I just haven't been posting much here lately. I've migrated to mostly posting pointless day-to-day stuff on Facebook, and, well, I haven't really had anything of substance to say here.

Nick made a full recovery from his liver thing. His fur is growing back from where they shaved him, but his belly still looks bare and silly. We're mostly settled in, but still lacking some furniture. I fear this will be a somewhat perpetual state of affairs. I'm cooking like a madwoman. I'm working on approximately a billion projects, none of which are close enough to completion to bother mentioning here.

In other news, my kid is pretty much the cutest stinkin' thing on earth. Observe:



Oh yeah, and I just discovered that there's going to be a local yaoi convention later this month. I don't know if I should attend or throw up.

Nick is doing much better. He's eating and drinking on his own now, but we're still supplementing with an occasional syringe when he doesn't seem to be eating a lot. His skin has lost most of its yellow tinge, and he's acting like his old self again.

The movers finally showed up a day late with our stuff, minus David's computer chair. According to the contract, they'll only reimburse us $30 for it, tops. Annoying, because we just bought that chair...still, I didn't like the way it creaked, so I guess I'm glad he has to get a new one? Bleh. I would be way more angry, except I'm too thrilled to be sleeping on my bed and eating at my table again. My back feels amazing.

Of course, thanks to Nick's vet bills, we don't have enough furniture to put all our stuff on, so the apartment is full of scattered boxes and junk. I'm planning to build a desk, bookshelf, and entertainment center, but who knows how long that'll take. I'm going to start on the entertainment center this weekend, because that's just going to be plywood. For the rest, there's 375 square feet of used oak flooring in the basement (damn, I love Craigslist). This will be an adventure!

I had a dream that I had a dream about a board game, and so I mocked it up and invited a bunch of people over to playtest it, and I found there were a lot of things that didn't translate so well from dreamland to reality. I guess I need to mock it up and playtest it, to find out what doesn't translate well from a dream within a dream.

The movers say they'll be here tomorrow, though I don't believe it for a second. We'll see.

I had been planning on building a desk and bookshelf, because I couldn't find ones for sale that worked in the spaces I've got. I drew up some plans and figured out how to lay the pieces out on 4' x 8' sheets of plywood, but after some consideration, I started feeling unsure. Really, plywood? I mean, I found some stuff with a nice veneer, but the sides of the sheets will still be exposed, and that won't look so nice. I don't want to put in all the time and effort to make furniture I'll just want to replace. So I started looking into how to make furniture out of actual lumber, and I found a guy on Craigslist giving away a bunch of oak flooring that was just ripped out of his kitchen...so I guess we'll see how handy I can be. I may want to pick up a cheap computer desk to use in the meantime. I mean, I'm awesome and all, but this may take a while.

Oh man, I hope the movers really are coming tomorrow. Sleeping in my own bed sounds six kinds of awesome.

Amazing how a morning with a napping baby and not having to rush my cat to the hospital improves my outlook on life.

Nick was very lethargic this morning, and I got really worried after watching him stumble around the apartment and bonk his head when he misjudged a jump, so we went back to the kitty emergency room. The good news is they did an ultrasound to get a closer look at his liver, and didn't see any obvious cancer or serious damage--it looks like this was probably just caused by stress and not eating. He's back home with us, still being syringe-fed and coaxed to drink by leaving the bathtub faucet dripping.

The bad news is that his vet bill is now somewhere around $1300, and after spending pretty much all of our savings on this move, that really hurts. They wanted to keep him at the hospital for a couple days so he'd get IV fluids and they could make sure he was eating enough, but we're rapidly approaching the point where we just can't afford much more care. Since he's tolerating the syringe-feeding from us at home, we're going to keep on doing that and keeping an eye on him, and then if he doesn't get better, we might have a little money left to take him back in.

Also, the movers say that our stuff is still in Las Vegas. Freaking fantastic.

Nick threw up again this morning and hadn't touched his food since last night, so I took him back to the vet today. We're giving him food and water by syringe now, because he's fairly active and alert, just not eating. The vet also gave him an injectable antibiotic so we don't have to stress him out even more by forcing a pill down his throat twice a day. The vet says he's seen cases like this before, where the cat refuses food because he feels sick, and it's just a matter of forcing food and water into them for however long it takes for their systems to recover a bit. Once he's feeling better, he should start eating again.

In good news, our DSL finally got hooked up! Yay! Now if only the movers would show up with our computers. And our bed. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but I think I'll feel about six million times better after a decent night's sleep in my own bed.

Nick is back home tonight. They don't know exactly what was wrong, but it may well be just because he wasn't eating well because of all the stress. His liver values are still abnormal, but improving. He'll be tested again in a couple days, and if they aren't mostly back to normal then, there will be more testing to find the cause. The hospital bill has put a crimp in our home furnishing plans, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, since he bounced back so well--they were talking about putting a feeding tube in when he was admitted, but he was eating just fine once they gave him an appetite stimulant.

Time to cuddle my poor little half-shaved kitty.

We just got back from the animal emergency clinic. Nick has been constipated for a couple of days, and then this afternoon started vomiting. We took him in to get him checked out, and they say there's something wrong with his liver. Not sure what caused it; it could just be stress from moving and not eating much, or it could be something more serious like liver cancer. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the former. They're keeping him for a couple of days to get some food and fluids into him, and hopefully further testing will tell us what's wrong.

Not sure what this is going to cost us, but it's likely to be pricey. We may have to wait a bit before getting any more furniture for this place. It won't be so bad once the movers show up with our bed and dishes and dining room table, but for now this place doesn't quite feel like home. Home doesn't echo.

I'm tired and headachey and I miss my kitty.

Am alive. Am in St. Louis. Internet will be spotty for the next week at least, so not spending much time online.

The new apartment is awesome, and I think I'm kind of falling in love with this city. So many things I didn't even realize I missed. I really feel like I've come home.

Can't wait for the movers to show up with all our stuff. I didn't pack a belt, and I'm sick of my pants falling down. Also, a bed would be nice.

Anyone want our couch?

:-D

When you're cruising through a crowded parking lot looking for a space, and you see that some jackass has parked their Corvette across two spaces in a way that could only have been deliberate, the urge to key their car can be quite strong. But there's a better option.

Take out some paper and a pen, and write an apologetic note. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit your car, but I was trying to park next to you and with the way you were all crooked like that, I must have bumped you a little. I hope it doesn't cost too much to fix; you can hardly see it." Leave it under their windshield wiper. Spend the next hour or so relishing the look on their face as they inspect their expensive car for damage that isn't there.

It's even better if, when you're leaving, you see the jackass and a bunch of their jackass friends all standing around the car looking at the note and looking for the damage. (Said jackass then moved the car...double parked across two handicapped spaces.)

If being sick today is my kharmic retribution for my mischief, it was so totally worth it.

Thanks to David, I've gotten involved in pre-beta testing of deviantArt Groups. They're going to be such an amazingly cool feature; I've always been a casual user of dA at best, but playing around with the Groups has gotten me feeling all gung-ho about becoming involved in the community and working on community-based projects. So in looking around at profiles and nifty artwork...

...I discovered stamps. And started making a bunch of them.



I'm really happy that something has sparked my interest enough to get me working on creative stuff again (even if it's only silly animated gifs), but at the same time I REALLY NEED TO PACK!

T-minus one week, aaaaaah!

A couple months ago, I had the BEST IDEA IN THE WORLD.

Today, I learned that someone else did it first. And better.

This makes me sad.

I dreamed that I lost control of my car while driving on a twisty hilly road. The car fell about 30 feet and rolled, and I was thrown into the road. Nothing seemed to be broken, but I was bruised all over and in a lot of pain, and the car was totaled.

A man stopped to help me. I told him I suspected I was dreaming. He looked pretty worried, and said he'd stay with me until the cops got there. I imagine he must have thought I was delusional.

I decided that if this was a dream, it was a pretty crappy one, and I wanted to wake up. I stood up and told the man that I wasn't sure what would happen, but if I disappeared or something, that he shouldn't worry about me.

"Because you're dreaming, right?" he said, humoring me.

I said, "Yes," closed my eyes, and let go.

I woke up safe in my own bed.

I wonder if I'm still there.

Sometimes I just get blindsided by how freaking surreal it is that we're parents now.

Dani's getting so big! ;_;

I want to put up new pictures, but my gallery got borked and I need to reinstall it. But trust me, she's adorable.

At first I thought it looked like a wicked awesome abstract belt buckle, then it kinda looked like some kind of fanged gremlin thing.

I liked tsaiko's answer of "the Headless Horseman doing JAZZ HANDS right at you" a lot better, though.

Tags: writer's block

Doctor: As long as you're here, want me to take care of that plantar wart for you?

Me: Sure!

Doctor: Okay, let me go get my Dremel.

Me: Oh, ha ha ha WAIT, YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY KIDDING

A married Chinese businessman who could no longer afford five mistresses held a competition to decide which one to keep.

But the contest took a fatal turn when one of the women, eliminated for her looks, drove the man and the four other competitors off a cliff, Chinese media reported.

The WTF level of this story is through the roof. Let's see...

1. This guy was making enough money that he could afford private apartments and $730 monthly "allowances" for five women. Holy cats.



2. When he couldn't afford it anymore, he staged a private talent show to decide which one to keep.



3. He didn't explain the purpose of the talent show, but somehow they all agreed to participate. "Oh, sure, honey--I'd love to compare myself to the other four women you're cheating with in a ridiculous, degrading competition staged purely to ease your boredom! When do we start?"



4. One of the criteria the women were judged on was the amount of alcohol they could consume. Because...uh, slamming down shots is sexy? I have no idea.



5. He didn't even judge the contest himself. Yes, this man had such a busy life that he had to hire someone else to decide which mistress he liked best.



6. After being eliminated from the contest, one of the women offered to take the man and all four of the other mistresses on a sightseeing trip...and they all agreed. I don't know about you guys, but that is one super-awkward social outing that I would respectfully decline.

And would you believe, after all this, his wife left him? Lady must be nuts, letting go of a winner like that...

Whenever I think of my ideal life, it almost always involves fresh produce. In the fantasy, I wake up to sunlight streaming through the windows, and wander into the kitchen, where a bowl of fresh, ripe fruit awaits me on the counter for breakfast, and for snacking throughout the day. My breakfast is healthy and satisfying, and I am slim and happy. For dinner, I cook something delightful from fresh veggies and herbs--maybe even grown in my own backyard garden--which looks as good as it tastes.

In reality, there's almost always fruit in the fridge, but I usually pass it up and eat candy instead, and whenever I buy fresh herbs, they rot before I can use them up. I can't even keep a houseplant alive for more than a couple of weeks; the idea of me having a successful backyard garden is laughable.

I wish fruit was half as satisfying and filling as it is in my fantasies.

I'm going to be in so much trouble when I stop burning the extra 300-600 calories a day that breastfeeding uses.

But for now...man, I love my body.

Here, have some new baby pictures.

It's awesome watching Danielle take more interest in the world around her as she gets older. She's still working on the whole motor control thing, but she's totally smiling all the time now, and even sorta half-giggling. She was still super-cute when she was just kind of spacily looking around without focusing on anything, but it's so much cooler now that you can tell she actually sees you.

--

I think it was close to two years ago that our brakes started squealing. Money was tight at the time, so we didn't do anything about it, and then they stopped squealing, which made it easier to push to the back of our heads in the "oh yeah, we need to do this...eventually" area. Today, after months of silence, they suddenly started making that awful metallic grinding noise that says "Get thee to a brake shop, lest ye do terrible things to your rotors!" Oops. Good thing we didn't have any travel plans for the holiday weekend.

(It kinda tells you how much we drive that it can take two years to go from "we should get our brakes done" to "we must get our brakes done." We're such hermits.)

--

On my way home just now, I saw two kids on skateboards cruising along on the street just in front of me, on a stretch of road with no sidewalk. One of them nicked the curb and took a fall, sprawling out into the road. Fortunately, I was far enough away that I had no trouble avoiding him, but I wanted to get out of the car and yell at them. "You idiots! Are you trying to get yourselves killed? Pick up the damn boards and walk until the sidewalk starts up again!"

...yeah, parenthood has changed me.

I just want to live somewhere with low crime, lots of greenery, plenty of sunshine, mild winters, no drug or gang problems, no more than a couple hours from a major airport, quiet surroundings, walking distance to a coffee shop and a Trader Joe's, where the majority of people are left-leaning and environmentally-conscious, and I can get 3 bedrooms for around $1000 a month.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

Danielle's been sleeping through the night for all of four nights, and I'm already taking it for granted and thinking about staying up way too late to work on stuff.

Dammit, Kellie, go to bed.

Well, okay, self, but only because talking to yourself is a pretty sure sign you need to sleep more before you go completely crackers.