mdrai

Kitty pics: Mo & Chai vie for position on the heat vent: Mo on the scale @ the vet:

He is just so gosh darn cute, Laura! Your dad better watch out... Carson'll be running the joint before you know it! Thanks for all your kind words & purple power for me re: Mo... I am a mess, truly. So sad. Splitting headache. This a.m. @ the vets was hard... trying to decide what to do / what's best for Mo... the vet even recommended a surgery to remove his colon (& then it's replaced by the small intestine)... but way beaucoup bucks for THAT! & dh was w/me, so... We also had to discuss the euthanasia option, as well. He's as backed up w/really hard poop as he was back in '08. Ugh. We chose the "put him out & go in & clean it out" option (still a LOT of $)... I was sitting there, holding Mo, crying & crying... The vet called just now & said they're done w/him for today... he came thru anesthesia fine... the vet said that there's SO much in there & it's SO hard... they will keep him overnight + IV fluid push & may have to do another round tomorrow morning. We're now in a snow warning for tomorrow - Weds for another foot of snow! So we need to get him back before that occurs. When he returns, there is another motility medicine that we'll start him on, + the Lactulose that he's on now... I think I feel so badly because I feel guilty... I'm the one who gives him his meds & feeds him & cares for him, so I feel like I should've noticed this earlier, or that I did or didn't do something that would've prevented all this... I was honest w/the vet & told him that we're very busy, on the go a lot, and that I do my best... but I'm concerned that now I'll have even MORE to do w/him and dh said that this is it -- if it happens again like this, he goes to the big litter box in the sky (my nice way of putting it... he used much blunter terms). So can you see why I'm a mess? So much rattling around in my head & heart... and I really feel like it's all on me... well, because it is! duh. Sorry for the ramble... I'm hoping it's cathartic to get these thoughts/feelings out.

Or their BUTTS!

On the way home from leaving Mo @ the vet... dh is driving... they'll work on him @ noon & keep him overnight.

Good Morn... Woke to Mo making his "step on a squeaky toy" yell this morning... he's still full. After a phone consult w/my regular vet (she's a mobile vet, so not so "mobile" in 2' of snow), we're loading him up & taking him to her recommended regular vet to have him roto-rootered. Of course, at this point, the bigger question becomes how much longer do we put him through this... nasty, sticky liquid meds 2x/day, special food, and then it doesn't work & he's in such pain... I can barely think about it, but there it is... sometimes being the adult sux. The kids are off today... The forecast for tomorrow eve through Weds is another 5 - 10" of snow!! Time to go... wish us luck!

What a pretty name, Judy! Yay Pam!! So excited for you -- thanks for making me smile w/the thought of a margi in your pool -- someday SOON!! Here are more pics of the house... after the snow finally stopped and the sun actually came out!: oh drat... ds hasn't loaded them yet... will post them later... but look what I found while looking for the pics! (Actually, I found LOTS of old pics, but won't bore you w/more than 1, lol!) A pic of ds "reading" a book to dd from 2001 (so she's 3 & he's 7): There are diapers on the shelf in the pic, so she might be 2, he 6... be still my heart!

Am spending the day surfing the Web for knitting patterns (on ravelry), playing board games, and reading a new book "Shadow Tag" (about a woman who's keeping two diaries: one is the "real" one that she keeps in a bank safe deposit box, and a "fake" one that she knows that her husband reads)... just started it yesterday, it's ok so far...

They DO have Miralax for cats... he's been getting 2 doses daily everyday for a year or more now... more when I think he needs it... and he *still* got wedged up. It's a sticky liquid that he hates, so yeah, that's always fun to do. Pets. Gotta love 'em. Now "they" ("they" being the newscasters who are on 'round the clock since yesterday morning) say we may get more snow on Tuesday! AND that it could be a week or more before schools can open / we can get out!! Pandemonium!

Some snow pics of the backyard:

This snow is actually a bit scary! We've got about 2' on the ground, with more coming through 10pm tonight! The worst part is: Mo. He's *really* stopped up now and if it was a normal day he'd be off to the vet. I'm worried about dehydration as well. You know how things always seem worse @ night? He threw up at about 11pm, so I was on the bathroom floor w/him 'til about 2am, giving him water from an eye dropper every 20 mins or so... I called the emergency vet and their genius advice was to bring him in! I was crying and crying. At 2 I moved us to an easy-type chair in the bedroom (my butt couldn't take the hard floor!) and I sat in the chair & dozed a bit, he curled up on my lap & dozed, I'd give him water every so often... & that was my night. DH woke up @ 6am so I put him on "Mo watch" & I crawled into bed and got a couple hours of sleep. My regular vet called this a.m. and now I'm giving him warm water enemas every hour or so to try to soften him up... + the water orally via eye dropper... this is so not fun.

Happy Birthday, Laura! :thumbup: We're under a blizzard warning... they're predicting up to 30" of snow between earlier today and tomorrow night... all the grocery store shelves are empty... it's crazy!... We're all hunkered down... games, books, movies, food... we're good for awhile! Then there's more snow in the forecast for Tues/Weds! :huh2: Where is this? Alpena?? Hope we don't go all "Shining" on each other!

Good Thursday Morn, Vi's~~ We here on the East Coast are gearing up for a "major," "significant," "concerning," snow "event" starting tomorrow noonish & continuing through Saturday, so it's "bread! milk! toilet paper!" madness for me today, lol! Ay yai yai, why did that crazy woodchuck have to see his shadow the other day? I blame him! Will check in after I'm back from storming the grocery store in search of my family's "snow food" requests: cinnamon buns, pizza, potato salad, hot cocoa... healthy ones, my fam, yes?

I know, I know... it's still bittersweet. Being "allowed" to shave was a big honkin' deal when I grew up, and I didn't want her to have to fight for it or have it affect her self-esteem... I'm really trying to make natural bodily transitions be just that -- natural... and to keep our lines of communication and respect open as we enter the pre-teen/teen stages... It's so not how it was when I was that age... sheesh, we didn't talk about ANYthing... and I don't want it to be that way w/my kids... so far so good, I think... Where's my roomie been lately?? Judy?? Where are you?? (Maybe she's off shaving!)

For you, Pammie!

At least we were all partying, right Janie? & no worries about the tweezers... I'm just sorry that they're causing you such frustrations. The kids were certain they'd have a snow day today... but it's just 2 hours late, he he. Made Amish friendship bread this morning for the snowy start... mmm, smells so good! Now I have 3 starters to give away, too! I'm on Mo watch today... he's quarantined up in our bathroom... he's having is "usual" problems, but it seems a bit worse, so am treating him... lovely, I know. If he doesn't "let loose" soon, I'll have to call the vet. AND my other cat, Chai, is now on thyroid meds! I have to give her 1/2 of a teensy pill each day. Pets. Good times. Other than all that... it's just a regular work day around here. Everyone make it as good as it can be!

Am melancholy... just "taught" DD how to shave her pits & legs. She was just my lil' babe a blink ago... wow it goes so fast.

Ewwwwwwww.

Whew! I barely had to time to get today's preparations completed, what with all the shopping and wrapping and decorations and cards... such a crazy holiday!

I exist in a permanent state of daydreaming of PS... & whenever I may return again... some day... And... you do NOT suck... you're buying us that great getaway bungalow :confused:

Fun facts from my PS, "Desert Playground" mug: City of Palm Springs Metropolitan Profile Incorporation Date: 1938 Elevation: 466' above sea level Land Area: 94.2 sq. mi. Avg. Annual Rainfall: 5.7" Avg. Daily Temp: Jan, 55; July, 91 Palm Springs is located approximately 110 miles east of Los Angeles in the State of Confusion -- ha ha, just seeing if you were paying attention! -- that should be "California"

Carson's picture kills me each time I see it... poor lil' dude!!!

So glad you liked it! I guess it sounds better to say a movie has grossed "$x million" in today's dollars than the fact that it's brought in less than Snow White in averaged-out dollars, lol! + I don't know if the 3-D version is included in the Avatar grosses as well? I typed it out from the article in the EW mag & it listed only top 10... maybe a search of their web site will turn up a more in-depth list? That list did remind me of some great flicks that I want the kids to see... It's frickin' freezing here today... AGAIN!... & they're calling for "a couple inches" of snow tomorrow night (in a usual winter, this would have everyone flipping out, doing the "bread, milk, toilet paper" dance, but this year it's hardly worth noting!), & then another "storm" on Fri/Sat... what is with this winter?? Anyhoo... it's cold cold cold & I'm sipping hot green tea in my Palm Springs Starbux mug, thinking warm, palm tree-y thoughts... I'm also avoiding actual work... can ya tell? :confused:

Good Morning! Happy February!! So, total weight loss for January was 8.4 lbs... I was rockin' it 'til the trip, and ironically, I did ok on the trip but it was last week that messed me up... I didn't get right back on track and backslid. But, at least there's a loss this month & not a gain, yes?! Yes! Now it's a new month! Here's some inspiration, courtesy of "Oxygen, Off the Couch" mag: Your Attitude is Everything! It's not so important that you want to succeed; it is essential that you understand why you want to succeed, and what has prevented you from achieving success in the past. What belief system and follow-up game plan do you need to put in place to gain that success? Own It If you blame everyone else for your failure, you are doomed. You have to take responsibility for failure, and do something about it. It's easy to lose "self-belief" if you've avoided the real question: "Why do I want to be fit, healthy, and shapely for life?" You have to understand "self-belief." It's the most powerful attitude lesson of all. Write down your desires & wishes; post them up, carry them with you, read them two or three times a day. Develop a passion for your aims. Then you will begin to live them. And when you live them, results will come. Look back at when you had a past success. ... Savor that success. Remember it and repeat it. Think about the things you love to do. Think about the things you are good at. Think about the qualities people compliment you on. Don't let anyone or anything hold you back this time. It's now or never. Alter Your Mindset Take steps to completely change your attitude. This will take some thought and concentration... and practice. Fake it if you have to. The reality will take hold in time: *Attitude is the way you feel when you wake up in the morning. *Attitude is the way you talk to your spouse. *Attitude is the way you sit at the breakfast table. *Attitude is the way you treat your kids. *Attitude is the way you drive to work. *Attitude is the way you greet your co-workers. *Attitude is the way you greet your family on returning home. So many women take steps to lose weight and get fit only to give up after a few months, weeks, or even days. You have to keep focused. Remind yourself of your ultimate goal. On those occasions when you see zero results, stick to the plan. Results are what count and they come to those who persevere. Love life and be grateful for living. Each day is an amazing new day full of opportunities!

Nope......

Oh crap, I don't have my 3D glasses! Do you think it'll work if I cross my eyes?