well it's about darn time don'tcha think?? i mean -- we have lived here for about 2 1/2 yrs!
so the big changes are to the cat room and to the basement
in the cat room -- the carpet in there was pretty much ruined anyhow (cause of hairballs etc -- yuck!) but earlier this year we had a really big rain and some water came into that room from the corner -- and soaked this big muddy stain into the carpet from the corner about 3 1/2 feet out in a big triangle... also yuck... but then one of the kitties (swine cats!) decided that the wet carpet smelled like "litterbox" so then began using that -- yuck again.
which became the quick prompt for getting the carpet up -- bleaching that corner -- then applying this special paint that masks stains and odors -- letting it all dry -- then Andy installed pergo/laminate/parkay flooring (thin wood flooring) and now it looks fab!! I'm sure he will post pics (too bad we didn't take "before" ones) -- but he just has to replace the baseboards and put the new trim on and the lip of the doorway on
i'll blog bout the basement in a bit -- andy's just pulled up and i'm cooking! :)
big news includes:
I'm going to be an auntie again (which we found out that much back in january) -- my sister in law in minnesota is due at the end of september -- the biggest part of that news is that
IT'S A BOYYYYYYY!!!!!
you can imagine how happy my brother is -- i believe he hasn't stopped smiling since they saw the scan!!
other big news:
we're going to cincinnati at the beginning of june (thankfully i was able to schedule the thyrogen shots/iodine thingy AFTER this thing!!) to see in concert one of our favorite comedian/musicians -- Jonathan Coulton
the long fun story that goes along with this (in shortened fashion) --
- i read on someone's blog that he's posted new tour dates so i scoot over to his webpage and nearly jump out of my chair when i see that cincinnati is included!!
- i call andrew at work immediately to demand that he book the afternoon of the 5th and the whole day of the 6th off work!! he asks why -- i tell him it's a surprise!
- i call the theater to get tickets.... only to be told that they have never even heard of him and have nothing booked for that particular date... so i end up telling andy about what i was hoping to do as a surprise
- i email JoCo to tell him about the conversation with the theater
- he emails back!!! *squee!!* and asks am i sure that i dialed the number from his website
- i email back to say "yep sure did" and also included a p.s. of "hey do you need any helpers for that show?" (he often advertises on his blog for upcoming shows he needs helpers to sell merchandise etc.)
- he emails back again *squeeeee* and says that he'll check on the tickets thing and also that yes he does need helpers and that it would be great if i could help him!! *squee!!* and also that i should bring a friend because it is a two-person job
- i email back to say i'm bringing my hubby and ask if we need to buy tickets and what does being a helper involve (will we get to see the show? because if not it soon is listed on the shows list that he will be in a bar in columbus the next night and if we couldn't see the show, then i'd be buying tickets for that one too!!)
- he writes back to say that mostly we'll be selling merchandise before and after the show and possibly during any breaks -- that no we don't need tickets and that we should get there early to get filled in on the plan
okay so that wasn't so short -- but zomg how excited am I!!!! Andy didn't believe me that he actually wrote to me ha!!
so at least there will be fun and goodness before the not-so-fun-not-so-good thyrogen/iodine thingy
-- last bit of big news -- I got my first check from cafepress!!! WOOOT!! it really works!! now that i know it's real i am going to get lil mini-business cards printed and then also expand the shop into a deluxe one and sell other logos as well!!!
well -- the shots have still not worn completely off....
and round two of them is coming up in just about 3 weeks.... the test that i had done back in april (with the first round of the shots) showed that there must still be some tissue left that they need to take care of. the doctor said i have 3 options -- to go after it very passively with a 'wait and see' attitude and watch it -- and do the thyrogen shots & blood test in six months and see if it has changed/grown.... option 2 is to go after it very agressively with a 'take you off synthroid for 6 weeks' (which would mean i would probably spend that time in bed entirely -- with zero energy) and then do the radiated iodine thing (to kill any remaining thyroid cells)... and option 3, which is what i chose, is kind of the middle ground between the two -- agressive in that we're doing 2 more thyrogen shots (which i found out cost around 2 grand for the pair -- we thought the insurance company might give us hassle about this because we had just requested them a month ago -- because they are so spendy, you have to get them pre-approved by the insurance company -- but it was surprisingly easy!!)
so we do the two shots, then do the radiated iodine thing (which has to be done at the hospital under the care of a radiologist md -- i swallow a capsule that they have pumped radiation into some iodine, the iodine travels to the thyroid cells in my body and kills them and then a week later or so i go in for some kind of full-body scan to see where the radiation gathered? i'm not sure about this -- and that reminds me -- i haven't heard from the radiologist's office yet. better check up on that.
so what does that mean in real life every day terms? it means that i'm basically out of commission for most of june and probably part of july at least -- the second round of thyrogen shots on top of this first round not being out of my system yet means that i'll be very very very weak -- and the radiation means that i won't be able to be around people for a week -- they told me that the radiation will be excreted from my body through my saliva, pee and sweat and that if i sat closer than 5 feet to someone, they might experience effects from it. also i'm not allowed to share a bathroom or silverware or cups with andy -- not really a big deal there because we luckily do have 2 bathrooms...
the thyrogen shots are scheduled to be done on the 10th and 11th of june -- and the radiated iodine the 12th... then the scan sometime the following week i guess. when i spoke to the endocrinologist's assistant last she mentioned something about the friday too (the 13th) but i'm not sure which office i would be going to or what they'd be doing...
*shrug*
so there you go. the whole purpose of the radiated iodine is to rid my body of the thyroid cells (and hence rid my body of the thyroid cancer/possiblity of future thyroid cancer) so it's a good thing... it just is gonna be a long bumpy ride.