Casey seems to be doing pretty well. She is having small bowel movements (none diarrhea thankfully) and eating and drinking with gusto. I was frustrated with the vet hosptital I took her to as they sent her home with dried poo and blood on her back end. Really? You couldn't give her a quick bath? Anyway, I got her all cleaned up yesterday and she is acting just like normal. Our normal vet called today to check on her and talk about a follow up. Hopefully we can figure out what caused this debacle. Happy to have her home! :)

Made spanakopita tonight for dinner and I am anxiously awaiting the Lost premiere! :D

Lost is back on again tonight. Cannot wait!! :D

I picked Casey up at the vet around noon today. So relieved she is home. She ended up with a four day stay in the ICU :( She will be on a bland diet for awhile (I got some white rice and fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts to make tonight...the vet also sent me home with some Science Diet I/D food. I am feeding her light portions just to get her digestive tract back in line. Poor old girl. She seems to be very happy although exhausted. I am sure she didn't sleep too much while there since she has been pretty sacked out since we arrived home. Steve will build a fire in a little while and I am going to give her a bath and then she can lay next to her wood stove! They shaved her leg so one looks like a little chicken leg :) She keeps licking her IV site so I bet it itches. I wish I had tomorrow off but I switched back to days (starting today) so I hope Steve can come home sometime in the morning then I can come home on my lunch and then I will be home about 2. I just want to watch her like a hawk the next few days. They held her Rimadyl the whole time she was there so I am worried a bit about it upsetting her stomach. I started her on it along with her glucosamine. She is also on famotidine and metrozinadole for a couple weeks. Still no clue what may have caused it. I did some research and it could be caused by a tumor in the anal gland area. Once we recover from this financial hit I plan on taking her to the normal vet to see if they can do a scope to look for a tumor. Thank you for all the well wishes everyone. I was a wreck these past few days and I am so glad I have my Casey Belly home!

Casey is at the vet for the night. She has some major rectal bleeding. The labs all came back normal and her temp is normal so the vet can't really tell me anything. She is up to date on all shots so I am not really worried about parvo. Basically she will be on an IV with fluids and antibiotics all night and it's a wait and see thing until the morning :( The thing that kills me is that there is no kennel aide overnight so she is alone. I hate it. The house feels strangely empty.......

I am so worried about her. She is alone, scared and doesn't understand. I am terrified something will happen to her and no one will be there for her. :(

Casey kept vomiting and started to have bloody diarrhea. Pretty soon it was just straight blood coming from her rectum. My regular vets are out of town at a conference so I had to take her to a different one...Not such a huge fan but I have to hope he will take the best care of her possible. Currently she is on an IV and they are running blood labs on her. We go back at 6 to find out what the labs say and if she needs to stay overnight (I am assuming she will) Please think good thoughts for her... I am so upset right now.

I had lots of plans for this morning but Casey has diverted them. I was sitting at my desk and I heard a weird noise. Turn around and Casey has thrown up ALL over my bed and the carpet below :( She woke me up real early this morning which she never really does and once I got back inside I gave her a Beggin Strip. That is what she threw up so I threw away the rest of the bag just in case. She seems fine now...downstairs laying in her favorite chair. I keep peeking at her. I was nervous since she is kinda old and I was panicking but I don't think that warrants a vet visit. If it happens again I will take her but right now I am working off the assumption that she just had an upset tummy and scarfing a treat just made it worse. I did give her her meds a bit later on and it has stayed down so far. I also gave her a bit of yogurt which she also kept down. *sigh* I hope she will be ok. Off to load up some more nasty laundry. Happy Friday......

So I finally jumped on the twitter bandwagon and made an account: LisaLu4. So original huh? I am still figuring out how to use it. I don't get how to ask people questions, haha. We'll see. Could be fun. If anyone else is on there feel free to "follow" me. I am only following one person as of right now, HAHA.

Aww this is a great story!

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/82182047.html

Happy 2010 LJ land!

2009 ended on a bit of a sour note...Steve and I had just had a lovely breakfast and decided to go grocery shopping. On the way home the car's battery light came on and all the lights dimmed. Most likely an alternator issue. *sigh* And of course the mechanic isn't open until Monday. All well. Steve's parents are letting us borrow their Jeep for a few days so that will help. The Avenger is fifteen years old and only has 82,000 miles on it and this is the first major problem so I guess I can't complain too much :) I know we will get it fixed but it's just a bummer.

Without further adieu...Resoultions for 2010!

1) Keep losing weight! I have made a lot of progress the last couple months and really want to keep it up.

2) Live each day to the fullest. This sounds silly because obviously you should. But when you have been as depressed as I was it was hard to see that. Last night I got teary because I never thought I would get back to where I used to be. It is a very powerful feeling to be happy again. :D

3) Study pharmacology hard and get a new job that I could be getting paid more than double than I am now.

4) Focus more on my relationship and make it even stronger. I think Steve and I have come a long way. I feel like we have been in the "honeymoon stage" for a few months and I would like to keep that feeling forever. :)

5) Start working on my life list. I have some pretty benign things on there that could be knocked out in a day or so and I would love to start crossing some things off. Even the bigger things I could start planning for.

I know there are many more things I could do but these are the five that popped into my head first. I am really looking forward to 2010. A fresh start is always good :)

Yesterday Steve got me an early birthday/anniversary gift: a red Sony cybershot digital camera. So excited :) I had been wanting a small dig camera that I can cart around with me. (We have a larger one that's good for nature photography and that sort of thing) I still need to go get a case for it but I love it so much!

I had lost 22 pounds and just stepped on the scale. Gained 4 back :( Damn holiday season, ha! And I made red velvet cupcakes this morning..... They are my favorite. Crap

I am leaving in a few hours to get Steve at the airport. So excited :D

http://www.komonews.com/news/offbeat/80067827.html

A few otters escape from their cages while being transported on a plane and wreak havoc on the tarmac :)

Had a pretty good day. Ended up not going to Oregon as previously planned....Guess I have to wait to see Kayla :( I didn't want to sit around the house moping about being lonely so I decided to take myself out on a date! I ran some errands this morning and then took myself to see New Moon *hangs head in shame* At least the theater wasn't crowded and I will say it is better than the first movie. After that I called one of the nurses I work with and we took our dogs (she has a black lab and a choc lab) to Pioneer Park to go on a hike. We hiked about two hours on all the back trails. The Deschutes River has changed course a little. Interesting to see where the old riverbed is. We had a wind storm a few months ago and there is a lot of damaged trees that have fallen into the river so the park was a mess in places. It was nice to be outside but it was quite chilly. We ran into a couple with two other bassets so it was kind of funny to see Casey Belly interact with them. Came home and just messed around online for a bit. It is dark now and I have become increasingly lonely as the night has gone on. I miss Steve and I wish I was with him....:(

I just got done watching a documentary about the tsunami five years ago. Very powerful and disturbing images. They had footage from people that were scuba diving at the time. That was crazy! It was surreal watching people get swept away. Very graphic video of digging up bodies. I think the saddest part was the scuba divers kids has stayed behind at the bungalow and the parents surfaced and ran but the building has been destroyed. Eventually they discovered their son was in a Bangkok hospital. The authorities had set up a wall with pictures of dead bodies and the camera is rolling when the dad discovered his daughter's picture. I felt so intrusive viewing that moment. Very powerful doc. It is on TLC and called Mega Tsunami: Five Years Later. I highly recommend it.

It is so cold here again!

Wow I have been super busy! Working tons of hours and trying to spend as much time with Steve as I could the last few weeks since he is now in California. I wish I could be there with he and his family but I am making out fine. On Wednesday Steve and I had our Christmas together. Started the day out by taking Casey on a walk around Capitol Lake. Not too many other walkers but it was a chill morning. After that we came home and I made a big pancake breakfast. Then we opened our stockings and gifts from each other. I got a movie poster I have been lusting over for a long time and...the complete series of Seinfeld on DVD! Eek I cannot wait to get started on that :) It's housed in a really nice case and comes with a book about the series. Very neat gift! I got Steve a whistling tea kettle, some new shirts, a new tool set and "Casey" got him a bobblehead Santa Darth Vader, haha! Spent the day together and later we went to his parents and had a quick dinner and opened gifts with them. Steve's parents got me red appliances :) I am doing a red accent theme for our kitchen and have been looking for things so they got me a red blender and red hand mixer. Very excited about that :) I just need a microwave and coffee maker. Looks kind of funny with such a color mix.

On the way home we almost hit a deer and I had to pull over. I hit one going 60 mph in high school and should have died so I had a panic attack on the side of the road. Merry Christmas, guys! Got home in one piece and spent a nice evening together. Yesterday morning we got up real early and met his parents at Starbucks in Lacey and then all three of them took off for the airport. I came back home and got last minute things together and went out to my mom's. All the siblings were supposed to be together but at the last minute my sister Tani (one diagnosed with BC) called and said she wasn't feeling well enough to make the trip that day. She had a single mastectomy and is now going through recon surgery so she is in a lot of pain. She will going there today and she and I are going to meet up for coffee on the 27th. It was ok last night.... My brother Derek and I do not get along very well so it was a bit strained. He is upset at my other sister as well so...eh. Everyone was civil for the most part. He did pick a fight with me outside (away from everyone, go figure) but luckily my other brother was out there and he intervened. Basically I told Derek to go f himself (in holly jolly terms of course) and went inside to spend the rest of the evening with my nieces and nephews.I had a great time while he sat around moping. We played soccer and it was really fun to watch them open their gifts. :)

It is interesting to see Kristi and Khalid (sister and bro in law) parent these four children. They have very different styles yet somehow it is not chaos. Anyways, I left about 6. Gave everyone hugs. Derek told me he loved me and I love him too but honestly I am glad I won't have to see him again for another year. I know that's sad but it's reality. He knows how to repair things if he really wants to and if he won't take the effort then neither will I. Driving down 101 saw more deer in the road...I think I have a curse on me now.

Got home to Tumwater and took Casey for a Christmas walk. Did things around the house and had a relaxing, quiet evening. Today I work at 2 and then tomorrow I will be driving down to Lincoln City, OR to see Kayla!! She is spending Christmas with her fam down there and I cannot wait to see her!!! :) Lots of driving but that's ok. Actually I am a bit hesitant to drive in the dark so I may not spend too much time there but anything is better than nothing.

I hope everyone is having a great season regardless if you celebrate the holidays or not. (Might be smarter to stay away from family ;) )

Oh Tiger. Why do you have to be a cheating bastard? This whole thing with Tiger Woods actually makes me sad. He was my idol when I was going through my golf obsessed years (10-19, lol) I bought all his books, knew all his stats, tried to get the Tiger golf swing down. I was on the green all the time. I admired his commitment to the game, his tenacity and his morals. I remember reading a biography of him and he said his parents had instilled such a moral ground in him. He rose to fame so quickly and yet always had a level head. I hope he and his wife can work things out for their kids sake. It's too bad.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78211742.html

If you have been living under a rock the last couple days...On Sunday morning four Lakewood police officers were ambushed and killed at a coffee shop in Parkland. One managed to shoot the guy before dying. Early this morning a Seattle cop recognized the guy on the street. He pulled a gun on the officer who got to his gun first and shot the guy dead. So glad he won't be able to be in jail and waste money. He deserved this. It has been crazy the last couple days and I am glad they can get to memorializing people instead of looking for this dirtbag.

Mike Huckabee pardoned this guys original prison sentence. He was supposed to be in prison for over a hundred years. This is the second time in a couple years where a governor has pardoned someone and then they went on to commit a murder here....A couple years ago a newlywed couple was killed by someone that had been pardoned by Mitt Romney. The guy was also sentenced to a triple digit sentence. Kind of weird huh? Maybe the people that rape children and beat people up to with an inch of their life should actually stay in jail......

Usually I am so in the holiday spirit this time of year. Not this one. I have to work on Thanksgiving so I don't get to spend it with Steve's family, then I work Christmas Day (swing at least) but Steve will be in California with his family for over a week at that time and I can't get the time off for that around Christmas. I also work NYE. At least I will get off at 10:30 and will be home in time to get a New Years kiss. Still a bummer. I will be going to my mom's on Xmas Eve but honestly.... I am not really looking forward to it. There is so much stress going on in my family right now that it won't be too enjoyable. Basically I am just going to spend time with my nieces and nephews. I am hoping these "holiday blues" will wear off by Christmas. I decorated the house like 2 weeks ago, haha. But I love the lights, ornaments, snowmen, etc. I am sure it will lift but I am just having a hard time right now. Steve and I don't see each other enough since we work opposite schedules and I am starting to feel the stress from that. Casey is also having some extreme separation anxiety. She has a difficult time at night and just cries and paces until I come home :( I feel like my little family is disjointed. I have been begging to go back to dayshift and my boss seems like she wants me to but there is no space right now. Anyways, I don't want to be a total scrooge so Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day and if you get to spend the day with your loved ones please be truly thankful for that. There are those that can't that wish they could!

I was giving one of my favorite ladies (I call her Betty Spaghetti) her pills. She is talking about how old she is. I tell her she isn't that old.

"Are you kidding!? I'm such an old bag!!"

Mwa haha. I love it. Made me laugh so hard. Work can be so stressful but spending time with these people is what makes the stress, sore muscles and dealing with my coworkers drama worth it. I love hearing their stories, browsing old photos with them and just being there. <3

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/70529377.html

This story brought me to tears. I think it is amazing that these people recognized what was going on. The Tacoma Narrows is a terrifying bridge and for these people to risk their own lives for someone they did not know is just awe-inspiring. They held her for thirty minutes before rescue personnel could get their equipment in order to hoist her up. Wish there were more people like this in the world!!

In 10 minutes we are heading out for the midnight showing of "2012". First I had to share a quick story...Gather round kids; it's a great one!

The other night I was in a patients room giving her her bedtime pills. She happens to have Jeopardy on. The teen tournament is going on so the questions are fairly benign. So the subject is trees....The clue? "The three most common types of these are black, weeping and pussy". Unfortunately Alex Trebek enunuciated the last word very loud and you could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. My jaw dropped but as the woman in my company at the time is they very epitome of a prim, proper lady I quickly shut my yap and tried to contain my laughter until I got out in the hallway. She and I happened to catch each other's eye at the same time and both of us just started laughing hysterically. (Yes Tim, I was guffawing) It was so funny. I had tears rolling down my face. The three panelists were all teenage boys so I have no idea how they kept straight faces. Kudos to them. This lady is 89 years old....I love the little pervy old ladies :)

I just thought this was pretty cute and I should share. Off to go watch the world implode on itself. I am so psyched for this movie!!

http://www.komonews.com/weather/blog/68650367.html?blog=y

The picture that accompanies the articles shocked me. So much less snow from when I was there a few years ago. This makes me sad :(