Surgery This Week

We had to take our kitty to the vet this past week. I noticed that she didn't want me to rub her left ear, chich she normally loves. Her ear had a lumpy mass that seemed swollen and was warm to the touch. Attentive pet mommy that I am (some would say overprotective though but she's not their baby), I quickly made a vet appt for the kitty.

Later that day the husband and I took the kitty to the vet, where she got her yearly blood work done (which she needed anyways since she had a kidney infection about 1 1/2 years ago). The vet also did a needle aspirate to see what type of cells made up the mass.

I just got the test results back from the vet on the phone - the kitty's blood work was just fine, so no worres with her kidneys etc. However, her ear mass turned out to be a "Mast Cell Tumor", which I guess is pretty serious for dogs but is usually benign for felines. The vet will however have to remove the tumor and have a biopsy for the tumor to make sure it is benign and that it hasn't spread to her Liver, Spleen, or Gastrointestinal tract, where it can be very serious.

So the kitty goes under the knife this coming Friday. Even though the prognosis is very promising and is supposed to be very routine, I of course am a very worried pet mommy. She won't have to spend the night at the vet or anything, in fact she will be home in the evening the same day. She will more than likely have to wear an elizabethan collar so she won't try to rub her ear - she will just look pitiful I am sure since she will be all groggy and in pain. Luckily she will have some pain meds that I will be able to give to her.

Ugh - If I feel this way about my kitty being sick, I can only imagine what I will feel like when the human baby is sick! I guess even being a kitty mommy is stressful sometimes but I would do anything for my kitty, she will always be my furry baby.

Video Relay Service

I just had a wonderful conversation with my Aunt, who happens to be deaf. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to talk with her via phone or even in person since sign language doesn't easily translate into regular correct / proper english with all the phonics rules we use everyday and take for granted. Unfortunately sometimes written or typed out conversations between the hearing and deaf sound a bit unclear when read and can sometimes cause some miscommunications.

Anyways my uncle told me about this Video Relay Service by a company called Sorenson VRS. The company is similar to public local phone services like the Ohio Relay Service, where the hearing person calls a 1-800 number and the relay person types the conversation via a Text Telephone (TTY) to the deaf individual who types back.

With the VRS, I called a toll free number and talked just like a regular conversation, the relay service person physically signed what I said to my aunt via a video camera on a computer and my aunt signed back via computer. There was no miscommunication via the language translation and it was more like a regular phone conversation. It was so wonderful!

It's so great that with all the new technology out there that we can make communication with the deaf community more seemless!

Valentines, Bunnies, & Snow Emergencies

I hope everyone had a very lovey Valentine's Day!  The husband got me a card and a gift certificate.  I think his plan is to get me out of the house by going shopping with my gift certificate but his plans will be thwarted unless the plows come to dig us out.

My Valentine morning was spent having blood work done in the level 2 Snow Emergency.  
The husband only got stuck in the snow once after he dropped me off at the lab.   It seems like everything has been closed.  Even the hospital canceled our hospital maternity ward tour yesterday!  Yoga was cancelled this week and my prenatal massage was even postponed until next week.  So much for my busy week!  Talk about cabin fever here!  

I think the only animals I have even seen evidence of outside have been the bunnies.  We found their tracks yesterday along with little small care packages on top of the ice encrusted snow - yuck but oh well.  

To make matters worse our development's streets haven't even been plowed yet!!  It is almost like taking your life into your own hands getting out of the driveway!  The level 2 Snow Emergency was lifted this morning but we are still snowed in due to the lack
snow plows in our neighborhood.  Occasionally you will find a patch of road that some good samaritan has personally plowed - but that was probably just so they could get out of their own driveway.

Overall though the snow really isn't that bad.  I remember much worse winters, when I was younger.  It is nice not to have to drive out to work though and the husband's commute down the hallway isn't that bad either even in the snow emergency.  The downside though, the husband doesn't get a snow day - oh well.

Snow Day!

I feel a bit at loose ends this morning. I got up right when my alarm went off and took a shower to get ready to go to my Prenatal yoga class. Then I looked outside and saw the masses of snow that is being dumped on us. Then I noticed I hadn't heard any school busses. It turns out that ALL the area schools are closed as well as a ton of businesses and Govt. offices. Plus all the surrounding counties have a Level 1 - 2 snow emergency! I called the yoga studio and wouldn't ya know it - they also cancelled classes! So now I am all ready to go out and I am snowed in. I guess I will have to clean instead. That will make the husband happy at least!

Romantic Valentine Evening

Well I am afraid that the husband and I will have a very low key Valentine's Day this year for financial and practical reasons, which will probably set the tone for many to come. We are scheduled for our hospital tour for the baby's birth in the evening on Valentine's Day. Romantic huh! Oh well I guess it's all about the baby now - as it should be. We should start to get used to it!

Who knows maybe I'll get a red carnation but I won't hold my breath. I actually asked the husband for A flower a few weeks ago and he thought I was being silly. I don't think that guys understand that sometimes you need a little pretty just because. After all it's not like I asked for 2ct diamond earrings set in platinum 'just because' - just a carnation for a couple of bucks.

Obviously we need some more husband training. Don't get me wrong most of the time the husband is on top of stuff like that. I actually think husbands should have refresher training classes every once in a while anyways.

Projects, projects, more projects!

I have this ever growing list of house projects that I mention once in a while to the husband. A lot of them he has already tackled but I think sometimes my list stresses him out. After all I have always been the handy one not him. I am hopeful that the husband will keep growing his mechanical skill points and someday he'll even want his own drill or something.

Some of the house projects on the ever growing list include:

• Painting the upstairs hallway, bathrooms, master bedroom, and the living room / kitchen / dining area.
  
• Building the deck
  
• Landscaping and mulching the yard
  
• Installing the peep hole in the door so I can see out
  
• Installing the new light fixture in the dining room
  
• Finish the basement
  
• Install wood laminate in the entryway, kitchen, dining area
  
• Install ceiling fans in the living room and master bedroom
  

Actually now that I look at the list - it does seem a bit daunting. Maybe we can just start out the the dining room light, which we already have. Then we can work on the list little by little. I guess I just have to be patient.