Welcome Baby Wii

Yes, we bought one. They may be entertaining, but they're also heart-healthy!

I can see myself 9 pounds lighter already.

I may be a cat lady, but. . .

at least I'm not her.

I do not like them, Sam I am.

Imagine my surprise to find that I've been essentially feeding my three cats poison. I learned Sunday that there was a recall on some Iams food - which ended up being MY Iams food. The food I've been feeding them since last Thursday. I call the emergency vet (it is after all, Sunday) and I'm told that I should actually NOT wait until Monday to come in, but to bring them in now, for some nice high-priced emergency vet care. So go in, with all three in tow and find out that Squirt is in full-blown acute renal failure, Kuzco and Pacha are also in renal failure, but to a lesser degree. That's what Squirt gets for being a good eater. . .more toxins.

This morning, with three hours of sleep I call to find out their status, they tell me to just come in at 7 because they still need to do another lab draw. I arrive and wait for the results. Squirts kidney numbers are still extremely elevated, and she also has an infection. The urinalysis shows a major hit to her kidneys. She will require 24 hour hospitalization that is only available in the Twin Cities. The other two need to continue IV fluids at my regular vet because the emergency vet clinic closes at 8AM. I tell her that I'm going to take them to Myhrom, in town. She pulls me aside and shows me an article online that states he's been killed in a motor vehicle crash. Honestly, the nicest man I know in Rochester - and such a wonderful vet. I can't even tell you. So the alternative is to take them to a friend's vet in a neighboring town. I drop them there and I'm off to Eden Prairie. Squirt will require 2-3 days of 24 hour hospitalization. Pacha and Kuzco are home now, but Pacha has to go back tomorrow for another day of IV fluids. They'll all be on a renal diet - yes prescription for at least a month, and Squirt may be longer depending on how extensive her damage is.

Basically by the end of this adventure we could've either taken a trip around the world, bought a solid used car just for the fun of it, or put in new flooring on an entire level of our house. Instead we'll have three healthy cats with possibly long-term special diets because of a contamination by a company that supplies meat for 40 feline brands and 50 canine brands, but has "failed to identify any issues with the products in question". Oh and according to them the "number of complaints has been relatively small", they're quoting 10 deaths, which according to the vets I've spoken to today (more than I care to mention), is a complete CROCK. They've had hundreds of deaths, thousands of sick animals, and thousands and thousands of calls. The numbers are sure to rise, because the cats didn't show ANY signs other than some vomit. If I hadn't seen the article I never would've taken them in. Apparently, when they do start acting sick, they're in irreparable kidney failure.

My hope is their is a huge law suit, and I'll be able to get some medical reimbursemnt. So far, the only offer the manufacturer is making is to reimburse you for the food. Gee thanks. Won't matter for us because we'll be eating prescription diet for a while.

My parting words are CHECK YOUR WET FOOD, the earlier you catch this the better. And if you have food that's has a recalled lot number, FREEZE IT in case of a future law suit.

Even if things get heavy, we'll all float on

Is it just me, or did the American Idols completely desecrate "Float On" in their Ford commercial? Ugh, I've got a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, I love Idol, but c'mon can we stick to the sugar pop and lay off the Modest Mouse?

How was your weekend?

An oft-asked question on a Monday morning. My first thought is, as long as I wasn't at work, it could not have been that bad. But I'm noticing that the definition of a "nice weekend" has changed a bit over the years. There used to be some task involved, like trying to clean the house. Do the taxes. Maybe even return something to a store that I've been meaning to do for months. Or even accomplish the aforementioned task AND do something "fun". Go out to eat, shop for something frivolous or go to a movie. For the record, I haven't been to a movie in a theater since. . .Cars - (summer 2006)? I suppose that's not as bad as some, but coming from someone, who saw Star Wars Episode I six times IN THE THEATER (yes, the nerd alert alarm is ringing - I'm ok with that) my movie going days have come to a screeching halt. In fact, what is now a "nice weekend" consists of sitting my butt on the couch and watching loads of TV, sprinkled with a little scrapbooking and assorted surfing on the internet box, and a pinch of semi-depression.

I have admittedly never been a real go-getter socially, but I'm having trouble trying to figure out what I'm doing with my time these days. I recently sent an email to my manager seeing if it would be possible to reduce my hours per pay period. I'm already at 32 hrs/wk, and I want to go down from that? When did I become such a slug? I have some rationale in my head that consists of "Well exceptional patient care is extremely tiring, I need the time to recover physically and mentally. Although there are people that do the same thing and work more hours than me, I wasn't built to manage that many hours of patient care". Sounds good, right? The alternative rationale is I just don't like to work. Now if you read this blog from its inception, you're probably curious as to why someone who can barely handle 32hrs/wk manages to go to New Orleans? The answer is: I have no idea. It is an enigma to me. I loved that trip, loved the work we did, loved the people I met. Maybe it's because it was temporary and I knew that going into it? These are the questions I intend to get to the bottom of. . .or not, maybe I'll just watch the rest of this movie.