Way to go Senate!

Kudos to the Senate for passing this bill!

Boos to the president for vowing to veto it. It will then go back to the House and Senate to try and get the 2/3 majority to override the veto. More kudos to the Senate for already having the 2/3 majority support. Boos to the House for not having that support.

Too bad we don't have universal healthcare so this wouldn't even have to be a worry!

Just a quick note to say...

I *heart* this judge:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20999950/

Maybe there are others that would like to bring more provisions of the Patriot Act to her court. I'd love to see the whole thing tossed out! :)

Thank you!

Thanks MidlifeMutant, KinnicChick, and CursingMama for the advice you have given. I always find it helps to hear from others, especially those in "been there, done that" shoes.

I guess I'm struggling with the visit, not so much because I want to see grandma, but I'm thinking it's expected of me to visit. It's not that I need any chance to say goodbye, it's not that I'm worried about any memories it might make or not make. It's that I believe it is EXPECTED of me to do this.

Both my sisters are driving there this weekend. When I mentioned to lil' sis that I didn't feel I had to go since grandma has no clue who I am anyhow, sis replies, "I'm not going for grandma, I'm going for aunt." (Grandma's daughter - the one who has been taking care of everything.) Now I'm going to look like the "bad" one who didn't show up. ::rolling my eyes here:: I think we'll be going there in a few weeks again anyhow for a funeral since the decision was made to not give grandma a feeding tube.

So I thought this through a bit - I think instead of going now, I might send a card to my aunt. Telling her thanks for taking care of all this and that I hope she's doing ok. She and her mother had a very "difficult" relationship and never really got along, so I feel bad for aunt - it's as though she's being punished by having to do this all herself. Know what I mean?

I think that's what I might do. I think I'll go shopping now and pick out a card.

Grandma's outta the hospital and the stray cat never came back

That pretty much sums it all up.

After being put in the hospital and having all sorts of tests run, they found nothing physically wrong with grandma. She was sent back to the nursing home where she still refuses to walk and refuses to eat. She's combative with the staff - hitting and scratching at them. The decision was made not to put in a feeding tube - she'd most likely only rip it out anyhow. Goodness help me, but if I ever get that far gone when I'm old, I hope I have the decency to off myself instead of putting everyone else through so much.

I'm struggling with the "should I visit her" feelings. I don't have a close relationship with her. She has no clue who I am. She doesn't recognize her own daughter. What do you think?

******************************

The calico never came back. I asked around the neighborhood if any others had seen her. Turns out about halfway up the block, there are two houses that have trouble with her trying to move into their garage all the time. Any of them would be happy to take them in, except she "belongs" (I'm using that term loosely...) to another family a little farther up the block. This family has basically abandoned her. She had kittens about 12-14 weeks ago. They don't take care of her at all. But then again, they don't do a very good job of taking care of their 6 year old child either. If I see the calico again, I'll probably take her to the humane society where she can get a good home. She's such a sweetie, I'm sure anyone would be happy to have her. If I already didn't have a spoiled rotten cat, I'd take her in!

Interesting turn of events.

My sister's little one with the Lego up her nose? Ended up in the operating room to get it removed. It wasn't coming out and they didn't want it to stay there where she might inhale it. She's fine. No more Lego in the nose, and no hard feelings against the staff at the hospital.

I've made a note in my head that if it's an M&M, I will advise people to wait until it melts. Melts in your mouth and nostril, not in your hand!

****************************

About the braces Cursing Mama, I should have the orthodontist submit it to my health plan and see if they cover any part of it! (I doubt it, but it would be worth a shot.... It can't hurt to ask.) Although, my health plan is stupid and won't even pay for Frodo's allergy medicine, so we pay out of pocket for it - I can't imagine they would cover any part of the braces. But then again, they are so stupid, they just might....

***************************

It's a gorgeous night tonight - cool and not humid. I'm sitting here enjoying some quality 'puter time, and I hear a noise at the door. I walk over to the door and find a cat out there. It's a calico. (I will call her a 'she' from now on as nearly all calicos are female. Nifty little trivia!) She looks pretty young, but isn't a kitten anymore. She also looks pretty scrawny. She's meowing at my door as though she lives here and I might let her in.

I step outside to check on her. She rubs up against me and purrs and meows. I sit down and pet her. My kitty, the queen of the household does NOT approve of this, and lets me know. She hisses and hisses like I've never seen her hiss before. She's hissing so hard, she sounds like she's trying to hock a loogie. She's growling. Of course, she can act all big and tough - she's inside behind the screen door where she's comfortable, safe, and fed. She definietely does NOT have those motherly instincts you hear about in the news where a cat takes on the responsibility of raising a baby bunny or something.

I'm thinking this stray is awfully cute and sweet. If my kitty were not so averse to it, I would've considered keeping it. Even though she had all her claws, she was pretty filthy, and had some oozing sore under her chin....

I kept petting her for awhile. She was a very friendly cat. I decided the least I could do is offer her a bite to eat. I asked dh to bring out a small bowl of cat food. He brought a fairly large amount, lol. (I always say a good measure of a man's character is to watch how he treats an animal!) She dug into it as though she hadn't eaten in a week. (She probably hadn't.) I came back inside to allow her to eat in peace. And also to check on my own kitty.

I found my kitty sulking in the corner of the bedroom. She did not want to be touched. I tried to pick her up and pet her. She squirmed down, glared at me, and sulked off. I swear, she's like having a teenager in the house. I suppose it's "just a phase".

After the calico ate, she sat on the step for a few minutes. Then she just left. Now I'm feeling sort of used. I wonder if she'll call....

The braces are on again

Frodo got braces today. Again. Last year, he had partial braces. just the four top middle teeth in conjunction with a palate expander. (We're working on correcting a severe underbite.) The braces and expander came off late last spring, and a retainer was given to hold the current work in place until his mouth "matured". (Meaning we needed to wait for some of those baby teeth to work out and the adult teeth to work in.)

Well, the retainer only fit for about 2 weeks. Then those baby teeth started doing their thing and the retainer didn't fit right. We got it adjusted a couple times. Then the permanent teeth started doing their thing and the retainer would just pop right out of his mouth. Next thing you know, it's only a couple months since the braces came off, and we're being told it's time to put them back on again. On all the teeth this time. I wasn't ready for this. And our checkbook certainly wasn't ready for this! A couple chats with the nice gal that runs the orthodontist office, and we didn't have to make a down payment this time, and the whole price is spread out over the 18 months the braces are scheduled to be on. This boy is gonna have one EXPENSIVE smile! Maybe I'm just making up for my parents not putting braces on me when I should've had them?

He's a bit sore tonight. Either he's handling it well, or the tylenol and naproxen are working good. Maybe it's both. We made a trip to the grocery store to pick out *soft* foods. The assistant at the orthodontist office let Frodo know when she had braces, she got to have a milkshake every night.... (Thanks! Not!) At least Frodo says I make a good milkshake.

********************************************

I am in love with a song. I visited Priscilla's blog tonight and she has a post with a slide show of her granddaughter playing some drums. The song she has with the slideshow is amazing. I keep letting it play over and over in the background tonight. I did a lot of searching online to find out the name of the song since clicking on the "song info" link took me to a profile of the artist. The song is called "Praying Mantis" by Geoff Bartley. I think I might be getting myself a CD! ;)

********************************************

I went to the doctor last week. I've been diagnosed with hypertension. Does this make me officially old? I was put on a medication - hydrochlorothiazide, aka HCTZ. My headaches seem to be slowly subsiding. I had a very sedentary day over the weekend and had no headache that day. Looks like I need to start leading a life of leisure, ha ha! After a week on the med, my BP was down to 136/92 today. I like that improvement. I'm supposed to stay on it for a month and monitor my blood pressure during that time, then call the doc back to discuss. Hopefully it will keep going down!

***********************************************

My little sister called me twice today. Once to tell me that our aunt had called her to let her know our grandma was admitted to the hospital today. Grandma has been living in a nursing home for about 18 months (see this post for the history as to why she's there.) It seems that grandma decided one day she didn't want to walk anymore. They checked her out and decided she had a bit of a urinary tract infection. Then she decided she didn't want to eat anymore. They had someone sit with her and feed her, but she just spits it all out. They have put her in the hospital to continue the antibiotics for the UTI, and will most likely drop a feeding tube in her if she won't eat. Auntie said we don't have to come - it's not "last days" type stuff - she just wanted to keep us updated. But I have this feeling I'll be paying a visit shortly.... I had one of my *twilight zone* moments today where I had been thinking about grandma earlier this morning, and little sis called me a couple hours later....

Then little sis called again later - it seems her youngest decided it would be interesting to shove a Lego in her nostril. She wanted to know if I knew any tricks for getting something like that out, or if she needed to take her into a walk-in clinic. I gave her my two best methods - blow the nose while keeping the other nostril closed (didn't work) and use a decongestant nose spray to help shrink the area, then blow. That didn't work either. So off to after-hours care they went. I'm wondering how the visit went.... I bet the little gal won't be sticking a Lego up her nose again! The ear might be another story though....

*******************************************

My kitty is snoring. That's weird.

*******************************************

Ok. I'm done rambling for tonight. Time to reque the song yet again! :D

Japanese Politicians Do It Quick

Our government could take a lesson from these pages:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20732735/

Bullet points from the article for you:

• support rating down to 30%
• opposition party wins parliment control (only in one house!)
• a string of scandals in the government

(Sounds slightly familiar, eh?)

Now THAT'S the way things should happen!

More bodily complaints.

Is this the crap that starts happening as you near 40? I've had headaches for at least two weeks. One even woke me up out of a dead sleep the other night. On a whim recently, I stuck my arm in the blood pressure machine at the pharmacy. 148/98. (I've been stuck around 135/85 for the past 5 years or so.)

I waited a couple days and checked again. Same reading.

My headache went away for a couple days, and last night while Frodo and I were wandering Target, I stopped at the blood pressure machine at the pharmacy, expecting to find a lower number since the headache was gone. I was in for a surprise. It was 150/100.

Today, the headache came back. I asked a co-worker to check my BP for me. 148/100. What the heck is going on with me?? I don't feel sick otherwise.

I suppose I should go to the doctor. Sigh. I'm sure I'll just get another medicine added to my personal pharmacy.

Ok. I'm done whining.

********************************************

Frodo has been in school for three days now, and he LOVES it. He adores his teacher. He's been coming home every night telling me about all sorts of fun things. Last year when we'd ask him "what did you do at school today?", we'd get the answer "I dunno" or "nothing". This year, we're getting all sorts of interesting answers. One involved a quiet conga line down the hall with the school superintendent in the lead. Another story talks about a class contract - the kids made some rules and the teacher made some rules and together they have a class contract that they all sign, including the teacher. I'm starting to wonder if Frodo's teacher worked in human resources somewhere before teaching. LOL.

Mixed emotions

It's the first day of school for Frodo. Hooray for being back on a routine schedule!

But it's a tad bittersweet today as it's the beginning of his last year in elementary school. It seems like he's only been in elementary school for 3 years at the most! That feeling ranks right up there with the feeling I got when I realized my 20th high school class reunion is coming up. And I think that feeling is regurgitation.