Well Thursday sucked

Here's another vent post, but I felt I should share.

So Thursday morning Jim woke up early to take Cheeto to the vet around 6:15 so he would have enough time to get home and get ready for work. Well it was like 7:00 by the time he finally got back. Apparently the woman at the desk was a moron and Jim had to actually go back into a room to sign some papers. Seriously? It was just supposed to be a quick drop off. Whatever...it was fine, but he was a little rushed.

I get to work around 8:00 and notice I had three missed calls from Jim. I'm thinking something was wrong, so I call him back immediately. Apparently he had an interesting encounter after I had already left for work. See, we have this little tree outside our condo and we have a bird feeder hanging from it. The birds are pretty used to us by now and they'll fly away right when you walk out the door, but immediately come back to the tree. So Jim walks out the door, birds fly away, he walks to his truck and the birds fly back. Then all of a sudden they all fly away again and he notices a hawk swoop in and go after a sparrow. The sparrow flies to another tree about 6 feet behind Jim. Then the sparrow flies toward Jim and the hawk is following. Jim said in that split second all he saw was hawk claws and face and then felt the whoosh of the hawk's wings on his head. He needed a clean pair of shorts after that lol.

Then, at 11:00 I took our Edge up to U-Haul to have a hitch installed so we can take our bikes up north with us. I show up, tell the guy I'm there to have a hitch installed and he looks at me and tells me his hitch guy isn't even there. Well isn't that a great way to start off the conversation. I actually called on Monday to make the appointment and they told me a hitch wasn't in stock but that they would get one in by Thursday...fine. So the guy keeps asking me who I talked to (I had no idea) and he keeps telling me it isn't in stock. I said, I know it wasn't it stock which is why I called yesterday (Wednesday) to make sure it was going to be here. He basically did nothing for me and told me the closest one was in Toronto or Ohio. THEN he tells me that I must have talked to someone at the call center. Apparently if their phone rings twice and they don't answer it, it gets sent to a call center. Then when I made the appointment, how did the call center know where I wanted to go if they didn't ask me? None of that made sense and I left telling him I'd call him later if I needed the hitch overnighted from somewhere. I don't understand how you can operate a business like that!?!?

So I call Jim, tell him the situation and he gives me another place to call. I call the place and after a few annoyances, was able to make the appointment for today.

I call Jim back to tell him crisis averted, we will have a hitch. Then Jim fills me in on the conversation he just had with the vet. See, the doctor performing the surgery wasn't actually the one that we had been dealing with and that recommended the surgery. The one performing the surgery is the main guy, but we're not really a big fan of his. He tells Jim that he doesn't think Cheeto needs the surgery! Are you kidding me?! He says his urine stream is fine and that they would run some tests to see if there is more of a problem.

Two hours goes by and we hear nothing so I decide to call to find out what the deal is since by this time it's like 3:30 p.m. So I get the doctor on the phone and he tells me he thinks that Cheeto can't feel the sensation of a full bladder. He thinks this because when Cheeto stands, his legs seem to buckle. Uh, ya think? How about he's been like that since he was born and 3 years ago we took him to a neurologist for that very problem. They told us his spinal cord is too short and that he'll never walk normal. How about you look in the effing chart and note that your practice told us to see a neurologist. Seriously? I need this right now? So I explain all that to him, continue to tell him that Cheeto's peeing problem has been going on for TWO MONTHS and that we've had this surgery planned since Monday. What if he has an emergency when we're gone and my brother who's watching our other (low maintenance) cat doesn't realize it because he doesn't know what's "normal" for Cheeto? Then he says, ok, well you answered my question, I'll do the surgery. UGH!

So that was Thursday. Talk about some completely unnecessary stress before we leave for vacation.

So now I sit here, blogging (and venting) away, and ready to go away for a week. We SO need this vacation.

I talked to the vet today and Cheeto is doing well. We'll go see him tomorrow before we leave and pick him up next Sunday when we come home. Let's hope he's back to normal.

I hate you post office!

I bought a backpack for my camera equipment about two weeks ago and it was delivered this past Monday via USPS. Since we're in a condo, the package couldn't fit in our little mail locker. And since we all know the post office has such friendly hours, I decided to wait until today to go pick it up since they're open 8:30-1:00. Well I'm not really the morning person and like to sleep in so I was in no rush to get there. So I show up at 12:30 only to see that their summer hours allow them to close at noon on Saturday! AHHHHHHHHHH! It would have been nice if that was noted on the little sheet they left on my door! After everything else this week I just wanted to scream! Oh and even better, their summer hours have them opening up at 9:00 during the week. Seriously?? So now I either have to go into work really late or go into work early so I can leave early to pick up the package. Like I said, I'm not a morning person so I don't go into work very early to begin with. Whatever...it's just so annoying.

And the other stuff I was dealing with this week had to do with Cheeto. The medicine that a different vet put him on to help with his muscle control in his bladder apparently didn't work. This past Monday we realized it had been quite some time since Cheeto actually peed. He looked like he was in pain and when Jim went to pet him, he growled at him. So we took him to the vet and he ended up staying three days due to a major blockage, which really confuses me since he had already been on antibiotics for like 1.5 months.

He came home on Thursday and it seemed like nothing changed. He looked like he was in pain and was seriously dripping all over the house. We had to keep him locked in the bathroom all night and all day Friday with a litter box to see if he would go in it or not. PLUS, the vet wants us to bring him back for the next three days to make sure his bladder is small.

So I took him back last night for a tech appointment and end up talking with the doctor. She said since the blockage was so big he may actually need a surgery to remedy the situation. She said he still looks like he's spasming which is why when he tries to go nothing comes out, yet when he's laying there it drips out and he ends up sitting in his own urine...awesome. I said he looked like he was in pain so she gave him a shot of prednisone, an anti-inflammatory. When I brought him back home last night he seemed like himself again. I think the prednisone made him feel much better! Plus he stopped dripping all over the place.

So I have to take him back today and tomorrow and see how he is...then we'll decide if he needs the surgery. What really had us worried though is that we're supposed to leave for a week vacation on the 8th and he's still on medicine, and then what if we decide he needs the surgery? I had an epiphany last night when I realized my brother could stay at our house while we're gone. He agreed to it so now I feel much better, no matter what decision we make.

So that was my week in a nutshell. Hopefully later today we're going to go get some new cell phones. I love a new gadget! We attempted to do that last Sunday, but to no avail. It was around 5:30 p.m. and I mentioned to Jim about hitting up the Verizon store. I went online to check the hours and it said they closed at 7:00, cool, we had enough time to make it there. So we drive all the way out there (it's not that close to our house) only to find the store hours on the door say they close at 5:00! OMG! What is the deal with me and store hours??

Ok, so this was quite the vent post, but I just had to share.

The vet is a pain

So last week our lovely Cheeto started peeing whenever and wherever with a little blood in his urine (sorry, a little TMI). I called the vet to make an appointment and since he was due for his yearly stuff, they wanted me to bring a stool sample too, cool, whatever.

So we get to the vet, he does his thing, diagnoses Cheeto with a bladder infection, gives us some antibiotics, tells us he wants to see Cheeto again when the medicine is gone and we go on our merry way. This was last Tuesday.

So on Tuesday of THIS week, I get a call from the vet telling me that Cheeto has roundworm. I asked the tech if I'm to assume that our other cat has it as well since they share a litter box. I mean, when we take them a stool sample they say it doesn't really matter which one it's from since if one cat has it, the other one probably does too. Well she told us NOT to assume that and to bring in a stool sample from our other cat Mowee. Fine. So I go tell Jim that Cheeto has roundworm and while he's a little confused since our cats are indoor cats, he says ok.

So at work yesterday I start thinking about the call from the vet and wonder why it would take an entire week for them to let me know Cheeto has roundworm. Did they analyze the right sample? Did they mix them up? Did they call the right owner? So I call the vet, pose my question and get put on hold. The tech comes back to tell me that it is indeed roundworm and they are not mistaken on that. Hold on a minute...that wasn't my question. My question was a) why did it take so long to tell me and b) are you sure you have the right cat? Then she tells me the test was run LAST Thursday! "Oh, nobody called you?" Uh no. "Well they're supposed to call you when they get the results". Well they didn't. So then I ask HER if I should assume my other cat has it as well and she says yes. WTF?! Do these people have any idea what they're talking about? Do they communicate with each other? Did they have different books in school or something?? So I say yes, I want the medication for BOTH of my cats and I'll be up there later to pick it up. It was about 2:30-3:00 when I called.

So at 6:00 when I go to get the medicine, they don't have it ready for Mowee. Seriously?? I was SO annoyed at this point. Then there's confusion in the computer system, confusion with why Mowee was prescribed more when Cheeto weighs more and is actually the one that was diagnosed with the roundworm. UGH! Apparently we give them a dose now and then in three weeks give them another dose, wait a week, take in another stool sample and hope the worms are gone. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong.

These pills aren't small. Cheeto we have no problems giving medicine to. He's had his fair share of vet visits and medicine so he's pretty easy. Mowee on the other hand? Forget it. Liquid is probably the easiest, or really tiny pills but these roundworm pills? No way. So we gave it the old college try. We tried different techniques, different positions. There was no way she was taking this pill. So now, we've decided to just take in a stool sample of hers to have analyzed and if she does have roundworm, the vet can give her the pill.

Oh and at the vet I asked if there were any known intestinal side effects from the pill since Cheeto already has some issues. It took us forever to find a combination of foods that doesn't mess him up so we hate to disrupt his intestines with anything lol. The tech tells me he doesn't think there are any side effects. When I get home, Jim opens the packaging and reads: SIDE EFFECTS: GI SIDE EFFECTS ARE POSSIBLE BUT UNLIKELY FROM THIS MEDICATION. Down a little further it reads: CATS AND DOGS MAY EXPERIENCE SALIVATION, ANOREXIA, VOMITING, GAGGING AND DIARRHEA WHEN GIVEN THIS MEDICATION. Sweeeeeeeeeeet. And guess what? Cheeto's puked like 3 times since last night and has gross poo. Cool.

Man I hate giving him medication.

Look how sad he is...

Squirrels are pretty smart

So last weekend we decided to hang a bird feeder from our little tree outside our condo. We figured it would give the cats something else to look at to pass the time. So everything's all hunky dory and then Friday I notice that all of a sudden there's an extreme amount of bird seed missing...I just figured the birds got really hungry. So Jim goes out there to fill the feeder, but no such luck...

...the squirrels chewed on all the little plastic attachments until one broke loose and let out all the bird seed. That explained why the squirrel was hanging around a lot munching on bird seed. I just figured the birds were messy and dropping everything...lol...

So today at Lowe's I bought another one. It has copper attachments, but the tube is still plastic...lets hope the squirrels don't chew through this one.

C25K - Week 3 Day 2

FAIL.

I started out okay, but then came on the dreaded side stitch! I would go back to walking, think I was fine, start running again and it would come back even worse! So I gave up after like 15 minutes...and I was VERY frustrated with myself! I found this article which has some interesting information in it:

Up until recently there was no clear explanation for the cause of this annoying cramp, also called exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). Now researchers believe that the side stitch is caused by stretching the ligaments that extend from the diaphragm to the internal organs, particularly the liver. The jarring motion of running while breathing in and out stretches these ligaments. Runners tend to exhale every two or four steps. Most people exhale as the left foot hits the ground, but some people exhale when the right foot hits the ground. It is the later group who seem more prone to get side stitches.

Exhaling when the right foot hits the ground causes greater forces on the liver (which is on the right side just below the rib cage). So just as the liver is dropping down the diaphragm raises for the exhalation. It is believed this repeated stretching leads to spasms in the diaphragm.

So I guess I'll try to inhale and exhale when my left foot hits the ground. Oh and it would probably be a good idea for me to drink some water during the day as opposed to just coffee in the morning and a little pop at lunch. I did have some water, but definitely not enough!

I'll be giving this another shot (hopefully) on Friday since tomorrow I have to bowl after work. We shall see how it goes.

C25K - Week 3 Day 1

So like I mentioned in my previous post, I'll be doing a 5K on June 6th. At least I'm pretty sure we're doing it. It was mentioned to me that a group of girls from work would be partaking in this event and that I should join in. But...I haven't officially signed up for it yet. I'm not too sure if anyone else has either. But anyway, for me this is kind of a big deal because I used to swear up and down that I'd never run as a form of exercise because I always hated it. I would look at people's faces as they ran by me and they'd always have this look of agony on it. I would say to myself, "are they crazy? that doesn't look fun at all". Well, well, well, how opinions changes. I realize it's probably the best form of cardio to do, but I'm still not a huge fan.

So since June 6th is right around the corner, I decided to jump back into the C25K program at week three. So today's run/walk looked like this:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

I got through it pretty easily, but we'll have to see how the rest of the week goes.

Oh and I went to the dentist today for a cleaning and they told me that my last two remaining wisdom teeth (the ones on top) need to come out. Oh joy. AND I have to get a cavity filled next Tuesday. Yay.

stupid cold...

...or whatever it is I have, I can't stop sneezing!! It's like 65 degrees outside right now and I feel like complete crap! So much for enjoying this nice weather!

The good news is that I'm FINALLY done with the 2-week class I was taking at work. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I'm so glad it's finished.

it's been forever

I know, I know...it's been forever since I've posted anything, and for some reason it seems like I don't have time, but I guess I've just been preoccupied with life.

Here's what's been keeping me busy...

• my new camera which includes borrowing other lenses to see what works for me and playing around with all the different settings
• figuring out all that photoshop elements has to offer
• class at work which has me getting up earlier than I'm used to
• sitting on my butt and watching TV because I'm too tired since I've been getting up earlier than I'm used to
• working out
• busy weekends
• family stuff

Can I just say TGIF! This week has been brutal! And holy crap it's windy out right now!

What's the point of a Lean Cusine?

As I sat eating my lunch today, I was going over the "nutrition" information on my Chicken Fettuccine Lean Cuisine.

6 grams of fat
3 grams saturated fat
40 mg cholesterol
690 mg sodium

I realize that anything pre-packaged like this is going to have high amounts of sodium. That being said, I do still buy them when they're on sale because it's something quick to grab when I need lunch and didn't make anything ahead of time. But they aren't healthy at all...lol. I realize it's only 270 calories which is way less than running to say McDonald's or something, but I don't really see anything Lean about them.



Oh and I didn't like this one at all. The chicken was all spongy and gross. I should've known! I usually HATE chicken in frozen meals.

Stupid Superbowl!

So Jim and I finally got around to watching the "The Office" episode that was on after the Superbowl. Well wouldn't ya know it...we didn't get to see the end of the episode because we didn't tape longer than an hour. Silly us thinking that the Superbowl was going to end when the guide said it was going to end.

...off to see if I can watch the rest of the episode online...

It got me!

Whatever cold/flu is going around, made it's way over to me. Sore throat, swollen glands, runny and stuffy nose, slight fever. Good stuff there. Needless to say I didn't make it into work today. I left early yesterday too and just felt a TON worse today. At least I can rest over the weekend. Jim was nice enough to buy me flowers yesterday, so that brightened up my day a little.

Ready for the weekend

TGIF! Actually, for this being my first full week back to work, it wasn't too bad. It went by pretty fast. But as I sit here, knowing I have two hours left of work, I swear time is in reverse! I probably shouldn't even be blogging on work time, but it's Friday afternoon, everyone else is already gone, and I'm sort of in a standstill position with a few of the items I'm working on as I'm waiting for other people to respond so I can move forward.

Last night was my first night back to bowling after three weeks off AND it was position round. How nice for a position round to be played after everyone has been off for 2-3 weeks. But, apparently that didn't matter for me. I have a 155 average and bowled a 208, 147, and a 179. Not too shabby for being a little out of practice. And we took 6 out of 8 points so I think we ended up in 3rd or 4th place for the first half. MUCH better than last year considering we ended up in 17th place the first half of last year...lol.

Oh and then I had to get gas on the way home. I was going to stop at this one particular gas station, but then I remembered how slow their pumps are, so I stopped at a different gas station. Oh sweet lord!! Big mistake! This was the slowest gas pump I have ever used in my entire life! I swear I was there for like 10 minutes! You know how normally the numbers whiz by so fast you can't even see them? Oh no...not this time. I could clearly read the numbers in the hundredths spot on the gas gauge. That's ridiculous! But...I didn't really have anywhere to be so I just filled her up...all 18 gallons worth. And why are gas prices going up again? Can we say annoying?!?!

Tomorrow Jim and I are going to the Red Wings game to see our Stanley Cup Champs!!

I'm pretty excited since this is the first game we've gone to all season! By now we've usually gone to like 2-4 games already. I wanted to get Jim tickets for his birthday, but Ticketmaster had only corner seats left and we always sit there, so I kind of wanted to get better seats. So I went to StubHub, knowing that the prices were going to be jacked up, just to see what I could get. Well for two, upper bowl, non-corner seats, it would have been $175 for two tickets! I was so close to buying them but just couldn't do it. So a few days later, a guy at work puts out an email that he has two tickets for tomorrow's game, pretty much the same seats I was looking at, and only $90 for two tickets. It's just nice that he only charges face value for the tickets. I just hope the traffic doesn't suck getting down there. The auto show doesn't officially start until the 11th, but ya just never know when it comes to driving and parking in Detroit.

So that will pretty much be the highlight of our weekend. Don't get me wrong...tonight's grocery shopping will be quite electrifying, and will definitely be hard to top, but I'm thinking the Wings can probably trump our grocery shopping trip.

Have a good weekend!

The vacuum ate my dingleberries!

I swear, I'm cleaning challenged. After my day yesterday Jim said to me that he didn't realize cleaning was a contact sport. LOL.

See, Jim is the one that does most (ok, all) of the cleaning in our house. Every now and then he'll give me a few tasks to complete, but in all reality, he actually likes it! I know, that's just sick and wrong, but I don't complain.

Well yesterday I didn't have to work and the house was a complete mess so I figured I clean everything. So I started with laundry. I did like three loads. After the third load was done in the washer, I opened it up only to find that the clothes were still sopping wet and not stuck to the side of the machine. Our washing machine has stopped spinning apparently. So I wrung out some of the water and threw them in the dryer.

Next task was vacuuming. I was using the hose part of the vacuum to clean all the nooks and crannies, fine, no big deal. Well I stand up, lift the vacuum up over my feet to move and it feel this tugging on my slipper. I look down and notice missing dingleberries on my right foot. Jim bought me new slippers for Christmas and thought the cats would have fun with the dingleberries...apparently he was wrong and the vacuum had a go at them before the cats did.

See the one slipper sans dingleberries??

Fantastic. And they got all wrapped up in the vacuum so they're all black and greasy now.

So then I moved upstairs to the bathroom and did some more vacuuming. Once again, using the hose attachment, I was doing my thing, when all of a sudden, the attachment popped off and I bashed myself in the lip with the hose. Yeah that felt real good. I'm surprised I didn't get a bloody lip...that sonofabitch hurt pretty bad.

So that was my day. The cleaning got finished, but not without a few casualties along the way. I think I'll leave the cleaning to Jim :o)

No truck again

Ugh...seriously?? As I mentioned in a previous post, an issue popped up while driving our truck home. Well yesterday after work I drove it back up to our friends' shop so now more waiting. I just want the damn thing back a new car already!!

home sweet truck

So I'm back from my work training in Grand Rapids. It was good...got to play with some fun gadgets so that's always a good time. AND, I got to spend some time with Elena! She was a bridesmaid in my wedding,

but since she lives on the other side of the state, we really don't get to see each other very often. I did take some pics of her cute pets. Of course they are crappy cell phone pics, but you can still make out the cuteness.

This is Rupert

and this is Beren - mid-lick/yawn

Yeah it was funny, my non-smoking hotel room smelled like it used to be a smoking room, my rental car smelled like a clean hotel room and B.O., and the place where my training was held smelled like crap...but that probably had something to do with the classes being held at a waste water treatment plant...lol.

So Thursday night I drove back and Jim picked me up and brought me flowers!! All together now, awwwwwwwwwwwww. So sweet!

Then it was back to work on Friday. The good news was that we were FINALLY going to be able to pick up our truck. Now remember - this was a friends shop, so even though it was taking so long, we knew we were saving in costs in the long run.

So last night we show up at the shop to pick up our "ready to go" truck and our friend isn't even there! Jim is getting pretty mad at this point. So he calls him and it turns out there were still a few things that needed to be done on the truck...like put the intake and hood back on!! So Jim pretty much tells him we're not leaving without the truck and to get his ass up there and finish it! So our friend gets there, probably around 6:30, puts the intake on, adds the necessary fluids and starts it up. Well after some listening and prodding, it was found that the wrong coolant temperature sensor was put on. UGH!! Needless to say, we didn't end up leaving there until almost 10:30!! But she's back and I'm so happy. But...driving home last night, Jim was having some issues with the service engine light flashing, which we've never seen before, so he's trying to figure out what that's all about today. If he can fix it, great. If not, then we can't take the expressway to our Whirlyball adventure tonight and that will turn our 47 mile - 47 minute ride into a 45 mile – 1 hour and 21 min ride. I really hope he figures it out!

Still no truck

So in a previous post I mentioned that we were without our truck. Well we still are. It turns out that there's a chunk missing from the cylinder bore, which I believe is what the piston moves up and down in, so the engine's pretty much toast. We now have to buy a "new" engine from a junk yard and have that installed. Hopefully we'll have the truck back by next week. In the meantime, I've been driving Jim's parents' car, but I want my own truck back already! I'm grateful for being able to use it, but I'm ready to give it back now...lol.

This week sucks!

I know...it's been awhile since I've posted anything but I have been super busy this week!

First of all, over the weekend, Jim spent all day Saturday (his day off) working on a few things on our truck. He fixed the intake gasket and then the heat was all screwy so he fixed that. I was at home waiting for him to finish so I could make dinner. Plus he had to pick something up on the way home in order for me to make said dinner. So he calls me around 7-ish to say he's on his way to the store and he'll be home soon. Like 10 minutes later I get another phone call and he says the truck died and he may have run out of gas but wasn't sure. So like 20 minutes goes by and I go to check my cell phone and it's off! Yeah...it's been randomly shutting off on me, so that sucked. So like the minute I turn it on, Jim's calling me telling me to come get pick him up. So I pick him up, we got get a few gallons of gas, go back to the truck, put the gas in and that wasn't the problem. We leave the truck in the parking lot and deal with it the next day. We ended up eating dinner at like 9:30 that night. Fish tacos, which were delicious by the way...

Needless to say, the truck is now in a shop somewhere. Monday it was towed there and it turns out the timing chain broke in like 2 places. So they replace that, and it still doesn't fix the problem. Today I guess they're going to make sure the camshaft is turning, so who knows what's going to happen. Thankfully the inlaws are letting us use one of their cars this week otherwise we'd have to rent one and I really don't want to do that.

But this weekend we're supposed to visit Jim's sister in Grand Rapids (about 3 hours away) and we were going to go Saturday and spend the night with a friend, Elena. It seems like whenever we go to Grand Rapids, Elena is back in town here...we always miss each other!

Me and Elena at my wedding

So that means we have to drop $100 on a hotel room and then like another $100 on gas. With all these car repairs and not even knowing when we're going to get the truck back, I don't know if we can swing it! I'd rather not go, and neither would Jim, so we may be able to get out of it.

Oh and then my cell phone shutting off randomly...yeah it's still doing that. Like I said...this week sucks!!

I feel so old today

Like my previous post mentions, my ankle still hurts...oh and did I mention I have to bowl tonight? Joy! That should feel good. But maybe the Motrin 800 I'm taking to ease the ridiculous womanly cramps I have will numb any pain in my ankle as well...lol. And my shoulders are killing my from my yoga session on Tuesday...being in that damn downward dog position forever was the culprit!

Of course mine doesn't look as pretty since I can't put my feet flat on the ground, but it doesn't matter...it still hurts.

Here's a cool thing I saw in our parking lot this morning though - it's one of those leaf bugs. It's kind of a crappy picture since it was with my phone, but you get the idea.