Back from the brink...

Its been a crazy week and a half!!!

Last weekend (not this past one, the one before that) I took the 4+ hour drive from NY to NH to visit my darling cousin (but might as well be my sister) Randi and her family. Had an absolute blast! Not only was I able to spend time with Randi, Rich and the girls...we also went down to MA to visit my other cousin Brett and his family. It was a weekend full of happiness, warmth and reconnecting with some of the most important people in my life. The down side? Keep reading

I now am getting over an unconfirmed case of H1N1. Randi's clan had been sick and the youngest was really sick while I was there. So, I got back into town VERY early on Tuesday, went to work and was back home after lunch with a pounding headache, killer sore throat and a fever. I basically didn't move much until Monday morning when I had to get back to work. Of course I moved to take Lupe out and a quick run for soup and supplies, but that was it.

I feel much better, but still not 100%. The fever is long gone and so are the aches, but the cough, sore throat, headaches and lack of energy are not fully gone yet. It was quite the battle and Saturday night I didn't know if I was going to be able to stop coughing or to get the nose to stop bleeding. Obviously, I did and am taking it easy as I fully recover from this.

Looking forward to next week and seeing family for the holiday...organizing a small get together with family on the day after Thanksgiving and hope to see one of my friends from grade school, middle school and high school while we are both "home" for the weekend. Only sad part, miss seeing BF on her birthday...snarf!

Not the most meaninful post, but I'm back which is a good thing. :)

A truly wonderful woman

I found out last night that my mom's cousin's wife passed away yesterday morning from cancer. Sydna was a intelligent, kind and successful woman, a mother of two and stepmother of two. Her two children are young, I think her son, the younger of the two, is under 10.

She was 48 years old and had been fighting cancer for at least 3 years. I saw her 2 years ago at my cousin's bar mitzvah and she was not well then, but determined to fight as hard and as long as she could.

I remember my grandma telling me how wonderful and kind Sydna was. Howie, her husband, just absolutely adored her and you could tell by the way he looked at her. Sydna was an OBGYN and considered one of the best in the area. Ironically, if I recall correctly, she had ovarian cancer.

Her funeral is tomorrow and I'm not sure I can go as it is in MA. There are services Saturday through Wednesday night which I will try to go to on Monday as I head back from NH. Just a huge loss for her family and friends and a loss of a fantastic human being. Be well Sydna...

Boxed on a Boat

Okay, so there is this video contest for Black Box wines that my brother and his friends have entered. You've got to check out the video and vote for it as your favorite...

1) click on the following link: http://contest.blackboxwines.com/box/ and follow the instructions to register . IMPORTANT NOTE: don't forget to enter your birthdate when registering (so they know you're over 21). Otherwise, your vote won't be counted.
2) click on view and vote
3) find the film: "Boxed on a Boat", and cast your vote!!!

My brother is the boat owner in the smoking jacket and carrying the Sherlock Holmes pipe. If you need a chuckle, this is a good one...especially knowing Jay. :)

Couldn't resist

Just in case you are having a bad day...this may make you smile...gotta love a dog with a conehead and especially if that dog is Lupe :)

Sterile Sample...

So, I took Lupe to the vet yesterday afternoon for a follow up visit from her UTI. She has finished the 3 weeks of antibiotics (will help from Greenies Pill Pockets...these are wonderful if you ever have to give animals medication) and they wanted to check to see if the antibiotics worked. I was told they needed a sterile sample, so I figured that they were going to catch urine in a sterile cup. Makes sense...

They took Lupe towards the back, I thought that odd, since the last time I went with the tech to walk her while the tech used a ladle to catch the urine. Lupe and the tech came back about 5 or 10 minutes later and she told me that they were unable to collect the sample. They used an ultrasound but her bladder was too small and they want to have to stick her and not get anything out. They had me make another appointment for next week to try again.

Wait a second, STICK HER?! With what and where?! I did some looking online this morning and it appears the best way to get a sterile urine sample is to insert a syringe through the abdominal wall and into the bladder! Ah, NO! Lupe is 12 years old, I am NOT having her stuck so that they can get urine to confirm the antibiotics work. She is not symptomatic so this is just not necessary in my mind. I called the vet this morning, explained I was not comfortable with this and cancelled the appointment. I told them that if she became symptomatic, that I would bring her back and we could discuss this option.

Seriously, they were going to stick her like this? No one explained this to me...how would I know what this entailed as I am not a doctor, vet or vet tech...nor do I work in a doctor's or vet's office. Lupe's vets' office is wonderful! I have never had anything like this happen before there and I will from now on double and triple check what they are doing to her before they do it. And if I don't understand it, I will ask them to explain to me in detail what a procedure involves. I am SO glad she didn't have enough urine in her bladder for them to do this yesterday! I would have been in tears!!!

Happy Birthday

Today is my favorite college roommate's birthday...okay, so she was my only college roommate, but wouldn't that also make her my least favorite college roommate? LOL. Maybe I should say my favorite roommate because I did have housemates when I first moved to Albany. Well, then again, Lupe is techinically my favorite roommate...sorry, in a slightly surly mood. :)

So, here goes...

ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!!

If you have ever seen the Simpson episode where Homer ends up in a mental hospital with a roommate that thinks he is Michael Jackson, my Elisa birthday song is a variation of the "Lisa Birthday Song" that Bart and "Michael" sing for Lisa. Its a tradition for me to sing it to her and on her 21st birthday, I wrote it out 21 times and hid the notes in her room of our apartment. She was still finding them when we were packing up after graduation!

So, happy birthday Face! I hope it is a good one and know how much you mean to me. Scary to think that we have known each other for more than half our lives...we met over 19 years ago! Wow, I feel old!

ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!! ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!! ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!!

Sad Day

I just found out that a co-worker's son passed away last night. Ben was 9 years old and had been battling Osteocarcoma for over 2 years. The cancer went away, but kept coming back. My heart is seriously breaking for this family. It just truly enfuriates me that there is childhood cancer!

Do me a favor, keep Ben and his family in your thoughts and prayers and love your family members a little more today.

I found this on Ben's website and I thought it was really meaningful (it is a quote from a child battling cancer)

“People call me a brave soldier or fierce warrior in this war on cancer. I am not the soldier, the warrior, the doctors and nurses are. I am the battlefield.”