There are a lot of things going on right now, which if I were more alert, I might be able to rant about.

But right now, I just haven't got the energy. I do need to post a rant, of sorts, but not of my usual variety.

My regular readers will likely remember that a few weeks ago, I lost my beloved best bud, my cat, Loki.

There have also been some family issues. Everybody's OK; just a few stressful events.

And as if that wasn't enough, I've had some health issues, too. Looks like nothing catastrophic, but I do have a health condition that is decidedly aggravated by stress. Stress? Me? Nah.... Doc's just gonna LOVE this latest episode.

At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if I broke a mirror or something and didn't know it.

I have a small zoo. No kids, though we're trying, my husband and my little zoo are my family. Next to Loki, there is Sam. Sammy is a big, mushy, slobbery, friendly, goofy Bullmastiff. Since day 1, he's been a Momma's boy. Sammy is my baby. Big knucklehead still tries to sit in my lap. At nearly 150 pounds, that's not a fun thing.

Poor Sam has chronic allergies. I mean, he's allergic to just about everything. Wheat, beef, grass....you name it. We're always treating something or other. But through it all, Sammy just plugs along, happy just to be near me.

My husband called me at my hotel Wednesday night to tell me that Sam's slightly enlarged lymph nodes, which we noticed right before I left (common in dogs with chronic allergies), had blown up. Huge. I was going to get him to the vet as soon as I got home anyway. But it wouldn't wait, and so my husband took him. I knew what the answer would be, but I hoped I was wrong.

I wasn't.

Poor Sam has Lymphoma. He likely has - at best - a couple of weeks. Chemo and other treatment is not an option for him given his history.

So I am still not quite over Loki, and now I will have to say good-bye to Sammy, too. I'm not even sure that I will make it home in time to be able to say good-bye. My husband may need to do this alone.

It just sucks. Really, really, really sucks. And it isn't fair.

And so I apologize, but I really just don't have the energy today to deal with moonbats trying to ban movies, terrorist losers speaking at Ivory tower universities, and Bin Ladin's latest cinematic piece of lunacy. There are lots of great bloggers who are talking about all of these, so make sure to make the rounds of the blogosphere. The Truth Laid Bear and Pajamas Media are great places to find out who's talking.

I'll be busy trying not to snap like a dried twig. Damn, damn, damn.