Long weekend update

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's a 4-day weekend here and I have a long list of things to do, hopefully fairly well-balanced between "have to's" and "want to's." Thought I would try to squeeze an update in while I've got some time and while I'm thinking about it. I'm feeling very neglectful of my blog, but I'm really trying to stay focused on the school work, which is getting both more challenging and heavier. Apologies, but I'm going to resort to a bullet post.

• Dinah was at the vet again on Monday. Dehydrated, listless & lethargic, not really eating. I was worried enough that I called the vet on Sunday and took her in on Monday morning, where they put her on fluids right away and took another blood sample, which went off to the lab for testing. She was there overnight and came back feeling much better. She's okay for a couple of days, then seems to fade again, so I just keep feeding her the required food and watch her to make sure she's drinking water. Until the test results come back, there isn't much else I can do except keep an eye on her.
• Joey went to the vet yesterday. Back in May he had a tumour removed from one of his paws. The vet managed to remove all of it, but did say to keep an eye on the area in case of regrowth. Well, it's regrown - faster and bigger this time. It's currently just a large, soft and swollen lump on the same foot in the same place, so he's going back for another surgery on Tuesday. This time he might actually lose some toes to it. Plus, when I mentioned he'd been coughing (different than that hairball hack), she listened to his lungs and said it's likely asthma. I had no idea cats could get asthma, but it's apparently quite common.
• I'm feeling quite overwhelmed by all these pet issues. It's not their fault, and I'm going to ensure they get healthy, but realistically I am limited in what I can do. Joey's after care is going to be longer and more painful than the first one, and that means more vet visits to ensure everything is healing properly, etc. All of this adds up and that's the part that I'm worried about. I need to let go and trust that it will all work out. It's just...frustrating.
• I've been a bit melancholy this week. A friend is moving back to France for a year and I took her out for lunch on Thursday. I don't see her often, but she's a lovely woman and is following her heart to be able to spend time with her parents and grandmother. My sister and her husband are in Portugal and have been following their hearts. I'm just tired of working and want to take a year off to do whatever I want. Maybe I'm just working too hard in the wrong direction or something...I have to do some reflection.
• The schoolwork is starting to pick up, too! I was writing all the assignments and tests and exams into my agenda the other day and they all get closer to each other as we make our way to December. I handed in an assignment the other day which is incomplete (my fault, I put it off and didn't read the instructions) and am feeling stuck in a class because I can't figure out how you figure out subjective, objective and plural possessive cases in a sentence...Any suggestions, all you teachers out there?
• The creative writing class is a lot of fun and I'm so glad I signed up for it. It's very challenging and just what I need. I did get an odd email from a classmate the other day and when he asked if I got it I just said 'yes' and left it at that. I deleted it (it was for a dance tonight, but he added what I considered an unnecessary and vaguely creepy comment to it), but I'm just not sure what to make of it (or him), so stuck with my tried-and-true passive-aggressive response, which is no specific response. I'm most likely reading far too much into it (and taking it entirely the wrong way), so I'm just going to ignore it.
• I got a p/t job at the college library! I work Sunday afternoons. It's crazy quiet, which is just fine and it's familiar territory - more or less - so I'm pleased. I'm hoping I'll be able to pick up a few more hours once my yoga class finishes at the end of this month.
• Yoga rocks! I'd like to take the beginner class again, as there's so much to think about when you're doing it. We'll see. I have other monetary priorities at the moment, although I DO have to have a little time for me to relax and forget about everything, don't I?
• I've got a Thanksgiving dinner tonight, a walk this afternoon, work tomorrow and yoga Monday evening. I've made a to-do list, so that I can get some schoolwork done in between, as well as an errand or two. I want to work ahead a bit on my assignments, so that what I'm doing around those is review, reading, etc. I realized the other day that I've been doing all my assignments without the required reading. I know, it doesn't make sense, but I'm doing very well despite that! It just means I have some catching up to do.
• Generally I make a dessert for my potluck meals, but I ordered dessert this time. A woman in town makes the World's Bestest Cupcakes and she's made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream icing this holiday. She's even delivering! $20 and a dozen cupcakes are mine. It's one less thing I have to do, so I hope everyone understands.
• I've been doing great with my decluttering, too! Been going at it like mad the past few weeks. I sold my x-country skis/boots the other day and made $150, which I'm going to put towards a pair of decent snowpants - something I need to make winter more bearable. A friend is picking up my chair at the end of the month, which will leave more space in the living room. It was part of the set, but just takes up too much space and I've never used it. It's been lovingly broken in by the cats (but not TOO badly) and she's fine with that, so I'm happy to get rid of it.

Time for me to get on with some more assignments. Cupcake delivery is at noon and I should probably be out of my pajamas by then.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!