Here are a few things you may not know about my Frizzle Dizz.......
1. I don't know his true age. And, truthfully, I can't remember what year it was that I adopted him, it was either 2003 or 2004. When I adopted him the feral cat clinic estimated his age to be around 5 yrs old. Sooooo.....doing some math, he's about 11 or 12 yrs old now. He's getting geriatric, for sure, he's starting to get that old cat body....kinda skinny, can't jump as high as he used to......
2. Frank is actually quite small. Like only 8 or 9 pounds. He makes up for his lack of poundage with his flooftastic fur coat.
3. His top coat is black, but his undercoat is like a dark chocolate brown color.
4. He wears white gloves on his front paws and white socks on his back legs.
5. He loves it when people come over to the house to visit. He's a very curious little guy and loves to say hello to everyone and get some pets.
6. His favorite spot to sleep (at the moment...) is under the bed on his red checkered mat. When he's not downstairs, I know I can find him upstairs napping in his favorite spot.
7. We have lived in 5 different houses together..... Loft in the U-district, Ballard house on 27th Ave NW, California, Ballard house on NW 83rd St., and current Ballard house. Apparently we *really* like Ballard.
8. I love that he free feeds. I can leave him for a couple days and not worry about him scarfing down his entire food bowl as soon as I lock the front door.
9. He LOVES french fries and tator tots. LOVES them. And cheese. He doesn't really like canned cat food. He likes the juices in canned food, but he could care less for the actual chunks of food.
10. Frank absolutely loves to be brushed. This is the ONLY time he'll let me come close to touching the underside of his belly--and even then it might only be for a few seconds... :)
I'm back!!! Yep, this month hasn't been the best month of my life, but I'm alive and doing well, and that is all that really matters :) So, as most of you are aware from a previous post, I had, let me repeat, HAD, a gall bladder packed full of stones. As of Sunday, April 18th, I no longer have a gall bladder. Hallelujah!! Long story short, I had been pretty much out of commission the first few weeks of April. I had the consultation with the surgeon on April 8th, and made the appt for removal of said Gall McBladderson for April 20th. About a week or so before surgery I had another "attack".....except this time my friend Vomit McBarfington entered the picture. Not good. Then a few days before surgery I had another "attack"..... My body at this point was totally angry and it was getting rid of my gall bladder somehow. Casey ended up taking me to the ER Saturday night, and sure enough, my blood work and abdominal ultrasound confirmed that Gall McB was infected and inflammed. So they yanked the sucker out on Sunday, April 18th. Whew!!! So glad it is over!!! I've been resting at home the past week or so, hanging with my mom, Milo, and Frank. I have 5 tiny incisions, 3 being less than one centimeter in length, and 2 that are about an inch long. The incision near my belly button was by far the most painful incision. Big ups to all you ladies out there that have had C-sections.....I was thinking of you all while I was cringing in pain from my tiny, 1 inch, belly button incision.....I can't imagine the pain of a C-section, not to mention having to also feed and get to know a new born baby at the same time!! Anyway, all the incisions are looking good, and I'm slated to return to work in a couple days. This whole thing was a process, and I am extremely thankful to be through the worst of it!! Knock on wood.
For those of you keeping score.....that is Zombies: 1, Gall Bladder: 0. Thanks to my intern for the zombie graphic! And Kim for the Geebers, Out!
I've been on a search for an old typewriter. I love the look of old school typewriter font and would love to include it on some scrap layouts. Not to mention it would be cool to have a typewriter as a piece of home decor. I've been checking out some possibilities on Craigslist, but haven't made any decisions yet. This little pink number is pretty sweet, but its like $400 bucks. I was thinking more along the lines of $40 bucks. I'll probably have to settle for something a little rickety, and maybe not such a fun shade of pink.
I love love love this necklace by MarKhed. I saw it on her Facebook page and wanted it immediately. You may remember this post where I talked briefly about the translucent newsprint pendant my sis got me for Christmas, MarKhed made that one as well. I was immediately drawn to this necklace because of its unique quality, I have truly never seen anything even remotely like it. I also really dig on this pendant, kind of in the same anatomical awesomeness category as the Just Breathe lungs. Can't wait to get it in the mail!!
This Saturday was the 2010 Woodinville Basset Bash and Brigade! Chris, Milo, and I packed up our gear and headed to Woodinville for the festivities. It was super fun to see so many cool Basset Hounds, some even dressed up for the occasion! Check out Milo and I getting ready for the parade..... Do you see something strange going on in the back ground? No, your eyes aren't tricking you..... Yup, that isn't something you see every day, Ronald McDonald getting in to a DeLorean. There were like 6 DeLoreans there, who knew there was a local DeLorean enthusiast group that was in existance? And to answer your next question, no, Ronald did not try and drive the DeLorean with his oversized clown shoes.
Check out this Court Jester! He is adorable! His owner handmade his awesome outfit and decorated his little wagon. You're probably thinking....great picture Jess, his eyes aren't even open. No, no, that is a picture of his eyes as open as they get. I'd say he lives his life with his eyes at half-mast. Droopy for sure! He's an older gentleman, with a bit of arthritis, hence the little wagon he gets towed around in.
Is he not one of the cutest Bassets you've ever seen? His owner says he wins an average of one award per year at different Basset events, but he's never won any at the Bash & Brigade. Maybe this year was his year! I hope so! Here's a full body shot....... Inspires me to make Milo a fun costume for next year!
These colors don't run! U-S-A!! U-S-A!! One of my favorite anatomical features of the Basset breed is their wrinkley faces. These two guys don't disappoint in that department!!
Get this girl a Harley! She is prepared to ride into the sunset with the wind blowing through her floppy ears. And yes, that is a ballerina in the background.....
This guy below was one of my favorites, he had lots of lumps, bumps, and extra skin. I couldn't get a really great shot of him, so you can't see that he is dressed as a cowboy. He had a hat pinned to his collar, and a gun holster around his waist. Look at those Basset paws, I bet they smell like Fritos:)
Okay, so here is my favorite story of the day. It involves this little lady below. My sister saw her and was like "Hey, it's a whore!" We think her owner may have heard us because she kinda gave us the stank eye. Not 30 seconds later a lady came up to the dog and said "Hey, it's a saloon girl!" The owner then said "Actually, we prefer Can Can Dancer." (insert Chris and I snickering). Then like 5 minutes later a guy walks by and says "Hey, it's a hooker from the 19th century!!" I think the owner probably wanted to strangle him. What are you gonna do? However you want to describe her, the little girl was adorable!
Check out this guy, he's like Gandolf the Gray. Old and distinguished with his salt 'n' pepper hair. A silver fox, if you will.
OMG! It's Milo's deuce!! Seriously, they could have been twins.
I think Milo's favorite part of the event was actually walking in the parade. He was skimming the sides of the street for treats and pets from all the little kids. I swear, Milo is a toddler magnet. He's so gentle and loving. By the end of the parade though, he was one wiped out little guy. Lots of standing around and walking for him over the course of about 4 hours. He rarely is up for 4 hour blocks at a time, so by about 12:30pm, he was draggin' ass in a big way. After the parade all the Basset people were meeting up at the park for the Basset events. We hung out for about 10 or 15 minutes, then decided to head home for the day.
Milo drank an entire big bottle of Smartwater that I had brought for him, he was one thirsty pup! Even after drinking all that water, he still drank out of a few of the water bowls they had set out at the Basset water station.
Milo wasn't the only Basset ready for a nap! This guy barely could keep his eyes open!
There were blankets and tarps set up on the ground at the park for the Bassets to lay on. Check out this chubby guy, he's checked out for a power nap.
One last shot of me and my little guy before heading home. Such a trooper.
I think next year we'll skip the parade and just go to the events. They give out awards for things like Best Waddle, Longest Ears, Best Howl, Longest Body, etc. They also name a King and Queen Basset! Pretty fun! Overall, a great way to spend a few hours on a beautiful Saturday!!
1. OMG! Totally stoked to see Hot Tub Time Machine! I love me some John Cusack, and he really needs to redeem himself after that taint burger "2012". Hopefully Chris, Mike, and I are hitting it up Sunday eve.
2. Who the heck is this Justin Bieber character? The newest teen sensation apparently. Admittedly, I was in to some shady stuff when I was 12 (read: NKOTB.....still think Jonathan Knight is a hottie), but this kid? He seems like a total D-bag. I am 100% confident that 12 year old Jess would have also thought this kid was a D-bag. Gina--check in with your niece, she seems like she has her finger on the pulse of what is cool with the kids these days (I am soooo turning in to my mother with that last sentence), let me know what she says about this skinny puke.
3. Milo and I just joined the Seattle Basset Meetup Group. What is the group you ask? It's a "group of Basset Hound owners and enthusiasts who get together to have fun with their Houndies and make new friends from the Puget Sound area." Sounds like a good time to me!! They meet up once a month or more. I'm excited to meet and hang out with other Bassets and Basset owners. Maybe Milo will meet a nice elderly lady Basset hound to share his life with:) More pictures and information to come after we attend our first meetup!
4. Vashon Island this weekend!! So excited to get out of town for a few days! This will be Milo's first trip out to Vashon, and I'm predicting he will be exhausted for an entire week when we return. We'll have to find an alternate route down to the beach because those steps at the house are steep....too steep for little 3 inch Basset legs:) I'm sure he'll have an absolute blast with Lincoln and Pip!!
5. I *really* want to go to Ireland. I have three weeks off this year, and I think it may be time to head out of the country. If not this year, then definitely in 2011! I kinda need to get my gall bladder situation figured out before I decide to do any international travel. I think an emergency cholecystectomy would be a bit pricey in another country! Unless I was in India, then it would be like $600 bucks.
6. I now have contacts and I'm totally loving them!! Last night after work I went to Nordstrom and picked out two new pairs of sunglasses, super excited! I haven't worn sunglasses regularly in years. So long squinty sun-blinded eyes, I won't miss you a bit. I got a super cute tortoisey-blue Marc by Marc Jacobs pair, and a bright red oversized pair by Michael Kors.
7. Guess what came out on 03.20.2010? Ah yeah, the New Moon DVD! Woot!! Woot!! I haven't gotten my copy yet, but it is on its way. Blu-ray widescreen edition. Side bar: I just figured out where I've seen Liz Lemon's "Future Husband" other than in Frost Nixon.....he plays Volturri member Aro in The Twilight Saga. He is British actor Michael Sheen.
8. Dudes!!! Soooo excited to see Kings of Leon again! They are playing Saturday, July 17th at The Gorge. Get your tickets today!! Obsession is resurfacing after taking a few months off. Side bar: picked up some new music last night at Sonic Boom.... Rogue Wave "Permalight", Ted Leo and the Pharmacists "The Brutal Bricks", and Lady GaGa "Bad Romance Remixes". I also picked up a cd by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore called "Dear Companion"....it is "a collaboration between three Kentucky musicians....the album explores their ties to Appalachia and addresses the impacts of Mountain-Top Removal (MTR) coal mining on the people and heritage of Central Appalachia." Should be interesting!! Kind blue-grassy.
9. Current celebrity crush.....Travis Pastrana. I think I've watched too many episodes of MTV's Nitro Circus. The guy is crazy!! And really attractive. Am I right, or am I right?!?
10. Dancing with the Stars is on again!! My favorite so far..... Niecy Nash (love her on Reno 911). I think Kate Gosselin is going to get the ax fairly quickly, I predict within the first two elimination rounds. She was badness. I think Pam Anderson is going to be fun to watch, she's a train wreck. Am I the only one who thinks Evan Lysacek seems a wee feminine? I guess that's what 16 years of figure skating will do to a dude. He seems like he'll stick around for awhile.
You get a copy of your abdominal ultrasound and you're happy all they found was a gall bladder packed full of stones:)
Exam: US Abdomen Complete
Clinical History: Intermittent abdominal pain
Comparison: None.
Findings: The liver was mildly hyperechoic diffusely consistent with mild fatty infiltration (Thank you 14 years of dollar pitchers at the Up & Up, $3 pitchers of PBR at the Beave, Happy Hour on the deck of Ray's Boathouse, countless nights at Dad Watson's, weekends, BBQ's, cabin trips, and various other celebrations.....thank you for infiltrating my liver). Appearance of the liver was otherwise unremarkable without focal mass or intrahepatic biliary dilatation seen ("unremarkable" is a good thing for this over-achiever!). The common bile duct was normal in caliber with maximum measured diameter of 4.7mm. (Wait for it....wait for it.....) The gallbladder was filled with echogenic foci with posterior acoustic shadowing consistent with gallstones (Or as the ultrasound technician commented...."that thing is packed full o'stones!) The gallbladder was otherwise normal in appearance without gallbladder wall thickening, pericholecystic fluid, or sonographic Murphy's sign.
Appearance of the visualized portions of the pancreas was normal (thank you jebus).
The right kidney measured 10.7cm in length and the left kidney 10.8cm. No shadowing stones or hydronephrosis was seen in either kidney (woooooorrrrddddd!!!).
The spleen was normal in size with a maximum measured dimension of 9.3cm. It was normal in echotexture (woot!! woot!!).
The abdominal aorta was normal in size in its visualized segments with a maximum measured diameter of 1.9cm (can I get a hell yes?!?).
The inferior vena cava was patent (no idea was patent means, I assume it moonlights as "unremarkable"). There was normal direction of flow in the portal vein.
Impression: 1. Cholelithiasis (the presence or formation of gallstones in the gallbladder or bile ducts) without other ultrasound evidence of cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder).
Soooooo.......I got that goin' for me, which is nice. Next stop: First Hill Surgeons. This rock tumbler is comin' out! I don't have the surgical consult until early April, and I'm not even sure they will take it out, I'm just checking out my options.
Some of you may be wondering WTF Jess? How come you've never told anyone you've had intermittent abdominal pain? Good question. Here's the reader's digest version of what has been going on...... about 10 years ago I had my first episode of biliary colic (severe abdominal pain, often caused by spasm, obstruction, or distention of any of the hollow viscera, such as the intestines). And after that I didn't have another episode for 6 or 7 years. Then a few years ago I had a couple episodes. An "episode" lasts roughly an hour or more, and is characterized by severe abdominal pain, the likes of which you never want to experience again unless you're birthing a child, and you can't get in to a comfortable position no matter how you contort your body. I would describe this discomfort as absolutely crippling. Anyway, I've had a couple more episodes over the past year and I figured it was time to do something serious about it, i.e. involve trained medical professionals. So that is where I'm at. I've got a gallbladder packed full o'stones. I'm not losing sleep over it, just looking forward to getting the situation resolved in the near-ish future.
Let's tally this up here: Benign lump in left breast: check History of inflammed vein in right calf: check Gallbladder filled with stones: check Signs that I'm not 18 anymore: check, check, and check!!
1. New ring found on Etsy...... Elizabeth Rosas Jewelry is my new fave. I love this ring even more in person. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Rosas (directly from Etsy). 2. I love spinach. And I've been eating a ton of it lately. I've been trying to really bulk up the amount of vegetables I eat on a daily basis, and spinach has been on the menu for weeks now. Haven't gotten tired of it yet. Basically I steam it, then coat it lightly with a sesame dressing, mmmmmm.......delicious.
3. I'm getting contact lenses tomorrow!! Kind of excited about it. I started wearing glasses in the 8th grade and my vision has been on a steady decline since. I'll still be rockin' the specs a lot, but I'm excited about the option of not wearing them. Especially when it comes to sunglasses. So many more options when you have contacts.
4. So incredibly ready for SPRING!! The last week or so the weather has been super gorgeous. Flowers are starting to bloom in my yard. I moved my lavender plant back outside. Milo has been spending a ton of time just hanging out in the yard, even falling asleep a few times in the grass. Plus he's found a slat in the fence that is missing, so now he's spying on the little black lab puppy that lives next door. Its so cute to watch his tail start wagging when he's watching the puppy :)
5. I am soooooooo far behind on my continuing education requirement. I have to do 15 hours a year to maintain my license and I've only done like 5 hours so far. My license is up for renewal in May. Schnikes, I gotta get on that.
6. Pearl Jam scrap layouts are on deck. I'll keep you posted.
7. Okay, so I need some help / advice / input....... My skin is really sensitive. I've been using Philosophy products for the past year and have liked them quite a bit. I use a creamy cleanser and a lotion. Lately I've been feeling like my face seems red and sensitive, I think the cleanser might be a bit too much. Anyone else out there have skin that is easily irritated? Have any ideas for products or product lines I should try? I was thinking of giving Kiehl's a whirl, but I'm open to new ideas.
8. Milo and I went to the dog park at Marymoor on Saturday. He absolutely loved it! There were hundreds of dogs there, no doubt because the weather kicked ass, and Milo was diggin' on dog watching. He waddled around for over and hour, checking stuff out, sniffin' butts, you know, normal dog stuff. We'll definitely be going there again soon! Maybe with some doggie friends?
9. Frank and I went outside together today! That is a big deal for me considering I'm a total nazi about Frank getting outside. I actually didn't let him out of my arms though:) We took a little stroll around the yard, watched Milo stare at the neighbors through the broken slat in the fence, and went back inside when he got a little squirmy. Maybe that will be my treat to him every now and again..... a brief supervised visit to the yard in his momma's arms.
10. So my newest crush? Other than the bartender at Old Town Alehouse, of course? Dr. Drew Pinsky. Dream. Period. Boat. Period. Love him.
1. I have been a piss poor blogger as of late. I apologize, no real excuse, just laziness. I'd really love to step it up a bit and get in to a routine, bloggage-wise, because I actually really enjoy blogging. I guess, for the moment, I'm a better blog stalker than blogger.... :)
2. What is up with Plushenko's mullet? Seriously! It is hid-e-ous! Plus, you know what else? Dude is a sore ass loser. Put your quad where the sun don't shine my friend. U-S-A!! U-S-A!! 3. Milo fell into Greenlake last week. I met up with Corey and Norah for a Milo paced walk around the lake. And when I use the term 'around', I use it very loosely. More like we made it less than a quarter of the way around the lake, if that, in the same amount of time it would take an elderly hip replacement candidate to shuffle around the lake twice. Milo is a people and dog magnet! He got soooo much attention, he was loving it. At the end of our walk, he was drinking water out of the lake and fell in. He didn't fully go under, just waist deep. It was awesome.
4. A couple weeks ago I scrapped with some lady friends. I've officially got the bug! I finished 4 layouts-- 3 for the scrapbook I've been working on for my mom for over a year, and 1 layout for myself.....my very first Milo layout!! I'll post some pictures of the layouts later. I used Colleen's Cricut cutting machine, and I'm in love with it! So easy to use.
5. Super Mario Bros. Wii is like crack. Like an enormous rock of crack. 6. My newest obsession? Flameless candles. They are awesome. The ambiance of a lit candle minus the fire risk. I figure I put myself at enough risk smoking cigarettes in bed, why should I also light a candle next to Frank's twitching tail? Kidding. Who smokes in bed anyways? Fail.
7. I'm going to see Galactic at the Showbox on Friday night. So looking forward to painting the town red with my PharmD comrade, Hells. Their new album is rad.
8. I *really* wanted to love Wolfman. Casey, Kim, and I saw it on Valentine's Day. As tradition has it, when I watch movies with Casey and Kim, they usually suck. Wolfman was not an exception to this rule. Other memorable taint burgers I saw with C & K: The Ringer, Semi-Pro, and Mr. Woodcock. The best part about Valentine's Day 2010 was my maiden voyage to Wasabi Bay in Mill Creek. Super good sushi restaurant, I will definitely be going back.
10. Milo has 3 bones hidden in the house. He thinks I don't know where they are. He is wrong. Two are inside the couch behind the cushions. One is wedged in between his donut bed and the wall in the living room nook. I don't know how I'm going to use this information quite yet, but it makes me feel like I have the upper hand in our relationship..... :)
Here are a few things you may not know about my Frizzle Dizz.......
3. Milo and I just joined the 
