I am Tina.

I'm sad to say that I have realized I need to rehome my four rats. I really do not want to do this but after moving out and not getting quite the pay I was hoping for, I'm realizing that if my rats get ill, which is most likely to happen, whether it but tumor or what not, I'm unable to pay their vet bills.
I have one male dumbo and 3 females. Uno, the male, is neutered and nearly 2 years old. I really feel bad for having to rehome him as this will be his 3rd home.
Breve, my siamese, is about a year, and Cybil and Toffee are about 6 and 5 months (born this past summer/spring). These three females I took in after bonding with them a bit too much at the pet store I had been working at and couldn't bare to watch them become snake food (yes I know its how things go).
Breve does tend to be a biter as i got her when she was a bit old and not used to being handled. Cybil and Toffee are total sweet hearts, as is Uno.
I'm not looking for any adoption fee, I just want them to go to really good homes, preferably together, and to someone who will be able to meet all their needs as I am now unable to, unless something changes quickly.
If anyone is in need of a second cage, I have a SuperPets cage (purple and green type http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/images/ferrets-magazine/product-spotlight/superpet-60248-bg.jpg) that's almost brand new. They've only been in it for the last two months that I'm willing to sell for $70 and I also have a ferret nation cage that they were in before I moved. The pans are pretty chewed up, but otherwise its in great condition, and I'm willing to sell it for $100 (or make an offer).

Uno and Cybil. Cybil is the more silver one.

Toffee

And Breve


(x-posted to other rat communities)

( tweets )

I would randomly get a really bad cramp on my right side where my ovaries are and it would hurt so that I didnamt want to move. I went for an ultrasound to check my IUD placement and inturn found out that I have a cyst 4cm in diameter in my right ovary. He said if it's bothersome it could be removed. Should I be worried because it is bothersome?? I want to ask more wuestions but I'm at work and just took a quick break. Thanks.

Post from mobile portal m.livejournal.com

Alright, I live in Indiana and my boyfriend lives in Missouri. He has a ex girlfriend who also lives there. When he and I first got (back) together, I was going to attempt to be friends with her seeing as he felt we should all just get along. She ended up with my phone number (that's what friends do, right?). Now that she's horribly angry with me (because he won't leave me for her) she's using it for pure evil.

I am recieving texts which read things like "I would first like to start by saying fu** you you stupid whore. You deserve to fall off a cliff and die. I hope you get AIDS and die... o wait, you prob already have it. I hope you get the sh** beat out of you. Fu** you you co** sucker. Please do me a favor and die" I have five or six texts like that and a few messages from myspace/facebook where they (she and a few friends) have threatened to "kick your a**"

Along with the texts, since October 11, I have 42 missed calls and 10 recieved calls from her (whose number I have saved in my phone) and the people she has texting me/restricted number. Google tells me this is considered harassment in both our states. The calls/texts are causing me a great amount of distress.

I started out by going to the city police where I live. They sent me to the county because I live in the middle of no where. They then told me I would have to go to Missouri to get anything done. While I understand the crime is being committed there I don't feel like I should have to drive 5 hours to get this taken care of.

I know I should "just change your number" and "block her/them on facebook/myspace/email" ... I don't want to change my number as I'm looking for a job and have given my number out to many potiential employers. And I have blocked each and every person involved who has messaged me via myspace/facebook/email, but they just keep making up new accounts. Verizon (who my phone is through) does not block individual numbers or text messages. I feel like I'm at a loss here.

I honestly just want her/her friends to not be able to (by law) contact me in any way, shape, or form. It's really gotten out of control. I've dropped into a deep depression (dropping classes in school/ dreading waking up/ so on so forth) all from this.

So, do I have to go to Missouri? What all can I have done so she can't contact me?

Dear customers,

Dye lots do not exist to spite you. Getting mad about them will get you absolutely nowhere. I'm sorry you practiced poor planning and failed to buy as much fabric as you needed to finish your project, but coming back ~6 months later and finding that you can't match your fabric exactly... well, tough titty. You're lucky we still had the same print in stock at all!

Sincerely,
Your exasperated fabric wench who's had to explain dye lots far too many times.

PS- If I have to explain to you what a dye lot is and why you should buy your fabric all at once, I doubt you've been quilting for "decades!"

Dear Lovely Customers

Please note - chewing gum has two acceptable places once opened.

- In your mouth.

- In the bin

Places where it is not socially acceptable to place your chewed chewing gum-

*On door handles
*Stuck to the underside of the PIN machine
*On products that you have not brought
*On the product shelving
*On the little flappy bits of plastic holding the offers onto the shelves
*On the floor
*On the button for the lift

Your slightly bemused at all the chewing gum cashier

Me.

(The floor I could maybe understand, perhaps if you coughed it up and couldn't pick it up or see it, but what the hell? The underside of my pin machine? You MUST have intentionally put it there, because try as I might, I can't even see how someone could get it under there accidentally and not notice.)

Just because people sometimes get confused, newbies and experienced alike, I offer a quick guide to the difference between corsets, corselets and bustiers. Corsets and corselets are traditionally foundation pieces and give support and reduction. Corselets generally give less reduction than corsets. Bustiers are not designed as support pieces and unless you've already got a fantastic body, they aren't going to do much in the lift-and-tuck department.


corset - From Mirriam-Webster
n.
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, diminutive of cors
Date: 13th century
1 : a usually close-fitting and often laced medieval jacket
2 : a woman's close-fitting boned supporting undergarment that is often hooked and laced and that extends from above or beneath the bust or from the waist to below the hips and has garters attached


corselet [ˈkɔːslɪt] - From Collins English Dictionary
n.
1. (Military / Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) Also spelt corslet a piece of armour for the top part of the body
2. (Clothing & Fashion) a one-piece foundation garment, usually combining a brassiere and a corset

[from Old French, from cors bodice of a garment, from Latin corpus body]


bustier - From The American Heritage Dictionary
n.
A formfitting sleeveless and usually strapless woman's top, worn as lingerie and often as evening attire.

[French, from buste, bust; see bust1.]



And, in case you weren't confused but want to be, a bodice can refer to a blouse, vest, above-the-waist part of a dress OR a corset.

EDIT: Because I was asked to include stays, here it is. Stays can either refer to the boning or stiffening of fabric used in clothing, meaning anything from corsets to collars, OR it can refer to the corset itself. (It's also a nautical term for the bracing ropes or cables that hold masts upright.) Generally speaking, when corsets are refered to as stays, we're talking about seventeenth century corsets. By the time Queen Vicky rolled around, corset was already the more common expression.

I was encouraged to make a regular, everyday corset by a very wise woman here.
Price is accessible @ $235 + shipping and it is available in just about any color under the sun.

( details under the cut )

I was encouraged to make a regular, everyday corset by a very wise woman here.
Price is accessible @ $235 + shipping and it is available in just about any color under the sun.

( details under the cut )

Dear sir,

You evidently weren't raised properly since your mother should have taught you not to interrupt people.

You also seem to be somewhat hard of understanding, since telling me that "if you can just set up a contract you can just cancel it" is rather disingenuous, since setting up a contract, as I have told you, is a lengthy and involved process, that took our agents around thirty minutes to complete. If you'd let me explain, I could sort this in between five and ten minutes.

While your complaint is not really about us, but more the system we work in, your complaint is somewhat valid and I'd have been more than happy to help you if you'd only let me. Alas this means you shut up and actually listen to what I'm telling you.

No, my not just cancelling it is not my not listening to you. I am taking on-board what you are saying, but can no more do it than I could do what you told me to if you instructed me to fly by flapping my arms, although an attempt at that would be more constructive than this thrice-accursed conversation.

Even though I've told you that your using certain words and praises requires me to respond with prescribed answers, you STILL keep repeating those points and become even more enraged when I'm forced to say the same thing again.

I really at this point don't care if you agree with me, since you're the one being rude and who needs help. However, I need you to claim to understand what I'm telling you so we can move on. Hanging up after thirty minutes, because no-one is capable of ever meeting your demands in the way you think they should is just classy.

No love,

me.

 Well, hello everyone *waves*, I'm pretty new to this community lurking wise, first time posting.

I was wondering what kind of thread you use and where do you get it. I live in country that is practically illiterate when it comes to true sewing notions, especially threads. There's mostly cheap polyester crap, a few heavy duty cottons (in, like, a five color range, cause they're only used for jeans) and two stores (yep, in the whole country) that sell Gutterman's silk thread for its weight in gold (on second thought, I'm not sure gold costs that much). So I'm desperate.
On top of the no-stock issue, there's no one to ask which thread is used where. I've read somewhere that the thread should match the fiber content of the fabric, and that there are different weights, but that's all I know.

So - what do you use, and which online/mail order place do you get it from (If you get it by mail order/online)?
Oh, and I'm not talking about flossing thread, I'm talking the regular get-two-fabrics-together thread. If you do top-stitching with another thread, I would love to know it, also.

*EDIT: Meh, I'm illiterate. Edited all the typos.*

Greetings!

I am letting go of a sample which I have had for some time now. I have cut the price of it big-time. I want it gone!!!



EDIT - SOLD!!

( Specs and photos behind the cut )

It has been way to long since I've posted to this community. I've decided that it is time to change that.

Here is a little photo shoot using some of my samples.




( More Photos )


Larger versions of these photos along with a few more are over on my personal journal.

Photographer: http://www.modelmayhem.com/pepperminnt
Model: http://www.modelmayhem.com/mella

From notalwaysright.com I did not write this

( Read more )

I am looking for a good place to buy coutil. I called a local store and they no longer carry it and contacted Farthingales who do not have the right colour (cream) in the weight I want. I have a sample of the semi-stiff coutil and it seems way too thin.

I have emailed the following companies asking for samples and have yet to hear back from them.
http://www.corsetmaking.com
www.lostcoasthistpatterns.com/cocofa10cowi.html

I have ordered samples from the following but worry a little about shipping costs:
www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk

So far, www.richardthethread.com has the best prices as far as I can tell. Has anyone used their coutil? I emailed them for swatches as well.

Is there anywhere else I should be looking? I checked the memories for fabric here. That is where I got the Whaley's site address from.
I'm in Canada so places in the USA would probably be best.


Thank-you!

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

www.joehavasy.com

This was one of those 'out there' stories that I felt a few might find amusing.

We have a rather well-liked plant where I work. His name is Francisco, and he's a poinsettia that's working on his third holiday season at our store. He's huge - we are talking almost two feet tall here, looking more like a potted tree than a potted plant - and he sits on the counter in the middle of the front-most area of our store.

Apparently, on Saturday, a gentleman came into the store, looked around at some of the mailing supplies we have on display, then walked over to dear Francisco, picked him up, and tried to walk out the front door with him.

Now, the gentleman was stopped before he had time to escape, but offered up no apology or explanation as to why he tried to steal our plant.

When my co-worker relayed this story to the rest of the staff and I, we all had the same facial reaction:

o_0

Out of all the things to steal, why try jack a potted plant that belongs to the employees? WTF, dude.

Due to circumstances beyond my control at this point, I need to move back in with my family. Unfortunately, my kitties can't come with me (everyone else in the house is either allergic or asthmatic, so they will eventually hospitalize or kill somebody). So, if you're in the Chicago area (or are willing to come here to get them), here's YOUR chance to give two unbelievably awesome cats a forever home!

( Come meet Sam and Deana! )

They've been microchipped and spayed, but they're due for their rabies booster shots. I would love to re-home them together if at all possible.

As sad as I am to see them go -- if they can go to a great home, I would be so ridiculously happy.

Hello,

This is sort of an odd request, but some time ago I commissioned a corset from a user here, and cannot for the life of me remember her LJ username. All I know is her actual name (Kate M***) and that she lived in Canada, moved during the course of making my order, and that she custom-made me a mustard-yellow striped corset with buttercream lacing that I absolutely love and still wear quite often. I always get compliments on it! =) I am in California if that jogs your memory.


If you're still here, I'd like to get in contact with you again and ask if I can commission you to make another one for me? And this time I promise i won't lose your contact information! =S If you like, you can e-mail me at the-strangeling@livejournal.com if you'd prefer.

Thank you so much!

(If this post is inappropriate, feel free to delete it.)

I've been watching this community for a while, and I have found it to be helpful. So I'm hoping someone can help me out.

My boyfriend recently bought me a corset from Charlotte Russe. Now as corsets go, I would not say it was the best quality. Whether this would be considered a fashion corset, or just a bad corset, I can't say. The problem initially was that it felt more like a corset styled shirt, more than anything. On top of which, the first time I wore it, I had noticed that the boning was slipping out the bottom of my corset. I have been able to mod it to the extent that it now feels tighter and more cinched around the waist as well as sewing up the holes by the boning, however, I am by no means a corsetier. The problem now is that where my waist feels more cinched, my bust is getting no support whatsoever.

My question now is, is there any way to fix/mod this so that my bust has that nice, sexy lift and support? It has plastic boning, so I'm wondering if replacing the bones with steel ones would help or a simple way to fix only the chest area? Or is this just a lost cause?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer.
- Gillian.

I work at a walk in clinic/family practice. It makes things very hectic that we take appointments and walkins. We warn you when you walkin that the appointments come first and there will be a wait. Sometimes it's as small as 10 minutes, or as long as 3 hours. We don't know. We can guess and keep you updated, it is not our fault that you have to wait.

With that being said - lady. I don't care who you are, you had no right to yell at me and get in my face for 10 minutes about having to wait. I'd like to point out 4 VERY important things to you.

1 ) The waiting room was FULL when you walked in. (literally full.. people were waiting in their cars)
2 ) Its FLU SEASON.
3 ) It's our first day with the H1N1 vaccine.
4 ) You came in 3 hours after the doctor started - there was already 15 walkins ahead of you!

That generally is going to equal some sort of an unholy long wait. YOU KNEW THIS. STOP FREAKING YELLING AT ME AND BADGERING ME EVERY FIVE MINUTES! Everytime you come up to badger me, thats minutes out of my day that are very valuable when we are this busy!

I am a very sympathetic person, but I stopped feeling sorry for you the second time you yelled in my face.

After I coaxed QC into eating some food earlier (1 flower, 1 blueberry, oh boy...), I left a blueberry on top of his head to tease him; he usually will tilt his head and eventually have it fall off, then eat it when, surprise, a blueberry appears out of nowhere.

Tonight however, three hours after feeding him, I was going out the door when I saw him, fast asleep, with the blueberry still on his head. I ushered my boyfriend over, who took a picture with his camera.



He fell asleep on top of his basking log, under the ceramic emitter.

(Please tell me I am not the only one who puts food atop their beardie's head...he never seems to notice, or if he does, doesn't care, so long as it doesn't obstruct his vision).

 Miki says: Shine!  
Shine with love, kindness and brother/sisterhood, of all that's gentle, of all that's good.
Bring out the bling in you!

What's a good camera for taking hamster pictures (or just animals, in general)? I've been looking at this Canon Powershot at Best Buy, which takes great people pictures, but I don't know how it would do with animals. Any suggestions?

So I moved provinces about six months ago, and finally got around to switching my health insurance coverage. Just for backstory, health care in Canada is covered by the provincial government. Getting covered is free, all you need to do is prove that you are who you say you are, and  that you live in the province that's paying for your health care, and then they give you a card and you can get sick with impunity! Pretty simple.

Since I'm not a total idiot, I carefully reviewed the required materials on the OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) website before going to the service counter, and went armed with my passport, birth certificate, and a piece of mail with my address on it. This proved too complicated for the woman in front of me, who was trying to renew her teenage daughter's health card. Cue broken record!

Receptionist: And do you have a document that proves that your daughter lives in Ontario?
Stupid Mom: Yes, I have my driver's license.
R: No, I mean something that proves your daughter lives in Ontario.
SM: She lives with me! (She got irritated super quickly.)
R: I'm sure she does, but since she's over 16, we need a document proving that she lives in Ontario. Like a report card, or something like that.
SM: But she doesn't GET her report cards until JANUARY.
R: Well, you could bring in her June report cards.
SM: This is ridiculous. My driver's license isn't enough?
R: No. Because your daughter is over 16, we need something with her name and address on it to prove she lives in Ontario.
SM: You must be kidding. (Just to prove that the apple doesn't fall far, at this point the daughter started sighing and rolling her eyes.) So you're saying we have to come back?
R: Yes, you'll have to come back with a document proving your daughter lives in Ontario.
SM: But she's a student! What am I supposed to do, just pull her out of school?
R: Well, we're open until 7 on Thursdays.
SM: I can't believe this. We seriously need to come back?
R: Yes. With a document proving your daughter's address.
SM: But she's in high school! I can't bring her back during the day!
R: As I just told you, we're open until 7 on Thursdays, and we're open until 5 every weekday. School ends at 3:30, right? So you can come back anytime between 3:30 and 5.
SM: This is ridiculous. I can't believe we have to come back.

Finally Stupid Mom and her Annoying Daughter huffed away. From the receptionist's beleaguered patience, I could tell she has to go through this conversation a few times a day...poor woman. It's amazing how snarky people get when all they need to do is spend five minutes to be prepared!

ok so I created a care2 petition account for something, and I get email alerts. Like a good furrie I decided to pitch in aginst shooting wolves from airplanes (but it is better than posion)

I'm browsing, signing more like "stop posioning prarie dogs" and "don't let the FDA run our food like some dictator, creating problems for farmstands"

so what do I find

stop spaying-and neuterin animals

"i know not all are going to agree but please let animals have a chance with having babies"

wtf

is there a way to anti sign a petition?
lol people signed just to troll/spam/educate the poor kid


yesh...

 Hey all, just an old newbie checking back in after.... er, over a year (?) since posting? Don't know why, it isn't like the crazies have abandoned the hospitality industry... and neither have I. Anyway, still in the biz, have a renewed need to bitch and missed the common understanding. 

For tonight? As I walked past room #101 tonight I discovered that the guest has been writing with permanent marker... on EVERYTHING, in tongues, AND the GM has known about it for days, AND she wants to stay for a month.  

Just a few random shots of Jasper...the possible Bombay! Evy the lil princess, and a guest appearance by Kodi the dog. xposted
( Cats, kittens, and a dog, oh my )

I'm dying my hair. :D

I work at Volde*Mart as a FE cashier.

First, the WTF as it is short and not-so-sweet. It was an exercise in TMI. Not horrible, but that's why it's a WTF, not a suck. I'm checking two women out, one of the last purchases of my day today and one has a bustier. Now, I know the bustiers we sell are crap. They don't have any of the good structuring materials and the stitching comes undone pretty quickly from the tension.
I'm commenting on them, on how pretty they are, because while they may be crap, they were pretty crap. Then I'm ringing up her condoms. I don't snicker, or wonder, or etc. at condoms because I prefer not to think about it, though I admit to a mental snort of amusement if condoms go with a couple of pregnancy tests.
In fact, I continued conversing with her about the pretty bustiers. But then she interjects and goes 'Oh, yeah, I'm a Trojan girl ;D' complete with a shameless grin and I'm like '......... ew'. Not out loud of course, as I'm still employed and like to stay that way, but I was going 'I don't need to know that. Seriously.' in my head while just giving a bit of the laugh and going back to the bustier conversation. Once they were long gone, the woman behind those two was like '... you are not a priest, this is not confessional. They do not need to tell you that'. I was like 'Seriously.'

The Suck/WTF/thing goes under a cut, because it's gross imagery.

( Follow me this way )

( And now, our feature presentation )

( tweets )

Found this on my CL, it's a response to someone wanting a vet referral for cheaper euthanasia for their 3 year old rat with a neck tumor.

UGH. JUST UGH.

( BAD ADVICE )

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

Cupcake says, "Hey! Post more pics! Our fans insist!" Okay, okay - here are a few then...



( more just a click away - includes a meezer video! )

Chocolate is good.

And I want some. lol

<3

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

"Hello, Mr. Ordered Truck Decals? Yes, this is Me with The Best Darn Little Sign Shop Ever. I'm calling about the box truck you left for me to install decals on."

"Oh, yes, is it ready already?"

"Well, it would be. I'm about halfway done but it's started to rain. Doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon, so it might be another day or two."

"You don't have a garage you can pull into?"

"I'm afraid not. Wish I did, though, it'd solve a lot of problems."

"Well, you should."

(doing my damnedest not to be wiseass here) "Well, I, er, don't."

"You're supposed to have that truck done today."

"I can't do anything out there with it raining, I'm really sorry, sir."

"You should have someplace to pull vehicles inside."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't."

"You should." *click*

OH GOLLY YOU GUYS
A GARAGE JUST APPEARED OUTSIDE
IT'S MADE OF CANDY AND HAPPY THOUGHTS

Hello everyone,

I'm a first time corset maker and I'm thinking about making a cincher from this tutorial. Last week I purchased a fair bit of the Vintage Vogue patterns and in order to get the correct shape beneath them I'll need something that creates a smooth line from underbust to hip and nips in my waist.

The tutorial states I only need underbust, waist and hip measurements, which, yes, not enough. These are the measurements I think I'll need in order to have the corset fit me proper.

- underbust to waist @ side, front and back
- waist to lower edge of corset @ side, front and back

I reckon with those measurements, some paper and a pencil, if I mark them all then connect the 'dots' I'll get smooth curves that fit me fairly well.
( Yes, there's more. )

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

I work in a book store in a mall. We will be closing in January. In fact, we will be closing almost two years to the day after the music store in the mall -- where I used to work -- closed. Now, I admit I may be being a tad oversensitive to some things, but:

I appreciate comments about how much it sucks that we're closing. I appreciate your concern about us booksellers finding other jobs in this economy. I don't appreciate you getting mad that I won't tell you what jobs, if any, my coworkers have lined up. That's their business, and your desire to find out where they'll be working after January is bordering on the stalky.

I don't mind you asking if we'll be having a clearance sale. I do mind you getting mad or expressing disbelief when I tell you that our parent company hasn't told us yet what sort of, if any, clearance we will be having. I really, really mind if you demand clearance sale prices now because you're been such a good customer, especially if I've never seen you before.

I love you for mentioning other places locally that are hiring. I have considerably less love for you suggesting that one of my female coworkers will only be able to get a job as a stripper. My love for you approaches zero when you start to mention specific clubs and go on in some detail how hot she would be. Again, you're getting stalkery. Stop it. (Nothing against strippers here -- I just know the coworker in question wouldn't want to do that as a job for her own personal reasons.)

Please, a little tact goes such a long way . . .

Reporting from a Harley-Davidson dealership. I'm just going to give you a run down on how NOT to act in my dealership.


Now, we're polite and accommodating with our customers, but we are encouraged to NOT just blow over if they're being rude or abusive with us, that's right, I get to have a backbone, we're not subservient. Just thought I'd mention that so I don't get and "OMG BAD_SERVICE!" because I wasn't exactly being perky and happy.


( AMERICA! F**K YEA! )

( Rockers )

( :O )

I'm having a hard time selling this corset. I even tried listing it under "hot topic" thinking it might interest the goth kids. I've lowered the price considerably, but if anyone is still on the fence about the cost I'd consider it just to be rid of it. Here was my previous post to corsetry: http://community.livejournal.com/corsetry/1879987.html?mode=reply There are two good photos there.

It's your basic black satin stock corset with a 26" waist. Great for fetish performers to get messy in or Renaissance fair actors or those who can't afford a custom made corset. You can dress this thing up- add feathers, sequins, ribbons. Or wear it as is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-black-satin-corset-pirate-witch-Hot-Topic-M-L-26_W0QQitemZ110454181990QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_CSA_WC_Intimates?hash=item19b7951066

Just one little picture of Bimmy enjoying his nap time.

hey guys, i'm looking for a monitor lizard. not a water monitor- too big!
but something that climbs. something medium size (for a monitor lol)
any suggestions on specific breeders that i can check out?
thanx :)

**edited to add additional information**
to avoid further confusion and comments that don't fit...

this animal is not for me. it is for my coworker who has lots of experience in keeping a wide variety of reptiles (and others) including monitors, skinks, tegus, etc.
she already has a very large and well constructed enclosure.
i work with her and have been to her home. she takes excellent care of her wide variety of creatures. and she has more experience than almost anyone i know.
i just thought i would help her look around.

Hello! I'm new to the community. :) I LOVE cats. I've had cats as pets all my life and I feel incomplete without one. ♥ I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my cat. (=^_^=)


( clicky here )

Not too long ago, I posted concerned about my beardie, QC. The general consensus was brumation.

Took him to the vets on thursday. He said that the lethargy was normal, but that when lifted, QC didn't have the 'heft' he would like (though he has gained weight since march). Feeling his stomach, he felt a bit like an empty shell. His fat deposits were small, but not unhealthily so. Basically it looked like QC had forgotten to "stock up before winter" and gone straight to resting through it.

He gave me a prescription can of carnivore feed in the hopes to line his gut and get some fat back in him quickly. 1cc 4 times a day. QC seems to like the stuff, even if it does smell like cat food (it's probably pretty close to it).

He's more perky and comes out more, and when I pick him up he definitely has some weight going on. Still no poops, though. Dr Jamrosz couldn't feel any blockage, so he isn't concerned yet. He said he'll be calling back today with a better feed for QC.

In other news, I got Codie a humidifier, and she just loves it. I set it up so it's spraying directly on her basking spot, and she now points her whole body right towards it. Her face is shedding right now and I think it's very relieving for her. I plan on taking her in for a checkup in the next few weeks, too. She has to have gained a pound or so since I'd gotten her, and her tail has grown the length of my thumb, so I think the vet would be happy to see her progress and suggest any changes to her diet now that she's no longer so emaciated.

So, I've always had a hard time getting to sleep. It's not unusual if I take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to actually go to sleep. Last night was kind of ridiculous, though - I was tired. I knew I was tired and needed to get to sleep. But I spent three hours cleaning, and even after I laid down, I got back up again because the way I'd arranged my posters bugged me. Once I laid down again, it took me two hours before I managed to sleep. It felt like my mind was going at 70 miles per hour, despite my trying to think of really boring things. I really wanted to get up and clean some more, though. And I hate cleaning.

That's a bit of an extreme example, because I'm normally not that bad, but I usually have a hard frickin' time slowing my brain down at night, and I toss and turn like crazy. Even if I'm not thinking about what I need to do the next day (which I try to avoid doing because it keeps me up), I end up thinking about a bunch of stupid stuff that I can't seem to turn off. Even when I do get to sleep, every other day I tend to have at least one nightmare that wakes me up again. :(

I don't know what it is I'm doing. I work out 40 minutes to an hour every day except on Mondays, I drink decaffeinated iced tea and don't drink sodas, I don't eat right before bed, I have a bedtime routine that I go through every night, I turn on a fan because I find the whirring soothing, and I still have problems. Even if I'm dog-tired because I didn't get enough sleep the night before, I still have trouble going to sleep. :(

I don't know what my deal is. This has been going on for years! I kinda thought I'd get over it or something, but I miss out on so much sleep and end up sleeping until noon on the weekends to catch up. I want to avoid medication if at all possible - is there something else I could be doing? I'm really sick of this.

Hi everyone!

Just a heads up that I have some new corset pieces in my Etsy store. Ready-made cinchers made from luscious silk dupioni and a beautiful iridescent taffeta. Genuine antique chantilly lace from the late 19th century hand-carved up and placed asymmetrically to create a really neat look. These corsets are not for tightlacing, but are for light reduction. The shaping is really amazing on these pieces, if I do say so myself, and they are made with steel boning, coutil, and have a staytape to keep the waist size accurate for years to come.

All three cinchers are $179.99, which, in my opinion is pretty darn good. Considering the lace itself is about as much per yard retail.

( corsets! )

Follow them to the Etsy Store!

Thanks so much for looking!