R.I.P.

After only 10 short months of battling feline leukemia and a number of other secondary infections, Abe's tiny body finally gave out on him.
Last night I took him to the vet because his breathing had become labored and his belly seemed oddly swollen. The Dr. took a few x-rays and concluded that he had fluid in his chest cavity and abdomen. So, I had to leave him overnight for a minor surgical procedure to drain the fluid. He seemed to be doing better, eating and in relatively good spirits. I was told that I could pick him up today.
When I went in to get him, he seem distressed and let out several screeching cries. He was immediately rushed to the back, put on oxygen and had his chest tapped again. Unfortunately, what the Dr. found this time couldn't be fixed as easily. Little Abe had a blood clot in his chest that traveled into his lungs, and this was only the beginning of the battle.
Our best attempts to keep him well would no longer do any good. Aaron and I had to make the very difficult decision to put him down and finally end his suffering.
Abe was a huge part of our family and we miss him terribly. I wish there was more that we could have done for him. We will always hold him in our hearts.
We love you, Abe!

Nice weather and Delicious, Frosty Beverages

Today started out kinda rocky. I ran out of the house this morning, scrambling to make sure that I would get to work on time. I did succeed in making it to work with 3 minutes to spare, only to realize that I forgot my life line.... a nicotine patch. (I was wondering why I was so shaky most of the ride to work). So, like a loyal smoker, I went out and bought a pack since I needed something to get me through the day. I'm not so good with the quitting and, clearly, have zero will power.

The morning went by pretty quickly, and it's a good thing because I was starving. In usual fashion I headed over to Nonna's for lunch and some chit chat. Good stuff today too! I've had this insatiable craving for slurpees lately so, much like the last 2 days, I made a pit stop at 7-Eleven and got myself a Big Gulp cherry slurpee. MMMMMMMM! Delicious!

I made it all the way back to work without disaster. (I should also share that today I decided to wear a stark white shirt). I sat at my desk and got back to work. While on a call, I started feeling parched and I reached for my heavenly treat only to crack the plastic cup containing this fire engine red goodness. The floor was covered with the oozing sugary frost. I quickly cleaned up the floor and then set into panic mode because I really didn't want to discard the drink. I wanted it SOOO badly! My first instinct was to get a new cup, but there wasn't one to be found.

I'm resourceful. I commissioned one of the handy men I work with to help me out. (He thinks I'm crazy, but that's okay. He's crazy for helping.) So he helped me bind the bleeding container with surgical tape, paper towels (for insulation) , and another layer of tape. It worked wonders! and I was so happy until I realized that my once stark white shirt was now stark white, speckled with cherry slurpee. Annoyed, I still figured this could be fixed. I remember that yesterday I was cleaning with clorox spray and accidentally bleached my brown skirt, so it should work in my favor today, right? So I though. I dabbed a little clorox on the affected area and it cleaned up beautifully. Then the spots dried and turned a very obvious shade of indigo. Super.

So, here I sit with a cracked and newly bound cup, speckled shirt and sticky floor. All this sacrifice for a slurpee. You know what? It was totally worth it!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Good Morning, ALL! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was a little hectic. Aaron had surgery on Friday morning. So, I was up at 4 am (I can't sleep when I'm stressed), we were at the hospital at 6:30 am for the prepping and didn't get home until around 2:30 in the afternoon. I spent almost a solid 8 hours in there and I was ready to lose my mind. Then Saturday I finally got my bangs cut, had lunch with Clea and Meghan, then ran home quick to check on Aaron, and off to the Vet for Abe. Oh, yeah, Abe is sick again, too. So I've been living in the house of invalids for about a week now. But it's ok, because I love them all!

Now, I'm not usually so excited about Cinco de Mayo, but the Warehouse is having a special where some shirts and such are on sale for the holiday for $5 each! So I went on a bit of a shopping spree. I got myself a long sleeved tee, short sleeved tee and a baseball cap, and got yet another tee-shirt for Aaron. It's my gift to him since he's at home ailing. I also find out from Aaron, and the Warehouse, that Tim Reynolds is touring with Dave all summer! I'm sooo freaking happy!

I'm also very excited that this is going to be one of the last full weeks that I'm working until about July! Yay! Next week Carin is coming out from Chicago for a few days, so I took off for that. Then shortly after is Memorial Day, then Saratoga for Dave, then Alaska. In between all of that I also have a wedding, several birthdays and a number of parties. It's looking to be a busy summer already.

So, here's to looking forward to concerts, friends, family and general merriment! Cheers everyone!

36 Minutes to Go

At work and counting down the minutes until I get to go home. It's only Thursday, but technically my weekend starts today since Aaron is going in for his surgery tomorrow morning and I took the day off.

It seems like this whole week has been dragging ass, especially today. Which is why I'm literally counting down. I just feel very irritable lately, and with Abe being sick and sleeping with me, I haven't been sleeping very well. It's ok though. He's my baby and I know he needs to snuggle, too.

All of that aside, I am on my second smoke-free day. I finally succumb to spending the money on the patch. That whole weening thing wasn't working out so well. I just wanted to keep smoking. And, truth be told, I miss it. I want one. Mostly because I'm listless during the day. I hate being penned in here with no excuse to leave other than a potty break. It's just not enough. I have no windows! I need fresh air! and natural lighting, damn it! I can't be expected to be productive 40 hours a week under these conditions.... especially because, for the "time being", I'm forced to work on a metal cart that's about 350 years old since my desk has not been installed yet. I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Anyway, 19 minutes to go and I can't wait for the weekend! I have a hair appointment and manicure, and then planning a trip up to my wedding banquet hall with my matron of honor! yay!

So, cheers, everyone! Have a fabulous weekend! :o)

Gotta Go Right Now!

Has that ever happened to you? You get those jingles from commercials stuck in your head? I'm having a bit of an Ellen moment.

Well, ironically, I really do have to pee right now but I'm stuck on the phone with an insurance company, and since I've been on hold for 27 minutes (and counting) I'm not willing to hang up and start all over again. So, I'm stuck doing the pee-pee dance in my chair until one of the many ignorant Manilans, Manilas ... whatever you call people from Manila, answers the phone. (wait... just found out that people in Manila are Filipino. I'm such a cultured woman). I'm sure the conversation will also interesting since I can't understand a damn word that any of them say. Maybe I'm a little bit prejudice, but I really feel that if you work in, or for, this country you should be able to speak the language. For god's sake! I shouldn't be calling for benefits on a patient and have to question every word because it's an inaudible slew of clicking. That's what everything sounds like to me now.
In case it wasn't entirely evident before, I'm in a super mood today. But I digress. Back to the clicking. I wonder if these companies realize how counterproductive it actually is to export their calls to other (non-English speaking) countries. Do they know how much stress they cause me on any given day? Do they care that I need a freakin Filipino to English dictionary just to get some very basic information? No! They don't care! Damn greedy American's just looking to save a few pennies here and there!
Damn you insurance companies, damn you all!

Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald

Well, maybe not with Norm McDonald, but I'm just as entertaining, damn it!

So, this weekend was somewhat hectic. Friday after I got out of work I ended up talking to my HR Director about some uncomfortable situations at work.... we ended up having a TWO HOUR conversation! It was great, but a little weird. Just stupid work stuff.
Saturday went through some of my normal cleaning routine, then the excitement began. I made dinner, marinaded chicken which included whole peppercorns. The meal was delicious! Unfortunately I didn't get to finish is because I had missed a peppercorn and accidentally eaten it, which caused me to crack my tooth! So i tried to find a dentist to see me on Sunday... that wasn't working out too well.
Flash forward to Sunday. I got up early, had a bridal shower to go to and decided to just deal with my tooth for another day. So I got ready and I was 15 minutes from walking out the door when our carbon monoxide detector started going berserk! We ended up having to call the fire department so they could test the air in our apartment. Turns out the stove had a leak and needed to be disconnected and on top of that, our smoke detector was 4 years passed replacement protocol.
I ended up making it to the shower. After getting lost for a good 20 minutes, I got there about an hour late. Some fun drama there! Always happens when you put a bunch of women together.
So this morning I went for my root canal. I hate the dentist with a passion. In fact, I'd rather go to the OBGYN than to the dentist. That's how much I can't stand going. But I went anyway, the tooth did need to be fixed. The dentist turned out to be an awesome guy. I was very comfortable, probably because he had me hopped up on sweet air and 6 shots of Novocaine. It was wonderful! That stuff got me feeling so high that I actually giggled every time he put that saliva sucker in my mouth!
So now I have a temporary filling and need to return in a few weeks to have the second part of this procedure done. But at leas the doc is a nice guy. I don't mind going in there and getting stoned on sweet air!
And now here we are! I'm back at work for the rest of the day. Thank god the rest of the day is almost over.... only 22 minutes to go!

As If I Wasn't Moody Enough

Last night I decided to take the plunge and finally quit smoking. I know, most of you are thinking "YAY!!" ... i'm not on the same page. At least not yet.

Aaron recently quit also, and he brought up a very good point: Smoking is just too expensive. We have so many bills to pay as it is, not to mention a wedding and if I'm willing to cut fluff 'n fold out of my life (and I LOVE fluff 'n fold), I should be able to let go of my nicotine addiction as well.

Well, it's proving to be a little more difficult than I anticipated. Not that I thought it would be easy, but I've never had to fight an addiction problem before this. So, I came to work this morning armed with sucking candy and pretzels hoping that I could cure my oral fixation with some light snacking. It's not working out very well at all. Candy and pretzels can not deliver that same satisfaction that my sweet, sweet nicotine gave me. It's disgusting to admit. It really makes me sick to think that I'm this reliant on something so detrimental to my health and the health of those around me; and yet here I am.

Complying with Aaron's suggestion, I have also joined an on-line support group called whatsyourexcusenj.com.
We'll see how much that helps.

I'm off to lunch now. With any luck I'll make it through the day without ripping someone's face off.