A week ago, I noticed a strange lump on Matchbox's right shoulder. It was about 15 MM in diameter, and was hard and rubbery feeling. I waited a couple of days to see if it was just inflamed from a bug bite or the like, but there was no change over the weekend.

Monday afternoon Matchbox and I headed to the vet and Dr. Warren took some tiny samples and sent them in for cytology (is that the correct usage of the word "cytology"? I really should have finished that biology class). When the results came back with some irregularities, I decided to have it removed immediately.

Dr. Warren removed the lump with wide margins in case it is cancerous. Even though I was warned that there would be a large scar, I was surprised at the size. Biopsy results should be back in a week.

Matchbox has been wearing a T-Shirt to keep the other dogs from tearing out the stitches. He LOVES wearing the T-Shirt and shoves his head into it when putting on a fresh one.

What a weirdo.

Posted by: Ensie at 05:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I think you're going to have to keep dressing him. He looks too content

Posted by: Eden at June 30, 2007 12:56 PM (BDCWt)

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The mortgage refinance is finally fucking over. It actually closed a week ago exactly, after much freaking out and last-minute faxing.

The most wonderful part of this whole thing is that all of my and Frinklin's credit cards are completely paid off.* So satisfying to pull up the various card websites and look at the account balance reading "Balance: $0". I haven't been free of credit card debt since I was 18.

*Please do not remind me that the money has really just been transferred to a mortgage that I'll be paying off for 30 years.

Posted by: Ensie at 07:49 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Make sure you check out the extended entry for more photos!

View from the villa:

Red rose centerpieces:

Bride's bouquet, detail:

more...

Posted by: Ensie at 06:00 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I'm home! Finally! It feels like ages since I've been able to relax with Frinklin, the dogs, the cats, and one angry, old cockatiel.

The trip to San Diego for Katie's wedding was fantastic, if quick. There was no down time at all. The flight down was Wednesday night, and we got to my parent's house at midnight.

Thursday morning there was coffee early in the AM before my Dad left for a few hours of work, then I kept Katie company while she had various body parts waxed. The entire female side of the wedding party also had manicures and pedicures - I was at the aesthetician's for six hours total. Our matching toes did look beautiful.

My Mom, Katie, and I left at 9 the next morning to pick up the wedding dress, my Mom's dress, and sister/bridesmaid's dress in Orange County. We thought we would be gone 4 or 5 hours, but ended up running numerous small errands as well, which only took, oh, NINE hours or so. There was the car that needed washing to alleviate the smell of kerosene that had spilled a few days earlier, the shoe cushions to enable us to stand for hours on end in heels, clear deodorant/antiperspirant to keep from marking the dresses, shirts that buttoned to be discarded after makeup was airbrushed on, and somewhere in there we had lunch.

At 6:30 on the dot, we arrived home - the exact same moment that my Uncle and his family (4 in all) showed up from Arizona and the notary public from the escrow company handling our mortgage refinance knocked on the door. There was utter chaos as the dresses were brought inside, wrapped in blue plastic so no one could see and hung on fake "busts" to retain their shape. I'm sure the notary thought we were insane.

The wedding rehearsal took almost the entire day Saturday. I got my first look at the winery location, which was absolutely gorgeous. Growing up in San Diego, Temecula was always considered the middle of nowhere, but it has really come into its own in the last few years. We drank sparking red wine while waiting for the wedding coordinator on the balcony, then spent an hour lining up and randomly bumping into each other trying to figure out the ceremony itself. I was told all wedding rehearsals are rather random, and somehow it all comes together on the actual day, which it did. The rehearsal lunch was delicious and we were home by 4 to sit by the pool and relax.

I'll write about the wedding itself in a separate post. It was fantastic.

Frinklin and I drove the newly married couple to LAX (and only got lost once) on Monday morning. They were off to Hawaii for a week of hiking, surfing, and relaxing. We picked up chinese food on the way home and the entire family spent the remainder of the day lounging poolside.

I had about 10 minutes of feeling calm, as the escrow company called me the next morning asking for some specific documents that I needed to provide. I spent several hours on the phone with various people, paranoid that I wouldn't be able to get them what was needed to close the loan on the following Friday. The panic lasted until we left for our flight home that afternoon, fortunately everything fell into place just as we were leaving.

Arriving home was weird - the dogs were all being boarded until the following morning. The cats loved it, once they realized were weren't crazy strangers breaking into the house. Percy took about 2 hours to stop leaping straight up in the air every time I touched him. It was actually pretty amusing, as each kitty freak-out would cause all the other cats to panic and scatter as well.

We picked up the dogs the next morning, and there was much laundry to do in preparation for the trip to New York. I was out the door at 5 AM on Thursday for BEA!

Again - a wonderful trip, but it made me glad Frinklin and I had eloped. I could not have handled all the drama and craziness surrounding a real wedding. Kudos to my sister, though. She handled it all, looking beautiful the entire time.

Posted by: Ensie at 04:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Technically, at the moment, I'm in New Jersey, but I was in New York all day, so does that count?

I've been walking my feet off at Book Expo America over the last couple of days. Very, very exciting to see all the new titles coming out, and to pick through the piles of galleys (uncorrected book proofs) to find the jems. The haul home for this event will be relatively small, as shipping the books is incredibly expensive and I can't check another bag. So far I've sent a couple of boxes home and will try to cram another 15 books into my already overstuffed suitcases. I have a strong feeling I'll be paying the $25 fee for a heavy (over 50 lbs.) case.

I'm staying at the Sheraton Suites on the Hudson River, which is adequate. Nothing too fancy for Bob's Hogs employees. The air conditioning is good, which is all I've really been concerned with. It's been incredibly hot and humid - temperatures in the 90s with rain falling in the afternoon and evening. Each morning and afternoon I take the ferry into New York. The water is disgusting, but the breeze is heavenly.

I took off my wedding ring because the heat and exhaustive days are causing my fingers to swell a little bit and it's uncomfortable. Apparently I've opened the door to getting hit on - I had one guy chat me up on the ferry and another ask me my name in the elevator. He also asked my room number, but when I declined, he watched me get off at my floor and watched while I went to my room. I walked well down the hallway, then when the elevator doors closed, I returned to my room which is almost directly across from the elevator! I was going to go down to the bar to get a drink, but on the off chance I run into the guy, I think I'll pass and hit the city for dinner instead.

I met Alison Bechdel today, which was awesome. She was signing the paperback edition of Fun Home and when I introduced myself as the Buttock Champion of the World she laughed and asked to get a couple of pictures with me (!!) The woman behind me in line was asking for pic with Alison, and I felt slightly special having Alison ask me.

My last hour at the Javits Center today was spent at a librarian session about how to select and purchase graphic novels for a collection. It was an excellent panel, very funny. The speakers consisted of librarians who assist with developing their own libraries' gn collections, a comic book owner, and a couple of consultants. One librarian has her own site, no flying no tights, and another developed the manga rating system for publisher TokyoPop. The panel ended their discussion with recommendations, which is what everyone really wanted (Just tell me what to buy! Don't make me research this scary thing!). Several manga items were listed, and Bone, Owly, and Amelia Rules were the kids suggestions. For teens I suggested Invincible, someone yelled out Runaways, and the comic book store owner mentioned Walking Dead, which I think should probably fall into adult, especially considering the torture issue that came out recently. Strangers in Paradise was recommended for adults. I wish there was more time, I could have suggested several more.

Time to change for dinner! More soon...

Posted by: Ensie at 02:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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