Shelba

Hooves

My toenails are long enough to peel potatoes. They are disgusting. They are chipped and haggard. It has been over a month since my surgery, which means it has been more than month since my nails were tended to.

Not only are my toenails in need of care, but both of my dog's nails desperately need to be cut. I can hear their nails getting caught in the carpet when they walk. Every time I see them fight to free their paws from the floor, I feel guilty. I am scared to clip their nails, because I'm afraid that I will hurt them. Usually, I am very good about dragging their butts into Petsmart for this, but obviously I've let things go.

Looks like it is time for a few pedicures. I wonder if the groomer would consider taking care of my hooves while she does my dogs. Maybe she'll even put the little grooming noose around my neck while I sit on her table.

At The Starter's Gate

Now that my heart is mended, we're moving forward with adoption. It is time. We're ready.

Out of curiosity, I talked to an adoption advisor from a private domestic adoption agency. She told me how every now and then couples are matched within 3 months. She gave example after example of this. Then she went on to stress that we should not expect that. We should count on it taking at least a year before we would be matched.

But of course, I thought, "OH MY GOD, if we sign with this agency, we will have a baby within three months of completing our homestudy!" Funny how this simultaneously frightened and thrilled me.

As if she could read my mind, she reiterated the importance of not believing that we will be one of those couples matched within a short time period. She said that we need to look at like it is going to take a looooonnnnng time.

Anyway, she is UPSing us an information packet, and she is calling us back at 6:00 pm next Wednesday to talk to us.

We'll see. It still looks as though we're going to China, but we figured we'd check out a couple other options before we turn our application in.

She's up!

My INR went up to 1.7. A half point! She is supposed to be at the 2.5 to 3.5 range. Bravo, Scarlet, bravo! My blood is getting skinnier! Why can't I?

I'm a bit worried because the coumadin nurse scheduled my next finger prick appointment for two weeks from tomorrow. She thinks that the next time I test that I will be therapeutic. I don't know, dude. Two weeks between tests? This makes me nervous.

Scarlet O'Hemoglobin

I have an appointment in less than an hour to see if my blood has thinned out since last week. We'll see. Last week, I was positive that my INR level was going to be up, but I was wrong. This week, I've been trying to get "in touch" with my blood.

Note: My blood is a snotty bitch named Scarlet.

Me: Scarlet, how do you feel today?

Blood: Wouldn't you like to know.

Me: Uhhh, yeah, actually, I would. At least tell me that you're not clotting on my valve.

Blood: I wasn't planning on it, but if you keep bugging me about it, maybe I will.

Me: Calm down, okay? I was just asking.

Blood: You like that stupid valve more than you like me.

Me: Oh, Scarlet.

I'll be back later. I'm determined to post again today. DETERMINED.