Blather, rinse, repeat

Every year I like to post about the first time I hear the tree frogs. It was tonight, although others have said they heard them earlier, being out in the evening. (I was coming home from teaching Hula tonight.)

Also, there was a thunderstorm. Only a few days till Spring!

There's more to tell, but this is a happy post and I don't like to spoil it.

I've been trying to catch that stupid cat in the trap, so I can put down a garden without it turning into a giant litter box. But so far I've trapped a possum, and a terrified raccoon. Callum saw the raccoon in the trap the morning I found it, so he's been talking all about the “maccoom” since then. And of course the dogs are going out of their minds. (I did let the maccoom go. It scurried under the damn shed, where it's probably got a nice little home and a ton of babies who are also going to spend their lives trying to eat garbage. But I don't know what else to do with it.)

National Poetry Month is over and thank god for that. Almost all of my poems were forced and really sucky this year. I wasn't feeling it, and I'd almost always rather have been writing something else or even just doing something else. And to top it all off, I got a message from a curator at hitRECord, and would I be interested in writing something for a science-related radio show? HELL YES I WOULD. What's the deadline? MAY 1st. Oops! I really want to whip something up tonight before bed. I hope I can!

Right now there's a guy outside cleaning the leaves out of the yard. I went and hired someone because it's been YEARS, the place looks like trash, and I just don't have time. He's doing it for really cheap. So I keep going out there every half hour to bring him some food and water and ask if he wants a sandwich or something like that. It's not even going to be perfect; it's just getting rid of years worth of leaves. The rest of the junk (old Xmas trees, tons of weeds and brush,) is still going to be there. Two hours a day, I get. I use them to write. The yard doesn't even come in second. But it's still hard for me to ask for help – even if I'm paying.

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and then Callum's birthday. I generally don't do much for Mother's Day—really just get a little something for my Mom—but I really look forward to Callum's birthday. Err, all two of them so far. Last year's one was such a beautiful and fun day. I hope this one will be, too. I actually just bought him that stupid LeapPad thing. There are so many things I said I would never do as a Mom that I have to do now, like microwaving things. Honestly, sometimes you just run out of time and you're like, “Okay, I fail as a Mom today.” I don't necessarily think that getting a Leap Pad is a fail, though; it's not like he's going to use it all the time. He's got a little toy laptop, and even a few other LeapFrog products, like toy phones and tablets, and he only uses them once in a while. This one has WiFi, though, and I figured I'd get it for the airplane ride in August, at the very least. We still mostly run around the house, or outside, and play, and read. I'm happy to say that I'm not really exaggerating with that. We do a lot of things that don't involve watching TV or youtube. So I think a little WiFi toy will be okay; it's not going to eat all his time.

You know, the way Tumblr eats mine. ^_^ Although when I really do have to get something done, I get it done. Right now I've got a manuscript out to two people (well, a partial, and a full after a partial, which is REALLY EXCITING because hi, you liked those first 3 chapters enough to ask for more!) And I'm still revising the NaNo one like a bitch. Like a HUGE bitch, I mean I keep changing things all the time. Soon, I'm going to have to put it somewhere so that close, trusted people can look at it, and then put it into OWSFFH and let people really have a go. Do major, major revisions. And then start querying that one, too. That story doesn't even know what it is, yet. But I'm to the point where I'm dreaming about it, so I think that's good.

Yesterday was 70 degrees. Today it's back in the low 50s. Damn it, weather. TURN HOT.

TREE FROGS. I heard the tree frogs tonight, and you know what that means. Spring! Actual spring, like with warm weather on the way. Tree frogs know what's up. If they're out there peeping their peeps, then it's about to get a smidge, a tad, possibly a mite warmer up this bitch.

Today was exciting: In the 90 minutes that my Callum napped, I entered #PitchSlam on Twitter (maybe win some more critiques?) and sent off the query/synopsis/10 pages to agent Connor Goldsmith, for the critique I won from him, too.

GIVE ME ALL THE CRITIQUES.

Then I did my poem-every-day entry on HitRECord. Gah, why did I take on National Poetry Month again? I knew it was going to be a crunch. And it is; it’s so crunchy right now.

Today’s poem sucked a monkey testicle because I only had about twenty minutes to bang it out. That's the thing about the 30 day poetry challenge, because I did it last year, too. Most of them are pretty awful. But, out of thirty, I get 4 or 5 good ones that I really like. So I guess it's worth it.

Yesterday I took the dogs to the vet for their yearly checkup. What a big production this is now that I have a toddler. Just getting everyone from the car to the office is a circus act. But both dogs were good, and Callum was good, too. He was actually really nervous, so he sat on my lap the whole time, watching the dogs getting their exams and looking really worried about it. “'Amo? 'Aku?” I tried showing him that the dogs were being so good, they weren't crying or anything (because Callum FREAKS OUT as soon as he sees the nurse or doctor, because he knows that shots are coming. :/ )

But anyway, Haku's heart murmur was about the same – no worse, which is really good news, and the doc said that his heart rate was nice and slow, a sign of good health. Sano is a bit deaf (which I knew,) but his eyes and cognitive function are awesome for a dog his age. The only real problem is his worsening arthritis, and mostly in that front leg where the dog bit him about twelve years ago (and Dr. Dickwhistle / ex boss said not to x ray it, so we didn't know until years later that it had actually been broken. I swear, that man has such bad karma coming his way.)

Well, I wanted to put Sano on some mild anti inflammatory so that he can get up the stairs with more ease, and start going on walks again, but we had to do the bloodwork to make sure his liver could handle it. And, then the general, yearly bloodwork, to check Haku's one kidney, and Sano's platelets.

Today the vet called and things are looking good for both (*KNOCK ON WOOD*) Haku's kidney values are actually improved from last year. His liver value is high because of the phenobarb/other seizure meds, but significantly lower than it should be. Vet said that whatever I'm doing is working, and to keep doing it. (For those wondering: the secret is milk thistle every day. Both dogs get it in a high dose. Also, vit. C, CoQ10, coconut oil pills, and MSM/Glucosamine.)

What a load off. I stress about it every year. But that really made my day.

I have work tomorrow, an early day. A 90 minute treatment and then staying on for a bit to train the new Saturday receptionist. Then home to write my 4th poem, and who knows, maybe even get a quick look at the new novel I'm writing. (Wrote. Still writing. IDK. It's a dripping mess but I fell in love with my cast, so that's a good sign.)

One thing I keep meaning to add because I don't want to forget it. Callum is obsessed with the mail truck; he has to watch it go by every day, and he has to yell and scream about how exciting it is. Today, we were even outside with the dogs when he saw it go by, so he was yelling at the top of his lungs. The only thing is, he calls the mail truck the “whale-cock” and I just think that's brilliant. I'm not even going to correct him.

Haku had a seizure this morning at 6, boo. It seems to follow the pattern of having two within two weeks, and then going a few months without, so here's hoping for that next few months.

First day of Spring. Snow. Boo.

Since we got that voucher to fly last time we came back from Disney (since we got bumped,) and we already have passports and Callum can still go for free, we're heading back in August. This time just me, Mom, Callum and Meg. (Trying to see if Spencer and Natasha can come, but it doesn't look like it.) And I'm trying to hit up every deal, price cut and freebee I can find. But the truth is that this, like almost every other thing I do, is going on a credit card. (And the tips that I put away, if I have anything left over at the end of the week. I'm talking about like, 5 bucks a week.)

But I'm the one doing the planning this time and I've never done that before. It's *hard.* You actually need a vacation when you're doing planning because it's so ridiculous. When I was a kid, you'd buy plane tickets, get a hotel room, and then just pants it when you got there. Eat wherever and whenever, go on whatever rides you felt like. Now, you have to book dining reservations six months out. You have to, or you won't eat (or will end up eating fries from food stands every day.) I'm already a month late and I can't get restaurants anywhere to take us. >_< Not only that, but you now have to book which rides you want to ride, down to the hour. I mean, you could wait on 2 hour lines, but that's not happening when you have a toddler. So for things like meeting characters (and I know Callum's going to want to see Elsa,) and going on rides, you have to actually book those. Six months in advance. And obviously, those things you want to do have to match up with whatever park you're eating at that day, so that you don't have to “park-hop.”

I actually hate the way they do it now.

But I mean, I spent my childhood and some of my adulthood there, kind of growing up, learning, meeting people, and all of that kind of thing. I want to give Callum that chance, too. If he gets older and decides he hates it or wants to go somewhere else, that's what we'll do.

So anyway, today, instead of re-writing that one chapter I wanted to do (and note to self: Add the Walking People around various parts of the story so that they don't come out of nowhere and aren't as suspect when you first see them, also make a sort of community in the tunnels since there are no park rangers left etc.) I have to spend my two hours on the Disney website, fighting to get tables for three adults and a baby.

It's that either/or that gets you, with kids. I can do this important thing, or that other important thing.

Well, off to do the thing!

Only three weeks until Disney! Or, as Callum calls it, “Diz-din.” I've started telling him often, that soon (“Next month, this month, three weeks,” etc.) that we're going to Disney. “Callum and Momma, Grandma and Meghan are all getting on an airplane, way high up in the sky. Then when we land, we'll go to Disney! And there we'll see Spencer and Natasha, Aunt Chrissie, Uncle Timmy, Gavin and Mason, and Uncle Don and Jen. And then we'll see Micky and Minnie, and the castle, and Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. Also a great big ball, and tons of animals.”

When I mention Haunted Mansion, he does the scream. That's because I've been reciting the whole thing to him since he was about three months old. Cracks me up. It's so weird to me that he has no idea what I'm talking about. Like, no sense of the future, that this is a thing that has yet to happen. I wonder if he thinks I'm talking about the Disney Store, or maybe the Disney room at my Mom's.

I'd been fretting, a little, a few weeks ago, because he was only saying five or six words. Then, out of nowhere, in the space of about two days: five more words. And the next week, five more. And then more. All at once! So weird how that happens.

So of course, my biggest stress is boarding the dogs, and leaving my goldfish, The Doctor. I got an automatic feeder thing for him, and I tested it today, and it works. And I'll put his light on a timer, too. But what if something goes wrong, and he doesn't have food for six days? Or light? I don't know, I guess goldies are kind of hardy, but I'd be so upset if he went without food for that long. And, I always hate boarding the dogs. I haven't done it in so long. I know it's going to trigger Haku.

In other news, I started teaching Hula again. I've got a class of six kids, ages 5 to about 10. Okay, I've taught adults and I've taught tweens before, but this is a while different box of frogs. They actually are just like a box of frogs, one that I keep trying to keep the lid on, and they keep popping out. I'm worried, because there's going to come a Monday where my Mom will have to go to work for inventory, and I'll have to bring Callum with me. How the eff am I supposed to teach six frogs, and stop my toddler from getting into everything? I'm stressed just thinking about it. But, it's really fun to teach them. At the end of the first class, the youngest girl ran up and hugged me, saying, “Miss Jules, I love the Hula!” And they all wanted to learn Hawaiian words, too. Which is pretty good, I think.

As far as writing: That one really cool agent still has the manuscript. I even nudged her last week—or two weeks ago?--and haven't gotten a reply yet. She's replied to everyone else who's nudged her (with rejections. :( ) But she is telling people that she's focusing on SciFi now, which is what mine is. IDK, maybe she's getting invested in it, and taking her time? I don't know! My palms sweat every time I check my email.

I've also started another novel. I've actually written tons, tons, TONS of stuff since this one, but either I've kept them to myself, or they've been fanfics, or I've put them on the internet or on HitRECord, and none of them were ever meant for publication. This one is, though. I've only just started it. I might join NaNo this year, even though I'll miss the first few days.

It is cold, cold, cold here today, after a relatively warm Autumn so far. My room was 55 degrees and I put the heat on a little, just to take the edge off. I like the chill, though.

Although, I won't be complaining when I'm in Florida and it's 85 degrees, either, that's for sure. :D

So I keep sitting down to write this epic story of something that happened to me in high school, but then other things keep happening (like I have to do laundry, or CJ wakes up, or I'm querying again, or write something for HitRECord instead, or whatever.)

In the meantime, here's a quickie-quick update:

CJ's finally teething, at nearly 10.5 months. Took him long enough! But that first tooth is poking through on the bottom. It seems to really hurt, too. He keeps hooking his fingers into his gums and pulling. And crying randomly, pulling his ear, rubbing his jaw. Aww. Teeth are so mean.

He has stopped saying “fish” to the fish, but says “egg” to the little egg-shaped lip balms I keep around. Still barks at the dogs, moos like a cow, and greets people with an enthusiastic, “Heyyyyy!” and a wave when they come in. He signs for “milk,” “eat,” and “cousin” when he wants to know where Jo-chan is. He can walk around holding onto things, and he dances when music comes on. Like, really gets down and funky with it.

Last week we were supposed to get hit with one last, HUGE Nor'easter storm. But instead of the predicted 6-8 inches, we got NOTHING. Except freezing weather and huge winds. But no snow. THANK YOU. It's still cold, but the smell of Spring is in the air, and it's a little balmy.

“A balmy Spring wind
reminding me of something
I cannot recall”

I think that's by Richard Wright. I remember reading it in college. Cece-Ann and I used to quote it all the time. Until eventually—because we were gross and scatological--”Spring wind” came to mean “when the dogs let one rip.”

I feel like I've been waiting forever for this Spring. Last year I was so damn pregnant. Then I felt sort of housebound after CJ was born (well, I was, I mean, I was too stupid to figure out how to take him and the dogs out to the park or whatever. And of course, they tell you not to take the baby out in public for the first 12 weeks or something like that.) And he was so colicky. Last summer is a blur to me. I never opened the pool, or cleaned up the yard, or anything.

Well, this year it's still going to be nigh impossible to get the pool opened or the yard cleaned without help. I'm just going to have to ask for help, that's all. The yard is a mess after this stupid winter. Tree limbs, hell, entire TREES down in the yard. (The neighbor's tree fell onto my shed.) Debris everywhere, too.

What I really want to do is get Havoc outside into a flight cage. As of now, I wake up at around 5 AM to put him into a carrier so I can cover him, otherwise he'll start screaming as soon as the sun comes up. Then no one gets any sleep. He'll obviously scream at sunrise outside, too, but at least he'll be farther away and maybe I won't hear him as much.

Maybe we'll go to the park today, if it doesn't rain. It's windy and cold, but not “I can't move my eyeballs” kind of cold.

Tomorrow I have to open the clinic early for a rich client who wants a 90 minute massage. Ugh, I hate opening early. But it must be done.

GOD DAMN IT, the crow just screamed and woke the baby.

He has to go outside. >_

I took Callum for his hip x rays today. First they tried to give me the runaround with the insurance thing, saying that it hadn't cleared with his primary care physician yet. Which is bulldoody, because I talked to this woman named Ellen in the office FOUR TIMES in order to get them to set it up. (Because the doctor there didn't take his insurance, so I needed to get prior approval, blah diggity blah.) She assured me that if there was any problem, she would call me back. When I didn't hear back from her, I called anyway to make sure. The first time she said "Oh, no one told me about this!" Which is crap, because I'd told her. Twice. The last time she said, "Okay, if you don't hear from me, everything is fine. I'll do it today."

Today at the doctor's office they told me, "We don't know anyone named Ellen."





They must have worked it out among themselves, because about fifteen minutes later they called me in.

It was hard, because I had to hold him down for the x ray. Which beats having a stranger do it for sure, but it still sucked because I insisted on having him covered with lead up to his chin, and he hated it, and cried and wiggled the whole time. It was super not fun.

The x rays were inconclusive. From one position they looked perfect, (legs flexed and laterally rotated,) but from another, (legs straightened – though not entirely because I could not get him to hold still!) his right hip looked a little "off" as the doctor said. So we have to go back in 8 months and redo the x rays to see if it was just a today thing, or if the hip really is forming weirdly. If it looks off again, he'll need to go to the hospital for anesthesia and x rays with dye. He said 4 out of 5 things he looks for were perfect, but in that one position, he was side-eyeing it. Callum is definitely hypermobile though. The doctor actually tested my joints too, bent my wrist all the way back and forward, pulled it out, hyperextended my elbows and said basically said CJ could have some of the problems I've had, too. His right hip might also just fix itself within a few months. So I have to call in January to make an appointment for July (WHAT?) And then HOPEFULLY in July, everything will look normal. *fingers super crossed*

So he's not rushing him into a pavlik harness or spica cast. But if the hip still looks weird in July, then it's surgery.

I'm just going to keep taking him to the chiropractor and getting him adjusted until then, and hopefully everything will go the way it's meant to.

On a different subject, Saturday was very weird for me. I went to the store while my Mom was watching Callum. I had a basket full of stuff and was waiting on line. The cashier's light was on, but she wasn't there yet so I figured she'd come back in a second. She comes back, says, "I'm open," and this guy with two or three items jumps in in front of me. So I go to give him The Look.

AND IT'S MY EX BOSS.

He was all "Oh, hi!" like nothing ever happened. OMG how I hate social situations like that. Ugh, so terrible. So we had to have this awkward, stilted conversation.

It was weird; I'd actually had a dream the night before that I had to work there again. That's actually one of my recurring nightmares. Then I thought, well, maybe it's a sign from the universe that I need to let go of the resentment and anger. It's not healthy to hold onto that. Someone wrongs you, okay, it happens. My life turned out the better for it, right? So forgive, and move on.

Then I was like "LOL NOPE. STILL PISSED."

Now I'm thinking, maybe I can stay pissed off from a feminist and social point of view (what he did was so trashy,) but be personally thankful.

Anyway, that was that.

Other news, let's see. Callum started eating small amounts of baby food. He is really into food. I hope he can stay that way, and continue to have a good relationship with food. I hope he'll like to try new things and enjoy mealtimes like I do.

I also seem to be in the middle of some stupid anxiety thing where I think that everyone around me is in mortal peril or is secretly terminally ill. I wish I could quit doing that. Those are intrusive thoughts and they are useless and need to go away.

Oh, and it snowed yesterday. WHAT THE HELL.

I've got most of my Xmas shopping done already. Bring on the dang holidays!

A year ago on the 25th, it was a Saturday, and I went to the fertility clinic where they took me in an hour late. So I sat around watching a show about sea turtles and reading a magazine about Doctor Who. Then I went into the office, where I read Sherlock Holmes while I waited, because, as I told the nurse, if this worked, I wanted to have a smart baby. She said, "I Mama is smart, the baby will be, too!"

I left cautiously hopeful, and here I am today, with a little boy sleeping on my lap.

I try to take Callum somewhere for an hour or so every afternoon. It gets us both out of the house – though we can't ever stay for too long because of Haku. Today I decided to take some DVDs I'm trying to get rid of to the Yellow Barn by the library. But the library and Yellow Barn were both closed, and the drop boxes only accept books. I just gave about 50 books to my neighbor across the street for her yard sale.

So there I stood in the parking lot of the library, holding Callum's carrier on one arm and a huge bag of DVDs and tapes in the other, in the hot sun, when a blond woman in a sundress approached. She was on foot, and the only other person in the parking lot.

She asked, "Are you looking for something?"

I explained that I wanted to get rid o all of these DVDs but didn't want to just leave them there.

She said, "I walked over here from the shelter for abused and displaced women. I hope it's not rude of me to ask, but we don't have a really big video library there and one of the girls was just saying that she wanted to see more movies."

Wow, imagine that?! What great timing! I told her she could have all of them. She said, "How fortuitous! What are the chances?"

I gave her the bag, then offered her a ride back to the shelter, since it would be a long walk carrying all the DVDs. She accepted, and so we talked on the way back about astrology and baby names. (Because she really liked the name Callum. And she got it, too. "That's Gaelic," she said. "Colin is another version of it.")

Then I was going to take Callum for a pleasant walk through the cemetery down the road and take some photos, but I had forgotten my damn camera! >_< So instead, we visited my Mom at her work. Drex was working there too and he came to say hi.

It's funny, originally I was going to go to the store b/c I'm out of chocolate, but I didn't have any money to spend so I decided on the library instead. Neat!

Two days ago, I took Callum out to brunch with Lady Chrysanthemum, Empress and Snarklit. I have been missing the hell out of them so it was such a wonderful day, getting to see them. We haven't trained together in so long. I haven't trained in over a year, Empress is in school AND working at a dental clinic, and she now trains somewhere else. And Chrysanthemum has taken time off to be with her daughter, who was waiting on a baby of her own – who was just born yesterday!
She got in a little Grandma practice first:


And here's the lot of us, the old crew:



We talked—of course—about how much we miss Ye Olde Days of training, when we were all together at the cute, cozy school. When the Gold Dragon was there, and a bunch of really nice kids, and all the other folks who used to train with us. When our Kwon was like a family and we all had some TV Trope-ish role in class. It all kind of started to change when we moved schools, and different people came in and old ones left.

I still want that back. I miss it enough that I'll wait to have it again.

Well, we were all just feeling nostalgic, I guess. One day, Callum will train and hopefully I'll be training again, too. These people will always be my brothers and sisters.

Welp! It's been chilly at night and hot during the day, but you can definitely feel a hint of fall even in the afternoon. It's just a smell on the breeze. Jo-chan's school starts tomorrow, so she'll be living here part time. Can't wait for her to come back! Mom, and Boychild and Boychild's Mommy, and Callum and I have been going for evening walks on Mondays. It'll be nice to have her along, too.

Speaking of, she's having a BBQ later that Callum and I are going to. We're going to discuss the logistics of getting us all to Disney in 2014. :D

And so Autumn is around the corner! Yesterday I was looking at the FB pics a friend of mine posted. She's from HitRECord and she has this beautiful little boy. (He's so cute and smart, he's got his own section in the TV show! Which I'm going to be on, too!) Anyway, she has a pic of her and her son at around 6-7 months or so, walking through a pumpkin patch. Callum will only be 5 months in October, but I can't wait to get a pic like that, myself. :)

He's about to wake up any minute, so I have to cut this short!

Today is such a gorgeous day. LIke Bob Marley said, “Sun is shining, weather is sweet.” I took the dogs to the beach for a long walk, and I’ve been outside setting up bird feeders and putting my tropicals out for the season, scrubbing bird baths, re-arranging things, etc. just to be outdoors. Everything is so green and lush, and it smells like the ocean and apple blossoms.

The latest Hyperbole and a Half  gives people a really intense look into what depression feels like. Reading it has made me so grateful that I’m able to enjoy days like today, and more understanding of people who can’t.

So, here's how the rest of my week went. I finished up my last (so far) day of work. I don't plan to take too much time off, because I honestly can't even afford to, so I only hope the clinic will still be there when I get back.

Then I had a doctor appointment, which are once a week now; kind of a pain. I had a different doctor, some dude, whom friends assured me was very chill. He was nice, really; looked at the birth plan I'd written up and agreed with everything on it, etc.

But here's what happened: he was running an hour late. The nurse who weighed me was pissy and in a huge rush. She didn't wait for the scale to stop tipping and she wrote down that I had lost two pounds. (Maybe I'd lost one, or just hadn't gained. Which is totally normal.) But then the doctor saw it, and he thought I measured too small, didn't look right or whatever. So he made me go back for another ultrasound 4 days later. I pretty much had a feeling nothing was wrong and they were just being stupid about it and trying to get some more money, but of course, you worry about things like this anyway.

But, I went back Tuesday and had yet another different doctor who was like, "Umm, why are you here?" Even the u/s lady was all "Everything is perfectly normal, what is the meaning of this?"

So now I'm super annoyed and I hope I don't get this doctor for delivery, because he seems to be an alarmist.

They also keep pestering me to get internal exams every week. (Sorry, TMI.) I keep declining. I think you only need maybe one, before the due date. They were really insistent and totally confused about why I was turning it down. The nurse was literally like "You're really not doing it? I mean... your pants are staying on?" YES, FFS. They were so insistent about getting all up in my puanani that I began seriously to suspect their motives. >_> Back away from the vagina, people.

(A few years ago, Jo-chan and I were trying to come up with some way to invent one of those spring-loaded boxing gloves that you could stick between your legs during an OBGYN exam. It would have a trigger or something that you could pull when the doctor went down there for a look. IDK, I still think that's hilarious.)

But enough about my crotch.

I was supposed to have new windows by now, but contractors across-the-board suck. I'm sorry to any contractors who don't. I don't believe in you; you're like Santa Claus. Not that I can actually afford new windows, but the ones in my bedroom (which is going to be the baby's room) are cracked. Like seriously cracked, completely broken, ice on the inside of the windowsill, black mold building up, can't-get-room-above-50-in-the-winter kind of broken. My Mom actually put it on her credit card, tbh, paying like 50 bucks a month. Anyway, originally they were going to put a rush on it and get it done in the beginning of May, but, contractors, you know. "Beginning of May" means "end of June, maybe."

Oh, here's another thing. I have Havoc outside today. It's not his first time outdoors (I've dragged his entire cage outside a few times, to get him some sun, even though this totally panics him,) but it is his first time in the aviary. I figured, I'm not using it for a while, let's see if he can stand it out there. And honestly, he's been screaming so completely non-stop lately, I have no idea what's causing it but it's driving me insane. Today when I took the dogs to the beach he screamed so loud and so long that I could hear him from my car, down the block. O_O

So, I put him outside and set him up with a bath, perches, food, peanuts, and a toy. He was hysterical for about five minutes until he discovered his water bowl. Then he had a drink, got on a perch, and chilled out. He's nice and quiet now and I am a much calmer person without him screeching the way he has been. I think I'll put him out during the day, and bring him in at night. (He could stay out at night since I fixed the aviary all secure, but IDK, I'd probably be too nervous.)

Oh, and I had Sano's bloodtest done again this month. Once again, everything is normal. (*knock on wood!*) This is the first time in years he's had platelets in the spring. Haku is still having seizures on his new meds, so it's not a totally perfect situation, but Sano not being on pred is totally new. The only thing I did differently this year was give him coconut oil with his dinner, because I read some anecdotal stuff from people with ITP saying that it had worked for them. Very odd. I even started cutting down on his SUPER EXPENSIVE Chinese Medicine pills. Maybe I can get to the point of filling them every 40 days instead of every 20, saving over $100 a month. Let's hope.

As for the rest of today, maybe I'll do a little writing, maybe some recording for HitRECord, maybe some laundry. I've already had the dogs to the beach this morning for a nice long walk, and done lots of outdoorsy work and now my hips are aching again. Well anyway, won't be long now!

Sun is shining, weather is sweet. :)

In unlocked news, I'm now 8 whole months pregnant:



WTF, how did that happen?

The weather the las 3 days has been so nice and warm – FINALLY! It got up to about 70 for 3 days in a row. Tomorrow it's going back down to the 50s. Boo, hiss. My baby shower is in a week and a half and about 50 people are coming. ( O_O How do I even know that many people?!) I want it to be warm enough for people to go outside. And a few Hula sisters will be there too, and some of my former dance students. I'd love to do a little dancing.

If I can move, that is. Pugsley has taken up residence with his noggin on top of my obturator nerve, AND my hips are falling apart at the seams (which is normal for this time.) So if I do too much shifting or turning, I get this huge, throbbing pain in either or both thighs, and sometimes my leg just goes dead.

Anyway, the weather has been nice enough that Mom, Jo-chan and I took the dogs to the beach yesterday. As is typical of springtime (and even winter sometimes,) some B-hole had their dog running around on the beach without a leash. Said dog came charging up to my dogs. I freak out when this happens, because of the neighbor's dog that attacked my dogs a few years ago, and because Haku's legs are so fragile, the last thing he needs is a bite, or to get knocked over. So, I always start yelling at the dog and going nuts and trying to shoo it.

So this time I was freaking out, yelling at the dog, and at the owner, "THEY'RE NOT FRIENDLY! GET IT AWAY!" but she couldn't make it there in time. Sano hates when I get upset, so he stepped in front of me, and grabbed the other dog by the throat. He didn't sink his fangs in or even break the skin, he didn't shake the other dog like he was trying to hurt it. He just held it by the neck until the owner got there. Haku, meanwhile, total douche, started running around the other dog and biting at his back, plucking fur out of him. But I can't even get mad at my dogs for doing that. They're the ones who are leashed. They're the ones who can't run from confrontation, and who feel threatened and know that Mommy is upset and mad and doesn't want the other dog around.

The owner was all "Oh sorry, sorry, oh jeez, sorry about that." No, dick. Put your dog on a leash and you won't have to feel sorry when my dogs bite it. You're lucky Sano was showing some restraint, honestly. The last dog that actually attacked him (in his own yard, no less,) ended up in the vets getting its ears sewn back on.

So that was that, and I'm sure it's going to happen again and again this summer. Especially if I'm walking with a baby. I can tell right now that Sano isn't going to be cool with people or dogs going up to it.

What else? I got my HitRECord check in the mail! And another nice thank you letter from Joe. This check was important to me, because part of it was for when they played my Dad's song at the Halloween show. Getting money from my Dad's music is just the best. And I really want to spend it on something artistic / creative for the baby, to make that kind of connection. I made a video about that. Everyone in the forum is being so awesome. Even Jared signed on to say some nice things. ^_^

I have another check coming to me from there, too, this one for the Little Red Riding Hood book. Hurray for all of that.

Well, tonight is Wednesday, so in a little while it's off to Mom's, to watch Criminal Minds with Jo-chan when she gets home from college. And then tomorrow, more cleaning, sorting, moving things from here to there, throwing things away, putting new things in new drawers, etc.

Crazy times, y'all.