Friday Night Photos

Duck is helping me write this, so it's going to take three times longer than usual...

I turned on the "Photo Booth" app on my computer to get pictures while he's on my lap right now. Every time I start to take a picture, it counts down from three with beeping noises. Duck would hear the beeps and then look up, trying to figure out what it is. So this is a picture of that.

Because I've been sharing photos all week of Duck, I actually don't have much to share for Friday Night Photos. I'll post what I have... but I also wanted to share an update of Erin's project that she shared (about making up little care package water bottles for the homeless people that she passes while driving through the city to work.

You can find the original post here. Erin got SO MUCH MORE in donations than she ever would have expected--she couldn't believe it! So she started getting creative with ways to package things. Here is a little of what she's said about it all (this was actually written about two weeks ago, so I will have to ask her for another update! Like I said, I've gotten far behind in posts.)

"To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement (but in a good way)!

This has been a great stress relief dealing with the news that my dad is dying. Knowing he was homeless just gives me a feeling like I was drawn to do this in his honor. As of this evening I have given four of the care packages away. The first two I was super nervous, and after handing them to someone, I drove off right away because the light turned green.

On one day, I pulled up to the light as it turned red so I knew I would be there for a few. I rolled down my window and asked a man if he could use a care package. He came over, said yes, and I gave it to him. He said thank you very much and immediately put the gloves on, which made me happy to see.

I have ordered hats and gloves to put with the bottles I have prepared. I have enough prepared bottles to last me some time (once I get the hats and gloves I ordered), I plan on taking two a day and walking at lunch and giving them to the people I see sleeping in doorways. Whatever is left I am going to make kits to take to the local shelters, both homeless and battered women's. I may pick it up again as the winter goes on, but I have enough to last me quite a while.

I can not thank you and your readers enough. It truly has been amazing to see all those that are willing to help complete strangers."  - Erin

Here is what she said the packages contain:

"Into the water bottle:

Hand warmers
Foil rescue blanket
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Soap
Chap stick
Peanut butter crackers
Granola bar
Slim Jim beef jerky
$5 cash
$10 food gift card

I then put the tuna, socks, gloves and completed bottle in the hat to complete the package."

Here are a couple of pictures of the completed package:

And here are some pics Erin sent me as she couldn't believe the Amazon packages that she was getting, filled with items to stuff the care packages.

Isn't it amazing? I think these are extremely thoughtful and useful packages! I hope that the recipients think so, too. Erin is fantastic for taking the time to do this.

Okay, now here are a few photos that I have for the week...

I got this text from Eli and it made me laugh (note the time stamps). Kids love to plan ahead, don't they? Haha. 

Noah and Eli were getting ready to go lift weights at the rec center (Eli's new favorite hobby). I could hear them laughing as they were getting ready, and I walked in to find Noah grabbing the sleeve of Eli's shirt--bracing his legs for tug-of-war--and then pulling as hard as he could to rip the sleeves off of the shirt.

They thought it'd be funny to wear shirts with the sleeves ripped off, à la late-90's. I had to school them on how to rip seams ;)

I saw this shirt on Amazon and I HAD TO buy it for my brother-in-law, Shawn. He's the one that I like woodworking with when I go up north--while everyone else was tubing down a lazy river, Shawn and I made shiplap in his workshop, haha. This shirt could not have been more perfect for him! 

Duck's surgical-recovery garment finally arrived yesterday! So he got to exchange his "cone of shame"... for a pink bodysuit! Hahahaha. Pink was the only color that had one-day shipping, and since I wanted it ASAP for him, I went ahead and ordered it. If I had known it would be two days late, I would have gotten him gray or blue. 

He was acting so much like the old Duck once we took the cone off and he could move around without wobbling and bumping into things. Yesterday morning, when it looked like I wasn't going to be getting that garments (because of the delays) I looked for one with same-day shipping--it was another brand, but I went ahead and ordered it yesterday morning and it arrived last night. I figured it couldn't hurt to have a back-up or I could just return it if needed.

Well, when we went to bed, Duck was wearing the pink one that had worked so well all afternoon. At 3:30 AM, I heard him digging around in the litter box (I put one in my bathroom for him to use while he heals--I was keeping him confined  so he wasn't too active). I worried that maybe he'd get pee on the garment (and I definitely didn't want cat pee getting on my bed or the couch or wherever he sat, so I got up and checked the garment. It was wet in back. Ugh.

So I took it off of him and hand washed it and hung it to dry. I figured it was a good thing I had the back-up! So I put that on him, and even though it was a different brand, it seemed very similar.

I went back to bed at around 4:00, and then at 6:00 when I got up, I looked over and saw Duck lying on the couch--sans garment. The little shit had Houdini'd his way out of it! I immediately looked at his incision, and it was clear that he had groomed the hell out of it. It was a lot cleaner looking, but the edges of the incision looked red and there were two spots that looked a little opened.

If I didn't love him so much, I would have strapped that cone of shame right back on his neck. (The one that he'd wiggled out of did not even have a single black hair on it! I have no idea how he did it. The neckline is looser on it--so I *don't* recommend getting this brand, if you're ever looking for one--it's called Coppthinktu. It had 1,100 reviews and seemed promising, but the other one I bought was much better and has worked perfectly. Today, he's used the litter box without getting it wet, so it must have just been in a bad position yesterday. This one isn't exactly top-quality (the edges are looking a little frazzled) but as long as it lasts a week, I'll be happy with that.

Anyway, after finding him looking all groomed and happy as a clam this morning, I took a picture of the incision and texted it to the vet. They said it should be fine--there are a few layers of sutures and as long as nothing is poking through or draining, and he continues his antibiotics, it should be fine. Duck has always been very dramatic, and this whole experience has definitely reflected that.

I am hoping for smooth sailing for the next week or so as he continues to heal.

Oh! Yesterday, when the Amazon box arrived, I put it on the floor for the cats (what I always do with boxes). I noticed Duck was batting his paw around, and I said to Jerry, "Look! He's playing!" and I was happy to see him playing again. Then I saw what he was playing with... it was a string from the packaging tape that Amazon uses on their boxes! It's basically like dental floss. I immediately threw the box outside to take to the fire pit. I knew he'd play with string again the first change he got ;)

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

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Premium Happy Scale App Giveaway (my favorite weight-tracking app!)

I have a lot to catch up on as far as posts, so I'm going to try to work my way through them this week. I was going to do the post about the handmade crafting small businesses (see this post for the info if you sell handmade items!) but I decided to give that one more day and today I'll post a giveaway :)

(I'm not receiving any compensation for this post; I just genuinely love this app and since it was on my Favorite Things list, I thought a giveaway would be fun! Much thanks to Russ, who created and developed the app--more about him later.)

When I wrote my post about My Favorite Things, I included on it the Happy Scale app that I use to track my weight. I LOVE the app--the graphs are awesome and super informative without being overwhelming, I love that you can see predictions of what your weight will be on certain dates or when your weight will hit a certain number based on the rate that you choose (such as your current rate of weight loss or a predictions of x number of pounds per week, etc).

The main purpose of it, though, is to utilize a math algorithm to figure out your trending weight (the app does it so you don't have to!). So if you were to weigh yourself most mornings and log it, the algorithm looks at trends over certain periods of times to predict your *actual* weight ("moving average") on that morning. So if I eat really high-sodium Chinese food one night and my weight jumps up four pounds overnight, the Happy Scale app shows your moving average weight to predict what your weight actually is (apart from the water retention from the Chinese food that will likely be gone by tomorrow anyway).

It's very hard to explain, but it's especially helpful for people who have a hard time getting on the scale and letting the number influence your day. If you follow your weight trends (moving averages), you can see that eating 150 extra calories the night before didn't *actually* make you gain two pounds the next day.

As a total numbers nerd, my favorite things about the app are the charts and data that are broken down. For those of you that hate graphs and charts, they're actually really simple to follow--I have a hard time reading a lot of the running graphs on my favorite running app, but these ones on Happy Scale are very easy to understand.

So here are some of my favorite features:

This graph shows all of my logged weights from as early as February 2001(!) to the current. I obviously didn't have the app back then (smart photos didn't even exist) but one day, when I was particularly hypomanic, I backlogged everything I could find about my weight. (I will explain the red and green sections in a moment)

You can also view charts from the past year, 90 days, 30 days, or 7 days...

Graph for the past year

Graph for the past 90 days

You may be wondering what the red and green means. This is one of the coolest features! You can set this to be a comparison of the past 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, last year, or all time. You can change the colors it uses, but I have mine set to Last Year. So the top of the green area shows where my weight was last year at that same time--and the green means my weight is lower now. The red area means my weight is that much higher than the previous year at that time.

So, as you can see for my 90-day graph above, my weight is quite a bit lower than it was last year at this time.

When I first open the app, I enter my current weight for the day (note: my Wednesday Weigh-Ins vary slightly from what I post here; when I take my weigh-in photos, I am obviously holding my phone, which adds a little weight (0.4, usually). What I post on the app is my weight when I am NOT holding my phone.) 

Here is the logbook that shows each weigh-in. Like I said, the moving average and loss/week are based on an algorithm that takes big-picture trends into account. (My "start date" for all of my current stuff is from when I started losing weight in May of this year. I still have all of the data from before, but the algorithm only takes the dates from May forward into account for now.) Sometimes, I will scroll through the logbook to see, "Hmm, when is the last time I was in the 140's?" or something like that. Right now, I'm very excited to get into the 140's again.

This is the screen that you see when you open the app:

The recent stats at the top show my moving average (this is more like my "true weight" based on the trends algorithm, although I hadn't logged my weight in nine days leading up to yesterday--a super stressful week--so it's not very accurate at the moment). It shows my 10-day low weight and my latest entry.

You can set mini goals to show your progress along the way--I have mine set up for five-pound increments, so it shows the progress of that:

It shows the weight trends--how much you've lost in 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and all time. I have mine set to compare my "moving averages" rather than my 10-day low weight. The moving averages show the bigger picture.

Then, it shows predictions (there are several options that you can set up for this). If I want to see my predictions based on whatever I commit to losing each week, I can tap on "commitment" (I have mine set on 2.00 pounds, but that never happens, haha!). My current rate (I believe that's over a 10-day period?) and then my overall rate from the time I chose to have this weight loss summary start (which was in late May, when I started counting calories).

The app saves all of your data, but if you want a "start over" date, you can just have it start tracking from whenever you'd like--I chose the date in May because I felt like it was a new beginning. But I can always change it back later.

And then there are weight graphs, which is are super fun to look at. Since my history is so long, I can't get it in a screenshot (or even 10 screenshots!) but you can scroll right or left throughout the months and/or years to see the charts. These two are from 2009 and 2010 when I lost 125 pounds. The blue line is where my weight was. The green is the difference from the year prior. Pretty cool, right?

Another favorite feature is the reports. You can choose weekly, monthly, or yearly. (I *think* you need the premium version to see the monthly and yearly ones.) Here is an example of each:

You can scroll through to show any week, month, or year that you want! Notice that the week I chose was #1,084--that's how many weeks worth of weights I've logged! Haha.

I really can't stress enough how much I love this app--whether I want it to be or not, weight loss/gain/maintenance is a big part of my life. So this is my favorite way to track it all.

The version that I have is actually the premium version. I started with the free version in 2016 (there wasn't an upgraded version at the time) and after I wrote about it on my blog, the app developer, Russ, was so kind to give me a lifetime membership in 2018 when he started promoting the premium version. He also gave me five codes to use for a giveaway, which I did!

I don't normally think about app developers, but Russ is SO kind and very open to questions/thoughts/ideas/suggestions. He has also lost over 100 pounds himself while using the app, and he's made the app his passion (as well as his job--I had no idea how much work goes into creating and maintaining an app).

(Note: Some of the features I've shown here may be premium features; because mine is premium, I can't see exactly what the free version is like.)

Anyway, the super generous guy that he is, he gave me not one, but FIVE codes to give away for a 1-year subscriptions to the premium version of Happy Scale! (The ONLY drawback right now to Happy Scale is that it is just for iOS users--so you'll need an iOS device to use the app. I know Russ would love to someday develop an Android version!)

To enter for a giveaway for a 1-year subscription to Happy Scale, just fill out the form below (the info is for my eyes only, just so I can notify you if you win). I will select five winners using Random.org one week from today: December 16th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ET. If I don't hear back from you (via email) within 48 hours of my posting the winners, then I'll move on to someone else. One entry per person, please.

I will email you if you win. But if you don't and you're still interested in the app, the prices are super reasonable compared to a lot of subscription apps out there: it's only $1.99 for a month, $11.99 for a year, or $39.99 for a lifetime. You can find where to download it here.

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Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 28 (and another Duck update)

As evidenced by my pajama pants and Muk Luks slippers in the above photo, this week has been nothing short of exhausting (mentally and physically), completely draining (emotionally), and stressful (which I combated by eating). So, I was totally set up for a great weigh in! Hahaha.

I actually haven't weighed in for two weeks; last week, I had a super rough night trying to sleep (and I think my new medication was giving me weird side effects) and I just plain forgot to do the weigh-in. Then my week just started going downhill; and when Duck needed surgery on Friday, I can't even describe how upset I was.

Naturally, being the very mentally-stable person I am, I catastrophize everything--so I was already imagining that he was going to die during surgery and how I would never be able to get over it or move on.  I know it sounds completely overdramatic for those of you that aren't super close with a pet, and I understand that. I've been attached to lots of pets before, but there is something different about Duck. I have a special bond with him that I can't even put into words.

I was more worried and stressed during this past week than I have been since one of my kids was very sick or something like that. The worst part about pets being sick/needing surgery/staying overnight at the vet/etc is that they don't understand. You can't explain to them that this is for their own good, that you'll be back to get them, that you're not just abandoning them.

After the vet told me I needed to bring Duck in this morning, I immediately thought that he was going to be staying there for days while they opened him back up and found he was septic and would have to remove all of his intestines and [insert more overdrama here].

(I really can be a rational person in most situations. When my family comes to me with problems, I am really good at being calm and matter-of-fact. But this kind of stuff just makes me come unglued.)

Anyway, I brought Duck to the vet this morning (again) where he cried the entire drive (again). I handed him over from the car to the tech (again) and then just sat and waited. It turns out that it was just the beginning of a minor infection to the outer incision (thank God it wasn't the incisions on his intestines). They said it was good that I brought him in so early because it was an easy fix. They did some sort of laser treatment on it (I'm going to have to Google that when I'm done writing this) and then gave me an antibiotic to bring home for him as well.

He is actually totally fine--he's eating a ton, using the litter box, sleeping well; he wants to play and move around, but I'm trying to limit his activity for another week or so. Look how sweet he looks <3 

He HATES the cone and the little "recovery suit" I ordered from Amazon still isn't here! (I tried a quick homemade one and it didn't work out very well.) The one I ordered was scheduled to be delivered yesterday, and I literally waited up until 11:00 PM even though I wanted to go to bed so that I could let Duck sleep without his cone. Finally, I just went to bed, figuring Joey would bark when Amazon pulled up.

In the morning, I saw the notification that the package would be delivered today or tomorrow. Ugh! I am normally pretty patient when waiting for packages, but of all the times for one to be late, I just wish it wasn't now. It's 5:00 PM and still no sign of it, so I just really hope it's delivered before bedtime.

Anyway, poor Duck has gotten used to wearing his cone (I'm sure he wore it the entire weekend at the vet) but he gets very happy when I take it off of him to eat or use the litter box. (I have to stay right by his side, though, so he doesn't lick his incision.) It's so sad to watch him sleep with it! Haha.

Well, on with the weigh-in!

I was expecting to see a huge gain this week; between the stress eating and Jerry making Christmas cookies, I've also been pretty inactive (I've been sitting with Duck most of the time since he's been home). So, imagine my surprise shock when I got on the scale:

I was at 155.8, which is EXACTLY what I weighed for my last weigh-in (two weeks ago--remember, I didn't weigh in last week). It's up a little from the previous week's 154.6, but considering what a bad week I've had as far as food goes, I'm thrilled with this weight. (Now watch, it'll all catch up to me in the next few days and next week's weigh-in will be a nightmare! haha)

After all that was going on this week, my weight was the last thing I was worried about. I feel a lot better now knowing that Duck is on the mend (and a bit of peace of mind after having his incision checked today). After another day or two, I think I'll finally feel much more relaxed. And I'll feel so much better when he can wear that recovery suit instead of the cone!

Here are a couple of sad pictures of Duck with his cone. He was sleeping like this!

Again, sleeping...

Let's hope his recovery suit arrives today. (Again, thank you for all the well-wishes for Duck! It's not over, but the worst of it should be.)

Oh! And I've gotten behind on some blogging stuff I'd planned to get up this week--one of which is the post about readers who sell handmade items (with links to their online shops). I've only gotten a handful, so I am putting out this final call to PLEASE participate if you sell handmade items. You can find all the info on this post.

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Transformation Tuesday #51

And the Duck saga continues... I noticed a little bit of drainage from his incision this evening, and had been told to call the vet if that happened. So, I sent a picture and they said to bring him in at 9:00 AM tomorrow. I can't take this anymore! He has seemed SO normal today (if you dial down his usual playfulness by about 90%--I've been doing everything I can to keep him from moving around too much, and I've been glued to his side ever since he came home). Anyway, tomorrow is going to be another stressful day, but I *really* hope that Duck will come home with me tomorrow. If not, I might just camp out in their parking lot ;)

Anyway, to lighten the load, here are some fun Transformational Tuesday posts!

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I’ve been working from home for the entire length of the pandemic. Our team at work challenged each other to use the time that we used to dedicate to commuting in a more productive way (but not working more!). Some people went for a walk or started cooking more. I chose to organize my house. Here are two examples: a linen closet and a drawer of t-shirts. These were the first areas I attacked, and two years later, they are still organized!

- Jenny

Jenny, it looks so nice! Don't you love having everything where you can see it at a glance instead of having to dig? Ever since I read the book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Marie Kondō (Amazon affiliate link) my life was changed forever--folding and stacking clothes vertically has kept my clothes very "tidy" for years now. And it's amazing how much you can fit! (Like shown in your drawer photo) Great job!  - Katie

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This is before and after photos of my backyard during our annual fall leaf clean up process. It is always quite a process and requires about 10 trips to the compost pile in town. So nice to see the end result. 

- Jayme

Jayme, holy smokes! That looks like a LOT of work. I live in a rural area and everyone just burns their leaves around here, so I never thought about what happens to the leaves when people don't burn them. Ten trips to the compost pile? Wow! It looks so nice and neat now :)  - Katie

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At the start of the pandemic my husband and I both had to work from home, and at the time only had a single room in the house that was our study. Well...until I got sick of working back-to-back with him listening to his meetings, and the day he came and ate tuna behind me crunching in my ear I knew we were getting a second office. 

We converted a bedroom into his office (now known as "the cave") and the original study became my office. Later it grew into a fully fledged crafting area, as I've become a bit obsessed with my Cricut and do all sorts of crafts for friends. It had become an absolute mess with heat presses laying around, loads of vinyl crushed into bookshelves etc. 

One trip to Ikea later and a new set of Alex drawers and it's been transformed. I'm so happy to have a clean space again! The other side of the room that you can't see contains two bookshelves and my desk, but this side is all my storage. Also, black carpet is the devil - everything shows up no matter how often you vacuum!

- Kel (who blogs at Kelly's World--about a little bit of everything! She lives in Australia and is as sweet as can be. Also super crafty.)

Kel, first--I'm so jealous that you have your own craft room! (Yes, I have my garage, but there is sawdust on EVERYTHING; and I'd love a little room just for sewing stuff and other craft things!) Your organization looks great--it's amazing what the Alex drawers did for that space. You should share some of your designs/crafts in a reader email post--I'd love to see!  - Katie

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Okay, tomorrow is my Wednesday Weigh-In, and I will spoil it now by telling you that I gained approximately 170 pounds this weekend. I stress-ate for the last five days, and I'm just hoping for good news about Duck so that I can stop this stress-eating! (I know, it's a lame excuse. I will feel a million times worse if I gain back everything I just lost. So regardless of what the deal is with Duck, I'm going to recharge tomorrow after my weigh-in. I haven't even looked at the scale, so it will be a true surprise, even to me!

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The One Where Duck Came Home

I'll spoil the ending by saying that Duck came home today! (That's him watching me write this post right now)

Last night, the vet tech told me that Duck's fever had gone down to 102.9 (ideal is 102.5) which was a big improvement from 104.0. She said he had taken a few licks of food during the day, which was good news. I decided that as long as he didn't get worse overnight (like if his temp went back up), I would pick him up first thing in the morning.

The vet was supposed to be there at 8:30, so I waited until 9:00 to call. I basically just asked what time I could pick him him up! The tech said that he was still doing good; they would have liked to see him eating more, but his temp was still down and I could try to try to get him to eat more at home. I could pick him up at 10:30.

Naturally, I got stuck by two trains and was behind a school bus on the way there. It felt like it took forever, but finally I got there and spoke with the tech (from my car; we still can't go inside because of COVID). They said that he's already had his meds through his IV--two different antibiotics and pain meds--and there was no medication I had to give him at home. I was surprised by that! But I guess one of the antibiotics was a 14-day one that is given intravenously.

When they brought him out, he was meowing like crazy. Not the cute little talking that he does with me throughout the day, but all-out deep yowling. I knew it was going to be a long ride home! But I just kept talking to him the whole way.

He had an elizabethan collar on, which made me feel even sorrier for him. As soon as we walked into the house, he stopped the noise and I opened up his carrier. He came out (looking kind of wobbly with that collar) and started walking all over to check things out. I took his cone off while I was following him around, ready to stop him from licking his incision if needed.

The tech had told me that because of all of his IV fluids, he'd have to pee a lot today, so I took him into my bathroom (where I set up a temporary litter box while he recovers). I also had several cans of food in there, so I opened one to offer it to him. No sooner had I scooped it onto the plate than he was wolfing it down. I was kind of afraid at how fast he was eating--they never warned me if feeding him too much was a bad thing! He ate the entire can of food and then he was purring like crazy and just rubbing all over me wanting me to pet him. It's like he just couldn't get enough attention :)

I was so happy that he ate so enthusiastically (so I'm sure he wasn't eating at the vet hospital because he was stressed out). After that, though, he kept wanting to go under my bed, which I wasn't okay with. Cats usually hide when they aren't feeling good and it's hard to monitor him when he's hiding. I ended up taking the legs off of my platform bed so it's sitting on the floor now. I brought his carrier into my room to make a little hiding spot where he can feel safe but where I can easily see how he's doing.

The hairbrush is in there because he loves rubbing his face on it!

At the suggestion of a couple of readers, I ended up making a little t-shirt wrap thing that goes under his belly and ties on his back in order to cover his incision well, and eliminating the need for the elizabethan collar. The first one I quickly made turned out to be too stretchy of a fabric and too strappy (the bottom wasn't very wide across his belly). So afterward, I made a different one out of black fabric that is better.

It's still kind of awkward, though, so I ordered a one on Amazon today that looks much easier to put on and take off and it should be here tomorrow. (Sadly, the only color I could get for him was pink! Hahaha, the other colors couldn't be delivered until late this month.)

He's been sleeping most of the day. For a while, he slept in a little bed right next to me on top of my couch. (And under a little table that he likes to sleep under.)

Something that has been completely heartbreaking is that the other cats keep hissing at him! Chick has seemed so lost without Duck over the weekend, I thought he'd be thrilled when he came home. But he immediately started hissing. And whenever I went near the other cats, they hissed at me, too. I read online that it's because of the smell--the cats may not even recognize him because he smells like the vet hospital.

I sprayed some calming spray all over the place but I am afraid that the other cats are going to make him feel bad, so right now it's just Duck and me in my bedroom. I might see if Chick wants to come in tomorrow. It's just so sad to see him hissing at Duck. They were super close! I'm hoping that after a few days, they'll be back to being "like brothers 'n' stuff" (- Bubba from Forrest Gump; a phrase Jerry and I quote often).

I've had cats my entire life, and I've never had this happen before after a vet visit. Then again, I've never had a cat stay at the vet this long, either. Eli just came home from my parents' house, and my mom sent me this cute little book! So maybe it'll have the answers... ;)  Luke and Riley always ask me dozens of questions about the cats, so this will be fun to read with them--we can read a few questions each time they come over.

You'd think that now that Duck is home, I'd be all calm and relaxed and happy. I am certainly happy, but I'm also now super worried that something will go wrong! I am afraid to leave his side for even a second, and I can definitely forget about getting any sleep tonight. Since days 3-5 are the most crucial as far as his incision leaking (the incisions on his intestine itself), I won't really feel relaxed until Wednesday afternoon.

Anyway! I am relieved that I am no longer imagining the worst about Duck at the vet hospital, but I am clearly going to be a bit distracted for a few days until he gets back to the norm. If you have any transformations to share tomorrow for Transformation Tuesday, I'd really appreciate it! Just email a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Be sure to include your name and a description of your transformation!

Edit (Tuesday morning): I just had to add this picture. This is how Duck slept all night long! He tucked himself between my shoulder and my cheek. I love when he purrs against my face; it's so soothing. He's happy to be home :)

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Jerry Crocker and Katie Vila

This will just be short, because I don't have anything to really write about. I've gotten nothing done ever since I took Duck to the vet on Friday morning.

This morning, the vet tech texted me to say that Duck's fever had gotten higher during the night. It was at 104.0, and anything over 102.5 is a fever in cats. I was super bummed--I'd been counting the hours until I could pick him up Monday morning, and this felt like a big setback. I wasn't crazy about that tech, because I texted her a couple of questions and she never responded. So I spent all day feeling sad and just sick again.

Chick is feeling sad, too, and he curled up on my electric blanket with me. I love when he gets cuddly like this!

Don't you want to just rub his belly? He loves that.

My mom brought Luke and Riley over (they just stayed in the car because they knew I wasn't feel good) and they gave me pictures that they'd colored for Duck. Luke's was a penguin with a lot of orange (my favorite color, of course) and Riley's was a "black cat with other rainbow colors".

They asked me a lot of questions about Duck, and of course I couldn't express that I was worried--I just had to make it all sound cheery, that Duck has a stomachache and he's at the hospital where the doctors are taking care of him until he's better.

I was lying on the couch in my bedroom this afternoon and I actually fell asleep for a little while--I never, ever nap!--so that was good. My text alert woke me up and it was a vet tech (a different one) who had an update on Duck. She said that his fever is down to 102.9 (yay!) and that he ate today. If this had been the case on Friday after surgery, he'd have been able to go home on Saturday.

I just feel sure that he will have an easier time recovering at home--in familiar surroundings, with familiar people/animals. I will take the best of care of him, of course! And if he's not doing well, I can always bring him back in.

But unless his fever shoots up or something else goes wrong tonight, I'm planning to go pick him up as soon as the doctor gets there to check him out (the tech told me that the vet will be there at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I'm going to have my shoes on and purse in hand while I wait for the "okay" to come get him.

I'll write more once I get him settled. I can't WAIT to go get him!

But anyway, I don't really have anything to write about, so here are a couple of pictures of Jerry making Christmas cookies.

He asked me, "Do you think it's weird that I'm a man in the kitchen baking all these Christmas cookies right now?" I replied, "Do you think it's weird that every tool inside our garage is mine?" He called us Jerry Crocker and Katie Vila, hahaha.

I have no idea what he's going to do with all of them! But as I've said many times, Jerry LOVES Christmas so I just don't ask questions when he wants to play Christmas music and bake cookies. Unfortunately, I happen to be going through a stress-eating time period right now, so let's hope that he brings most of them to work. ;)

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Just Can't Focus

This is another not-so-happy post. I'm sorry that it's all I seem to have been writing all week, but I am unable to concentrate or focus on anything but Duck.

I updated yesterday's post, but if you didn't see that, here is a brief recap:

Duck made it through surgery just fine; the vet said that all went according to a best case scenario. The blockage was caught early so that his intestinal tissue hadn't started dying and they removed all the yarn he'd ingested with two small incisions. I was told I could pick him up today as long as he continued to do well through the night.

Last night, I was dying for it to hurry up and be today so that I could go get him. It sounds absolutely ridiculous to people who aren't this close to a pet, I know, but I miss him so much I can't think about anything else.

This morning, I called as soon as they opened to ask about him and find out what time I could go get him. It turned out that Duck had developed a fever overnight and they had to start him on an extra antibiotic and fluids to cool him down. They said they wanted to keep him until Monday. Two more nights!!

I asked about picking him up tomorrow (Sunday) if his fever comes down and he's doing well today. They said that they are closed on Sundays, so they don't allow pick-ups. I begged them to please make an exception, but they wouldn't. I think I could probably handle him at home, but I don't want to risk him getting an infection--that would cause SO many more problems.

It's not that I don't trust he's getting good care there--I'm sure he is! But they don't know Duck's personality and they can't give him the same love and attention that I can. To them, he is just another patient. To me, he means as much as a family member.

My biggest concern (other than his healing from the surgery, of course) is that he's scared that I've abandoned him. He's in a place he doesn't know, with all sorts of noises he's not used to (he's the very definition of a "'fraidy cat"--he startles by any noises or movement that is sudden and unexpected). I just keep picturing him in a tiny little sterile-like cage with nothing to do or look at and feeling startled by every little movement.

They sent me this picture of him today after I called asking about him. I'm sure they thought it would reassure me that he's okay, but I just think he looks sad. That is not his normal look at all.

Duck loves when I pet his face and pat his back right above his tail, he loves when I brush him with my hairbrush (he jumps up on the bathroom counter every morning to be brushed). At night, I make a little nest for him on the couch in my bedroom for him to sleep. In the morning, he jumps without warning onto my bladder to wake me up. Then he meows until I give him treats.

I just have a special bond with him and I've never done anything for him not to trust me; which is why I feel so bad about all this. All he knows is that I took him for a traumatizing car ride and dropped him off with strangers to be put in a cage and have a painful procedure. And now he's all alone. He's used to me talking to him all day (I talk to him like he's a person, basically--I love the way he watches me talk, like he actually understands me).

I'm afraid he's going to come home and I'll lose all of that with him: He won't trust me anymore, he won't like me anymore, he won't think of me as "his person". (Yes, I know I'm talking about a cat--but he's more than a cat to me!)

Anyway, I just feel really sad. I've felt sad all day long and whenever I think about him too much, I start crying again. I know things could be worse--he could have had several complications during surgery, or even have died during surgery, so I'm glad things went well. I just really hope that his fever comes down tonight and he starts eating. (The fact that he won't eat SHOCKS me--he loves to eat!)

I haven't gotten anything done today or yesterday. Each time I try to focus on any sort of task, I just can't stop thinking about Duck. I imagine that tomorrow will be the same. I'm going to take some of my anxiety medication tonight which usually helps me to sleep, so I'm going to sleep as long as possible and then try my best to distract myself tomorrow (not that it worked today).

I'll try to think of something different to write about tomorrow, I promise! Jerry wants to make Christmas cookies, so maybe I'll post some pictures of that. Light-hearted stuff!

Thanks so much for thinking of him. I've really appreciated the kind words. <3

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The One Where Duck Needed Surgery

This picture is from last year; see if you can spot Duck in the Christmas tree ;)

(The title of this post is a Friends reference, in case you think it's an odd title!)

I'm posting this early today (Friday) because I'm super worried right now, and I'm actually looking for some reassurance from any of you that may have dealt with this situation before.

As if yesterday wasn't already a bad day, it went from bad to worse during the night. At around 4:00 AM, I heard Duck retching like he was going to throw up. (Anyone who has a cat knows that very distinct noise!) Duck never throws up, and I was immediately worried. Yesterday during the afternoon, Noah told me that Chick threw up spaghetti. I was totally confused--where on earth did he get spaghetti? (We'd actually had spaghetti for dinner the night before, so I was wondering if he got it from the trash or something.)

When I went to clean it up, I noticed it was actually white yarn. Immediately, I knew what it was from... the night before (on Wednesday night), I noticed that Duck had actually gone in my closet and took a small ball of yarn from a pillowcase that I keep it in. I never would have guessed that he would have found it like that! When I saw he had the yarn, I took it from him. It didn't look like he'd eaten any of it--the ball looked the same size as the others (they are tiny balls of yarn--10 grams--that came in a big pack of different colors).

I don't let the kittens play with yarn or rubber bands because they like to eat them. Obviously, I don't want them getting an intestinal blockage, so I keep those things put away. (Oh, and dryer sheets! I had to stop using them because Duck would dig through the clean laundry to find them and eat them.)

I didn't think about the yarn again until Chick threw it up yesterday afternoon. I was so glad he threw it up instead of it getting stuck in his intestines. He and Duck seemed totally fine all day yesterday. Duck was super playful and we played fetch a few times (his favorite game is when I crumble a piece of paper into a ball and throw it for him--he brings it back to me, over and over).

Actually, yesterday morning his paper ball went under the couch. I took out the swiffer to do a quick sweep under there to get any other cat toys--and look what I found! Hahahaha.

Early this morning, when Duck was retching I got up and noticed that there were several spots where he'd thrown up bile. He didn't come when I called him, which is VERY unusual for him. When I took out the treat jar--which he usually senses and is at my feet in half a second flat--he didn't even come. I tried giving him ham (he loves to eat) but he didn't even want that. That's when I knew something was very wrong.

Then, he was extremely lethargic. He just laid under the Christmas tree in the corner and wouldn't move. I knew I had to take him to the vet ASAP, so I started getting ready to take him there. The vet opened at 8:00 this morning, and it's about 35 minutes away. I left with Duck before they even opened, hoping that they'd see him right away.

He was completely panicked in the car. I was glad he wasn't lethargic, but he cried the entire drive to the vet. I felt horrible. 

Thankfully, they immediately took him in (because of COVID, I had to stay in the car--they came out to get him). They did blood work and an x-ray. The vet came out to tell me that there was definitely yarn causing a blockage--the yarn can basically strangle the intestines if it gets caught on something and can't pass through. This can cause the intestines to rupture, which can cause sepsis.

As he's telling me this, I'm sobbing and just wanting to know if Duck will be okay. He told me that Duck needs surgery and he wasn't sure how invasive it would be until they saw just how bad the blockage was/where the string was stuck.

He went on to say that the biggest or most common complication usually happens 2-5 days after the surgery--where the incision on the intestine can rupture, causing sepsis. So, they would keep him for 2-3 days to make sure that everything was working okay and he was eating and all that.

Hearing about this stuff made me super worried. I had hoped this was a common occurrence and that the vet would reassure me that Duck would be just fine--that the surgery was no big deal, etc. I just wanted to hear good things, even if he had to lie to me. When I asked him if Duck was going to be okay, he didn't really say anything reassuring even then. He just told me that the most crucial time was in the days after surgery.

He said they would call me to keep me updated. (The bill was $2500!!! Just in time for Christmas, naturally. So I handed over my credit card and told him to do anything that they needed to make sure Duck was okay.)

I sobbed all the way home. I've been home for a couple of hours and I'm dying to hear from the vet. I just figured writing a post would help me to think about it without imagining the worst case scenario. Also, I'm hoping that if this has happened to any readers' cats, you might be able to offer some reassurance that your cat turned out to be just fine. You can comment here or email me if you'd like--katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com.

(I apologize in advance if I don't reply within the next few days--I don't know what's happening yet and I'm going to be completely CRUSHED if something happens to Duck. I know you're not supposed to have favorites when it comes to pets, but Duck is my favorite pet I've ever had. I don't know how I will handle it if this surgery goes wrong.)

So this is definitely a downer of a post--after the previous two, good grief--so I'm hoping for good news to share later today.

EDIT (3:45 PM) - The vet called and said that Duck did really well during the surgery! I know this next week is going to be really tough, but I'm glad that the surgery is done. The vet said that because I took him in so soon after he ate the yarn (about 36 hours), the tissue hadn't yet started dying. She had to make two incisions in his small intestine to get the yarn out; there were two pieces and she said one piece was over three feet long!

When she sewed the incision closed, she said that the tissue was already showing blood flow and showing normal digestive movement--a very promising sign that he will heal well. They are keeping him overnight to make sure that everything is working as it should and if all goes well, we should be able to pick him up tomorrow afternoon.

I'm nervous to bring him home, but we've had to sequester cats before. I'll keep him in my bedroom and put a litter box in my bathroom. (The purpose of keeping him confined is to keep him from being too active; he needs to rest to allow the incisions to heal.)

Thank you for the nice comments! I am so relieved that the vet said he's doing okay. I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

EDIT (Saturday 9:00 AM) - The vet called and said that Duck is running a fever. She said it's pretty common for cats after surgery, but they are giving him IV fluids and another antibiotic just to be safe. But they said they want to keep him until MONDAY. The big reason for this is because it's the goddamn weekend. If his fever is gone today and he's doing well by tomorrow, normally I'd be able to get him tomorrow. But because it's Sunday, they won't let me pick him up tomorrow.

I miss him horribly, of course, but I am absolutely sure that he is completely stressed out. Duck is scared of everything--I always say he's my spirit animal because he has as much anxiety as I do--and I don't feel right leaving him there for so long out of convenience for the staff. Duck follows me around all over the house and he doesn't even like it when I close a door where he can't be with me. I'm sure he thinks I just abandoned him at an unfamiliar place. And Chick is clearly worried, not knowing where his brother is--he keeps pacing and meowing.

This is super stressful. And naturally, I am a stress-eater. This thing with Duck is something I never anticipated. I had my hopes up all night, thinking I was going to see him today.

I hate this so much. And I worry that he's going to be a completely different cat when he comes home.

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Putting It To Rest

Irony: Filling out a brand new planner, only to have nothing go as planned.

The past couple of days have been, well, kind of a mess. Like I wrote yesterday, I was scheduled for an MRI of my back this morning. When Jerry came in from work, he brought the mail in with him. There was a letter from the insurance company stating that the MRI was "not medically necessary" and they weren't going to cover it unless I met their requirements.

From what I read, I absolutely meet the requirements; I have no idea why they wouldn't agree: 1) My pain has to have been ongoing for more than six weeks (I first started seeing doctors about it in 2017, so I'd say that's more than six weeks) and 2) I had to have tried physical therapy, medications, or other remedies.

Well, I did physical therapy in late 2017 for my neck/back/shoulders. I have tried more medications than I can count, especially since seeing the rheumatologist this year. I was prescribed a TENS unit back in 2017, which I still use sometimes when my neck and shoulders are really bad (I don't think it actually helps, but I can make the jolts from the electrodes strong enough that I concentrate on those instead of the neck/back pain, hahaha). I've also gone to a chiropractor for adjustments (unfortunately, they did not help).

How many more "remedies" do I need to try before they'll approve an MRI?

So anyway, I did not have the MRI today. I can appeal the insurance company's decision, but that will take a while and by then, it'll already be 2022--a brand new year with a brand new deductible to pay. Convenient for them, right? It's kind of disgusting how much money we pay for insurance only to be told that a test I meet the requirements for is "not medically necessary".

After reading the letter from the insurance company, I just kind of lost it. Not in an angry way, but in a defeated way. I cried as I told Jerry how tired I am of all of this. I'm ready to just let it go--I don't have any hope left in me. There are millions of people who live with chronic pain every day; I should just be grateful that I can still move on my own (albeit it very stiffly sometimes!). And I can't even describe how grateful I am to have such an understanding and amazing husband.

I really hate writing about pain because I feel like I'm whining and complaining (and nobody likes hearing people complain). But now that I'm not waiting for test results or to see a new doctor or something like that, I feel like I can put it to rest for the most part (at least here on my blog). I actually didn't even have intentions of writing about this today.

The whole point of my post was supposed to be the irony of planning things only to have nothing go as planned. And that's exactly how the past couple of days have gone. But tomorrow is a new day and I am going to move on :)

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Planning Out New Goals

Considering it's Wednesday, I would normally post a Wednesday Weigh-In; I'm actually going to do that tomorrow, however. I had a really restless night--I was in a lot of pain--and when I got up this morning, I wasn't thinking straight. I was sure it was Tuesday! By the time I realized it, I'd already had breakfast and a lot of water. So I'll just do my weigh-in tomorrow instead.

Tomorrow morning, I have an MRI (just another test in this long quest to find out what's causing the chronic pain). I'll write more about it on another post, hopefully after getting some answers.

For now, I'm focusing on goals for December. I haven't been running for the last couple of weeks and I was getting kind of worried that I would quit again for the long-term. I don't want to get back to the point of not being able to run three miles, so I decided that I'm really going to make running a focus this month.

Instead of just saying that I'll run 3-4 days a week, I need to have a set schedule--a printed out piece of paper telling me exactly when to run and what that running workout is. Otherwise, I just don't end up doing it the way I "intend" to.

Usually in December, I start thinking about the new year and what goals I'd like to make. I also love to get a new journal/planner to write out goals and keep track of them throughout the year. I don't always finish them--actually, I don't think I ever have, hahaha--but they do help me get in the mindset for whatever I want to accomplish.

This year, I bought the same journal I'd gotten a couple of years ago. It's called the Clever Fox Weekly Planner (Amazon affiliate link). This is the second edition, which actually addressed my only complaint from the previous edition. The monthly calendar pages were all at the beginning of the book and the weekly ones were after those. I would have liked to have the weeks follow each month (which makes much more sense). Well, I guess other people had the same thought, because the new version of the planner is in order! (Monthly page, then five weekly pages, then another month, then five more weekly, etc.)

The planner is undated, so I didn't have to wait until January to start. I spent some time over the last few days writing out long-term goals as well as my goals/plans for December. I'd asked recently on Facebook for people to share their favorite things (prior to my own post) and someone said "Paper Mate Flair Pens". I was curious, so I checked them out and ended up buying some to go with my planner/journal.

Wow--I love them already! They remind me a lot of Sharpie fine-tip markers, but they don't bleed or show through the paper. The tips are thin enough that you can use them exclusively to write out everything (no need for a pen) and it will look colorful and fun. I love that the ink doesn't spread at all when you touch the tip to the paper--it's actually like writing with a pen--and that there is no ghosting (where you can see the writing through the pages).

I don't really want to share the pages of my journal/planner here (at least not yet), simply because it's more personal, but I'll write about some of the goals here on my blog. I have goals in lots of different areas of my life, but in this post, I'm just going to stick with December's goal of running/exercise.

I'm going to do the MAF80 plan that I shared, which is four runs per week. I find that when I have days off between runs, it's hard to get started again. I know I don't want to run seven days a week, so I decided to schedule in walks with Joey on the days off of running. That way, I already have it planned out and there is no question of whether I am getting in miles that day.

I've always liked having Wednesday and Saturday as my rest days (when I was running five days a week), so I'm going to schedule my walks with Joey on Wednesday and Saturday. Since I'm only running four days a week, I'll also schedule a walk on Monday. That means I'll be running on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday. 

I'd like to plan on doing it in the mornings, but I'm usually in the worst pain of the day in the morning, making it hard to exercise. So, I'm just going to have to decide on a day-to-day basis of what time I'll run/walk. Today, I walked Joey at around 5:30 PM--it was dark the whole time, so I had to wear a headlamp! It felt so much later than it was. Lately, I've actually really liked going in the dark--when the ground gets icy or snowy, though, I'll have to either go in the daylight or on the treadmill.

If this post seems rushed or chaotic, it's because it is--I'm hungry and incredibly tired, so I just want to finish this now and get something to eat. Then, read my book (I'm still reading my November read-athon book!) and hopefully get some sleep tonight.

Can you believe it's December of 2021 already? The pandemic has been going on for nearly two years now. Thinking of goals for the new year is fun--I just hope that "normalcy" will return in full in 2022!

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