Toebean isn't the most social kitty, but...

Toebean isn't the most social kitty, but he came to get some attention from me earlier. He's so handsome. Needs his face cleaned, but he doesn't like it. I just wanted to give him his lovings today. ❤️

Lost my seat...

Lost my seat when I got up to use the restroom. Looks like Adrian is taking over working for me for the rest of the day. 😂

The confusion on Cub's face...

The confusion on Cub's face when I try to let him into the car on the "wrong" side... 😂😂😂

He's like "You're doing it wrong, Blu. I'm telling Shaun." 😂😂😂

I knew I got an award at work the other day, but...

I knew I got an award at work the other day, but I didn't know that I would get an actual certificate and this neat poker chip. It pretty much made my day to get this in the mail. 😁❤️

When I was doing Shaun's nail this weekend...

When I was doing Shaun's nail this weekend it triggered a memory in me of my MaMaw doing mine when I was a kid.  I noticed I was touching Shaun's fingers the same way she touched mine... but he wasn't complaining "You're mashing my veins!  Stop mashing my veins!" like I was.  😅

I distinctly remember being so uncomfortable with any pressure where my fingers bend and I guess because I could see veins under my skin there I thought they were being mashed.  I really don't know what that was about except that I still don't like pressure applied there.  I'm weird about being touched on my hands and around my nails, anyway.  I guess "on my hands" is a weird and unnecessary qualifier because I'm not a touch-me person in general.

But anyway, I had that memory come flooding back and I could hear in my head how my MaMaw would get in a huff and say "I am doing no such thing!" while painting my nails.  😆😆😆  And it just made me feel happy to remember that.  ❤️

There is a lot going on here, cat-wise.

There is a lot going on here, cat-wise.  I feel like we are running a cat nursing home and it sucks.  🙁

Scar has been on antibiotics twice because he's been shitting diarrhea in the carpet daily for like, probably the last 6 weeks at this point.  (Shaun bought a hand-held carpet shampooer because it's basically a necessity right now.)  Scar has been to the vet several times and their solution last week was steroids since they found some inflammation in his small intestine via imaging.  It hasn't helped yet, but he's still taking his meds.  Today we had another appointment and they asked how he was doing.  When we told him that there had been no changes, they prescribed an antibiotic to go with the steroid.

Balthazar has been hacking up giant green loogies everywhere.  He has not felt well in a while.  It started with congestion and we thought he had a cold.  After it didn't pass we took him to the vet.  He got put on antibiotics and gained some weight back.  Then the loogies started and we were like "Maybe he's just coughing the crud out?"  Anyway, it continued and he looked like he felt bad so we took him back to the doctor and he was on antibiotics twice.  He finished his second round of medication on Friday.  Saturday he was back to coughing up loogies.  So now he's on his THIRD ROUND of antibiotics.

Toebean has been crying every time he yawns, so of course that is not ok.  We took him to the vet and he has a tooth that is fractured and resorbing.  I wasn't able to go to that appointment, but the vet gave him antibiotics and pain meds.  The treatment for that (according to Google) is to usually pull the tooth, so I don't know why that wasn't offered and now the vet is out (starting tomorrow) for paternity leave for 6 weeks.  The other vet in the practice that we'd been using is out of state with an on-going family situation, so we don't know if or when he'll be back.

Sindar is (of course) medicated daily for her high blood pressure.  Her sight hasn't returned to what it was so she is still very sight-impaired.  She is closing in on at least 16 years old so we're watching her carefully.  Some of her little joints have started clicking and she's moving very slowly, so we took her to be seen today and she has arthritis - big shock.  So now she's on pain meds and we'll see how that goes.

Today it wasn't great.  She took her pill like a good girl, but it wasn't long before she was DRUNK.  She circled me in my work chair a few times before I called Shaun up to watch her while I worked because she was running into things (because she can't see) and I didn't want her to hurt herself.  Current status is that she is passed out, thank goodness.  The vet said we could play with her dosage until it's right for her, so we will try that.  But there are monthly injections that might be better and I feel like I might prefer that.  But our vet is away after today so we'll have to survive for 6 weeks on the pain pill.

Adrian has been crying every time she goes into the litter box to pee for the last few days, so I'm concerned that she has a UTI.  I'm calling another vet tomorrow because she's not waiting 6 weeks until our vet returns to be seen.

And last but not least, Calypso has pretty much run out of options about her breathing / asthma and probably the next step for her will be an inhaler.  She has had her crazy loud breathing for years, but no vet has ever been able to stop it.  This is the first one who mentioned an inhaler.  So anyway, maybe we can address that when the vet returns.  It doesn't seem pleasant for her, but also not an emergency.  We keep a close eye on her.

So we're medicating a shit-ton of cats daily.  I know that none of them are young, but having so many get sick in some way all at once /  in a short time span actually sucks pretty bad.  We've already lost 2 this year and I'm hoping that we don't lose anyone else, but my heart is scared and I don't see us getting that lucky.

Anyway, I just needed to get that out.  It's pretty heavy and both me and Shaun slept like shit and woke up sad today.

Caught on our bird-watching camera...

Caught on our bird-watching camera last night. I love how she runs away. 😂😂😂

🎶🎵 I always feel like... somebody's watching meee 🎵🎶

Oh, to be as relaxed as this butthole. 😂😂😂

Oh, to be as relaxed as this butthole. 😂😂😂

Toebean...

Toebean, we literally have a whole couch. 😂 

He looks drunk or something - just passed out with his head on the Litter Robot stairs. 😂😂😂

This dog...

This dog has partially wrapped himself in a blanket. Just snoozing with a lip hanging. 😂😂😂

Today was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Today was a bit of a rollercoaster.

This morning I had a dentist appointment.  I now have a temporary crown on one of my teeth.  I usually love going to the dentist and today was no different, but I had a new experience there:  The dental assistant triggered my gag reflex which was pretty awful to have happen while laying on your back with your mouth propped wide open.  I have a fear of choking to death on vomit so I didn't much care for that.  She kept propping the green sucky thing on the back of my throat and it nearly happened a couple of times.  Other than that, things went well.

So anyway, I was fine and I went home and had a notification that I had gotten my paycheck.  When I logged in to see it I thought "That can't be right."  So I let HR know that there was a bonus on my check that I didn't think was meant for me.  Turns out that I won a LFG award for May and that big-ass bonus WAS mine.  It was announced later in the day at a meeting.  So that was pretty nice.

The last week or so I've been really stressed about some things.  We've had a few sick cats and that's not only very sad and stressful since they are all getting up there in age, but also tough financially.  I have a very sick friend that I'm worried about.  My depression has resurfaced a bit.  So I haven't felt that I was at the top of my game, not even at work, but one of my managers assured me that I was doing great at our meeting this week and the award really hit that home.  I feel like I needed it not only financially, but emotionally, too, as weird as that might sound.  The timing couldn't have been better.

So that was my day.  A couple of things that I wasn't expecting; one bad and one good.  No complaints here!

Happy weekend, friends.  ❤

I think...

I think someone missed me while I was at work today. I just sat down and he's not having NOT being the center of attention. 😂😂😂 Balthazar and Cub are also chilling with me, but Scar is being a ham.

(His belly is shaved because he had some imaging done this week. He's had diarrhea for about a month now and nothing that us or the vet have tried is helping him. We're waiting for results.)

I can't tell...

I can't tell who's kneading my butt right now. Sindar is usually the butt-sleeper, but Adrian is the kneady one.

Oh well. Goodnight. 😂

After watching...

After watching this reel, we bought a baby wrap. So far at least Balthazar is fine with it.

Pardon my looks. I'm fresh out of the shower with my hair pulled back. I'm not trying to impress anyone but THESE CATS. 😂😂😂

We had a little date the other day...

We had a little date the other day. Those are the nails I tested on Shaun.

Why is my husbang so cute, even when he's chewing? 😂 I love this human being so much. ❤️

I tested out using gel polish to make stones for jewelry.

I tested out using gel polish to make stones for jewelry. I'd say it worked. 😁

The stone on the left is just the holographic chrome powder Lust by JReine over black. I definitely need to make sure my sticky coat goes down smooth. You can see some brush strokes in that one. It was the first one I made so the second one came out smoother. 

The stone on the right was made using the same method as my dandelion nails, except that I didn't put the dandelions on it because it was just an experiment. It turned out so well that I kind of wish I had, but I'll know better next time.

Now that I know this works I will probably make some jewelry using these methods. I'm excited to have more to paint than just my nails. 😂 I am slowly but surely working towards re-opening my Etsy and I'm really excited about that. I definitely need a creative outlet in my life.

#TheresNoSuchThingAsTooMuchNailPolish #PolishAllTheThings

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AdpZn9BDG/

For the most part...

For the most part my anxiety and depression have been well-controlled with Buspirone and Duloxetine for the past few years, but I have felt myself slipping over the last few weeks.  It's so dumb because this is the least stressed I've ever been in my life.  Maybe the fact that I haven't been able to exercise like I would like to due to my ankle is affecting me.  I don't know.  Me and Shaun took a little walk yesterday evening.  It was nice, but obviously not enough to get me out of my slump.

I just booked an appointment for therapy to see if that will help.  It's something I've been meaning to do since I got back from Cincinnati, but I am only just now doing it.  It took a while to settle in, honestly, and I'm not even sure that I'm done settling.

I do have a few stressors, but I feel like I should be able to handle them without sinking this low.  I'm sleeping far more than I need to and also eating like shit.  Since my diet sucks, so does my skin which is just another fun layer of discomfort on top of everything.

I don't know.  I'm not in a dire position... yet.  I am enjoying doing nail art and having a creative outlet again.  I'm making major progress on my nail polish database.  I just don't want to wait until I'm in a terrible situation before I get help or take action, so I'm really hoping that therapy can help me get a handle on things.

I hope you all are doing well.  I'm not having the best time, but it'll be ok.  ❤