Introductions!

'Beta' the Betta is still alive!

I'm not sure if switching to bottled "Spring" water did the trick in keeping him alive or if the other fish was sick. Either way I'm not complaining. Put a thermometer on the bowl to keep track of the temperature. Whenever it dips to low 70s I put a heating pad between the bowl and the wall. Seems to do the trick!

A few weeks ago I couldn't ignore the feeling that it was time to add to our little furry family besides a rat or a fish. Volunteering at the shelter was supposed to keep the desire to own a kitten at bay and it was working. I don't know how to explain it! I wanted a kitten!

There were other reasons as well. Kaylee was being a pest and terrorizing Shyla. Jessica and I wondered if Kaylee needed a playmate (so blame Jessica, too!) Not to mention November happened to be free adoptions on cats! As if I would be able to turn down a free kitten :D

First day at home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her name is Jade. I held her a lot on the day I volunteered and decided to give her a chance to be adopted by someone else over the weekend. I mulled over the pros and cons of bringing another fluff ball into our apartment.

Well, Monday came and she was still there...so we adopted her! The name Jade seemed to fit her quite well so we kept it. We did the same with Shyla. Kaylee's name was Petunia....blech...that had to change.

As you can see in the picture Jade was very dirty! Her diet consisted of wet food mixed with a milk substitute. She always seemed to manage to get it all over her face and whiskers.

Cuddling on Jessica

Unfortunately, a few days after we adopted Jade she began to sneeze quite often. Jessica and I knew exactly what that meant - Jade had caught the upper respiratory infection that is ever present at the Humane Society. I took her to the vet who seemed more concerned with the diarrhea than the sneezing. Jade became more and more sick. She wasn't running around any longer and her eyes were constantly running.

We took her back to the Humane Society for her second round of dewormer medication. While there the technician gave us some drugs to take care of the infection. The next day Jade couldn't breathe through her nose. She would sleep by tilting her head all the way back in order to open up her airway as much as possible. I stayed up with her all night and held her head so she could relax enough to sleep a little bit.

Fingers are delicious!

The days following were very stressful as I wondered if Jade was going to make it. After losing our five kittens several months ago I didn't think I could handle another death. We fed her with a syringe in order to keep her hydrated. Gradually, she started eating more and seemed to have more energy. She moved around the house on her own and I started to call her "Wheezy/Wheezer" because of her raspy breathing.

She has been running and pouncing all over the place the past two days. She is such a little pest! Shyla still hates her while Kaylee is being very tolerant. I hope they can be wrestling buddies soon!

The biggest surprise is how Jade is lacking any fear towards Diesel. She loves to pounce on his feet and chase his tail. Diesel seems very confused. I don't think he realized cats came in that size!

Friendzies!

 And now our zoo consists of - 3 cats, 1 dog, 2 rats and a fish. Whew! Taking care of them sure keeps us busy and happy!

Jade says - Leave a comment or I will find you and NOM your nose!

Fish Drama

Most people know that I am, to put it mildly, a cat person. I have a few theories as to why I am this way:

1 - When I was very young we babysat my neighbor's dog, Sparky. Said dog nipped me on the thumb and scarred me for life. The only reasonable response would be to love Sparky's natural enemy.

2 - I ate cat food as a kid. What do you expect? It was on the floor and I am a creature of opportunity.

3 - My parents took me to a museum and a genetically altered cat bit me and I became a cat man.

4 - Because cats are better than dogs (yeah, I said it!)

I also am a fish person. Aquariums are cost money and take up room - two things that are not in abundance 'round these parts. This past summer I found a nifty hanging fish bowl on amazon and before I knew what was happening my subconscious took over and the rest is history. That can be said for a lot of my amazon purchases!

Alpha - July 2011

We named the Betta fish Alpha, har har har. He was a good fish until about two weeks ago when he decided to die. The next day we replaced him with another Betta fish (Beta/Bravo...we never got that far) who also took the cowards way out and died within three hours.

Now, I'm not a fish n00b. I've had many aquariums in my life - 20 gallon, 10 gallon, 5 gallon...odd. They appear to get smaller as time passed. Regardless, I know what I am doing when it comes to fish. Therefore, my only conclusion was the water where I am currently residing is dumb.

I took the unnamed carcass back to Wal-Mart for a refund. Have you noticed how small the North Logan Wal-Mart's fish section has become? Probably because it was a joke and Petsmart was dominating them on sales. After getting our money back we went to Petsmart and picked out a new Beta/Bravo (still haven't decided). He has been hanging out in the cup we purchased him in because I am none too eager to place him into the bowl and watch the poor thing die.

Tomorrow will be the day of days for our little fishy. Be strong, future Beta/Bravo!

PS - Cast your vote to the right and influence what I will be blogging about next :D

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

A part of me hates changes. I like routine. I like knowing exactly what is going to happen. I have a set idea of what I'd like to do on a given day and if someone wants me to alter that schedule - watch out!

Yet, a part of me loves changes. New places, new people, new experiences. Just give me time to warm up to the idea of making a change, please!

Jessica has a new job.
I'm attending school.
We moved back to Logan.

These are the big changes that have occurred within the past few months. I haven't the time to go into detail about them right now. I am currently in the computer lab on campus (I should be in Ballam's class) and we haven't hooked up the internet at our place yet. Therefore, my time is limited.

I plan on writing here more often and updating the way this blog looks!

Love and Tolerance

I am continually astonished by the myriad ways in people justify themselves for their bigotry. Love between people of the same sex is wrong because "God" says so. Black people aren't real people. Muslims are all terrorists. Poor people are lazy. Cat people are poor, old, and wear gingham. In my research, and in my limited lifetime, I've come to the conclusion that people are people. No matter what age, race, or circumstances, some people handle things like heroes and some people hurt other people. It's just how it is.

So I get tires of hearing people's prejudiced remarks. To me, prejudice, is just another tool of self-aggradndizment. We hate others to make ourselves better than them. We also hate what we don't understand and consequently fear. I guess I can understand that. My problem is when we refuse to even try to understand.

My parents, bless them, (love you guys!) will never be able to understand my dicision to leave the church because they don't want to understand. They won't ever listen. They're scared that if they open their minds to what I'm trying to say to them, that they too will lose their faith. I'm inclined to agree with them on that. It's a tough situation. At least I have my Aaron to lean on. As far as spitituality, we aren't exactly on the same page but we agree when it comes to the LDS church and that is enough for now.

I love you so much, baby! Everything I d,o every day, is for you, for us. I hope you notice it. :) My sweetheart, we'll get through this together, and keep on lovin'!

Gastritis

I was three weeks out of the hospital when I began to experience reapeated diarrhea and nausea. I thought maybe it had something to do with running out of my probiotic I usually take, but then I woke up one morning vomiting. I couldn't stop. I went to my doctor who told me something was wrong with my stomach and to head to the ER if I continued to throw up. The danger was dehydration. I went the next morning at 5:30 am and was admitted with severe dehydration. It took several days to get to a place where my nausea and pain were controlled enough to send me home. An endoscopy was perfomed which diagnosed the gastrits. The pictures showed a red, swollen, and ugly stomach lining. I was put on Karafate. My doctor calls it the "bandaid" since it coats the stomach giving it the space it needs from food and medicine to heal.

It's going to take time, however. I'm still on Karafate and will be for a while. I'm also being tested for siliac's diesease and/or gluten intolerance. I was on a gluten free diet for a while but I'm off of it now. I plan to resume the diet after the gastritis has healed some more. What with the diet and the week in the hospital not eating, I've lost nearly fifteen pounds so that's a silver lining. My sweet husband was my rock, supporting me and loving me despite all our fears. So thanks, Aaron. I love you!

No Spinning!

This past weekend was one of the most relaxing experiences in my life. Jessica and I went to a Dutch Over Dinner at a friend's house and had a blast. Made new friends, laughed with old friends and just...expressed ourselves. I opened up about a few things that had been on my mind for some months and doing so felt great. Maybe I'll talk about it in a later post.

Why was the weekend relaxing? What did we have to relax from? Jessica went to the hospital again. Another four day/three night adventure. My baby told those doctors what's up and refused treatment she didn't want. I'm so proud of her! A big change from the woman I knew when we were still newlyweds. Turns out she had gastritis. I saw the pictures of her stomach and it wasn't very pretty.

The experience was quite stressful on both of us. Once again I will let my lovely wife do all the talking about her hospital visit.

This is going to be a short one. I have to go to work soon and later at 2:45 tonight....HARRY POTTER!

A Fragile Mass of Nerves Continued

When Marilyn, my wonderful mother-in-law had that second aneurysm, we stayed most of the night at the hospital with all of Aaron's brothers and sisters and their spouses, as well as some of the older grandchildren. We made quite a crowd in the waiting room. The surgeon who came to tell us the (favorable!) result of Marilyn's surgery said he felt intimidated talking to such a large group. :) A few hours later the incredible stress and fear I had been feeling caught up to me and I succumbed to an IBS attack. I had to spend the following day and night at my brother and sister-in-law's home while I recovered.

The following evening I began bleeding even though I shouldn't have started for another week. I called my doctor who said it was likely the result of the previous few days' stress. Except it didn't stop. On day twenty-eight other symptoms surfaced. I began to throw up. Aaron will tell you that nausea is my kryptonite and he's right. I was miserable. On the advice of our doctors we went to the ER who then promptly told us that there was little they could do and to go see my OBGYN (the same one who sent me to the ER). Frustrated and getting worse, we saw a colleague of my OBGYN's (since she just couldn't squeeze me in herself) and he prescribed a high dose of progesterone to stop the bleeding which would then, hopefully, clear up the nausea and vomiting as well. We left his office and went straight to the ER where they finally admitted me.

I was in the hospital for four days. On day two I was given a shot of that large amount of progesterone and, sure enough, the bleeding slowed and then stopped. The nausea took a little longer but I finally was able to go home. Now my body is struggling to gain some sort of equilibrium, vacillating between diarrhea and constipation. Mornings are especially bad. I'm hoping that by eating right and taking my medicines, my body will eventually stabilize itself, but until then I'm a less than scintillating companion for my Aaron. There. Two months of hell spelled out.

As for Marilyn, she's still pretty weak herself, and often confused about what is going on around her. It's really hard to see. My heart just breaks for my husband because, knowing how much I love her and knowing that his love for her is twenty times my own, this is hitting him hard. He wasn't kidding when he said she was the glue that holds us all together. Her approval, her support, her advice are very important to all of us. She is special. She stands out from those around her because of her wisdom and charity. I think if anyone wants to know what it is to love unconditionally, talk to Marilyn. She'll teach you. And she'll love you. No matter what.

A fragile mass of nerves

The human brain.

The past two months have been a complete nightmare.

On April 23 my mom had "the worst headache [she'd] ever had" and threw up a few times. Some of my sisters took her to the ER and the doctors there suspected an aneurysm and she was whisked via life flight to Murray.

Jessica and I pulled up right as the helicopter was about to take off. One of the hospital employees had to jump in front of the car to get us to stop and then hold me back from running up to the helicopter. I wanted to see my mommy!

We all drove down the Murrary with questions tumbling through our minds. Her helicopter hit a bird on the way there, putting a hole in the windshield and forcing them to make and emergency landing at the SLC airport.

Tests, test and more tests. The doctors couldn't find where the bleed was happening. Days passed.  A week passed and boom, a full on aneurysm. This time the doctors were able to go into her brain and find the bleed and repair it. This was a scary time.

Towards the middle of May Mom was allowed to come home. She's not the same as she was before - obviously - though she is making baby steps. The woman gave birth to 9 kids naturally without pain medication (I was the only one she had pain free :D ), raised ten kids and several grandkids. She's a fighter. Seeing her laid up and fragile is quite shocking. We are all used to seeing Dad sick or injured. Not Mom. She's the glue that holds us together!

My heart aches for those of you who have had a loved one with dementia. I visisted Mom in the CCU and she didn't seem to remember me, which shook me to the core. I can only imagine the pain of having a loved one never remember anything about you.

Shortly after Mom came home Jessica became sick. I'll let her talk about that.

Waxing Nostalgic II

Our neighbors were an odd bunch. The morning after our wedding one of them knocked on our front door. She seemed nice enough. We talked for a minute or two until she asked us when we were married. I told her we had been married last night. She freaked out and said, "Oh my goodness, I'll leave you two alone!" My parents knew her from years ago and she loved cats. In fact, knowing she had cats in her "no pets allowed" apartment inspired us to do the same!

We never talked to the lady above us. She loved listening to techno-ish music and cranked movies on Sundays. That's my only complaint of her.

There was a kid in his 20's living next to the cat neighbor. He was...odd. He was on a lot of medication which may or may not have included pot.

Of course there were more people living next to us. These are the only ones we interacted with more than once.

Our apartment did not have air conditioning. During the summer we quickly invested in a fan or two in order to combat the stifling heat. Our cat would get so hot she would sprawl out on her belly on the tile floor in order to cool down!

Shyla saying "zomg u hoominz kneedz teh Ay Si"

Jessica and I thought about buying an AC unit. Lack of funds kept us from doing so. This, in part, helped us to toughen which allowed us to survive living in our second apartment.

These were the days of tin foil over the bedroom windows in hopes of blotting out the sun, thus making it possible for me to sleep during the day. These were the days of hospital stays and medical bills. Wait...those days are still upon us! These were the days of referring to Shyla as "my little Jew", seeing as we were hiding her from the landlords. These were the days of feeding stray cats and even catching one with a blanket (I let it go. His name was James) These were the days of adjusting to living with someone and of the usual first year of marriage fights (these still happen once in awhile, as they should)

Looking back I can see how hard the first year of marriage was for Jessica. Here she is in a new apartment, new surroundings all alone, at night, while her new husband was off working. Then I would come home and sleep while she was awake or at work. She's such a trooper for doing that for over two years. Never again.

On our fourth month or marriage Jessica was hospitalized for two weeks. The Logan doctors had NO IDEA what was wrong with her. In fact, one doctor was certain she had a STD. We still joke about that. I think those two weeks brought us closer together. I remember when she had an allergic reaction to a medication and her limbs were jerking around involuntarily. Scared the heck out of me!...as well as her nurse.

Seeing Jessica like that scared me in a way I'd never experienced. And I hope I never have to again.

Life is sweet

We have many joys in our life. Every morning I wake up in the arms of my husband brings me happiness I never saw coming. And our animals. Their quirky personalities, their unconditional love, all the little tricks they do, add such spice to life. I couldn't live without them. And Spring is on the way. Warmer air and melting snow give me all kins of happy feelings. I have to remind myself daily to cling to these things or else the stress of each days chores and duties plummets me into depression. So here's a big thank you to my sweetheart for making me laugh every night, and to my animals for making me laugh when Aaron isn't there. My little family makes life sweet.

Waxing Nostalgic

Looking for an apartment has made me reflect back upon the first apartment we lived in for 18 months.

A long time ago (2007) in this galaxy Jessica and I were not yet married. I don't recall exactly when the apartment hunting began. I do remember becoming tired of it after the first one or two. This was when I had barely started working on the graveyard shift. I was tired and did not feel like going to look around town when I could be sleeping. Therefore, my lovely future wife took it upon herself to select our humble abode. I gave her to go ahead to decide.

One day in November Jessica called me to say she had found our apartment. She described it as a one bedroom, bath and kitchen with nasty carpets. The lady currently residing there was a pack rat and Jessica said she had to follow "paths" to get from room to room. Ick. But Jessica had decided "this was the place".

Sometime between then and the wedding date I (it may have been a week before the wedding) I went to the apartment and peeked inside. The carpet was disgusting. I think the original color was blue only now it was more black than anything. Jessica reassured me the carpet was going to be replaced.

We tried to move in about a week before our wedding. The bank wouldn't have it because we had told them we wanted it by December 20th. I explained we were getting MARRIED on the 20th and needed it available a few days before so we could adequately move in.

We moved our stuff in about a day or two before the 20th. The carpets weren't finished yet. I called the bank and basically told them to get it done now or die. I think it was finished either the day before or the day of the wedding. Talk about cutting it close!

The wedding came and happiness followed. I must confess being alone with Jessica in "our" apartment felt odd. I could finally be with a girl and not get in trouble! Woo hoo!

Unfortunately, the previous tennant hadn't cleaned very well at all. The cupboards were nasty, the walls had stains on them and the carpet layers had left a horrible mess on the kitchen tile. There was a door in the kitchen that led to the carport, which was nothing more than mud and gravel. The gentlemen had tracked mud in all over the kitchen. Oh, and they hadn't removed the extra carpet or vacuumed up the little pieces. There was so much to do. Unpacking. Cleaning. Buying groceries. The usual. I'm so glad we didn't go on our honeymoon right off the bat! What a horrible mess to come home and find, waiting to be cleaned and polished.

Within the first week one of Jessica's friends brought her husband over and helped us clean. He helped me saw an inch or two off the bedroom and living room doors. With the new carpet being higher than the old you couldn't close the doors without much pulling/pushing. Those two pretty much saved our lives! I will be forever in their debt! Side note - once 9-10 PM rolled around I was quite anxious for them to leave so I could do some "rolling" of my own...if you know what I mean!

This is the living room. We rearranged it several times over the months we lived there. This is the earliest picture I could find. Look at that sweet SD TV in the corner! Also, note the lack of a Wii or Xbox 360. Those window blinds wouldn't go up very easily. We could have used some new ones and, ironically, the owner bought new blinds after we moved out! I was always afraid someone would peek in through the broken blinds.

There's more, of course, but it will have to wait until another time. Stay tuned!

When enough is enough.

Yesterday, Jessica and I attended the best Superbowl Party I have ever attended (it's the only one so far...good to start out with the best). I've come to love my new friends...not in a creepy way. It's so great to be connected with a group of people who have been where you are and are feeling what you are feeling. The love and acceptance is almost overwhelming at times.

We were there for about six hours. I ate too much chips and dip. The conversations were hilarious. Loud laughter was shared by all! Oh, wasn't that a horrible Half Time Show? Black Eyed Peas ftl.

Jessica and I have decided to stop with the I.U.I.s and the associated medication. The money is just too much for us at this time. Another reason is I have been on clomid for over 4 months. I'm tired of the hot flashes and dizzy spells. I want to go back to feeling like my old self. I want to be able to trust what I am feeling and not having to wonder if it's the drugs. And the stress of it all is something we don't want to deal with right now.

Jessica's schooling is going quite well. She aces all of her quizzes and tests. I'm proud of her. We are looking into a paper route in hopes of making some extra money.

Diesel had his first check up on Saturday. He loved meeting all the new people and smelling the scents throughout the office. He appears to be in good health and weighs 77 lbs! When I think about how far he has come along since we first bought him I can't help but be thankful we have such a good dog! As a puppy I wanted to strangle him. Pooping everywhere, peeing in the other places, puking on me, keeping us up at night. I wanted to kill him.

Now he's an obediant dog who listens when given commands. His tail might be considered a weapon in most states, however.

That's all for today. I was going to include more "Deep Thoughts by Aaron" section. Maybe next time!