I owe you an apology for not posting in the last 2 weeks.  They've been a rough 2 weeks.  The election of course had me on the edge of my seat, and the construction has been heating up with going to shop for floors and meeting with Susan and various contractors. 

But mostly the time was spent caring for Sophie.  She kept us jumping and this morning she used the last of her nine lives.  She would rally, begin eating like a truck driver and we would see glimpses of the old Sophie, but yesterday she just suddenly stopped eating and drinking and we knew that was it.  We had agreed that we wouldn't attempt to feed her via the syringe anymore when she stopped drinking. 

We both prayed constantly that God would take her quickly and that it would be painless and I know I prayed my heart out in Mass last night that He would just take her in her sleep and our prayers were answered.  She has been sleeping with us on the air mattress the last couple of nights and I would wake up every time she moved.  I woke up just before 4am and noticed she had started to breathe quickly.  I woke up Doug and within minutes, her breathing changed and she was gone.

So my fear of her dying by herself blessedly didn't come to pass and I have no doubt she's in Heaven running around again chasing her tail.

On a happier note, this Tuesday, Veteran's Day, I have the honor of presenting the Monmouth Beach School with a flag flown in Iraq.  They've been a huge help to ARMS and I'm thrilled to be able to do it.

Wednesday the 12th, I'll be in for Spencer on Fox Across America.  The show airs from 2p - 3p, eastern time.  You can listen over the internet by going to:  http://www.foxnews.com/radio/index.html and clicking on "Listen Live".  Of course if you have Sirius or XM, you can listen on Channel 145 (Sirius) or 168 (XM).

Again, I apologize for my absence and now that things will be somewhat calmer, I hope to be updating this blog on a more regular basis.  

I can be heard twice tomorrow.  The first show is Gary Baumgarten's show on Paltalk.  Unfortunately you have to be a subscriber to listen - kinda like Sirius but over the internet.  That's from 5p - 6p.

Then I will be joining Alan Colmes on Fox News Talk from 11p - 1a (eastern time) for his Friday Night Free For All.  I've had the pleasure of doing this before and it's a lot of fun.  I'm the "wild card" this time.  I really lean Libertarian, so it's hard for me to argue the Conservative side against Alan when I agree with him on several social issues.  If you're around, you should try to catch it.  They usually book some pretty funny characters and it's always entertaining.

You can listen over the internet by going to:  http://www.foxnews.com/radio/index.html and clicking on "Listen Live".  Of course if you have Sirius or XM, you can listen on Channel 145 (Sirius) or 168 (XM).  Alan's show is also carried on AM stations around the country.  If you'd like to check and see if there's one near you, click here:  http://affiliates.foxnewsradio.com/Station_Finder.php

Have a safe Halloween and enjoy your weekend! 

Oh and one more thing.  If Obama thinks your rich and you don't, check this out: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/24/magazines/fortune/tully_henrys.fortune/index.htm

I feel like this is turning in to a ping-pong game of sorts.  <LOL>  Got a call this evening to see if I could appear tomorrow on America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Megan Kelly.  The hit is anywhere from 9:20 - 9:30am (eastern time).  I'll be the one looking really tired since the car is picking me up at 6:30 - I'm going to have him stop at Dunkin Donuts just to get some caffeine!

I'm really excited and looking forward to it.

Enjoy your week!

Got a call today that Fox is cancelling their weekend "special" segments to devote more coverage to the shenanigans in Ohio. Sooooooo, I will NOT be on the Fox News Channel tomorrow. I know, I know. You were planning your entire day around it and now you have nothing to do. Don't blame me - blame ACORN! <LOL>

I know, apologies again for taking so long to update the blog, although it's not my fault this time.  This time it's Nancy's fault.  Nancy is a classmate of mine and she sent me an email inviting me to "check out my Facebook page!"  So I wanted to be nice and went to check out her page.  Little did I know, that in order to "check out" her page, I had to give all this information.  Sooooooo, I did it.  Next thing I know - I have a Facebook page!!  Let me tell, ya - that thing is a lot of work and is close to impossible to navigate.  But it is cool hearing from old classmates and getting back in touch.  I've spent so much time trying to figure it out that Doug is currently looking to stage an intervention.  I'm still confused with it.

My next project is to figure out LinkedIn.  Who has this kind of time??

I went in to the City with our designer Susan on Tuesday.  We went to Chelsea Arts Tile & Stone to pick out the floors for the renovation.  Our architect, the Wizard, had recommended them and I thought that it would be stupid expensive, but the selection is fabulous, the customer service is unbelieveable and tile is REALLY reasonable!  I highly recommend them, especially if you're looking for something other than Travertine, Carerra, etc.  They do have a wonderful selection of that as well, but I want something that looks old and doesn't look like it belongs in Manalapan with a big fountain in the entry.  (you know what I'm talkin' about!)  Oh and ask for David.

Here's a picture of what we've selected so far.  The middle stone is a marble and we're going to use it in the kitchen.  The other 2 patterns are going to be used in the 2 new entries as an inlaid pattern with the plain marble being used as an edge.  Then again, we haven't ordered it yet, so it is subject to change.  <LOL>

  Sophie is doing much better.  We're learning that she cycles and around Friday, her stomach starts to act up and she eventually vomits out the poison that her kidneys can't filter out.  The diet that our neighbor Cathy (the Cat Whisperer) recommended has really made a difference.  I wish I had spoken with her earlier and not listened to our vet.  There's a lot to be said for adjusting the diet and getting rid of all the pills.  I don't know how much she weighs, but she looks like she put a little on.  She's also walking much better & is negotiating the stairs again.

I didn't get a chance to update this in time to let you know that I filled in for Spencer yesterday - sorry.  I can tell you that I'll be back on America's Voices on Sunday on the Fox News Channel.  Again, that's not your local TV affiliate.  You get it via cable or satellite.  It's the station that airs Hannity & Colmes, Shepherd Smith, Greta van Sustern, Bill O'Reilly, etc.  The segment airs at approx. 4:20pm eastern time and runs anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes.

Lastly HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Gerard - Doug's cousin and a fellow Scorpion.  Doug is treating me to dinner at the Little Kraut in Red Bank tomorrow for my birthday.  So early HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me.  :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted.  Actually it feels much longer than that.  Before I get to all that, let me tell you that this Sunday (the 12th) I'll be on the Fox New Channel (TV) on America's Voices.  This is the segment that I've done before and if  you have absolutely no life at all and would like to catch up, just go to youtube and search on my name.  The hubby was kind enough to post all the past hits there.

Anyway this is NOT your local Fox affiliate.  So if you're like my uncle and kept waiting for me to magically appear in the middle of his baseball game - you're on the wrong channel.  You need cable or satellite to view the Fox News Channel.  It's the same channel that carries the O'Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes, Greta van Sustern, etc.

The hit will be at approximately 4:20pm, eastern time and lasts anywhere from 4 - 7 minutes.

CONSTRUCTION

The house is crawling with contractors today.  The HVAC guy was here yesterday as well to try to get the last of the holes in the floors and the hoses in.  After today, he should be mostly done.  The GC (Gil) is fixing some outdoor woodwork before the winter.  There is a big piece of old wood that used to be covered with aluminum siding that blew off sometime this summer, so they're replacing the rotted wood with Azek to prevent any more damage.

One of the many inspectors was here earlier this week and he failed us.  Seems that somewhere between the old inspectors (who were fired en masse) and the new bunch, any record of our prior inspections "disappeared".  So I have no idea what's going to happen now and frankly it's not my problem.  I have too much on my plate to worry about that as well.

Going in to the City next week with Susan (our kick-butt designer) to get a bid on the floors and then they should start insulating and get this thing back on track.  We're trying to get as much done before Jan. 20th, because once Obama is sworn in, our money is going to be flying out of wallets and in to Washington's, so we're going to be broke.

SOPHIE

Poor Sophie is an old gal and it's really starting to show.  Doug left for a seminar in Chicago last Tuesday (30th).  He was gone until Saturday and it was the longest 4 1/2 days of my life.  The poor thing wouldn't eat and I had to feed her baby food every hour and a half via a syringe.  We're also giving her a subcutaneous IV every day, so all this fell on me.  Being woken up every 90 mins, round-the-clock for 3 days in a row almost killed me.  I have never been so sleep deprived in my life and the poor girl was soooooo sick.  At one point, she was too weak to get up and use the litterbox and would just pee all over herself.  It was so sad!!

Luckily my neighbor Cathy got me pet diapers and pee pads which came in very handy, although the diapers almost weighed more than Sophie and she couldn't walk with them on.  I was so afraid that she wasn't going to make it until Doug got home, that he changed his flight and missed the last day of the conference and came home Sat. morning instead of midnight Sat. night.

He laid down with her and she curled up next to him and slept for about 3 hours.  After that, she was like a new cat!!  She began eating & drinking on her own and has even become a little interactive with us.  She's slowly getting stronger and doing some walking on her own.  I don't know if it's possible - but I think she missed him!

So since she can no longer jump up on and off of our bed, the 3 of us are sleeping on an air mattress on the floor and we are up every time she eats, uses the litterbox, drinks, vomits, etc.  Needless to say, the sleep deprivation problem isn't getting any better.  It's gotten to the point where I can barely focus.  I don't know how long we can keep this up.

Of course she has good days and bad days and the last couple of days have brought on some kind of stomach upset to add to mommy's duties.  I took a picture of her in the diaper, I'll try to get Doug to download it and post it here.

Am I the only person who is absolutely apoplectic with the idiots in Washington?  Both sides too!  I've been doing my best to try to learn as much as I can about this whole financial melt down and I've come to the conclusion that it's so deep and so complicated that it's virtually impossible to really understand all the intricacies of it.  Which is probably why I've heard so many people blame the "failed Bush/McCain financial policies" for the current mess.  THAT is why my brains are slowly dribbling out my ears. 

Bush Derangement Syndrome is so out of control, that the Obama Kool-Aid drinkers can't see his role in this whole mess nor can they give McCain credit where credit is due.  To be fair, it's not all their fault, the mainstream media is doing everything in its power to keep painting McCain as the one out of touch and to keep covering up Obama's deep ties to Fannie & Freddie.  So unless a member of the Obamanation actually seeks out the truth, they will continue to operate under the delusion that he is God-like and sent from the heavens to solve all their problems.

I know it sounds like I'm in love with McCain, but I'm really not.  His position and failure to seize this opportunity is maddening to me, but the hypocrisy of the Democrats and the media is forcing me to up my meds!  Personally I'm  happy that the bill didn't pass.  When you're talking about spending $700 billion, I'd prefer that Congress take its time and not just ram it through.  Thank Goodness they're taking the time to actually THINK about this one!  On the other hand, watching Pelosi get bitch-slapped like that was most satisfaction I've gotten in at least a week.

Along those lines, I'm posting links to some articles (both long & short) that give some pretty good explanations of this mess.  I'm also posting a link to a video for those of you who either can't read or can't be bothered reading.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0917/p09s01-coop.html?page=1

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace  I don't know how long this link is going to be up; there seems to be an issue about copyright infringement with the music.

Lastly, I don't know how many of you bothered to watch any of our representatives pontificate about this, but God bless Ron Paul.  I know he's a little extreme, but he's one of the few that actually said anything that made any sense!  Probably why he'll never be President.

On the Sophie front, we got her labs back and her kidneys are failing.  From what I understand it's pretty common, so she's going to have good days and bad days and eventually the bad days are going to be more frequent than the good days.  I've become an expert at administering sub-cutaneous fluid injections in cats and managing to get all the pills down her throat that are required.  I've also learned to manage to get by on little to no sleep and finding where cats go to perform various bodily functions when they're too tired to get to their litter box. 

So some days I'm optimistic and others I'm convinced she's not going to wake up.   The emotional and physical roller coaster is taking its toll, but I look at every day with her as a blessing, so I'm not complaining.  Thank you for all your kind emails and comments.  I sometimes feel somewhat stupid for being in such emotional upheaval over a 4 1/2 pound cat, but it's nice to hear from those of you who know exactly what we're going through.  So thank you for that.

Okay, I'm done venting.  See ya on the radio tomorrow!

Well, I'm happy to report that Sophie seems to be perking up.  She had been on a medication that she apparently had a reaction to & it was really making her sick.  Doug was smart enough to look on 1800petmeds.com for side effects of the drug and when he read it, he called me and told me to stop giving it to her.  The side effects read like a list of all her symptoms.  Luckily she was only on it for a day and a half, but that was still 4 doses.  It seems that she now has all of it out of her system and is slowly getting back to her old self.

My neighbor Cathy turned me on to cats & lamb baby food.  Apparently it's really easy for them to digest and she (Sophie, not my neighbor) seems to love it.  So we're trying to get her back above 5 lbs and if lamb baby food will do it - then so be it.  I'm still feeding her every 2 hours and she's still getting her IV, but if her latest kidney tests come back a little better, we may be able to cut down on the IVs.

In other news, I'll be in for Spencer on Wednesday, October 1st.  His show airs from 2p - 3p eastern time.  You can hear the show on Sirius channel 145 or XM channel 168 or via the internet by going to: http://www.foxnews.com/radio/index.html and clicking on "Listen Live".

In the political arena, I have to say that this is the first election that I am actually surprised by the blatant lies going around about both candidates.  And I'm surprised by the venom I'm hearing when people disagree on the candidates.  People are really taking this personally.  So along those lines, I'm suggesting you check this out: 

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=306978378974502

It's a pretty educational look at Fannie & Freddie.  And while you're there, you can check out some more recent editorials.  I found them helpful in understanding this mess.  Although I still don't know why it's my responsibility since I really had nothing to do with it.

Before I finish this, I'd like to thank everyone for their very nice e-mails about Sophie and thank you for your prayers.  I promise to keep you updated.  Also a HUGE thank you to EB who took the time to make me a new, Jersey-centric banner for this page.  Despite being a NYer, he still respects my love of NJ.

Don't forget to watch the debates tonight and I'll see ya on the radio next week!