Out of three days so far this week, Gozer has led me to the vet's office three times: once a day. She tried to lead me there a second time today but I decided that there was no way that we were going there again. It's one thing to show up at the office once a week or so, but every day? I wouldn't blame them for thinking that I'm a little nuts for letting my dog lead me there because I think I'm nuts for letting it happen.
Because we were at the vet's for her to say hello to everyone anyways, I figured I'd weigh Gozer. She's still gaining weight: she weighed 9.2kg, up from 9.0kg last time. I guess her walks aren't enough exercise so I'll need to make her run and chase her toys in the house. Of course we should also decrease her food a bit because we must be overfeeding her a bit.
At least one of us is losing weight: me. I've lost about ten pounds since last September (fifteen since last year) and I'm very happy about that. I have been slowly trying to lost the weight and it's not coming off too quickly so I'm not worried about the weight loss. It's not like I couldn't afford to lose more weight, either, but I'll be happy if I lose another five pounds, maximum.
I've been very lazy over the last few days. I work on the red carpet post and then I do some sketching for metalsmithing and then I watch tv and surf the interwebs... except when I'm walking Miss Bossy Feet (aka Gozer). Since she's come off of the Reconcile (doggy Prozac), she's much more energetic and much bossier. She has very clear ideas about where she wants to go on her walks and will balk by seemingly gluing her feet to the ground and leaning against the leash if I don't go that way. I can, with enough effort and leash pops, get her to go in the direction I want, but she'll continue trying to go where she wants for quite some time. For example, if we don't cross the street at the first driveway for the vet's, she'll balk at the second, and then the third, and then she'll really balk when we cross the street away from the office.
She's also become quite sneaky about getting her own way. She likes to cross Keewatin Ave to go onto Stanmore but I don't always want to go that way, especially if we had a big walk earlier. Last night, instead of waiting to cross at Stanmore, she crossed as soon as we reached Keewatin so that it would be a simple turn onto Stanmore instead of having to cross the street then.
She's not just bossy on walks, of course: she likes to be bossy with her feet at home, too. She has very clear ideas about when she wants to eat and will paw at her food dish and the food container to let me know she's hungry. If I ignore those signs, she starts barking and batting me with her front paws until I distract her somehow. She hasn't yet figured out that she doesn't get fed when she's being bossy like that.
I tell you, life with a bossy dog is certainly interesting. The upside is that she's playing more and more on her own, which is soemthing I definitely want to encourage. As long as she does what I want without any more fuss than not wanting to go in another direction, she can be bossy sometimes. It is, after all, kind of cute.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Gozer fun and more
Ian's dad's birthday was this past week so we went to their place to celebrate. We had a very yummy dinner and a delicious cake while we were there and spent some time talking and catching up. Of course we brought Gozer with us and not just because we were gone all day: she really likes Ian's dad and heads straight for him when we're there. If she can't sit up on his lap she's happy to sit at or on his feet.
We all took Gozer for a walk while we were there and it went very well. She met a local dog that's very friendly and that actually laid down before she approached because she was clearly a bit nervous. They ended up having a bit of a sniff and I think they're friends now. I was very impressed with how comfortable Gozer was with Ian's parents; Ian's mom held the leash and Gozer behaved perfectly well. I think Gozer enjoyed the whole day very much: she was whining in the car when we left so I assume that she would rather have stayed there. We'll have to go back soon.
I'd been having some residual nausea problems and I realized that it happened after I drank water. I already told you how the Brita water had the green stuff in it and as it happened, I didn't think to clean out my water bottle. If I don't drink water out of that bottle, I don't get nauseous. So now I feel a little silly having felt nauseous so often because it was my own fault. At least now I know how to fix it and I know I won't have to worry about it any more.I think I can definitively say that my nausea and stomach problems are resolved.
As I'm writing this I'm watching the Oscars which are so far very entertaining. It's so entertaining that I don't want to leave to walk Gozer even though I'm recording the show. Not that Gozer cares what I'm watching; she just wants a warm and comfy place to sleep. She's so warm and comfy right now that it will be hard to convince her to go out for her evening walk. Why would she want to go outside into the wind and colder temperatures when she can be warm and cozy right here? If I was her, I wouldn't want to go out, either).
I will definitely be doing a red carpet post for the Oscars. It'll be interesting to see the differences in clothing between the Golden Globes and Oscar events.
We all took Gozer for a walk while we were there and it went very well. She met a local dog that's very friendly and that actually laid down before she approached because she was clearly a bit nervous. They ended up having a bit of a sniff and I think they're friends now. I was very impressed with how comfortable Gozer was with Ian's parents; Ian's mom held the leash and Gozer behaved perfectly well. I think Gozer enjoyed the whole day very much: she was whining in the car when we left so I assume that she would rather have stayed there. We'll have to go back soon.
I'd been having some residual nausea problems and I realized that it happened after I drank water. I already told you how the Brita water had the green stuff in it and as it happened, I didn't think to clean out my water bottle. If I don't drink water out of that bottle, I don't get nauseous. So now I feel a little silly having felt nauseous so often because it was my own fault. At least now I know how to fix it and I know I won't have to worry about it any more.I think I can definitively say that my nausea and stomach problems are resolved.
As I'm writing this I'm watching the Oscars which are so far very entertaining. It's so entertaining that I don't want to leave to walk Gozer even though I'm recording the show. Not that Gozer cares what I'm watching; she just wants a warm and comfy place to sleep. She's so warm and comfy right now that it will be hard to convince her to go out for her evening walk. Why would she want to go outside into the wind and colder temperatures when she can be warm and cozy right here? If I was her, I wouldn't want to go out, either).
I will definitely be doing a red carpet post for the Oscars. It'll be interesting to see the differences in clothing between the Golden Globes and Oscar events.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
My denosumab injection adventure
Today was the first day that I received the denosumab at home from the home care nurse. I knew that it would be fairly easy to do the actual injection since it's just a subcutaneous injection but it's something I can't do myself. Apparently the home care people only come for three visits and those visits are used to teach the patient (or someone in the house) how to do it. Ian has said that he'll learn how to do it since I don't do needles.
I saw a substitute oncologist in December and she wrote the order, or request, for the nurse to come to the house today. Up until yesterday I'd heard nothing from the nurse so I called the pager number that I had from before. When I hadn't heard back from that nurse this morning, I called the local Community Care Access Center (CCAC), who coordinates this sort of thing. The receptionist I spoke to was very helpful; she transferred me to an intake person right away. That person looked at my information and said that my chart was closed and there were no new orders there.
So I called the oncologist's office and told them that they the CCAC had no orders for me. At noon, two hours later, the oncology nurse called and said that they'd straightened everything out. Apparently the CCAC (or Care Partners, the nurse's actual employer) had misunderstood the order. For some reason, someone thought that they couldn't do the injection.. and told no one.
I waited a couple of hours and called the CCAC back. This receptionist wasn't at all helpful; she told me that I needed to call someone named Angela at Grand River Hospital back because she coordinates the case managers (who coordinate the care). I was very, very frustrated by this point because this whole thing was stupid and I was the one who was trying to get this done instead of the CCAC. The receptionist finally put me on hold and asked someone else what to do. She came back with the best possible answer: she would call this Angela at the hospital and have Angela call me back.
About an hour or so later, a case manager called me back and we got things working. I needed syringes and this person got them rush ordered for me. She asked me to call Care Partners once I picked up the syringes so that they could arrange for a nurse. The nurse that showed up was from a completely different area and was pulled in to do the work because the nurse for my area was too busy. She checked the number I called last night and it was correct so that nurse should have called me back.
Had that nurse called me back yesterday telling me she had no idea what I was talking about, today's clusterf*ck wouldn't have happened. Why on earth didn't the person who said they couldn't do this injection tell someone? If they did, why didn't that person tell someone else? Why didn't they try and fix the problem or question the order or be proactive in any way instead of basically sitting back and waiting for someone else - namely, me - to light a fire under their butts? I am not impressed. Even though it all worked out in the end, there was no reason for things to have been as messed up as they were.
I dread trying to get them doing port flushes. After this experience, the less I have to do with either the CCAC or Care Partners and the apathy they exhibited today, the better.
I saw a substitute oncologist in December and she wrote the order, or request, for the nurse to come to the house today. Up until yesterday I'd heard nothing from the nurse so I called the pager number that I had from before. When I hadn't heard back from that nurse this morning, I called the local Community Care Access Center (CCAC), who coordinates this sort of thing. The receptionist I spoke to was very helpful; she transferred me to an intake person right away. That person looked at my information and said that my chart was closed and there were no new orders there.
So I called the oncologist's office and told them that they the CCAC had no orders for me. At noon, two hours later, the oncology nurse called and said that they'd straightened everything out. Apparently the CCAC (or Care Partners, the nurse's actual employer) had misunderstood the order. For some reason, someone thought that they couldn't do the injection.. and told no one.
I waited a couple of hours and called the CCAC back. This receptionist wasn't at all helpful; she told me that I needed to call someone named Angela at Grand River Hospital back because she coordinates the case managers (who coordinate the care). I was very, very frustrated by this point because this whole thing was stupid and I was the one who was trying to get this done instead of the CCAC. The receptionist finally put me on hold and asked someone else what to do. She came back with the best possible answer: she would call this Angela at the hospital and have Angela call me back.
About an hour or so later, a case manager called me back and we got things working. I needed syringes and this person got them rush ordered for me. She asked me to call Care Partners once I picked up the syringes so that they could arrange for a nurse. The nurse that showed up was from a completely different area and was pulled in to do the work because the nurse for my area was too busy. She checked the number I called last night and it was correct so that nurse should have called me back.
Had that nurse called me back yesterday telling me she had no idea what I was talking about, today's clusterf*ck wouldn't have happened. Why on earth didn't the person who said they couldn't do this injection tell someone? If they did, why didn't that person tell someone else? Why didn't they try and fix the problem or question the order or be proactive in any way instead of basically sitting back and waiting for someone else - namely, me - to light a fire under their butts? I am not impressed. Even though it all worked out in the end, there was no reason for things to have been as messed up as they were.
I dread trying to get them doing port flushes. After this experience, the less I have to do with either the CCAC or Care Partners and the apathy they exhibited today, the better.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Gozer's first graduation
Gozer graduated from her obedience class yesterday! She didn't do so well in the sit-stay and down-stay commands but she did very well with other commands. I had been a bit worried that she wouldn't do so well because the Reconcile was completely out of her system for the first time at these classes. She has a lot more energy now, which might have been why she didn't do so well staying in one spot.
All of the dogs in the class graduated so we can all take the next level there. While we learned a lot ad we liked the staff, we don't plan to go back to this particular dog training centee. Our main criticism is that the staff didn't correct the dog owners when they were doing things wrong.
For example, there was a fairly young chocolate lab in the class who, like most dogs, doesn't get things right away. We were specifically told to not use the dog's name when correcting the dog but this dog's owner would grab the dog by the muzzle and say, "No! Charlotte, NO!"
We were also told to let the dog have a loose leash when teaching them to heel so that it could make the decision to heel for itself and so that it would gain the confidence in knowing that it can make good decisions and that the owner trusts it to make those decisions. This same owner had her dog on a choke chain and she held the end of the choke chain without giving it any slack. She did the same thing when sitting with the dog at the bench - she held the choke chain tight enough so that the dog couldn't lie down in front of her the way the other dogs did.
When getting the dog to sit, we're supposed to put a hand on their chest and the other on top of their bum and use both hands to put the dog into the sit position. She grabbed the skin at the base of the dog's tail and pulled that down towards the ground.
The worst thing I saw this woman do was her version of a "leash pop" to correct her dog. A leash pop is just a quick jerk on the leash and only needs to be hard enough to get the dog's attention. It isn't supposed to be used to drag the dog in another direction. This woman wound up her whole body so that she could get a lot of force in with the pop... but that force shouldn't be necessary.
I saw this woman behave this way with her dog many times, and not once did any of the staff correct her. Clearly the woman is afraid of her dog and doesn't much like her dog - she brought her kids to graduation and it was clear that the kids want the dog, not her - so in my mind she should have received extra attention from the trainers to help her become more comfortable with her dog.
I know that people do worse things to their dogs but seeing these behaviours and feeling her negativity towards the dog made me feel sad and scared for the dog. It made my heart hurt to see the owner's behaviours, and the fact that the trainers must have seen them, too - there were up to four of them there - and did nothing at all makes me wonder about the quality of the training. I think we learned a lot and I know I'm happy with Gozer's performance but I need to look somewhere else for more training.
All of the dogs in the class graduated so we can all take the next level there. While we learned a lot ad we liked the staff, we don't plan to go back to this particular dog training centee. Our main criticism is that the staff didn't correct the dog owners when they were doing things wrong.
For example, there was a fairly young chocolate lab in the class who, like most dogs, doesn't get things right away. We were specifically told to not use the dog's name when correcting the dog but this dog's owner would grab the dog by the muzzle and say, "No! Charlotte, NO!"
We were also told to let the dog have a loose leash when teaching them to heel so that it could make the decision to heel for itself and so that it would gain the confidence in knowing that it can make good decisions and that the owner trusts it to make those decisions. This same owner had her dog on a choke chain and she held the end of the choke chain without giving it any slack. She did the same thing when sitting with the dog at the bench - she held the choke chain tight enough so that the dog couldn't lie down in front of her the way the other dogs did.
When getting the dog to sit, we're supposed to put a hand on their chest and the other on top of their bum and use both hands to put the dog into the sit position. She grabbed the skin at the base of the dog's tail and pulled that down towards the ground.
The worst thing I saw this woman do was her version of a "leash pop" to correct her dog. A leash pop is just a quick jerk on the leash and only needs to be hard enough to get the dog's attention. It isn't supposed to be used to drag the dog in another direction. This woman wound up her whole body so that she could get a lot of force in with the pop... but that force shouldn't be necessary.
I saw this woman behave this way with her dog many times, and not once did any of the staff correct her. Clearly the woman is afraid of her dog and doesn't much like her dog - she brought her kids to graduation and it was clear that the kids want the dog, not her - so in my mind she should have received extra attention from the trainers to help her become more comfortable with her dog.
I know that people do worse things to their dogs but seeing these behaviours and feeling her negativity towards the dog made me feel sad and scared for the dog. It made my heart hurt to see the owner's behaviours, and the fact that the trainers must have seen them, too - there were up to four of them there - and did nothing at all makes me wonder about the quality of the training. I think we learned a lot and I know I'm happy with Gozer's performance but I need to look somewhere else for more training.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Gozer and my stomach
My stomach has settled back down and I'm not feeling nauseous anymore. I'm wondering if the nausea and tummy problems were related to our Brita water. We buy the big 18.9L (5Gal) jugs of water for drinking but it's expensive so we use Brita-filtered water for coffee, my morning oatmeal, and other cooking as well as when we run out of the bottled water.
We noticed this past week that the bottom of the Brita jug was green with what appeared to be algae. I didn't know that algae could grow in a Brita jug but a quick showed that algae can definitely grow there, especially if the jug isn't washed regularly and sits in the sunlight. We don't wash the jug as often as we should and it does get to sit in the sun from time to time . We're not the greatest housekeepers, although I foresee us cleaning the Brita jug out more often from now on.
I don't know if algae in the Brita jug gets poured into the water or if it can cause tummy troubles in people with sensitive tummies like mine but I haven't had problems since we cleaned out the jug. Coincidence? Maybe... and maybe not. If the nausea comes back then I'll know it wasn't the algae, right?
Yesterday I took Gozer to the vet's for her final behaviour modification appointment. She's done so well at that program: she doesn't show any signs of separation anxiety when she's left alone and she doesn't bark nearly as often. She's off the Reconcile (doggy Prozac) and we've seen a noticeable difference in her behaviour: she's much more rambunctious, excited, and bossier. She barks (ar-roo-roo-roo-roo-roo) when she wants something which she never did before. Her character is more obvious and now that we see it, we're happy that she was on the medication. It calmed her enough so that she could take in the training and get over the anxieties she felt. She is such a happy dog now.
After we left the vet's office, I'd planned to take her for one of our regular walks. She had other ideas: when she wants to go a different way, she plants her little feets down and pulls away from the leash. While I can do a few leash pops and force her to go into another direction if I wanted, I allowed her to decide which way we went. We ended up at Ren's Pet store for reasons unknown. When we left she had wanted to walk along another path but I decided that we were going home.
Several times this week Gozer has led me to the vet's office so that she could have a visit with the staff. Gozer was even happy to see the groomer when no one else was there! This seems kind of crazy, doesn't it? I spoke with the vet and she said that they encourage their animal patients to stop by for a visit so that the animals see the office as a good, happy place instead of a scary one. The staff are more than happy to give the animals a bit of attention and a treat if they're not busy. If they are busy, Gozer has a chance to meet other animals which is a very good thing.
I'm lucky that my tummy is better so that I can go on these crazy long Gozer-directed walks. She definitely enjoys the time and I like being able to spend that kind of quality time with her.
We noticed this past week that the bottom of the Brita jug was green with what appeared to be algae. I didn't know that algae could grow in a Brita jug but a quick showed that algae can definitely grow there, especially if the jug isn't washed regularly and sits in the sunlight. We don't wash the jug as often as we should and it does get to sit in the sun from time to time . We're not the greatest housekeepers, although I foresee us cleaning the Brita jug out more often from now on.
I don't know if algae in the Brita jug gets poured into the water or if it can cause tummy troubles in people with sensitive tummies like mine but I haven't had problems since we cleaned out the jug. Coincidence? Maybe... and maybe not. If the nausea comes back then I'll know it wasn't the algae, right?
Yesterday I took Gozer to the vet's for her final behaviour modification appointment. She's done so well at that program: she doesn't show any signs of separation anxiety when she's left alone and she doesn't bark nearly as often. She's off the Reconcile (doggy Prozac) and we've seen a noticeable difference in her behaviour: she's much more rambunctious, excited, and bossier. She barks (ar-roo-roo-roo-roo-roo) when she wants something which she never did before. Her character is more obvious and now that we see it, we're happy that she was on the medication. It calmed her enough so that she could take in the training and get over the anxieties she felt. She is such a happy dog now.
After we left the vet's office, I'd planned to take her for one of our regular walks. She had other ideas: when she wants to go a different way, she plants her little feets down and pulls away from the leash. While I can do a few leash pops and force her to go into another direction if I wanted, I allowed her to decide which way we went. We ended up at Ren's Pet store for reasons unknown. When we left she had wanted to walk along another path but I decided that we were going home.
Several times this week Gozer has led me to the vet's office so that she could have a visit with the staff. Gozer was even happy to see the groomer when no one else was there! This seems kind of crazy, doesn't it? I spoke with the vet and she said that they encourage their animal patients to stop by for a visit so that the animals see the office as a good, happy place instead of a scary one. The staff are more than happy to give the animals a bit of attention and a treat if they're not busy. If they are busy, Gozer has a chance to meet other animals which is a very good thing.
I'm lucky that my tummy is better so that I can go on these crazy long Gozer-directed walks. She definitely enjoys the time and I like being able to spend that kind of quality time with her.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Details on my friend
I found out how my friend died. Apparently she had a twist in her small intestine that cut off blood flow to her intestines. Somehow she bled out - I'm not sure how, although it could have been during surgery - and nothing could be done to save her so she died. It's like she was struck by lightning. Selfishly, I wish that lightning had struck someone else so that my friend was still alive.
I'm still feeling very sad. I've decided that I won't be going to the visitation or funeral although I'm having trouble articulating why I won't go. I'll send a card, of course, even though that feels like such a small thing to do. As sad as I feel (and I know that my sadness is tied up in my feelings about my childhood and the work my psychologist and I are doing), it's nothing compared to what her husband and son must feel. My heart hurts for them, too.
I'm still feeling very sad. I've decided that I won't be going to the visitation or funeral although I'm having trouble articulating why I won't go. I'll send a card, of course, even though that feels like such a small thing to do. As sad as I feel (and I know that my sadness is tied up in my feelings about my childhood and the work my psychologist and I are doing), it's nothing compared to what her husband and son must feel. My heart hurts for them, too.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
I has a sad
My childhood friend Penny died suddenly early this morning. I don't know what happened but she died in Midland, ON and lived in Barrie, ON so I figure they were away doing something. I'm still in shock because of the suddenness of her death but the grief and sadness are starting to come through.
We lived on the same street for a few years when we were growing up and we were fairly close. Her family moved away and we used to write letters back and forth but we eventually lost touch. I never forgot her and kept searching for her. One day a few years ago I found her again on facebook and we reconnected there. She had gone back to school to become a nurse and had recently graduated and found a job.
There are visitations on Friday and the funeral is on Saturday up in Barrie, which is a two or two and a half hour drive from here. Part of me wants to go if the weather is good so that I can pay my respects to her husband and kids as well as her mom.
Four years ago yesterday my dad died. My friend's death on top of that anniversary date has left me reeling. My heart hurts.
We lived on the same street for a few years when we were growing up and we were fairly close. Her family moved away and we used to write letters back and forth but we eventually lost touch. I never forgot her and kept searching for her. One day a few years ago I found her again on facebook and we reconnected there. She had gone back to school to become a nurse and had recently graduated and found a job.
There are visitations on Friday and the funeral is on Saturday up in Barrie, which is a two or two and a half hour drive from here. Part of me wants to go if the weather is good so that I can pay my respects to her husband and kids as well as her mom.
Four years ago yesterday my dad died. My friend's death on top of that anniversary date has left me reeling. My heart hurts.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Last night's Grammy awards
Did you watch last night's Grammy awards? I did. It was easy to see that Whitney Houston's death the day before had shaken many people up and that the tributes to her were hastily added to the night's program. The somber moments were limited but seemed to be heartfelt.
The show opened with LL Cool J, the host, saying a prayer for Whitney Houston. While I understand that the producers and the host meant well by saying some words and wanted to honour her memory, I wish that they hadn't said something that began with "Our heavenly father" and ended with "amen". I know I'm not alone in not believing in a personal god who listens to what you say and I`m uncomfortable and excluded, having to listen to things couched in a religious way. When I've objected to prayers like this before, I've been told to pay attention to the meaning behind the words and to ignore the religious phrasing because its the intent that counts. My thinking is that religious phrasing definitely does not belong at a non-religious event, so why should I have to ignore the religious phrasing? Why don't religious people have to insert the religious words instead, if it's all supposed to mean the same thing anyways?
Anyways, back to the Grammys. The show overall was fun and entertaining to watch. I loved watching the acceptance speeches because they sounded so raw and honest - they sounded like real people accepting awards. Adele sang for the first time after her recent vocal cord problems and she sounded as good as she did before. Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen also performed new songs which sounded pretty good. Glen Campbell was there, too; apparently he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is doing a farewell tour.
The "talk of the night" was Nicki Minaj's performance of Roman. I didn't totally understand it but there was an exorcism and religion involved somehow. It didn't really make sense and the song wasn't catchy in any way so the whole thing left me quite cold. It was as though she was trying to be as relevant and interesting and unique as Lady Gaga or Madonna and in the end the whole thing was disjointed and mediocre.
Speaking of Nicki Minaj, she behaved rather badly, in my opinion, when she didn't clap for the winner of the award she lost. I understand that she wanted to win and was disappointed when she lost, but not clapping for the winner is being a poor sport. I also thought that Lady Gaga behaved badly when she got up to leave after the last award was given before the final performance of the night. Considering she was close to the front stage, it was impossible to miss her getting up out of her seat and trying to leave. I know she didn't win anything (and I don't think she was nominated for anything) and she wasn't on the red carpet, and no one cared much about what she was wearing, but to get up and try to leave before the show was officially over is rude.
Aside from those small things, I enjoyed watching the show. I even recorded it while I walked Gozer so that I wouldn't miss any of it. If only all award shows were so good, I'd be a much happier girl.
The show opened with LL Cool J, the host, saying a prayer for Whitney Houston. While I understand that the producers and the host meant well by saying some words and wanted to honour her memory, I wish that they hadn't said something that began with "Our heavenly father" and ended with "amen". I know I'm not alone in not believing in a personal god who listens to what you say and I`m uncomfortable and excluded, having to listen to things couched in a religious way. When I've objected to prayers like this before, I've been told to pay attention to the meaning behind the words and to ignore the religious phrasing because its the intent that counts. My thinking is that religious phrasing definitely does not belong at a non-religious event, so why should I have to ignore the religious phrasing? Why don't religious people have to insert the religious words instead, if it's all supposed to mean the same thing anyways?
Anyways, back to the Grammys. The show overall was fun and entertaining to watch. I loved watching the acceptance speeches because they sounded so raw and honest - they sounded like real people accepting awards. Adele sang for the first time after her recent vocal cord problems and she sounded as good as she did before. Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen also performed new songs which sounded pretty good. Glen Campbell was there, too; apparently he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is doing a farewell tour.
The "talk of the night" was Nicki Minaj's performance of Roman. I didn't totally understand it but there was an exorcism and religion involved somehow. It didn't really make sense and the song wasn't catchy in any way so the whole thing left me quite cold. It was as though she was trying to be as relevant and interesting and unique as Lady Gaga or Madonna and in the end the whole thing was disjointed and mediocre.
Speaking of Nicki Minaj, she behaved rather badly, in my opinion, when she didn't clap for the winner of the award she lost. I understand that she wanted to win and was disappointed when she lost, but not clapping for the winner is being a poor sport. I also thought that Lady Gaga behaved badly when she got up to leave after the last award was given before the final performance of the night. Considering she was close to the front stage, it was impossible to miss her getting up out of her seat and trying to leave. I know she didn't win anything (and I don't think she was nominated for anything) and she wasn't on the red carpet, and no one cared much about what she was wearing, but to get up and try to leave before the show was officially over is rude.
Aside from those small things, I enjoyed watching the show. I even recorded it while I walked Gozer so that I wouldn't miss any of it. If only all award shows were so good, I'd be a much happier girl.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
My fun day out
I was feeling ok this morning so I was able to go out shopping with my friend - and enjoy it! I had a great time shopping and catching up with her today. She's starting a new job and needed a few pieces to round out her work wardrobe. Before we set out we went through her existing wardrobe so that we knew exactly what she needed: at least one pair of pants and tops with some colour.
We managed to find exactly what she was looking for at the Jones New York outlet! I was very impressed with their selection and the fit of their clothes because the clothes are made to fit real women with real curves. The pants she bought fit her perfectly and were very attractive and slimming (and on sale!). She also found a few tops in brighter colours that fit her very well and are flattering. Everything she bought coordinates with her existing wardrobe so now she has lots of mix and match wardrobe options. She'll be well-dressed and gorgeous at her job.
We had a light lunch while we were out and unfortunately the nausea returned afterward. I did have a yummy brownie that had a lot of fat in it so I wonder if there's something going on with my gallbladder or something. One of my sisters had hers out years ago because it wasn't working and if I remember rightly, she had symptoms similar to mine: nausea that almost feels like you should eat but if you do (or if I drink water) it gets worse, plus some abdominal pain. The pain isn't that bad but it's there sometimes.
My system does tend to be delicate so it's possible that it's out of balance somehow and that's what's causing the problem. I did have some pain a few days ago and had to take extra painkillers which may have caused some extra constipation even though I don't think I'm constipated. Whatever is causing this nausea, I wish it would stop because it's interfering with my life.
We managed to find exactly what she was looking for at the Jones New York outlet! I was very impressed with their selection and the fit of their clothes because the clothes are made to fit real women with real curves. The pants she bought fit her perfectly and were very attractive and slimming (and on sale!). She also found a few tops in brighter colours that fit her very well and are flattering. Everything she bought coordinates with her existing wardrobe so now she has lots of mix and match wardrobe options. She'll be well-dressed and gorgeous at her job.
We had a light lunch while we were out and unfortunately the nausea returned afterward. I did have a yummy brownie that had a lot of fat in it so I wonder if there's something going on with my gallbladder or something. One of my sisters had hers out years ago because it wasn't working and if I remember rightly, she had symptoms similar to mine: nausea that almost feels like you should eat but if you do (or if I drink water) it gets worse, plus some abdominal pain. The pain isn't that bad but it's there sometimes.
My system does tend to be delicate so it's possible that it's out of balance somehow and that's what's causing the problem. I did have some pain a few days ago and had to take extra painkillers which may have caused some extra constipation even though I don't think I'm constipated. Whatever is causing this nausea, I wish it would stop because it's interfering with my life.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Who's sick in this house?
I didn't call my oncologist today. I kind of knew that I wouldn't because I was supposed to meet up with a friend to go shopping and I wouldn't be home for them to call me back. Then I ended up feeling really nauseous and postponing my outing until tomorrow. So while I could have called my oncologist, I didn't because I felt so awful.
I'm feeling better now. I have no idea what was wrong; maybe constipation? something I ate? who knows. I'll call my oncologist on Monday, however. I noticed this morning that the left breast has changed shape a little bit, probably because of the reddish-purple bumps which are probably sarcoidosis, and that's something that I've been told not to ignore. I'm not going to stress about it but I'll definitely call on Monday.
We also noticed a bump on Gozer's chin that we haven't seen before, and I noticed a bump on the roof of her mouth right behind her teeth. I'm seeing the vet on Friday to finish off our behaviour modification program but if the bumps are still there on Monday I think I'll try to get her in to see the vet early on in the week. I don't want my little furbaby getting sick!
I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow. I haven't seen this person in ages and I'm not going to miss it tomorrow no matter how I feel.
I'm feeling better now. I have no idea what was wrong; maybe constipation? something I ate? who knows. I'll call my oncologist on Monday, however. I noticed this morning that the left breast has changed shape a little bit, probably because of the reddish-purple bumps which are probably sarcoidosis, and that's something that I've been told not to ignore. I'm not going to stress about it but I'll definitely call on Monday.
We also noticed a bump on Gozer's chin that we haven't seen before, and I noticed a bump on the roof of her mouth right behind her teeth. I'm seeing the vet on Friday to finish off our behaviour modification program but if the bumps are still there on Monday I think I'll try to get her in to see the vet early on in the week. I don't want my little furbaby getting sick!
I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow. I haven't seen this person in ages and I'm not going to miss it tomorrow no matter how I feel.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
More of that and some of this
I should really post more often so that I don't have these posts with multiple topics.
I'm resigning myself to never finishing the SAG awards red carpet post. I lost enough that going back and redoing it is more work than I want to do. I'm not looking at sparkly things on eBay these days... I'm looking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's online catalogue. Pretty much everything they have, whether it's on display or not, is there. There's so much there; I've been spending hours just looking at twentieth century clothing and I've barely even scratched the surface of what's there.
My back has been hurting quite a lot. This morning it was quite bad until after my new painkiller patch (which went on late because I had to go and pick up the patches this morning) started working. I might have just overdone it yesterday when I took Gozer for a very long walk but that kind of response is unusual for the pain I've had in my back. Of course the pain there can change so I'm trying not to get too worried about it.
My sarcoidosis is also acting up: my lower left leg has lots of reddish-purple bumpy areas and I've got these areas also showing up on my left breast. That's the one that had the primary and recurrence cancers so I think it's about time that I call my oncologist. I wish I had a sarcoidosis specialist that I could call because I feel sort of weird about calling my oncologist about something that I think is probably sarcoidosis. I'll talk about my back as well.
Because my back was hurting so much today, I couldn't take Gozer for a walk this afternoon so I let her run around in the backyard She loves it out there: we were out for 40 minutes this afternoon and she would have been happy to stay out there even longer. She especially likes playing chase with a rotted vegetable in her mouth. I have no idea why she's so attracted to the rotted vegetables, but she is: she not only holds them in her mouth and runs around with them, she eats them and rolls all over them with the same look on her face that she gets when we rub her belly and chest.
When she's finished with the rotted vegetables, she runs around nose to the ground searching for bunny poo. Did you know that bunny poo is the yummiest treat ever? I didn't, either. She loves the stuff and will happily root around in the lawn for the little poo balls. At first I thought she was eating berries because the little balls looked like blueberries but I was wrong (clearly it's a good thing I don't have to survive on my own in the woods).
Our dog has become comfortable being a dog here, which I love. She's very happy when she's eating all these unappetizing foods and they don't seem to have an adverse effect on her... but I think we're going to clean up the lawn and get rid of the rotting vegetables. She can do without that "tasty" treat.
I'm resigning myself to never finishing the SAG awards red carpet post. I lost enough that going back and redoing it is more work than I want to do. I'm not looking at sparkly things on eBay these days... I'm looking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's online catalogue. Pretty much everything they have, whether it's on display or not, is there. There's so much there; I've been spending hours just looking at twentieth century clothing and I've barely even scratched the surface of what's there.
My back has been hurting quite a lot. This morning it was quite bad until after my new painkiller patch (which went on late because I had to go and pick up the patches this morning) started working. I might have just overdone it yesterday when I took Gozer for a very long walk but that kind of response is unusual for the pain I've had in my back. Of course the pain there can change so I'm trying not to get too worried about it.
My sarcoidosis is also acting up: my lower left leg has lots of reddish-purple bumpy areas and I've got these areas also showing up on my left breast. That's the one that had the primary and recurrence cancers so I think it's about time that I call my oncologist. I wish I had a sarcoidosis specialist that I could call because I feel sort of weird about calling my oncologist about something that I think is probably sarcoidosis. I'll talk about my back as well.
Because my back was hurting so much today, I couldn't take Gozer for a walk this afternoon so I let her run around in the backyard She loves it out there: we were out for 40 minutes this afternoon and she would have been happy to stay out there even longer. She especially likes playing chase with a rotted vegetable in her mouth. I have no idea why she's so attracted to the rotted vegetables, but she is: she not only holds them in her mouth and runs around with them, she eats them and rolls all over them with the same look on her face that she gets when we rub her belly and chest.
When she's finished with the rotted vegetables, she runs around nose to the ground searching for bunny poo. Did you know that bunny poo is the yummiest treat ever? I didn't, either. She loves the stuff and will happily root around in the lawn for the little poo balls. At first I thought she was eating berries because the little balls looked like blueberries but I was wrong (clearly it's a good thing I don't have to survive on my own in the woods).
Our dog has become comfortable being a dog here, which I love. She's very happy when she's eating all these unappetizing foods and they don't seem to have an adverse effect on her... but I think we're going to clean up the lawn and get rid of the rotting vegetables. She can do without that "tasty" treat.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Some of this and a pinch of that
Last night's Superbowl game was actually quite entertaining, especially in the fourth quarter. It was a very close game and there was a lot of edge-of-your-seat play going on. We watched the game at a friend's house last night with some other friends. I did as much catching up as I did watching the game, at least up until the final quarter. One friend of mine that I haven't seen in ages was there and it was great to catch up with her. I'm hoping to see her for a longer visit later this month.
I haven't done much work on the red carpet post because I'm still drawn to pictures of pretty, sparkling gemstones. So sparkly... so pretty... so expensive. The magpie in me just can't stay away! I do have to pull myself away to walk Gozer, of course. She can't go out on her own and she likes having a fairly stable routine so we have to go out for walks whether I want to go or not.
We took her on a huge walk on Saturday: it was so nice out there that we thought we'd go for an epic walk. She enjoyed herself very much as there were lots of good smells everywhere. She's still barking at other dogs when they walk by her even though we're sitting her down before she gets excited and shoveling treats in her mouth until the dog has passed. She rarely barks at dogs behind fences who are barking at her which is a huge step for her.
During Saturday's walk, a very big mutt was carrying a stick as he walked towards us and when he smelled the treats, he dropped the stick and shoved his face in to get some treats for himself. I wouldn't have responded well to someone coming in and wanting to take my food away so I wasn't surprised when Gozer barked like crazy. The dog seemed sad to have to pick up the stick and leave the treats because he really, really, really wanted one of those treats. We're a little surprised that more dogs haven't done something like that. Silly dogs.
I'm so lucky because I can look at pretty, sparkly things with Gozer sitting with me. If I'm sitting down and Ian's not home, Gozer is with me. Who wouldn't want to hang out with a cute, soft, cuddly dog?
I haven't done much work on the red carpet post because I'm still drawn to pictures of pretty, sparkling gemstones. So sparkly... so pretty... so expensive. The magpie in me just can't stay away! I do have to pull myself away to walk Gozer, of course. She can't go out on her own and she likes having a fairly stable routine so we have to go out for walks whether I want to go or not.
We took her on a huge walk on Saturday: it was so nice out there that we thought we'd go for an epic walk. She enjoyed herself very much as there were lots of good smells everywhere. She's still barking at other dogs when they walk by her even though we're sitting her down before she gets excited and shoveling treats in her mouth until the dog has passed. She rarely barks at dogs behind fences who are barking at her which is a huge step for her.
During Saturday's walk, a very big mutt was carrying a stick as he walked towards us and when he smelled the treats, he dropped the stick and shoved his face in to get some treats for himself. I wouldn't have responded well to someone coming in and wanting to take my food away so I wasn't surprised when Gozer barked like crazy. The dog seemed sad to have to pick up the stick and leave the treats because he really, really, really wanted one of those treats. We're a little surprised that more dogs haven't done something like that. Silly dogs.
I'm so lucky because I can look at pretty, sparkly things with Gozer sitting with me. If I'm sitting down and Ian's not home, Gozer is with me. Who wouldn't want to hang out with a cute, soft, cuddly dog?
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Last Harry Potter movie
I was working on the red carpet post and while I thought I'd saved my work, the next time I opened the post those edits were gone. Wahh!!!! That should teach me to copy the work before closing it down and re-opening it. I'll have to go back and re-do a fair amount of work so I won't be able to get the red carpet post up until Monday or maybe Tuesday. We're out tomorrow evening to watch the Superbowl.
Tonight we finally got around to watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 and we didn't love it as much as most other people did. Maybe if we'd seen this movie in sequence with the other ones we might have enjoyed it more - but we think that each movie in the series should stand on its own. It wasn't even that this movie doesn't stand on its own: it picks up right where the last one left off with no reminders about what happened in the previous movie. We were lost because we couldn't remember what happened in the last movie.
We liked that the movie tied up loose ends but we weren't impressed with the story itself or the action. We had problems with the battle scenes in particular because we couldn't understand why certain things were happening. For example, why were giants there? Who got to do the flying thing? Where did those other people come from? I don't know. Maybe if we'd seen the other movies recently, all of these things would make sense. I think they're explained in the books but bringing in the end result without explaining how it got to be there isn't a good book-to-movie adaptation.
If you've seen all of the other Harry Potter movies and need to finish the movie experience, you'll want to see this movie. If you want to see a movie just for fun, this isn't a good choice.
Tonight we finally got around to watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 and we didn't love it as much as most other people did. Maybe if we'd seen this movie in sequence with the other ones we might have enjoyed it more - but we think that each movie in the series should stand on its own. It wasn't even that this movie doesn't stand on its own: it picks up right where the last one left off with no reminders about what happened in the previous movie. We were lost because we couldn't remember what happened in the last movie.
We liked that the movie tied up loose ends but we weren't impressed with the story itself or the action. We had problems with the battle scenes in particular because we couldn't understand why certain things were happening. For example, why were giants there? Who got to do the flying thing? Where did those other people come from? I don't know. Maybe if we'd seen the other movies recently, all of these things would make sense. I think they're explained in the books but bringing in the end result without explaining how it got to be there isn't a good book-to-movie adaptation.
If you've seen all of the other Harry Potter movies and need to finish the movie experience, you'll want to see this movie. If you want to see a movie just for fun, this isn't a good choice.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Gozer is doing so well
I haven't been working on the red carpet post as much as I thought I would have because I got sucked into the world of eBay. There are pages and pages and pages of sparkly gemstones there that I couldn't resist looking at and, in some cases, buying.
I also went in to talk to the person at the vet's about Gozer and her behaviour modification program. She's doing really well: she's barking less at other dogs, she's whining much less, and she's calming down more easily. The person and I agreed that Gozer must have been very stressed at the groomers to not take her favourite treat, and we decided that this person will be there the next time Gozer gets groomed.
I also talked about how Gozer's behaviour at night has changed. I don't know if I mentioned this or not but Gozer clearly doesn't want to go on her evening walk with Ian. When he says, "walk," she turns towards me and climbs up me ass far as she can. Then when Ian guides her down to the floor, she runs around and under the coffee table to try and avoid Ian. After that, if Ian hasn't grabbed her collar, she runs to the other side of my chair and tries to jump up onto my chair. Finally, I either have to lead her upstairs or Ian has to lead her by the collar.
Gozer has also not been as interested in going on walks lately; she doesn't run to the front door like she used to and when the booties and collar go on her she starts backing away from the door.
The person at the vet's thinks that the booties, possibly along with the collar, might be to blame for this behaviour. Gozer used to love to go on walks and over the last few weeks she hasn't wanted to go, so what the person suggested was to not use the booties at all. Fortunately, the weather is good so that's not a tough decision :) The booties used to be sitting at the front door and I've moved them out of sight. Hopefully that will make the difference. Her behaviour at night is awfully cute in a sad and pathetic way but it's not good behaviour.
I think I've looked at all of the sparkly gemstones on eBay that I can so now I'll have some time to finish up this red carpet post.
I also went in to talk to the person at the vet's about Gozer and her behaviour modification program. She's doing really well: she's barking less at other dogs, she's whining much less, and she's calming down more easily. The person and I agreed that Gozer must have been very stressed at the groomers to not take her favourite treat, and we decided that this person will be there the next time Gozer gets groomed.
I also talked about how Gozer's behaviour at night has changed. I don't know if I mentioned this or not but Gozer clearly doesn't want to go on her evening walk with Ian. When he says, "walk," she turns towards me and climbs up me ass far as she can. Then when Ian guides her down to the floor, she runs around and under the coffee table to try and avoid Ian. After that, if Ian hasn't grabbed her collar, she runs to the other side of my chair and tries to jump up onto my chair. Finally, I either have to lead her upstairs or Ian has to lead her by the collar.
Gozer has also not been as interested in going on walks lately; she doesn't run to the front door like she used to and when the booties and collar go on her she starts backing away from the door.
The person at the vet's thinks that the booties, possibly along with the collar, might be to blame for this behaviour. Gozer used to love to go on walks and over the last few weeks she hasn't wanted to go, so what the person suggested was to not use the booties at all. Fortunately, the weather is good so that's not a tough decision :) The booties used to be sitting at the front door and I've moved them out of sight. Hopefully that will make the difference. Her behaviour at night is awfully cute in a sad and pathetic way but it's not good behaviour.
I think I've looked at all of the sparkly gemstones on eBay that I can so now I'll have some time to finish up this red carpet post.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Gozer's first grooming
Gozer looks much prettier and cleaner and is much softer to the touch now that she's been groomed. Fortunately she doesn't smell too much from the shampoo and conditioner and whatever else they put into her hair. She didn't get a full grooming; instead, she got what might be called "grooming-lite". She was bathed, her hair was trimmed, and her nails were clipped. By doing just this amount the groomer and Gozer can start developing a relationship.
The groomer said that Gozer was very good and that she didn't bark at all. Gozer didn't take the treat that the groomer gave her, however. They have her favourite treats there and for her not to take her favourite treat tells me that she was very scared. Poor girl. She'll have to get used to it because she needs to be groomed regularly.
The groomer was surprised at how wildly curly Gozer's hair is; I think the multi-directional curl makes it difficult to trim the hairs to the same length. it also makes her hair very prone to matting, as I've already discovered. The groomer said that Gozer should be combed every day instead of brushing her (which I've been trying to do every day) because the brush won't get into the mats.
I'm still working on the SAG red carpet post but it's coming along.
The groomer said that Gozer was very good and that she didn't bark at all. Gozer didn't take the treat that the groomer gave her, however. They have her favourite treats there and for her not to take her favourite treat tells me that she was very scared. Poor girl. She'll have to get used to it because she needs to be groomed regularly.
The groomer was surprised at how wildly curly Gozer's hair is; I think the multi-directional curl makes it difficult to trim the hairs to the same length. it also makes her hair very prone to matting, as I've already discovered. The groomer said that Gozer should be combed every day instead of brushing her (which I've been trying to do every day) because the brush won't get into the mats.
I'm still working on the SAG red carpet post but it's coming along.
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