Cocoa Infection

Cocoa went to the vet last week with the very beginning of a UTI. So she got an antibiotic shot and is much happier.

Unlike at the actual vet, where she wasn't happy at all.

She likes to hide when at the vet so she spent the whole trip on my lap under a towel. And we had to stay there 3 hours because she didn't have enough pee for them to test, so they pumped her full of fluids and waited for her bladder to get full.

She was not pleased.

But they finally got enough to test and yep, infection. So she got a shot and we got to go home so she's been (hopefully) healing this past week.

We haven't been able to retest her pee yet to make sure the UTI is gone - I tried all day yesterday but she just refuses to pee if she's put into the guest bathroom, especially when the litter box in there is filled with non-absorbent plastic pellets.

Not sure what we are going to do about that because it would be good to have her retested to make sure she's a-okay, but I don't think either of us are up to a repeat of the multi-hour vet adventure that was last Monday.

It's a vet-themed time of life.

Food-ness and Other Updates

It's been about a week since I posted which isn't that horrible, but I'll admit, I haven't exactly been posting information-filled posts lately. So I'm going to attempt to make up for that with this post. By the way, I'm pretty sure it is going to be food themed.

For My Viewing Pleasure
What exactly have I been up to lately? Honestly? Not that much. I've been cooking a bit. I've been grocery shopping a bit. I've been watching Project Runway a bit... Thrilling, isn't it?

Randomly, can I just say how much I enjoy Project Runway? I started watching it last season when the only thing on one weekend was a marathon. And I got hooked. I just watched season two this week. Actually, I started it Tuesday and finished it Wednesday. Not my smartest move since finishing it Wednesday night meant I ended up going to bed after 1. But I couldn't not finish it. So yeah.

Not that you particularly care about my TV viewing (though if you did, I'd share that I find Glee fun/funny but PR makes me happy). In all honesty, I'm really not watching that much TV. Though hockey is finally here so that should change. Go Ducks! The Blues' first game was Friday (they won) and the Ducks yesterday (they lost). But still, hockey - very exciting!

But on to more exciting stuff: food!

I Heart Food
Can I say that I just love Central Market? Flitting around their produce department is kind of like a kid being let loose in a candy store. Except I'm getting old and the candies are all fruits and stuff. But yeah.

I keep finding weird stuff at Central Market that I just have to try so I get some and bring it home then search through the Joy of Cooking to see what on earth I'm going to do with it.

For instance, I got an eggplant a few weeks ago. No clue what to do with it. But there was a recipe for Baked Eggplant in the Joy of Cooking. So sure, why not?

Baked Eggplant, slightly adapted

It was good. I've even made it again.

Pepino Melon
This melon was a random CM purchase because it just looked to wacky not to get. It's not that large - about the size of an apple - and it has stripes. What's not to love?

This is a Pepino Melon

Okay, well, I don't so much love the taste. It's not bad. Just weird. It tastes like a cucumber that has an apple grandmother. With a little texture of a great-grandpa pear.

Don't get me wrong, I like cucumbers. But can't just sit there and eat them. The must be in something or garnish or something. Something must be done to give them more tastes. That's kind of what's going on with this melon. It's got a more fibrous texture (thanks great-grandpa pear) with a little additional tart/sweet (grandma apple) to make it something other than a funny colored cucumber.

Ultimately, I think this needs to be chopped up and put in a salad or used to flavor a slaw or something. It's just a bit unexciting all by its lonesome.

Black Garlic
Ah, Central Market's marketing works. I decided to give black (fermented) garlic a shot.

Black Garlic
(not my picture)

So far I haven't done anything with it other than eat a small clove but I have plans. Unfortunately, those plans keep changing so I've not quite settled on one, but it looks like a topping or sauce for noodles might be the winner.

I'm actually pretty excited to cook with it. It's very different. It tastes a bit like Hoisin sauce, probably because of the strong garlic flavor Hoisin sauce tends to have. Texture wise, the cloves are a bit like dried plums - a little sticky/juicy but overall firm and held together. It's smoother, though, and consistent throughout. It's got a sweet taste of mellowed garlic (though still a lot of garlic - but not overpoweringly garlic like raw or dried garlic)and soy sauce and maybe a little sugar. Which is what makes me think it will go well with noodles.

Corn
The only food right now not on my happy list is corn. Looks like I'm allergic to it. Seriously.

I knew I was allergic to xanthan gum. Mom and I (finally) figured out what was causing all my headaches after I ate in her gluten-free household when my throat started swelling just a wee bit after I ate a cake with lots of xanthan gum in it. I cut xanthan gum out of my diet and the number of headaches and migraines I end up with drastically reduced.

Then I start eating less processed foods for a bit and I start having issues when I do eat those processed foods. Was it because of the processing or was it because of the wheat? Maybe I had Celiac? (At the time, I hadn't found a non-processed bread so I ended up unintentionally avoiding wheat - except for when I ate something processed like a box meal or fast food). Well, finally finding a good bread and not reacting to that pretty much ruled wheat out as the problem for me. So it must be just overly processed stuff, right?

Well, sort of.

A lot of people (apparently) that are allergic to xanthan gum are also allergic to corn to varying degrees. So I decided to test out that theory. At this point, I'm pretty much reacting to anything corn or with a corn-derived product in it except MAYBE cornstarch.

Corn is not my friend. This makes me sad because I like corn. But corn does not like me. Corn is mean to me.

On the plus side (sort of), knowing I need to eliminate corn and corn-derived products from my diet pretty much guarantees I'm sticking to my low-processed, natural diet. Because everything freakin' has corn in it.

Seriously. Check out some ingredients list and see all the corn. Ascorbic acid, high fructose corn syrup (also known as glucose-fructose), sorbitol, MSG, mono- and di-glycerides, dextrin, maltodextrin, xanthan gum... all of these things are corn-derived. So basically, chances are good that if I don't make it from scratch or find it in the expensive "natural" or "organic" section of the grocery store, it's got something it in I'm most likely to react to.

Celiac Goodness
Okay, so avoiding corn has made me a picky grocery shopper. But the good news is, I still get to eat bread. Yay!

There is a gene study being done by the University of California on Celiac disease. My mom (having Celiac) was involved and, when they got another round of grants, volunteered me to take part as well. It's nothing big - I just get tested for Celiac disease through blood tests and then they also check to see if I carry the two genes they have identified as being Celiac-related.

Well, it will be almost a year before I get the results of the gene test back but I did get the blood test back. Negative! YAY!

I had been tested before, but it is nice to have it in black and white that wheat is still my friend.

As for the gene test, my mom tested positive for one of the genes and my dad tested negative for both. With that combo, I think it works out to be less than a 5% chance I'll have one of the genes. Fingers crossed!

Kitties
I don't think I can have a post this freakin' long and not mention the kitties. Though everyone is doing well and there's been nothing really going on with the little furry beasts so I don't have that much news to share. So instead, I will share cuteness.

Cute Chloe Lips

Cocoa is trying very hard to ensure that the box side stays pushed out.

Puuuuuuuush

Collapsed boxes aren't comfy to sleep in.

I appreciate the irony of this picture.

Sammy

Should it tickle me so much?

And that's pretty much it, there's my catch-up, I'm-sorry-I'm-a-boring-updater post.

Makes random YouTube videos almost preferable, doesn't it?

If Only It Were Winter

Then I would be toasty. As it is now, well, okay, I'm still pretty toasty but it's not as pleasant as it might be in a few months.

Why, you ask? I am covered in kitty.

Kitties: Two for One!

The pic was taken with my webcam so not that great. But I've got a Gidgie and a Cocoa squished together in my lap so there was no way I could move to get my camera.

But it's a good feeling so I wanted to share.

The Events of Last Thursday

I'm having way too much fun recording the kitties. But sometimes I get a little something extra along with my kitty cuteness.

Here's what happened last Thursday morning.

Update for Cuteness

It's been a little over a week since I've posted anything. I just don't have all that much going on lately. But I have a few cute kitty pictures that I thought I'd share. So here we go!

Lately, the kitties have been quite enjoying the water bottle cases we keep in the pantry. Especially if we accidentally leave the pantry door open.

Chloe camping out among the water bottles

Of course, they also enjoy the empty boxes when we throw then onto the kitchen floor.

Cocoa parks herself into any water box that ends up on the kitchen floor

Cocoa has also been showing off more of her mouse killing songs (today's was about 2 minutes long - I really wish I had been able to record it!) but she's added a new talent into her repertoire. Mouse cuddling:

Cuddling the kill

And our kitties aren't the only cute things out there. This is Thomas, Miho and Kei's newest kitty addition.

Isn't he a cutie?

Kitty Voyeur

Cocoa has been particularly magnificent lately in regards to her mouse killing songs. She's been very vocal about her (felt) mouse kills, needing to make sure everyone knows what she has done. Because these songs sound so cute, I wanted to tape them to share. But it's really hard to get the timing right! So I finally decided to just set up my camera and record endlessly, hoping I caught something.

Well, I did. I got two little songs. Not her best work and not the longest by any means, but a good sampling so worthy of sharing I think. But not only did I record that, but I got to see what the kitties are like when their people aren't in the room.

My cats do very little yet manage to be strangely fascinating.

I recorded about 2 hours of video. I didn't watch it all. Well, not on normal speed anyway. I fast forwarded through it. But still, I found it really run. Dude, our cats do nothing! At one point, Happy sat in the kitchen for close to 15 minutes. Just sitting.

Anyway, I put those two hours of tape together into a video about three and a half minutes long. Mostly it is Cocoa being cute, but Happy makes a special guest appearance. Gidgie has a cameo.

I don't expect everyone to find this video as entertaining as I do - they are my cats, after all - but I do encourage you to give it a watch. There are two mouse killing songs and a magnificent Cocoa Love Roll. That's worth the price of admission right there (especially since I'm not charging you anything!) The video is a little dark, however, since the kitchen lights were off when I recorded the video (I didn't want them to know I was spying on them!)

Now that I've played voyeur in the kitchen, I think I want to set the camera up in another room. The kitties are pretty cute when they don't know we're watching.

Of course, that could be because they are always cute.

Kitties Love Costsco

When we go to Costco, the kitties think we went box shopping just for them.

Costco: Where the Boxes Come From

Almost Forgot!

Kitty Food Update Time!

Fish and Fowl

Yesterday we had a vet appointment - Chloe and Sam needed their annuals, but even more importantly, we were having Ashes's kidney levels checked again to see how the high protein diet was doing for her.

Good news on all fronts! Ashes's kidney levels were actually a little lower than they were three months ago before we switched the food. YAY!

And even more good news - Sammy lost some weight! He's now back down to 19 pounds (instead of 23 pounds). YAY! I know Cocoa has lost a little weight from the food switch - in a good way - you can see her waist now. I mean, she's still chubby, but is now at a much healthier weight than before. Chloe has even slimmed down a little. Hopefully Sammy will continue to lose a little weight. He's a big boy so I'd be happy to get him down to 15 or 16 pounds.

So yeah, the food - good stuff! Kitties are slimming down, the high protein is good enough quality to not cause kidney problems in the Big Girl, fur is softer all around and Happy has calmed down a little. I mean, she's still nuts, but she's not as strongly insane... she's less jumpy and it corresponds to the change in food.

YAY! Go smelly, super-expensive food! Woo!

So Ladylike

As you can see, our kitties have never gone to charm school.

Famous Last Words

When buying my new laptop last year, Dan and I discussed that it only came with a webcam - there was no way to get one without it. But I said I didn't need it, wouldn't use it, so it didn't matter.

I was wrong. Okay, I don't need it, but I sure do use it. It gets turned on almost every time I get kitty cuddles while laying on the couch.

Kitty Cuddle Cam

Cocoa likes to lay down on my side and dance on my neck (that's what has me grinning so in that last pic). And let me tell you, there are few things that create warm fuzzies faster than a kitty laying on you, purring on your ear and dancing on you.

I love my babies.

Kitchen Cocoa

Well, it seems Cocoa thinks she is a kitchen item.

I've posted previously about Cocoa thinking she is a kitchen appliance and I am pretty sure I've mentioned that she likes to hide behind the breadbox as well. But this one is new. Now she thinks she's a plate.

Cocoa in the Cabinet

Yeah, we accidentally left the cabinet open (this is above the counter) after putting dishes away. A little bit later, we hear dishes clinking. We go into the kitchen and there she is - Cocoa in the cabinet.

To all those that eat at my house: don't worry, we washed all the dishes in there.

Silly Kitty

Cocoa has decided she likes to cuddle to me, even when I'm not all that cuddle-able.

Back cuddles?

Or maybe she's just using me as a pillow. Not the most comfortable thing. I'm seriously thinking about setting down some cuddle rules. Yeah, okay, maybe not. Even having a kitty laying on my back is still having a kitty laying on me.

Toy Killing Style

Here are some of our kitties showing off their various toy killing styles. Thanks Grandma Z for providing the toys! I think they like them!

Sink Ick = Kitty Fun

This weekend, Dan and I had a bit of garbage disposal related ick.

Clogged Sink

Our garbage disposal got clogged (with my tea leaves - bad me) which led us to discovering the fact that the garbage disposal leaked when it ran, and even worse when it was clogged.

Our Leaky Garbage Disposal

But, on the plus side, since we had to clean out under our sink, Cocoa had some fun with an almost-empty Swiffer duster box.

As an additional bonus, I've finally started learning how to use my new video editor so I can edit the videos my new camera records. Go leaky, clogged garbage disposal!

Kitty Cuteness

It's been a while since I posted - sorry about that! I could say it is because life has been so busy and exciting that there just hasn't been enough time to post, but that would be a lie. I actually was sick for a little bit and ended up sleeping a lot. Which doesn't lead to very exciting blogging.

But, I've finally decided to expend a little energy and share some of the cuteness the kitties have been getting up to. After all, a number of packages have come in lately and you know what that means: kitties in boxes!

Chloe in a Box... with the Covers Pulled Up

I'm not really sure how Chloe managed to do this, but I imagine it took a little bit of time. We have such talented kitties.

Currently, two of the boxes in the kitchen have managed to get their flaps folded over and then dented to make a perfect kitty hammock. That kind of box set up leads to a lot of exposed bellys.

Cocoa Lounging in the Hammock Box

Of course, don't think that other items on the floor are neglected from becoming kitty spots. Bitty has recently taken a liking to any pillows that are put in the floor.

It's a Soft, Squishy Box... or Not

Bitty is also a fan of the alert "What was THAT?" face.

Sammy isn't a big box fan. He spends most of his time sleeping on the scratch mat in the living room. This time he was just hanging out on the mat but doing it in such a way that showed of his chubby little 'tocks oh so cutely (I think).

Sammy Tocks

(And with the size of his belly, is it any wonder that he runs a little bowlegged?)

And one more of the Samster Hamster as he lays on the scratch mat, this time belly up.

Sam Belly

Also, this weekend we got a package from Grandma Z which had some toys for mama, daddy and the kitties. One of my goodies was a black cat candle holder for Halloween. It's like Happy with a full tail!

Happy Inspects the New Kitty

Sadly, once I got down to kitty level to take the picture, Cocoa barreled over, disrupting the shot and scaring off the non-ceramic scaredy cat so this is the only picture I have. But I still think it is pretty cute. Thank you, Grandma Z!

I also got some really cute video of the kitties playing with some of their new toys but I'm going to have to learn how to use my new movie editing software. So hopefully I'll be posting that later this week.

In other news, I think Cocoa needs therapy. She has become convinced that she is a kitchen appliance.

Kitchen Appliances go in the Appliance Garage... Thus I go in the Appliance Garage

I'm an appliance, yes?

No. No you are not, Cocoa. Sigh. She has also taken to cuddling with the Zojirushi hot water dispenser on my countertop. But I don't believe we have gotten a good picture of that yet. Most of the time she does realize that she shouldn't be up on the counter and gets down as soon as there is any hint of Dan or me coming into the kitchen. But sometimes we say screw the rules, that's a cute picture!

Cuteness Abounds!

Well, it must be something in the water today, because all the kitties are being adorable. Of course, a trip to Costco yesterday increased the box-level of the house, so that might be a contributing factor as well. I didn't get pictures of everyone's cuteness but what I did get is post-worthy, I think.

First on our list, Gidgie. She's not a big box sitter, but it is so cute when she does because her fluff sticks out.

The Elusive Gidgie-in-a-Box

I think she looks a little ashamed for being caught box-sitting. It's a guilty pleasure, you know.

Next up is Cocoa, who doesn't look guilty for box-sitting, but almost resentful, daring is to make an issue of her greed.

Cocoa Two-Boxin' It

Yes, that is Cocoa sitting in not one but two boxes. Quite a talented little girl, isn't she?

Okay, this last one isn't Sammy in a box, but more of a kitty fort. We switched coffee tables with my parents and the kitties, especially Sammy and Chloe, are enjoying the higher shelf under the table.

A Big Kitty Fort for a Big Kitty

Doesn't Sammy just look so cute?

And speaking of a cute Sammy, I have to share this picture. I think he looks quite handsome.

Handsome Big Boy

Chloe was also remarkably cute today as she hung out in the double box-ness and a paper bag in the living room, but the pictures didn't turn out share-worthy. *pout* Oh well, at least I was able to get evidence of the cuteness some of the others today!

Bath Time at the Zimmermann Home (Post-Dated)

Guess what Dan and I got to do?

Bathe our kitties! Yes, all seven!

The good news is I only had blood drawn four times and Dan got away bloodletting-free (thought not unscratched).

What possessed us to do such an insane thing? What else? The vet. Apparently Happy and Ashes have ring worm. Yay. *sigh* So we got a topical spray and pills for the two of them, but were also told that we should be "aggressive" in our treatment to make sure the others didn't get it. Which includes twice weekly preventative baths.

Yeah, that's not happening. Happy and Ashes will get their two-times-a-week baths, but I think we did pretty good with everyone else just to get one bath each.

I bathed Ashes, Happy, Gidget and Cocoa while Dan got Sammy, Chloe and Bitty. There were no pictures of me bathing the kitties (1) because I'm the camera person in our family and 2) because I was not wearing protective gear like Dan was) but I did snap a couple of shots while Dan was bathing them.

An Unhappy Sammy Getting His Bath

Cocoa Wondering Why the Hidden Chloe is Screaming So

I also got video of a yowling Chloe which I'm going to have to edit and post because it's funny in a poor-pathetic-kitty way.

And while the bathing was not fun, the aftermath was sort of entertaining. All the kitties looked disgusted with the whole situation and proceeded to turn sulking while re-bathing themselves an Olympic sport.

Ashes: Must Get the Wet Off!

Chloe: I'm Not Talking To You

Chloe refused to look at me and kept her back to me the entire time I tried to take her post-bath pictures.

And Unladylike Happy

A Delicate but Disgruntled Gidgie

Bitty was especially cute and pathetic (though more annoyed than sulky - and more hiding that bathing).

Rat Bitty

I've also got a great video of her post-bath that I need to edit then will post later.

A Hedgehog-esque Cocoa

Spikey Post-Bath Sammy

Yep, so as you can imagine, everyone had so much fun.

And in theory, we need to do it again.

In theory. But in practice? Not so much.

Amost Forgot!

I almost forgot! In addition to Sammy's video, I wanted to post a couple of cute kitty pictures.

Chloe in a box

Chloe is a very happy kitty when there is a box around. This box is courtesy of MIL - thanks Claudia. Dan was supposed to tell you we got it yesterday but I doubt he did. Fun goodies - thank you! (And Chloe was a fan, too!)

An Unlady-like Cocoa

I can't decide if Cocoa is being unladylike or if she is doing another Jabba the Hut impression. Though the more I look at the picture, the more I think she needs Bitty beside her on a chain and in a slave costume.

Okay, this last one isn't kitty related, but it's blog-worthy anyway. I got this last week, but considering it came in the day Nibby passed away, yeah, didn't really feel like posting about it.

My Tokoname Kyusu

It holds about 10 oz and I'm not even telling what it costs. But it is so pretty! And it makes a good cup of sencha, too. Yum.

Well, that takes care of the other goodies I wanted to post in additon to Sammy's video. Sammy is on my lap right now and he liked watching me edit his video.

I have to mention one more thing: the silly cat snores. Even when he is awake.

Fat kitty.

Spot the Manatee!

Can you spot the manatee in this picture? (And no, that's not a fat Coco joke).

Cocoa loves the (catnip-scented) manatee!

Kitty Cuteness

The best couch time is couch time with a kitty.

Awwwww.

Because I Have Too Much Time On My Hands...

I've made some videos. Nothing long, just from some footage I took this week of the cuteness that is our kitties. They are both pretty short but, I think, cute.

The Amazing Balancing Nibby

Also, on a slightly less random note (though still not "educational" or anything) we had quite the weather happening yesterday. Lots of rain. And of course, Dan and I were out in it (without an umbrella), but it was worth the dampness and squishy socks because on the way home we got to see a HUGE full rainbow.

By the time we got home and I got the camera, the sun was setting and the rainbow was fading, but I managed to snap a shot of it.

Fading Rainbow

Pretty, isn't it?

This morning...

There was a mouse in our bed this morning. Seriously.

Of course, it was a red felt mouse. But still, it was a mouse. Resting by my pillow. Cocoa apparently decided to leave a little gift.

Crazy kitty.

Happy Scrapbook Day, My Hubby!

Today is Dan's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN!!!. He's a whopping 29 years old. For his birthday I pulled out all the stops and made a big dinner of his favorite (meatloaf) with baked potatoes, green beans, garlic bread, salad and even a two-layer Red Velvet cake. Yeah, it's a good thing his birthday is only once a year because I was cooking for about 4 hours today. But you know what? He's so worth it!

In other news, I did my Christmas 2007 layout this weekend.

Christmas in Graham

Christmas in St. Louis

Fun, yeah?

In more fun, Kitty Bellies!

Chlo-belly

I guess Chloe got a little warm today. So had to expose that cute pink belly.

Co-belly

This one if from a few days ago. I took a nap and so did a horde of the kitties. Dan got this classic Cocoa-belly picture. It's so big!

And while this one isn't a belly, it's a kitty and it's cute so I'm sharing.

When my parents come visit, they usually have a bag of goodies for us - magazines, cards, random goodies - and nine times out of ten, I give the bag to the kitties so they can play in it. Well, lately they've changed the way they use the bags.

Nibby utilizes the paper bag

The kitties aren't climbing in it (well, Chloe did until it got flattened), but laying on it! I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I mean, it's just one step up from laying on a piece of paper on the floor. But it is still cute. So I share.

Hmm, Nibby obviously enjoys the paper bag. I wonder if I should have gotten one for Dan's birthday. Nah, he probably likes the cake better.

But he better not lay on it.

Picture Time!

Whee! Pictures pictures and more pictures. Okay, just four pictures. But no chicken purses. You can take that as a positive or negative feature of this post..

Uh, Merry Christmas?
Yeah, I know I used that for a post title a few days ago but whatever. Is the writer's strike still on? If so, that's my problem.

Anyway, my Christmas cactus is blooming. This thing has not bloomed in years but I guess the best way to get it to bloom is not to forget to water it. In the past month I've finally gotten on a plant watering schedule and look at my reward!

Is there such a thing as a Valentine Cactus?

Okay, yeah, so it is just one bloom. But there is a bud on the other side. And it isn't dying (I don't think). So total awesomeness all around.

Awwww, Cuteness!
There is no reason to post this since I actually took it (well, okay, Dan took it - I was occupied) almost two weeks ago. But it was camped out in my camera until just now, so it is sort of timely.

Cocoa is a lovey, wonderful cuddle kitty. She love cuddles. It's kind of hard to hold her and a laptop, but hey, I'll do what I can to get such wonderful kitty cuddles.

Kitty Cuddles!

Must Be Genetic
Princess was always a big box kitty. If a box was on the floor, she was either in it, just gotten out of it, or thinking about getting in it. Ashes hasn't ever been a big box-lover, however since Princess has passed away, I believe she realizes that this house is missing a Box-Love Himalayan and she's trying to fill the gap.

Ashes trying to fill the role of "box-loving himmy"

The Original Box-Loving Himmy, Princess

Mean Post Ahead

Cocoa might have no teeth, but she sure is a fattie. In fact, that is one of her many nicknames, though Dan does give me a look when I call her that. (But then he calls her a land whale, so I have no idea why he thinks one is okay and the other is not). Anyway, we also call her Cocoa the Hut, especially when she's laying on the floor in all of her little fat-rolled glory.

A Cocoa Blob of Love and Fat

Anyone else see the similarity?

Jabba the Cocoa? Or Cocoa the Hut?

Forgot This One

Oooh, two posts in one day. Though they are both scrapbooking related. Ah well.

I realized that I had not posted this a few days ago (the 15th I think) when I finished it and then I managed to delete the pics off the camera. But anyway, this is Cocoa's what I've taken to calling "Page 2" in the kitty scrapbook. It faces the kitty's intro page.

Co-kitty

Cocoa Cuddles

More scrapbook-y goodness:

Cocoa Cuddles Layout

Okay, I'm partial because it is my kitty and my layout, but I think this page is just so cute!

Everyone Loves TMFP

What is TMFP, you ask? That is my new pretty red laptop. And I lurve it! It's so fast! And pretty! And what does TMFP stand for, you ask? The *something* Princess. Why, you ask? There is a Avril Lavigne song, Girlfriend that has a line "I'm the MF princess" and that line just tickles me so much. Dan says I need a shirt that says that, but I would never wear it out in public. So I named my computer that.

Hey, at least I didn't name it after a Dune character like some people that will remain nameless *coughDancough*.

Anyway, everyone is really enjoying my computer. Me because it is lovely; Dan because I am less likely to become a Luddite with a working computer; the kitties because they got a new box. And they look so cute in that darn box that I can't find it within myself to throw it away. I've tried to twice but someone is always in it and looking so cute, I have to take a picture.

Shh, don't tell Cocoa she doesn't fit.

Bitty tried to do the "normal" kitty box thing...

...then she realized the smaller compartment was a better fit.

Chloe takes the traditional route.

Nibby shakes things up.

And Because I Can
More scrapbooking stuff - aren't you thrilled? Shaddup. My blog, my pointless posts. Now look at the pretty:

I've noticed a sports theme with my scrapbooking lately...

The text is an edited version of what I posted on my blog for that event, which can be found here.

Kill Me Now

Wow, almost 2 weeks since I have updated. Shame on me. Quite a change from updating a couple of times a week.

In my defense, I have felt like utter monkey pooh. But I figured it was time to post so people could be reassured that I have not, in fact, dropped off the face of the earth. So, without further ado, updates:

Hockey
Okay, it might say something about my priorities that are a bit off since I just got back from the cardiologist and yet the first topic on my blog update is hockey. But this is the playoffs, baby. All other things take a back seat.

So, the Ducks didn't sweep the Wild in the First Round like I thought they would - they let the Wild win 1 game. But I can totally deal with the series going to Game 5. It gave the Ducks a nice rest before Round 2, which started last night. They are playing Vancouver and, if last night's game was any indication, this will be a very one-sided series. Ducks won 5 to 1. Ouch. Poor Canucks, huh? But I don't feel bad enough for them to want any of the next games to be any different. I am interested to see what happens in the Red Wings/Sharks series since the Ducks will play the winners. Not sure if I am interested enough to watch it, though. That could cut into some serious nap time.

And speaking of nap time...

Cardiologist Stuff
Yeah, as expected, the results from my last heart monitor thing were normal. Woo freakin' hoo. So we still don't know what exactly is going on. But I maintain if it keeps getting worse, I will no longer be able to drive, much less hold down a job. Dan's even driven me to work a couple of times. It's nice because then I can nap on the way home.

Anyway, the cardiologist said that when people come in with the symptoms I am describing, they usually have coronary heart disease. But due to my age and lack of strong family history of early heart disease, he thinks not so much. But he wants me to take a stress test just to make sure.

That's right. A stress test. Yet again, woo freakin' hoo. So Monday, May 7th, I will be injected with radioactive material and made to run on a treadmill. I. Am. So. Not. Excited.

The cardiologist did say that he is more inclined to think it is asthma. So I guess if the freakin' stress test doesn't show anything, I'll have to go back that route. The pulmonary function test I took back when came out fine which would indicate it isn't asthma, but apparently it doesn't always show up on those. Back when, I was using Advair and that seemed to be helping, though after the PFT showed up okay, the doctor said it most likely helped just because it was clearing up some inflammation issues left over from my last bout of bronchitis.

Anyway, the cardiologist suggested that I get back on the Advair to see if it helps, so I picked some up today and took my first treatment this morning. It is hard to tell if it is helping. Pressure-wise I'm probably hanging out at a 7 now, with forays into 6-dom, but I had a lovely spike into the town of 9 that made me start yet again contemplating exactly when I needed to have someone take me to the emergency room (the only thing Dan and I can totally agree on is if I do manage to pass out, I'm going). And yes, I've been rating my "discomfort" the past 2 weeks. I'm trying to find a pattern - if the pressure relates to how much sleep I get, if I have sugar, caffeine, if I exercise. So far - no pattern.

Okay, where was I? I got sidetracked.... Oh yeah. Asthma. Basically, the cardiologist said we could play around with which medication I am on (breathing-related or heart-related) but it was "a crap shoot" so he decided to leave me on the heart stuff and add the Advair to see if it helped. Yeah.

Anyway, I guess we will know more after the freakin' stress test. Oh, and did I mention the true joy that will be for the freakin' stress test? I have to stop taking my heart medication for it. I take the test Monday and I can't take the meds Monday or Sunday. Yeah, no meds AND a treadmill. I'm so going to pass out.

Okay, enough of that junk. Fun stuff...

KITTIES!
The babies are doing wonderfully. Princess keeps trying to eat Chloe and has been thinking about making a Bitty-snack, but otherwise is good. Cocoa is doing great with no teeth. Ashes is sweet, as always and Nibby has been super-balancy. Gidget is one giant fluffer kitty and I'm thinking about shaving her for the summer (shh! don't tell her that!) and Happy is her insane but lovable self. Yay for healthy and happy kitties!

Smile for the Day
And now for something that makes me happy: Cuteness! On that site, you can find adorable little pictures and videos that will make you definitely go "aww".

And with that, I'll leave you some supercute for the day:

It'll fit - I swear!

Picture Time!

My computer is back and you know what that means! I was able to transfer yard pictures from my camera to my laptop to share and I was able to get a hold of Cocoa's toothless pictures. So, without further ado, pictures!

Yard Pretties
My irises have done really well this year so far. Of course, that was before this cold front came in. I'm not sure how they'll be after this weekend. *pout* I don't think irises are made to bloom in 34 degree weather. But hopefully they'll survive. If not, I still have some pretty pictures.

Last year we stretched the corner bed all the way down one side of our house. We got a ton of irises from a neighbor and planted then in the new addition. Those irises have really done well and are absolutely gorgeous.

Part of the new side bed in bloom

When our neighbor told me they were mostly purple irises, I was pleased thinking they were the "normal" irises you always think of when someone says "Iris". Most of mine were yellow from my parent's house, with a few more interesting ones from my grandma (though most of those have yet to bloom) so the idea of adding some "regular" irises was neat. But they weren't the "regular" variety, but this gorgeous fancy, white-with-purple-speckles-and-edges purple irises. I LOVE them.

Our not-so-plain purple irises

Tons of them are blooming or about to bloom

I just find them fascinating and so beautiful

Of course, not all of them are that speckled purple. I have a few that look like this white and lilac combo (though not all have bloomed (and after the cold weather, I'm unsure as to if they will bloom) so some could be just lilac).

A few of my irises are like this delicate looking one

Aren't they gorgeous? Almost all the ones I have in the original corner bed are yellow. There are some darker purple ones and supposedly some other fancy ones from my grandmother, but I suppose I need to dig them up and split them because they haven't bloomed in the past 2 years. I think they are supposed to do better (have more blooms) when they are split and trimmed in fall. Maybe I will do that this year. Because I love how our yard looks in bloom.

I can't wait until our bed is overflowing with irises. I hope to add some more unusual ones in the future, too. I also want to extend the corner bed the other way, along the back fence, and plant with bulbs (mostly irises but also daffodils and daylilies. Maybe some gladiolas and dahlias if the ones I planted last year do well). When we stretch the bed along the back fence, I want to incorporate the two apple trees into the bed, too. Ultimately, it would mean that almost 1/2 of our back yard was bulb bed. But hey, gorgeous flowers and less grass to cut and water!

Cocoa Time!
And now it is time for the toothless Cocoa. I actually have her teeth in a plastic bag beside my computer. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. But before they go to their final home (which will honestly probably be the garbage), I think I might take a pictures and post them. Because I'm icky like that.

Anyway, here is where that bag of teeth came from:

Gummy Kitty

The little purple bits are her stitches. They haven't come out yet but they aren't bothering her so we are just leaving them in for now.

She's still doing great with no teeth. Though, have I mentioned?, it is so sad to see her try to eat a spider plant without teeth. She just gums it but eventually gives up because she can't tear it. So sad. But not as sad as she was with a feeding tube in, so I know removing her teeth was the right thing to do!

A Monkey-Free Post

So, I had intended on posting a pictures of the toothless Cocoa (even had the picture all sized up, etc). And I thought I had sent the picture to my email account (my laptop had to be sent off again to Gateway so I figured I'd get the pic from my email and post it from another computer or while at work). Well, apparently I didn't actually send it to myself. I have no idea where that picture is other than stored on my laptop hard drive which is currently sitting on the filing cabinet next to the TV (just the hard drive - the laptop is in South Dakota or wherever Gateway's service center is).

So, instead of Cocoa pictures and updates (though she is doing great, thanks for asking), I bring you job funnies:

What The New Job-Lingo Means

"JOIN OUR FAST-PACED COMPANY"
We have no time to train you.

"CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE"
We don't pay enough to expect that you'll dress up; well, a couple of the real daring guys wear earrings.

"MUST BE DEADLINE ORIENTED"
You'll be six months behind schedule on your first day.

"SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED"
Some time each night and some time each weekend.

"DUTIES WILL VARY"
Anyone in the office can boss you around. [Ah, so true.]

"MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL"
We have no quality control.

"CAREER-MINDED"
Female applicants must be childless (and remain that way).

"NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE"
We've filled the job; our call for resumes is just a legal formality.

"SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE"
You'll need it to replace three people who just left. [I feel like this one now!]

"PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST"
You're walking into a company in perpetual chaos.

"REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS"
You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.

"GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS"
Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want and do it. [Easier said than done - 1 year later and I still can't figure it out.]


Inspirational Phrases You Will Never Hear At Work...

1. There is no "I" in "teamwork." But there is in "management kiss-up."

2. If you do a good job and work hard, you may get a job with a better company someday. [This one kills me and just might be my favorite.]

3. The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts.

4. Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG 14 times gives you job security.

5. If you think we're a bad company, you should see the competition.

6. Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did it by killing all those who oppose them.

7. 2 days without a human rights violation.

8. Your job is STILL better than asking, "You want fries with that?" [Some days I'm not so sure]

9. If at first you don't succeed, try management.

10. Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself.

11. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

12. Pride, Commitment, Teamwork. Words we use to get you to work for free.

13. If at first you don't succeed, delegate it.

14. Plagiarism saves time.

15. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Sucks For You, Dial-up Users

Turns out this post is going to be pretty picture intensive. So sorry about that to anyone who's still on dial-up. You should get DSL at the very least just so my blog updates load quickly.

So let's get started (you can read while you wait for the pictures to load).

The Cocoa News

Toothless Cocoa

Cocoa is doing really great. The swelling in her mouth has gone down even more so now she is starting to look a little like an old lady with no dentures. It isn't horribly obvious, but if you had known her well before, it is pretty easy to see, especially from the side. She no longer has a square little mouth. It is more 3-shaped.

She hasn't seemed to have any problem eating, though we haven't seen her eating much dry food recently. But then, the kitties constantly get food when we aren't around to notice, so we aren't worried. We are feeding her some canned cat food everyday, too, so she won't go hungry.

As soon as I am finished with this blog, Cocoa's primary source of pain killer will be removed. She kept her little morphine patch on for 72 hours. Now, we are switching to pain pills twice a day as needed.

The feel good patch

Cocoa goes back to the vet later this week for a check up to see how things are going along. I'm sure I'll post more after that!

Gesundheit!
Allergy season is upon us, which means things are in bloom - including our yard! The first iris has come out and the Lady Bank's is just going crazy! It's been 4 years, but I think our back yard is really starting to look nice. I'll have to post some pictures from past years later, but for now, here's what's currently going on outside.

The rosemary and Lady Banks have really taken over the corner bed

The first iris of 2007 (for my yard, at least)

The Lady Bank's rose started blooming Thursday

Lady Bank's bloom

Our Gala apple tree has started to bloom

Very pretty, yes? Our grass is another story, but at least we have the flowers to move your eye away from the weed-filled grass.

Well, now that you've seen those lovely pictures, next we have...

Icky Foot Stuff
And this one is a little late, but I just realized I hadn't posted this picture. This is Dan's foot about 1 week after his surgery.

Eew, huh? It looks much better now, but then, that's not too hard.

And those are the updates for today. Do you have DSL yet?

Her Bark is Worse Than Her Bite

Cocoa is now the toothless wonder! She came home last night after her surgery and is now recuperating in the guest bathroom until tonight when she will be once again allowed free range of the house.

The surgery went well - it took a little over 3 hours to remove her 14 remaining teeth (apparently kitties have 18 and we had already removed 4 in two different surgeries). Of those 14 teeth, only 2 were good. That's right, she had 12 teeth that had a neck lesion, bone erosion or some other damage. The poor baby.

I don't think she's in any pain. That morphine patch has her pretty hooked up. She couldn't walk a straight line but she was a lot better this morning. Thankfully, she's a happy drunk. She has been SO lovey - constantly rubbing, purring and meowing for more attention.

I plan on posting some pictures tonight or this weekend to show off her little morphine patch and also to show how good she looks toothless. Her face (now that the swelling is going down) does look a little more narrow, especially right under the nose, but she doesn't look like my granny with no dentures, so that makes me happy.

Oh! And she's already started eating dry cat food!!! She is having trouble getting it into her mouth (I guess because she has no teeth to grab the food with) so she looks funny trying to eat - she will bury her nose in the food bowl and push it around with her mouth a little open. Sometime pieces will get in there but sometimes she licks and they fall right out again. Hehe. It's really cute. I have a feeling that the whole no-teeth thing won't phase her a bit!

Do They Make Kitty Dentures?

Well, tommorrow is the day. Cocoa goes under the knife to get all her little toofers removed.

We love this little girl

I know this is what needs to be done. Her teeth are not good, her gums are STILL irritated and antibiotics nor steroids help. But I'm still nervous. I keep thinking that Cocoa will look like my Granny did without her dentures. But I talked to the vet and he says we won't even be able to tell that she's toothless.

On the plus side, Cocoa shouldn't have a bad experience with this. She gets to be on a morphine patch. That's why we didn't have the surgery before - we had to get approval from the state for that patch. Thankfully, it was only $15 though. With such an approval process, I was thinking at least $50.

Things I Learned This Weekend

(ETA pictures and stuffs)

So this weekend was very entertaining and educational. Dan and I went to a basketball game. No, you didn't read that wrong. Not a hockey game. Basketball. Dan got free tickets (AWESOME free tickets, by the way) for a Mavs vs Magic game on Saturday so we went.

Look! Basketball!

Let me tell you: basketball and hockey - SO different. I still like hockey better, but I really did enjoy the basketball game. It was an experience. And very educational.

Here are some things I learned:

• Hockey music is so much better than basketball music, but the bballers did have a drum line




A drum line? Rock on with your bad selves!
Or rock on with one of the Smurfs.
Apparently they are Mavs fans, too.

• 6'0 tall can be considered "pocket-sized" in basketball




I seriously called this guy "Pocket-sized" the whole game.
I'm sure he has a name. I think it is Jose.
But to me, he's Pocket-Sized

• When a team scores over 50 times in a game, individual baskets/goals/points aren't that exciting


• I taunt the opposition better in hockey


• Dallas fans are fair-weather fans - they only cheer when the team is ahead (and something learned through hockey - Stars fans excel at taunting their own goalie)


• Basketball fans are more rabid than hockey fans, fair-weather or not (at least in Texas)




His sign reads "I'm AJ's White Son". Classy, yes?

• Sleeveless uniforms are very distracting - I spent a good amount of the game determining who had underarm hair and who "manscaped"


• Apparently they don't grow 'em with armpit hair in Eastern Europe

See? Totally educational. Oh yeah, and the Mavs won. Yay! Now go enjoy a short but thrilling bball video I took to cap off the educational experience. Watch it!

Kitty News
In other news, Cocoa is waiting on state approval for a morphine patch and then all of her toofers are getting pulled. Yep, we will have a toothless kitty. We tried pulse antibiotics and steroids and neither worked, so this is the final solution. Apparently, once she heals there is a very high likelihood that she will even continue to eat dry cat food. Crazy, huh?

Stuff

Okay, it has been a while since I posted so I thought I'd check in to prove that I'm still alive.

I am still alive.

Good enough for you?

No? Okay, I'll try to think of something else.

...

So, loved last week's Veronica Mars. Yay for awkward elevator scene! And yay for (relatively) little wallowing (or at least non-funny wallowing). And yay for no more LoVe... I hope it stays that way. Looking forward to tonight's ep. Veronica's in jail. The opening scenes I've seen look funny. I like funny VM eps better than emo VM eps.

Uhm.... What else?

I am lazy and have been doing nothing. This whole year so far I've only read 2 books. I'm in various stages of 5 more, but just can't manage to actually finish them. I blame the weather. It is icky icky icky. Cold, icky, gray. Bleck.

But today is supposed to be 77 so woo hoo! I'm hoping spring is coming and I can stop being all mopey.

Emo is my new favorite word now. I think this means I've been reading too many posts about Logan.

How is it that everything lately goes back to Veronica Mars?

Let's see, what else.

Oh! Cocoa is on steroids. Her mouth - not doing too great. So we tried some antibiotics but that didn't work so now we are doing the steroids. If that doesn't work, Cocoa gets a full mouth extraction. Yep, she will be a gummy kitty. Awwww.

Dan and I are concerned that she will have 'roid rage and take it out on the other kitties. But so far she just seems to have the tears more frequently.

Okay, how about that? Enough updates for you? No? Well, too bad.

Merry Cocoa, 2007!

Okay, so I have to do some post catch-up. So without further ado, stuff:

Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. We had a great one. My parents and came and spent a couple of nights with us. Dan got a little sick Christmas eve night (he's the only person I know that has a cold that lasts one day), so we missed the candlelight service, but we still had a great Christmas weekend with my family.

Of course, lots of goodies were exchanged. Dan got me a Cricut personal cutting system for my scrapbooking which is way cool. I finally picked up a glue pen today (I think the kitties ate my old one) so I was able to finish my first page using the Cricut.

The Bitty Box Page

I also got a wonderful necklace from my mother-in-law. It's a James Avery piece out of their Descending Doves series.

Floating Dove

Isn't it gorgeous? It's a different length from my Serenity Cross that Dan got me when I was baptised. I'm debating whether or not I am cool enough to pull off wearing both at once.

Tubeless Cocoa!
Cocoa's tube is out! YAY!

No more tube - or cone!

Cocoa went to the vet last Friday to get her tube out. Now she has a few stitches - some in her tummy where they had to cut her open to remove then tube, and then some a little further up her side where the tube was put in. She'll got back to the vet in about a week to get the stitches out. Then we just have to wait for her hair to grow back and she'll be back to normal. YAY!

Happy New Year!
I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. Happy 2007!

Looking back on my goals for 2006, I only managed to accomplish one of them: reading the bible. I'm thinking that one goal a year is the best I can do, so I'm only setting one goal for this year. My goal for 2007 is to complete my 1996 - 1997 Japan Scrapbook. I'm actually over 1/2 way through it, so this one is totally doable.

At some point in the next month, I'm hoping to update my Books page to list some of my favorite books of 2006, but I'd also like to update the Crook Reunion website and that hasn't happened in a while, so we will see!

Prime Real Estate
Okay, this is just too cute, I had to post it.

Three Times the Kitty Love

Chloe was the first in my lap, then Gidget and eventually Cocoa. It was lovely, if a bit crowded.

Everyone have a prosperous and successful 2007!

Cocoa Finals

Well, it is that time of year that all students fear - FINALS! Cocoa got into the test-taking action yesterday by taking some tests at the vet. It was multiple choice and true/false....

Okay, she didn't really take any tests - but she did give the vet a little blood so they could test her liver levels. If the tests come back with a passing grade, Cocoa can have her feeding tube taken out Monday. Yay!

You know, with so much riding on this test, I sure hope she studied.


UPDATE:
Well, apparently Cocoa didn't study. One of her levels is still high so the vet doesn't feel comfortable taking about the tube until she is 100% normal. I appreciate their caution, but at the same time, Cocoa is driving me nuts with her wrap. It is one thing on top of so many others and is thisclose to being the straw that broke the camel's back. Most of the time, though, the camel's back is just severely sagging.

Updates (or "I'm Dreaming of a Tight Christmas")

Ah, fun times. Let's see what all is going on.

Cocoa is doing fantastic. On Friday, she started eating the full amount of dry cat food recommended for a kitty her size. She's eaten the entire 2/3 cup or more since then. She's also gained some weight so she's back to a slightly pudgy 10.0 pounds. Along with getting her pudge back, she's also gotten her chat back. That girlie will not stop talking! She talks like crazy every morning when she first sees us, every night when I come home, and constantly in between. It's great to have our old Cocoa back. In two weeks we will recheck her liver levels and, assuming everything with that is okay, take out the feeding tube. Yay!

Now on to less, well, exciting news. My "talent" of closing down companies has been transferred. Now Dan has it. Dan's got one month to find new employment. Very exciting! Uhm, yeah.

Well, all I can say is thank goodness the Cocoa-related vet bills came before we were facing the possibility of being a one-income home. Otherwise I might have had to pre-chew her food and feed her it to her without a tube.

Cocoa and Mom? Thankfully not.

Diagonsis: Cocoa

Dr. Deiss called yesterday with Cocoa's lab results. She does have the hepatic lipidosis and a little hepatitis. Her hepatitis was almost gone so we know we were on the right track to fix that and she would have been fine if she hadn't stopped eating, causing the hepatic lipidosis to develop. But that is very good news because it means Cocoa's liver problems are fully reversible! YAY!

Cocoa will soon have a fully healthy one of these

Even more good news - Cocoa actually ate some on her own last night! YAY! Dan picked up a new dry food and she chowed down on it. She ate about 2 tablespoons of it. Okay, so that doesn't sound like much, but two tablespoons of dry food in 3 hours is SO much better than 5 tablespoons of baby food in 24 hours. I am just thrilled that Cocoa ate last night. Starting tomorrow we are going to suspend her lunch time feeding so hopefully she will chow down more during the day. Because you have to think that she ate those two tablespoons of food even though she's getting 150mLs of pureed wet cat food deposited in her belly through 4 to 5 feedings a day. So basically a full-bellied Cocoa ate the dry food. Imagine how she will do when we let her actually have an empty tummy for a few hours.

Yay for a healthy Cocoa!

And can I just say, I am now in love with Dr. Deiss. She is wonderful. We had only seen her 2 times before (one for Ashes's eye and one for Gidgie's "World's Most Expensive Hairball") so we didn't really know her well. We knew she was very careful about our kitties' health which was comforting, but Dr. Shepard had been our vet since 1990 and we saw Dr. Krall most of the times we went in for the past 3 year (she was even the vet that found Chloe). So while we respected Dr. Deiss, we adored Dr. Shepard and Dr. Krall. But after this whole thing with Cocoa and how wonderful Dr. Deiss, I just think she can walk on water. I just adore everyone at Roanoke Animal!

Cocoa Hits 100,000 Miles

Okay, I'm pretty sure Cocoa has not, in fact, walked 100,000 miles. But she was in my car today on the way home when my car hit 100,000 miles. Yay for 100k miles!

The little red car his 100,000 miles - and still drives like a dream!

And double yay because Cocoa is back home and resting grouchily!

Cocoa at home - Dr. Deiss put Cocoa's name on her bandage - how cute is that?!

Dr. Deiss gave us a great write up on Cocoa and how to use the feeding tube and whatnot. Though we won't know for sure until the biopsy gets back next week, Dr. Deiss believes the same thing Dan and I were thinking as to the cause of all this - Cocoa's teeth caused a bacterial infection for her liver causing the hepatitis, then as the situation worsened hepatic lipidosis developed. Glad to know that all my years of medical training has paid off. Oh wait.... Yeah, never mind. We'll just call it mom's intuition.

The feeding tube thing is actually really easy. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of it later. But Cocoa takes the food very well and it isn't nearly as icky as I was fearing. We will have her feeling better in no time.

And what a wonderful time for this all to happen. I am so thankful for Cocoa (and all of our kitties) and the fact that we have the ability to take care of them without concern to finances. I mean, I didn't want to spend so much on Cocoa, but it is nice to know that we can do it if required. (Cocoa isn't quite the "million dollar kitty", but with what we've spent on her, I'm expecting she has at least one bionic joint).

This past week I have been constantly awed, amazed and thankful for everything in our life. Thankful seems like such an insignificant word to describe how I feel about all of our blessings. Praise God.

Happy Manatee Day!

What wonderful timing! Cocoa's manatee came in today so we were able to give it to her right after she woke up from surgery. Hopefully it will make her happy and help her recover!

Cocoa in her kennel after the operation - notice the manatee!

According to the doctor, Cocoa's surgery went great. Her liver was very fatty so she was experiencing the hepatic lipidosis. Her insides were also very yellow so she was also jaundiced. Thankfully having the feeding tube in will reverse both of those problems.

Getting attention from a happy and very relieved mama

And speaking of problems, she also had 2 icky teeth that they removed. One that we knew about and another one that had a nasty, puss-filled root. Yuck! No wonder she stopped eating - it really hurt! The vet said most likely she just has genetically bad teeth. We will just have to stay on top of her teeth and pull any questionable ones. Good news, apparently cats that have even had all their teeth removed can eat dry food! Knock me over with a feather, but at least if it comes to removing all her teeth, Cocoa won't be too troubled!

Now go wish everyone a very happy Manatee Day!

Updated: I didn't mention this and I really should have: all of Cocoa's care (and all the kitties' care) is done by the wonderful staff at Roanoke Animal Hospital in Roanoke, TX. If you live on the Fort Worth side of the Metroplex, I cannot recommend them enough. Shoot, I think I'd recommend them even to those in Dallas. They are a fantastic bunch that knows our kitties are our babies and treats them accordingly. But even if you aren't close enough to use them as your family vet, you should check out their webpage - if you look around, you should be able to see pictures of all of our kitties! (hint: look in the top picture bar on the different pages).

Cocoa is having surgery

We took Cocoa to the vet today since she looked a little yellow. She is a little jaundiced so the vet is going to put a feeding tube in. They are also going to biopsy her liver and remove her damaged tooth. The vet said that Cocoa is the healthiest kitty she's seen with this condition, so the risks of putting her under anesthesia is lower than for other kitties with this same problem.

Sadly, her manatee is not here yet. It did ship yesterday, though. She should get it soon to help her with her recovery.

Cocoa Test Results

Cocoa's liver function tests came in today - the results weren't good. Her liver is not functioning properly.

The Wonder Cocoa

At the vet yesterday, we noticed that another one of Cocoa's teeth has chipped. Poor kitty has really bad teeth. She just had a cleaning 9 months ago and had to have 2 teeth removed then. Now she has at least one more.

The vet doesn't think that the liver/gallbladder problems are related to the teeth/gum problems unless the teeth caused Cocoa do much pain that she stopped eating and she developed hepatic lipidosis.

Anyway, because of the test results, our next step is to get an ultrasound (which I am on the phone scheduling as I type this - okay, scheduled for 11/28 - one of the first ones they had). The ultrasound will show if there is an abscess, tumor, liver shunt, clogged bile duct or gallbladder issues. If nothing shows up on the ultrasound, they will biopsy her liver. This will tell us if it is bacterial or hepatic lipidosis.

I'm sure the teeth are causing a problem but we can't do anything about it right now because it is risky to put her under anesthesia with such high liver levels. Or if a feeding tube has to be put in, then she will need to be put under for that so her tooth would be dealt with them.

Currently we are bribing her with soft foods and she seems to be doing somewhat better. Yesterday and Saturday she ate 1/2 a can of Fancy Feast. She is 8.8 pounds as of this morning, which is really light for her (you can feel each vertebrae as you pet her) but she was as low as 8.2, so 8.8 is better than that. She's also talking more and moving a little more easily, so I'm hoping that she is feeling better. I am going to talk to the vet about force feeding her so hopefully that will help some, too.

The vet has her on 4 different medicines, which really isn't fun since she doesn't take pills well. 2 different antibiotics (one of them a liquid that makes her drool horribly), a fish oil/vitamin E pill and another pill that should help with liver function.

Anyway, I'm pretty freaked about this whole thing. I love Cocoa so much - she is a wonderful kitty. I have no idea what I would do if we lost her.

Anyone know where I can get a HUGE manatee?

The vet just called. Cocoa is having liver problems. The vet said it was cholangiohepatitis (inflammation of the bile ducts and liver). So now Cocoa has to take lots of medicines (4), eat a special food, and tomorrow we go in to the vet for tests to see if her liver is functioning properly.

The good news is that so far, Cocoa's condition isn't horribly dangerous. The biggest danger now is that she will stop eating or not get enough calories and her liver function will crash. Then we'd have to feed her with a feeding tube until liver function returned. So as long as we can bribe her with enough ham, milk, treats and other goodies, we should be okay on that front.

Hopefully this will just be really expensive but not heartbreaking. And hopefully part of that expense will be buying Cocoa a REALLY BIG manatee when she is all better.

Do you think this one is too big?

Prayers for Cocoa, please?

Cocoa aims for a manatee

Cocoa hasn't been feeling all that great lately. A couple of weeks ago, she had a little ulcer on her nose and her gums were really red. So we took her to the vet and he prescribed an antibiotic. Unfortunately, that antibiotic did not agree with her - she would throw up 15 minutes after her dose - so we switched antibiotics. The new antibiotics still made her feel bad, but no vomiting. The antibiotic cycle was over last week, but she still seemed to be feeling poorly. The two weeks on the antibiotics, she actually lost 2 pounds and after 1 week off of the meds, didn't seem to be gaining any back and actually seemed to lose more. Overprotective mommy that I am, Cocoa went to the vet yesterday.

The vet is thinking that the antibiotic irritated her stomach and the irritation hasn't gone down. They took some blood to do some tests so we will see what the next step is. Hopefully my little Cocoa just has an icky tummy and it will be easy to clear up.

Also, her nose is all cleared up but her gums were starting to get red again. The vet said that she could just be one of those that have lots of bacteria, etc and so requires special cleaning. The vet mentioned that we might need to try pulse therapy if we can't get her gums in shape. I'm not sure exactly what pulse therapy is, but since it is done a week and a half every other month, I'm thinking it is expensive.

But our kitties are worth it!

Oh! I almost forgot - the manatee! Cocoa seemed interested in my aquarium pictures, particularly the manatee, so I promised her (in front of Grandma Z. and you know grandma will keep me honest!) that if she gained a little weight back and got healthy, she'd get a little manatee for her very own. So Cocoa is going for her manatee - and I can't wait to buy it for her!

Will Cocoa get the manatee?