My PRECIOUS ! ! ! !

It's MINE !
MINE I TELL YOU ! ! !
MINE
MINE
MINE
The tiara is M-I-N-E ! ! ! ! !
AND ! ! ! !
I got it for even LESS than I'd expected because I pointed out that there were more rhinestones missing than the saleswoman originally stated !
WHOO HOO ! ! ! ! ! ! !

SCORE ! ! ! !

So...
A few weeks back when mom and I went to check out gowns I was being a brat for fun (because I figured I should have some fun yanking those crazy women who were shoving veils and tiaras on my head with such force) and demanding that they find me a "BIGGER TIARA !"
LOL
Well...
Wouldn't you know it...
I found one I fell in love with...
So I went back yesterday to see how much it cost...
And they said they didn't know and took my information so that the could call me with it in a "few days"...
Which was a sucky answer considering I'd just driven an hour for this tiara !
So...
My cell phone rings this afternoon...
I don't know the number and so I don't pick up...
Then I notice I have a voicemail...
So I check what "unknown caller" has to say...
And it's the lady from the shop...
Guess what?
The tiara is DISCONTINUED ! ! ! !
EEK !
But !
They would be willing to sell that particular one to me at a discounted price...
And there are a couple of rinestones missing from it...
So...
I call her back to talk dough...
There are 3 rinestones missing - all at the hairline so not really that obvious...
They'll hold it for me so I can come look at it to make sure whether or not I'd want it...
If I do, it'll cost me $90 which is a STEAL considering it's a $300 tiara !
Sure...it's probably been tried on 100 zillion times...
But it CAN be disinfected & polished !
AND !
Yes...it's missing a few rinestones...
That can be pretty easily replaced compliments of Michael's craft store and a glue gun !
SQUEEE ! ! ! !
I am like OBSESSED with this tiara !
Like - have been thinking about it since I tried it on for the first time ! ! !
(I know...I'm a nut...)
How can I go wrong here???
I talked to J about how likely it is for me to get down there tonight...
You see...he has my car today since his is in the shop and we have to pick up the repaired car tonight...
It shouldn't be an issue, though, so he says...
YIPPEE ! ! ! ! !
I'm SOOO happy ! ! !
TIARA, my darling....
You're MINE ! ! !
SQUEEE ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Notsomuch

It's funny...
I KNEW when my mother first told me about one of my aunts and her family not coming to my wedding that the reason was a load of shit...
The TOTAL lack of contact from them on my birthday just confirmed what I already knew...
(EVERYONE in my family called me EXCEPT for them)
And when my mother again told about "why" they couldn't make it on my wedding day (at my birthday dinner) even J said it sounded like a crock...
Apparently my step-father had NO idea that they weren't coming and demanded to know why they wouldn't be showing up and pressing to know why they couldn't, at the very least, send SOMEONE from their family...
My mother muddled around his challenge.
You know what?
FUCK my aunt and her stupid family.
THEY want to act like children, then so be it.
FUCK THEM.
The "reason" I'm sure they won't be coming is because I wouldn't go to my cousin's wedding this past year.
You know what?
When you give people less than 2 weeks notice that you'll be getting married your lack of respect and consideration for those people can result in your guest list being cut down considerably when SOME people would have to FLY to get to you.
I was completely unwilling to drop everything to take a flight I couldn't afford for my cousin who chose to sneak around behind the ENTIRE family's back to plan her little wedding and then "notify" us where we need to be and when with basically no notice.
And now her fucker family (the same group that was OPPOSED to her getting married in the first place and STILL don't accept her new husband) is chosing to retaliate against me?!?!?!?
FUCK THEM !
The real kicker is that my mother has the balls to tell me that my aunt "feels horribly" about this.
BULLSHIT.
If she felt so badly how come she hasn't contacted ME about them not coming?!??!?
I would have NO idea if my mother hadn't told me about it !
FUCKING ASSHOLES.
J and I will be taking a trip to Florida in July.
I plan to have NOTHING to do with ANY of them while we're down there.
Funny how this is the aunt who's fighting with SOMEONE at any given time (and it's NEVER her fault) - must be my turn, huh?
BRING IT ON BITCH.
FUCK YOU.
FUCK YOUR FAMILY.
FUCK ALL OF YOU.

The Weekend...

So...
I'm now a little older...
Though I don't feel much wiser...
The weekend's fun included getting to dinner 1 hour late thanks to a CRAZY time trying to find parking in the village....which was FLOODED with people enjoying the unseasonably warm(er) weather...
Dinner was tasty - the sangria was not as good as usual, but still yummy...
Got to see my brother but still haven't met his girlfriend...
Got some pretty good gifts...
Couldn't convince J that we needed "one more drink" before heading home...
BUT !
Discovered that one of my FAVORITE places is still open (I'd heard it closed) which made me VERY happy !
So...
Pretty uneventful time of my age increasing by one...
At least it's over...

Progress Perhaps?

Huh.
So, as of late the topic of conversation has, of course, been our upcoming wedding...
as well as the upcoming weddings of some other people we know.
A few months back you may recall my outrage at 2 of J's friends - the Lumberjack and Bozo.
Well, we heard through the grapevine that the Lumberjack's wedding is set for this summer and that we shouldn't expect an invite seeing as how she will likely not invite ANY of her friends.
Apparently, she's so wrapped up with this guy that she's gone off the deep end and is truly isolating herself now - which is fine by me but I can see it hurts J.
So we had a talk about the two of them...
He's FINALLY coming to realize that maybe they AREN'T his friends after all....
He was puzzling over Bozo's wedding and their behavior towards me...
I gave him a possible answer...
I asked him if he'd ever considered that they're pissed because he rejected them both in terms of having a relationship with them?
He'd chased Lumberjack for years in high school...only to be rejected by her...but when he broke up with the girlfriend he had immediately before dating me, she tried to get together with him and he told her to forget it.
And Bozo was his "comfort" between me and that last girlfriend....and when he told her he was dating me her response was "what about US?"
I told him that women think and react VERY differently than men do...that he can't think of what's rational to him....
I told him to consider the fact that they felt the need to be so ugly to me because, though they have men of their own, their pride was hurt by him and rather than lash out at him (the object of their affection) I'm an easy target.
He seemed to take this all in and really consider it...
And maybe even realized that they aren't as good a friends to him as he was fooling himself to believe...
He even said "great friends THEY'VE been to me !" in a very sarcastic tone...
So, we'll see...
If nothing else, this gives me the hope that we won't be inviting them to our wedding.
The last thing I want is for them to be there - - - and I may just be getting my wish !
SQUEEE !

No longer a no-name kitty ! ! ! ! ! !

I've officially got a name for Kitty ! ! ! !
YIPPEE ! ! ! !
It hit me yesterday as a matter of fact...
Koi
A name with 2 meanings....
Koi - as in the fish - because his colors remind me of a koi...



The second meaning of his name is, if you look up the word "coy" in the dictionary, the first definition is: " Tending to avoid people and social situations" which is his personality DEAD ON !

FUN with homonyms ! ! !

And so...we have a name !
YIPPEE ! ! !
More than that !
We have PROGRESS ! ! ! ! ! ! !
BIG PROGRESS ! ! ! !
He is becoming QUITE social with me !
He's now laying in a kitty bed a good portion of the time and he seems to have quite a good appetite ! He LOVES to be pet and has even come VERY close to showing me his belly !
Koi is a WONDERFUL cat who is just so loveable ! ! ! He's really such a sweet boy !
And he's even beginning to "talk" now !
When I walk into his room and say "hello" to him, he responds with a small "meow" sound.
SQUEEE ! ! ! ! ! !
Today I may try to let him out of the crate into the room for a bit - give him a chance to stretch and explore a bit.

Now...
For the most important part of this post....
NEW PICTURES ! ! ! !
Meet the new and improved Koi !

Snagged from Miss Margo:

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Liz!

1. The average human spends about 30 days during their life in Liz!
2. It's bad luck to put Liz on a bed.
3. During the reign of Peter the Great, any Russian nobleman who chose to wear Liz had to pay a special Liz tax!
4. Liz is the only bird that can swim but not fly.
5. 99 percent of the pumpkins sold in the US end up as Liz!
6. Contrary to popular belief, Liz is not successful at sobering up a drunk person, and in many cases she may actually increase the adverse effects of alcohol.
7. The pharoahs of ancient Egypt wore garments made with thin threads of beaten Liz!
8. Liz can squeeze her entire body through a hole the size of her beak!
9. The canonical hours of the Christian church are matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, Liz and compline.
10. If you put a drop of liquor on Liz, she will go mad and sting herself to death!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

FUCK !

Yesterday I got blindsided....
And fucked over.
And now my attitude REALLY sucks.

That is all for now.
My sulk shall resume now.

Precariously Tiptoeing Foreward

So...
I thought that Kitty could use a change of scenery today...
So I lifted his entire crate up on to the bed in our guest room and pushed the front of the crate right up to the window...
And you know what???
He actually REACTED ! ! ! ! !
He was suddenly very interested and tiptoed his way to the front of the crate ! ! !
He even started PURRING ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I had to disrupt him because he is refusing to sit in his kitty bed and he really didn't have much room....
Once I got that kitty bed out of his way he laid down on the fleece I've lined the bottom of the crate with and seemed to be THOROUGHLY enjoying the sunlight as it beat down on him.
YIPPEE ! ! ! !
After a few hours I realized I hadn't put his water back in the crate and that he most likely would be getting thirsty...
Well, he didn't much like me opening the crate door and putting that water in there for him...
The rest of the day he enjoyed the sun from his litter box...
So we did have a small success if but only for a few hours today...
It did me such good to see him react the way he did !
Tomorrow I've taken a 1/2 day from work - - - it's because my two best friends are coming to dinner and I didn't want to have to ask to leave early again so I figured "F" it and took a 1/2 day....
This is good because I'll have that much more time to spend with Kitty before they get here...
And that much more time to hopefully see him enjoy the sunshine on his back.
:)

So...
That's the latest Kitty update...
If I actually catch him out of the litter box laying in the sun I'll be sure to snap off a picture and post it for everyone !
Wish me luck, y'all !
After our tumble backwards on Friday night today really gave me my hope back that we're making progress with him !

HUH....That's Odd...

So...
I'm looking through our mail...
And enclosed is an envelope from my 1/2 brother and his wife...

For those of you who don't know the deal, here's the quick version:

My father married 3 times - I'm from the 1st marriage, Bryan's from the 2nd and Jennifer's from the 3rd...
I'm the only one who knew ANYTHING about the others up until a few years ago when I contacted Bryan's mother....and then my father/Jennifer...
Bryan's mom and I have gotten together a couple of times and Bryan and I mave e-mailed but there was nothing really sustained in terms of building a relationship.
I tried - sent Christmas gifts....when he had a baby sent gifts for her...wrote letters....wrote e-mails....tried and tried and got nowhere...
Just a few months ago Bryan's mom and I were e-mailing and she said her usual schtick about how she hopes one day Bryan & I can meet and that he's So excited to meet me one day...
I couldn't help it.
I responded with something to the effect that, as nice as that would be I highly doubt it will ever happy because I don't think he's really all that interested...
Then I stopped hearing from her...

So !
FFW to now.
I'm opening this envelope from Bryan & his wife.
On the back is a handwritten note (obviously from the wife) apologizing for it being so late - that they'd sent it to my old address originally.
I opened this envelope and inside I find another envelope...
It's the original envelope that they'd sent - and sure enough it was to our old apartment...
So then I open that envelope and inside is one of those photo Christmas cards - a picture of their family.
I just keep looking at it..
And I wonder "why?"
I finally give up and in the mail comes this glimmer of hope...

Granted, just a few weeks ago I did send them my "save the date" magnet for the wedding...
I was sending one to his mother so I figured I should send one to him as well so that it wouldn't look like I was trying to cut him off...
Guess I'm a glutton for punishment, huh?

So now I have this "card" and I sit here and wonder if I should write them a letter - letting them know I did receive it and "thank you"....
I just don't know if I should keep trying...

Rewind !

All that work I've done with Kitty....
All undone in 1 night !
We had friends over for dinner, one of which brought her 2 1/2 year old with her...
I didn't find out about it until the end of the night as I was trying to pay attention to our other guests...
Apparently the kid kept running back into Kitty's room and closing herself in with him.
Since that night he's reverted back to sitting in the litter box (we had him actually into a kitty bed!) and he's not eating.
J will be gone a good chunk of today so I'm going to spend some time with Kitty to work with him some more.
I feel SOOO guilty that I wasn't more on top of what the kid was doing and that he's all traumatized as a result.
BAD Kitty owner ! ! !
:(
Yesterday I cleaned up his crate while he watched me....
It was a MESS...
He must've been going crazy in that crate with the kid in that room with him...
Since his paws are COVERED in litter, he obviously got them into his water and there was white all up the sides of the crate - like he was trying to escape.
I suck.

Yet...When I Was Actually IN 8th Grade, I Couldn't ! :)

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

And ANOTHER ! Ya know, I always did think I was some sort of cat in a past life !

You Were A Jaguar

A shapeshifter that understands the patterns of chaos. You are powerful and move without fear in dark places.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

OOH LOOK ! ! ! ANOTHER ONE ! !

Your Inner Child Is Happy

You see life as simple, and simple is a very good thing. You're cheerful and upbeat, taking everything as it comes. And you decide not to worry, even when things look bad. You figure there's just so many great things to look forward to.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Snagged This Test From "The Absynthe of Truth

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few. But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky. Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Propaganda ! ! ! ! ! ! !

What I'm going to say is likely NOT going to make me a very popular girl here in the blog world...
But it needs to be said.

I am watching t.v. and an ad came on that INFURIATED me because it's blatant propaganda...
The name of the movie is "Flight 93" and it's an A&E Original Movie.
It's the "story" of Flight 93 and the the "heroic actions of the people on that flight" who "took back" the plane after highjackers took it over on 911 and "chose to crash the plane themselves rather than have it blown up or crashed by the highjackers".

I'm fucking sorry, people....but COME ON ! ! !

That flight, in my opinion, was SHOT DOWN by our military ! ! ! ! !
It's really fan-fucking-tastic that not only has our government lied to us about what happened that day but now we've got A&E in on it ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CRAP ? ! ? ! ? ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ? ! ? ! ? ? ! ! ?

Or how about this???
If I'm WRONG about what happened and they're right...(let's just pretend, shall we?)
WHY
WHY
WHY
is it necessary to make a MOVIE about it in the first place ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?
I mean, people DIED that day ! ! !
A LOT of FUCKING people DIED that day ! ! ! ! !
Why do ANY movies need to be made of it ? ! ? ! ? ! ? !
I am just SOOOO agitated right now ! ! ! !
GRRRRRR ! ! ! !

LEAPS & BOUNDS ! ! ! ! ! ! !

OH
MY
GOD ! ! !
Kitty had a HUGE breakthru last night (well, actually around 1:00 this morning) !
I was heading to bed so I did my routine of telling my kitties night-night and giving Stew a final scratch before turning out his room's light and then, lastly, stopping off to spend a few minutes with Kitty before turning out his room's light.
SO !
I'm sitting there and I open the crate door and stick my hand in and start scratching his big head...
After a minute I thought I felt him nudging his head back at my hand...but figured I must be halucinating seeing as how this is, after all, the cat made of stone !
Then he did it AGAIN! ! ! ! ! !
The next thing I know he's PURRRRing ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I got so excited and was so happy I couldn't help but cry.
He even, at one point adjusted himself so he rolled onto his side ! ! ! ! !
I had to literally FORCE myself to go to bed...I could've stayed there petting him until the sun came up !
Unfortunately, we don't have today off from work - - - so I did have to tear myself away and force myself to sleep (which was no easy task seeing as how utterly happy I was).

So this is our HUGE event !
:)
He's not out of that litter box yet and he may not have his appetite back 100%....
But we're getting there - one step at a time !

Still Shaking....

Last night we stopped by J's family's house and I got to see the other cat from the grandfather's house...
Which is being kept in a large metal dog crate...
With a VERY small filthy blanket....
In the garage...
In an area where the daytime temperatures in the 50s and nighttime temperatures in the 20s...and that's because we're having a warm spell...
He's filthy...
And, apparently, according to J's dad, he's been bleeding from the rectum every so often...
AND HE HASN'T BEEN TAKEN TO THE MOTHERFUCKING VET AT ALL ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I am SOOOOO upset !
This is a NICE CAT ! ! !
This "hell beast"...this "mean cat" that they've been referring to is NOT this cat ! ! ! !
It wants to be pet !
It LOVES to be pet !
It PURRRRRRRRRRRRs ! ! ! !
It's a sweet kitty ! ! ! !
And it's a VERY old kitty....
Who is practically blind....and, when I mentioned this the response I got was "How am I supposed to know that?!??!"
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
How about the FUCKING CATARACTS ON IT'S FUCKING EYES EINSTEIN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I am just so upset by this whole thing ! ! !
J has made it clear that we CANNOT take in this cat as well - - - that we've already done more than our part by taking in the big guy...
This cat HAS GOT to get to the VET !
J suggested I call J's dad today to discuss this...
My point was that we shouldn't have to pay for this cat to go to the vet - - - It's his DAD'S responsibility ! ! ! !
J got VERY defensive and hissed at me that his dad couldn't afford to take the cat to the vet...
(Voice in my head "YEAH ! But they can sure as shit afford to buy their daughter the newest Coach bag ! ! !")
I suggested we offer to pay 1/2 if he'll pay 1/2 and that we'll take care of getting the cat to the vet.
He said that was fine - that I could try that but that if not that he'd (J) be willing to foot the whole bill...
(Voice in my head "NOT THE POINT, DEAR ! ! ! ! ! We shouldn't be paying AT ALL ! ! !")
So, needless to say I slept VERY LITTLE last night and am going to be dealing with the dad today via phone...
On top of all of this my mother is coming down today so we can go wedding dress shopping...
And our house is a DISASTER...
So I should probably go now so I can get to cleaning, huh???
UGH.
Just when I thought things were going well...
Then again, why should I expect that J's father would give a shit about an elderly bleeding cat?!?!? I mean, he's the one who left his own father to live in his own filth, right?!?!?!?
GRRRRR

HAPPY DANCE ! ! ! !

One step forward with Kitty ! ! ! !
Tonight I went into his room to give him fresh food and water. I brought in a trash bag so he could watch me clean out his food dish and refilled it with dry food.
I then went to go get him some water.
Keep in mind, I didn't even try to touch him at this point - I only talked to him.
When I came back with the water he was out of the litter box in the back of the crate and he was sitting next to the food dish on the fleece blanket, facing the crate door ! ! ! !
I was SOOOO happy ! ! ! !
The next big hurdle would be opening the crate door without scaring him off...
Which I did...moving slowly and talking nice to him the whole time....
I went ahead and pet him a little - at which point he tensed up again - and as soon as I stopped he retreated back to the litter box.
I'm just happy that this seems like a step in the right direction !
He watched my every move when I opened the crate door and put the water in - but he didn't try to get away from me.
:)
Now if only J were still awake to see this !
He's SOOO impatient !
He's been pushing for us to start picking up Kitty and holding him just outside of the crate and try to push him to get over being scared...
What he doesn't realize is that Kitty is going to have to get comfortable on his own terms - - - it can't be forced and that building trust with a cat can sometimes take a very long time.
I think I'm definitely going to have to tell him about tonight so he will hopefully understand that my method seems to be yielding results with Kitty and that his way is not necessarily the right route to take.
Should he continue to come to the front of the crate, I'll have to snap off another picture to post here.
:)

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble...

Mother F-ing COOKIES ! ! ! !
I'm STILL not done baking as of yet - and I've even CUT some cookies from the list ! ! ! !
Tonight I finished up the caramel-filled chocolate cookies....and got the chocolate chips about 1/2 done...
I have GOT to get the remaining cookies DONE by tomorrow night ! ! ! !
Any longer and I'm going to be risking the first batches beginning to get stale.
UGH
I need to take time off from work next year to give myself the time to get this crap DONE !
This whole trying to get it all done on the weekends and after work is for the BIRDS ! ! ! ! !

At any rate....

The latest update on Kitty is this...
He's still scared to death but, on the upside we did find some poo and pee in his litter box today - - - not much but then again it's not like he's been eating much so what else would I expect???
Tonight I wrapped him up in a towel and brought him just outside of the crate with the door open so he could "escape" into the crate if he wanted to. I sat with him and massaged his back and neck and he even seemed to relax a little bit ! After about 10 minutes I tried to encourage (read: push his butt to move him) to get back into the crate so I could go get his dinner. He was not an easy one to convince ! He was actually somewhat content to just lie where he was ! ! Once he got in he immediately climbed back into the litter box. He continued to lay in the box as he has been doing since we brought him home - he didn't budge when I brought him his tuna...so we really didn't make THAT much progress.
I'm thinking the route we're going to take for the next couple of weeks is to repeat what we did tonight every night to try to get him used to being handled and touched.
Hopefully I'll be able to get some more pictures of the big guy sometime soon that I can post.

Here He Is ! ! ! ! !

Kitty is, in fact, a boy....
Apparently his HUGE head is a sign of being a BIG TOMCAT !
He was SOOOO good at the vet !
He let them draw blood and comb out some of the mats in his hair and cut out the ones that wouldn't comb out...
He let them give him his shots and weigh him he even let them cut his talons...
The only time he wasn't perfect is when he freaked out when they took him in the back and he peed all over them and the old towel we gave them to carry him with...
Because he hadn't eaten or drunk water since we got him they said to try tuna and, if he hadn't eaten or drunk within 24 hours that we'd have to bring him back in to intervene....
When I got up this morning I was SOOO happy to see that he had eaten about 1/2 the tuna I'd put in there for him and had drank some of the water !
SUCCESS ! ! ! !
Now...if only we can get him to go to the bathroom...apparently he was holding his pee...but when he peed on them last night at least some came out of him....
Not only that...if we can get him to stop laying in the litter box....
At any rate...one step forward...
Now that you have the latest update....here's a couple of pictures of Kitty....


You probably can't see just HOW huge this cat is by this picture....during our visit J and I realized we should've taken a camera with us to the vet so we could get a better picture of him...


Look at this face....how SWEET is he???
He's just so sad looking that it breaks my heart...
I just hope that we can work with him and start winning his trust soon...
Now...
For a name....
Considering what we've named our other pets...it has to be a unique and fitting name...

We have Panya


And Agador Spartacus


And Stew the Bunny


This is the new challenge....
What to name this big guy?

GGGGRRRRR

LONG weekend....
Kitty came home Saturday night...
Last night we determined he HAD to have a bath between the potential fleas & ticks and the fact that he was stinking up our guest room....
He was good until J had to move him...
At which point he managed to freak out completely and sink his teeth into J's wrist...
We had to finish washing/drying Kitty...
After which we took J to the hospital for a tetnis shot (who knows WHAT this cat has !) and we found out that cat bites are particularly prone to infection and that cat saliva is somewhat toxic to the human system.
FUN !
So J's on meds now and we have to clean and redress the wound 2-3 times per day and watch it for any sort of infection...
Kitty is at LEAST 20 pounds - probably more...
And J and I are realizing that we have to seriously consider the reality that we may not be able to bring this cat into our home permanently...
It's antisocial and has razor claws and is twice the size of our babies....
We just don't know how Kitty would do....
Not that we're throwing in the towel just yet - but this is definitely not going to be as easy as we thought it might be...
SIGH
I'm VERY tired as I was in bed by midnight last night and then up again at 5:45 am...
With the stress we've both been under this past month or so J and I are SHOT...
And today at work promises to be OODLES of fun, let me tell you...
Thank god for Red Bull ! ! ! !

Today's Letter Must Be "C" ! ! !

C for Car...
C for Cat...

This morning J and I went and picked up our new car...
It's SOOOO pretty and perfect and wonderful ! ! !



We got a Subaru wagon...
Yes, I know...how unsexy is a wagon???
But, for some reason, I just LOVE this car and it's SOO much fun to drive !
It breaks all sterotypes about wagons !

So we had to drive about 2 hours each way to get this car and started out pretty early in the day....when we got home, J had to get the car we'd been borrowing from a friend cleaned up so we could return it to them.

THEN !
We got the call that kitty was coming home...
And this is a BIG kitty, let me tell you ! ! ! !
It's scared to death and VERY VERY shy...
I can stick my head in and pet the kitty - - - but it's not really enjoying it....it just sticks it's head in the corner...and it refuses to even sniff me...
Fur's matted in some spots and and it's not moving from one spot in the crate we set up for it.
I fed and watered it yet it won't eat or drink...
No coughing, nothing like a snoppy nose or goopy eyes and no injuries from what I can see....
Just a VERY stinky cat (lived in an unclean house that had a chain smoker living there)
Poor kitty...it had a long day too...it was in that cat carrier a good portion of the day !
We have a vet appointment for Monday night to get kitty checked over...hopefully it gets a clean bill of health and we can start working with it and getting it reaclimated to humans and integrating it with my babies...
I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow for posting fun...

WOW...Do I have expensive taste or WHAT?!?!?!

So, tonight I embarked on the adventure of populating our wedding gift registries.
J didn't seem too interested in it so I took it upon myself to start adding things I know we both want or have previously talked about or that he would agree to...
Then I actually LOOKED at the registries when I was done...
It's 110% different than what my registry looked like 7 years ago (when I became the runaway bride)...
Suddenly I'm asking for responsble, sensible items...
Not only that...
The items I'm asking for are NOT cheap...
After realizing that nothing on our registries was under $50 I went back to see what else I could add that would be more easily affordable for our friends and family members who can't spend that much on a gift for us.
After some fanagaling...I think it's a bit more balanced now...
J and I still need to add a few more things to it to make sure we're covered...
Do we really NEED a lot of new things?
No.
But are there things we'd like to have?
Yes.
Not only that, but if we don't register then we run the risk of our guests buying random items that we likely already have or don't have a use for.
(sort of like the Christmas gifts I got from J's family this year...but I'll leave THAT story for another day...)
ANYWAY ! ! !
At least we've got ourselves set up and items added...

More Kitty Fun...

Let me start by thanking WCJack & Jane for their words of encouragement on my last post....
I'm all about helping animals but this is the first time I've taken an animal from it's habitat - - - normally I get them from the shelter or foster home - - - and I'm a little concerned because rather than having information on the cat I'm going to have to figure it all out myself.
:)

So, I went ahead and made the vet appointment without knowing exactly which day orange cat is arriving. As it turns out, my vet is only open until 12 on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays. Granted, it's a 24 hour emergency facility---but I won't have to pay emergency fees if I go during their "office hours".
So...kitty has an appointment for Monday night...
And when I spoke to the vet's office I asked about what I need to do to protect my babies from any possible disease. There are feline diseases that are airborn and I have to be careful as a result. They recommended that I put the crate in a closed off room until I can get the cat to them on Monday. My kitties are not to have ANY contact with this kitty until after orange cat gets a clean bill of health.
J and I have determined that a flea dip is going to be the first thing we're going to do with OC (orange cat) when it arrives...just to be sure. Then a flea collar will be put on and we'll get OC comfortable in the crate. I wouldn't normally crate a cat, but this one is not used to going in to the bathroom in litter box and I REALLY don't want it peeing in my carpeted guest room. Not only that - but I also don't know whether or not this cat will spray as a result of smelling my cats.
UGH.
This is going to be interesting....

I'm sure Panya will get over it once she realizes OC isn't leaving anytime soon....
She's a priss and thinks she's the dominant cat, but Agador is the silent dominant kitty of the house....he lets her step out of line every so often, but the reality is that when he came into the picture he overthrew her power. ;)

Just a few days now...
Hopefully this goes well !

New Member of the Family...Sort of...

So...
We're receiving a new 4-legged furry friend next weekend....
A feline friend.
J's grandfather is unable to care for himself anymore and he has these 2 cats...
One is at J's father's house now...and the other is still at the grandfather's house with food and water to last it the week.
J and I have NO idea what this cat looks like or even what gender it is...
All we know is that it's VERY shy and has claws and has been living in very poor conditions for an extended period of time.
We were expecting this new fuzz ball to arrive yesterday, but J's dad didn't bring it home with him.....
So it's been agreed that next weekend is when it will happen...
I went out yesterday (in preparation) to buy a large dog crate to house the kitty and it's litter box, along with some fleece fabric to line the bottom of the crate, until we can get it to the vet and see what the deal is.
(I fear this cat may have fleas or lice or disease and will do everything I can to protect my babies while at the same time being humane to this cat. We don't have a basement and I think the garage will be far too cold - so it will be set up in J's computer room - a room without a door.)
I'm not sure how Panya & Agador will deal with this new little friend...but I can guess...
Panya will be HIGHLY ANNOYED (she does NOT like other creatures - - - I think she only took Agador under her wing because he was a baby and he needed her) and Agador will be like "WHOO HOO ! ! ! NEW FRIEND ! ! ! !"
So, I guess we'll see what happens next weekend !
I have to find out exactly what day we're receiving this kitty so I can call my vet and make an appointment.
We're not sure if we'll keep it or if this will be temporary until we can find it a new home - we'll just have to wait and see. Both J and I are concerned about our kitties and don't want them to be traumatized as a result of trying to help this kitty. (Not to mention the fact that we weren't expecting the expense of another cat right now.)

Baking Loon !

Yes...I've officially morphed into the baking loon that I'm so famous for being ! ! ! !
This year I was unable to do my holiday baking before the holidays so I determined that I'd just have to do "New Year's baking" instead !
Surprisingly, a lot of my friends were happy about this because they see it as a last bit of fun just when it seems that the holidays are done. Not only that, but they made the very good point that with all of the baked goods that they receive during the holidays that they get burned out and can't possibly eat everything they receive.
Huh.
These things I never thought of ! ! !
Makes me think the concept of "New Year's baking" may have to become my new tradition.
After all, I am also known for being one to buck tradition...
And considering that my list of cookies (as well as the list of who receives them) seem s to grow every year, maybe this will help to take some of the pressure around the holidays off my shoulders.

To give you an idea of the size of this annual project....
This year I have:
20 varieties of cookies to bake
1 type of candy to make
pretzels to cover in chocolate
and about 35 individuals receiving plus 2 large plates that will be going to mine and J's jobs.
(Oh, and about 1/2 of these individual order will have to be shipped out...)

With an order like this I'm cranking out an average of 110 cookies per variety which will come to 2200, or so, cookies...
And I've got 3 bags of pretzels to dip in chocolate...
And lord knows how much candy I'll have to crank out...

Busy, busy, busy ! ! ! !

2005 In Review

A lot has happened in the past year...
I started out hating my job and hating my boss and seriously considering leaving J, due to his lack of commitment, and feeling that I was never going to get anywhere in my life...
And now, at the end of the year, everything seems to have turned around for me...
Ya know...Aunt Amy said to me earlier this year that this is "going to be my year" and that she just knew good things were going to happen...
Here's to Aunt Amy ! ! ! ! !

And so, to illustrate how much has happened, here is 2005 in review:

- FINALLY left my POS job at the Hoop
- Got a FANTASTIC job to replace aformentioned craptacular job
- Discovered that it IS possible to like your boss a really lot and be satisfied with your job
- Found that Clairol's culture can be found in other companies - but that it's hard to come by
- Painted A LOT in the house
- Made some new and wonderful friends
- Got a direction in terms of my career and a mentor to boot !
- Got Stew the bunny
- Got back to school
- "Cleaned house" on old friendships that needed to end
- Got to be the Queen of Hearts for Halloween and run around yelling "Off with your head !"
- Finally got my step-father out to our house for dinner (at which point he fell in LOVE with - - Agador and seemed to be plotting to kitty-nap him when I wasn't looking !)
- Started rebuilding my relationship with my brother
- Watched one of my best friends get married to one of the most wonderful men I've ever known (and even cried at their wedding because they're just so beautiful together)
- Wrote off my biological father and sister for good (So far as I'm considered, they're both dead to me)
- Gave up on my 1/2 brother (realizing that he has no interest in EVER getting to know me or establishing a relationship with me)
- Got engaged myownself
- Started planning our wedding
- Had my first Florida family member come visit us
- Found that things can change in terms of my mother and step-father
- Found that my boss got a promotion and that I'll be going with him
- Saw the tree in NYC for the first time in years
- Put my foot down in terms of a certain "friend" of J's which ended that "friendship"
- Got into a battle with two of J's other "friends"
- Did NOT bake Christmas cookies for the first time in a VERY long time (no time)
- Resolved to fix this lack of cookies by baking "New Years" cookies instead !
- Determined that if I will NOT be a fat bride (not that I'm so fat right now, but I will be a BUFF BRIDE - so help me !)
- Was BLOWN away by the generosity of my boss and his wife this holiday season
- Started making plans for my professional and personal future

Here's to a action-packed and progressive 2005 !
(I didn't realize how much had gone on in my life until I typed it all out ! 2005 has provided me a LOT of life-changing events !)

My hope is that 2006 will just continue this trend and that all of you have had a great 2005 and an even greater 2006 ! ! ! !

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ! ! !