just an ordinary goddess…

Y’all may have noticed that my site was down for about a week. I’m sorry about that. My yearly hosting came due right when I was trying to pay for vet bills and, well, the site lost out for a little bit. But I’m paid up now, so there should be no blackouts. For at least a year, anyway.

What’s that? What about the vet bills I mentioned? Well, poor Matisse had been having a tough time of it earlier this year. Actually, it’s been since November, which I now realize I never wrote about. He’s getting to the point in his diabetes where his kidneys are being affected, which was discovered when he stopped eating and was not being his usual friendly self and ended up staying at the vet’s for a few days (in addition to a bladder infection, which is also not unusual for diabetic kitties with kidney problems). Matisse was put on a diet specific for cats with kidney issues (and, thankfully, the vet said that Edison and B.J. are old enough that they can eat the same food, because kidney issues may lie in their future too).

Matisse did quite well on the diet for a few months, then was not eating and listless (but not hiding, thank heavens) again in late January. Back to the vet. Another bladder infection, kidneys a little worse, but still manageable. Liquid antibiotics and vitamins ensued, along with an appetite stimulant (2x a day), this last of which he is still taking because he doesn’t eat much without it. As you can imagine, Matisse is not pleased with this medication.

Taken while still unwell, but starting to get better.

To which I say, too bad. Go ahead and hate me for ten minutes two times a day. At least it gets him to eat.

I’ve had several friends – of both the UCF and non-UCF variety – lose beloved pets this year to ill health and house fire. I’m going to do what I can to make sure Matisse doesn’t join them.

My own health has been a little on the unpredictable side as of late. During the first week of February I went to the Kaiser Sunset ER with chest pressure/pains, trouble breathing and abdominal pains. I’d been feeling all of these symptoms since the beginning of the year. Thing is, the trouble breathing and chest pressure/pains were familiar to me, as I could easily put them down to stress and asthma, but the abdominal pains? Those were new. And aggravating. The best way to describe how I felt on the day I ended up going to the ER was it felt like someone was punching me in the side while sitting on my chest and occasionally stabbing it.

They kept me overnight and ran tests, including a lovely stress test where I was injected with something to simulate a treadmill test. That was pretty freaky, actually, but faded fairly quickly. Soon after I got back from that test and imaging, the ER internist said I was good to go home – my heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, etc. looked all pretty and healthy and my blood levels were all exactly where they should be. So – yay! Nothing seriously wrong! Boo! Not knowing exactly what it was. He thought it was a muscular/skeletal virus that might have settled in the muscles.

Anywho, long story short (too late) I’ve since seen my new doctor (with whom I am more impressed in one visit than my previous doctor in three years) and she thinks I’ve got a bit of H. pylori happening. And since I have most of the symptoms (except weight loss and vomiting), it’s very likely she’s right. It would certainly explain my abdominal pain and being very hungry 1-2 hours after eating a hearty meal. I just have to bring in a stool sample (which needs to be frozen – eeww!) on Saturday.

So the whole “finally figuring out what’s wrong with me?” That’s of the good. So is the fact that I’ve been taking Prilosec on doctor’s orders since Friday and I haven’t had heartburn since then. Since I’ve been dealing with chronic heartburn on an almost daily basis since my late teens, this is a wonderful feeling indeed. I almost don’t know what to do with myself!

Here’s hoping for a healthy 2010 for all y’all and your pets.

I don’t subscribe to no “Cat Picture Friday” or “Tasty Tuesday” or “Flower Pr0n Monday.” Why? ‘Cause I’m a rebel, baby. I don’t let no day dictate what I can post and when. Calendars can’t hold me down, you know it’s true.

So I’ve decided I’m just gonna post whatever photos I damned well feel like today. ‘Cause, baby, that’s just the way we rebel girls roll…

For today: my attempts at growing herbs.

A couple of months ago I bought a bunch of herbs from Trader Joes (a basil plant and a trio of oregeno, rosemary and thyme) and from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market (dill, sage, catnip and a Big Boy tomato plant). Unfortunately, soon after replanting the farmers’ market plants into pots, the outside of my (not very big) apartment building was painted. I knew it was coming and brought the plants inside, but I had no idea that what was supposed to take three or four days was actually going to be stretched out over the course of three weeks. Nor could I foresee that would be the exact time that we’d get a heat wave. In my apartment, heat waves translate into barely bearable temperatures inside – our central air is completely useless against a huge second floor room with very high vaulted ceilings, especially when the only air outlet for said room is a vent that is approximately 2′x1′.

As a result, the only plant to survive was the basil plant. Unfortunately, it’s not looking too good right now:

It still smells wonderful, but I have to figure out why so many of the leaves are so pale.

A few weeks ago I finally went back to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market and I purchase more plants, all but one of which was repotted this past weekend.

Tomato plant. I forget what kind it is, but it's supposed to be ideal for container gardening.

Garlic chives. I love garlic. I love chives. I had no choice.

Dill is a must. I get high from the smell of dill. Yum!

Sage, rosemary and pineapple sage.

Arugula. After a while I''ll repot this into a wide, shallower pot, since there's not much of a root system to arugula, but I definitely want a lot.

My poor cilantro. I was told that it needed some shade, but it wasn't doing well, so I moved it into the only place I get any sun (which is where all but the arugula is). I'll repot it if it gets healthier.

…it was nice knowing you. And I mean that sincerely.

2006 marked an interesting time, I have to say. For the first time in a long time, the good outweighed the bad by such a huge margin that I almost can’t remember the bad.

It started out on a somber note, even though I was a little excited about it – unemployed, scared for the health of my mother as she struggled with newly diagnosed breast cancer, coming to grips with the likelihood that I’d be alone for the rest of my life in my little one bedroom Valley apartment with my cats.

Somewhere along the way I picked up as a publisher’s assistant for an Irish newspaper and webmaster for an incredible congressional candidate. Mom’s lumpectomy was wildly successful and now she’s doing very well. I decided that everyone else was right and that George Clooney was damned hot. Somehow my love life was jumpstarted and I went on a lot of first dates (though none of them were with George Clooney). I gained a roommate and a new apartment, though I lost my beloved neighborhood.

Unfortunately, I also lost my dearly beloved Noel, he who was my dearest companion – feline or human – for thirteen years. I’m still filled with extraordinary sadness and I wonder if I’ll ever stop missing him. Also, BabySis moved to Florida, which frequently causes the corners of my mouth to turn downwards. My health has been giving me quite the scare as of late, though nothing has yet been diagnosed. Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status.

And now? I’m working at JPL, which excites me to no end. I’m making pretty okay money, which is nice for once. In a few weeks I’ll be running to be delegate to the California Democratic Party, which would be very interesting if I get it. I’ll be part of a progressive slate, which will up my chances of being elected.

But most astounding for me? I have a boyfriend. One I’ve been seeing for almost six months. And we’re still getting along very well. Like any couple, we have moments where there are arguments, but we talk it out and try to come to some sort of resolution. We love each other like crazy, which is a wonderful feeling. But we also have enough history between the two of us that our feet remain on terra firma even when our heads are in the clouds.

Turning 40 seemed to have worked out for me. Thank you, 2006.

Here’s hoping that 2007 is even better for all of us.

…at least the Common Cow is:

This was sent to me by one of my political compatriots. This lil’ Taurus girl is tickled pink by it.