Right now I have three new BFFs, and they are:

• Percocet (though I may try Vicodin tonight to see if I sleep any better after taking it)
• Ice packs (they’re doing wonders for inflammation/general belly pain)
• Velour blanket (perfect for cuddling up under)

For those of you who have had abdominal surgery, what are your favorite post-op comforts?

We sat at my kitchen table for several hours, nomming on good food, playing on our laptops, sympathizing with Amanda’s over the death of her hard drive, and in general geeking it out and having a great time. I hope to do it again soon. ♥

Kirin is a five and a half year old Siamese/domestic mix. We’ve had him since he was a little over six weeks old, and he went from a teensy, tiny little ball of fluff to a big hulking cat in a very short period of time. You can see the Siamese in his coloring (even though the marking placement is most definitely “off”), and especially in his gorgeous eyes. Kirin is a total sweetheart, and unfortunately he’s also a little…crazy. Neurotic. Spazzy. However you want to word it. After months of him licking himself bald in certain areas, drooling on everyone and everything, hiding whenever people would come over, and sometimes urinating and defecating outside of the litter box, I took him to our veterinarian, who prescribed him an anti-anxiety medication to take twice a day.

The medication, Amitriptyline, is working well. It’s a relatively low dose – 5mg in the morning and 5mg at night – but just enough to calm him down. He’s not sedated, but he’s definitely calmer, and seems happier. The incessant licking, frequent drooling, and random “accidents” have all gone away. Yay for drugs!

But with the exception of a small probiotic, each pill I take it actually a vitamin or mineral supplement. I have multi-vitamins, vitamin b-c complexes, vitamin b12, calcium, vitamin d, iron, and fiber supplements. The probiotic is there to help balance things out in the girly region since I’ve been taking some hardcore antibiotics over the past several weeks.

I’m curious – do you take vitamins or other supplements each day? If you take a lot, as I do, do you rely on a pill organizer? I know they may be lame, but they wok well so I don’t forget anything!

The general rule of thumb for fleas is this: for every 1 flea you see, there are at least 10 more. Also? A flea can lay 20+ eggs at a time, and the life cycle is only 2-14 days – meaning that just 1 flea in your house could quickly turn into hundreds within a few weeks.

With all that said, here is my personal tried-and-true recommendation for removing fleas from your pets and your household. This recommendation is based on 8+ years of having cats (primarily long-haired) as well as smaller dogs, and homes with carpeting and plenty of soft, upholstered surfaces.

1. Bathe your pet. For long-haired pets, shave or cut off as much as possible, as fleas like to hide in long hair, and long hair can be harder to wet and lather with soap. You can use a flea killing shampoo (I personally recommend Zodiac), or standard sudsing dish soap (I personally recommend Dawn). You can even use the dish soap first, to smother and remove the majority of the fleas and flea eggs, then follow up with Zodiac to make sure that any remaining fleas and flea larvae are dead as doornails. Here’s the important part: create a thick, lathered ring of soap around your pet’s neck, as close to the bottoms of the ears as possible, before getting even a single drop of water on your pet. Why? Fleas are smart little fuckers – submerge your pet in bath water and you will see them literally run to the top of your pet’s head, where it can obviously be trickier to attack the area with soap and water.
2. Wet and lather your pet up thoroughly, paying extra attention to the back of the neck, shoulders, back, and under the legs – this is where fleas especially like to hide. But generally fleas and flea eggs can be all over your pet, so make sure you wet and lather everywhere.
3. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry your pet with a towel. Now – isolate your pet in an area where you know there aren’t fleas (such as right there in your bathroom, or in a hard cat carrier), because it’s time to tackle your house.
4. Vacuum all carpets thoroughly. Spray with flea-killing spray (again, Zodiac is my brand of choice), then vacuum again. For good measure, spray one more time, this time leaving the spray to sit for at least 24 hours before vacuuming again. If your vacuum uses bags or other collection containers, dispose/wash thoroughly in between vacuuming, to reduce the risk of vacuumed-up fleas and flea eggs from being re-deposited on your carpets.
5. Use more flea-killing spray to spray down every upholstered surface in your house – basically everywhere your pets could possibly go. This includes carpeted areas under furniture, the underside of furniture such as sofas, chairs, and beds. Spray down curtains, throw pillows (wash if possible), and any cushions. Wash any blankets and bedding.
6. Re-treat your house in this manner once weekly, and re-treat your pet bi-weekly, until all fleas are gone.
7. As preventative measures, consider using Program, Advantage, or Frontline.

Good luck! Fleas are tricky, quickly-multiplying little bastards, but if you act swiftly and thoroughly, you can rid your pets and house of them.

In any case, it’s now 8:30pm, and after going through twice as many bandages in just six hours, I said fuck it and made a quick run to Rite-Aid for waterproof bandages. I first used them last summer, on Ryan’s nose, since he somehow managed to face-plant into one of those concrete car/tire thingies that some parking lots have, and skin off a layer or two from his nose. We left for the beach the next morning, and clearly with a schedule packed full of sunshine, sand, ocean, and sunscreen, the wound needed to be protected. Nexcare’s waterproof bandages did the trick nicely then (the same bandage stayed on my son’s nose for THREE DAYS STRAIGHT), so those were what I picked up tonight. Now my wounds are nicely covered, and won’t be further irritated into sending out major signals of PAIN PAIN PAIN whenever I go to wash my hands, do dishes, or take a shower.

Winter has been toying with us. With the exception of Snowmegeddon 2011, and a few chilly days here and there, overall we’ve had very mild weather. Blustery winds and the occasional wet, rainy day aside, this winter has not been nearly as bitter as some of our recent ones. I’m thankful in terms of comfort and cost (propane is not cheap!), but it’s just… weird. Today, for instance, it was about 54°, with periods of sun, then overcast skies, then some rain, then some sun again – more early spring/mid-fall weather than winter weather, wouldn’t you say?

I’m sure winter will blindside us sooner or later. All I hope is that it doesn’t bring a crap ton of snow with it!