Oh So Frigid!!

Sorry for my lack of posts yesterday. I just had a really bad case of the winter blahs. No reason. No worries, just blue. Winter has finally hit us with a fury, and I'm NOT liking it. Usually by this time of year I'm begging for snow, but I'm not in a snow kind of mood this year. I'm ready to get on with spring and the warm, summer weather. I've got too much that I want to do outside. The cold is also really hard on Bear's osteoarthritis. He's doing great with his meds, but he does limp a little when he first gets up. It didn't help that it was 9 degrees with a below zero wind chill this morning, when we got up at 4:30 a.m. SHEESH! That's just TOO COLD!!! The forecast isn't looking good for tonight and tomorrow. Weather Underground says and 80% chance of ICE PELLETS. That's even worse than snow. Ice makes power go out and people stupid. So to cheer myself up, I'm going to post some winter funnies. I've used these before, but I they always make me smile.

And now something to remind me that spring is coming:

Zoey: The Big Eater

One of our sweet little kittens is really packing on the pounds. I noticed this just the other night. All three of them, Isabella, Obi-Wan, and Zoey, were all sitting on the floor side by side (They are all growing like weeds too!). Suddenly I noticed the Zoey is, shall we say, a bit more portly than her siblings. She's to the point where she's developed belly "waggles" underneath. She's not even quite six months old either!! Looks like she's in for a kitty diet. I've never tried to slim down a young kitten. Should I wait until she's older and see if she slims down? Anyone have any advice?

Old Man Winter

Since winter has decided to FINALLY make an appearance (personally, I quite liked the unseasonably warm weather), I thought I would share the Top Ten Cold Weather Tips for Pet Owners from the ASPCA.

Top Ten Cold Weather Tips

Brrrr…it’s cold outside! The following guidelines will help you protect your companion animals when the mercury dips.

1. Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.

2. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

3. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm—dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.

4. Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

5. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

6. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

7. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

8. Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him—and his fur—in tip-top shape.

9. Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.

10. Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

Please remember your furry friends, when the mercury drops!

Squee!!

SQUEEE!!!! My birthday present that Casey ordered me arrived yesterday. It was THIS:

Darth Vader: Sith Apprentice

from Sideshow Collectibles. It's a special San Diego Comic-Con edition too! It's an absolutely beautiful piece, and I just love it. I have the regular edition Anakin Skywalker, but this one is so much better! Casey gave me the Bespin Han Solo for Christmas. I already have Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker. These are some of my favorite Star Wars items to collect, so I was a VERY happy camper!!

A Little of This, A Little of That

I had a really nice weekend, even though the back problem had a flare up. I found with a little stretching, I can mostly get back to normal. Thank goodness!! It was a quiet weekend. Casey and I sat around and watched a LOT of movies, thanks to the rainy weather. Yesterday, I finally managed to do a good deep clean. Next week starts the '07 pitching project. We have a small house with little storage space, so things tend to clutter up. I've officially had enough of the clutter. I told Casey over the weekend to sort out what he wants to keep. Otherwise, it's going in the trash. We are both terrible packrats and sentimental. We end up keeping a lot of stuff that would be better off in the trash. The walls are coming in on me, and it's driving me crazy. It's time to simplify our lives.

I did find out a couple of fun facts. I'm excited to hear that the Indiana Jones IV movie is scheduled to start shooting soon! I'm a HUGE Indiana Jones fan (probably because I love Harrison Ford)! The release date is listed as May '08!!

The second is that Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are doing another epic motocycle ride. In 2004, they filmed the series Long Way Round on their travels. They are doing the same this time. They are riding from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa. This series is titled Long Way Down. They are scheduled to start in the spring. I can't wait to watch this one. For anyone that loves travel and adventure, Long Way Round is a must see!

Friday Wrap Up

As the week comes to a long fought for end, I have LOTS of things on the brain. Remember earlier in the week, when I posted about the new foster cat? Well, an interesting little detail has come up about her. The former owner, who gave her to my brother, said that she'd been spayed and was up to date with all of her shots. When the cat came next door, she had somehow forgotten her vet papers. I should have figured out the REAL story right then. As it turns out, new foster kitty is now in full blown heat. That's right. Why should I be suprised? Luckily, she has been indoors the whole time, and Obi-Wan, the only male cat that's around and has not been fixed, is too young to care. So, we've dodged a bullet temporarily. The only bad part is the wailing and pacing for now. Let's just say that she REALLY LOVES Bear right now. So, at least I now know the real reason for the former owner getting rid of the cat. It just makes me SO mad, when folks just outright lie about an animal on spay/neuter matters. All those people end up doing is making it a bigger problem. The result is more unwanted pets and heavier burdens on shelters and neighbors!! SHEESH!!

I took a little time yesterday investigating the animal emergency worker courses. I checked out the online links and found out that I can start immediately. I plan to download the course overviews this weekend and start familiarizing myself with the content. Hopefully, it will help things go smoothly. I'm looking forward to doing my part. I'd like to be available and trained, if the need ever arises. I feel like it's the least I can do. That way, I may be able to take some of the burden off of the local rescuers.

Casey and I have no big plans for the weekend. We just have Sunday night reserved to watch the new episode of Battlestar Gallactica. I have to say, when it first started I wasn't interested at all. Casey's been watching from the start, and I somehow have gotten sucked into the fray!! Other than that, I just have boring plans. You know like cleaning out the refridgerator and cleaning house. WHOOPEEE!!! We'll see. Everyone have a great weekend!

A New Project

I read an article in my local newspaper yesterday. It's about animal emergency workers. Tennessee is working on getting volunteers to go out and rescue animals, when a disaster strikes. I believe that Tennessee has certified 1000 workers, so far. The article indicated that no one, as of yet, has certified for my home county. I've been thinking about this, A LOT, since yesterday. I would certainly like to answer the challenge. I remember when Katrina hit, and I wanted to do more. Well, this is my chance. The more I think about it, the more I WANT to do it. There's several courses that are required before certification. Luckily, these courses are offered for free online. So, there's really nothing to stop me from getting started! To view the article and all of the course details, click HERE.

If anyone in the middle Tennessee area would like to join me, leave a comment or drop an e-mail and let me know.

Back to Normal

I'm happy to say that I'm finally a LOT better. I'm back at work, and things are getting back to normal. I left the house on Saturday for the first time. It was SO wonderful to get out and see people. I felt like I'd been in a hole for a week. That must be what the groundhog feels like on Groundhog Day! Anyway, Casey and I went to visit some very good friends on Saturday. It was really good to see everyone. On Sunday, we had lunch with some friends and did some visiting.

I have a new cat story to tell you guys. All of this occurred last week, but I didn't have the back strength to tell the story. Casey and I are fostering a new cat. Yes, I really did say it this time. We are FOSTERING ONLY!! We are doing this as a favor to my brother. His last cat, his beloved Miss Kitty, was stolen. We searched and searched never to find her. Some of the neighborhood kids said that they had seen someone pick her up. He heard about this little kitty in need of a new home and offered to take her. Her name is Ferbie, and she is a beautiful white and tortoise shell. She is four years old. Her previous owners had to find her a new home, because their newborn was extremely allergic to her. Ferbie is used to being and indoor/outdoor kitty. A lot of you that have cats know that cats, especially cats with a little age, do not move well generally. It's always better to keep them in the new place for a couple of weeks, until they acclimate. My mother, because of her COPD is not allowed to have cats inside her house. Casey and I are acclimating her for my brother, since we all live next door to each other. The problem has been that she is one of the most timid cats I've ever seen (and people, that's A LOT of cats). She's been in the house an entire week, and we're just now starting to see her. She's finally letting us pet her and starting to wander around. She finally started talking to us, just last night. When I left for work this morning, she was perched right in the middle of Casey's pillow talking to me hehehe!. The other animals have been really very accepting of her, right down to the onery kittens. The veteran pets just look at us like, "well, what have we got this time..." It's really good that she's finally getting comfortable. I think that it may take a little longer for her to be comfortable outside. We'll see.

On the Mend, FINALLY!!

I had a better day yesterday. I went to bed last night, hoping that today I would at least feel the same or better. For the past two weeks, I have a good day, and the next day has been just horrible. Well today, I've had a GREAT day. I've been able to sit up and also putter about the house. I'm trying to be good and not do to much to start and set myself back. I have managed to run a couple of loads of much needed laundry. So, my attitude is MUCH better today. I really do think that I turned a corner yesterday. I'm happy to say that I was able to sleep in bed last night. I rested better last night than any night the past two weeks. I'm glad that I decided to take today off work as well. It gives me the opportunity to take my good day and do just a few things with it and see what happens.

I haven't been in the car in a week. I haven't left the house for a week. Today is really the first day that I've felt well enough to want to get out for a few minutes. I think Casey said that we would go out together and rent a couple of movies tonight. I might even get to go to Wal-Mart YAY!! (I never thought that a trip to Wal-Mart would excite me this much!) It will be so nice to get back into circulation next week. It will be nice to get to see people. I'm a very social creature, and I really miss seeing my friends and co-workers. Today is the first day that I've really cared about what's going on in the outside world. So, here's a virtual toast to the upcoming weekend. Here's to being back to normal!! Everyone have a great weekend!

Killer Sneakers

After my short post yesterday, I REALLY went downhill. It's really starting to depress me. How LONG is this supposed to take anyway? Late last night, I finally figured out one of the problems. After wearing my Crocs or Birkenstocks for this entire back episode, I wore my sneakers yesterday. I had put them on, because my feet had gotten cold. They are some of the regular Sketchers sneaks, with the really high heels. By about 3:30 yesterday, I was ready to be shot. The higher heels made me feel like my legs had been shoved into my back. I changed back to my crocs and instantly got some relief. I ended up going to bed really early though. I do feel much better today. I'm hoping that I turned the corner. I guess that I'll just go ahead and take tomorrow off from work too, just to make sure that I really am better. Since I'm still taking muscle relaxers and cortisone, it's hard for me to tell if I'm better or if it's the meds. Today's list of tasks: muscle relaxers, shower, cortisone pills, Crocs shoes, and rest. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that I've FINALLY turned the corner.

Award Time

A bright spot to the day. I just found out that I won a

for the "Zoo" here. Totally cool!!

Homebound: Day 2

I think that I may have celebrated my birthday by sitting up too much yesterday. I don't feel as bad as I did over the weekend, but I don't feel as good as yesterday either. I was able for the first time in 5 days to sleep in the bed last night. Casey suprised me with some gifts and a cool card last night. A wonderful co-worker sent some super good chocolate lava cupcakes and a sweet card, and I got so many good wishes and calls sent yesterday. It really did make for a GREAT birthday otherwise. I have 2 more days to be off from work and recover. I'm half way through with my cortisone pack. I'm getting better, but not fast enough for my taste. I guess I just have to grin and bear it. I've got to go for now. The chair is painful today. I just took one of my muscle relaxers and the nap will creep up on me soon. Everyone have a great evening.

The Diagnosis Is In

After a really crappy week with my back last week, I thought I had the problem whipped by Saturday. I felt SO much better. I puttered around the house and actually got a few things done. When I woke up on Sunday, it was AWFUL!! I was in worse shape than I was at the start. I couldn't even stand. Needless to say, Sunday was just an awful day. Luckily, the doctor had given me a new prescription for muscle relaxers on Friday, so I took them every eight hours. I did get lots of napping done. Yesterday, I felt some better but not much. I finally gave up and went in to the see the doctor. I have a pinched nerve and a badly pulled muscle. I was given cortisone, told to stay on the muscle relaxers, and told to stay home and do NOTHING for the rest of the week!! I've followed the directions so far. I will admit to feeling better today. I've taken this opportunity of wakefulness to check my e-mail and make a few posts. I can tell that I won't be able to sit here very long. What a crappy way to spend my birthday today!! WAHHHH!! Oh well, I'll live. I just hope I can find a good book to read, while I'm just lounging around. Anybody got any good suggestions?

Comedy of Errors

Today has shaped up to just be "one of those days". After feeling so much better yesterday, I overdid it. I don't feel terrible, but I've had better days. When I got to work this morning, I found out that the campus cooling system was messed up. At 7:00 a.m. this morning the temp read at 86 degrees in my office!! There was no cool spot at work today. The heat finished me up. I already felt crummy, because of my back. The heat made me nervous, irritable, and grumpy. I just tried to sit very still to stay as cool as possible. Then, all of the servers went down at work. I assume that they got overheated. We were left with nothing to do. By lunchtime, I called it quits for the weekend. I locked up my office and informed everyone that I was headed for home.

I'm feeling better now. The doctor gave me some new medicine for my back today. He said that I shouldn't be running around doing things I can't remember with this one. I sure hope he's right. I'm off now to prop my feet up, lean back on pillow, and relax in a comfortably cooled room. Hope you guys have a good weekend!

OUCH!!

After promising on Tuesday that my blogging would be back to normal, I missed Wednesday. Why? My back decided to pull a dirty, rotten, nasty trick on me! Specifically my lower back just decided not to hang around anymore, and POOF it went out! Apparently, this sort of condition runs in my family. Tuesday was excrutiating at work. By the afternoon I felt like crying. I literally fell into bed as soon as I got home. I also discovered another neat trick that my back could do. If I was laying on my back, my hands went completely numb. THAT was fun! After dinner, I took some neat pills that my doctor had prescribed for me. For some reason, these pills made me do some really CRAZY things. First off, I continually begged Casey to stop me from shaking. He says that I asked repeatedly, but I only remember(vaguely) asking once. I made some off color remarks about his video game. After that, he says that I demanded that he make me a peach cobbler. I have no recollection of any of this. I bet I was a ton of fun though! Due to my mental state, Casey decided to forbid me to go to work yesterday. I spent the day sleeping and reclining.

Today I do feel a whole lot better. I'm not completely myself yet. The twinges come and go. I'm trying to be careful and take it easy. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be my old self. I was looking forward to some raquetball this week!!! I hope my back just decides to stick around for a good long while!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!! I'm back and fully recovered from Christmas. We had a quiet but lovely Christmas and New Year's holiday. I ended up with some really cool Christmas swag. I got my Bespin Han Solo Sideshow figure that I REALLY wanted from Casey, along with lots of other cool Star Wars stuff. My Mom gave me a beautiful necklace and pair of earrings, and my brother did swell with a gift card from Old Navy. We just all sat back and enjoyed each other's company for the better part of last week. We ate at my Mom's for several nights, and then switched to my house. I also got to spend time with some of my very best friends in the whole world! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY enjoyed Christmas this year, and I really hope that you all did too.

I just can't believe that it's 2007 already!! Where did 2006 go? It will be Christmas again, before we know it. I've spent some time today getting a winter template done for the 'ol blog here. My pictures on the banner still need tweaking a little bit, but I'm rolling out the "beta" version for now. I'll be making some updates in the next few days. Consider it a work in progress. Leave a comment and let me know what you guys think. I used a snow theme, even though we have had a really WARM winter here in the south. By warm, I mean that we had 75 degree temps in December!! I can wish for just one snow anyway. Now that I'm back, the blog posts will resume as normal. Happy 2007 everyone!