Saturday, January 26, 2008

Purging again

I finally decided to get rid of all my cake decorating stuff. I went through my closet today and dug all the stuff out and posted it on Craigslist. Unfortunately, I think the listing might be too large, but hopefully if people want the stuff they'll read it through. I can only try, right? I was amazed at all the stuff I had - holy buckets! If I get half of what I spent, I'll be happy. It feels good to have that cleaned out.

I went out and bought another heater yesterday for the office, one of the oil filled things that look like a radiator - it really worked nice, once the oil got heated up. However, I decided to move my office into the little bedroom and use the bigger room that I have been using as an office for the craft/genealogy room. The other room is smaller and a little warmer for some unknown reason, so I think it work better for an office. I have so much scrapbooking stuff and files for genealogy that the bigger room should work better for that. I even went to Home Depot and got some paint to redo the new office. It's gray now - how depressing... So I got a nice cheery yellow to brighten the room up a little. I'm looking forward to working on that tomorrow and maybe getting all the painting done - except for maybe the closet - that's not a priority. For now at least.

I got the book my therapist recommended when I was out today. It's called "Eat, Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It might be good. Then I treated myself with a new Ann Rule book, I love her stuff too. It's in the blood, I guess...

We also got a nightstand for the bedroom. Of course it doesn't match the bedroom set, but who cares? I've been using one of those cheap little tables with 3 legs, but it's pretty unsteady and if we're going to put Toby in our room when we're gone, I don't want a table crashing down on him. He used to have the run of the house when he could see, but now I'm afraid he'll get tangled in cords or stuck somewhere he can't find his way out of, so we're going to start putting him in our bedroom. Steve has to put that together for me, I think I'd be a danger with a power drill! Ha ha!

Later.

Good news on all fronts...

I will be the first to admit that I've been a little bit frustrated with Meg - I was starting to think she was a professional student. But after hearing one of her letters of recommendation the other day, I began to think that maybe I was starting to sound like my mother - God forbid. I know I spent most of my life trying to find out just what I was put on this earth to do. Just because I still struggle with that or maybe because I struggle with that, I shouldn't be so quick to decide what she should do. Some people are just slow starters... Now that I understand. Anyway... I was a little peeved last month when I found out she was applying to attend Gallaudet University. I thought she should just get a job and go to school part time. Then I got an email from her the other day saying that she had been chosen to receive an interview with the admissions office for possible admission into their hearing undergraduate program! What great news! Gallaudet is the only deaf university in the United States and they only admit a very select few hearing students, so this is really an honor. If you have a God-given talent, you really should use it. Keeping my fingers crossed that she gets in, and - that we win the lottery to help her pay for it. Otherwise, she's on her own, unfortunately.

The other good news came from my nephew, Tony, who is in the Army and stationed in Cuba. I'm going to try to just cut and paste his e-mail. Please ignore the spelling - he's only 21, after all... lol!

Greetings from the great country of Cuba,Hello everyone, I got some good news to let everyone know about. Today I competed for Soldier of the Quarter, for the first Quarter of 2008 and won. I was a little scared going in because it is so nerve wrecking, but I came through and won. Also today after winning that board I was sent to the Joint Detention Group's Trooper of the Quarter board where I did an outstanding job and won the Trooper of the Quarter. I competed against "troopers" from the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines and ened up winning. So it is very possible that I will be going to Texas to compete in the United States South Command board in the beginning of february. The United South Command is a pretty big board, it takes soldier, sailors, and marines from the eniter South Command whicih is a lot of people from what i hear. I go to the promotion board on the 31st so wish me luck on that one. If i get the promotion i will become a Non- Commissioned Officer, Sergeant, and get some more money. So Im just letting you know how everything is going. I love you all and miss you much. LoveTony

Good news! I'm so proud of him. Of all the cousins, Tony was the wild child, I never thought the Army would tame him, but they did. He's really becoming quite a man. A good father, husband, son, and a wonderful nephew! Keep up the good work, Tony Baloney!

Just as an aside, why does my family have an affinity to give the kids nicknames that have to do with food? Amberger Hamberger, Tony Baloney, and last but not least, Eggin Meggin McMuffin. Go figure.

Dad's left knee is feeling very, very good after the cortisone shot. Yay, Dad! Keep up the good work. Maybe all he'll need is s shot in the knee once in awhile to keep it feelin' good! That would seriously rock!

That's it for tonight folks. This minnow is tired...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tuesday Chatter

When I say chatter, I mean my teeth. It's freezing! (Picture those cartoon wind-up teeth...) I've got to find something to keep my office warm. I have a small space heater, but the room it too big for it to be really effective. By the time the room gets warm, it's time to quit working! I've even been putting up a baby gate and leaving the door open all the time and when I went to work this afternon it was only 61 in there. Guess what room I'll never use for a bedroom? By midnight, with the little heater going full blast it had warmed up to 71.3. Woo hoo. I almost could take my gloves off... Just kidding. Steve said I should type with a hat on, it would keep my hands warmer. Well, it would, but it would sure look stupid. Besides, I don't want "hat hair" when I've been working all day - at home! I'm not even going to mention that the last time I tried that my hair generated so much static electricity that every time I moved in my chair I got shocked in my ears by my headphones. That's wasn't fun, although I do have to giggle over the image!

Took Toby to the ophthalmologist today. It appears that he has SARDs, sudden acquired retinal degeneration. She started him on prednisone, as it can be caused by an inflammation, and his optic nerves are "sunken" whatever that means. I'm not too hopeful that it will work, but I'm praying that it will. Steve and I aren't making a decision about him until we've seen what the medicine can do. I really hate to put him down just because he can't see, but quality of life is really the issue. If he seems happy and adjusts to losing his vision that would be great! This afternoon I was so tired I just grabbed a blanket and crashed on the living room floor with all the dogs, he snuggled right up and put his nose on my neck and fell asleep - totally un-Toby-like! He seems much more mellow to me, and he had a good time playing with Steve tonight. Obviously he can't chase after toys we throw anymore, but he can still grab onto a favorite toy and try to rip your arm out of the socket! lol!

I bit the bullet today and started seeing someone to work on my anxiety issues. I hope this turns out to be a good thing. I tend to stop going when things start getting uncomfortable, I'm not going to let myself do that this time. No, seriously...

One more cold day and then we're supposed to have some warmer weather. It's going to get up to the mid-30s! I'll be able to open windows and air out the house! I know my brother just grabbed his mittens and hat when he heard that, be believe me, it will feel warm after this past week! No more below zero temps for awhile!

Miss and I are taking dad to see an ortho surgeon tomorrow to see about his knee. I know the cold weather has really been bothering him too. I hope we can find out what's up and maybe fix it. I think his other doc was thinking it was a posterior cruciate tear, nothing showed up on x-rays, so I think he'll probably have to have an MRI, but cruciate tears are fixable. I know if he would just get it done he'd feel a lot better. I wonder if he's claustrophobic? Heh...

Later!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Toby

The preliminary results are in for Toby, and they aren't good. We took him to our regular vet yesterday and his eyes are looking definitely abnormal. Unfortunately, it's beyond the scope of our regular vet, so we have to take him to a veterinary ophthalmologist to see what she says. I'm not feel very hopeful at this point. Even if it's something that can surgically corrected, the cost may be prohibitive. It's not that I won't spend money on my dogs (obviously), but you have to draw a line when you have 6, and he already has health issues. So, if we have any prayer warriors out there for animals, Toby could you use help. I called the eye vet today, and we can't get in until next Monday. It doesn't appear to be an infection, so we did rule that out. I have no idea how anything could have happened that would cause blindness, so I'm looking for some answers as well as some ideas of what we could do to help him, if anything.