Sunday, Puppy Sunday: Mochi is back!

Woke up this morning and followed the pups into the kitchen where Mochi proceeded to do the kibble dance. She bounced and twisted excitedly as only a little fur tube can do, then she tucked into her bowl with undiluted pleasure. I think she's feeling no pain now. :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A good start to a much-neede vacation.

I will not belabor the point, but Friday at work was monumentally bad. The past week and a half have seen some of the most high-pressure conversations I've encountered in many years. I actually cried after one call. It was depressing. So, enough about that. Someone remind me why I needed a vacation?


Day 1 of vacation was wonderful. I slept fitfully last night because Mochi was awake and I was aware of it and worried that she was hurting. I finally drifted well off to sleep about 5 or 6, and slept blissfully until 10:52. I got up and studied Macroeconomics for a few hours, during which Himself gallantly took Praline and Chuy for nail trims. Then we went into town for Chinese food and errands. Bought some supplies for Blogorado (Topo Chico, anyone?) and got stuff to make some cakes. I'm sending 2 cakes out priority mail from the 24 hour postal facility at the DFW airport Sunday morning. One to a vendor and one to a dispatcher, all really good guys who make things go well for my customers, and that had to be recognized. Then I'll be able to fully relax. I'm also taking a couple of my cakes to Blogorado, as well.
Also, got supplies for a something I'm making to blow up at Blogorado. Pictures and details will follow. Suffice to say it will be rather strange, but will hopefully delight as much as befuddle.

I have a cake in the oven and I'm going to get up to antics with chicken wire now. I hope I win-- that mess is scratchy!!!

TTFN.

Mochi is out of surgery and resting.

She is so subdued. I'll be glad when she gets her frisk back, but for now it's good just to have her home. <3


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Miss Mochi is getting noodered today. :(

I'm nervous, even though I know she'll be alright.

She doesn't like the vet's office.  The funny thing was that when she was very young and in those less-than-cozy homes, she was pretty matter-of-fact about being taken away to the vet.  In fact, at her previous place, her owners let me take her and her sibling to the vet for their first shots and all that, because they were actually overdue.  She wasn't stressed out about these strange people (me, Himself and aepilot_jim) taking her and her brother to the vet-- it was just another day in paradise.  These days, though, she is part of a loving and fun-loving pack, and she is actively abhorrent of being anywhere away from Chuy and Praline, and they take a dim view of her being parted from them, too.  Mochi will whimper pathetically, which will strum my heart strings in a most violent manner. *le sigh*   When administering shots, my vet squirts shaving cheese (what Himself calls cans of squirty cheese) on the table, and Mochi doesn't fall for that these days-- she will not be distracted when she knows they are up to no good.  At least she'll be back by the end of the day.

Speaking of heart strings, did you know there are actually stringy things in your heart???  I did not, but I learned that recenty in anatomy class.  They are called chordae tendinae and they are anchored to the base of each ventricle by papillary muscles and they attach to the tricuspid and bicuspid valves at the headward end of the right and left ventricles of the heart.  Isn't that interesting?  You're full of fascinating stuff!

Anyway, mine are thrumming right now.  Off to the vet will Little Bit.  Will give an update this afternoon. 

Hot dogs.

Here at Chez Phlegm, I take as given that whatever I do, one or more pups will insist upon being close at hand, but at no time moreso than when I sleep. With the arrival of Mochi, now every night is a three dog night. If I lived in a cooler clime, this would be a feature. As it is, the temp yesterday was about 97. It stormed last night and the pups snuggled in tight and for dear life. I sleep on my right side. Praline insists upon curling up against my shins. She wants to be under the covers, but she likes having a peep space so she can watch in case she needs to spring into action to defend the pack, what with her running the universe, and all. Chuy is an inveterate burrower. He snuggles up as close to my back as he can. Sometimes he'll be farther Under the covers when I wake up, but I suspect he wants to be nearby in case of any petting opportunities. Mochi is more freestyle and she moves around in her sleep quite a bit. Sometimes I wake up and she is beside me on the pillow on her back. She then looks at me very matter of factly and waits for tummy rubbins. She is always ready to SPRING into her day. I know some of that is just the puppyhood talking, but I truly hope she never loses that energy. :)

So, anyhoo, they make me too hot at night. But it's a good hot. I think I'll keep them. :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kilted to Kick Cancer

In this age of awareness ribbons and the like, it seems we've been for years awash in a sea of pink so it's easy to get issue-fatigue, but a bunch of my friends actively participate in a very worthy cause in conjunction with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and I think it could use a little more attention.

As a manner of enticement, the participants are shamelessly offering to do outlandish things if they come out on the top of the contributions pile.   Among other things, Evyl_Robot's comely wife Jennifer has promised PVC Catsuit antics.  ROWR!   Ambulance Driver vowed to shave off half his moustache for the entirety of Blogorado.  JayG has-- I believe-- vowed to remove the entirety of his moustache.  All are noble vows, no doubt.  However, to my view, Stingray really trumps them here.

The big, bulging bonus for the rest of us is that these guys get kitted up in kilts for the month of September.  I'm calling this a monster win.  These guys look hands-down dashing in their kilts, even the Sicilian.

You can contribute to KTKC campaign by doing the clicky-clicky on the names of any (or all) of these guys.  Seriously, I don't often flog a cause to any degree, but this one is worthy.  All credit to the breast cancer awareness and all that, but guys are people too, and prostate cancer is something you don't want touching yours or the innards of anyone you love.  Srsly.

wot? this thing is on?

Amazingly, Blogger has decided to let me do a post tonight.

Or not. 

I'm almost afraid to invest time in composing (or composting) a post because it may be for naught.


*shrug*

What is up with the world right now? I've seen some of the nastiest behaviour, lately.  Damned unpleasant.

This is getting really old.

I've tried several times to log in to blogger recently on both my PCs and on my Mac. Blogger apparently doesn't want me in on the old PC either on IE or on Firefox. Can't get in on the newer PC on IE or on google chrome, and I can't get in on Safari on my Mac. Maybe it's my wireless connection in my house, but this is getting stale. Srsly.

Anyone have any thoughts on what the problem might be?

In other news, to my elation, I made a 74 on my A&P II exam. I feared I might have scored below 50%, so 74 suits me just fine. I had an uncharacteristically high degree of test anxiety that time, and I'm sure I made it all harder than it actually was. OTOH, I have my first big test in Macroeconomics this week, and I'm filled with trepidation. Maybe it'll be okay anyway. Que sera, sera, and all that crap.

In even better news, my Vacay starts Saturday. I booked for 8 days off, but I think I'll go ahead and take the other two and make s full two weeks if it. I'm tired. So tired.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, puppy Sunday: pup pile on movie night

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

more ethereal adorableness from Grimes

Nightmusic



Grimes is on heavy rotation on my iPod of late.  There are elements of what I loved about early 4AD stable acts like Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.  And then there's my always and forever love of electronica.   This would be great for listening to on a cool (not cold) night driving through the desert with the top down.

Blogiversary. Or not!

I don't normally mention my blogiversary, but it's been 10 years today.  Much in my life has changed, but I still love blogging. :)

I've met a lot of incredible people and made some of the best friends of my life, so I'm really pleased someone on Blogger invited me to play their reindeer games.  :)

*****  woke up and thought wait!  WAS it September 20?  No.  Was September 16.  See?  I normally don't mention it, and I still don't mention it on the date.  Meh.   I think the usual thing would be to have some sort of taking-stock post and all, but I have too many irons in the fire right now and I'm not sure I'm fit to assess where I am, where I've been, where I'm going.  But the sentiment is the same: I'm glad to be a part of the community of bloggists, and I love the tribe of which I'm a member, many of whom are bloggers. 

Here's to more years of the same. :)

The hardest prat.

The waiting?
Nope.

Definitely the multiple choice was the hardest part.  Kind of biting my nails here.  I have no sense of how I did on the test. 

In a world as disappointing as this one can be, I'm just glad that we've liberated lucite heels from the sole domain of the brass pole so girls like me, can, ya know, wear lucite heels.  Makes as much sense as anything else, I suppose.

More later.

Phoning it in and failing.

I've tried to post several times lately from my iPhone, and either iPhone or the blogger app is being persnickety, and my vote is they both are.

The pain has finally eased up from the orthodontics, and for the past few days, I've not had to wax the brackets, so that is a huge improvement.  The tough thing, though, is it's really like I lost a week and my studies have suffered.  Tuesday morning is my first big test in  A&P II and I'm as nervous as can be. I feel I could (and should) feel more prepared.  I'll be glad when this segment of the course is behind me.  Then again, if this stuff were easy, then we'd have people for doctors and nurses who we really wouldn't want involved in our healthcare, right?  Sort of like the gubmint.

But I digress...

Puppy post never got up Sunday despite my efforts, so here is gratuitous photo of sacked-out puppies Monday while mommy worked.  Their lives are so hard.  One feels sorry for them.  Oh, how they suffer!  :)

I love seeing how happy their little lives are.  Chuy just wants to cuddle and be petted. Praline wants a toy overwhich to obsess, and Little Bit just larks about having SO MUCH FUN!  It's good to be a puppy. :)

Fingers crossed on my exam later this morning.  Will try to post an update. 
Cheers.

Bellydancing

I definitely have my own mode of dress, but I apparently can't hide my gypsy soul.   I went to the bellydance thing last month not having been to bellydance class in, oh, a year or two.  The day was humid and my mane was large and poofed up like a cat about to pounce. I wore white top with some white beading and a black skirt, but it was fairly low-key.  I'll own that my sandals were kind of spangly.  I am also not the classical dancer physique, you must know, so I wouldn't expect anyone to look at me and assume I'm a dancer in any context.   I walked into the event and went to the table at the entrance to purchase my ticket and the lady at the table asked me "are you here to perform?"

Seriously?  I quickly looked up and searched her face for tongue-in-cheekery.  Yes,  she was serious. 

Wow.

I have taken the bellydance classes not thinking anyone would want to see me dancing, but entirely for my own diversion.  I've never really considered dancing in public, even.  Doing this is for me like wearing nice underthings-- no one else has to know I do it (which is why I'm blabbing it here, right?), but _I_ know and I can take pleasure in it. 

Anyway, I'm having fun with it and I'm going to keep attending class and enjoying myself, whether anyone knows it or not.  But I may not be able to resist blabbing it here.  And maybe I will be dragged kicking and screaming to perform with the group somewhere.  Or maybe not.