Good Kitty

Ah...it's good to know that in times of need, my cat has my back.

I swear to God Gracie single-handedly (single pawedly?) got me out of bed this morning. As usual, I had been hitting snooze for far longer than was good for me (a daily occurrence). The last time the alarm went off, I must not have woken up. But, what did wake me up was 3 hard taps next to my shoulder. I opened my eyes, and there was my cat staring at me and looking annoyed. And it was definitely a tapping, not her usual pawing at the comforter. (I'm sure the irritating alarm was driving her nuts. If she's sleeping at the foot of my bed, it makes her jump when it goes off - poor kitty!)

So...I glance at the clock, assuming that the alarm had just gone off and annoyed the cat. Nope! It must have been going for a while, because it was 8:25!! By my calculations, it would have gone off at 8:16am...(so you know...I was pushing it anyway, since it usually takes me 45 minutes to get to work, and I *should* be there by 9am). So, I shot out of bed and scrambled to put myself somewhat together and run out of the house. And then I hit nasty nasty traffic, and called in to let my boss know I'd be late. (Make that later than usual.)

But, just imagine how much worse it could have been. So...kitty should get some treats tonight. :)

Happy 4th of July!

I'm celebrating my freedom with my friend Kerri by taking blog quizzes. Unfortunately, I would not be able to pass the U.S. Citizenship test...nor 8th grade geography! (And yet I passed it when I was in 8th grade.)

So, in celebration of the 4th - here's some fun little quizzes:

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions. When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Your 2006 Summer Anthem Is

Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers "She's a lover, baby, and a fighter Shoulda seen it comin' when it got a little brighter With a name like "Dani California" Day was gonna come when I was gonna mourn ya A little loaded she was stealin' another breath I love my baby to death"

What's Your 2006 Summer Anthem?

Have fun!! (And now I'm off to another American Institution...Starbucks!!)

Busy Bee

It was a busy weekend...

Yet another of my college friends is moving this week, and this weekend was their last in town. So, Saturday I hung out with her and her 3 kids (4 year old twins and 9mo old infant). I'm sad to see them go - it seems like everyone is moving lately.

So...I'm in the living room with the kids and my friend was in the other room, and her daughter looks at me and starts firing off some questions... "Where's Fred? Do you live with him? Does he not talk to you anymore?" (No, it wasn't so rapid fire as that, and I did explain that he wasn't visiting.) Ouch... I wouldn't have expected them to wonder where he was. He wasn't around the last few times I've seen them, and they never asked about it before. And now it's been almost 5 months that we've been apart. It was a little weird. It made me tear up a bit, but I pulled it together. He was great with those kids though - which is why I was expecting them not to bring it up now, since they hadn't before.

And I still haven't received a response from Fred after my last e-mail. What is he waiting for? Is he trying to piss me off more?

I love my family!

So, I told my dad via e-mail about the Fred situation, and how he (the ex) still seems to want to meet up to exchange stuff...here's my Dad's response. "And, while we are on the subject of bastards, tell Fred to put all the stuff in the mail. Don't give in - what kind of a person would walk away from you???? Make him suffer."

I just gotta say - I love my Dad! And Mom's response was that Fred doesn't know anything about relationships, as he keeps on with this "let's meet up theme."

And now, because I really have nothing else to say...here's a cute quiz I took the other day...I like this one!


discover what candy you are @ quiz me

It's only Tuesday?

Knitting goodness

I mentioned that I went to a beginner's knitting class last Friday night, when things finally started falling into place and making sense for me (well, knitting related...the life stuff is still all crazy, as usual). Here's a shot of my scarf in progress as of a couple of nights ago. The yarn is pretty awesome - though I can't remember the name of it (the label is at home right now, and I am not). It's a wool/microfiber blend. It makes me think of summer sherbet. My basic pattern (though there really isn't one, and I'm not really counting rows) is a few rows of knit stitch, then a few rows of stockinette (knit 1 row, purl 1 row, repeat). I've only had minor disasters so far, in which I have no clue what happened, but ended up with extra stitches or holes...and then ripped out a row or two and re-stitched it up...) Sorry - my couch (though not as hideous as the old one) is not really the best background for a good shot.


Happy Happy Secret Pal Stuff!

The other day I got this cute card in the mail from my secret pal. For no reason but to say hi. :) It brightened my day! Thank you Secret Pal!! I should be doing that for my pal too...
More Random Stuff

Yesterday I was in a quandary of whether or not to call the ex to get my stuff back. I decided to just email him asking him to mail me my CDs. So, I did. And I didn't say anything else. The ball is in his court...I just want my CDs back. I don't care about the rest of the stuff - whatever it is (I know he has my Snow White costume, but it's too big for me anyway). If he wants his crap, he can contact me. This has taken way too long. And it kills me that he admitted (last month when he called me) that he'd been listening to my birthday present CD! - 2 of my college friends made a 30 song compilation for me for my 30th birthday - all songs with college memories attached (yes, we used to roam the campus belting out Billy Joel and were told to hush up by the roaming CSA while crooning to Celine Dion...). There were 2 cds, and the ex has one in his car!! I want my birthday gift back! (Kerri is up in arms about this - making the CDs took a lot of work, and she downloaded all the songs - it was an AWESOME gift.)

Funny...I just got a read receipt on that e-mail I sent him...and he said he only checks his personal email every couple of weeks. We'll see how long it takes him to respond, or for me to get a package...

Gratuitous Cat Photos

Isn't this a great shot of Gracie? I love the black markings around her eyes.

Another Non-Motivated Monday

It seems to be the trend these days... I have too much to do here at work, and no desire to do it. I guess that's my procrastination coming out. At least that's nothing new.

I took a knitting class on Friday night with a couple of friends. And finally, someone helped me make sense out of casting on! Woo hoo! And, as if that wasn't enough, the instructor also taught me how to purl - successfully. So, I've made sure to practice a bit each day since then so I don't forget. Hopefully I can keep it up.

After the knitting class, we went out for pizza and then saw "Click." I really liked the movie. It was better than I had expected, and yes, sap that I am, I cried. Yes, I cried at an Adam Sandler movie...(and it's not the first time either...I cried during Big Daddy too).

Saturday I hit the library and got out the 3rd Ya-Ya book by Rebecca Wells. Seems I just can't get enough of those fiesty Southern women. So far it's good too.

Hmm...spent some time out on my balcony reading and then addressing invitations for a bridal shower. (I am not prepared for this bridal shower either...but I have a month to work it out. The plan is to keep it simple, because the bride is not into the traditional stuff.) More of the same on Sunday, plus a couple of loads of laundry.

I seriously contemplated calling the ex this weekend. No, not out of desperation. I just want to exchange our stuff and get it over with. But, I don't really want to talk to him, so I chickened out. I might e-mail him and tell him to mail my cd's back. I don't know what he wants from me (aside from his crap that's sitting in a box in my house). I don't want to be his buddy. I haven't talked to him since Mother's Day. Everything is still confusing, and probably always will be. Argh...

Today, I get the permanent crowns on my front teeth. Finally!! I so miss being able to bite into things! Wish me luck that all goes well at the appointment! (I'm not expecting any mishaps.)

I'm Back!!

Well, all in all, it was a good vacation. I'm glad I went, and I had a good time with my family. It was one of those always on the go vacations though (not any down time).

The flight(s) back were bizarre, in that my first flight had 3 (count 'em - 3!!) stops. When I booked it, it looked like a direct flight. Same deal for 3 other women sitting in my row that were on that flight from Buffalo to Denver (stopping in Chicago, then Dallas, then Denver). They said they actually called the airline and were told that when the flight number doesn't change, it can appear to be a direct flight. Have you ever heard of such a thing? So, I ended up taking 5 mini flights of approximately 2 hours each. And I hope never to have to do it again... The landings in Dallas and Denver were killers. Turbulent and anxiety provoking. I felt sick on both (not bad enough to puke or anything, but landing in Denver I was this close to fainting...one of my usual panic reactions - NOT FUN!).

On the last leg of my marathon trip home, I witnessed a nice random act of kindness. I was sitting in the exit row at the entrance to the plane, next to a couple heading home from Mexico. Our seats were the ones directly across from the flight attendents' seats. The flight attendants were mentioning (to each other) that there were a bunch of seats empty in first class. The guy in my row asks her about it, and I totally thought that he was trying to get himself and his wife bumped up there. Nope - he'd noticed a guy in a khaki jumpsuit talking to someone else while entering the plane (we had front row seats) about how he was back from duty in Iraq. So, he asked the flight attendant if she could move the soldier to first class. She said she didn't have the authority, but he asked her to ask the pilot or someone. She did, and the purser okayed it. Of course by then we were ready to take off...But, they did go back and move the guy into first class after we leveled off. Turns out he was on a 2 week leave visiting his family, and would be heading back afterwards. But, I thought that was pretty cool of the guy in my row to even think of it. Kudos to him!

And thankfully, the landing in Sacramento was as smooth as silk, I got home around 8:45pm, and the cat was happy to see me. She must have been, because for the first time ever, she actually slept next to me up by my shoulder. Normally she's on the corner of the other side of the bed, at the bottom, and I can't tell she's there. Last night she had me pinned into the narrowest portion of my bed...and I didn't have the heart to push her away.

And now I'm watching My Date with Drew on UPN. It's really cute - I'd recommend it.