WHERE HAS THE SUMMER GONE??

Wow-I can't believe it is almost August! Tomorrow- August 1st. I simply do not know where the time is going and it is unbelievable to me that I was packing for my Alaska Cruise one month ago! Geez- feels just like yesterday!

Anyway, it has been crazy since I returned from vacation, I'm starting to think that my life just doesn't know anything other than crazy! I am blessed to be busy with work, booking wonderful trips for my clients and things are looking very promising for 2010!

Spaz is doing very well. He weighed in today at 7 pounds- this kitty just keeps eating and putting back on the weight. I swear two months ago I thought he was knocking on death's door, but looks like that is not the case. He has been a bit of a challenge with inappropriate urination spots (well really one spot)- but we have that corner barracaded for now until we decide what to do about it. We think the stink is gone, but the kitty knows for sure, so we don't really want to find out right now. We are thankful that he is gaining weight and being his normal crazy self.

I have not been to Cross Fit now in over a month and I'm starting to feel flabby- it's amazing what the strength workouts really do for you and if you make yourself conscious of it, you really can feel the difference when you stop. So Monday I am making a promise to myself to get back on track with that. I've been keeping up with my Zumba and Spin, and of course our dancing on the weekends--but I need my strength training and I really need to start training for the Nike 1/2 Marathon in October, I seem to be avoiding that like the plague!

Oh well! Off to bed I go, but wanted to make a post since I have not been here in a long while!!

Exciting news- I have group space on a Country Music Cruise- 2/20/2010 on the
MSC Poesia, 7 night Caribbean Cruise- check it out:
http://www.pamstravel.net/default.asp?sid=20673&pid=30742

Come Cruise with us ~ it'll be fun!!!

My Vida Loca!!!

Well, it has been close to a week since my last post. It's been down right crazy!!

Cross Fit has not happened for me since last thursday. I typically don't do fridays anyway, but this week with preparations for vacation, I've been putting in long hours to get work done! Still up now at 2am and almost done for the day ~ I'm at a stand still since I need to call reservation numbers and they are all sleeping still. I would like to say that I will make it in 3 hours (unlikely as I am starting to get tired now)...and I'd like to make it on thursday- but will other things that need to get done, I seriously doubt that also.

Exercise really has not happened much since last week- I taught my spin class on friday and took line dancing class at the gym on saturday. We did not go dancing friday, but went bowling instead. Monday I subbed a line dance class and then today/tuesday taught my spin class. I hate not getting my 2 hours of workout in each day- feeling sluggish right now which is a combination of cut back workouts and an increase of stress eating!

Spaz is doing very well, he's still eating like a fat cat and gaining weight- I weighed him over the weekend and he's back to 6.2 pounds - GREAT news! The not so great news is that he decided to use the corner of the living room as a potty place. We had to cut out part of the carpet there and have been trying to get rid of the stink- but unsuccessfully it would seem since I caught the furball peeing in the corner tonight on the concrete subfloor that is exposed. So I have now barracaded the area, tried treating it again with Nature's Miracle and will attempt Bleach again tomorrow. If he was showing signs of being really sick right now, making "the decision" would be easier!! I'm not a fan of my house being destroyed! I have been successful in arranging for caretakers while we're on vacation. Brandon (one of my best friend's son) is going to house sit while we're gone and another friend, Sunny is going to come by at lunch to visit and feed since the kitty is eating 4 times a day!

Mom - we successfully purchased a new car for her this past weekend- a 2007 Toyota Yaris and it's a beautiful cobalt blue. She has done a few test drives, but had not driven now since sunday- I think we need to drive with her a little bit more until she has confidence to do it on her own. The car is a completely different feel vs. the old buick boat that she had! I sure hope when I'm 80, I am not as easily made afraid of things like this.

Vacation - I am getting very excited to leave this week on our cruise- I need the down time. I have been convinced that I should not take my laptop- so I'm going to leave it home. If I really feel the need, I can go to the internet cafe. Going to try to avoid it. I've been busting my tail this week to get things done. I don't know why, but everytime I seem to plan a vacation, all the new complicated trip requests show up. I'm trying to accept that I can only do so much and as long as I do my best- that is all I can do. Tomorrow (well today) is my last day. I have taken Thursday off so that I can take mom to her hair appointment, pack my stuff and then we head to the airport around 4pm. Weather forecasts for Alaska are getting a little better- am starting to see some possible sunny and 70 reports!

Spaz is the King of Cozy- I think he "lives" to find more cozy spots to call his own- his new spot this week is the pile of laundry going to the dry cleaners this week. I started the process of getting ready for our Alaska Cruise in less than two weeks and priority one was making sure Bill's tuxedo was sent to the cleaners...so every morning I find Spaz curled up in the pile of clothing!

The King is doing much better than a few weeks (almost month ago)- he is eating about 1.5 cans of wet food a day and he is also eating some of his kibble food - which he had not been touching for several weeks. He actually "yells" at you if you don't feed him right away- it's almost like he saw "the other side" and thought to himself, "I'm not ready to leave this world yet" - he now has the fighter attitude! Love it! He DEMANDS that I refill the bathroom sink with water and he visits that throughout the day- in fact this morning I forgot to refill it after I was done brushing my teeth/washing my face...so when I came back upstairs he gave me a piece of his mind! I weighed him this evening and he was just shy of 6 pounds- now after his throw up/diarrhea weekend 2 weeks ago, I had weighed him and he was 5.2...so he has gained weight and I'm now thinking that he must have had a different bug that weekend- maybe a kitty flu or something like that. The Diarrhea is not a common effect of the CRF disease...so who knows. I'm just glad he's feeling better now!!

Spaz...update on his CRF

This past weekend we took Spaz to the vet. He had a pretty bad week, started a little bit over the Memorial Day weekend- we noticed a decrease in his appetite and he was just a little less like himself. After the holiday weekend, things seemed to be much the same, he was eating about 1/4 of what he normally does and not doing the same bathroom habits, etc. I weighed him and as best I could tell, he had lost a pound since his last visit to the vet, 2 months ago. That is actually close to 20% of his body weight. He's a small boy- so going from 7.5 to 6.5 weight is not good.

Bill and I took Spaz to the vet Saturday morning and first thing Dr. Depunzio said was that she'd be surprised if the test results said "today is his day"- he didn't appear to her as a kitty on death's door. So she examined him a bit and then took him for blood sample. We then waited for the results- of course Spaz would have been just fine to go home and get the results later. Bascially, when Maria came back she said the results were what she would consider "good news"- there are two numbers that they measure- the BUN which went from 58 to 56, considered close enough to be the same. Then there is the Creatine level, which went from 2.6 to 3.8 and that is not good.

From what I've read this puts Spaz in stage 3 of 4 possible stages on Kidney Failure. At this creatine level, his kidney functions are at a 75-90% loss. To reach stage 4, that creatine level would be 5.0 or higher and then you're looking at 90% loss of kidney functions and that is when your feline friend is most likely in pain and you're then faced with the decision that we don't want to make.

Spaz is eating a little more than we was a week ago- so I'm hoping that it is a good sign. After his diagnosis, he really didn't know any signs for almost 2 months- this past week was the first noticeable signs of a sick kitty. All we can do is love him and enjoy him until we are faced with making the decision....

The posted pictures are from the vet visit- he stayed under the chair the entire time! He really did not want to be there!

It's 1am, I should be sleeping ~ but find that I feel I need to write. This has been a tough week and I can't believe that is only the wee hours of thursday. Monday I received a call from our vet with the news that our beloved kitty Spaz has chronic renal failure and hyper-thyroidism. She says he has probably 6-9 months to live without treatment, but that even with treatment he won't likely live much longer.

Treatment consists of daily pills (which he just doesn't take at all!) and fluid injections ~ daily. I've spoken to several friends and family who have gone through the same decision that I'm faced with. Some did treatment, some didn't. I seem to hear that the ones who did treatment felt that it was too emotionally draining on them and my sister who chose not to do the treatment really felt that treatment would have been a selfish decision to keep her kitty around longer.

I really am torn- I've read up on both diseases/conditions and it seems as though there is no pain until the final stages, just the slow deterioration of the kitty's life and will to live...that is going to happen with or without treatment. I really don't think that I want my Spaz to have memories of mommy and daddy pricking him with a needle all the last days of his life.

I'm already going through the stages of loss, I think- in preparation for when the time comes. Thinking of how much this lovable kitty means to me, how he has been such an important part of my life. Spaz became a part of my life on November 12, 2000 from the Humane's Society. Their best guess at the time was that he was probably 3-5 years old...based on his condition, I'm guessing he was probably more like 5, making him 13.5 now. My ex-husband thought he was a pretty cool cat and urged me to go check him out (this was just 2 days after we had put our previous kitty down)...but 2 days after that we came home with Mr. Spaz and he very quickly showed us that "Spaz" was the perfect name for him--he's a crazy kitty! There has not been a single day in the past almost 9 years that he has not cracked me up and/or put a smile on my face.

This kitty saw me through my gall bladder surgery in 2002, was by my side throughout my recovery and would not get on my lap until i put the pillow in place (over my wound)...he saw me through my lonely marital separation times- he also gave me the big "paws up" when he met Bill for the first time - he was the only man I dated after my divorce that Spaz came running to. The three of us have become a very close family ~ Spaz has his mommy time and his daddy time- he greets each of us when we come home and always has a few words to say...he really is our furry child...and a damn smart one at that! As I work from home and have been working from home now for 5 years, Spaz and I have grown even closer and he visits me throughout the day and makes it very clear when it's time for me to take a break (sits on the keyboard so I cannot work). I cherish those times. I find it funny that as soon as he hears me on the phone, he appears and has to say "meow" to whoever I'm talking to (usually a client or my mom).

Everyone who has met Spaz and spent any amount of time with him has grown to love him and has said he's one cool cat! I'm afraid they broke the mold after Mr. Spaz was born because he truly is one of a kind. When his day comes- I will miss him deeply and forever.