on sunday i turned 30. i have mixed emotions about it all. there are many things i am happy about and a handful of things i am not. i had my bday party on a friend's rooftop and it was really fun, but it didn't live up to last year's birthday jubileigh. how could it when plans didn't solidify until relatively last minute and jason didn't play? anyways, i am 30 now. the only person it really feels like a big deal to is me.

z took me out to a fancy dinner at takashi for my bday and we looked very cute:


z and i adopted a rescue hedgehog abandoned at my vet and named her hermione. her previous owner apparently not a knowledgeable hedgehog owner and she'd received multiple shots of ivermectin (a no no for hedgies). that and thought that she was a he. errr. anyways, she is very cute:


the lucksmiths have announced they are breaking up: http://www.thelucksmiths.com.au . i am really bummed out about this, but i have so many great memories associated with seeing them. the saddest part is knowing i won't get to see them one last time.

what else has been going on? not a whole lot. i've been watching hannah montana on the roku box. i saw star trek in imax with nathan and it was awesome! i am going to start creating things again soon. rhymes with twee needs a jumpstart! this week i have been watching my first bench trial and it's been pretty interesting actually watching a case i've been doing the filings for in action. fingers crossed!

rhymes with twee is going to be featured on dailycandy chicago tomorrow! i am pleased as punch. i made a new card yesterday that i will post pictures of once i print the inside tonight. i made 200 of them because it's easier to make more than less of cards these days especially with consignment. after work i am going to bring renegade handmade stuff that they want in preparation for the piece going up tomorrow. anyways, i just wanted to post that z and i are hopeful re: hoggle stuff and this is a ray of sunshine keeping my chin up even though chicago is sopping wet. my feet are too.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE FEATURE:
http://www.dailycandy.com/chicago/article/42153/Something+to+White+Home+About

here's what is going on:

1) the urinalysis came back after our last visit and they called and let me know that hoggle definitely had a UTI. the last couple times he's peed not in the litterbox, there has been no blood. yay! however, he has a kidney stone he's trying to pass. that's why he looks like he's straining.

2) i am a little frustrated with that since we approved an ultrasound when the vet (not the hedgehog specialist) first came in, but they did another x-ray that she said it looked like he still had a mass and then came in and said we'd need to do an ultrasound, but that we'd have to come in later for that. after explaining that it was very hard for us to do this on week days (saturdays fill up far in advance), she checked and they were able to do it right then. that's when they saw that the "mass" was really just fat.

3) in 2 weeks we are going in to get that ball in his cheek removed that has abnormal cells in it. even when it's removed, it could come back, but that it'll be good to mail the sample off to find out what we were dealing with. to help with this cheek ball thing, we are giving him ip-6 in a suspension they made to hopefully reduce the size or it from growing more before the operation.

4) because he's overweight, it's causing his heart to beat slightly irregularly?, and it could lead to heart disease if he doesn't lose weight. our goal is to bring his weight down considerably and try to figure out how to monitor how much he's running (there are ways to hook up an odometer to the wheel - i am going to research that). if we can get him to lose a suitable amount of weight then he won't need to go on heart medication. if we can't, he will.

5) the estimate/quote for the surgery is $490 (that's with everything including a 2 day stay there to make sure they can monitor him after surgery). i can't even IMAGINE him not being around for 2 days. $228 i spent + $200something (what z spent yesterday) + $490 = $______________. i have no idea what our pet insurance pays on surgeries.

i feel some kind of relief that hoggle is doing much better than we thought he was a couple weeks back, but now a new can of worms has been opened and we have a ways to go until he's feeling 100% again. my mind is sightly at ease, but the stress will come and go. i am really glad i stayed home this weekend rather than going to seattle, because i have been feeling sickly again.

yesterday was rough. around one month ago i noticed hoggle's urine was pink-tinged. we monitored him after that and it didn't happen again. after much online research, i chalked it up to constipation. a couple days ago, it happened again and then two more times in 24 hours so i booked him an appointment at our vet in skokie yesterday. while sitting in the room with him i noticed that the right side of his face looked a little swollen, which i mentioned to the tech.

here is everything i know so far:

hoggle has a mass that is not supposed to be in his lower body.

the doctor showed me the x-ray and that is pushing his intestines towards his upper body they are not sure if it's his bladder just hugely expanded if he has a urinary tract infection or if it's a tumor.

the vet took a sample of the thing on his cheek and said it had abnormal cells, but that there was a chance it was his salivary glands or something she was not familiar with. she was going to confer with the other doctor, who is actually the hedgehog specialist.

since there is no harm in doing so, i got meds to combat the possibility of it being a UTI. i got three meds. two of them are to be given twice a day and one is only once a day.

i am hoping that this is just a uti that has caused his bladder to expand and not a tumor or the c-word. if it is only a uti, then the mass (which could be his bladder) should go down. if it doesn't go down with these meds, then there is something deeper going on.

the vet said that both the mass inside him and the thing on his cheek should be operable. hoggle's follow up appt is monday 3/9. the hedgehog specialist and this doc will be there at the same time, which is good.

nothing else is different. he's his usual crabby little hoggle self. he's eating, drinking water, pooping - all normal.

i had a terrible nightmare last night where i was running because the world was falling apart and a crazy rockslide was happening and we were trying to get to the highest point and when i was trying to alert everyone, a lot of people couldn't be bothered to come along because they were having sex and they wanted that to be the last thing they did before they died. my heart was racing in the dream because it had been on and off since i received this news yesterday. and it is now.

please think good thoughts for hoggle, or if you pray, please pray for him. he's our little baby and going through this is taking a toll on us. i've cried once so far today and teared up 3 times. i need to stop reading about worse case scenarios and just keep my chin up until i know more.

i have felt pretty burnt out lately. i had a sickness. then z had a sickness. then i had a sickness. etc. you know how it goes. and some of my friends have been sad; really really sad and i can't help but feel some of it because i love my friends.

i've been trying to get out and accomplish stuff though. a couple weeks back jason anderson was in town to record the vocals for his new album at his friend chris' studio. he wanted to play while out here so i set up a show for him at kris racer's loft elegant mr. gallery. i am pretty sure the only promotion it got was 1) a facebook invite i sent out 2) jason's messageboard and website and 3) the gallery's webpage. anyways, it was really awesome and a solid crowd of 40+ people. and so special. jason thanked me way too many times. as everyone knows, i love that dude times infinity. his shows are always special. anyways, on mlk day, we gathered a crew of 6 people total [me, eliza, andy, leander, elise, and steven] to record back up vocals and hand claps for his album. then 4 of the 6 were recorded playing instrumental parts while steven and i looked on. it was a really special group of people and it really made me want to do something this year musically. veggie bite was only consumed twice, but now i think jason is hooked on chicago diner instead? :)

here is a photo jason took with my camera of us singing. there are more photos in that set:


here are the glasses that i finally decided i will get when i go to the optometrist tomorrow:

may be a bit different than everyone's. i've seen a couple different versions.

1) Was 2008 a good year for you? more ups than downs this year.

2) What was your favorite moment of the year? obama winning the election and starting our own little parade around ukv/wp!

3) What was your least favorite moment of the year? losing one of my nearest friends to me being a bad friend.

4) Where were you when 2008 began? at kirstie & jason's watching flight of the conchords for the first time.

5) Who were you with? zachary, kirstie, jason, sei jin, robert, gavin, am i leaving anyone out? ( click for the rest )

If you could please pass along to all those who were special to Laini how much Manuel and I have been touched by so many of her friends who continue to contact us and to remember her. We were in awe at how many cards we received on her birthday, and now again today, how many beautiful thoughts are coming our way. All have shared special moments they had with Laini, have expressed their joy in knowing her, and their sorrow as they miss her. It's very difficult for me to reply to each of you, but please know that we love hearing from you. Each of you had a part in making Laini the person she was - hmmm, do I thank you for that or smack you upside the head?! She relished your friendship and the time she got to be with each of you.

november 12th marked one year since laini passed on. i sent yellow roses to her parents symbolizing our long friendship. i will get to see them over my thanksgiving trip. i told them i would be their lala for the day. i always think about laini a lot, but this past week was pretty brutal. i stayed in and watched america's next top model and stylista that night. i figured that was what laini would have done. i really think she would have dug the drama in stylista. when i watch stuff like that i feel like she's there with me. there are so many times i have started typing out an email or a text message to her only to remember the harsh truth. when i speak to others who were close to her, they have been doing the same thing. i don't think that will ever stop. she meant so much to so many.

me, laini & evan mellosonic



the sha-sha-sha-shaw society [ding, laini, me, shelly]

everyone has posted these amazing and eloquent posts. my favorites were pph's, thara's, and eliza's. i watched the events of last night; of history, unfold with eliza and friends at her house after eating dinner at high dive and seeing him take ohio!

eliza's post explains the rest of our night:
http://flute-starr.livejournal.com/88440.html

this person's post is amazing and filled with so much probama goodness it's incredible:
http://adinfinitum.livejournal.com/235775.html]

today the mail guy who is a staunch republican was the only one to try to rain on the parade. quote: "they say hitler was a nice guy too." gth dude!

I am wired on coffee (a mocha from Alliance Bakery). Z and I got up early and got to our polling place a block from our house at 6:30am. Between waiting in line to voting it took an hour. Then we went to Alliance and got to work early (8:30). A lot of Chicago businesses are closing at 3pm to clear the city for all of those people who are going to come into the city for the rally. I had an opportunity to go with Jenny, but I turned it down for a number of reasons. Originally I was really psyched to go, but I will be just as happy to watch it on tv at Eliza's methinks. I love my city. Love love love it. I made a new RWT card yesterday. I came up with the idea for the text inside first but then needed to come up with a good idea for the drawing. Originally I was going to draw a Chicago landmark with a flag on it, but then I went with Sears Tower with tiny little "snowflakes" that are actually the stars from the Chicago flag...is that what it looks like to you?!?!?





The chorus of this song is in my head this morning because I AM A PART OF IT. YOU ARE A PART OF IT. VOTE VOTE VOTE! Tonight we will know who our next president is. Hope upon hope it will be Obama.

American Hearts (Piebald)

Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!
Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!

I walk the streets of a Carolina.
Watching people pushing shopping carts.
And there's a guy above me and he's washing windows.
Making ten bucks a pop, and he says to me:

Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!
Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!

And I say: sir,
Well have you heard that this country is unequal still.
History continues itself, continues itself.
History continues itself.
And I did not create the rules.

From all I've heard.
And all I've seen.
This place has broken my American heart.
From all I've heard.
And all I've seen.
This place has broken my American heart.

Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!
Hey! you're part of it!
Yeah! you're part of it!

Here is my Halloween costume. I was Brad Neely's George Washington as Joe screamed when he saw me at Kris Racer's Helloween party. For the first time in three years, some people knew who I was! Amazing! I had people asking to take photos of me even. If you haven't seen the video on Youtube, please see it here. I made the mask, British child, American child (not pictured), and carried red phone as props. Everything else was bought on ebay. It came together pretty awesome. I had even made a Mason ring, but then it broke before I even left the house.





I put up two Halloween photo sets on Flickr: King Khan & BBQ and Kris Racer's Helloween Party.

This coming weekend I will be in Pittsburgh for HANDMADE ARCADE! I am so psyched to do this fair since so many of my buds will be there! Miss Alison and I are leaving on Friday morning. Wahey! Also to note, I updated the Rhymes with Twee Etsy shop.

Following is the Flickr meme that many of my pals have done:

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this is why i should never drink coffee. i am not sleepy and it is 3:30 in the morning. this was only my second cup of coffee ever and it was maybe 2/3 cup actual coffee and the rest was milk and some sugar. i did drink it around 9pm though.

i think i want to go as george washington for halloween.

yep, this george washington:


i think i'll just make a mask out of posterboard and wear a blue tunic-y shirt and brown pants? and carry a fake knife and maybe another prop...where to find shoes with buckles...that i can wear...more than once. the hunt is on. if not, i will resort to my standby that i didn't resort to last year; ugly betty. i can do that, but i like a challenge.

my photo 365 on flickr is up to date:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/madflowr/sets/72157603603991422/

food i made in the last two days:




now that it's nearly 4am i am going to have a go at this sleep thing...

tara posted this and it may be my favorite video yet of this election season:


my friend ellie sent me this one:


just heard word that eliza purse-onality and i just got into renegade craft fair holiday. whee!

anyone want to apply with me for the bust holiday craftacular in NYC? it's saturday, december 13th. only $10 to apply. after jurying, if accepted, it's $250 for one person, but $300 if you are going to split a table. you will get tons of hits from your ad on bust's website alone which is why it's more $ to split. i would prefer to apply with someone who doesn't primarily make paper goods. :) soo...any of my friend peoples want to apply together? :)

xo,
leigh

I forgot to say that the first night of the two Hollywood Bowl Radiohead shows I met Bradley Cooper who played my fave character Will Tippin on Alias. He was absolutely rocking out to Radiohead, singing along to every song, closing his eyes, taking photos, etc. Just amazing. He was SO sweet. I am pretty sure he was also high, but so sweet.

Okay, so pretty much I wrote huge entries on each of my photo of the days if you want to read about my epic trip of meeting my birth mom and my extended family, going on my Radiohead road trip with Brianne, eating lots of delicious foods, seeing Colleen, Dan Balki, Jeremy, Nancy, Max, Michael Pop and Lindsey, April, Jenny Song, Susie Ghahremani and her bf Michael, and Jose. I am probably leaving stuff out, but wow, what a whirlwind. I am exhausted from such an amazing trip. I am so so so glad to be back, but the trip was epic and awesome. If you want to read all these adventures, click on this picture and then click the right photo on my Photostream. WHEE!


Here is me with my birth mom Laurie: