My doctor's office called me this evening with test results. It seems that I have high ferritin levels, or too much iron. And guess what? They have to do more tests to find out why and if it is significant or not. I wish they could just take a bucket full of blood in the first place and quit hassling me with getting stuck again. This is now the fifth time I have had to go back and have blood drawn in the past month. I hope someone figures this mess out soon. I'd like to tell them just to take a few extra vials while they're at it so they can just use those when they decide to run more tests. Ugh.

Last week I went to see a specialist, a GI, about my liver. He told me that the two causes that account for over 90 percent of high liver enzymes like I had are Hepatitis C and a fatty liver. He said that according to my test results and ultrasound, I had neither of those. As for what caused the elevated levels, it could be something such as autoimmune hepatitis like my mom had theorized, or it could be acute liver damage caused by exposure to some chemical. He asked if I could have been exposed to any strong chemicals around the time frame of September, and I couldn't remember any. Of course there is always the thought that I work around rocket fuels such as monomethyl hydrazine, but there are so many safety controls in place at work that it seems very unlikely. I asked if it could have been a chemical I was exposed to at home, and he said no, unless I had been using some heavy duty commercial degreasers or things like that.

So I had to have more blood taken and it is being tested this time for "markers" that might point to autoimmune hepatitis. If they are not there, they will probably just continue to monitor my liver enzymes every few weeks to see if they return to normal as they would in the case of acute liver damage. And I would just have to be left with a mystery as to what caused it. I should hear the latest test results late this week or early next week. I'll let you know.

Come to our medical search engine to find the best medical websites and health resources on the Internet. You can find medical information on diabetes and cholesterol at Healthline.com.

For those of you who don't already know, I have started up another blog in addition to this one, called Tortoise Hollow. It is a blog that is about the long process of building our new house on the seven and a half acre piece of land we bought back in January. Check it out at www.tortoisehollow.com and stop back regularly for updates on our progress and lots of photos and details.

In other news, after two years of watching me write on this blog, Andy has finally decided to give it a whirl and has started his own blog. It is just a Blogger blog to start out and he is very new to the blogging thing so please be nice and go over and say "hi" to him. I think if he gets some comments it will encourage him to keep writing, and if he keeps at it eventually he will "find" his writing style. His blog is called One Dead Monkey and the title refers to a phrase we hear often at work at the space center, "One dead monkey doesn't stop the circus." See his blog here to read the rest of the story.

I found this frog on the back porch this morning after it stopped raining. I can't believe how tiny he is. He's not even as wide as my ring.

We consulted with the vet about Louie's little arm licking problem and he decided that Lou should be put on antidepressants. He has examined his arm on four different occasions and found nothing is physically wrong with it. This is also evidenced further by the fact that when Louie's arm is bandaged up and he can't get to it to lick, he will pick out a new spot on his shoulder and start the same thing there. It is clearly a nervous thing he has going.

He is not actually on Prozac, the stuff he is taking is called Amitriptylin, and the warning on the label says it may cause drowsiness and alcohol may intensify this effect. He is supposed to use care when operating a car or dangerous machinery as well, but I don't think that will be a problem for him. Lou doesn't normally operate much heavy equipment as far as I know, at least. Hopefully the medication will help.

I am calling for your help here, because we are at our wits end. Louie, our almost five year old black mini poodle developed a little spot on his arm where the fur was all chewed off way back in mid August, and we have tried everything to make it better, all to no avail. At first the vet said it was dermatitis and gave us some ointment. That didn't work, so he gave Lou a shot. Still didn't work, so he shot cortizone directly into the "spot" and said it was a "lick granuloma," basically there is nothing physically wrong, for some reason Louie just won't leave it alone.

The problem still persisted, so the doctor gave us some more cream and we had to put the cone collar on Louie, which he hated with a passion. The vet recommended another type of collar that would keep him from getting to his leg but that wasn't as horrible for him as the cone collar. I got him one, a contraption called the "bite not" collar, which is a wide stiff plastic collar that keeps him from being able to reach his legs to chew on them but does not obstruct his vision or stop him from eating and drinking. It was a better solution, but still Louie was miserable in it, and he wore it for a few weeks. He looks like a car accident victim in a neck brace when he wears it. Well, we can't keep him in that collar forever, so when we took it off guess what? He instantly started chewing on his arm again.

I am at a loss as to what we can do to kepp him from chewing on himself. I have tried tabasco sauce on his arm, a spray stuff called "Phooey" that is about the bitterest stuff in the world, and bandaging the arm. None of the bad tasting or hot stuff even slowed him down, and when the spot was covered with a bandage, he started chewing a new spot at the top of his arm above the bandage. What else can I possibly do? I don't want to use anything hotter than tabasco because I don't want to hurt him, and no electric shock things either. I really don't want him to have to spend months of his life in a cone or restrictive collar because they make him so miserable. Any thoughts?

I have been up and going since 3:45 this morning with hardly a break to stop and collect myself, and I am getting up at the same time in the morning tomorrow, so I'll make this short. I am playing catch up on a lot of my work extra curriculars and I am having to get up super early to fit in the time to do it. Going in early is the only option for getting work done uninterrupted, so that's what I have to do.

I had a dentist appointment this afternoon. I got my teeth cleaned and got an estimate for having my mercury fillings replaced. It turns out that it will only be about $300 to have them replaced with the composite ones, so I am going to do it- see my post on the dangers of mercury amalgams. Andy is scheduled for getting his wisdom teeth ot next Friday so that will be interesting. I have to take off work of rhtat so I can drive him to his appointment and take care of him.

I made an appointment today with a GI after being referred by my doctor for my elevated liver enzymes. I called the first doctor that was recommended and they were booked solid until late January. I told the receptionist that my liver might be rotted out by January. Fortunately the other one that was recommended had an opening this Thursday afternoon, so maybe I will get some answers- or more tests done to find out what is wrong with my liver.

And now I am going to bed so that I can struggle through the next few days and get to the other side of all the crap I am trying to catch up on. If I can just make it through to Thursday I will be in good shape.

Wow, I didn't post on here for two whole days; that doesn't happen very often. We are just starting to get into a very busy time of year and this weekend was definitely a reflection of that. Saturday we volunteered. We got up very early and set up a tent at a craft show to advertise the poodle rescue. As the other members of the poodle rescue have gotten busier after the summer has come to an end many of them don't seem to have time to volunteer at these events for charity, so it left just me and Andy. I couldn't believe how hot it was there this late in the year- it was ninety degrees and just miserable and it zapped all of our energy. But we were able to meet and talk to some prospective poodle adopters, so it was for a good cause.

Today we did some work around the house. Andy has been working on the windows lately, chipping out all the old caulking and resealing and painting them. He worked on the ones upstairs today, because I have a rule that he isn't allowed to do the upstairs windows unless I am home. I just don't want him falling off a ladder when I am not there to call 911. Safety, you know. And he took out all the screens so that we can take them to be rescreened this week just in time for the cool weather that is approaching. The heat wave we have been experiencing is supposed to come to an end starting tomorrow, and I am ready for it. The fall weather in Florida is the best. Fall and winter are the reasons I love living here.

I auctioned off a bunch of old Roman coins on eBay this week and the auctions came to an end yesterday. They all did fairly well, but apparently coin collecting is a lot more popular in Europe. I have packages to send out to winners in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands as well as a couple in the US. Gotta love eBay.

In other news, I found out Friday that my liver tests that had shown very elevated enzyme levels were correct. I had hoped the test was faulty but when I was retested the levels had dropped some, but were still way above the normal range. If you are familiar with liver function tests, my AST was 138 on the first test then dropped to 94. It was supposed to be in the 5 to 35 range. My ALT was 298 at the beginning but dropped to 214. It was supposed to be in the range between 5 and 40. And to make things even more strange, the levels were perfectly normal when I had routine bloodwork done in July of this year. My doctor referred me to a GI for further testing, possibly a liver biopsy, and I am not looking forward to it. I am sure eveything is fine. I'll keep you posted.

Giddily laughing on the phone, sharing things about ourselves. Not quite a real first date, but I talked to one of my blog friends on the phone for over an hour today for the first time. We have been joking that it was like we were on our first phone date. Kids, dogs, husbands, bodily functions; all of it was fair game for conversation. We had such a nice chat and it still amazes me that it is possible to find real friends on the internet. Without blogging the two of us would never have met. What an interesting time we live in, really. Have you met people on the interenet and gone on to be real friends? I know some of you guys have, because I have read about it on your blogs, but what about the rest of you?

I had a follow up appointment at my doctor today to get the results of the additional tests she did. So here is the story of what is up with my stinkin' liver. The ultrasound did not show anything abnormal, and I tested negative for Hepatitis A, B, and C. I knew that would be the case. The doctor wants to check the enzymes again to see if they are still high or if maybe the origianl test results were wrong. If they are still high, then she would have to suspect autoimmune hepatitis. So, I should find out tomorrow or Friday the results of the new bloodwork and if the enzymes are high she will send me to a GI who will probably do a liver biopsy. Sounds fun, right? I have high hopes that the test with the high enzymes was a mistake and that everything is actually fine. We'll see.

My conversation with Andy earlier today:

Me: "I love you"

Andy: "I love you too."

Me: "Still?"

Andy: "Yeah, I will always love you."

Me: "Even if I was terrible?"

Andy: "You're terrible now."

Me: "hehe"

I have had a lot of dogs in my life, ten to be exact, and almost all of them have practiced a technique of eating that we call "pooching." They will get a mouthful of food out of their bowl and then carry it over to another room and eat it on the rug. Our dogs' food bowl is in the laundry room, and they will carry the food out to the living room or even farther to eat it. Annabel will even carry her pooch all the way upstairs if we are up there. It seems like she would use up all the calories she eats by running up and down the stairs between mouthfuls, but dogs are just weird. Do your dogs do this or is it just a poodle thing?

One of my friends at work is the drummer in a band. Andy and I have gone out to watch the band play; they are quite good. Today we found out that the bass player in the band killed himself last night. I didn't know him but through my friend we have heard all about him as he talks about the band like they are his family. Anthony left behind his wife who is a breast cancer survivor that recently made it through a double mastectomy. I can't even imagine what she must be feeling right now.

It just strikes me as so incredibly selfish, killing oneself. How could anyone do such a thing to the people that love them? There is nothing worse that they could possibly do. Just the guilt that they force their loved ones to feel must be immeasurable. And what a shame. Here was a man of only 38 years old that was a talented musician just getting started with the band. They were playing gigs at local bars and writing songs in hopes of recording an album. He ran a succesful business of his own as well. And now it is the end for him, game over. What a rotten shame.

Yesterday on the front page of the local newspaper there was a fabulous headline: "Brevard a hot spot for dumping bodies." Brevard is the county we live in and the article went on to discuss how killers seeking burial grounds are drawn to the rural remote stretches of land along the major highways that run through the county but are in close proximity to major metropolitan areas such as Orlando and Daytona. It might be true, but it sure doesn't give anyone the warm fuzzies about living here.

On that note, have you ever noticed how many freakin' crazies come to Florida? All kinds of crooks and killers can be found in this great state. I guess the warm weather opens opportunities for killing and maiming all year long so they don't even have to take a break in the winter. It probably would be harder to get motivated to commit heinous crimes when you are freezing your ass off, right? That must be it.

Yes, it is my liver I am referring to. I had some basic routine bloodwork done recently and my liver enzymes were very high. So now I get to go through the fun of more testing and even a super cool ultrasound of my liver. I am so excited. Is the sarcasm coming through?

I think that there is probably nothing wrong with my liver, but whatever. There are a whole lot of things that can cause elevated liver enzymes. Unfortunately one of the levels, the ALT, was like seven and a half times the normal, so I have no choice but to get everything checked out. So tomorrow morning at 7:30 I will be having some a real fun time. I'll let you know how it goes. No worries.

This post is going to sound a lot like a product endorsement, but it isn't; I just wanted to share what someone shared with me today. This morning we stopped at the vet on the way to the grocery store and I don't even remember exactly how it was brought up, but one of the ladies there told us that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers- the heavy duty ones- work great for cleaning grout.

Now I don't know about you, but in our house almost the entire bottom floor is covered in 18" tile and it has a fairly wide grout line. The tile is a nice light beige and the grout is almost the same color, or should I say was the same color, because it is impossible to get it clean. I have tried everything on that damn grout over the years, bleach with a toothbrush, special pastes made just for cleaning grout and nearly every spray product on the shelf that claims to clean grout including ones like Kaboom and Finazzle that are supposed to work well on that kind of stuff. We even had someone come in and clean the grout professionally but I was less than impressed with the results. So I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that we would always have icky looking grout.

Well I decided to pick up some of the Magic Erasers and give it a shot anyway. They are the ones that say they are 50% stronger for heavy duty use on the box. And then this afternoon, I gave them a try. The results were amazing. It cleaned that grout like freakin' magic; I really couldn't believe it. I did a large section of the floor but used up the whole box of four so I need to get more tomorrow. The best part is that there are no harsh chemicals and I can work on the floors without having to worry about the dogs or my bird breathing the fumes or getting bleach all over myself and ruining clothes. I didn't even need to wear gloves. Seriously, if you have dirty grout you have got to try these things.

Can you believe I actually have TWO dogs wearing those stupid elizabethan "cone" collars? Cody is still recovering from the cyst he had removed, and little Louie has developed a "lick granuloma" on his front leg that just won't go away. He has been to the vet four times for it and we have tried all kinds of shots and creams and ointments, but he keeps licking and gnawing at the spot and making it worse. I even tried putting bitter stuff and then tabasco on it to keep him from licking it but he didn't even slow down. He was like "yummy, I'm eating my leg with tabasco sauce now." So he has to wear the stupid cone and he is very upset. I am wondering if maybe his licking is a psychological thing, and I having been throwing his ball for him more and playing with him to distract him from licking. I will continue on that trend, I guess. The little shit. But he's my baby.

Last night my next door neighbors were making a lot of noise as usual on their back porch and when I took the pups out to pee before bed their dog starting woofing at our privacy fence from their side. My dogs barked too, and they were really interested in the neighbors dog, so I walked over to the fence to collect them up and bring them back inside to go to bed. The neighbors dog kept barking and the neighbor was yelling at him, and then I heard him smack the dog, loudly. I flinched and I hate to think of that poor dog being hit. It is not his fault he has crappy owners that don't want to let him be a dog. Poor guy.

I was poking around on MySpace finding friends from high school and such, and I don't know what posessed me, because I haven't thought of her in years, but I decided to look up a girl that had bullied me all through middle school just for the hell of it. She wasn't on there, so I decided to Google her since she had a very, very unusual name and it would be easy to find her.

My bully in middle school wasn't the typical bully that would beat me up, but was a privileged bitchy little girl who had everything. I still to this day don't know why she chose me to pick on, but I was the lucky one. My bully was a ballerina, and a cheerleader and had lots of expensive designer clothes, shoes, purses, etc. My parents, who were aparently much smarter than hers, bought me good quality clothes, but not every item was a designer name brand. It is ridiculous to buy children expensive designer clothes when they will just outgrow them in a few months, but her parents who didn't have very much money splurged on a lavish wardrobe for her anyway.

Anway my bully used to make snide remarks about my clothes or hair and would make fun of me right in front of all the other girls. Eventually it didn't matter what I was wearing or how expensive it was, or nice it was, she would still make fun of it, or if not what I was wearing, how I looked in it. She turned all the other girls against me even though we had been friends before. She was just a little bitch. I guess it made her feel better about herself or it was just fun to her to pick on me because she made my life miserable for seventh and eighth grades. I would cry in the morning and beg my mom to let me stay home and sometimes she took pity on me and actually let me.

Fortunately for me this girl was apparently a good dancer and went off after eighth grade to study ballet seriously in New York or something. I didn't care as long as she was gone. High school was a completely different experience and I had lots of friends there, no problem. I haven't thought about this middle school bully in quite a while but I always figured karma would bite her in the ass one day.

When I looked her up on Google, I found that karma doesn't always work, because this girl that made every day of my existence in middle school a living hell has been in MOVIES. Like movies that I have seen. Okay, one movie that I have seen, but still. And she is a Harvard graduate and is married and has a child. I hope that she never has to comfort her own child after she is picked on by a bully like she was back then. She probably has no idea that she was even a bully. Hmmphf.

Did you ever get picked on as a kid? What is your bully doing now? Do you think they remember what they did to you? Or were you the bully?

In the driveway today when I got home I found this, the chewed off tail of a rather large fish. I was baffled for a minute as to how a fish tail would have ended up in the middle of my driveway, but I think I have it figured out now. An osprey, which is a large fish-eating bird of prey that inhabits this area, must have grabbed a fish and dropped the tail off while it was flying over. That is the only logical explanation. And I have seen plenty of ospreys fly over clutching fish in their talons. Still, how very odd.

I found a cool little HP photo printer that prints borderless 4 x 6 inch prints for a steal today at Target, so I am quite pleased. I have wanted one of those things for a long time. Digital cameras are great, but there are times that I just need to make prints, like for my scrapbook and such. I always like to send a cute photo in a birthday or Christmas card, too, and I am too much of a home body to want to go out to the store every time I want to make good quality digital prints.

Which brings me to this. My friend at work teases me about being a hermit in training. He says that one day I am going to be the "Crazy Poodle Lady" that all the kids in the neighborhood whisper about. I don' think that will ever happen, but I do find that I really enjoy my time at home, and the more stupid people I encounter the less time I want to spend out and about among them. But I think that is probably true of anyone. It is not my fault that there are not that many cool people arouns here to meet, that is just the way it is. I mean, after all, I have met all of you guys through this blog and I think you are all great, just too far away. Does that make me a hermit?