Squirrel-Possum-Rat December 18, 2007

So I’m sitting here this morning drinking some chicken broth and thinking, “#$%$#%, why am I sick again?!?” when I hear Ratsy and Squidgie get into some sort of scuffle. It was seemingly over rights to the water bottle, though I wouldn’t swear on it. Who knows what goes on in their little rat brains?

Anyway, the scuffle begins and next comes the “Uncle! Uncle!” squeak from Squidgie. She’s very vocal, which is apparently weird for a rat. Oh well. I look over to make sure that all is well and I see Ratsy on top of what appears to be a dead Squidgie. She’s laying on her back, not moving a muscle (at least to my feeble, untrained human eyes). I of course freak out, hoping that Ratsy hasn’t really hurt her again [Ratsy bit the shit out of Squidgie when Squidgie was but a wee babe] and move closer to the cage. They both run over, hoping for treats.

*whew*

Squidgie has apparently learned the art of playing possum. This is in addition to her squirrel-like food storage techniques and amazing vocal abilities. Squidgie, you are truly one of a kind! You both still smell like 4H though.

Chicken soup casualty December 18, 2007

Chicken soup used to be something that I enjoyed when I was a kid. If someone made it for a meal, I’d savor the flavors of the chicken and vegetables. Well, as much savoring as I did as a child.

I now cringe at the thought of chicken soup. Why? Because it has become associated with illness in my mind. I always have chicken soup when I’m sick. When I see it on a menu (and I’m not sick) my nose automatically begins to wrinkle. And honestly, I’m sick right now and just made myself a cup of chicken soup – my nose still wrinkled. I hate the stuff!

Has this happened to anyone else?

I can’t quit you (unfortunately) December 18, 2007

Anyone out there have a great herbal remedy for colds? Any ideas to keep from getting sick in the first place?

I was sick last week and stayed home Tuesday – Friday. I was  mostly back to normal on Friday and I felt great all weekend. Then yesterday (Monday) morning, I woke up and felt sick again. I’m leaving for a looooooooong trip (by car, thankfully) on Wednesday and I’d like to not be a complete slug.

Currently I’m:

• taking ridiculous amounts of vitamin C
• taking echinacea four times daily
• gargling with salt water
• drinking chicken broth
• was using saline nasal rinse

While I’m not gargling with salt water regularly when not sick, I am taking vitamin C and echinacea religiously.

Anyway, if someone out there has some ideas for things I could do to boost my immune system I would really appreciate it!

Package rage December 17, 2007

In response to my mother’s blog about her hatred for Blister packs, I thought that I would confess that I also have package rage. Apparently this is a growing epidemic, which is idiotic because companies should make packages that are easier to open.

So, in 2008, I aim to get one of these to limit my package-opening stress. It cuts! It snips! It slices! It unscrews! Whatever the stupid packaging people throw at you, the Zibra Open It! has got you covered…for now.

Ratsy, you filthy whore! December 17, 2007

Ratsy is in heat and has started pouncing on Squidgie. Why? So she can quickly turn around and have Squidgie pounce on her hind section, which is apparently how female rats get their jollies. Oy.

Well, now it just looks like they’re in WWE, flipping each other all around. I love them to death but I like them more when they aren’t all weirdo in heat.

Determining the “possible side effects” December 17, 2007

I apparently need to take my new antidepressants in the morning because I seriously am not tired right now. Never fails! Or maybe I got so much sleep last week that I just can’t possibly sleep anymore. The Wellbutrin also seems to make me really hungry – I’ve been really hungry all day. Maybe it’s because I’d just gotten into the habit of eating smaller meals more frequently, then I got sick and didn’t eat anything, really. Oh well, I’ll try to get back to my routine tomorrow.

Aww, rats! December 17, 2007

I woke up at about 7:30 yesterday morning in need of some water. I was really thirsty, so I dragged myself to the kitchen to get a glass. Immediately I noticed that Ratsy was hanging on the wires of the cage almost willing me to save her and let her out. I figured she was just lonely but I took her out and petted her for a minute.

I took a sip of my water while she was hanging out with me. Ratsy and Squidgie are always quick to inspect anything else I’m holding and this was no exception. She ran right up to my Medieval Times commemorative cup and started sniffing at it. I apparently had the cup held too low because the next thing I knew she was drinking my water. “Damn it,” I thought. Whatever, I was tired. I put the cup down and decided to put Ratsy back and give her and Squidgie a crouton. They both eagerly took the crouton but Ratsy hid it and immediately came back to hang on the bars of the cage door.

I knew something was up. Squidgie is my food storer, part-rat and part-squirrel. Ratsy always eats her food right away. “What is going on??”

Then I saw the little rubber duck floating in their new water bottle. We got them a new water bottle because the old one attached waaaaaayyyyyy to low. Squidgie would lay on her back to get water out of that thing. So we got a new bottle and filled it up with water. It has a duck in it so that us humans can easily see the water level. That’s when I realized something was wrong with the water bottle – the duck was in about the exact same spot I’d seen it in when we filled it up at least 15 hours earlier.

I opened the cage again and tapped my index finger on the little ball that at the end of the water bottle tube. Nothing. Tap, tap, tap. Nothing again. Bone dry. It was at that point that I saw little Squidgie curled up in some blankets with a look of “I’ve lost my will to live”. Poor Squidgie – she’s so adorable in an Eeyore way to me.

I unhooked the water bottle and unscrewed the lid. No seals that we needed to break or anything. I screwed the lid on and water droplets started coming out of the  end. Hallelujah!! I had some trouble figuring out how to hook the bottle back up and the end of the bottle got partially into the cage. Ratsy ran for it and was drinking water like it was going out of style. It was almost like, “Well, who knows when you crazy humans are gonna screw up our water source again – better stock up!”. Squidgie heard the sounds of water being drunk and managed to scrape herself up to get some. The most amusing part of the whole ordeal – for me – was watching the two of them shove each other out of the way with their little rat paws, trying to get as much water as possible. Then they figured out how to work together so that they could both get some water, which almost looked like they were making out. Heck, the faux mate with each other, I don’t care if they make out too as long as they have water.

So far they’ve downed about half their water bottle today. I still don’t know what was wrong with it as I didn’t appear to actually fix anything. But I’m very happy that it’s taken care of. Poor rats!

But, back to the main point. I could tell something was up with Ratsy from the beginning, like she was sending me clues. Is that how it is with mothers and their babies (human, not rat)? Weird.

Parties, parties everywhere! December 17, 2007

This was the weekend of holiday parties, at least for me. Friday night was my husband’s work party, which was fantastic! His employer, Foundation 9, rented a huge boat and we in Newport Harbor. We were able to see (and at one point were in) the boat parade, which was beautiful! Some of the lights were so imaginative and intricate!

They served us dinner which consisted of salad, roll, awesome redskin potatoes (small chunks that were baked or fried), beef, and chicken that looked like salmon. Later they brought out chocolate fountains and a large assortment of fruit, marshmallows, cookies and other goodies to dip in the fountains. The chocolate was pretty darn good!

During and after dinner there were raffles for different video games and game systems (and a few restaurants). We didn’t win anything but our friend Alex won a Nintendo DS. They also had “gambling” on the boat – Texas Hold ‘Em, Black Jack, and Crap – but it was all just for fun using fake money. The gambling was on the lowest level of the boat, the second floor had a DJ and dancer floor (and was where we’d had dinner), and the top floor had a great view. We had an amazing time – lots of fun with lots of friends.

Saturday night we had another party to go to, hosted by our friends Jim and Christy. This one was a pot-luck but I didn’t really feel like cooking so we bought two large pizzas. We hung out with a lot of the same people we saw the night before but it was fun hearing stories of things you didn’t see the previous night. (For one, most of the people didn’t see a much smaller ship pull up next to our ship – we were boarded, though I don’t know by whom. Nothing serious, apparently.) Jim and Christy also gave gifts to everyone.  They got me two books, “Wicked” and “Son of a Witch”, based on the Wicked Witch from Oz. The best gift, though, was the wedding present they got us. Christy had saved her matron-of-honor bouquet from our wedding and put it in a vase with our wedding announcement. I’m not describing it very well – it’s very beautiful and touching.

While I had a wonderful weekend, I’m glad that I don’t have to go to another party for at least a week. I’m a bit partied out at the moment. Oh, wait…we’re having a pot-luck Secret Santa party at work on Tuesday. Argh!

Sunday recap December 17, 2007

This weekend seemed really long, probably because I didn’t work most of the week due to illness. Stupid colds! I’m so glad that’s over and I’m feeling better. Still a bit wonky from switching my antidepressants but not sick. I’m a lot happier, too! The Wellbutrin seems to be working out a lot better than the Cymbalta. Ryan and I were having a great ol’ time today. Reminded me of older, not so serious times. Very nice! The only weird thing is that I still feel like I’m “coming off of” the Cymbalta. I don’t know, I just upped my Wellbutrin dosage (per doctor’s request) from 150mg to 300 mg. Maybe 300 is too much for me – we’ll see tomorrow.

Ryan and I got a ton accomplished today for our trip, which was wonderful. We made a list of everything that we can imagine we’ll need for this epic road trip and then went out to buy it. There were a few things we weren’t able to find (tire chains, ice scraper) but I’m sure we can get them on the way somewhere. We have a sleeping bag and another blanket, a roadside emergency kit (which includes another blanket), water, snacks, flashlight, wiper fluid, new wiper blades, first aid kit, etc. etc. We’ve gotten sooo much stuff that it feels a bit silly but if we need it, it’s there. We’re also taking the car in tomorrow to get an oil change, tire rotation & alignment, and general car inspection. This car has possibly never seen snow or ice so I just want to make sure that it’s all ready to go.

I can’t believe that our trip’s almost here! People think that we’re completely insane to drive across the country in winter. But I think it’ll just be more good bonding time for us. I’ve already been on about ten flights this year. It’s not that exciting or comfortable, unless you’re in first class. (I generally am not.) So it should be fun to be able to see some snowy sights and chat with my better half and watch Ratsy and Squidgy in their cage in the back seat as we drive across America to visit our families for Christmas.

Restore Factory Defaults December 14, 2007

I wish we could have a “restore factory default” button for our bodies like they have on all of our electronic devices. When I was 23, I had a pretty decently proportioned body. That’s all I want to go back to. Hell, I’d even take the damn bangs I had when I was 23 if it was a requirement to getting that body back.

I’ve never been so uncomfortable in my own skin as I am right now. Then again, I’ve never weighed this much in my life. I secretly (well, until now…haha) wish that there was a resurgence of the plaid flannel shirts and baggy jeans of the Seattle “grunge” days in the 1990s. When I wear anything fitted, all I can see are flaws.

Tonight is my husband’s company party. I have no idea what to wear. I’m definitely not wearing a dress, partly because I don’t have one and partly because I’ve had a cold that I’m mostly over and I don’t need to get it back. But really, it just gets back to that whole not wanting to wear fitted clothes thing. On the other hand, I don’t have a lot of warm clothes that aren’t sweatshirts. And wearing a sweatshirt to a company Christmas party seems lame. You see, I have so much guilt I should be Catholic.

I get so stressed trying to find something to wear to these “events” that it makes me almost not want to go. And I do want to go, I just wish I could be innately beautiful and perfect looking with clothes that were tailored just for me. Ugh.