Loose Kitty

So much for my mundane world. Yesterday I took both cats to the vet for a nail trim, plus Olivia was due for her yearly shots. It was an unusually long wait--almost an hour. When the vet came in with the vet tech, she asked if Olivia had been experiencing any problems.

"A little runny eyes and nose a couple of weeks ago," I said. "But it seems to have cleared up."

"Sounds like herpes," said the vet.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. "What?" I said and then looked at Olivia. "What have you been doing? No! Bad kitty!"

The vet and vet tech were rolling. Feline herpes is non-sexually transmitted and also rather common--about 30% of indoor cats may be carriers. Luckily, since we've vaccinated our cats all along, it's likely she'll just occasionally have the runny eyes/nose without it getting worse. Her symptoms were light enough that the vet didn't think she needed medication.

It's unknown where she picked it up but I MAY have brought it in from the shelter. Ask me how great my guilt is.

As if that weren't enough, Olivia's gums were bloody and she needs a tooth extracted. The surgery is two weeks from now and I can't feed her after 6pm Sunday night before the Monday surgery. I take her to the vet in the morning but she has to wait there most of the day as they don't do surgeries until the afternoon. They took some blood to test and make sure she'll react okay to anesthesia.

Surprisingly, I was okay. I know tooth extractions aren't uncommon among cats. What I didn't expect was how... distraught is the word that comes to mind... Blair would be. He questioned me closely over dinner about why she had to have the surgery, what were the options, and kept saying, "I hate this. I hate she has to go through this."  It's touching how upset he is. I almost called him at work after I found out about the herpes and the tooth but decided I could just as easy tell him that night.

"I'm glad you didn't call," he told me over dinner, looking miserable. "I wouldn't have gotten much done the rest of the day."

Now I'm debating if I want to take Olivia to a cat clinic in GSO for the surgery. I have a friend who works there so I"ll ask her opinion if it's worth the drive and possibly insulting my vet by having someone else do the surgery. I trust my vet. I just think it might be better for Olivia's nerves if she were in a cats only place that wasn't filled with dog smells and barking dogs.

Stay tuned...

Typical Sunday In Harris Household

Ever wish you could spy on other people and see how they live their lives? Here's a quick peek into a standard Harris Sunday:

6:10 AM: We purposefully do not inform the cats of the time change and the spoof works. We are allowed to sleep in until just after 6 before the clamoring for food begins.

6:20 AM: In preparation for the morning's run, I eat 2 pieces of toast with honey while Blair eats a bowl of Cream of Wheat.

7:15 AM: Leave the house laden with water supplies which I have volunteered to set out for the group.

7:30-- 7:45 AM: Set out water supplies at 3 different points on the 13 mile stretch we'll be running.

8 AM - Meet running group at parking lot. Eleven of us are there. We complain about the cold weather (30 degrees) then head out.

8 - 10 - Run, run, run.

10 - 10:45 - Group heads to Brueggers Bagels for hot coffee and carbs.

10:45 - 11:30 - Collect water supplies and head home.

11:30 - 2 - Clean house. Damn lot of cat hair is all I have to say.

2:30 - Eat lunch. Blair - Spaghettios. Me - Sandwich, yogurt, dark chocolate.

2:30 - 4 - Read Sunday paper.

4:30 - Decide that lunch didn't do it for me and instead of dinner proper, what I really want is to watch a movie and eat a bag of Doritos. Blair is not hard to convince to join my plan. He heads to the Dollar Store for Doritos while I pop in the final Matrix movie.

5 - 6:30 - Doritos and movie.

6:30 - 7:30 - Long overdue call to Mom to catch up. (Cute sidenote: She was playing "Garage" with my 4 year-old nephew and his toy cars. As he went to push a car out of the garage after being fixed, Mom said, "That will be $3." "Oh," said my nephew. "I only have one money.")

7:30 - 9 - I have no memory of this time period. Must have been doing something vital like filing my nails.

9 - 10 - Read in bed. Fall asleep as soon as lights are out.

Such is the exciting life of the Harris's. What did you do with your day?

Gettin' Girly

I'm not a girly-girl. My idea of a fun evening out NEVER involves having my hair and nails done, slipping on a ball gown, and wearing sparkly eye shadow. I hate shopping for clothes. I cave in to my husband's urging to wear comfortable versus stylish shoes.

Still. I go in stages where I have the urge to pretty myself up a bit. I'm entering one of these stages now. I know because I highlighted my hair on Wednesday. And while I was waiting for my stylist, I flipped through a beauty magazine and read with great interest how a few fake eyelashes at the outer corners of the eye can add drama and effect. I'm heading to CVS today to get me some of those. (Prepare for a forthcoming blog on how I had to call 911 to remove eyelash glue from my eyes.)

I went to a book signing last night for my friend and fellow GSO author, Quinn Dalton.  I found myself paying attention to what the women were wearing.  And the fact that most women had their nails done. I gave up on nail polish years ago. I do so much typing on the computer that I can't make a polish job last even a day. But I admit... I was feeling "less then" because my my poor little nails were naked.

I blame TV. Watch an old episode of "Friends" or "Desperate Housewives" and check out the $2000 outfits these women lay about the house in.  At the moment, I have the urge to hit the stores and buy new clothes so I can feel pretty sitting at my desk. However... is that really necessary? Does it make sense to pay $150 for a blouse and wear it around the house where likely no one will see it and--knowing me--there's a good chance I'll spill something on it during the course of the day?

But I'm in girl-mode. I want padded bras, matching silk underwear, new eye shadow combinations, chunky jewelry, oversized rings, high heels, glossy lips, extra-conditioned hair, skirts, floral prints, and six different ways of styling my hair. I want it... and I want it now.

This too shall pass, and I will return to my normal mode of jeans and my "dress up" pink t-shirt. And hopefully the phase will pass before I spend too much money. To begin, I'll satisfy myself with a little trip to the drugstore for eyelashes, eyelash glue, nail-polish, and maybe a new lip gloss. Just to lift the spirits.

Cheers to all women who have to do SO MUCH MORE CRAP THAN MEN to look good. =)

Throwback to Another Era

Manners count. That's what I realized this week after recommending an intern I'd worked with at Diversity Woman magazine for a staff writer position with a local business magazine. I've never seen one scrap of this intern's writing. However, he impressed me so much with his manners and professionalism that I was eager to plead his case.

"John" (as we'll call him) is a throwback to an earlier era. Although all of us at the magazine showed up at the office in jeans and t-shirts, John wore a white shirt and tie every day. He never missed a "please," "thank you," or "excuse me," and although I begged him to call me Dena, I was inevitably "Ms. Harris." He was prompt in responding to e-mails, took on extra work without being asked, and is simply one of those people you know you can turn to for the work to get done.

Dressing up and being polite should be the foundation skills of any young person looking for a job, but it's amazing how often it isn't. None of us would have thought anything amiss if John wore jeans and a sweatshirt, but there was something about seeing him in a tie each day that reinforced the message, "This person has value."

So I hope John is asked in for an interview. And in following his good example, I have ditched my standard jeans attire for the day, and am heading into Greensboro for my casual meetings in a skirt.

But I'll still probably call you by your first name. =)