Random's Manifest - Thursday Thoughts

I like being random from time to time, so I've decided Thursdays are now themed!  Every Thursday I will present my random musings.  


WARNING: Topics discussed below will likely have no cohesive theme or, for that matter, make much sense at all.  Read at your own risk. 


Where the HECK are my pens?? 


I have kind of a sick obsession with pens.  I love them.  Seriously.  One of my favorite things to buy are cool pens.  Fountain pens, gel pens, marker pens, ball-point pens.  You name it.  I am particularly fond of the Dr. Grip-type pens, with the big, ergonomically designed grips.  I like these pens for times like this, when I'm studying like crazy and writing a novel's worth of notes.  I have a whole slew of Dr. Grips, but I can't find a single one!  I did just move in December, so chances are they ended up somewhere totally random, but how did they ALL make it there together??  I am just hoping against hope that they didn't make it into the Rescue Mission donation bin.  That's a LOT of money's worth of pens they got if they did... 

Post Script: Thanks to Patty for sharing this gem in her comment below!  SO funny - I had to include it here!

The Itchy Kitty 


The whole Fam-Damily is sick around here.  My sister and nephew have the Swine, and my dad is probably catching it, too.  I've had a migraine forever (see prior post on my laziness and unwillingness to do the one thing that would remedy this - exercise).  Even the pets are sick!  Poor little Stinky Dog (aka Snoopy) is all but crippled with arthritis in this cold weather, and the Rupster is COVERED in hot spots from his terrible allergies.  "That's not funny", you're thinking.  But, you'd be wrong. 


Treating this cat is a trip.  He is unbelievable.  For those of you who know us, you know that poor Rupie had a bit of a brush with death about this same time last year.  He went in for vaccines and got a cortisone shot for the same allergies from which he's currently suffering.  This was standard procedure for Rupert, but this time, the cortisone put him into heart failure, and the Lasiks for the heart failure put him into kidney failure.  He wasn't supposed to survive.  (You're wondering when I'm going to get to the funny part.  Well, hold on - we're almost there.)  They told me, at best, he'd likely have a few months or so.  Well, that would not do!  $5,000, endless prayers, and an ocean of tears later, Rupert was fine. Yep!  MIRACULOUS recovery.  They even call him the Miracle Kitty at the vet.  His heart righted itself and is operating within normal ranges (I know nothing about the heart, so I can't tell you what this means - only that it's good), and his kidney levels are normal as well.  It's been a year, and he's great!  Except for the itching...


Rupert picked up some interesting habits during his stint in the ER.  They make it damn near impossible to treat him for anything, and include: 

 
1. Pills - When Rupert sees me open a bottle of pills (he knows when it's for him, versus when it's for me.  It's amazing how he can just tell...), he starts foaming at the mouth.  Like, Rabid Dog foaming.  Drooling buckets. Gallons.  It's gross, but highly effective.  Even if I can get past the drool to shove the pill in his mouth, it dribbles right out!  It doesn't matter what I do, he is NOT going to swallow that pill.  If I am somehow able to catch him off-guard and get the pill in his mouth before his salivary glands go into overdrive, he will store the pill in his cheek like a chipmunk.  Thirty minutes later, while I'm happily watching Toddlers & Tiaras, he'll strut across the room, spit the pill out on the floor, and then saunter off.  He's incredible.
2. Liquid Medicine - Because of the pilling issue, we switched to liquid antihistamines.  I thought that would have to work.  He had to swallow if 5mm of bubblegum flavored Children's Benedryl was squirted down his throat, right?  I would be WRONG.  He again foams at the mouth, and then will induce vomiting, if the drooling isn't effective enough for his liking.  Now, I have Benedryl all over my carpet, sweatshirt,  bedspread, and chair, and I still have an itchy cat.
3. The Baby-T - The vet suggested that I make my cat wear a shirt to cover the itchy sores.  He wouldn't be able to chew/lick if his skin was covered.  Made sense, so I went to the dollar store and bought some baby onesies.  I was able to wrestle Rupert into the onesie, but once it was on him, he literally fell over onto the floor and wouldn't move.  He refuses to walk, and lies "straight-jacket style" wherever I happened to have clothed him.  I figured this would wear off, and he'd get over it.  I mean, the cat has to eat, right?  Well, apparently he doesn't.  His record is 36 hours in the same spot, refusing to move for food, water, or the litter box.  Clearly, the Baby-T approach isn't going to cut it.  
4. The Conehead - I hate "E-Collars" (short for Elizabethan - like Queen Elizabeth used to wear).  They are terrible.  You know what I'm talking about - they're also referred to as cones, halos, or whatever.  Rupert hates them, too.  A LOT.  He has a similar response to the E-Collar as he does to the Baby-T, except, add to the list of behaviors that he will only walk backwards while wearing one.  Amusing for me, miserable for him...
5. "Bitter Yuck" - Yep, there's a medicine named Bitter Yuck.  It's supposed to totally gross the cat out, so it won't chew.  I bought said "Yuck" at PetSmart the other day and promptly applied it to Rupert's wounded shoulder.  He looked at me warily, and proceeded to lick it right off.  Didn't even flinch.  I closed the bottle, taped the receipt to it, and will be returning it for a full refund. 

So, what ARE we going to do with the itchy kitty?  I was just going to deal with it, but it's gotten horrible.  Therefore, I chose the lesser of the aforementioned evils, which happens to be the E-Collar.  I guess, since his shoulders and arms are free, he's more willing to deal with it than the Baby-T.  So, he's a conehead now.  He hates me.  But at least he isn't chewing holes into his flesh anymore! 

(He's too ashamed to look at the camera.) 

Ice Cream Man

I've been home studying all week.  The Ice-Cream man is back.  Every day.  The other day, he made his rounds at 7:00 pm.  It was dark, and at that point, 27 degrees.  WTH?  

Blogger Woes

Inserting images into a post is tough.  I still can't get text wrap to work where I actually want the picture to go.  I wanted to insert that picture of Queen Elizabeth into the Rupert portion of the post, but it wouldn't let me put it under the E-Collar discussion.  Only at the beginning of the list of Rupie habits.  Grr... 

Another blogger woe - READERSHIP.  Please - recommend Musical Musings to your friends!  Follow me!  Read me every day!  I'm so fun!  And witty!  And cute! 

Waiting on Fed-Ex

I still haven't gotten my dresses from eShakti.com.  I'm hoping I don't end up disappointed with this company, because they have some GREAT stuff.  This new skirt, in particular, is on my wish list: 

C-ute!!!  If my dresses get here and fit, and don't arrive sometime next winter, I'll probably order it.  I don't know what's gotten into me with the shopping thing.  I act like I actually have money!  I think it's part of my desire to completely reinvent myself this year.  I would like to start fresh with a new wardrobe, to go with my new attitude.  Other things I'd like to do this year include: 

• Watch all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (again)
• Read at least 3 books/month
• Pass the CPA exam and the Bar
• Join a book club
• Get in shape
• Meet my future husband

I'm thinking the first two are actually doable... 

Alright, well, that's it for today!  Back to learning about Stockholders' Equity and Capital Leases.  Don't be too jealous.  

Here's a random video to go with my random thoughts.  LOVE this song! (And the 80's mix I've been listening to that inspired it.)  As for the video, I have NO idea...