Thursday, August 28, 2008

Just for Katie...

a small addendum to my lexicon:

1) Holidays (n.): Nope. Not vacation or national/religious remembrances when we get off from work. Great word that I grew up with and still use fairly often. It means: spots that you missed when painting or cleaning; mostly painting. This actually comes in as #6 (the very last) on the definitions for "holidays" as a noun from dictionary.com. Check it!

Example: "Make sure you do a good job painting the baby's room; don't leave any holidays on the walls."


2) Break your face: Phrase often uttered by South Philly moms, sometimes in conjunction with "act right." It's a much more...colorful of way saying "I'll slap you." I've found that moms usually use this in a threatening way to older kids, say over the age of 10.

Example: "If you ever come home and tell me you are pregnant, I'll break your face."

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Happy 2nd Bloggiversary Contest: THE GOODS

Ok so I am finally going to post what you actually will get if you win my 2nd Anniversary Bloggiversary Contest! Here's a picture of the booty:



Here's what all that is (from back to front):

1 tote bag from Barnes & Noble
1 blue expandable documents folder
1 dishcloth pattern booklet
1 light-green long-knitting-needle holder
1 skein Lamb's Pride worsted in pine tree colorway
8 skeins Moda Dea Cartwheel 100% wool yarn in hazy colorway
1 mini notepad (black floral pattern) with matching pen
Trader Joe's Organic Breakfast Blend coffee
1 skein Knit Picks Palette in pool colorway
2 boxes of green tea pods from DHC in Japan
1 skein of Lion Wool in flower garden colorway
2 skeins of Shi Bui Superwash Merino sock yarn in a buttercream color (#330)
1 bar of Trader's Joe's massage-soap
1 bar of Greek olive oil soap (from Greece)
1 skein Blue Sky Alpacas 100% Organic Cotton in a toasted color (#82)
1 hand-knit by me dish/wash cloth
1 hand-knit by me matching scrubbie
1 flannel star-pattern pouch
1 $25 iTunes gift card

If I do say so myself, that is QUITE a haul. If you haven't entered yet, it's NOT too late! You have until August 31, 2008 at 8:00pm. Just go to this blog entry for your chance to enter & win!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

GO, JOE!

Oh, Hell YEAH, BABY! JOE BIDEN FTW!!!!

Delawarians rejoice! WOO!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Info on Mr. Chesterfield...Plus...

First of all info on Mr. C:

He is HORRIBLY constipated, poor thing. Which apparently explains the bald patch on his upper back thigh area. He's been licking and pulling out his fur back there. His muscles are so sore and tender and that's the only way cats know how to deal with it. So we had them give him another enema. They said that "a lot was removed." So that's good.

As for the possible renal issues, well, we have to wait some more. They took more blood tonight and hopefully the results will come back showing an improvement. We should know tomorrow or Saturday. He's gained 2 ounces. But then again, that could be a build up of stuff in his colon, which they removed. Yuck.

Also, the vet recommended that we wean him off the BP medicine entirely, which is
something I've been wanting to do for a while too. So he's now down to .2 once a day. He seems ok now. I think he's a little confused and tired of being poked and prodded, understandably

So we're still in a holding pattern, somewhat. But things certainly look better than they did this morning.

Now the plus...

This is THE most hilarious picture from Lost that I've ever seen, I think. I'll have to keep looking for more. This is from Season 1, Episode 5: The White Rabbit. Yeah it's a slow week at work.... Enjoy!



Ok first of all, can I get Matthew Fox to come roll around on the ground with ME, please? Jesus Tap-dancing Christ; even filthy, grubby, & sweaty he's SMOKIN' HOTT. Second, look at Terry O'Quinn's face. LMFAO. He's probably like "GAH, MATT. YOU ARE CRUSHING MY LEFT ARM." Good stuff.

Mr. Chesterfield Needs Your Good Karma!

Most of you who read this blog know that Todd and I have expanded from 1 cat to having 6 cats over the last 3 years or so. Our most recent addition is Mr. Chesterfield. We acquired him last year in September.

Even though he's only been in our family for less than a year, we adore Mr. Chesterfield. Last week (while I was away in NC) Todd needed to bring Mr. C and Sophie in for a check-up. Both of them are on medications---Sophie for thyroid and Mr. C for high blood pressure. You can imagine how concerned and sad I was Todd told me that the vet said that Mr. C was not doing well. He lost about 3 pounds. He was severely dehydrated. He had ulcers in his mouth that were infected. And his blood pressure didn't seem to be any better either.

Todd (the saint that he is with animals) made three visits to the vet with Mr. C, all during the week I was away. The initial visit with a blood test, then a visit for a urine sample/test, then a visit for an enema. Results of the blood and urine tests showed problems. Low levels of something-or-other. High levels of such-and-such. Whatever they were, they were definitely not good.

Now Mr. C is on a medication for the infectious ulcers, a stool-softener, his BP meds, and Todd has to give him an I.V. of fluids every night at dinner. :-(

The verdict? Well, we have one more visit to the vet today, to see how he's responding to the fluids and such. Probably another blood and/or urine test. Here's what the vet thinks. It's one of the following things:

1) Mild kidney toxicity caused by ingesting some chemical (like soapy water from our shower or worse, a cleaner for the shower). This most likely can be flushed through his system. This is the best-case scenario.

2) Averse reaction to his BP meds. Now, he's been on these for almost as long as we've had him. However, in January when he went in for a check-up, the vet said that his BP wasn't coming down enough so they raised the dose. It's possible that this higher dosage is too much for him and has caused the other problems.

3) Acute renal failure, or cancer, or liver failure. This means euthanasia. :-( :-( :-(

Mr. C doesn't seem to be showing any of the typical signs of a cat with kidney or liver failure. I know because I've had cats or have seen other's cats with these conditions. For one thing, he eats whatever you feed him. He drinks normally. He never throws up. He uses his litterbox without issue. He doesn't seem lethargic or abnormal in any other way. However, I believe that he is OLD. Whatever the folks at Forgotten Cats said was tragically incorrect. I think I recall that they aged him between 5 and 8. Our eye specialist vet said "at least 10." I think he's 15 or 16. I've always suspected that he was an old guy.

Anyway there are 2 things that we noticed that are different than normal.

One, he's been meowing or calling out a lot, especially in the evening. He's always done this. It will be 2:00 am and suddenly you'll hear "Meow! Meow! Meow!" Well last night it was noticeably more frequent and with greater intensity and length of time.

Second, on his right side towards the upper thigh, he is suddenly missing a patch of fur. We noticed it 2 days ago. Last night this bald patch seemed 3 times the size that it was when we first noticed it and the skin underneath was very flushed and hot. Maybe this is a reaction to the anti-biotic? Or maybe he's just stressed?

We have no idea. But all we know is that he's a sick kitty and we want him well again. As soon as I know anything about his condition from the vet, I'll post it here (good or bad).

So please send some love to Mr. Chesterfield today. <3

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Aubrey n' Me

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Happy 2nd Bloggiversary Contest




Alright, so I am quickly approaching the 2nd anniversary of this blog (last week of August). So, to celebrate the momentous event (not) I present to you a bloggiversary contest!







Here are the details:

1) To enter, you must comment to this post no later than August 31, 2008 at 8:00pm. To add a marginal amount of "challenge" to the contest, you will have to tell me in your comment your answer to the following question:

What has been your favorite post on my blog since its inception in August 2006, (not counting this contest post) and why?

You can only enter once. But! There is a way to get more entries (see below).

2) If you refer to the contest on your own blog and link people here, you get another entry.

3) If a person comments to this post and tells me that they got the link from your blog, you get a 3rd entry!

4) I will choose a winner on September 1, 2008 via a random-number generator.

See? Easy peasy.

Oh, what do you win? Lots of stuff. If you knit/crochet, be sure that I will tailor the prize so that yarny goodness is included. If you couldn't care less about knitting, shame on you. JK. But also, not to worry, I will replace the yarn with other treats.

But for everyone (knitters and non-knitters alike) this list of goodies will include, but is not limited to:

Coffee
Tea
a washcloth/dishcloth knitted by me
a scrubbie, also knitted by me, which will match the cloth (ooh! fancy!)
cool soap
a tote bag
a $25 iTunes giftcard

and more!

Hope you all enter! And good luck!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Can I Get an Amen?

For those of you who have g-mail accounts, have you ever noticed when you empty your spam folder that Google gives you recipes that include actual Spam (the canned "meat" product) in a clickable link on the top left of the window?

You know what I'm talking about, right?

Are these recipes anything less than the most disgusting concoctions that human-kind could ever come up with? I mean seriously, folks:

Spam Breakfast Burritos (Ok not too bad, I guess.) Potentially offensive to Mexico.

Spam Quiche (Just use real ham, people. Geez.) Offensive to France.

Spam Fajitas (No, thank you) Again, offensive to Mexico.

Spam Primavera (Primavera is Italian for "spring," or "the first green," not repulsive canned meat) Offensive to Italy.

Spicy Spam Kebobs (A thousand times, NO. Ewww) Offensive to India.

Spam Vegetable Streudel (WHAT? I couldn't even bring myself to look at the ingredients.) Offensive to Germany.

Ginger Spam Salad (Ginger...and Spam...together. What is wrong with you people?) Offensive to Southeast Asia.

Vineyard Spam Salad (This sounds particularly wretched to me. Spam, mayo, and grapes are 3 of the ingredients. RETCH.) Offensive to ALL LIVING THINGS.

And now what I think sounds like the MOST unappetizing, stomach-turning, multi-nationally offensive pile of crap:

Spam Imperial Tortilla Sandwiches. Ok people, let's break this down, just on the title alone.

1) Spam: Repulsive, gelatinous, 95% fat "meat" product. "Part of our chemical heritage," as we used to say at a place I once worked. I actually went to the Spam website and there is NO information available on the nutritional label. Gee, I wonder why...?
2) Imperial: So what is it, Chinese now?
3) Tortilla: Oh, so it's Chinese AND Mexican. Got it. Wait...what?
4) Sandwiches: I don't know of any Chinese or Mexican "sandwiches." And do you use the tortillas to make the sandwiches? If so, then it becomes a burrito, or a roll-up, or a wrap. Certainly not a sandwich.

So in just a few recipes, Google managed to offend the cuisines of at least 7 different nations. Way to go!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Want to Make an Anger-Inducing Tid-Bit Tolerable?

Just convo it out with Nicole:

10:00 AM me: God please let the world come to an end before the live action Bebop comes out and ruins my life.
Nicole: omg there's a live action bebop?!!?
who's in it?
me: I'll give you 3 guesses
They've cast Spike, 8 months ago
10:01 AM Nicole: foxcock?
he would be an awesome spike.
10:02 AM LOL
me: HA I wish.
He'd be perfect
10:03 AM Nicole: lol not keanu reeves! he's too OLD
me: Yes
fucking Keanu Reeves
Nicole: he's too old
me: That's exactly what I said
Nicole: and not...well. he's not flexible enough
lol
me: he's too fucking old
10:04 AM LMFAO
He's too retarded
What's he now? 44?
yes he's 44
Nicole: LOL too retarded
10:05 AM me: UGH
And he's not hot enough
seriously
Nicole: hahahahahahahahaha
you're right
who will they get to play jet?
and faye?
me: he just doesn't have the screen appeal that he had 10 years ago
Nicole: ain't nobody with faye's measurements.
me: LMFAONicole: LOL i bet they get angelina jolie
or that retard from the underworld movies.
10:06 AM me: Here's the newsreel: After story that Fox is adapting Cowboy Bebop into a live action movie, with Erwin Stoff attached as producer, First Showing reports:
a good friend inside the industry who is a very reliable source wrote in to tell me that the film is being fast tracked inside the studio and will most likely be out by 2010. He also revealed that Keanu Reeves has been attached as the lead character Spike for over eight months now and is still set for the role. Unfortunately there isn't a writer or director attached yet, but with some new forward momentum coming from last week's announcement, I don't think it will take too long.
i got it from there
10:07 AM me: yeah they've been screwing with this about as long as they've been with Watchmen
so maybe Keanu will find something else to do
Nicole: LOL
me: that's how he got out of Speed Racer, thank Christ
10:08 AM Nicole: haha oh man he's WAY too old for that
speed racer was just an example of such wonderfully perfect casting - it only happens like once every 10,000 movies
it's like an eclipse, or hailey's comet. shit don't happen every day.
10:09 AM they also talked about johnny depp for speed racer. johnny depp. could you see him fag stepping into the mach 5? walk the plank, bitch.
10:11 AM me: "fag stepping"
L
M
F
A
O
O
o
o
o
o
o
O
o
O
O
O
O
o
oo
oo
oo
Oo
oO
oo
Nicole: LOL choking on tea
me: oOooo
OOOO
OOoO
oOo
DYING
OMG
10:12 AM I CANNOT BREATHE
10:14 AM Nicole: LOL that was awesome
me: in PAIN
Nicole: i'm so glad my boss just left because i think i peed a little
lol
10:15 AM me: still DIAF
10:16 AM Nicole: LOL i love you