Murphy

When last I left you, Amanda was coming to visit. And that she did! We had an awesome time together, catching up, talking wedding stuff, playing with Piper, hot-tubbing, eating, baking pumpkin pie... on Saturday we went to the Arboretum with Jeff, Emily, and Matt and picnicked. That was very fun (but cold). And I would have posted a long account of her trip on my blog sometime that week, but for what happened that Tuesday (18th). I took Murphy and Piper to the vet - Piper for her second round of shots, and Murphy because Mom had found some odd spots on him. Dr. Myers checked Piper out and said she was perfectly healthy, but he didn't like the looks of a spot on Murphy's shoulder. It was about dime-sized, hairless, and hard. He looked at a sample under the microscope and said it looked like a mast cell tumor (but he would send it off to the lab for confirmation) and he needed surgery to take it off. So that was awful. And later that week he called and said "yes, Murphy definitely needs it removed." So on Friday, while I was subbing for Ms. Janik, Mom took Murphy in for surgery. It went just fine, but I didn't get to see Murphy until I got back from work on Sunday night because Mom and Dad took him straight to the ranch. So since Friday we've been waiting to hear the pathology report, wondering if Murphy had cancer...was it going to be treatable or were we going to be told he had a certain number of months left...? Well, Dr. Myers called this morning and said the tumor was NOT malignant and the borders where it was removed were clean. He said it was the best possible news!!!! A huge weight has been lifted off of us. But that is why I hadn't updated my blog in a while. I couldn't write about Murphy without knowing the reality of the situation, and I couldn't write an update without mentioning Murphy...so I just didn't write at all.

In other news...

After subbing on Friday I went over to the Stimsons' house (Charlie & Meredith, Matt's uncle and aunt) to babysit for their kids. They were taking a weekend trip, so I spent Friday and Saturday nights over at their house, watching out for the 4 kids. They really didn't need much in the way of actual babysitting. Johnny is a sophomore, so he's independent, and Sarah and Joy (8th and 6th grades) are very responsible. Mary (2nd grade) was the only one who needed actual tending. I had a blast over there, hanging out with them, playing DDR, watching TV, playing cards. I left them on Sunday, when I went to work. Work was uneventful - one of the slowest nights I've been there. We watched football (poor Steelers) mostly. My online classes started last week. I found out that I either have to send in a videotape or go into class to give my speeches for my speech class, which is a ripoff, since they didn't say that when I registered. I'll probably just go into class because otherwise I have to find 10 people to be my audience if I tape it. Neither tech writing nor speech are self-paced, but it is possible to get ahead. I'm sort of going the other direction though, because it is hard to get back in the school mode.

And that's about it. Piper is over half a pound heavier than when I got her. She has the run of the house now, but won't be introduced to the outdoors at least until she's spayed (she might never be an outdoor cat, we haven't decided yet).

Oh, and big congratulations go out to Amanda, who found out on Monday that she got into Rice for grad school!

Happy times

Amanda is coming to spend the weekend with me! Yay! Her Christmas visit has been on the January side of the holiday break, but A&M doesn't start until Tuesday, so it counts! I'm very excited. :) :) :)

In other news...I spent the end of last week hanging out with Louis and Graham. It was great to catch up with them. I'd seen Graham over Thanksgiving but in the interim he'd graduated from USC. And Louis I hadn't seen in about a year. Graham and I ate at Amore last Wednesday (the 5th) and went to see the movie Sideways (I loved it). We spent the rest of the evening playing with Piper. After doing wedding invitations with Susie and Mom on Thursday I had a late lunch at Cisco with Louis, and then we went to the high school to pick up his sister and walk around. Friday evening the three of us went to Trinity Hall and had a pint. I love those boys. And they are both so happy and successful, it makes me happy. :)

Sunday night was quite an experience at work. I ended up coving the overnight shift for someone, which meant I was at work from 4pm on Sunday until 8am on Monday (and then got to drive home in rush hour / school traffic, zones and all). It was a calm night and a good learning experience, so I have no regrets. It did mess up my sleeping for the rest of the week, along with Piper's discovery that she can crawl under the covers to bite my butt to make me wake up. I *definitely* need to break her of that.

Now I'm heading out to pick up Carolyn - we're having lunch and then coming back here so she can meet Piper. And then Amanda should be coming soon after! Wahoo!

Hello Kitty!

So, I succumbed at work on Sunday. I held out for three months, and as a person who has been wanting a cat for over a year, I think that's pretty darn good. There was a little 3-4 month old stray kitten that they were trying to find a home for. I called Matt and he came in and met her. Then I called Mom and Dad and they gave the okay for me to have a cat at home for the next 5 months. And we gave her a FeLV-FIV test that was negative. And dewormed her. And killed her few fleas. And she went home with me. On Tuesday I took her to Dr. Myers - he checked her out and said she was healthy. So...

Meet Piper!


Her coloring is called "blue cream torti."


I made her this toy. She likes the stick end as much as the dangly fabric end.


I love her eyes.


She loves my shelves.


Murphy isn't sure what to think of her. She pounces, he cringes...