Holiday Wrapup

This has been a great holiday weekend. Friday was a great day, we had good adventures in P-town and I was successful in choosing fabric for my wedding dress. I love the fabric that I picked and I think it will be really beautiful. Saturday my uncle headed out in the morning, he had the longest to go, and we took my parents out for some hiking and geocaching. There are quite a few caches in our town and we were able to find 7! My Da helped us to get all set up with a name and geocaching account page so we can find and do more! We had lunch together and walked around our little downtown area and then headed home for a little bit. Mom and Da headed out in the later afternoon, they were trying to avoid the civil war game traffic, and then Don invited our friends over to watch the game. I was feeling a little overwhelmed since my parents had just left, but it was still good to see them. I made turkey burgers and tots and we had pie for dessert. There is no more pumpkin left and I am already thinking about making another one. My uncle suggested putting chocolate chips in the strusel topping and I think that sounds super tasty!! There really is no plan for today except getting ready for the week ahead. I am currently doing laundry, running the dishwasher, and "self-cleaning" the oven. I am just ready for some at home quiet relaxing time. I love having my family here and spending time with them, but it is also nice to just be 2 again. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday I think. I love the cooking and the food and just that it is all about being thankful for each other and what we have in our lives. No thing more, just being thankful for what we have. I plan on staying close to home today and relaxing between tasks. Don already headed out to do some shopping...I don't know for what. I hope that we can spend some time together today too.

Feast!!!

Yep. A feast. Thanksgiving was great! we had my parents and my Uncle G over for the meal. Everyone arrived on Wednesday in the evening and we had a nice dinner out (no clean up that way...all the better for the cooking marathon the next day!). Then yesterday we got up, planned and started cooking. We had turkey (with loads of fresh herbs inside for cooking), chipotle-corn mashed potatoes, sage dressing, twice baked sweet potatoes, herb yeast rolls, Meyer lemon-cranberry relish, cranberry sauce, gravy (from scratch, my dad is the best!)....and then....pumpkin walnut strusel pie and apple-cranberry-currant pie! Now that's a lot of food! We literally cooked all day. It was chaos, but the good kind. Dinner was only a little bit late...6 or so instead of 4, but that is just how it goes. We only have 1 oven after all. After we stuffed our selves silly, we took a nice walk around our neighborhood to get some air and let things settle. Then we ate pie and planned today's adventures. Don has to work, but the rest of us are headed to P-town for a multi stop trip, with spice stores, fabric stores and a Leatherman outlet on the list. Hopefully traffic will co-operate!

Better Days

Today was a much better day at work. I ended up getting home a little late and then needed to make supper for Don and his brother (me too, of course). I am bummed since I didn't get to call my friend, it just was too late. I will see if I can call her tomorrow after work, since I get off early. I still have a few things to get together for the big Thanksgiving meal, but mostly I think things are under control. At least I hope so. I am feeling pretty fatigued, for sure, but I am aware that most of that is due to stress and I know that I will feel better after some time. My parents and uncle will arrive tomorrow in the afternoon and then the marathon of cooking will begin. It's a good thing I have a few day off to recover!

Terrible, Horrible, Aweful, Rotten, No-Good Day

I think that says it all. We had a patient die on the table today, and the Dr feels a lawsuit may follow. Not good. After work, I headed to the grocery for the last of the T-day stuff, only once I got home I realized it isn't really the last of it and I will have to go back again tomorrow. Yipee. Now I am home and fed and really just ready to crawl into bed and give up on the day.

Weekend Happenings

It has been a good weekend so far. Yesterday we ran errands and I had a great talk with my Sis. We headed up to P-Town in the afternoon for U of P ladies soccer. It was a close game, but our ladies came out on top and won 3-2. Next they play Stanford at Stanford. I hope they win. Today we went out wine tasting with our "old friends". It was nice to see them again, and we had a good time tasting futures at two great wineries. Now we are home and just having some quiet time. We don't really have any plans for the rest of the day, just finish laundry and Don's brother will get here sometime later on. I still have some things I will need to get at the grocery store for thanksgiving, plus I realized I need to plan something for supper on Wednesday. I will have to see what I can throw together in my crock pot perhaps. It is a sunny day today, and like the kitties, I am going to take full advantage and find a cozy spot to nap. Work again tomorrow, but it is a short week.

Turk-turk-Turkey!

Today was a super crazy day at work. Like....Aaaaauuuuuggggghhhh...I am a chiken with my head cut off! After work we headed out to the grocery for some Thanksgiving stuff. We got a big turkey for about $4! Woohooo! I wanted a bigger one, but Don talked me out of it. I guess we can always go back and get another later if we want to. We had to make a stop at Mc's on the way home to get some Kris Kringle, they had just tapped the first keg and Don got the first pour of the season. So now that we have the turkey I am officially getting excited! I am really looking forward to trying out some new recipes this year and enjoying some old stand-bys. At any rate, now we are home and getting ready for some supper. Tomorrow is another busy day, but I know it will be a good one.

Bits

I got my hair cut today. After that I stopped by Don's office to say Hi. He was still working with a patient so I didn't stay long. I also had a great conversation with my friend Angie. It is really good to talk to her again. Sometimes it feels a little awkward since we are still learning about each other again. It is still good. I am getting excited about Thanksgiving and cooking all the wonderful food and spending time with my family. It will be fun as I have an extra day off to spend with them. Don told me today that his brother is going to stay with us starting Sunday and leaving Tuesday, with my parents and uncle arriving Wednesday and staying through Sunday. So we will be a busy little house this coming week! We are having a freezer dinner tonight, chili, since it is so cold and rainy out today. I ended up sleeping in a little more than I had intended because the light didn't change from 8am when Don left for work to 10am when I woke up! I thought it was only 9! At least I was somewhat productive...got my bird feeders all refilled, did laundry and got the cat litter box scrubbed out. Tomorrow is another work day, and our trip to the grocery for Thanksgiving stuff, then a busy weekend.

Loss Two

Our malignant heart tumor patient passed away last night. He had been doing very well since he was diagnosed. Last night he got very excited, started gasping for breath and had passed away within minutes. He was a really special boy, and my favorite dog patient. He used to board with us, and every time it was time to go outside he would grab is toy to take it out with him. Then when you told him to leave it, he would grab the leash and walk himself. He was always happy and wagging his little stub tail. I am glad that his death was quick and there was no suffering, but I will sure miss seeing him around from time to time.

Over the Hump

Today was a much better day. Things went well at work, and now I am home. I was even able to run an errand on my lunch break! Now I am home and relaxing. Really not very much has been going on to report. Just the usual. We do have some plans for the weekend, visiting with friends, beer festival, soccer game, wine tasting. I hope I can have some time for resting amid all that activity too.

It's Only Tuesday!!??!!

Today was a tough day. We had a patient that had gotten surgery for a broken leg earlier in the summer, back in today and he had re-broken the same leg. It was not good. So we had an unplanned major surgery to fit in this afternoon. There was lots of scar tissue and the bones were not lined up at all. It all worked out fine in the end, it was just very stressful. Tomorrow looks like it will be a calmer day and I am glad about that. Plus tomorrow is Wednesday, which means it is almost my day off. I have a haircut planned for my day off and not a whole lot else yet. I need to get a move on getting things for Thanksgiving. Time seems to be moving quickly when I am at home, but super slow at work. I can hardly believe today was only Tuesday.

Fabriceee

Today I got the fabric swatch that I had picked for my wedding dress...it is not quite what I expected. I am not loving it as much in real life as I was in the photo online. It is not a soft as I had imagined and somehow it just looks different. I will talk with my Mom about it over Thanksgiving and make a decide. It's a good thing I have time to make up my mind but I am getting a little more nervous realizing it is almost December.

Long Day

Today was a pretty long day for a Sunday. Last night we went over to a friends house for game night and had a great time. We ended up staying out a little too late and having a little too much wine, so I was feeling not so stellar this am. Mostly it was the lack of sleep that really got me. We had a great time though and since I was able to function today I suppose it was worth it. I got up super early today as I was going to P-town for CE with 2 coworkers. We had a good day, lots of information and only one crappy speaker, so overall it was worthwhile. Plus I have 6 more hours of CE credit so I just need 2 or 3 more hours for license renewal. After we got back we headed up to one of the coworkers house to go down the zip line and play on the rope swing to burn off some steam. It was super fun and actually very relaxing. Now I am home again and we just finished supper and kitchen clean up. Don told me our team won again today 2-0 so we get to advance further in the playoffs. Yipee! I am ready for an early night tonight and a good sleep so I can start the week with a little more in my reserves. We will see what the week has in store.

Loss

I got the call this morning that our hepatocutaneous sydrome-diabetic patient passed away last night. He had been doing very poorly this week, had stopped eating and drinking and his owner was no longer medicating him since he was refusing everything she tried. She was struggling with the thought of euthanasia, and was hoping that he would die peacefully at home. It was a very quiet and peaceful death for him and he was able to be surrounded by his owners, litter mate and all his familiar things as he died. Now his fight is over and he is at rest. It is still hard.

It's Late...

and usually I am in bed by now. After work we headed up to P-town for soccer. Our team got home field advantage for the semi's so we had to go. It ended up being a blow out and we left part way through the second half with our ladies up 5 to 1! We had a good time and then some good talking on the way home. This has been a week with some substantial heartache and upset going on, on top of some of that going on already. It has left me rather unsettled. So I am working on talking and thinking through some things and communicating with my partner and people around me. At any rate, it is rather late and tomorrow is another day. Don is planning a long ride in the am and I am planning some yoga and a trip to an open house at my favorite shop in town. Then we are headed to a friends house for game night. Sunday Don is back in P-town for soccer and I am there for an all day CE. So now I am off to bed, ready for rest and a new day.

Rollercoaster

Yesterday I felt better, today not so much. Down, bummy. The rain let up and it was a lovely sunny fall day. I did some errands and housework and reading. I went to the fabric store just to look around and am trying to get some beginner ideas to work on. We are having friends over for diner tonight and I will need to get going on that before too much longer. Dessert is already in the oven. I know this mood will pass but sometimes it just seems like it never will. And the best thing to do is just keep my head up and keep going.

Another Day...Again...

I do feel better today. More centered and properly focused. Today was not that great at work another one of our old patients just got diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his heart, meaning it is terminal. His life will now be measured in days and he could pass away really at any time. Just another bummer. The torrential rains continue here and the city workers are out in force trying to keep the storm drains clear. I hear that it is supposed to clear up this weekend. I will believe it when I see it. Tomorrow is my day off and I am very much looking forward to resting and the possibility of getting some creative creating done. I am exploring and rediscovering my own hobbies, interests and talents. It seems that sometimes those things can fall by the wayside. Now off to get something made for supper. Then bed.

Another Day...

Just another day. I am still feeling pretty blue. Getting by at work and doing ok at home. Just not my usual self. The yucky winter weather makes me want to just curl up all safe and warm at home and hibernate. Tomorrow is another day and again, sometimes just that is enough.

Dubious Start to the Week

Argh. Another week of work starts. Usually Mondays are busy and crazy, but today was just crappy. Two of our really good clients are going to be losing their pets in the very near future. One is already scheduled, the other is just a matter of time. It is crappy. I have posted about one of these little guys previously, the one I learned how to do jugular catheters on. He has hepatocutaneous syndrome and has developed diabetes. Things were going well and we were able to manage both diseases until recently. In the past two weeks he has developed avascular necrosis in all four of his feet and unlike humans we cannot simply amputate. His pain level is so high that he can not even be caged with or be near his litter -mate and lifelong pal because even the slightest bump or tumble makes him attack. It is just really hard to realize that we were able to do so much for him but in the end this is the thing that will be the final reason. The other is a really old pet that we have been seeing its entire life, literally since day one. It is getting to be time but it is never easy. Days like this sometimes leave me questioning, but I know tomorrow is a new day and sometimes that is all I need to get a better frame on things.

Weekend Ended

Sunday night and we are all settled in our house, relaxing and enjoying the last of the weekend. It was a busy one again, since I am not sick anymore. Don and his buddy went to a soccer game Friday night and ended up getting home pretty late. Then Saturday I talked on the phone with my friend in Kentucky and had a great chat ( I am so glad that she found me! I hope that we can build a great friendship again!), then we went over to our friends house in the afternoon for supper and college football. It was so nice to spend time with them. They are a married couple close in age to us and we all get along really well. It was just nice to talk to my friend again and also to get out of the house. She made these fantastic turkey meatball subs from scratch that were so tasty, I might have to steal her recipe! Today, I slept in and did laundry while Don went to the costco and ran some other errands. In the afternoon we visited our friend who has just had surgery for breast cancer and her husband. She is doing ok, mostly just painful and very tired. Her Drs will have a treatment plan for her later on this week after they get all the biopsy results back from her surgery. It was good to see them, but we didn't stay long so she didn't tire out too much. We brought over some bread and apple butters to share and for them to keep. Then back home to start supper. I made a really yummy spicy stir fry and also an apple-cranberry crisp. Now I am watching some football and hanging out. I have been feeling pretty out of sorts this whole weekend. Just sort of angry for no reason and hurt feeling easily too. I didn't realize that it is almost time for my period, so it makes sense, but it is still a battle to not be nastymean. Mostly I get to feeling like my partner doesn't want to be around me and that nothing I do is good enough. The truth is all of this is internal, my partner does not say or do things to relate these feelings to me and truthfully, when I am pissy, I don't want to be around me, so who can blame him. I know this is temporary and will settle soon enough, but it still stinks. Tomorrow back to work and back to the grind. Sometimes I think we need a vacation....

Non-Newtonian Day

Ok, I am purposely not talking about work today. Mostly because I am tired of always focusing on that part of my life and it was a pretty downer day. So, instead I am going to talk about something I saw on TV this week that has been stuck in my head. There is a show on Discovery called TimeWarp. My parents got me interested...basically it is two guys who use high speed cameras to capture things happening...some everyday things, some strange off the wall things. That is the basic idea...anyway, this week part of the show was devoted to "walking on water." (the other totally cool thing was that they showed how a hummingbird holds it's head steady while feeding...you'll never guess....it uses the nectar in its crop as a counter balance to it's wing beats...cool, huh?). What they started playing with was a mixture of cornstarch and water that falls into the classification of a Non-Newtonian fluid. Meaning that it doesn't follow the Newtonian law of viscosity (I don't know the "real" law, but that is my understanding of it....Newtonian Physics is not my forte). SO, while it appears to be a liquid, under the right circumstances it will react as if it is a solid. For example, if you gently push your hand into it, it acts like a fluid and will take your hand in, but if you punch it, it resists your hand and acts like a springy gel like solid. The coolest demo on the show was a high speed film slowed down of a guy scratching the surface of the cornstarch/water mix. As soon as it gets scratched it curls up as if one were scratching soft-ish wax and then immediately "softens" and turns back into a liquid. Pretty crazy! They also did a demo of "walking on water" using the cornstarch/water mix. As long as they "punched" their footsteps they were able to stay on the surface, but as soon as they slowed down, they would fall in to the liquid. I am sure there are some cool videos out there on the web somewhere to demo this (Neatorama had one a while back of cornstarch/water on a speaker, pretty strange) and it is quite possible that Discovery.com has a show link with some info. Anyway, it has gotten me thinking about whether or not there is any sort of real-world application for this (bullet proof-ish vests, or something like car bumpers) and what actually makes this specific mix ( I am sure there is a very specific proportion of cornstarch to water) behave this way. More to think about and learn, as they say on Discovery..."The world is just awesome"...boom-di-ada-boom-di-ada!

This...is not...a rodeo!...

Well, it is PBR finals time and that means lots and lots of buckin' bulls. I do enjoy watching and someday I would like to be able to go to the event. It is in Las Vegas, which is not my favorite place, but I would go there to see the cowboys and the super star buckin' bulls. It is sort of like the baseball world series in that it last for several days. There are prelim rounds and as the rounds go on the bulls get more rank. The last round features the "rank pen", the roughest, meanest, most bucking-est bulls of all. Several great riders are retiring this year making it even more exciting. Sunday is the final round and the world champ will be determined. The downside is that after that the season is over...but football season is just getting started!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Much improved! I am feeling so much better today. I was able to work all day today AND eat lunch!! My nausea never got more than a 2 on a 10 scale and I just feel over-all better. Yeay! I still feel sort of more tired than normal, but I know that will pass soon too. No more knock out meds for me! It felt good to be back at work today, being productive. It is also nice to be home now and relaxing. It has seriously turned to winter here, with lots of rain and very little sun. It is tough with daylight savings time ended, dark when I get up, dark when I get home. That is just the trade off though. Tomorrow is my regular day off and I think it will be good to have another little break to rest and get some of the stuff done around the house that didn't get done over the weekend. Then back to work. It is good to be well again.

Better

Well, finally I am feeling better. I ended up missing work yesterday and went to the Dr. I know what is going on and what I need to do, but for work I have to have a Dr's note. So I went, and the Dr told me what I already know ( stomach virus/flu, lots of fluids, rest, brat diet) and did some blood work just to rule out anything else (like appendicitis). The Dr also rx'd me an anti nausea med that really helps but knocks me out, so I can not take it and work. I took it twice yesterday and was able to eat well before falling asleep. I woke up today feeling much better and headed off to work. I got to feeling pretty queasy again but made it through most of the day. It was slow this afternoon, so I didn't feel too bad coming home. Now I am home and getting ready for supper and my pm meds. I am hoping that I can feel even better tomorrow and be done with this mess. I don't plan on taking any more meds after tonight if I can help it. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Sickies

Slow progress, but progress is being made. Yesterday I got up and made a good faith effort to go to work. I ended up throwing up again and my boss called Don to come and pick me up. I spent most of the day asleep. I got home and had some tea and slept until the afternoon, then we went out to deposit my paycheck. We came home and I went to sleep again until evening time. Then I managed to eat some soup, since I hadn't thrown up all day and went to bed. I got up late today still feeling punky. I ate a pancake and have not thrown up at all. I just feel crappy still and am planing on sleeping more. Don is helping to encourage me to drink fluids and eat a little. It is no fun. The worst part is that today he said his stomach is feeling a little off now too. Blargh.