If You Can Read This...

Gobble Gobble

2006-11-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is turkey day. Hurray!
Time spent with family eating lots and lots of food.
Maybe we'll even get to play a few games.
And watch football and survivor.

Then Monday I will celebrate turning 37 by going to a bar and watching the Seahawks kick someone's ass at football. Yeah buddy!

Halloween

2006-10-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

We have an annual Halloween party that we go to. Usually our best friend hosts it, but this year is a different friend. My husband and I will dress up, bring some food and go have some awesome fun! This year we are going as Satan and his wife. We don't always go as a team, sometimes he goes as one thing and I go as something different. But it was easier...and CHEAPER...to go as Satan and his bride. My husband went as Satan a few years ago. I have my daughters costumes here, so I can borrow hew witch dress and be Satan's wife pretty easily.

Will you attend a Halloween party? What will you go as?
Did you dress up last year?
What were you?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I love my cat how much?

2006-10-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

I love my cat, Buddy, $135 worth. That's how much I love him. He's been drooly since late Sunday. Tuesday I wrapped him in a towel and found a sore on his tongue. He was very lethargic, not eating much, not cleaning himself and VERY drooly. But on Wednesday he seemed to perk up a bit so I thought he was getting better. But today he was sleeping a lot, so I toweled him up again, I like my arms attached to my body, and his sore was worse.

I had to call about 4 vet clinics before I found one that could get him in today. I took him in this afternoon. Turns out kittens his age are sometimes susceptible to a virus that causes ulcers on their tongues. Poor baby! After a $55 office visit, and almost $80 worth of antibiotics and pain killers (there's tax on that shit!) he's very perky this evening. Almost like new!

He was a very good boy at the vet. I have a cat carrier in which I put a towel and his kitty (the lion beanie he likes to play with). He was silent in the car. I put him up front with me so I could talk to him more easily. In the office he pretty much stuck to me although he did get down and wander a bit. He didn't like the thermometer in his ear or the penecillin shot in his shoulders. But he only tried to escape, not bite or maim anyone.

I gave him some tuna when we got home. I guess the painkiller worked because he actually ate quite a bit of it. By this evening he was racing around playing with our newest cat Al (a month or two older than him) and bringing me bottle caps to play fetch with. I also have a few new scratches on my arm since he needed to show me was feeling better by trying to gnaw my hand off.

He starts the rest of his antibiotics tomorrow. I'll give another dose of painkiller before I head to bed tonight. I expect to have his furry, purring head butting into my face at 3am and 7am tomorrow morning. I'll give him smooches, pet him a bit, be very grateful he is feeling better and then hope to hell he goes away so I can go back to sleep. ;)

He's grandma's boy and worth every penny!

Repeats Already??

2006-10-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

What's up with all the repeats on tv already? Both Law and Order spin offs, CSI, even Shark were repeats this week. Survivor wasn't actually a repeat, but it was a "catch up" kind of episode. There were only two new shows for me so far this week: Criminal Minds and Top Chef.

This blows. If its because of something stupid like baseball, I'll scream.
I can't wait for next week. All new shows again. I hope.

Tweens?

2006-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the exact age group of "tweens" but my son is almost 10 and definitely should qualify for one. He's got the hormone surges...he gets pretty emotional sometimes. It doesn't help that he's always been a sensitive kid...aka...emotional. He seems just a little more likely to cry or yell at me than usual. Its such fun.

He hates school. I might have mentioned before that its hard most mornings to get happily out the door. At least we are getting out the door without tears most mornings this year. But now I get to hear "You're evil!", "You hate me!", "You just want me to get hit by a train!", "I should just kill myself!", "If this were a knife I would slash my throat with it!" (in reference to a spoon), "I don't love you!"

For the most part I try to treat these with humor. I figure if I give them too much importance he'll keep saying them. I don't laugh at him though. That only pisses him off more. And its disrespectful.

This morning he actually cried. But he also went to school. I didn't back down and I didn't bribe him. I finally ended up yelling at him to stop yelling at me. I know, I know...but I'm human and my sense of humor and patience only goes so far. He wanted me to apologize first. Um...I don't think so. "Why do you girls always want us to apologize first?" Say what!?! I don't know where he got that from. I told him that wasn't true and that I tell him I'm sorry when I need to, but this morning was not one of those times.

How will he be when I get him this afternoon? He'll be fine. Happy to see me and to be done with school. I might even get an apology.

I can't wait for him to outgrow this "I hate school thing." Unfortunately I don't think its going to happen...sigh...

Quirky felines

2006-10-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

As you may have figured out by now, I have cats. We've had plenty of cats over the years, but this current bunch are by far the most quirky of all. They definitely have their own personalities.

Cleo is the mildest. Her biggest thing is that she doesn't really meow. She mrowfs. She's not much of a lap cat any more but she purrs at the drop of a hat. She's a very attentive mom too.

Lily, our black cat, doesn't meow either. She mews like a kitten still. When she was younger she had a favorite yarn ball that she liked to play with. She'd bring it to me, I'd throw it across the room, being careful not to throw across my lap since she was usually in four wheel drive, and she'd run like hell to get it and bring it back. She's much too grown up for foolish games like that now. But she isn't too grown up to give up her binky. She likes to curl up in my lap and suck on one of her own nipples. Its about the only time she purrs too. She's very soft and very lovey but very strange.

Buddy is the baby. He's still in kill-everything-that-moves-mode. You know that phase they go through where they practice their killing skills? He's going to be a very good mouser if the number of scratches on my hands are any indication. LOL He's not much of a conversationalist though. He has a bottle cap fetish. Within five minutes of taking a cap off a bottle of pop, he's swiping it from me. Then we get to play fetch. He likes to drop it in the space between the cushion I'm sitting on and the one next to me. If I don't notice it, then he tries to dig it out himself. That usually grabs my attention. Its hard to ignore a set of claws stuck in your leg or butt. I started playing fetch with him as a way of defending myself. I throw it, he brings it back, I dig it out of the couch and throw it again. He will play this game for a very, very long time. He'll also play it with some of his other toys if he can't find a bottle cap. I don't know where they all end up. I figure one of these days when I move one of the couches I will discover a bajillion bottle caps under them.

All this leads me to ask: Do you have pets? What are they? Do they have any quirks?

Monday 10/02

2006-10-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

This last weekend of football was a total loss...the Vikngs lost, the Seahawks lost and today the Packers lost! in case you haven't realized yet, I am the only one in my house who likes football enough to watch a full game. I have three favorite teams...and as you can tell, they all lost. ~raspberry~

Moving on to today. I applied for a part time cashiering position at Riteaid. I am really hoping that the manager feels the same as the two employees I talked to. They were understanding of the hours I desire. They apparently know what it is like to have kids and not want to work only to pay the babysitter. Cross your fingers for me. She is due back soon. I hope for an interview. I also hope that she will be willing to work with the hours I am available.

I have a question for you. What tv show do you watch that you are afraid to admit you watch?

I have quite a few shows I watch regularly. They include: Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Amazing Race, Survivor, Anthony Bourdain, Criminal Minds, Without A Trace, CSI (the original), What Not to Wear, Law and Order (and its 2 spin-offs) and Project Runway.

But at the end of last season I found myself with nothing to watch on a particular night. I filled it with...sigh...really big sigh...The Bachelor. :( Tonight, after the football game, there was nothing worth watching...so what did I watch? The season premiere of...you guessed it...The Bachelor Rome. ~blech~

I'm hoping for some new Tony Bourdain. Although I think his time slot is an hour too late. So much to the chagrin of my son I will probably be watching the bachelor make his picks.

I'm going to stop now, before I write my way into more shame and finish watching the original X-Men. My god, isn't Wolverine the most yummiest man-flesh you could fantasize about?

Job Hunting

2006-09-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

As I mention in my profile I am currently unemployed. I used to work at a thrift store, but it went out of business. I did take the summer off. I figured it was cheaper to stay at home with my son than to work and have to pay a babysitter. Now that school is in again I have been trying and trying to find a new job. But its been a bitch!

My old job was pretty specialized. Sorting, hanging and pricing clothes. Sorting and pricing all the other donations that came in. But cashiering isn't all that specialized, so one would think it would be easy to find a job. Not true! Everyone wants employees to work ALL shifts. You know, evenings, weekends... Which is fine if you don't have a family or don't want to spend time with them. I do. I need to work day shift. No evenings, no weekends. As many hours as my husband works, all my measly checks would do is pay for child care. I might as well stay home. Sheesh!

I'd kill for a job with the same hours as my last one. I got my son off to school and got to pick him up after. No babysitter needed unless it was a holiday. Right now I'd settle for a job that would let me get him to school and have someone else pick him up after. I have plenty of help after school, but no one to help in the mornings. He is very difficult in the mornings anyway. Its a struggle to get him to school. I fear that if anyone but me did it he would go to school crying every morning or they'd be crying. At least he doesn't do that to me anymre. First grade was a complete bitch, let me tell you! But that's fodder for a different post.

What I need to find is a job where they will pay me to read. LOL
I'd excel at that job!

Where are the jobs for moms? I see the same women working when I go to the grocery store. How in the world did they snag that day shift?

And so many stores have online applications. Once you fill them out are you supposed to go bug someone in person? And if so who?

I hate this. I'm really mad at my old boss for going out of business and not finding someone to buy the place. I got lucky finding that job. I'm waiting for another lucky break. My face is pretty blue by now.

Moving Day

2006-09-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't get either one of my wishes when it comes to the babies. Instead of one we got three. And we definitely have a severe case of sibling rivalry. Buddy misses his time with his mom. He was in the box and behaved fine for the first few days. But today he decided the babies make really cool chew toys, especially their little tails. I was afraid for a while that I would end up with tailless kitties. I tried snapping him on the nose and telling no and booting him out of the box. That didn't work. I came in from having a smoke and found he had taken one out of the box and half way across the living room. So I tried spraying him with water every time he went near the box. This worked until I had to leave. We were gone for a few hours and when we got back two of the babies were behind the tv and mom was looking a little worried. I'm not sure which one of them moved the babies, but since one of them has a small bloody spot on its head I think I can safely guess it was Buddy.

So I gave in and moved mom and the babies to the guest room. She's got her own litter box and food and water. I figure I will let her out of the room once in a while, but Buddy definitely has to stay out until either they are big enough to fight back or he's outgrown this battle-crazy phase he's in. Hopefully it will be a simultaneous event.

Its too bad neither his mom nor his Aunt Lily will kick his ass. They both run when they see him coming. Cleo never was much of a fighter, but Lily went through this phase. In fact the scratches on my arm and hand look eerily like the ones I got when playing with her.

In other news, I got to watch both the football games I wanted to on Sunday. The Vikings lost, but the Seahawks won so it wasn't a total loss. :) I think I'll only get to see the Seahawks game this next Sunday. It will make the men here happy. They will be able to watch things they want. Maybe. I'm a bit of a hog when it comes to the tv. its a 65 inch hd tv. Wouldn't you be if you could? LOL

Arrived!

2006-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

So. We have 3 new babies. I'm not sure you can see the second orange baby, but its there. Buddy has been pretty good about the whole thing. I had to keep him out of the box when Cleo was yowling when the first two came out. He wanted her to play with him. She wasn't really in the mood. Wonder why. LOL

He jumped in for a while, hence the picture. He was a good boy. He just wanted some love from Mom. She cleaned him a bit and then he got out to eat. Cleo is a good mama. My son wants to keep at least one of the babies. He has names all picked out for them. I gather they are all based on some anime show he watches since I didn't recognize any of the names...help! I don't know if we'll keep any of them. Its too early to know which is a boy and which is a girl. I'd rather have another boy...they are cheaper to fix.

Impending Arrival

2006-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've mentioned that we have cats. 3 of them at the moment. Our oldest is Cleo. We rescued her from a construction work site when she was a kitten. The next oldest is Lily. We rescued her from a household of 10 cats smooshed into a teeny, tiny, cat-smelly home. The youngest is Buddy. He's Cleo's boy. He's about 4 months old now. Unfortunately Cleo got pregnant again before weaning Buddy...sigh...she's going to pop any moment now. I'm hoping for a litter of one again. What are the chances of that happening again?

I brought out the baby box a few days ago. The problem? Buddy remembers it and thinks its his. As you can see in the picture. Buddy is the white cat. Cleo is the other one. They are currently curled up together and he is nursing while I am pretty sure she is in labor. I'm a little worried about how he will react when he has competition for the na-nas. She on the other seems cool with it all.

Keep your fingers crossed for a singleton birth and no sibling rivalry will you?

I've been tagged

2006-09-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Meowkaat who was tagged by Jessie, who was tagged by Julie... So here goes:

1. One book that changed your life- hardest question first.
I'd have to say that its Messages From Michael. This book really helped me sort out the spiritual beliefs I have. There are young souls and old souls and all ages in between. After reading the book I could understand people's behavior and choices better, especially my whacked family.

2. One Book That You've Read More Than Once.
I periodically re-read all of my Stephen King books, but the one I've probably read more than any of them is The Stand. Sometimes I read both versions just to compare them. I like the uncut version better.

3. One Book That You'd Want On A Desert Island.
Are you kidding me? ONE BOOK??? I'd go insane. All right, if I have to pick one then it would be The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon. Its my second favorite book ever.

4. One Book That Made You Laugh
Anything written by Janet Evanovich. I laugh at least once every two pages if not more. My son thinks I'm even more weird than usual.

5. One Book That Made You Cry.
At the risk of being lame, I have to go with The Stand again. The part where Nick is blown up by the bomb in the closet always hits me hard. He's one of my favorite characters.

6. One Book That You Wish You Had Written.
I'd be happy to finish writing a book let alone get one published...

7. One Book You Wish Had Never Been Written.
There are a few books I have started and given up less than 10 pages into. I really try not to do that. I don't like giving up, but sometimes its better to give up than to torture myself with horrific writing. Let's see, the last book I put down before the end of the third chapter was Running Dead by Robert Coram. I didn't like anyone or anything in this one. The bad guy is a dope and the good guy is a dope. The premise of an Islamic serial killing terrorist bent on wrecking havoc on the Jews through a political plot is just stupid. I could have lived with either the traditional serial killer thriller or a political thriller...this particular combination was yucky. The cop didn't make things better by being a sterotypical male chauvinist alcoholic lone wolf type. Blech!

8. One Book That You Are Reading Right Now.
At this moment I am reading Ripper by Michael Slade. Its a murder mystery/serial killer book set in Canada. So far I like it.

9. One Book That You Have Been Meaning To Read.
I started Lord of the Flies by William Golding once and didn't get farther than 20 pages before putting it down. But I really do want to finish it. I just have to find another copy of it since I think I yard saled the first one.

10. Tag five others that you would like to do this meme.
I'd like to, but since the only other person I know here tagged me, I can't. Maybe by the next time I'll have made some friends. :)

Feeding the Monkey

2006-09-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have two addictions: reading and smoking. I read about a book a day, depending on how fast paced it is. And I smoke about a pack a day, depending on how much drinking I've been doing. The price of smokes and new books are about the same these days. That makes two pretty expensive habits. Its pretty obvious I can't buy used smokes so I think its easy to see how I feed that monkey. But how do I feed my other monkey without going broke?

I bet you're thinking I use the library. Wrong! Oh, sure I could do that. But its embarrassing to have librarians tell me "You know those are all due back in 2 weeks, right?", while staring at the dozen or so books I"ve stacked on their counter. I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, I'll be back in a week for more." Plus, most of the books at the library are hardbound. A dozen of those suckers are pretty damn heavy! There's one other reason I don't do the library. I have a sort of half assed reading circle. My best friend and I swap books all the time. Occasionally I swap books with my sister and mother in law. So library books aren't really good for that. Unless you like large overdue fees that is. I don't.

Used bookstores are good places. The one I use most lets you build credit by bringing in your used ones. Of course they don't take ALL of them. They are picky. Luckily for me they will donate the ones they don't want for me so I don't have to deal with them. Prices aren't bad. Usually they charge half of the cover price and deal mostly in paperbacks. I spent nearly $32 today. I bought one new paperback because I needed it to fill in a series I am reading and the didn't have it used. And I got 6 used paperbacks. That's not too bad. New paperbacks are going for anywhere from $6 to $8 and up.

The best place to find used books really cheap and I mean REALLY cheap is at Goodwill. Paperbacks run 50 cents. Most hardbound books are 70 cents. That $32 I spent today could have gotten me 60 books. The only problem with Goodwill is that you are dependent on the taste of others. The stores only carry what other people have donated. You can't really go to Goodwill with a shopping list like you can at a used book store. There's a fifty fifty chance that you will find something you like.

I go to Goodwill, stock up on a lot of books, read them and then take them to the used book store and hope like hell that they will accept a lot of them. Then I use that credit to buy books I am specifically looking for. Once those are read I head back to Goodwill. It keeps the monkey off my back.

Welcome!

2006-09-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. My husband has been hounding me to rejoin the blogging community. I haven't done any writing online since I shut down my writing forum. I keep telling him I will forget to post here in about 2 days. I'll cross my fingers I remember.

I don't have a solid idea of what I will write here. I can say that I will try not to be trite and whiny. Not unless I can be funny at the same time anyway. :P

Your comments are welcome as long as they are respectful. I've dealt with enough jerks online, I don't encourage you to be one. Be nice and we'll all get along. Don't be nice and you'll make me mad...you won't like me when I'm mad. As my kids say "If mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy." Trust them, they know.