Heavy Heart

After a long drive, made longer by the failure of the State of Indiana to properly plow and salt I-65, we dropped off Isis at the Purdue University Small Animal Hospital yesterday for her I131 treatment.

My head & my heart hurt....I feel as if I am weighted down in my sadness.

I miss her and worry about her so much.

I know she feels so utterly alone & abandoned ~~ and she is surrounded by smells & people whom she has never seen before.

She will be away from us for approximately 2 weeks!  TWO freaking long weeks!!!

I am out-of-sorts. 

Luna is, too.  I can only imagine what my little pumpkin seed is thinking, all alone today...without her big sister.

The 4th year vet student who is looking after our baby called this morning with an update.  He made her a little fort in which to hide.  She is eating some canned food.  He will give her some attention, but not too much as he sees it makes her anxious.

He called later to tell me that her labs were back.  One liver enzyme number went down (Yay!!) while another is still elevated (greatly so).  He says we can take a "wait & see" approach b/c the elevation may be directly related to her hyper-thyroid status, as she has been off her meds for a week.  (I am praying that is all that it takes to get it back to normal!!!)  She also has a slight urinary tract infection, that they will treat with antibiotics after her I131. 

She will have even less human contact after the I131 b/c she will be highly radioactive.  The doctor said she will don a protective suit to take in her food & water, and give her a little affection.  Like that isn't going to scare the crap out of my little girl?!? 

I snuggled her so close before we left the hospital.  I won't be able to do that for 1-2 weeks after we get her home, tho. 

There will be some precautions me & Chris have to observe for a couple weeks (with her & her waste).

I am willing my affection to her across the miles right now.  Then I get to will it to her from across the room.  I won't like that much, either, but it will be better than at present.

We love you, Isis Bella Mojica!  We are coming back and bringing you home!!!



Ostara Blessings

Happy Ostara!  Or as most may know it, Happy 1st Day of Spring!!!

However, our temps aren't getting out of the 20's today...and with the wind chill, it may not even feel like 20's!!  The sun is out, tho, so there is consolation in that!

I also have 2 dozen daffodils opening in a vase on my desk!  I bought a bunch from the American Cancer Society and was given a second bunch plus a vase from the person who was collecting the donations!  Yay! 

A little cup, a little frill, that's how you make a daffodil.

Daffodils are one of my all-time favorite flowers!  We had them behind the garage at our house in Hobart, so I was able to cut them each Spring for our house, but not this year. 

The ways in which I will honor Ostara today are mostly in food, as being outdoors, even to have a quick bonfire, isn't that appealing...and will be less so by the time I get home from work.  (Tho I would love to take a walk to the Lake ~~ that remains to be seen!)

I am enjoying some of nature's finest today: carrots, celery, an orange and an apple. 

But the biggest Ostara food would be the incredible, edible egg!

Chris made us migas for breakfast, I am having 2 hard-boiled eggs for lunch and I will be adding hard-boiled eggs to our big salads for dinner. 

Our salads will be chock full of Mama Nature's goodness:  spinach, carrots, celery, tomato, avocado, sunflower seeds, craisins, hard-boiled eggs and walnuts.  We are going to "break bread" with a small u-bake asiago loaf.  To drink: either gluten-free beer, hard cider or wine.  And for dessert, I am making a spice cake with pure pumpkin! 

Hail, and welcome!
Green life returns to the earth
blooming and blossoming
once more from the soil.
We welcome you,
goddesses of spring,
... Eostre, Persephone, Flora, Cybele,
in the trees,
in the soil,
in the flowers,
in the rains,
and we are grateful
for your presence.

!Feliz Cumpleanos!

Happy, Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday, Luna Pixiedust!!!

I cannot imagine our life without you!  I am so very glad you chose our front steps that fateful hot August day!!

I love you, Baby Baby!!!

All Things Green

On Sunday, the 10th, we had a date with my aunt.  As a belated birthday gift, we took her to see "Oz, the Great and Powerful" followed by dinner at Olive Garden.

I thought the movie was pretty good, yet not great.  I really liked the beginning, in black & white.  Actually, my favorite part was the intro credits b/c they used an old-fashioned style!!!  I am "old school" when it comes to most effects in movies.  I am not a huge fan of CG and rather prefer the first three original "Star Wars" movies and the original "Wizard of Oz".  It's the organic, feel of the real stuff that appeals to me.  References were made to the Lion, the Scarecrow and Dorothy's gingham dress, but the Tinman seems to have been passed over.  Odd, I know!!  "Oz" had a good enough story and the three witches looked good, too.  Again, tho, nothing was GREAT to me.  There is definitely a possibility for a sequel to this prequel, which, in effect, would be a remake of the original.  :)

Yesterday, we celebrated St. Patty's day in Crown Point for the first time.  Unfortunately, the weather was far too cold for many other revelers and the Square was pretty empty most of the day.  I think most people waited until right before the parade, which began at dusk, to head out...all bundled up. 

We parked at my aunt's, brought out the mint chocolate with green sprinkles pretzels and the herbed cream cheese-stuffed celery, poured an Angry Orchard for each of us in a plastic cup and made our way on foot to the Square.  It.was.a.ghosttown!  We made a beeline for one of the (many) bars, Silver Bullet, which is owned by our long-time family friend, Barb Black. 

When Chris and I first arrived at the bar, Barb wasn't there.  I sent a text to my mom and sisters to wish them a Happy St. Patrick's Day and to tell them where we were.  My mom calls me to give me Barb's number, but I told her I wasn't going to call and that Barb should be arriving later; that we'd check back.  A couple minutes later, the bartender comes to us, with the phone in her hand and asking if either of us is Jennifer.  My mom had called Barb, Barb then called the bar and told her bartender she had to go around the bar to find Jennifer or Chris Mojica!!!  She wanted to let me know she could be there in, like, 15 minutes!  I told her to just take her time and we would come back!!!  Too funny!!! 

After enjoying a Summer Shandy at Silver Bullet, we met up with some old friends, one of whom had participated in the St. Baldrick's head-shaving event at the CP Firehouse.  They got some elephant ears; Dan & I got green beers, but it was just too darn cold to be outside for long, so they departed and we went back to the bar, to chat with Barb and drink some more.

A couple hours later, we walked back to my aunt's ~~ and it was now even colder ~~ to eat some corn beef sandwiches and get ready for the parade. 

I think we missed several of the early entries for the parade, to include the Lake County Pipes & Drums, of which our friend, Dave, is a member.  We really wanted to see him and Sandra, so that was a bummer.

Chris & I enjoyed ourselves, despite the cold & not seeing our friends for long (or at all).  I highly suspect our alcohol consumption had ALOT to do with our good day!  HA!!

Slainte!

March Funk

I don't know what is up with me, but I am in a funk. 

Maybe it's the fact that our weather has me feeling a bit trapped, indoors.

Maybe it's because I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with life stuff.

Maybe I should pull out my calendar to see if it is just PMS!

I haven't been to the gym since Thursday and I only made it 2 times last week, so I know that is part of it.  My belly flab is mocking me!!! 

I wish airline tickets for Key West would come back in the $650 range that I missed out on several weeks back!

I wish I didn't have relocating to Key West on my mind, when we have been pretty settled on Boulder.

I am hopeful that next Wednesday, March 20th, Ostara, the first day of Spring, will find me in a better place. 

That the cocoon will begin to shed; my funk begin to dissipate.

And, I still have to do our damn taxes!

UGH!!!

Isis

So, a couple of years ago, our "teenager", Isis, was diagnosed with hyperthyroid.  We were fortunate to take notice of the change in her behavior and get her to the doctor for tests.  Since that time, we have been giving her a daily dose of meds to bring her numbers in line.  At the time of her first labs, we were told her liver numbers were elevated and that they would be monitored along with her thyroid each time.  Isis has been a little trooper when it comes to taking her meds, even tho we know she isn't a fan.  (Sometimes, but not always, she even gets a treat for being such a brave girl!!)

Isis had labs again recently and the vet informed us that while her thyroid numbers were good, her liver numbers have been slowly creeping higher, which is a direct result of the meds.  Sooo...we were given 2 options: change her food to a special one or take her for a costly (yet one-time deal) radioactive iodine treatment.  We opted for changing her food....initially.

When I called the vet on Saturday to let her know we would go with changing her diet, she informed me that we would have to ensure that Isis NEVER ate any other type of food in her life.  She said it would be less of a risk for Luna to eat Isis's food than for Isis to eat Luna's.  This would mean feeding them at specific times, making Isis eat the new food exclusively (and this feline is finicky!!) and removing all food bowls until the next feeding time.  Well, we still thought, let's give this a try and the vets office was able to find us a Hill's freebie for the Y/D food with both dry and canned and a dry food container.  Chris planned to pick it up on Monday.  We were going to add a few pieces to her regular food to see if she would even like it.

But, the more we mulled it over, the more clear it became that we would need to do the radioactive iodine treatment.  This entails taking her to Purdue University (an hour and a half away, and an hour ahead of us) for an initial visit & taking her back/picking her up for the actual treatment.  We will have to leave our little girl for an indeterminate number of days (hopefully 3, but no more than 5) after she receives the injection so that the radioactivity leaves her system.  Following the treatment, I believe we will have to wear gloves when scooping litter and Isis isn't supposed to cuddle with us.  Having another cat in the mix, I don't know if that means they will keep her any longer or if they will expect us to get a 2nd litter box (but who can control which litter box their cat(s) use anyway!).  The good news: Isis will no longer have to take meds!  (And, of course, we just bought her a 90-day supply!  Fortunately, a pharmacist friend gives us an amazing deal!)   

And my baby is going to be so lonely and, maybe, sad ~ most likely, a bit pissed off, too.  We will send with her several towels, so she has our smell with her (the vet hospital will not return them, however, b/c they will have become biohazards).  Isis has never been away from her home.  When we travel, we always have someone come to our home to care for our cats.  I will miss her terribly!  She turns 14 this July, so she is a regular part of everyday life for us!!  Luna is gonna be lonely during the day without her big sister, too.  (For the first time this weekend, that we have seen, Isis was licking Luna's head, which is something she & Caesar would do.  It both touched and broke my heart!)

So, Isis's first appointment at Purdue is this Monday at 1PM (noon our time).  Chris and I will take the day off and the 3 of us will head down there about 10.  She is going to hate the drive and will, for sure, be telling us just that for the first several minutes. 

UPDATE:  Received a call from the Purdue Vet this morning.  Since we weren't informed by our vet to stop giving Isis her thyroid med, she can't be seen until Monday, March 25th, as she must be off it for 7 days.  Also, it seems that when we take her she will remain there for the treatment....AND she could be there 7-14 days, rather than 3-5.  OMGoddess!!!  Two weeks?!?  That is far, far too long to be without our baby and far, far, far too long for her to be without any of us.  My girl will be in isolation that whole time!  I pray that the staff will not only be observing her and giving her food & water, but they will also give her some time & attention, some much needed petting.  She has become a cuddler recently (which was always Caesar, so we have missed it) and I know she is going to just shove herself in the corner, her usual response when in her carrier for the vet visits.  I know this is what we have to do, but I can't help feeling sorry for my baby.