It's pretty much the way I envision my funeral, also, actually.

Should we pulp you with the books?

mmm.... there is a book store on the coast of Ca that has weddings.

The cat has been sleeping in the bedroom all day. Now that I'm getting up every few minutes to get dinner going, he wants my lap

So my dad just called. We talked for a while about coming back from vacation, being in a play, the weather, and such, all the while my heart pounding waiting for the shoe to drop.

Thankfully, my dad appears to be playing the calm, rational one this time. He said my uncle could pick up the necklace, and I could pick it up when I visited, and carrying it in my pocket was fine. It was all about beliefs anyway, and if it worked, it worked, and if it didn't, it didn't, and I should continue doing what I needed to do as well. He acknowledged that my mom Gets Like This, and we shouldn't take it personally. Call her tonight and meld anything that's been broken, and move on.

If you call your mom, refuse to talk about the necklace or marriage. You knoe how it will end.

Getting married in a bookstore sounds cool or a library. My sIL did an engagement shoot in a bookstore but there hasn't been a wedding.

PC -- be strong!

Okay Askye Update - They found out what's wrong with me!! Massive, massive infection in my bladder and kidney. No kidney damage, which is good, but evidentally my whole urinary tract (at least on one side) is infected. So they did an antibacterial wash of, well, everything. I have a EIGHTEEN day supply of antibiotics (Levaquin or however it's spelled).

The cause of all this is a pocket that I've had from my first surgery when I was a little girl. They had to remove the tube from the bladder and replace it to fix the bladder reflux. That left a pocket which keeps getting infected. So I go back for a follow up in 3 weeks and then schedule a similiar procedure to cautrize the place. But the infection has to clear.

Also the nurse said it's possible to have this bad of an infection and for a dip test to come up negative for infection. And the pain I've been having -- infected kidney.

So I'm a recovering and feeling a bit woozy still.

But yay! I know what's wrong with me.

While an infection is no fun, that is GREAT news, askye! They know what it is, and they can do something about it!

Oh also I have to really really seriously give up caffeine, carbonated beverages,eat very little citrus, and eat a limited amount of dairy (not sure why the dairy) and go easy on the spinach (too much can lead to kidney stones).

So tomorrow is my first caffiene and carbonated free day. I have to go cold turkey,. I've tried cutting down to one a day but that only lasts for a few days. And then back to my, uh,4 -6 can daily habit.

What a relief, askye! Seriously. I am so glad they figured out the what's what and you'll soon be healthy again.

They had to remove the tube from the bladder and replace it to fix the bladder reflux.

Hey, I had that surgery when I was a kid! (Only in my case it was the ureters that were out of whack - one side was longer than the other so they took a chunk out of it and sewed it into the other one.)

Sorry to hear it's still causing problems, though. I remember the endless parade of bladder & kidney infections from before my surgery, and they were the very definition of No Fun AT ALL.

I was 22 months old when the first surgery happened, but I grew up with an endless parade of infections and regular visits to the urologists office. Things seemed to work themselves out when I hit puberty but I've had recurring infections my adult life. My diet coke addiction didn't help this.