6. March 2010 by Bex.

Holy shit, long time no blog!  I’d like to say there is nothing new in my life but there is tons going on.  So here is an update:

First off:  We beat Bioshock 2 just in time for the March 11th expansion pack. I haven’t planned any of the online portions of the game yet so I can’t really say much about the multiplayer, online death matches.  However the story was good for a sequel and the graphics, though at first seemed grainy, turned out to be really awesome.  I thought the game was harder overall with more melee type attacks.  Playing it on easy gave you a lot of hints that seemed a little unnecessary but that’s ok too.  I love the art deco themes and the characters are interesting.

Second:  Lasik went awesome!  I can see!  It was horribly uncomfortable and while they give you a lot of valium, that just wears right off when you are under the laser.  It was nice that my husband was allowed to sit in there with me and I clawed the shit out of his hand during the procedure.  But the awfulness lasted only about 20 minutes followed by a horrible ride home.  I took something to help me sleep and by the time I woke up 4 hours later, I felt worn out but fine.  I did have to wear some groovy blinders at night for a few days to keep me from scratching my eyes.

I had some lovely impressions in my flesh every morning.  But it turned out really well and I’m happy with it.  No more contacts or glasses.  Schweet.

I’ve been working pretty hard at my health shit.  I found some books at the Half Price Bookstore which talk about fibromyalgia and endometriosis.  I’m working on a symptom and food diary to try to pinpoint triggers.  During this time I’ve had a fever that came out of nowhere and am trying to figure out if there is any rhyme or reason to things like that.  So we’ll see what comes of this new experiment.  I still would like to lose the rest of the 40lbs I gained.  That means I have another 15-20lbs to go.  Being overweight and chronically ill is not easy.  It just exacerbates all your shit.

No new pets and no pets have passed away, no matter how old and infirm they are.   I’m starting Patton on obedience classes this coming week.  I hope that when he gets over his fear of oh…..EVERYTHING….he will be able to start training for a therapy dog program.  Our vet seems to think he’d be excellent at it because of his very mellow temperament.  He went in today to get his distemper shot and a heart worm test. He’s a very sweet dog and I think he’d be a great ambassador for his part Staffordshire Terrier breed.  So many Pit mixes like him are put down right away or taken from their homes in cities with breed bans.  We are learning a lot about this because of our involvement with a pit bull rescue.  This volunteer work has been very rewarding as well as educational.  Just to get it out there, I fucking hate the media.  I hate them all.  Their mission is to sell news by freaking the shit out of everyone in a community.  Period.  Misinformation be damned!  We have to sell newspapers, ratings, etc!  Fuck the truth!  Ok sorry, I’m off my soapbox for now.

Last couple of thing:  I’m going to take a pinup photography class next weekend.  I’m going by myself, which for a hermit, is a big deal.  I’m freaked out by social situations like this but I think it will be fun and informative.  I think the new pin up style with the tatts and vintage/rockabilly themes are awesome.  This all proceeds the Pinups for Pit Bulls event in KC on the 19th.  I’m all for animal rescue organizations, beer and music.  Now, what to wear?  No clue…  The last item of discussion is that I really want another tattoo.  I’m trying to find something that reminds me of my mother.  Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of her passing.  A long ass time ago.  I really miss her and would like my next tatt to be something to do with her. Ron is pretty ready for more ink so we’re going to investigate some new tattoo parlors.   And finally, I hope to hit up the roller derby around the end of the month.  It’s going to be a girls night comprised of women I work with.  I think we’re going to get a little drunk and watch some chicks on roller skates beat the crap out of each other.  That should be fun!

I’ll update my blog with another stitch or two when the time is right.  I’ve got some ideas on the burner for new embroidery and I’m excited to get started.  So overall things are good but everyday is a learning experience.  Some times I fuck up royally and other days I have things in control.  I can’t seem to predict from one day to the next how it’s going to go.  Just doing the best I can!

Tschus.

Posted in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Crafts, Embroidery, Video Games, Dogs, Animals, Hobbies | 1 Comment »

12. August 2009 by Bex.

Yay, another prescription for a controlled substance.  Hopefully I won’t need it long; just until I can wean off the Cymbalta fully.  God, I hope this works.  I’m tired of feeling like my brain is going through a meat grinder.  So that makes it three controlled substances I’m on.  Wow.  And yet I somehow manage to still get to work most days of the week.  That’s a little fucked up, isn’t it?

Speaking of meat, I am off red meat now, including pork.  And for some reason I can only seem to eat fish when it is raw.  Fresh sushi doesn’t taste like the bottom of a cesspool.  Yet cooked fish does.  Wtf?  It just grosses me out.  Plus it feels like my tastes have changed lately.  No, not pregnant…trust me.  I did read, however, that changing one’s diet can help with certain health issues I have.  So getting rid of red meat might help.  I also need to get rid of alcohol, carbonated beverages, fatty foods and anything else you can think of that is good tasting and bad for you.  Damnit.  I’m working on it though.  Doesn’t help that I do this with the scary Estrogen Monster looming over me.

By the way, I googled “Estrogen Monster” and came up with this image:

That made me giggle a lot.  Ha!  There’s nothing like a pissed off Muppet.

That takes me to another image I saw years ago and this also is a good one:

However I’ve never seen this one before:

Ok one more…just because I like it:

What else….Rowdy gave us a little scare.  We went to the lake and did our cabin thing for a night.  We came home early because we all felt like shit: back ache, sunburn, tired and sore.  Rowdy had too much activity and we thought he was a goner.  Thankfully he is on some good drugs (more addicts in the family!) and will be ok.  He’s just an old dog and can only take so much.  It didn’t help that last weekend was hellishly hot and humid.  Here are some lake shots:

The boat we rented was a little fishing boat which was fine until we came back against the tide.  Every ripple we hit was like hitting a cement curb.  We all got jarred quite a bit.  But it was cheap and fun.  The water felt great and didn’t stink of algae like I remember Patterson Lake smelling.

It was good to get away and even better to come back to our own creature comforts, like a pillow top mattress.  I wish I had the fortune of some of those other people we saw over the weekend who were hauling swanky RVs and big-ass boats.  But we had a nice time anyway, even as short as it was.  I’m having a hard time getting into work this week but before I know it, the week will be over.  Thank God.

I think my mind has strayed enough for the time being.  Everyone is pretty silent these days…are you all on vacation?  Bored of the blog?  Sick?  Busy?  In a coma and having an out-of-body experience?  Hehee, whatever it is, I hope you are all well.  I hope to have better blogs in the near future.  It’s just so damn hard to concentrate these days!

Tschus.

Posted in Cymbalta, Animals, Dogs | No Comments »

15. June 2009 by Bex.

The rain held off long enough for us to participate in the Dog N Jog down in the Country Club Plaza.  True to form, Patton whined and peed the whole way.  He was very good natured, letting strangers pet him, letting other dogs sniff at him and a big puppy even smacked him in the face with its paw a few times.  There were 1000 dogs registered to walk with their humans.  Lots of poop and pooper scoopers were there.  It felt good to support a good cause.  Maybe next year I’ll run it.

Not much else to report.  We ran a lot of errands on Saturday and yesterday we put up a book shelf.  So far it’s holding all my Bruce Campbell stuff and sort of looks like a shrine, according to Ron.  *geek*

Have a good week everyone!  I’m going to load up on Percocet and listen to the thunderstorm.

Posted in Bruce Campbell, Charity, Animals, Dogs, Animal Welfare | No Comments »

10. June 2009 by Bex.

My loving husband, sick and humorous as he is, shared this blog with me today.  If you are having a shitty day, pun intended, read this.  Read it even if you are in a good mood.  You will laugh your ass off!

http://www.zug.com/live/81557/The-Alli-Experiment.html

Not much new to report.  It is supposed to rain on Sunday, well thunderstorm, and we are supposed to participate in the Dog’N'Jog 5K that day.  We are taking Patton with us but he hates thunderstorms.  I hope it doesn’t rain until later in the day.  Regardless, we have already paid the registration fee, thus contributing to the charity whether we go or not.  But hopefully all will go well.  I’m looking forward to it.  (By the way, we are walking it, not running.  I suck at running!)

Here’s the facebook link to the fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/rebeccamartzburley?ref=facebook&type=app

Feel free to contribute if you would like!

Posted in Zug, Animals, Blogs, Dogs, Animal Welfare | 7 Comments »

30. April 2009 by Bex.

Ahhh today feels like a normal KC day.  It rained a lot and now the sun is coming out.  That means HUMIDITY!  So it feels very moist in here.  Moist.  Almost sounds like a dirty word, doesn’t it?

I thought I was going to have a really easy time of this surgery but I was totally thrown for a loop.  The amount of bruising isn’t just on the surface but it feels really deep.  Any movement is really painful and it’s hard to get comfortable to sleep.  Last night I was awake, watching TV on the couch until 1:00 AM.  I just slept there rather than risking waking up Ron and the remaining two dogs in our room.  (Not to mention the two little dogs and my mother-in-law asleep in the guest room.)  There really isn’t jack or shit on that late at night.  I watched America’s Next Top Model on the dvr and then tried to watch Brokeback Mountain.  Hmm.

I only watched half of it but I have a few observations.  First, the way the cowboys talked, in a muffled, muttering sort of way, was so familiar.  I myself mutter and have to constantly repeat myself.  It doesn’t help, by the way, that I haven’t lost all my North Dakota accent.  So I was reminded a bit of home and some of my uncles by the way the characters talked.  Their emotional restraint was also familiar.  Second, if you are making a film about two gay cowboys who get it on in the mountains, why would you call it Brokeback Mountain?  Surely they could have chosen a different title.  Maybe Bobcat Mountain or Laramie Peak or anything else.  Cripes.  It’s like calling it Mount-Me Mountain, Cornhole Mountain or Cock-n-Balls Mountain.  That really irked me.  Third, no matter how good looking the actors, man-on-man love is just not attractive.  I’m sure any gay man reading this will disagree but I guess that’s my take on it.

Other than being in pain last night, I was unable to sleep due to some stressful thinking.  My oldest dog, Sadie, is showing signs of poor health.  She’s still eating and drinking, pooping, peeing, all that essential stuff.  However she can never get comfortable, especially at night.  I think it’s due to the huge tumors on her side and her chest and belly.  I’ve known about these tumors for a long time; the tumors are benign, fatty lumps.  They are growing into her abdomen, around her intestines and liver.  Sadie will yelp out of nowhere and we aren’t sure if it is her tumors starting to cause her discomfort.  We’ve been to the vet twice and they don’t know what is wrong.  I could put her through some expensive and stressful tests but I’m not sure I want to go there yet.  I cried about it last night because I don’t want her to be in pain.  If she is going to die soon, I want her to just slip away in her sleep rather than have to take her into a sterile, strange place to be euthanized.  Death is something eventual, we cannot avoid it.  I just pray she can go in peace and comfort at home, without pain.  I guess all we can do is keep an eye on her and try to recognize her comfort levels.

I was also up thinking about my physical health and job requirements.  Soon we will be moving 10,000 square feet of artifacts from one storage space to a better one.  It will be a tough move and I’m not sure how much will be physically demanded from me.  I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up due to the pain and exhaustion I experience.  It’s stressful.  I wonder if I need to find a different job or will they keep me on even though I’m totally useless sometimes?  I don’t want to ever be a burden to anyone, even at work.

I do have some good news though!  I got my genetic test back and I am negative for the gene mutations that cause breast and ovarian cancers.  Hooray!  That doesn’t mean I can’t get it someday but at least I don’t have to seriously consider ripping my ovaries out in the next few years.  (Although there are many days I would love to remove my reproductive organs.)

Finally, since the movie wasn’t holding my interest last night, I watched a raccoon traipsing through our yard.  It was pretty big.  I haven’t seen a lot of raccoons in my time so I was fascinated.  (Now I know what got into the garbage a couple nights ago.)  It seemed almost primate-like the way it was using it’s forepaws to comb through the grass.  I have no idea what it was eating but seeing it does explain the aggressive sniffing and peeing the dogs exhibit every morning.  Like Ron says, “they are cute until they are trying to rip your face off.”

Time to get some work done.  Tschus.

Posted in Animals, Dogs, Movies, Health | 2 Comments »