in my rear view mirror

So thankful to be on the back side of the holidays. I am always glad when the tree and all the decorations are put away and with it, all the sadness and unfulfilled expectations of ‘the perfect holiday’ can go too.

I lost my mom a few months before Christmas, a few weeks after we found out Bub wasn’t going to make it. That was a somber holiday. We tried to be festive. We tried to keep things exactly the same. We picked out ornaments with each kid just like always. But we had Bub pose with his, because we knew it would go into the attic and the next time we pulled it out, he would be gone. It was hard to muddle through and not behave like all these things were going on. But we tried our best and I think we did ok.

We lost him in April, as most of you know.

So along with the thankfulness that Christmas with all it’s mixed emotions is behind, comes the little ache in my heart, knowing that spring is just around the corner. I love spring. And yet it’s when we lost our little fella. Everything is a mix these days. Joy to the world along with knowing my mom (and now dad too) and my little Bub are with Him for the holiday and every day.

A while back I had an epiphany. When I was growing up, Christmas was perfect and wonderful and my favorite time of the year. Because my parents made it so, while they missed long since gone family they remember from long ago. I don’t know why that realization was comforting (but sad) to me, but it was. It sort of clicked with me that they experienced the same things…love and loss and feeling like it’s not quite right. It’s not new. It’s been going on for generations.

And so it goes…

My newest obsession: NutriBullet

Not very long into my health journey, I bought a fancy pants ($$$) juicer. And I used is a good bit. But the problem was…it took forever to use and clean up. And there were a lot of days that it just wasn’t going to happen. Fast forward a good many months and it’s been a good many months since my juicer came out to play.

And that made me sad.

So I started eyeing all the food “extractors”…Ninja, Vitamix, Blendtek and the NutriBullet. I finally chose the NutriBullet. And I have tell you, I am IN LOVE! 

I bought it last week at Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon. I got the newer model, the Pro that costs more, but I wanted to make sure it would liquify just about any veggie, so I went with the heavier duty model. But I think either one would make a great improvement to one’s health.

I got it and washed up all the pieces..and then went shopping for some of the ingredients I needed for it and got to work. I made my first ‘blast’ and they call it, and couldn’t believe how fast it was. I just plopped my ingredients into the wide mouth cup (compared to the tiny hole I had to shove all my fruits and veggies down for the juicer), screwed on the lid and in less than a minute, I had a tall glass of liquid nutrition that was tasty, and I could drink it knowing every last drop was healthy stuff made readily available to my body for health.

The NB comes with several cups and blades along with several lid styles and rings to go around the top, to make it more comfortable to drink from the ‘tall cup’ that I make my drink in. It also comes with two books with recipes and tips for success. Aaaaand a web site called NutriLiving (that purchasers get access to for 6 months free…don’t know the price yet for when my 6 months expires) which I am loving so far. Many  many recipes. And since they are a short list of raw foods, I have index cards handy to jot down new ideas for future ‘blasts’. 

I am hoping since it couldn’t be any easier (especially in light of just how long it took to juice ‘the old way’), that this becomes a habit that I can stick to. I am loving the variety and the idea that I can drink my greens and get them incorporated in my diet every day EASILY. Like I said, I’m loving it! : )

Disclaimer..I haven’t been compensated for my views bla bla bla and I bought my NutriBullet myself bla bla bla. Over and out, peeps. : )

kind of like a stroll in the woods {updated with pics}

We went for a walk late Sunday afternoon. We’ve had bitter cold and now warm weather on its heels. Along with ice still decorating the shaded spots along the way.

We drove to a park near our house and hopped out to make ‘the loop’ around a small pond. As we made our way up the path to begin the loop, we noticed the small cluster of trees, decorated with paper snowflakes and bits of ribbon.

Others had plastic orbs and flashy tinsel.

And then we made our way to the foot bridge that carries walkers and bikers over a small creek. It was decorated with arches of red and white with more dangling trimmings. One arch after another until we were across the bridge.

It felt kitschy and fun…a little bit like something from a movie. And it made my usually Grinchy heart swell with the warmth of the season.

May you all enjoy all the things that warm your heart this Christmas and remember the greatest gift of all is Him.

I miss being here but at the same time, rarely feel as though I have anything to add to the conversation. And when I do, I don’t have time to document it. Oh well. I will continue to be sporadic as I can’t bear to just shut ‘er down. Merry Christmas, y’all. : )

paint clothes

The water issue yesterday was short lived. My walls are patched and look perfect. And this morning I went to THE Home Depot with my old paint buckets with the label on them to get more paint.

The guy that’s worked in paint FOREVER wasn’t there so I ended up with a young girl..bless her heart…and she thought Evermore was the color, not part of the Glidden name..as in Glidden Evermore..so she had to remix my paint. Oy. But she got it to be the right color and I came home and started priming and painting.

Glidden can’t recoat for four hours, but Behr is only two. So right now, Behr is my favorite paint ever. : ) Hoping to get all the coats done and furniture back in place by the end of today. *fingers crossed*

It will be nice to have that done. But then I want to do some deep cleaning and dusting. That’s always fun. ; )

something to frame

So I had the cat to the vet yesterday. She is definitely feeling better. They thought about bringing in the clear box with the air tube to just put her in it and gas her to get some blood. But I suggested we try to get blood out of her without the gas. Thankfully she did great. She hissed at the very end…I would hiss too if that’s what I did. Getting stuck with a needle hurts! But it’s done and over, unlike getting gassed. She acts drugged and unhappy for hours afterwards. So it was a win.

And I thought we’d have to wait until today to get the results, like last time. But last time she was looking for more things in her blood and it took longer. So, the vet and I chatted, she with arms crossed relaxing against the counter and me with elbows rested on the cat’s carrier. Within 15 minutes the results were back.

And she said her labs were fairly nearly perfect…something she wishes she could frame. : )

Every bit of her blood except one little part is completely normal. She now doesn’t think she had kidney failure as much as she was sick and it caused her kidneys stress. Her blood rebounded that much!

So for now we will do fluids only twice a week this week and next. Then once a week for two weeks and then blood at that fourth week. She will recheck that one little thing that is still off kilter. Hoping it corrects itself by then. Not sure what will happen if it doesn’t. But for now, she seems to think she is on track for a normal life expectancy again. Strange to hear after having to have the discussion about maybe having her put down just two weeks ago.

So she is happy now. She will be glad to leave those daily vet visits behind. She was out of sorts this morning because I had to lock her up in the office because we are having some dry wall repairs done. We had a slab leak in the summer and they had to cut a hole in two walls. And we have a busy contractor. So today is the day. She has cried a river wanting out of there. I feel sorry for her. She thinks she’s locked up so I can take her to the vet later. I wish I could just tell her it’s ok but it doesn’t work that way with kitties.

And within minutes of the workers arriving this morning, I rinsed out my tea cup and realized we have almost no water coming into the house right now. So I called the city. There is a problem but they aren’t sure what it is yet and not sure how long we will be without water. That’s really made me rethink that “good to the last drop” cup of tea I had this morning. Good times, y’all…good times.

a little kitty update

She seems to be feeling better. She’s more active. Eating, drinking and all that jazz. All of which are good signs that things are moving in the right direction for her. : )

We did fluids every day last week, including Saturday. We had Sunday ‘off’ from fluids and I take her today for more blood work to see if things are turning a corner for her. The vet said last week that all the ‘signs’ (active eating drinking pooping etc) are good “prognostic indicators” that things will be ok for a time. But we find out tomorrow with the results.

But y’all..she is a stinker. she has found amazing hiding places and at times has worn us slap out just trying to find her or get her out of something so we can take her in to the vet. It’s been interesting and funny and kept our minds off all the what-if’s lately.

Right now every door that can be closed is closed in an attempt to keep her in the front of the house. I’m hoping she will chill out soon and eat and drink. Her vet appt today isn’t until later, which isn’t my favorite. I’d rather do it and be done with it, but scheduling didn’t work in my favor this time. Sigh…

From what I understand, I will still be having to bring her in for fluids but not every day. But on a tapering off schedule sort of thing for quite some time. The vet called it ‘a commitment’. I just thought this is a drop in the bucket. Although I never had to get either of my kids out of the arm of the sofa. Ha.

Hoping all goes as gently and easily as possible for her today. Have a great Monday! : )

some stress

Last week was a super stressful week. Last weekend, I had been noticing that the cat wasn’t eating very well. Monday I took her to the vet. She did blood work on her and I got the results Tuesday.

She’s in kidney failure. Y’all, I cried and cried. I know she’s a pistol, but I love her, as crazy as that sounds.

So we were in and out of the clinic last week giving her fluids and some new meds and foods and we’re hoping she turns a corner. It’s possible she can sort of snap out of this and have some good months and be maintained for a time. We even learned how to give her fluids here at home after getting a couple of lessons from the vet’s office. Yesterday I’m thankful to say, we were able to do it here at home instead of having to load her up and take her somewhere. Hoping we are successful again today.

Been private messaging my cousin (who is an emergency vet, but not AB’s vet) to get advice over the weekend as we keep watching her. She got a push of antibiotics in her fluids on Friday and she’s hardly eaten since. Ugh. Not sure if it’s the antibiotics or something else, but her not eating is worrisome.

We will recheck her levels in another week or so after (hopefully) doing fluids every day and see where things are. We are hoping she’s bounced back a bit and her kidneys start doing better, which is possible. If they aren’t, then we will be having to explore…ya know. And that makes all of us very sad to think about.

And Wednesday I had an onc appointment right in the smack middle of everything else. I had to have a bone density test before my appointment. And I found out Wednesday that I am in the beginning stages of osteoporosis…fancy word for it is something like osteopenia or something like that. So I will be having to order something called Grow Bone from Amazon which is cheapest, because it’s pretty expensive stuff. And take it for a year. Sigh….

I just gave the kitty some wet food, which she usually doesn’t really care for…and she’s been in there licking at it, so I hope she’s making a bit of a dent in it. Unfortunately it doesn’t have any of her “sprinkles” (meds we now have to add to her food because of her kidneys) because she won’t eat the wet food WITH sprinkles. Bleh…it’s never easy.

Hoping things turn around for our kitty. We are all pretty sad right now.

Both these girls have aged a bit since this was taken, but it’s still one of my favorite pics of them together. : )