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Jan

27

he passed it to me

January 27, 2012 | View Comments

Jan

27

lamest winter ever

January 27, 2012 | View Comments

Jan

27

unsaid

January 27, 2012 | View Comments

I finally called my gynecologist because he was obviously in no hurry to call me with my ultrasound results. He talked really fast & said a lot of things, but the main point is that the cyst on my ovary has grown. Now he wants me to get an MRI. So once that slip comes in the mail, I’ll schedule both that & my follow-up.

This Opana increase is no longer affecting me in those new crazy ways it was. It is, however, making me very, very sleepy. All I do is sleep. I thought I was sleeping a lot before, but no! Wow. As for the back stuff, all of my “normal” issues have returned. The sharp pains, the stabbing pains, and the burning sensations are all back in mostly full force. That being said, I have only had two horrific days of those things. Though they are now always around, there’s been an improvement with their intensity. This increased dosage has thrown me for quite a loop, so I don’t know what’s temporary or what’s going to last.

We were going to take my cleaner’s kids out this weekend after her plans fell through, but I think I should wait a couple of weeks until I’m hopefully less comatose. The only thing that’s going to get done this weekend is Mark’s puzzle. He’s irritated that it’s taken him this long. He’s mainly worked on it on weekend mornings, so he needs to be less hard on himself. I want to frame the thing (it would go great with my Christmas decorations), but I need to google if that’s even a possibility at this point. Right now it’s sitting on our kitchen tablecloth. We probably should have started it on some sort of transferable surface, right? Ugh. I just don’t want to lose it!

Mark has been periodically bringing up the house that he said he didn’t want us moving into. I try not to react or get excited when he says stuff because I think it’s important that he perceives it as his idea. He mentioned talking to our accountant about housing stuff two nights ago. Last night he said he wouldn’t be able to drive me to my various medical appointments if we lived there. I replied to this that I’d see if my parents or brother could do that, given that I’d switch most, if not all, of my doctors to be local to that house. Even cabs could do the rest if they couldn’t. I brought this up to my parents today, and they told me that I need my own vehicle. My mom said that there are people who are far worse off physically than I am who still drive. That irritated me because it’s like she isn’t being supportive of me and is challenging my level of pain – again. I don’t do that to her & her pain issues, so, yes, ugh. I didn’t mention that I shouldn’t be driving with all the meds I’m on anyway because that would have just been another conversation (about how I take too many) that I wasn’t in the mood for. It’s cheaper anyway to take a cab to a couple of appointments than it is to have to get insurance for & pay maintenance on a car I’d use maybe twice a month. The only upside I see is that I’d like to have one here in case of a pet emergency. The last time I drove (my license is current) was almost two years ago when I dropped my car off at the dealership when its lease was up. I just don’t have much of a need, obviously. And then there’s the opening & shutting of car doors that can be painful. I’ve often needed help with my seatbelt before because of the twisting that’s required. Ugh, the judgement! There are two other recent crazy conversations that I’ve had with my mother that I’m just too tired to get into, and OMG they will only be five minutes away if we move there. That all being said, if he changes his mind, he’s gotta be “all in” because I’d be dumping a lot of cash into it to make it nice. I want a permanent home, not a temporary house.

Jan

25

my first purchase from hautelook

January 25, 2012 | View Comments

Jan

25

sleepy sweetheart

January 25, 2012 | View Comments

Jan

25

Shake A Paw Greetings product review

January 25, 2012 | View Comments

I came across Shake A Paw Greetings and instantly thought their products were so unique. What are they? They are edible dog biscuit greeting cards! Cool, right? The first thing you need to do is select a greeting and then give them your dog’s name. You’ll probably come up with something like “Happy Birthday, Fido” or “Feliz Navidad, Lassie.” Then they will spell out the message while using at least three flavors of their letter-shaped dog biscuits. Lastly, they will pack the vacuum-sealed biscuit message into a special box with tissue paper, they will include a booklet with your short ‘from’ message & info about the biscuits, and then they will mail the greeting to your furry friend. You can browse through their assortment of greetings for ideas (holidays, special occasions, and messages for any time of the year) or you can order a more custom message for your pooch. Their mission is to recognize and celebrate the bond that exists between humans and dogs. Sweet, yes? They sent us over a birthday greeting for Spenser so that we could see what one is like up-close.

Ta-da!

Here’s a video where I talk about the greeting:

Included in the package:

- 1 Happy Birthday greeting

Here is some information about their biscuits from their website:

At Shake A Paw Greetings, we only use ‘human-grade’ ingredients and we don’t use anything that you wouldn’t be able to find at your local grocery store. The chain of supply is very important to us. As pet owners ourselves, we want to know that each ingredient is grown, raised or produced in Canada or the U.S.A.

We listened to your concerns. Unlike many biscuits on the market, our biscuits contain NO wheat, corn, soy, beef, chicken, baking powder, baking soda, additives, preservatives or artificial colouring. Our recipes use a minimum amount of grains, have no added salt or sweeteners and we have avoided controversial ingredients such as yeast and garlic.

Here are descriptions of their biscuits and what they do contain:

Say Cheese (with Lamb & Cheddar):
Dogs can smell these tasty treats a mile away. Of all of our biscuits, these are the most GOLDEN-YELLOW in colour. Ingredients: pumpkin, lamb, cheddar cheese, organic oats, organic oat flour, free-run or free-range eggs, organic flaxseed meal, extra virgin olive oil, potato starch, guar gum.

Fruitastic (with Apple, Blueberry & Cranberry):
These biscuits are packed with antioxidants, Vitamins A and C, and are low in fat and cholesterol. You’ll recognize this flavour by it’s DARK BROWN colour. Ingredients: sweet potato (or pumpkin), apples, blueberries, organic oats, organic oat flour, dried cranberries, free-run or free-range eggs, organic flaxseed meal, extra virgin olive oil, potato starch, guar gum.

Green Machine (with Spinach, Kelp & Parsley):
Thanks to some green ‘super-foods’, these treats are loaded with vitamins and minerals, especially rich in Vitamin A, K, folate, iron, calcium and iodine. Low in fat and cholesterol, this flavour is easily recognized by its pop of GREEN colour. Ingredients: pumpkin, spinach, organic oats, organic oat flour, free-run or free-range eggs, organic flaxseed meal, extra virgin olive oil, potato starch, kelp powder, dried parsley, guar gum.

Hearty Good (with Lamb & Beets):
In addition to Vitamin C, folate, manganese and potassium, beets contain high levels of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant. These biscuits are a fun PINKY-RED colour. Ingredients: beets, yams, lamb, organic oats, organic oat flour, free-run or free-range eggs, organic flaxseed meal, extra virgin olive oil, potato starch, guar gum.

Peanut Butter Kisses:
Have you ever met a dog that doesn’t go nuts for peanut butter? It’s a good source of protein, Vitamin E, and many minerals important to a dog’s diet. Just like Grandma’s PB cookies, these biscuits are DECORATED with LINES. Ingredients: pumpkin, natural peanut butter (peanuts, less than 1% salt), organic oats, organic oat flour, organic flaxseed meal, potato starch, guar gum.

Here are several photos of him enjoying his yummy biscuits:

Here is a video of us introducing him to his birthday greeting (we sing – badly!):

And here are some videos of him chowing down on his new biscuits:

The verdict? I really love the presentation of this product, and it’s something different & special that you can get for your own dog or for a friend’s dog. Spenser’s adoption date is in March, and we celebrate the adoption days of our furbabies as their actual birthdays. We only know of Spenser’s true birthdate anyway. That being said, I didn’t want to wait until March to review this because he’s old & I’m scared about his age, so we decided to give it to him as soon as it arrived. The neatest thing is that it got here on his real birthday! We just thought that was really cool. The greeting comes vacuum-sealed, wrapped in tissue paper, and placed in a rectangular, cardboard mailing box; it was like opening a gift! It comes with a card inside that states the name of the sender, information on the company, feeding tips, storage instructions, and ingredient details. Speaking of those details, they have developed their biscuit recipes with several goals in mind: to taste great, to be nutritious/easy to digest/low in calories/low in cholesterol/low in saturated fats, and to have a low glycemic load. Spenser enjoyed these large-sized biscuits, and we also put some peanut butter on a couple of them to turn them into sandwich cookies! What is also noteworthy is that $1 of every greeting sold is donated to rescue organizations & shelters. If you purchase any of their greetings, please let me know what you think!

(Full disclosure – Shake A Paw Greetings provided this item to us free of charge in exchange for a product review. Thanks!)

Jan

24

giveaway winner

January 24, 2012 | View Comments

The winner of the tiny confessions giveaway is DaraLynn! Her comment number was drawn via random.org on January 23. The first person drawn as the winner never responded, so I chose another after 72 hours had passed. Thanks for your patience while waiting for this post and thanks to all who entered!

This is her cat Molly!

There will be another giveaway in February, so check back!

Jan

24

formerly outside Mark’s train station stop

January 24, 2012 | View Comments

Jan

21

say you, say me

January 21, 2012 | View Comments

This has been a nice day so far. Yesterday my emotions were so crazy, but today I feel much more balanced. I was doing a lot of worrying about what my back is doing and is going to do, and I was also quite irritated that we aren’t moving to that free house back home. I was so sick of all my current furniture too. Though none of that has disappeared, it’s just not at the forefront of my mind right now.

It snowed overnight! It was enough that it didn’t melt during the day which I appreciated. I’ve loved looking out the windows and seeing white everywhere. Unfortunately with that came ice, so today’s plans had to be cancelled. We were going to take my cleaner’s kids to the Please Touch Musuem, out to dinner, and to their family birthday party north of Philly. We weren’t comfortable with the idea of driving them around in the ice to the museum in the early afternoon, but we still considered the rest. Thankfully her plans changed enough that she wasn’t needed to help set up the party after all, so she could take her kids herself. I didn’t want to screw her plans up, but I’m glad that all changed. I didn’t want to drive her kids around after things got dark and refroze, and I wanted to enjoy the first real snow. In the next couple of weeks we will probably offer to take them out again. So instead we hung out, watched a movie, ordered in dinner, and got along really well. It was a great cozy day!

In other randomness, I made an appointment to get another Deva cut and to do something about the gray hair that is now popping up more often. I’m not seeing my regular stylist because about a year ago the owner and I talked about color, so I want to see that through with her (though she’s more expensive). What do I say to the guy who normally does my hair when I see him there? My cleaner said she’d prefer her new baby not go to daycare until he’s twelve months so his immune system would be stronger, and she mentioned casually that I could then watch him for a year. Whoa. Wow. Umm? My sweet little Lulu has been extra feisty today and has smacked the hell out of three of her siblings. Is my bitchiness rubbing off on her? And I’ve already gotten tired of sweeping. Ugh. I’ve skipped four days since I started doing it, those four days all being in the past week. I’m ridiculously eager to win something, but I know the odds. Plus I’m sick of all the newsletters I’ve had to subscribe to and the magazines I’ve accidentally signed up for and have had to cancel. I know I should just stick with it because it’s easy enough to do, so I’m blaming my bored and annoyed feelings on my mood swings. Speaking of, I still haven’t called my gynecologist to see what my latest ultrasounds showed (though shouldn’t he call me?), and I need to tell him that my last four months have still been irregular. I’m lazy and stupid, apparently.

Lastly, my back is wacky. I’ve been able to walk and stretch without dying, so that’s good. I’m not feeling sharp pains, so that’s good. But I’m uncomfortable and sore, so that’s not good. Yesterday and today, for instance, I felt all kinds of crazy things and couldn’t even finish eating my dinner while standing. It’s hard to move, but not as bad as it was a few days ago. Today I wouldn’t have been able to carry the cleaner’s kid around on my hip for very long either. So far the strong, stabbing pains haven’t been around, but there’s this low, steady, uncomfortable stuff that’s sidelining me. I can maybe say that the Opana increase has made it better but not better. See? It’s just hard to describe.