There'll be some work-arounds with the cat, but I think it will work. I found out from a mutual friend of mine and my moms who works for my stepdad that he's been bringing the dog into work (yay) but walking him in a busy industrial park without a leash (eek!).

I feel guilty about this, because I called P to ask her to let me know if she had any suspicions about the dog being okay, and if Mom finds out I called her, she'll be furious that I went behind her back. That said, if something happens to her dog in the middle of all this, it would be horrible.

So, I'm worried, and also feeling guilty and scared. I'm tired of feeling like I've got a tight band around my chest, and I'm having trouble eating.

EDIT: Dog is here. I talked mom into going to get him.

I'm back on anti-anxiety meds, thank god.

Oh Anne, so sorry about what your mother's going through.

Flea: gorgeous house and TWO fireplaces!

ETA: No, three fireplaces.

Wow.

Anne, so tough. You did the right thing with the dog. If your mom finds out and is angry that'll suck, but you did the right thing.

Phew! Missed the trash but the recycling guy waited for me to run the bin out.

Glad you have the dog, and that you have anti-anxiety meds, Anne.

Lots of ~ma, beth. That sounds scary.

Already aggravated by work. This does not bode well for the day. It's pretty sad that I am looking forward to getting my flu shot this afternoon as the highlight of my workday.

Aaand for the second time in 2 weeks, we lost power to the wings of the building…..UPS seems to have done its job again (I will never fully trust them since the previous one set itself on fire and set off the halon in my server room.)

Mneh. Beauty of the laptop is that unlike my officemate, didn't lose any work.

took me a minute to figure out what you meant by UPS ....

Yeah, not the guys in brown….

Bad part is we lose AC to the server rooms, which means we might need to start bringing systems down. They've opened the roof bay doors, since it is not hot out, but that only does so much.

Day has gone into crisis mode, bah.

Much, much ~ma to your sister, beth. It's always extra scary to be at the other end of the country from the person you're worrying over; the helplessness can be crushing.

Anne, so glad the dog is with you now. Your mom has a great daughter and a great friend in you.

What JZ said.

So much ~ma to all the buffistas. I'm trying to get out to CA on Nov 1st for my father's best friend's life rememberance (he didn't want a funeral or any gathering that didn't include laughter, music, and balloons).

Today is baking day. 1.5 batches of cupcakes are cooked, .5 is in the oven. That will be 24 cupcakes to decorate. Half are getting cream cheese frosting, probably in a basic swirl with bits of candied ginger sprinkled over them. The rest will be decorated in sets of 4 or 6 with varying themes. After that there is a strawberry cake with chocolate frosting to bake and assemble.

And, I've already burned my hand once. Dear self, if you take the over mitt off your hand, do NOT reach in with THE SAME HAND to pull the oven rack. It will only result in pain. No love. Me.