a PO over something stupid like this with so many witnesses stating she wasn't even there.

Buffy let her frustration bubble over at that point and started, um, telling the counselor off, basically. Which, well, everything Buffy said was true, but I don't approve of kids speaking to adults in that manner even though this counselor - on my 500th time dealing with her - is still obviously an idiot. I told Buffy to settle down. "YOU CAN ASK ANY KID IN MY CLASS IF I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE THROUGH THE WHOLE PERIOD. *SOBBB*"

So the counselor took some names from her and said she would call them to verify. If they verified, she would be un-suspended. But because they pulled her out of class where she was taking finals, and now the classes where half over, she would have to take her finals in the office.

And so I went to work, and just got a call saying that Buffy's story checked out, they found witnesses who confirmed she was in class, and so she is un-suspended. (even though she already had plenty of witnesses who ALREADY said she wasn't at the scene) But she still has to take her final in the office. And because she missed so much time sitting in the office, she will be late getting out of school on her last day.

I don't know why Buffy even wants to stay at that stupid school. I don't know how I'm going to deal with another three years of them. When Buffy actually does something bad it is ME who has to call the school three times just to make sure they are going to issue a punishment - which never materializes. Today she does nothing, has several witnesses who said she was sitting right in class, and still she had to find more witnesses to get out of a suspension - that never should have happened in the first place.

A probation officer???

Went to the gym this morning, worked out for 1 hour 45 minutes. Yayyyy!
Came to work and finished up a huge project. Yayyyy!

Everyone seems really happy about my cute bathing suit, but not as happy as I am!! I went to just buy something so I could swim, I look like a big fat cow at the moment - and that is not an exageration, so shut up - so I just wanted something that fit. I wasn't sure I would wear have the guts to wear it in public on the cruise, but I wanted something to swim in at the gym.

So I picked out four different ones. The first one fit. So it was a keeper. I looked like crap, but it fit, and when you're big like a cow and round like a ball then you take the one that fits.
The second one looked like... more crap, only worse. So I put that one in the "no" pile.
The other two had skirts. When I first saw the suits I thought "Oh HELL no, I will NOT wear a 'swimdress' ". But I took two and tried them on just in case.

I put the first one on and looked in the mirror and what I saw was cute little me wearing a little sun dress. With almost... wait for it.... a WAIST. It was totally amazing how I looked so cute and adorable in the "swimdress". Buffy was waiting outside so I actually opened the dressing room door (yes, people might even have SEEN) and showed her. She stood leaning against the wall, bored as a 15 year old could be, but took a look at me and said "Wow. That is CUTE." Me: "I know, right?"

So I tried the last one on, and it looked just as adorable. So I dumped the first crappy suit and bought the two swimdresses. I have one pretty blue one and one black & white one. I would definitely wear these to the cruise. I would maybe even wear them to the neighborhood pool. Yes, in public.

They were $78 each, but 30% off, so the came out to $53. But money worth spent as far as I'm concerned. It's not often a fat woman feels cute in a swim suit. It's not often a THIN woman feels cute in a swim suit. So get yourself down to Penneys and check out the swim dresses if you're curious.

I looked online and can't find the exact ones but they look a little like this and this and this. And the best part is, I actually look like the models in the suits - Crazy but true!

I went summer clothes shopping today - Sears had great sales, I got all kinds of stuff for really cheap!!! Everything was $7 - $9 each! AND... I got the CUUUUTEST two bathing suits EVAH. I mean, ya'll know I'm not taking a picture and posting it here, but they are so cute I almost want to take a picture and post it here. Even Buffy, "Hater of everything to do with Mom", her first reaction was: "Wow, that's cute!"

Phoebe does not jump or run, and she is starting to be way more interested in Pischina-kitty's food than her own, but otherwise she seems fine in the head. Only she's not appreciating the heat at the moment. She looks kind of like: I got well for this??

I also got a few more workout clothes, and guess what - I finally get to go to the gym in the morning!!! I have been having bad traffic issues since summer started so I pushed my work hours to later in the day and instead I'll go to the gym in the mornings - there's no traffic going towards the gym. Since Phoebe is doing better I can leave her for longer, plus Spike is home from school and Buffy will be home next week. So the kitties will almost never be alone.

Finally I feel some relief for the first time since school ended and Phoebe got sick. I am 50% confident now that Phoebe will not get sick again since it's now been around five days. I think the vet will be checking on her later this week - and I think she'll be very surprised to see a fat fluffy kitty for the first time. At any rate I am very happy that life is getting back to normal. And that I can finally get to work on my body. WOOOOOOOO!!!!! Yay for well kitties!

More photos

And Phoebe on top of Fiona's cage when she was little:

http://pischina.diaryland.com/images/phoebeandfiona1.jpg

Buffy having to stand in the corner for one hour without talking:

http://pischina.diaryland.com/images/corner.jpg

Buffy several years ago

I just accidentally came across this picture and HAVE to share it with you because this kid was just way too cute for herself.

http://pischina.diaryland.com/images/beautiful.jpg

I had a dream last night that we had boarded the ship and I had already lost track of the kids, I didn't know where my room was, I couldn't find it because I kept running into dead ends on the ship, and then I realized I had forgotten our birth certificates so we couldn't get off the boat in port.

I suppose I'll have 55 more dreams about this until we actually do board.

Phoebe - Monday morning

She is doing fine this morning. She still shakes like she has Parkinson's. I tried to get her cortisone pill into her by coating it in butter per the vet's suggestion. A spoonful of butter later I gave up and crushed it into her food again while she licked all the grease off her mouth. So I locked her in my room for the morning with her bowl of medicine/food so Pischina-kitty doesn't eat it for her. My room is the coolest in the house and has a big slider. I opened it and put the screen across - hopefully she doesn't push it out again, but I don't think she can climb the fence. Anyway, she has a very nice big cool room to hang out in until I get home.

I'm not really sure if Phoebe is just holding at 80% or if she went backwards a little. I think she's just holding. There's not any new stuff here to sniff out of course, so she doesn't walk around as much, she is sleeping a lot, but worse is that she is peeing as soon as she wakes up again. She cannot seem to get herself together to go in the litter box and it's making me crazy. At least most of the pee is on the tile so I can easily clean it, but some of it is getting on the carpet. Today it has a much stronger urine-y smell too, not like cat piss, more like people pee, but still... yeah, that's gross. And I think she is shaking more, but I'm not sure about that. But she's still eating, so I'm just concentrating on fattening her up as quickly as possible so she can get the stones fixed and hopefully finish whatever other healing in her brain needs to be done.

Phoebe - Sunday morning

She is now at about 80-90%. She had a great time in Aptos and did not spend much time in her pen unless we weren't home. She slowly walked all over Scott's house and I think the new environment really sparked her curiosity. She was very determined to get around and look at everything.

Saturday afternoon I was letting her try to walk on their balcony (runs the entire perimeter of the house) and Toby the big mean Siamese cat came to take a look. At this point Phoebe could only take a few steps at a time and was reeeeeeeeallllllly wobbly on her feet. Toby came by to take a look and kind of hissed at her. She stood her ground and hissed back. Toby looked like he might come closer to get a good sniff, and Phoebe stood there, used all the concentration she could, put as much fire into her eyes as she could muster, and with every ounce of energy she could pull out - she lunged at him with a big hiss. She kind of fell down on her stomach but managed to stay balanced on all four feet, Toby turned tail and took off down the balcony like a rabid lion was after him. Which is kind of what she looked like, heh.

Anyway, I think that gave her a lot of confidence and made her feel like a bad-ass again. After that she improved at the highest rate of speed. She managed to climb up onto the couch, though she has trouble getting down. Her attempt to jump onto the coffee table didn't go too well. But overall, she is doing pretty darn good.

She's eating her food and her medicine and really has no need for the pen any more. I'm going to have to keep her locked in the house this week so she doesn't try to jump the fence again, and she certainly isn't well enough to cross the street yet, no matter what she thinks.

I am really really happy she is better, but afraid to feel all the relief yet. We've done this before. She wasn't being treated with cortisone before, so hopefully this will finish making her better. The last month it's been five days sick, three days improvement, five days sick, three days improvement. We are on our third day better again now. If she can manage to stay well for a week or two, then I'll exhale.

But really, thank you all so much for your concern. She is back to her fluffy little self, and though she's back to being stubborn and wanting to do what she wants to do, she also wants to spend much more time on our laps and getting scratches and pets. I hope she stays well and lives the long life she deserves. She and Pischina-kitty are curled up in balls next to each other taking naps. I do hope she is better now.

She had a quiet night last night and slept until around 7:30am. She ate another half can of cat food and stood up while doing it - she wobbled all over while she ate, but she was still standing. I'm going to let her try to walk around more often so she can exercise her muscles. Right now she's napping.

I'm going to take a shower then hold her on my lap while I have her bedding in the wash. Then we'll make the drive to Aptos. So you won't hear again until Sunday afternoon. But for now, she's quiet but doing fine. Thanks to everyone for all your well wishes and concern.

She got her nice warm bath - she wasn't too happy with it, but for a few seconds her brain clicked back into place and all four feet worked just fine as she tried to climb over my shoulder and down my back. It was pretty cool actually, because the feet were definitely working in sync - hopefully her brain can figure that out again. But mostly she sat still for it.

Re: a butt shave... The vet shaved her butt a week or two ago because it was coated with poop and urine - the problem now is that she can't climb out of the litter box without rolling in the poo when she's done. And her long hair just picks it all up. Shaving ALL of her sure would help though. But I've been pretty quick since that first disaster and we'll just deal with it as it comes.

After her bath I wrapped her in a clean towel and she sat on my lap and slept while I watched the Paris Hilton hoopla. Now I'm tired and we have a long day tomorrow, so she's back in her house eating again, and hopefully she'll doze off for the night after that.

I may have to brush her in the morning though, because her hair is a mess after that bath, heh.

It's like taking care of a sick baby, heh. Hopefully this baby gets better and relearns what she has to do.

Phoebe - 7:30pm

She still seems pretty comfortable in the house. However she's been making a mess in the litter box. It's going to be a lot of work until she can control herself just a tiny bit better. Her stools are really loose, so since she can't control her legs that well she tries to kick sand over the pile(pool) and then tries to get out of the box, but really she just gets it all over herself.
*sighhhhhhhhhh*
And then all over her house.

I am washing a bunch of towels right now, and as soon as they are dry she's going to get a bath in the sink. Then I'll throw the bedding from the house into the washer while I keep her wrapped in the towels. And hopefully in the morning she'll still be clean enough to go to Aptos without another bath. At the moment she mostly just has litter sand all over herself, I've been trying to catch her as soon as she poops so I can get her out quickly.

Otherwise she is still eating a lot, and it's special weight gain food so hopefully she'll have gained a lot by Monday. And hopefully she can walk a little better.

The apple falls not far from...

Also... it's a good nice lesson for Paris' parents.

Paris Hilton

Heee.

So she's back in jail, and I almost feel sorry for her - no really, I do. Not that I'm not laughing (because I am, oh I really really am), but I feel for her. I mean - who actually gets sent back to jail? I've never even heard of that ever happening.

This is my opinion - if she had served the whole thing to begin with, she could have come out of it smelling like the sweetest rose ever and it would have been an even bigger boon to her "career". But she wouldn't have learned a damn thing. By being let out early she pretty much thumbed her nose at us all, and I think she probably would have taken a big hit - although she still would have been worshipped by the teenage population. But I don't think she would have learned a damn thing. But now... Now I think she is actually learning a lesson.

I don't think she needs to serve 45 days, it's widely reported that us regular people would have been let out early too. Honestly I'd be happy if she just spent another ten days. I mean, if she can't hack 3 days, ten more days is going to be a lifetime. Heh. and Heee.

But don't you wonder if she may be a tiny little bit mentally retarded? Seriously? I mean - she acts like she is 19, and you might feel sorry for her going to jail for 45 days if she was 19... but she's not. She's TWENTY SIX FREAKING YEARS OLD. She isn't in prison, she's in jail. It's not even a Singapore jail, it's freaking County. Get over it. In that respect, I don't feel sorry for her. I mean... sit back and read a book for gawd's sake. I only feel a little bit for her because most people don't get let out and then sent right back - and you or I would be devasted if that happened to us too, whether we deserved it or not.

However I think certain other Hollywood "It" Girls had better be careful. (Lindsay! and Nicole!) Because the public tide is turning and people are getting tired of their misbehavior going without punishment.

Now I'm going to go back to laughing at her.

Phoebe update: She has been napping all morning, but now she's up and eating more food.

Phoebe = 10:30am

Okay, vet still convinced she had a stroke or something in her brain, and she's going to continue with her cortisone, but in pill form now. She said all we can do is hope she continues to get better, but that she is really encouraged by what she saw today. Phoebe got the IV taken out of her arm and sent home with her pills and more cat food cans.

I took her to the pet store where we bought a giant dog kennel. And a little litter box and food dishes and a toy mouse. The kennel even has a lambs wool floor. She is going to live in this kennel until she can walk again, because I can't keep track of where she falls and I have work to do. But now, at least I can go to the office to get work done!!! She can stay in that house for four hours a day by herself. She has been using the litter box a lot, and eating a lot of food - the vet said let her eat as much as she wants. She gained 3 ounces since yesterday, which means she weighs a whopping 4 pounds 8 ounces. (Pischina-kitty probably weighs about 20 pounds now).

I have decided to go to Aptos afterall, but I won't leave until tomorrow morning, in case Phoebe gets worse. But if she's better, she'll get packed up with me along with her house, and off we'll go. She can sit in her house in Aptos with me.

Update: She put a nice poop in the litter box and I was going to get it out, but I decided to type all that up first. Meanwhile she decided to take a nap in the litter box, getting the soft poop all over her long hair, and then walked out onto the lambs wool. I just finished cleaning up a very bad mess. That will teach me. When she poops, get it out right away. Jeeesh.

Phoebe = Friday morning

Today Phoebe is a pain in my arse. She woke up at 3:30am and wanted out of her carrier so I had to sleep with my hand hanging over my bed and into her box. After a while she didn't care about my hand and kept trying to get out again so I had to just put the lid on and tell her "Good night, go to sleep".

This morning she is bright eyed and awake. She is finishing up her cat food right now. She also has no intention of staying in the box. The problem is that she still can't walk. So if I let her try she stumbles and falls and even actually flips herself upside down. It's like walking on four legs where one leg is numb, one is a wooden stilt that is too long, one has a spring in it, and the other wants to run. I mean - it's quite a sight.

We leave for the vet in a few minutes. I have a lot of questions. Like what do we do if she stays awake and well-looking like this but can't ever walk right. Or what if she gets all the way better over the weekend and then gets sick AGAIN. So... we'll see. I guess she is walking better than a few days ago, even when she was on my lap last night she couldn't walk at all, so I guess she's improving. You wouldn't know it if you saw her though, hahah.

So as of 8am: Seems to be well and strong and awake, just has little control over her legs.

My visit to Phoebe
I went to the vet after work today just to hold Phoebe for awhile, thinking I may not get a chance to for much longer. The nurse handed me a bowl of food and said to try to get her to eat. Well, she ate the whole entire thing! The doctor came in and was SO EXCITED. She said maybe they should send her home afterall. So she came home with me.

Going downhill
Where she lay on a towel on my lap from 3pm to 7:30, urinating all over both of us but not moving an inch. In fact, I was pretty sure Phoebe was going to be put down tomorrow morning. She just lay there on my lap like a limp rag.

Looking up
Then her teenage visitors came over. And Phoebe started perking up. She kept squirming so I kept putting her in the litter box, but she was pretty limp and just lay there. But one time I set her on the floor and she pulled herself up and tried to walk. She has maybe 10% control of her limbs so she leaned against a footstool while she walked and then toppled over. I thought maybe she wanted her kitty bed so I brought her to my room, set her in the bed, and ran out to get my book. When I ran back she was on the floor toppled over again. Finally I figured maybe she wanted more food, so I got another can out and she started lapping it up again (with Pischina-kitty standing ready for the leftovers).

The vet calls
The vet called then, from her home. She was amazed that Phoebe was eating, and said it was a wonderful sign. She said if Phoebe is eating, that means she is trying, and then we should try too. I told her Phoebe was trying to sneak around and she said that was another good sign and that I should keep her in the carrier box so she doesn't hurt herself.

A stroke?
She thinks maybe Phoebe had a stroke. I think that that may be the case. She's not sure, she is just running out of ideas. She called me from home because she is so perplexed about Phoebe and wants to make her better and can't figure out how. Welcome to the club, Vet. But the stroke thing may be the case. She's been giving Phoebe cortisone shots in case she had swelling in the brain and told me it would take a few days to work. Because she thinks now that it really may be a stroke, she wants to continue the cortisone shots but keep her home with me because she eats better here.

Fresh air
The kids were outside and have been bummed that Phoebe looked not long for this world. When she finished eating I picked her up and took her out front to visit. Her eyes perked up even more. Phoebe LOOOOOVES to be outside. She didn't move in my arms but you could see how happy she was.

Back in the box
Back in the box she goes and before I know it... she's cleaning herself. Just kicking back in the box licking at the dried cat food from this afternoon. Bright eyes wide and alert.

And now...
We wait and see. If she had a stroke, hopefully she's going to recover. If the swelling in her brain is causing this and the cortisone is working, hopefully this means she'll continue to recover. I'm relieved to not be so worried and depressed at the moment, but just three hours ago she looked ready to die. And I'm tired of this merry go round. I want to get off this ride, but at the stop labeled "Better".

GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I WANT MY CAT TO BE WELL!!!!!

Phoebe = 1pm

The vet says she is the same, and it sounds like she is at her end of ideas. She says about the only other thing she can suggest is to take her to a specialist in Campbell. I don't know how much that will cost. I don't mind paying to make her well, but if it's going to have the same end, I don't know. For now she wants to keep her where she is, and I think overnight also. I think I may want to take her home tonight. At this point, it may be the last time she is ever at home. And that makes me really sad because I love Phoebe and want her to get well.

Phoebe = Thursday morning

She's back at the vet. More tests for her, no progress yet. The vet wants to try everything and I agree.

However, if she does not get better by the end of the week I have been instructed to prepare for some bad news. It won't be easy, but I am prepared. Phoebe would be miserable if she had to live like this forever. Hopefully she will just get better.

So she has already racked up a bill at the new vet that's more than I have spent at the other vet over 2-1/2 weeks. There were a very lot of tests done today though, hopefully tomorrow will be less. And hopefully they'll have some answers. On the other hand, it is so nice to not have that $$ worry. And I just smile when I think about my mom and dad because this is one of those things that I know they would approve of, not a doubt in my mind. They always felt that if you choose to bring an animal into your home then it should be treated like a living part of your family. I can't imagine just leaving Phoebe to die.

So she's here at home next to me in her carrier box. She can't walk anyway so I would rather she just stay in her box. When it gets late I'll sit her in her litter box and then put her in her bed. Hopefully she just sleeps until morning like she did last night. She still has lots of problems with her legs, and her front paw is all bandaged in yellow because the IV is still in it.

The vet was concerned this morning that she wasn't actually seeing through her eyes, and a few minutes ago I think saw what she meant. Her pupils weren't really responding to anything and didn't follow me around. That was scary. But also... I don't think being blind would slow Phoebe down when she gets better. She's too ruff & tumble of a cat. But then a few minutes ago she just looked right at me and her pupils were fine again and I could tell she saw me. So who knows. Blind I could deal with though. Alive I can deal with.

Phoebe = 5pm

I haven't heard from the vet recently, I go back at 6:30 to pick her up for the night. I'm dreading it. I don't like taking my eyes off her when she's this sick - and how am I going to get any sleep if I'm checking for a seizure all night long? On the other hand, knowing Phoebe, she may be 100% better. But I think the vet would have let me know by now. I don't want to have an emergency drive to the emergency clinic in the middle of the night. I want to go to sleep knowing that she is sleeping soundly, and then wake up and bring her back. I don't want the worry and stress in between.

Hopefully she is okay.

Phoebe - 2:15pm

The vet says Phoebe is anemic and her red blood count and potassium have plummeted since last week. So she is still on her IV with a potassium supplement also. She also got a shot of cortisone to get down any swelling in her brain that may be causing the problems. She said that as of right now the bladder stones are the least of her problems. She comes home tonight ("in case she has a seizure" so I can take her to the Emergency Clinic) but then she goes right back tomorrow morning. Right now she's sleeping on a heating pad with all her little tubes and needles. Poor little Phoebe.

11:30am

Gah. I brought the X-rays to the new vet and they brought Phoebe in to see me. She looked MISERABLE. She looked like a patient in the hospital. I asked for some confirmation that she will at least be okay, like, can I just stop worrying about her for a couple hours while she's here? But they wouldn't give it to me. She may spend the night there. They haven't said she's incurable, they just don't know what the problem is.

Phoebe - good news!

The vet just called, Phoebe is on an IV and getting her fluids and nutrients... and she just wolfed down half a can of cat food! It sounds like the nurses whooped and cheered when they saw her eating. Sweet little Phoebe! She's getting lots of lovin's!!!

They think the leg thing is separate from the bladder stones, possibly neurological. Trying to figure out if she got flea powder put on her (no), ate poisonous plants (nope), or what it could be. For now though, she is getting her care, and when she is all fattened up we will really and truly take care of the bladder stones.

Phoebe = part infinity

She was admitted to the veterinary hospital. They're going to put her on an iv and monitor her potassium and blood sugar. Whatever is (has been) wrong with her legs, it has nothing to do with her bladder stones. "How long has she been like THIS!!!" the vet all but shrieked.

She is in a very very very nice place now. I am confident that they will take care of her, or at least do everything possible to make her better. Hopefully the next time I say she is all better it will be the last time you ever hear about it.

Phoebe - emergency appointment this morning

I called the other vet today and they were VERY concerned with her symptoms, much more than the other vet ever was. They are going to see her as soon as the vet gets in today, at 8:30, and she will probably have surgery. Which is fine. I can afford it, and she is obviously in pain.

Catie, I didn't see your comment until after I made the appointment, but I do know that this vet is a good one. My parents only took their animals there, and I've been there myself before. I will feel much better with Phoebe in their care.

She's not eating again, although I mixed up the prescription food with some water and used a dropper to get some down her throat this evening, around five or six small droppers of it.

I'm calling the other vet tomorrow morning. I'm just not all that confident in this particular vet. It's like pulling teeth getting any info out of him - like possible diagnoses, possible treatments, what he is planning to DO... he doesn't give me any feedback when I tell him her symptoms, doesn't look at her walk when I tell him she's having trouble... so many symptoms I feel are being ignored, it's just give her a shot, fill her with fluids, send her home. We know she has stones, but everything I read on the internet seems to point to a not serious problem as long as it's treated -- but she IS serious, so we need to DO something. I am glad this is happening in the summer time, but still I need to stop having my life revolve around this cat and just get her BETTER.

So it's a phone call to the other vet tomorrow.

California Law

In answer to a question about the below article, yes, there is a law about kids driving other kids around. In California when you get your driver's license you are prohibited from driving other kids in your car without another adult in the car for one year. In this case, the driver was 17, so he probably cleared that rule already.

I mean... they had to be driving at an incredibly fast rate to do what they did on that particular road. I see cars doing incredibly STUPID things on that road every day on my way home, and they aren't all teenagers. In fact, most of them are NOT teenagers. The accident could have happened to anyone, and it should not have happened to anyone.

But when it's your child, I don't think it even matters. If anything, it makes it worse. If Spike leaves my house and does something incredibly stupid like that and gets himself killed... He's still dead.
:-(
I feel so badly for their families.

So two kids at the high school were in a car crash by our house over the weekend, crashed their car head on into oncoming traffic, hit trees, and burst into flames. The story going around is they burned to death. The newspaper article just says they were DOA. Buffy just knew who they were, but they were very good friends and next door neighbors of her friend, who is of course traumatized. I'm not sure if Spike knew them - but they were his age.

It's so so so so so so so so scary. Buffy and I have been fighting all day because I won't let her sixteen year old friend drive her to school, even though it's against the law for her friend to drive other kids for one year. She doesn't get it. But as a parent, I do. I get that those parents will never see their sons ever again, and will have the image of them possibly being burned alive forever with them. I couldn't live with that. I'm telling you right now, if something happens to either of my kids, I won't make it.

When I drive with Spike, it's not (usually) his driving that scares me - it's the other drivers that go past us doing 80 on the 40mph road. Spike doesn't have the reflexes yet to get out of the way or even notice those drivers headed toward him yet. That is what scares me to death. I don't know how parents actually give up and say "Here, here's your license. Be careful." I'm going to worry myself sick every minute he's gone.

It's just horribly depressing. I can't stand thinking about what those parents are going through. I don't know how they are getting through it. Or how anyone gets through it. I'm telling you all right now, I couldn't do it.

I can barely deal with my stupid sick cat.

Okay, maybe not...?

So she lay on the towel for a very long time while we pet her and she just looked like she was in a lot of pain - I think she really hurt her bladder when she fell from the chair. Finally, I had just had enough - enough worrying about her!!! It was time to get better - NOW.

I had not given her the bladder-stone prescription food yet because the vet said cats don't always like it. So I was giving her the urinary-tract-forever-prescription food hoping to fatten her up a little first. But enough of that. I opened the bladder-stone can and put a half teaspoon on a spoon. She wanted none of it but wouldn't get up off the floor. I urged and urged and told her how YUMMY it was. She didn't care.

So I pried her mouth open and shoved it in.

She spit it out whole.

I pried open her mouth and shoved it in and held her mouth closed. She spat it all out through her teeth.

I pried open her mouth and shoved it in and held her mouth closed. She spat it all out through her teeth.

Lather, rinse, spit out.

So, I think I got half of that half teaspoon in her mouth.

Honestly? I think she looks a little more lively now. In fact, she's managed to slither quite a few feet away from me. I wonder why, heh.

Phoebe

So I guess she's not better.
:-(
I got home today and she was having major trouble walking, but it had been 2-1/2 days since her last antibiotic shot because the vet isn't there on Sunday. So I took her right in and she got her shot and filled with water again. She's just been laying here again. Well, she got up on her chair and just fell down trying to get off and I think she hurt herself, she's laying pretty still. I hope the antibiotics kick in really fast.

Plus I can't take much more of this. I want her better and to STAY better.

More of my favorite clogger

I found a MUCH better clip of the famous hip hop clogger from So You Think You Can Dance. This picture quality and sound quality is much much better. So if you didn't catch it on TV, watch it here (with sound!!!): Click here

Spike came home from working today and said "This is the best job EVER. I LOVE this job!!!"

Turns out he gets to "eat for free and talk to hot girls all day long! ...and get PAID for it!"

Must be nice to be a teenage boy.

Phoebe = back to being a pain

Today she has: jumped the baby gate, jumped the fence, crossed the street without supervision, jumps onto the dining table to sniff out and eat our food, jumped onto the kitchen sink to lick all our plates dry.

I think she's better now. Grrrr.

Interesting note from Catherine about feeding Tinkerbelle only bottled water -- my parents only fed her bottled water but we thought it was just because she was spoiled!!! They never mentioned it so I don't know if it was recommended to them also (or if she was just spoiled). It looks like our kitties may be now doing the same!

(Goodness!! even as I typed this I had to throw her off the table four times! I guess she's making up for all the eating she missed last week!)

My favorite Clogger!!!

I finally found a tape of this guy on YouTube.com. Unfortunately it's a film of the television screen so it's not terribly clear and the sound isn't that great. You miss half the adorability by not being able to see his facial expressions, and you can't hear the incredible tapping sounds. But enjoy it if you can - Click Here.
I totally disagree with Nigel's dislike of his booty-shaking - I still think he's adorable!!!
AND he did make it on to Vegas!

Podcasts I listen to:

In case anyone wants to try some out, here is what I listen to - most are available on websites, but I get them from iTunes so I don't know their web addresses:

Answer Bitch
Around 20 minutes of Hollywood gossip
Hollywood Party Girl Podcast
Around 20 minutes of good natured Hollywood party gossip
People.com: This week's buzz
3-5 minutes of headliners
Scene Unseen Movie Reviews
One of my Favorites!!! I love Chris and Jimmy movie reviews! Around 30 - 45 minutes.
Survivor Podcast
Not just Survivor, they talk about lots of reality TV shows - one of my favorites. About an hour.
That's what she said -- the Office
My favorite podcast about The Office. Usually about an hour.
The Channel Surfers
They talk about reality TV but have really gone downhill since adding a girl commentator. I can't say I recommend it anymore, but you can give it a try.
The Daily 10's Hollywood Rap-up Podcast (Video)
2 minutes of pretty good rap about hollywood headlines.
The Office Alliance Podcast - An Office Podcast
An hour of talk about The Office. All girl, so it's heavy on estrogen, but they are pretty good.
TV Guide Talk
An hour of talk about the week's television shows.

Not bored, haha

In response to Catie's so so SO nice and concerned comment (HEEE) I have to say I have not been bored for one second since Phoebe got sick. I'm sure it probably came across in my minute by minute story telling of her progress, but I have played 24 hour nursemaid to her for about 10 days now. All my days and nights were spent caring for and worrying about her.

To the point that now she acts like a little baby. Like I said before, Phoebe was never a loving cat, she never wanted to sit on your lap or anything. But she was a very social cat, she loved to come and say hi to everyone but then be on her way. Not anymore!!! Now she doesn't want me out of her sight, if I take her outside she just wants to sit on my lap, she meows and meows for us to pick her up. It's quite hilarious really.

Me getting so sick at least stopped me in my tracks and helped me remember what it is to just sit and relax. I've finished two books in the last three days and am getting ready to start another one. Also, Lanie sent me three books from her collection that look really interesting. Now I am really looking forward to just sitting around this summer and reading!!!

This morning Phoebe jumped the baby gate I had put across the front door, and was already getting ready to cross the street when I caught her. Silly kitty!!! The doctor said her walking problems were probably due to a bladder infection caused by the stones. The antibiotics are taking care of that and she is getting better and better, but she still stumbles occasionally. If she can manage to jump the fence in the back yard then I'll believe she's ready to cross the street. For now she remains under house arrest.

Back I go to read some more. I feel so much better today but still am pretty weak. Could be because I have only had that one half sandwich in the last 36 hours. Also, my ribs are terribly sore from throwing up for 5 hours straight. Ugh. Glad that's over!!!

Everyone have a good weekend, I'm out for now!

As for the kitty cat, she's running around eating everything in sight. Well, she's not running yet, but she is walking wherever she needs to go with no problem. When I put her in her box to go to the vet this morning, she even jumped right out!! She follows us all around the house meowing loudly. She is much better.

As for me, I'm going back to bed.

SICK!

And then at 11:30 last night I started violently throwing up. Don't worry, we can't really trace it to the gelato because Spike had the same kind. But I sat on the toilet with the trash can in front of me - VIOLENTLY - throwing up until 4:30am. This morning I was happy to be done with throwing up, but was so week I've been in bed all day. I've been drinking lots of water but couldn't eat food. Now, 24 hours since the last time I ate I finally got down half a cheese & tomato sandwich. Yuck, being sick is not nice.

Spike has a job!!!

Spike started his very first job ever Friday. He works at Melt Gelato and Crepe Cafe in Eastridge Mall. So of course Buffy and I had to go buy some gelato - and take a picture! The managers put him in charge of the front counter, which seemed like a great idea because he was rounding up ever teenage and preteenage girl in the vicinity into the store. I sat there for fifteen minutes watching girl after girl make googoo eyes at him as they sampled the gelato.
He loved it, said it was a lot of fun - but was a little bummed when he realized he only made about $25 the entire night. Welcome to minimum wage work, Boy, that's why you stay in school!

It was a great place to eat though.

And I don't care what Nigel says, he's "booty shaking" is awesome. In the most adorable way. I wish his dance was on YouTube.

You've been Clogged!

I need to get that clogger guy on a taped loop or something because I just can't get enough of watching his adorable little dance.

My own theory

Also? I think it was the last antibiotics that made her get worse. She definitely has stones, and those are definitely hurting her, but she wasn't that sick when I took her in - it wasn't until she started taking the antirobe aquadrops that she got much much worse, and quickly. Now she is on a different kind, and since the moment she got off the others, she has improved with NO backsliding. She never threw up or had diarrhea, but I still think she had some reaction. So hopefully she improves to how she was last week (she's already almost there).

Still getting better!

Took Phoebs to the vet to get her shot and more fluids pumped into her. This time she did not dociley sit there, neither did she just howl. She decided that she had had enough, and was going to leave. It wasn't that frantic fighting that scared animals do at the vet, it was more of Phoebe's signature "F*** this S***, I've had enough, get me off this table NOW. No, I'm F***ing serious, get me off this table NOW."

The vet said he's going to order the special stone-dissolving food for her and if she continues to eat, she'll get put on that food as soon as it comes in.

On the way home I noticed she was sitting in her box CLEANING HERSELF!!! I was so happy I almost started crying.

"She's... she's licking her butt!!! *sniff* !!!"

Phoebe is eating!

This morning I went in the kitchen to make coffee and Phoebe was right there sitting looking at me (like she always is when someone is in the kitchen). So I got a little bowl out and put some wet food in it and set it in front of her...

and she started licking!! She didn't eat a lot, but she did lick it a lot. This is wonderful! She's getting stronger, she's eating and drinking... maybe soon she can start on the pet food that will fix her stones!

Three of the kids' friends came over yesterday at different times, three friends that Phoebe loves. She's not a very loving cat, she won't sit in your lap or anything, but she is very social and loves to say hi. I think the visits really cheered her up, I'm serious. She sat next to them and they pet her and talked to her and kept offering food and water. David often spends the night and he's the only person EVER that she ever wanted to sleep next to. So he spent the night last night in the family room with her. Sure enough, this morning she was sitting right next to him.

I'm so afraid to say "Looks like she's getting better!" cuz she always goes backwards, but as of today she is better than she has been since last week. So I am happy.

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