Ending the year

The sleep training has been going surprisingly well.  It's been very easy, actually.  After the first night, where I didn't sleep much, they've all been good.  I fall asleep between 10:30 and 11.  And set the alarm everyday for 7am.  That's really the hard part.  I want to stay in bed and keep sleeping.  But I know if I do that, I won't sleep the next night.  The only trouble I had was yesterday.  I took a Benedryl, because I had a sore throat.  It knocked me out hard, and I could not wake up the next day.  I think I slept til 9.  But it (fortunately) didn't ruin anything.  And I've been Ambien free for almost 2 weeks!

 

My stomach has been acting up off and on..  Nothing like before, but still not great.  I'm beginning to think my Crohns might be chronic.  Boo.  But it is, what it is.  Starting on January 1^st, I'm going on a sugar fast. Probably just for a week, maybe longer.  I've just been eating way too much junk.  And I don't moderate well, so it's just easier to say none.

 

We don't have any New Years plans.  We got invited to a couple of parties, but I'm not much of a party person.  Plus driving on New Years makes me nervous.

 

All of the animals are doing well.  They get a little closer to each other everyday.  I hope the catties might be snuggle friends someday.

 

I was thinking back on my resolutions for 2011.  Most of them didn't happen, but mostly due to my getting sick, not being lazy.  I wanted to run a half marathon.  I got really good with running, til I got sick.  I wanted to have more sex, again, good til I got sick.  I wanted to get pregnant: see previous.  I wanted to go to the temple 12 times, I think we went 10.  We did read scriptures together everyday.  So that resolution got kept.  Yay!

 

For 2012 these are my resolutions:

• Personal scripture study daily (along with "family" scripture study)
• Get back into running (as far as Crohns will allow)
• Eat less junk, and more natural foods
• Walk the doggies daily
• Start the adoption process (assuming Aaron has a job by the end of the year)
• Cook something new once a month
• Read at least 50 books (keep track with GoodReads)

That's all I can think of for the time being.

Christmas was very good to us.

We had a good Christmas.  We went to Aaron's mom's church for Christmas Eve service (per our tradition).  The we opened gifts when we got home, since it was Christmas.

We got a lot of nice things: clothes, a new iron, a blueray player, electric blanket, backpacking stuff, a new showerhead, new shoes, etc.  It was very nice.  Church was ok.  Nothing too special, really.

We had Christmas dinner with Aaron's folks and extended family.  Aaron and I spent a lot of with with baby Isaac (Aaron's cousin's baby).  I just want to soak up all the baby-ness.  So I held him a lot, fed him twice, and changed him once.  Aaron held him a lot too.  Kind of bittersweet.

I ate too much, so I'm up at 3am, feeling acidy.

It was a good day over all, but in the evening, I got depressio.  C'est la vie.

Diamond Jim update:
Mr Kitteh has Toxoplasmosis, which is common in cats.  But in FIV+ cats, it's worst, and can compromise the liver.  So he's on antibiotics, electrolytes and something else.  The vet said he probably won't live more than 4 or 5 years.  I'm surprised the estimate is that long.  It's good, but he's almost 12, his health is so-so, and he has FIV.  So we'll keep him around as long as he can be comfortable, but our goal was for him to spend his golden years in a nice home, so that's what we'll do.  But they saw no reason for the subcutaneous fluids, so at least there's that.  He'll have another blood test in 3 weeks to see how he's doing.

But he's been acclimating very well.  He's not sequestered anymore.  There have been very few confrontations.  And we solved the problem of his food.  He gets kitten food, to help him put on weight.  Moss, and Yoie both love that food, so it was hard to make sure he was getting him food.  Then I noticed that DJ cat can fit through the closet door when it's open 3-4 inches.  So we cleared out the bottom of the closet and set his food up in there, and it's been working great!  He's still super snuggly.  He'll follow
Aaron and I around the house. He really wants to sit on the keyboard.  Oh, and he not a huge fan of being carried.  

The Adventures of Diamond Jim

He's been a good boy so far.  But it's been stressful for him.

He's been on sub-cutaneous fluids, but we weren't sure why.  Best Friends sent along a very extensive medical history with him (going back to 2005).  We called our vet to see if we could just pick up the saline fluid for him (I already knew the answer, but I thought I'd ask).  They said they'd need to see him, since he was a new patient, etc.  Yesterday, Aaron loaded him back into the crate, and drove off to Dr Bath.  (Diamond Jim hates being in the crate, and spent 9+ hours in it the previous day).  Diamond Jim also hates the vet, which I think it mentioned in his paperwork.  Anyway, Dr Bath did an assessment, and said the cat seemed a little dehydrated, but nothing to warrant fluids, and there was nothing specific in the history that said why he was getting them.  So the only other way to determine why, was to do a full blood panel.  (I should mention that I trust our vet implicitly.  He has not steered us wrong in the past, hasn't been snobby about the fact that we adopt FIV+ cats (which our previous vet did), and saved poor Phantom when she was really, really bad off).  Dr Bath did mention that he didn't think it entirely necessary, unless we wanted to be sure about the fluids (he didn't actually seem to be concerned about Diamond Jim getting enough fluid).

Aaron gave him to ok to do the full blood panel.  Unfortunately, Diamond Jim did not.  He ended up having to be sedated, poor buddy.  So we'll get the blood results back today, and know for sure what's up.  And our free kitty, is far less than free now.  :-P  But that's ok, because that's how things go with animals.

We've been introducing him slowly to the other guys.  Yoie seems very interested in him, but very nervous (which is weird, because Moss cat is her best buddy).  So far, he is most nervous about Mossy.

We've had him sequestered in the guestroom.  Aaron spent the first night with him (not necessary, but the cat likes it).  I spent last night with him.  He's a very snuggly cat.  He loves people.

I did manage to clip his nails yesterday.  He wasn't a huge fan, but it's necessary.  And he didn't do too bad.  It a perfect world, I wouldn't have done it when he was stressed from being at the vet, but again, it needed to be done.  I didn't wanted him scratching us, or the other guys with his sharp nails.

Since it's early, I closed all the other guys in our bedroom, and let Diamond Jim out, so he could explore the house.  He spent a lot of time smelling Moss's litter box.  Now, he's found Moss's food, and apparently loves it.  It's funny to watch him eat, since he has no teeth.  I'm going to buy him some wet food today, since it's easier for him to eat, and it'll fatten him up.

I was looking at his airbill yesterday, I'm glad we didn't have to pay it, it was $260!  I wouldn't have minded, but I'm glad they were doing free shipping.

Aaron let all the guys out, Diamond Jim was unhappy.  So he's sequestered once again.

Things the Spirit has told me thing month:

"You are not forgotten"
"Know your limitations."

I didn't want to forget.

Waaaagh.

Well, not really.

I got rear-ended yesterday.  I was stopped at a yield (@ Lawrence and Saratoga), the guy behind me did not yield.  Ka-blamo!  Actually it wasn't too bad.  My bumper is a little crooked, but I'm sure his insurance will take care of that.  (We'll see how truthful those State Farm commercials are).  Claims are in.  I was sore yesterday, but today I'm feeling fine.

I started sleep training myself last night.  No more Ambien.  Go to bed only once tired.  Wind down at night, no tv, computer an hour before planning to sleep.  Get up at 7 (maybe everyday, I haven't decided on this for sure yet).  After getting up at 7, get outdoor exercise (hopefully working up to running again, for now, walking, or riding the bike).  No more than 24 ou. of soda a day (hopefully less).  No caffeine after 3pm.  Hopefully it'll get me on track.

Last night didn't go well.  I was sleepy on the couch, watching Fear Factor.  Then when I went to bed, I was wide awake.  I got out of bed around 1:30, and went back to bed around 3.  So it was not a good night, but I didn't freak out, which is good.  And hopefully tonight will be better.

Mr Kitteh, etc

So it's official, Mr Diamond Jim will be here in less than a week.  I feel bad for him, he's flying out of Las Vegas (after the drive from Kanab), off to Houston, then on to San Jose.  We'll pick him up at Continental Cargo on December 22nd.  The adoption coordinator said he really hates being in the carrier.  Poor guy, it's a long trip.

After he gets acclimated, we have to start introducing him (slowly) to the other guys.  It's going to be interesting, I'm sure.

I can't remember if I mentioned before that he's free.  Since he's a senior (he's 11) there's no adoption fee.  And since it's Christmas, they're waiving the flight fee.

In other news, my sleep in still broken.  Last night (well, a few hours ago), I fell asleep at 9:15 (without drugs) because I slept so poorly the previous night.  But then I woke up at 12:45ish.  And now it's 1:40, and I'm wide awake.  I guess I'll take Ambien tomorrow to try to get back on track.  Yeesh.  Drugs run my life.

I was talking to my sister last night (I think I talked to her every day this week, she's pretty much my best friend, after Aaron).  We were talking about adoption, and she was looking up prices for me.  I had no clue international adoption was $40k+.  It seems kind of unfair, that you have these kids/babies, that are basically unwanted, yet it costs so much to bring them home.  Then I went on to say that it was (still further) unfair, since with my insurance it would cost $1200 to "make my own baby, were I able".  Later I was talking to Aaron about it, and said, "It could be 10 years before we get a baby".  "Yeah, but think of how well prepared we'll be by then.  Sometimes things don't go as planned".  I added "Well, our plans."  And, oddly enough, tonight I felt ok with that.  It will happen.  We wanted a lot of kids, we didn't want to be "old parents".  But it is what it is.  This isn't to say that tomorrow I won't swing back into a depression, but today, I'm ok with it.

Lately, being sick has made me feel grateful.  It really makes me take stock of what I do have.  So here is a list of what I've been grateful for lately:

1. Aaron: he's be very patient and extra caring lately.  He takes great care of me.
2. Diamond Jim: still not sure why this old, less healthy kitty is supposed to be part of our family, but he's on his way.
3. Health Insurance: I have really good health insurance, good doctors who reply to my emails, and access to medicine I couldn't otherwise afford.
4. Chex Muddy Buddies: Just yummy.
5. A Christmas tree with lots of gifts underneath.
6. Prayer
7. Two working cars (one has almost 200k miles on it!)
8. Snuggly Moss cat.

Rounding the bend

One of the therapists brought donuts today.  And, against my better judgement, I had one for breakfast.  Then my tummy was mad at me for most of the day.  For dinner I had pasta.  Then I wanted Muddy Buddies (aka puppy chow, aka trash), so I made some.  I'm probably going to regret that too, but whatever.  I like to get some joy out of food every now and then.

My drugs came in the mail today.  Here's how it goes:

Entocort (immunosuppressant)  Retail: $1,419.90  I paid: $10
Ambien (sleeping pill)               Retail: $9.80          I paid: $9.80
Asacol (gut drugs)                    Retail: $1,148.25   I paid: $35

"Your drug plan saved you $2523.15".  Yeesh.  Thank God for insurance.  Seriously, I include that in my prayers a lot.

Speaking of drugs, my shrink prescribed me Ritalin due to my perpetual sleepiness.  I want to say: I've never done any illegal drugs.  I've never even been drunk (just tipsy once at a Passover Seder).  I have to say, Ritalin is the best thing ever.  I'm on a low dose, but it really makes me feel great, like I have a lot of focused energy.  I'm thinking of asking the shrink to wean me off of the Prozac and just stick with Ritalin (especially since it has fewer side effects).

Aaron and I have been watching Dog Town on Netflix.  It's a show about Best Friends animal shelter in Kanab, Utah.  I was looking through their website at adoptable pets.  They still have a lot of the Michael Vick dogs.  I was looking through the cats, and saw a cat named Diamond Jim.  And I got the feeling he needed to be part of our family.  (I know most people won't understand this, as we're already inundated with animals.  But this guy is 10, and he's never had a home).  I got the ok from Aaron.  So I sent in the application on Monday.  And they're doing a Christmas special, where they'll fly the animals for free.  (Since he's in Utah, normally we'd either have to go get him, or ship him for $150-200).  I got a call from a Best Friends rep today.  She was telling me about Diamond Jim.  He's FIV+ (which we already knew).  He's a sweet boy, who loves people and ignores other cats.  He has no teeth, but can still eat regular hard food.  He had a little kidney issue, so he's currently on subcutaneous fluids (Aaron had to do this with our previous cat, Phantom before).   The rep said he's one of her favourite cats, and she was happy someone wants to take him home.  Normally they'd do a home visit, but she said she may be able to waive it, since we have a lot of experience with cats and we always adopt through shelter/rescue, so we'll see.  Also, he'll have a physical tomorrow, and he needs to do a dog test, to make sure he'll get along ok with them.  (Both the dogs love cats).  So she's going to contact me again tomorrow or Friday, and we'll see what happens.  If he doesn't do well with dogs, maybe there's a different, old FIV+ cat.  Or maybe we'll wait.

:Le Sigh:

I read a thing in Glamour Magazine about pin curls.  So I gave it a shot, and put my hair up in pin curls for the night.  I'm hoping for the best tomorrow.  I thought I was looking kind of cute, so I was admiring myself in the mirror.  Lo, and behold, I found a good sized patchy spot on the side of my head.  Not normally noticeable, but there it was.  I've had my meds switched, so my hair loss has slowed, though not stopped quite yet.  I'm taking it better than I thought.  But I'm still bummed.  No girl wants bald spots.  So I wonder if it will be more noticeable if I keep my hair.  Or if I were to cut it super short, would it be less so?  I guess I'll watch and see for now.  Maybe invest in a couple of cute scarves?  Could I rock a shaved/bald head?  Some girls looks way cute with it.  Anyway, I'm sure I'm getting ahead of myself.

Other stuff:

• Since I'm still so tired all the time, I'll be starting on Ritalin Monday.  Hope it will help.  I really want to get back to running.
• I put up all our Christmas stuff today.  Aaron has been working on finals.  So I hung the lights and cleaned the gutters.  It was pretty fun, actually.
• We bought our tree last night.  I think it looks a little weird, the lights don't quite go to the bottom.  I think we could used another string.
• We've been listening to Christmas music all week at work.  I like it, especially the religious songs.