Ummmm...

Well, okay...I gained a pound.

meow...cough cough...

Turns out Grayson didn't have a cough because of his heart. He has some sort of respiratory problem. I have to get his lungs flushed out and the fluid cultured to see where the problem is coming from. So, overall it is good news. He also had very low potassium, so he's on supplements for a while.

Meow!

Pepper hopes you are having a relaxing Sunday!

where, oh where has my little blog gone...

oh where oh where could it be?

etcetera.

Oh, wait. Cool! I see where blogger has added a video option. You go Bloggy boi!

Anyway.

This massive career change has really consumed me hook, line, and sinker... I am realizing self-care isn't just nice, it's survival. This new job is really, really stressful and I have to really practice active relaxation techniques and make sure I eat right, exercise---or, ka-pow!!! But, somehow I love this job more than anything I have ever done...weird.

Anyway (deux).

Gotta take Grayson to the university vet school for an echocardiogram tomorrow morning. He's kitty no. 2 falling into the category of heart failure. Atticus is still going strong, but now Grayson, who has an enlarged aortal arch, is starting to develop a chronic cough and continued tachycardia. I'm afraid we're going to lose a couple of critters this year, which I can't even fathom going through that all over again...

One very interesting proposition I made to my husband the other day-- "You know, I need to really take better care of myself, get this extra weight off I've packed on during graduate school...say, if I get down to 149 pounds, you can book a trip to Paris...*snicker*"

To my surprise, he agreed. I clarified immediately that we were talking about THIS PARIS and not THIS PARIS.

Yep, he said he would walk straight to his computer and book the trip if I got healthy and reached 149. I am currently 181(ugh).

He established the rules of deflabulation:
1) I can't starve myself (or cut off necessary limbs for instant weight reduction).
2) I have to eat right.
3) I have to exercise.

In other words, I have to get healthy the old fashioned way--the only way that works.

This all came about after I had a meltdown after an extremely stressful family session that was quite toxic. I thought I had debriefed enough with a colleague, but au contraire, as I was to find out...after I got home, up came some bubblin' crude...

oil, that is...otherwise known as a stressed-out meltdown.

THUS, Operation Glue Your Shit Back Together was initiated. The payoff is quite nice:
1) lower blood pressure
2) reasonable cholesterol
3) less junk in my trunk
4) and a frickin' trip to France

Damn. I'm feeling downright lucky.