this that and the other

This:

So we brought the cat to the vet a few weeks ago for her annual wellness check-up. Remember that it was as a result of the previous check-up (slightly overweight, slightly dehydrated) that we ended up getting her the automatic cat feeder and the water fountain.

The water fountain is great.

The food thingy... well... let's just say we've discovered our cat is probably an emotional eater. Kinda like Daddy and Mommy. When she's bored, she eats. If she's kept occupied, getting lots of lap time, she doesn't really eat much. So it was a challenge figuring out her daily consumption let alone trying to then cut back on her portions. Because she wasn't consistent!

The thing is, and we found this out the hard way, if she feels she needs to eat and there's no food because she's finished her allocation for the day/12hrs, she pees in the wrongs places... to show her ire...

So we stopped trying to cut back, and instead just let her have the portion she seemed happy with, every 12 hours.

Yeah. So now she's weighing 12 lbs.
Last visit she was 10-ish.
Doc wants her at around 8lbs.

Guess who's gotta go on a diet?

That:

So I went to see my General Practitioner doc about my hives urticaria, and he was quite concerned that I'd been suffering these for over a month... he immediately put me on (not too high) a course of steroids, because he didn't want me to experience side effects like the hunger and the bloating. Told me to continue with the Zyrtec and Benadryl but to expect not need them much soon.

Within 24hours, I woke up for the first time in so long, itch-free. What a relief!!

Scary thing is, I'm already in the tapering off phase of the 'roids, and, well, I *need* the Zyrtec and Benadryl! Yesterday I forgot said "supplementary" drugs *and* was an hour late taking the 'roids, and wow, the itchy welts started appearing on my scalp, scary how fast the things came back as soon as I let my guard down... and this morning I woke up to find splotches on my shoulder and chest - just a few, and not itching, thankfully, but still...

It's not over, not by a long shot.

I've got an appointment with an actual allergist next week. That'll be a token visit, setting up for whenever it is that I need to go in for the actual testing. Of course, I would need to get that done when I am *not* still having these hive thingies and therefore not having roids, zyrtec, benadryl or claritin in my system. I wonder when that's gonna happen.

I was looking at myself this morning and last night, at the amount of pills I'm taking all of a sudden... I hate it.

I want this things solved and fixed, stat!!

The other:

USCIS has acknowledged receipt of the package we sent. My conditional Permanent Residency is extended for one year as they actually process the thingy. According to their website, that office is currently processing similar applications from 6 months ago. Yes, you read that right. We'll see how long it actually takes. I've had relatively good experiences with much shorter processing times than advertised.

I'm going to have to go for another round of biometrics stuff (see item three here), they say to capture fingerprints, photo and signature. I'm quite surprised they aren't taking a cheek swab too. *rolls eyes*

Once I get the above done, I can have a better idea of when my next visit to Malaysia will be... as I might have mentioned before, my passport expires in March '09, so I need to be heading back anytime between now and then to get the thingy renewed.

Of course, I'm reluctant to throw so much $$ for the trip unless it's "worth it", so I might add another leg or two to the journey: Switzerland (see my niece!), England (visit HW!), ... maybe be adventurous and visit a blog pal or two? But extra legs means extra $$ too... so we'll see... one step at a time...

Have a good Tuesday, everyone!