Days Of The Dead 2016

Well the anticipation is over. This past weekend was mine and Frank’s belated anniversary celebration. We decided to hold off doing something for our anniversary (Halloween) and splurge for Days of The Dead since it was only a few weeks after! It worked out perfectly. We got a hotel room and had a blast.

The hi light of the trip was giving Alice Cooper my Zombie Alice head prop. I prepared like I did for Chandler Riggs and made a special box to put Zombie Alice in. I decided that “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” was the perfect song title to use on the outside. I then just painted the box in the colors that are used on the shirt her wears on stage/on his album cover.

Due to the fan chaos of him being there we decided to only stand through one long line for the photo op and not do the autograph line. We were smart to do it on Friday because as expected Saturday was absolutely insane. Another reason it was smart to just get the hotel for the whole weekend and not stress. This was me in our hotel room just moments before going to get in line for the photo op. I was stoked!

We stood in line for quite a while because it was a bit of a cluster at first. The staff working were a little bombarded on what to do with all of us. Once they got the hang of things and Alice arrived things moved a lot more quickly. When Frank and I walked up to him and I handed him Zombie Alice. His first reaction was “Wow! You made this!” and then he shook my hand. Then I told him I made it for HIM he said “It’s gonna be so fun getting this on the plane when I fly home” ha ha. He was making little jokes with everyone that walked up to meet him and was so laid back and easy going. It really was a “nightmare” come true. We have never been able to afford the meet and greets at his concert so even though we only got a brief moment with him it was an incredible experience.

This is a scanned copy of our professional photo op…. EEK!

The next thing on our list was to play catch up with my dear friend and favorite “clown” Sid Haig. We waited until his line died down for a little bit on Saturday to stop by and shoot the shit with him. Of course I had to get a picture to add to my millions of Sid moment photos.
It was so nice to see him once again and catch up. He said he really liked my Halloween costume and I of course thanked him for my hot dog shirt. It went by too quickly as the line started to build again from us chit chatting and we didn’t want to hold up all the people looking forward to meeting him (and some for the first time). A girl who was buying something at a vending table later on in the day went on to me about what a class act Sid was and how some others were not so kind. I didn’t bother to tell her how many wonderful memories I have had with him since 2004 and how I now consider him and Suzie friends. Instead I let her ramble and agreed 110% with her. I remember how it felt to meet him for the first time and I remember feeling the exact same way about him. It’s so great to see people getting that same feeling from him all these years later. There are some celebs you meet at these things that just seem to go through the motions and some who you know really care about their fans. Sid cares and always has. He is a rare gem!

While visiting him we had him sign us a mini bucket of Captain Spaulding chicken. He had them for sale at his table and are replicas of the ones used in the Rob Zombie Pin Ball machine. One of the most meaningful things we got all weekend.

Another meaningful piece was this statue we saw that immediately drew our attention because it made us think of our departed Sabbath (Sabby Girl). See she liked to spill things just for fun. This included always trying to knock over my cup of water/brushes when I would paint. She also had a bad habit of knocking her water bowl across the kitchen or spilling cups we left out over night. She would tip them over, watch it spill and literally walk away. She was crazy but we loved her.

We bought a lot of other really cool things. I won’t bore you by listing them here but if you really want to know leave a comment and I can fill you in. I know some of my fellow horror fanatics might find them amusing! The vendors there had a great variety. We got life like props, t-shirts, limited edition collectibles etc. Here are just a few pics we posted on Instagram during our con venturing showing off a few.

Overall this past weekend at Days of the Dead was the perfect little getaway to celebrate our belated 7 year wedding anniversary. So memorable!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

 

Loves: R.I.P. Sabbath

Yesterday afternoon I had to make one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. I had to put my sweet baby girl to sleep. I know she is no longer suffering but it pains me every waking moment since it happened. I keep thinking back to when she was a kitten. She was the runt of the litter and she was scared of the world. She would be hiding when all the other kittens were trying to explore. We had already decided to take Ichabod and when I saw her I knew I had to take her too. I picked her up and she was shaking. She clinged to my shoulder with her claws holding on tight. It didn’t phase me. I just held her and told her “you don’t have to be scared anymore little one…. I am going to take you home and take care of you”

Sabbath napping peacefully on top of the couch by Mommy

That is the same moment I thought about when I was nursing her these past few months. The around the clock syringe and tube feedings, measuring and administering her meds, cleaning up vomit, convincing her to eat, staying home with her to make sure she was not alone…. it all brought me back to that moment when I promised her I would be there for her. That I would take care of her.

Telling her goodbye I felt a harsh bit of guilt as if I let her down. Was there something else I could have done. Did I not do enough? Did she know how hard I tried and fought for her?

I just picture her sweet face looking up and meowing at me. Running to me when I would call her name. Turning her head towards me so I would kiss the top of it. Sitting in “her spot” on the couch next to me. Swatting bottle caps, Mickey’s caps and the tops of plastic spray bottles across the house. Catching flies in mid air (the never stood a chance in our house). Trying to spill my cup of water over when I would paint. Splashing her water bowl all over the kitchen for fun. Letting me use her as a pillow and purring the whole time while I did. Doing sneak attacks on Ichabod.

Everything reminds me of her. As hard as it is right now I will cherish those moments I had with her. She loved me on days I didn’t even love myself.

R.I.P. Sabbath “Sabby” Garcia. I miss you my sweet baby girl. May you no longer suffer as you cross the rainbow bridge. Mommy loves you. You will forever hold a special place in my heart. I will always be grateful to you and your unconditional love.

Sabbath Update!

We brought Sabbath home last night. Her surgery went well. They went over all her meds and how to feed her through the tube before we left. When we opened up her crate to let her out she didn’t know where to run to first or what to do. Then she realized she was home and started to purr. She was still wobbly and out of it from the anesthesia and being hospitalized for the last few nights. We set up a 2nd litter box for her on the lower level of our house so that away she doesn’t have to struggle going up and down the stairs. The little shit still attempts it though. She about gave us a heart attack because she feels the need to still jump up and off of our bed and couch.

Poor Frank mentioned to me that he now gets to see another loved one go through all this. Seeing her like this brings up a lot of memories of my own health struggle for both of us. Between not eating, throwing up, special diets, tubes being put in both of us, losing all sorts of weight, being hospitalized on ivs and nutrients, xrays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, surgery, being weak, not knowing if you were going to make it etc. It’s been really hard for me but now I see how hard it must have been on Frank to see me go through something like this. Not to mention seeing Sabbath go through something similar now. To some people they would say “but she is just a cat”. The thing is she isn’t. She is a part of our family. I have had my share of break downs and I am grateful to have had her by my side with her unconditional love to get me through things.

My long memorial day weekend is going to be a majority of being by Sabbath’s side to assure she is ok and getting her all the care she needs. I had to write out a daily log of her meds and times of her feedings to keep it all together. There is a lot to keep track of and each day the feedings increase gradually. The meds have to be taken at different times (crushed, mixed, syringed) etc. Every time we put anything in the tube we have to do it slowly so she does not get sick. We also have to flush the tube before and after. So far she has been very cooperative and purrs while I do it. I usually pet and talk to her during the whole process. It is a lot to take in so I am doing my best not to get overwhelmed or stressed and be the best Mommy I can be to her. Ichabod has been confused since she came home. Distancing herself and hissing at her. She smells the vet on her. Sabbath is trying to adjust to everything. The good thing is she has been purring ALOT since she has been home.

Last night we were nervous so we locked Sabbath in the bedroom with us. We put the extra litter box and some food and water in the room so she had everything she needed. She wanted to sleep on our bed. I don’t think either of us really slept. Every time she moved Frank and I would shoot up in bed to see if she was ok. Frank still does that to this day with me. Now I understand why. The good thing is so far her medication and feedings have been successful with no vomiting which is a BIG deal! She is laying next to me purring on the couch right now. I can tell she is feeling a little less out of it but she is still very jumpy at the slightest sound of anything. I am sure she feels the same relief I did when I was released to come home 🙂 As hard as this is going to be, and despite the insane bills we just added to our debt I am so glad we brought her back in and we are doing all we can to try to save my baby girl.

Slasher Sale for Sabbath!

I know I have mentioned our 2 cats (AKA our kids) Sabbath and Ichabod before on my blog but today is a very special post dedicated to Sabbath AKA “Sabby”. We noticed she has not been eating and had lost a significant amount of weight.We thought she had been getting more hairballs etc so decided to get them a different type of food in case the one they currently were on was starting to not agree with her. Nothing was working to get her to start eating again. What we thought to be hairballs we soon realized was nausea and vomiting when all that came up was foam, saliva, bile etc. She was not going to eat and she was starting to act less and less active. Desperate to help her we took her to the vet last week. They did blood work, urine testing, exam etc. Needless to say she was in anorexic/starvation mode, had a UTI and her levels for her pancreas and liver were very high. She is on the edge of getting the very deadly fatty liver disease. The vet said we were very smart to bring her in before it got any worse or we would have found her at home dead. Grocery money was spent between the vet and scripts but thank god that we did. We have been syringe “force feeding” her when she won’t eat on her own on top of administering meds that she fights us on taking. All while hoping after all the work she doesn’t throw it all back up.

She has her good days and her bad days. She is done with 2 meds which were a supplement for her liver and an antibiotic for the UTI and pancreas. We were unsuccessful with the antacid meds so the vet said to not stress her out with them ($28 down the drain there).

I called and gave the vet an update on how she is doing and had to go back in to get 2 new scripts and more of the special diet food. The one pill is an anti nausea and the other is an appetite stimulate. The goal is to get her eating atleast 1/2 can of this food from the vet a day. The more she eats the better she will get. However with her being nauseated it is really hard to get all that much into her and for her to keep it down. Hopefully these meds will do the trick. If she does not get better we will have to bring her back to the vet where they will have to keep her there for days force feeding on iv nutrition and getting her hydrated etc. They would also run more tests etc.

Now that you got the back story I want to let everyone know that I am running the biggest discount sale I have done in my Etsy shop to help with the vet costs, meds, special foods etc. We are trying our best to not have to bring her back to be hospitalized as it will be money we currently do not have and would have to borrow/loan/get credit etc. It would help if we were prepared incase it comes down to it.

So with this sale you can pretty much say I am eating the cost of supplies to make my items and giving everyone that uses coupon code SABBATH at check out 50% off their order (for any pre-made/ready to ship items – hit me up and we can discuss a possible separate discount of sorts on custom items)! If you have ever wanted something from my Etsy shop now would be the time to do it. Not only would you be helping Sabby out but you would also be getting something cool at a really discounted price! This sale starts today and it ends on 5/20. This gives you 10 days to take advantage of this sale!

Please spread the word about this sale by sharing this link!

Stay Spooky,
Sabbath’s Mommy
AKA Living Dead Girl Nicole