Happy 2012!

Hey, Everyone!

Happy New Year!! :)

Did everyone survive the holiday season?

I'm thankful to have made it to 2012.  Last year was a tough one and will go down as one of my Top 10 Least Favorite Years (along with 2007 and 2009).  I have high hopes for this year!  Hopefully there will be a little time to relax--while still making money!  (Unemployment/lack of clients wouldn't be very relaxing!)

Ringo: Master Relaxer.

I didn't do anything especially awesome for New Year's Eve.  I had food poisoning (2011 had to be a jerk just one last time!) and spent a good chunk of the day in the bathroom.  I spent New Year's Day and today ("New Year's Day Observed") working.

Around/on Christmas, Ramiro and I visited with my parents, my mom's brother, Steff, and Danielle.  We also saw my friend James at the supermarket.  That was cool.

Robert made out really well with Christmas "loot" this year:

Licking his catnip pillow from Danielle

Chillin' with his llama from Steff

It looks like Robert doesn't really like his llama, but you're wrong.  He's just tired.  I took that picture after he wore himself out playing with it.  All the other pictures I tried to take of Robert + llama ended up looking like this:

Yikes!!

You might notice there's another llama/alpaca plushie on the bookshelf behind Robert...  That one's mine!  I got it in September and Robert kept trying to steal it.  Fortunately, now that he has his own (thanks, Steff!), I no longer have to worry about that.  :)

Anyway, thanks again to all of you who visited, gave gifts, sent cards, and shared your general good wishes in our direction.  Much appreciated!

Time to get back to work!

A picture of me at work (with my "esteemed colleague," of course!)

When I write here again, I'll be another year older.

--Lauren*

http://littlezotz.com

Costocondritis

Hey, Everyone!

Went to the doctor today...
I'm going to be fine. I've got a bad case of Costocondritis from the chair I sit in at work. Basically, my posture is great at the start of the day; but after 8 hours of sitting in such a crummy chair, I start to slump. Sitting in a bad position for that many hours put too much tension on my ribs. Not to mention all the barfing I was doing recently. The doc couldn't believe I waited so long to come in... Anyway, I've got painkillers now and I got a special pillow to make my work chair a bit better (hopefully). I've also got a special exercise regimen that I'm to follow as well. Right now it really, really hurts. Especially when I cough or sneeze. I thought I was going to die yesterday, it hurt so bad when I coughed. I'm relieved that it turned out to be something that was fairly easy to fix. I'd like to say that "next time I won't wait a month before I come in," but, knowing me, I probably will... I can't stand hospitals. Of course, I am doing much better. At least this time I actually made an appointment instead of waiting until I had to go to an emergency room. Baby steps. :)

I'm also getting my blood sugar checked out again. On my birthday! I figured that if I had to fast for that many hours, I might as well do it on a day when I'm guaranteed a good meal later on in the day (my parents are planning to take Ramiro & me out to dinner that night).

Christmas went really well. I'll do another "Christmas in Pictures" entry like last year as soon as I can. So far no one's sent me any of the pictures from Christmas Eve & Christmas, so I have nothing to post.

In the meantime, here are pictures of Rebel (that feral cat with half a tail) from Christmas Eve (we gave her a meal that night) and Ringo (hiding under my rug from Mo):
Ringo is a master of stealth. Obviously.

Thanks again to everyone who checked in on me. Hope everyone had a great holiday! I can hardly believe that 2010 is almost over. If I don't write again before 2011, have a very happy New Year!

Until next time...

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.webs.com

Feeling Better, New Bed, Christmas Lights

Hey, Everyone!

Thanks to all of you who wrote/texted/called me to see how I'm feeling. I'm doing much better now; thank you. I threw up again once at work last Thursday (tomatoes were too much for my still-sensitive guts), but other than that it's been smooth sailing! I've been eating solid food again. I have to stick to fairly bland things still, but at least I'm not on a diet of nothing but baby food anymore!

Also, thanks to anyone who tuned into the season finale of Champions of Champions Elite. :) We don't know yet if there's going to be a season 2, but they're keeping Ramiro & me around for a while longer until they find out. I'm still going to be updating their Official blog twice a week, if anyone cares.

In other news, Ramiro and I got new bedding:Pretty nice, huh? But it didn't take long before it looked like...
Oh, CATS!! You're all so silly.

I also hung out with my parents yesterday and we ate steak & potatoes and went around looking at Christmas lights. Here's a picture I took from my cell phone of the Balian Ice Cream House:
If you search for "balian house" on Google, you get a lot of great pictures of this place. It's really something. You see the GLOW from this house for a couple blocks away... My picture's a bit bad because a.) it's a cell phone pic, b.) I was in a car that was in motion and, c.) it was raining like CRAZY (and still is!!) here in Southern California. If you're ever in Alta Dena, California around Christmas-time, you should check it out.

Anyway, if I don't write again until after the fact (and I probably won't), I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (even if you don't believe in Christ--I still hope you have a happy day!). :)

Until next time...

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.webs.com

Christmas In Pictures

CHRISTMAS EVE 2009


CHRISTMAS DAY 2009--Lauren*