"Mom, I'm A Boy..."

That might be what my cat has been trying to tell me for months. That's right, Missy is a boy cat. When we dropped her/him/it off at the vet this morning to be spayed, my mom confidently checked off "female" on the paperwork. We honestly thought he was female! About two hours later we received a phone call with the clarification. "A boy?" I thought. "What kind of surgery are they doing over there?!"

Eventually we had to decide whether or not we wanted to change his name. Since "Missy" is short for "Misfit" the answer is a firm no. Missy will just have to deal with it.

Speaking Of Blue...

My favourite corner of the house belongs to the birds. We keep them in a Tudor-style cage which they know how to get out of. The birds, Nana and Panic!, used to fly around quite often. Their old age (9 yrs, give or take) has made them homebodies.

In other news, here are two dinners I've meant to post and then forgot about. The first is Stuffed Shells. I just used a simple ricotta mixture and some marinara sauce. I've posted the recipe here before, I just actually took the time to individually stuff each shell this time.



I served this on my favourite plate. If the company hadn't gone out of business I would have bought a whole stack of them. *shakes angry fist* Damn you, recession!

Tonight's dinner was a bit of a mix of things. I roasted some cornish hens seasoned with rosemary and lemon (my favourite combination) and served it on a bed of rice with some green beans. Then my mother requested biscuits and my grandmother made her amazing black beans with potatoes. Our plates couldn't decide if we were eating gourmet or a peasant meal but our mouths didn't complain.



I'm not skilled in the art of bread products but the biscuits were flaky. Next time I need to hold back on the butter and salt.



Tomorrow I think I'm going to try to catch up on my crochet. Dinner is a bit up in the air but steak is on everyone's minds. Steak fajitas, anyone?

Until next time,
<3 Jess

PS: Trying out new fonts. For some reason spacing hates me. I might be doing some funky stuff so bear with me for the next couple of days. Thanks!

Random: I Want Some Blue

Not the most exciting thing I've blogged about, but I want blue hair again. I was much happier as a bluehead and I just think it looked best on me. I'm not comfortable sharing pics of myself all over the internet but here's a myspace-like closeup of my hair...and my eye (sorry about that). See? Isn't that fucking awesome? Who doesn't want a little bit of blue in their lives?

I think I'm heading over to the beauty supply store this weekend. Someone's getting some hairdye.

<3 Jess

Happy March!

I'm a day late, I know. Here's a picture of dinner from a few days ago to make up for it.

White rice, red beans, and pan-fried porkchop seasoned with garlic and oregano.

Dinner and Planning Go Together...Really

No pictures of the taco feast or of the delicious salmon dinner we had last night. My family ate like the bunch of hogs they are. I did however manage to take one not-so-flattering shot of tonight's rice and sausage dinner.

This was cooked by my grandmother, not me, so she gets the credit. It was tasty.

I've had a bit of a lazy day today which has got to change tomorrow. My To-Do list keeps growing and doing one thing a day is not getting me anywhere. Still, mundane daily chores are hardly blog worthy so instead I'll blab about my backyard and my plans for it.

Actually, I have no plans. My backyard is a big sprawling doubleU-tee-eff. See for yourselves.

If you click on each picture you'll get a description and some planning ideas. Mostly I want to make it look clean, tidy, and making the grass green. Once that's achieved I'll worry about adding in new plants and a garden. I still want an orange tree.

I do not have a lot of experience with gardening so if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or general comments, feel free to share.

Until next time,
<3 Jess

New Photos On Flickr

New photos on Flickr, including some of the Ronald McDonald House.

<3 Jess

And We're Back!

Hello hello! It has been too long since I updated this blog. The news:

Kyle is back home and doing much much better than he was a week ago. He is walking, talking, and acting like his usual self. The seizures stopped after they gave him an IV-IG treatment (that's immunoglobulin for those of us without PhDs). Apparently what happened is that he developed walking pneumonia and the antibodies wouldn't stop producing. That's what caused the encephalitis. He saw his pediatrician this past Friday and everything seems to be okay. A meeting with his school will be held on Monday to see when (and how) he will begin attending school again. I am so happy to have my boy home with me.

I'm so happy to be back home and with the rest of my family. I have to say, though, the Ronald McDonald House was wonderful. If you ever find yourself wanting to give to a good cause, they're an amazing organization. In the two weeks we were there we had a room, access to laundry facilities, a warm meal every night, television rooms on each floor, a play ground for kids...it really strives to be more of a home for people who can't be at their own homes while their children are getting the treatment they need. I loved being there.

Now that things have settled down considerably and I feel rested, I'm jumping back into the kitchen. Tonight I'll be making a taco buffet; chicken, beef, refried beans, black beans, salsa, guacamole, cheeses, rice, and hot sauces will be laid out for my family to make their own taco bowls. I'll try to snap a picture of the feast.

I'm glad to be back and posting again.

Until next time,
<3 Jess

Things Just Are

Kyle is still in ICU. I am staying at the Ronald McDonald House with my mom to be closer to the hospital.

Kyle is still having seizures and hallucinations. He's not always lucid and doesn't always recognize us. he is also not sleeping and very agitated. They did, however, remove the drain in his brain (a plastic tube that drained the liquid in his brain), which is good.

Gotta go.

Please keep him in your thoughts.

-Jess

Update on Kyle

I got to see Kyle today. He recognized me and cracked a few jokes. He's hallucinating though which was difficult to see. He's also continuing to have seizures. Still, the fact he's awake means the world to me. He can read, too; I kept holding up Godzilla DVDs and he could read the titles.

The hospital he's in is just grand. It's a really sweet place and I'm grateful they are taking such good care of him. I will be staying in the hospital with him for a few days so my mom can have some rest.

It's going to be a very long process. Once they treat the infection they need to see whether his brain will stop swelling and if the seizures stop. Once the figure out what to do on that front, they need to see how much therapy he will need to be able to walk, talk normally, do math...all kinds of things. I have a lot of hope that he will get through this. He is a strong kid that so many people love and a real sweetheart with so much love in his heart for others.

Please continue to have him in your thoughts and in your prayers.

<3 Jess

Kyle is in the hospital

My little brother has been in the ICU since Monday. He had a seizure and collapsed at school. They think it's meningitis. He is still not fully awake or responsive.

Please pray, send good vibes, send some love, light candles, dance around under the moon, whatever. This is my little boy and I want him back home, safe and sound.

Thank you.

Jess