My Heart's on Fire for Elvira

[lyndym]

Okay all caught up, phew!

The list of discussion topics to avoid made me laugh because as just a list, it seems like a really random assortment of things. But your explanations to go along with them totally make sense! The number one thing I can't stand isn't really a discussion topic, but I just hate it when there's someone with completely different viewpoints than you and you can't even talk to them about anything without them trying to change your mind. Like, I'll believe what I want, and I know you'll believe what you want, and I'm down to discuss it with you, but you have to understand that my opinion won't change and you need to respect that. This sort of thing usually only comes up involving religion or politics and things like that, I guess. I had a friend in undergrad that I worked at the music library with, and he was Mormon. I had many conversations with him about his beliefs and practices, and it was so interesting to me. The best part was, he never said anything like he was trying to get me to think like him or like he was judging me because I didn't think like him. I also felt like I could bring up any subject regardless of how he felt about it and he would just talk with me instead of being immediately offended because it didn't line up with his beliefs. It was so refreshing. I also hate it when people seem to assume I will judge them because of something I believe in. This mostly happens with my being vegetarian. I think people automatically assume I will think they're bad for eating meat, so they'll go overboard with not-awkward-but-awkward comments. I was at a baseball game last week, and someone offered me some of their nachos. I just declined, and my other friend was like, "There's meat on them, she's vegetarian," so nachos guy went, "Ohhh sorry about the cow, I hope my nachos aren't offending you!" Like, dude really, I'm doing what I want because I want to, not because I need everyone else to. Mini rant, I guess, but GAH.

And I must say, I do enjoy Pocahontas. I know it's historically BS, but I was a kid during Disney's prime. I even did a ballet recital to Colors of the Wind! Okay, now I will never speak of Pocahontas on your blog again!

Have fun on your trip! I have a friend here from Pittsburgh. He's a huge Penguins fan, any chance you'll catch a hockey game?? Hahaha.

 

[whitelop]

Hello lovely's! I'm back! LOL

Lyndy, to answer your question about the hockey game, no we didn't get to see a game. I don't know if its the season for it but I am also an Penguins fan! GO PENGUINS!

Okay, well Pittsburgh was...interesting. It wasn't all bad but it wasn't all good either. The drive Friday was fine, AJ was great; he didn't fuss at all the whole way up! BUT when we got there, he wouldn't eat. He's started this new thing where he pushes my hand away when I try to hand him some food. Thats pretty irritating. We stayed in a hotel which was nice because my husbands grandparents make me insane. But AJ doesn't sleep with us in bed, he has only slept with us one one time and it was terrible. This time was no different. He gets really violent when he gets tired, so he was hitting us and trying to push us out of bed. He is SO strong! The hotel only offered a pack-n-play and he won't sleep in that either. So Friday night we got like 4 hours of sleep. Saturday we went to the Science Center and it was GREAT! We had so much fun! We went up and down the Duquesne Incline(pronounced "du-cane") It was terrifying. Then Saturday night AJ still wouldn't sleep and when he did finally fall asleep he woke up coughing. His nose was running and draining down the back of his throat and it was making him cough. So that was terrible too. So another night of 4 hours of sleep, riddled with worry and anxiety.
The birthday party for my husband's grandpa was nice. They had a nice hall rented and it had a dance floor and really good food. Its run by this group of Polish ladies and they cook all the food. There were these stuffed cabbage rolls...OMG best use of cabbage ever! They were SO good! I need to find the recipe and make them.
We ate the best hot wings ever up there too! Its a place called Wings, Suds and Spuds. They fresh cut the curly fries and fresh cook them to order and bring them out in these massive baskets. They were SO good. We don't have places that offer fresh cut and cooked fries around here, so these were a real treat.
Also we ate some of the best pizza I've ever had. I guess thats a perk of being in the north, the good pizza. But oh my goodness. My MIL and I shared this "deluxe chef's special pizza" it had, cheese, sauce, ground beef, sausage, lettuce, jalapeno's, banana peppers, tomatoes. Pretty much anything you can think to put on a pizza it was on it. It was GREAT! haha. The cheese pizza was fantastic too.
Yep, I gained like 5 lbs while I was there. I've eaten more in the last weekend than I've eaten in like a year. haha.

Sounds like I just did a lot of complaining, but its hard to enjoy things when you're exhausted and suffering from TMJ because too much food has been eaten. haha. It was nice though.

Animal update, all the animals are fine. Ellie completely destroyed her pen and shredded so much phone book paper its unbelievable. She did pretty well though. I still haven't cleaned it up because I had to clean out chicken feeders and waterers and pens. The hen made it through the weekend, so even looks a little better. The babies are huge! haha. They've grown in the few days we we're gone.

We decided to drive back last night(Sunday) because AJ wasn't feeling well at all. It was terrible. We left PA at like 5pm and got home at like 1am. By the time we were 2 hours away from home I as so f-ing done with being in the car. I got 8 hours of sleep in 2 days and it was terrible. I was so ill and so sick of being in West Virginia. Because when you drive to Pittsburgh, you're in WV for like 5 hours. There is NOTHING there except little tiny hollers off the highway and like 3 travel plazas where everyone is rude. Then the rest of the highway is national parks on both sides and nothing but trees and rock walls.

OH well, I found out that I have a serious talent for finding herds of deer on the side of the road! haha. I can't see a street sign or the big highway signs but I can see a brown deer on the side of a brown cliff! hahaha. My husband was like "why do I buy you food? Why aren't you hunting deer for us, since you can see them so well?!" I saw like 30 herds on the way there and back. It was great. hahaha.

I'll post pictures in a bit, I have to go through them. I got some really good ones of the city and the incline we went up. Then I got some good ones of some of the stuff in the science center.

I'll catch up on everyone else's blogs in a bit, I have to clean Ellie's mess!

 

[JBun]

I'm glad you had a little bit of fun at least. The too little sleep sucks though. I feel like absolute crap when I don't get enough sleep, so two nights in a row would be awful.

Glad you made it home safe and sound, and that all the animals survived I can't believe that your hen is still alive! Whatever you did must have been the right thing for her, since she's still alive and kicking, even with you being gone. Hahaha, I can just imagine the Ellie distruction that you walked into. Phone books are a bunny catastrophe waiting to happen and a pain in the butt to clean up, but the good part is that it keeps them thoroughly entertained for hours on end.

Can't wait to see the pics!

 

[whitelop]

I forgot to tell you guys that I took my son to the doctor today and he has the beginnings of an ear infection and a cold. The mucus that is running down the back of his throat is making him cough and it collecting behind his ear. So he's getting antibiotics to knock the ear infection out. But his doctor said that by tomorrow he would have a full blown infection, that wouldn't have been good. He's never had an ear infection EVER. I'm glad we came home and caught it in time. His cough is so bad though and he's so hoarse and has the tiniest voice right now. He sounds so sad. But he's eating now and he seems to be doing better than the other day, I guess getting enough sleep and being home helps!

Jenny, I'm so surprised too that my hen made it through the weekend! I let her out of the hospital today to roam around and she rolled in the dirt and dust bathed. She seemed to enjoy pecking around the grass and stuff. She still seems a little off, but much better than a few days ago. But I will say that her being sick has made her MUCH more friendly. I just reach in and grab her and carry her around. She sat in my lap today and ate food from my hand. She seemed pretty happy for the love, since she stayed in the hospital for several days without getting out. Soon I'll put her back in with the rooster, but I think I'm going to give her a few more days to make more improvement.

 

[JBun]

Zeus was the same after he was sick. When I first got him, before he was sick, he was terrified of me. After being sick, he LOVES me, and is so much friendlier. It's a good bonding tactic, but certainly not one I liked going through, cause of the stress of having a sick animal.

Sorry AJ is so under the weather. Poor little guy Sounds like you caught it early, which is always really good. Hopefully the antibiotics kick it pretty quick.

 

[PaGal]

I hope AJ feels better soon. My kids had ear infections as kids and they usually perked right up after getting some antibiotics in them. Then they went back to being noisy, playful and rambunctious which made me miss their quiet selves! I wonder if all the mountains and hills had something to do with him getting the ear infection, you know the change in pressure added to him having sinus drainage. It always made my ears pop.

I'm glad you at least got to enjoy some good food and the science center. I always loved seeing all the buildings in that part of the city. They really knew how to build them then.

I always dreaded driving through WV, nothing but hills and trees, trees and hills! Ha Not that I have anything against either, most of the time I enjoy them but yeah five hours is just too many hills and trees. You know, I have always been good at spotting deer to and when I see some I say "deer" out loud especially if they are near the road so the driver can pay extra attention not to hit any. It is such a habit but now down here if I do that with the hubby he practically slams on the breaks, in fact we were arguing about it last night coming home from the races.

I'm glad you all got home safely and all of the critters are fine!

 

[agnesthelion]

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[whitelop]

So why does everything happen before I even have a cup of coffee?
This morning my son started crying for whatever reason, we couldn't figure it out. So I changed him and did the dreaded booger sucker, that was a terrible thing!

Then I go into the kitchen and I didn't clean the rabbit pen out last night because I was exhausted. So she's made even more of a mess. AND SHE'S MAKING A NEST! I swear I saw her running around with a haystache and she was picking up hay and putting it in the corner. OMG. She's totally crazy with nest making right now. I don't know what to do. Good lord.
OMG she's pulling fur now! AHH!

Pictures in just a few minutes!

 

[JBun]

Lol, well at least we know for sure that she isn't really pregnant. It's always so cute though, to see them with their mouth full of hay for their nest.

 

[agnesthelion]

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[whitelop]

I hope she didn't have any wild parties while I was away! AH! haha.
I can hear her in there thumping and doing stuff, so I guess she's making her nest. I'll take a picture of it later.
What should I do with the nest? I'm about to go clean in there and the nest is next to the litter box. I guess I should take it away from her?

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

I'm sorry AJ is sick, I had an ear infection once and it was not fun. The weird thing is my ears didn't hurt they were just plugged up, even though the doctor said I had an ear infection and that it should have hurt. I'm glad you caught his ear infection in time.

I can't believe Ellie is building a nest. I think its okay to leave the nest in, Jenny probably will help with that.

 

[whitelop]

PICTURES OF PITTSBURGH!
Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the food!
Okay, so I just put up a bunch of pictures from photobucket and they're all SO small! You can't see the city! Its so FREAKING ANNOYING! But now tiny pic is working with me again! AHHHH! I HATE THIS! I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU GUYS THE PICTURES!
The Duquesne Incline

Heinz Field

Look at all the houses and stuff in the hill.

The hub and AJ at Raccoon Creek

The MIL with AJ at Raccoon Creek

 

[whitelop]

This is the Duquesne Incline from afar, this is what I rode up. I was not happy.

Submarine at the Science Center

This is the massive train set that was at the Science Center. It was HUGE! Bigger than my house! haha. It was SO cool. I have more close up pictures of some of the stuff too, that I can share if you guys are interested.

Hope you guys enjoyed! I have more pictures of the inside of the submarine too that I'll look through and share the better ones. It was hard because of the flash and all the metal on the inside. But I will try to share!

 

[whitelop]

Oh and Ellie pulled A LOT of fur for her nest! OMG I bet her belly is bald. She's now laying in her nest. I think she thinking that she's going to kindle. Oh good lord.

This is her nest. So much fur and some phone book paper. She seems to have made a really good nest!

 

[Chrisdoc]

They`re great pics and Pittsburgh looks like somewhere I´d like. Love the duquesne incline. THe food sounds great, I love pizza with anything on it and the fries sounded lovely. I hardly eat fries but I do love fresh cut ones...mmmm.

Ellie is a hoot....all that fur, she must be bald lol. Are you sure she didn´t get a boyfriend while you were away....wouldn´t put it past her lmao. She´s such a unique little bun, you can´t help but love that little lassie.

 

[JBun]

Wow, that is quite the nest. She's all ready for those babies to come now, haha. i can't believe how much fur she pulled. When Dakota would have her false pregnancies, she would gather a little bit of hay, and maybe pull a few clumps of fur, but nothing like Ellie's full blown masterpiece. That's a full on nest! Only thing missing are the babies. You may just want to leave it for a little bit, or she may try building another one, and then her tummy really would be bald! If you have a little cardboard shoe box, you can scoop it up and put it in there, so the mess isn't all over. I wouldn't leave it too long though. I would be worried about her starting to eat the grass in there and ingesting some of the fur. So if she starts trying to eat the hay in the nest, then you can probably take it away at that point. Or you could take it away now and see how she reacts. If she starts to try building another one then you could just put it back. But good job Ellie girl, that's a good nest! I second Chris, are you sure she didn't have a secret rendezvous with a boybun

Great pictures! I like the cathedral and the submarine. I would have thought the sub was pretty cool to go into. That incline thing would freak me out I think. I'm not big on heights anymore. And I think this is the first time I've actually seen pics of your husband. That's a cute picture of him and AJ together.

 

[PaGal]

I've enjoyed the pics although now I feel like crying, they made me homesick and miss my kids! AJ is adorable!

I know it's normal and par for the course to go through issues or illnesses with animals but yours sure do seem to be working really hard at keeping you on your toes! Ha. Poor Ellie

 

[agnesthelion]

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[agnesthelion]

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