Fridayness

At left: the face currently staring down at me from the top of my work computer screen. I love the Cheshire Cat. You gotta love that grin. (And those are his feet behind his head, not ears - he's leaning against the wall behind my monitor.)

Wow, this week has been crazy. I've been wanting desperately to stop taking classes after this semester - at least for one semester, if not for good. I just feel like I need a break. And we had spring break last week, which was wonderful, but then I had to come back to my busy schedule on Monday, and it sucked. I hated work, I hated school and I wished I could quit both of them. Horrible. Then Wednesday everything turned around for some reason. I had a good day at work and started liking my job again, and I went to class and my professor was in great form, and I actually enjoyed class, and I thought, "Hmm, maybe I wouldn't mind taking classes again next semester." Just shoot me. So now I'm going back and forth on it again. But really, I just need to talk to my advisor (who happens to be the same professor from Wednesday, and let me just tell you that he fueled more than one fantasy back in my first semester in school - he's a cutie) and see what classes I have left to take. If I can take something that will help me in my job, then I might take them. If all I have left is the crap stuff, like algebra (shudder), then I won't. One way or the other, though, I need to decide, because if I am going to go back, I need to sign up for financial aid and register for classes. Ugh.

I really do want a semester off, though. I hate indecision.

So my sister and I are starting to make plans for our trip in June. We haven't booked anything yet, but it's become a definite instead of a maybe. I gave her a check on Wednesday, so that she could save my trip money for me. That sounds stupid, but I don't have a savings account, and I don't want to open one just for a few months, and if I leave the money in my checking account, it will be long gone by June. And she's completely trustworthy, so this is the safest way to save it. And yes, I am pathetic for not having a savings account. Oh well. I suck at the money management thing, and I really don't see the need for a savings account when all of my money goes towards paying bills anyway.

The people at work started a weight loss challenge, and I actually joined it. It costs $5 to join, and the person who loses the highest percentage of weight wins all the money at the end. So far the pot is up to $70, and I want to win. I need new clothes for my trip to Virginia. That won't buy much, but it'll buy a couple of summer outfits. The challenge lasts for two months, so we'll see how well I do. I set myself a goal of losing 18 pounds in 9 weeks and two days. I really want to lose more than that, but I'll be happy if I hit that goal. And I'll be really happy if I win that money!

What a random entry this has been. Sorry about that! And now it's almost time to go home for the weekend, so this is where the randomness ends. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Weekend Update

I know I never told details about my brother's situation, but I just got a call from him, and it seems to be resolving itself the best way it could. It sounds like he really might have been innocent of the charges against him, like I had hoped, and I am very glad. He is back home and sounds incredibly happy to be there. And I'm left feeling a little horrible for mistrusting him enough to not know whether to think he was innocent or not, but I really couldn't help it. With the history that I have seen from him, and with the things that I have seen a drunk version of him do that a sober version would never do, I just had to doubt. Sorry, brother. And I'm glad that everything is working out, and I hope it continues to.

And with the brother news out of the way, I have one thing to say: vacation rules! I love it. I want to always be on vacation. And even if I do have to go back to work (which, obviously, I do), I want to never go back to school. Of course, I have to, but man. I want so badly to quit. Or at least to take a break. Oh well. I have summer vacation to look forward to, and that means three months of no classes at all. I can hold on until then.

I've had fun so far on my vacation. It's funny - I took the time off, figuring that I would end up going places maybe one or two days, and would sit here and not leave the house the rest of the time, but it hasn't worked out that way. Wednesday I went after groceries and got a haircut and went to my sister's for dinner and to hang out for a while. Thursday I took Sable to the vet. Yesterday I went shopping with my sister to a couple of little gift type stores and we went to lunch and then we went to Walmart and she got groceries and I somehow managed to spend $100 even though I didn't buy much. And today, if he doesn't cancel, Jamie and I are going to go to the mall and walk around and maybe I'll buy some TV on DVD like I wanted to yesterday but couldn't because Walmart sucks and didn't have anything I wanted. So, out of five days off, I think I'll have one where I just sit here and not leave the house. Not bad!

So when I was at Walmart yesterday, I did buy myself some curtains and rods for my bedroom. I had shades in there, but they don't block the sun at all, and Bernie has been waking me up every morning at 6:30. And I'm on vacation, damn it! I don't want to get up at the same time that I would if I were going to work. So I hung up some curtains to darken the room, which works pretty well. He still tried to wake me up early, but I rolled over and put the pillow over my eyes, and he laid back down. I got up today just before 8:00, which is a vast improvement. So the curtains are officially a success. I think. We'll see if that remains true tomorrow.

Also, I haven't seen any dead mice since the other day! Which is great. Here's hoping that's a trend that continues. Stay outside, mice! I don't want to pick up your corpses if you come inside!

Oh, also - cross your fingers that the weather here turns warm and stays that way soon, because I ran out of heating fuel last night, and I am NOT buying anymore. I have spent enough money on heat for one year, and I'm not adding to that now, when it's already spring as far as the calendar is concerned. It's a bit chilly in here - 57 degrees as of right now - so if the temperature outside would be agreeable and go up to the 50s sometime soon, I would be very grateful.

Okay, that's enough posting for a Saturday morning. I've got laundry running and I need to shower and I need to continue watching this week's episodes of General Hospital while I play the Sims. Have a great weekend!

I have no words

The title is true. I'm out of words. Mouse number seven was dead in front of my door this morning. My cats are working it, and the mice don't even know what's hitting them when they make the mistake of finding their way into my house. SEVEN mice. Seven. Can spring come now, so that the mice will stop coming in? Please?

Enough with the mice already!

Okay, the mouse thing has got to stop. I got up this morning and went into the litter room to scoop the pans, and saw what I thought was a hairball on the floor. In a house full of cats, this is not an unusual thing. But - it was bloody. Oh man. Is someone bleeding internally? How am I going to figure out who? This is all going through my mind, along with wondering how in the world I was going to get all five of my cats to the vet at once to be checked out if I couldn't figure out who it came from, and man! What the heck! Then, when I scooped it up and put it in the cat litter trash bag, I noticed weird things in it, yellowy colored things, including one thing that kind of looked like a larval form of something. So I actually got my camera out and took pictures of it, thinking that since I had to work today, maybe I could e-mail the pictures to the vet so that they could try to tell me what in the world it was, and if my cat was going to die or what.

Then I walked out to the dining room, and found a mouse head on the floor. Someone (presumably Sable, since she is the ex-barn cat) had caught and killed a mouse, and then torn its head off and eaten its body. Then threw it up. Yuuuuuuck! But at least no one is dying (well, except for the mice). And Sable is going to the vet Thursday to have her shots updated so that she doesn't catch anything from all these mice she's killing. (And the larval looking thing was actually a stomach, I think. It was the right shape, anyway.)

And, in less ooky news - I'm on vacation! Woo hoo! Five whole days of not going to work! It's going to be incredible. Oh, the Sims I will be playing. And the papers I will be editing, but that's less fun, so we'll ignore that for now.

Bye! Think of me and be jealous when you're on your way to work tomorrow, and I'm not!

Picture entry

Man, first I don't write in here for almost a week, and then you can't shut me up. I'm not really writing an entry this time, though, merely sharing some pictures that I just took off my camera.If critter pictures are not your thing, feel free to skip this one. But really, if critters aren't your thing, you're probably not reading me anyway. So here we go:

Willow wants to play. Bernie isn't so sure.

"C'mon, Bernie! Play with me!"

"Please? C'mon!"

Four out of five cats agree - this chair is great for napping.

Cat number five, however, prefers the solitude of her little house, thank you very much. :)

And that's it for today, I swear. I'm shutting up now.

New Link Bar!

Thanks to Sarah, who gave me a link to help about how to do it, I now have a links bar! And man, when they're all laid out like that, it really looks like I read a lot of blogs/journals. And that isn't even all of them - it's just the ones I read daily or whenever they have new entries! I think I need a blogger intervention :). And of course I had to add a Sims 2 link to the bottom, because I go there a lot; it really helps feed my sims addiction. If any of you are simmers yourselves (and I know at least two of you are), and you go to the site, I'm avidreader2466 on there as well. Stop by my sim page and say hi!

So today I am having the perfect Saturday - nice and relaxing (even though I did get some editing work sent to me this morning - thanks Sally!). I have been playing the Sims, of course. I started a new legacy family last night, because my old one was on generation nine, and I was getting sick of them (legacies are when you start a sim on a lot by him- or herself and play that Sim's family for ten generations without cheating, for those of you who care, and I'm sorry for those of you who don't), so I'm having fun playing them this morning. And I've been IMing with Sarah (whose link is now in my sidebar, yay!), and talking to Sally about the work, and watching Elizabethtown, which I haven't finished yet, but so far it's really surprisingly good. And I've also been doing laundry, but that's the only productive thing I've done so far - I haven't even showered yet, and it's 1:15! Ah, the life of decadence.

Right now all of the animals are napping, and my Sims are paused and the only noise in the house is the hum of the furnace and the computer, and my keys clicking away as I type. It's very peaceful. I love weekends.

And now I need to go fold clothes, and maybe shower. Have a great weekend!

Friday Randomness

It feels like it's been so long since I updated in here. I'm not ignoring the site, I've just had a crazy week. Busy at work, busy with school, lots of homework including my first animation, which was kind of fun. Interesting and a little frustrating. Hopefully the frustrating will go away once I learn more about Flash.

I just came in here and decided my template needed to change, too, so how's the new look? One of these days I'm going to figure out how to customize it for myself. I'd love to put a picture across the top. I'm not quite that web savvy, though, so for now it is what it is. Although if anyone can tell me how to do a links section on the side, I would love to add one.

So SU lost in the first round of the NCAA tournaments last night. My man Gerry didn't play much - he had a groin injury that apparently got aggravated in the beginning of the game, and sidelined him. I was sad that his last game for SU was a first round loss in the tournament, but that boy has had an incredible career. He's still tops in my book.

Okay, I've shown incredible restraint so far this entry, and it ends now. I'm on spring break! I love it. No homework or classes for over a week. It's great! I'll be Simming pretty much full-time while I'm home. Cleaning? Reading? Being productive in any sort of way? Nope. I'm Simming. They're so addictive.

And wow, this is the most boring entry ever, because I really don't have anything to say. So that's all! And because she has been on my desktop all week and I love her little furry face, I'm going to leave you with a picture of my Sable, on the upstairs landing. I took the picture from the bottom of the stairs, looking up - Sable was up there because Bernie had just come to live with us, and she was a little freaked out.

Big East Champions, Baby!

SU is the Big East men's basketball champion, for the second year in a row! Woo! It was a very close game, and I almost had a heart attack probably no less than five times, but they did it! That team really kicks ass when they have it together, and they have had for four games in a row.

I heart Gerry McNamara, and I'm already sad at the thought of SU basketball without him next year.

The Best Horrible Day Ever

So, yesterday. Friday, the normal best day of the week, right? I LOVE Fridays, because they mean Saturday is next, which means no work and no classes for two whole days. But yesterday I was having a crappy day. Actually, it was more of a roller coaster day. Let me lay it out for you like a roller coaster, because it really is the best analogy.

Morning. At work early, it's Friday, there's no stress, I'm feeling fine - I'm cresting up to the top of the hill and having a great time.

Mid-morning. My body decides that it's time to clean house and the icky feeling that women everywhere know starts to take over my body. I crested that hill and started down the other side.

Just before lunchtime. I find out that something I was working on for someone at work has been finished up by her, without any further input from me and in fact without me even knowing about it until after the fact. The roller coaster is suddenly speeding to the bottom, and bam, I crash.

Lunchtime. Sarah spends a half an hour with me, cheering me up. You saved my sanity, Sarah, you really did.

After lunch. Started feeling really crappy, like physically going to be ill crappy. Light headed, weak, clammy - my mood plummets back down after that short rise Sarah gave it.

Mid-afternoon. I talked to my supervisor about the work thing, and felt a little better, but was still on the down side of the coaster. Then I went out across campus to hang up some posters, and when I was walking back to the office, I found out from someone that a press release that I wrote a week ago appeared in the paper. The coaster started to climb back up. And then I saw the article and realized that they put a byline with my name on it in the article. That coaster soared right back to the top of the hill. A byline! With my name! It's my first ever, and I loved it.

After work. I was still riding pretty high on the byline thing, but the hormonal coaster was slipping back downhill. And my phone and Internet service went out and stayed out for a while, and I was expecting a call from a friend (Hi Sally!) who had no idea that it was out, so the coaster was speeding back down that hill.

Short time later. I was playing the Sims, and the woman in the family I was playing was stargazing with the telescope, and suddenly she was abducted by aliens! It's the first abduction I've ever had in the game, and I've been playing a lot of hours and for over a year now. That coaster started climbing the hill again for sure.

8:30 last night, or so. The SU/Georgetown game is on ESPN. SU has been behind the whole game, and it really looked like they were going to lose. At halftime, they were behind by 15 points. Sucky. Coaster sliding down again. But! Don't count my Orangemen out! Gerry sunk a couple of threes, he fed a nice pass to another player for a 2, and suddenly they were up by 1 point with seconds to go (and it was the first time they led all night). And they managed to hang on to the lead and win the game, advancing in the Big East championship. That coaster sailed back to the top of the hill, and frankly this time it stayed there. There's nothing that raises my spirits quite like a good game of basketball where SU wins.

So, crazy huh? Overall it felt like a crappy day, but the best things managed to happen inside of it. Still, thank goodness this coaster ride only happens once a month. Otherwise I would surely lose my mind.

Mice and Cats and Dogs and Work

Okay, this really needs to stop, because I am feeling bad for the mice who live around my house. I found dead mouse number five (5!) in my bathroom this morning. It was another tiny baby looking one, and please let that be the last for a while? I love that the cats are being such good hunters, but I'm starting to feel very bad about having to pick up these cute little dead mice.

But, thanks kitties. I may feel bad for the mice, but I'm glad they aren't in my house tearing things up.

So I bought a crate for Bernie on Saturday, because he just wasn't getting the "don't poop or pee in the house, even when I'm not there" thing, and he was in it for his first long day yesterday. I worried about him all day and felt so guilty that I couldn't stand it, and I ran out of my class at 6:45 and tore ass home to let him out because I just had to SET HIM FREE! And of course, he was fine, and it bothered me way more than it bothered him, and it was all good, because for the first time since I adopted him, he didn't go to the bathroom in my house while I was gone! Woo! I find it much easier to love his big mug when I don't have to pick up his waste after a long day of work and school. So he's in it again today, and I felt guilty as soon as I put him in there. Sigh. It's going to be a long week.

Speaking of that long ass day yesterday, is it time for spring break yet? Because I need one. I was up at 7:00 yesterday, and between work, class and homework, I wasn't done doing stuff until 9:30 last night. I need relaxation time! Man. I had to work on animating a logo last night, to have it ready to turn in today. I actually got it to work, too! I wanted to make it a little fancier (it's an open book, with my initials on the pages, which pop up one at a time, and the book flies in from the left first, and it's great, but I wanted to make the pages turn), but there was just no way. If the day was maybe 36 hours long instead of 24, maybe then I could have done all that. But as it is, I was lucky to get it to do everything required for the assignment. And I've never animated anything before, so I was pretty proud of it.

And I know that there is no segue between these two paragraphs, but this is where my mind is now, so it's what I have to say next - I am so glad to have two dogs again. I've had dogs ever since I moved out of my Mom's house in 1989, and for most of that time, I've had two at once. I love Willow, and I was happy to have her by herself, but now that I have Bernie, and he and Willow are getting along so well, and especially now that I can get through the day without having to pick up his poop, I feel whole again, somehow. Which is stupid, but my house feels right again. That's really all I'm trying to say. It went from full to all but empty when my dogs died over the summer, and it is now, for the first time since June, back to normal, and it feels great. And now that Willow is not only getting used to him but is making friends with him, I think he may even be calming her down a bit. Maybe.

I do have to tell you something funny, though. The other night I was in bed watching an episode of M*A*S*H before going to sleep, and Willow and Bernie were both on the other side of the bed. Willow usually sleeps up by my upper body, but she was closer to the foot of the bed and he was up top. I was laying there watching TV, winding down and getting ready to go to sleep, when I heard a bang, and looked over to find that Willow had fallen off the bed! (Go ahead, laugh - I did!) Crazy dog. I made sure she was okay, and I petted her a bit, and laughed my butt off at her. Who's ever heard of a dog falling off the bed? Hysterical.

Okay, I have to go get breakfast, and maybe do some work since I'm here and all. I hope you all are having a great week!

Box Seats!

My sister ended up not going to the game with me yesterday. Her husband called me at about 8:00 yesterday morning to tell me that she had gotten sick, and wasn't going to be able to go. I couldn't get anyone to go on such short notice (Sarah? I thought of calling you and talking you into going with me, but I didn't think you'd appreciate your phone ringing at 8:00 on a Sunday morning. You're welcome), so we tried my sister's sons, and while they all wanted to go, none of them could, either because they're being ruled by their girlfriends and couldn't, or in the case of one of them, because of church commitments. Although who would pick church over press box seats to a Syracuse/Villanova game? Especially if you love basketball and would love to go? I think just one person, and he happens to be my nephew. Sigh. So I called my brother-in-law back and basically talked him into going with me because he felt bad that my sister had to stay home on such short notice. I felt a little bad about commandeering his Sunday, but I didn't feel bad for long, because it was a fantastic experience.

Imagine going to a game, and getting to walk up into this semi-private box area, getting fed from a line of chaffing dishes, including salmon (which I tried for the first time in my life, and actually liked) and carved roast beef, and a dessert table that included mini cheesecakes of all flavors and a large tiramisu cake, which is what I had, and it was heaven. And then getting to your table to find that you have gifts! A Nextel thermos and an Otto the Orange (the SU mascot) bobblehead. Cool! And getting to watch the game without being surrounded by the masses, but instead sitting over top of them, and having a pretty great view of the court. It was great. And it was Gerry McNamara's last game in the Dome, and it was very emotional, and I almost cried, I admit. Almost. And even though they lost, it was a lot of fun, and I clapped so hard that my arms hurt later, and still ache now.

And I'm sad that my sister didn't go with me, because even though she doesn't watch basketball, we would have had fun together, but I'm glad that her husband did go with me, because he's a cool guy and he's very fun to hang out with.

The body count is up to four

That's right, I came home today from work to find that my cats had killed yet another mouse today. And now I'm afraid that anyone who doesn't know me is going to think that I live in a rodent infested hovel, but really, I don't! I just live in the country, just up the road from a farm and surrounded by corn fields, and you combine that with the fact that it's been really cold this week, and you have a bunch of field mice who think they're going to find a warmer living environment inside my house. And then they get themselves killed. Sorry mice! But you kitties are fantastic!

So I get to go to the Syracuse/Villanova game on Sunday! And not only that, but I get to sit in the press box and get fed lunch first! The perks of this new job are fantastic. Of course, I was the fifth person who was asked if I would like the tickets, and I just have to say, I'm very grateful to those first four people for saying no. It's going to be fantastic! My sister is going to go with me, and we are going to eat free food and we are going to watch Gerry McNamara play his last home game at the Syracuse Dome, and we are going to have lots of fun. I can't wait.

Also? When I buy groceries tomorrow, I'm buying Bernie a dog crate, because he JUST WON'T STOP POOPING IN MY MUDROOM! I can't take it, and it's making me very mad at him, and I can't get it through his thick skull that it isn't allowed, so he's going to be crated. Stupid dog - it's a good thing he's so stinking cute.

Okay, I'm off to play my Sims now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Cats 3, Mice 0

I came home from work yesterday to find a small, dead mouse on the floor in the living room, near my shoes. Then when I was getting ready for bed last night I noticed Sable hanging out in that same area, and when I came back in from letting the dogs out, there was a second small dead mouse on the floor in the same spot. She is definitely earning her keep this week. What a good kitty! Here's my little mouser:

I should feel bad that she is apparently taking out a family of mice, one by one, but I don't. I have a live and let live attitude until they enter my house, and then they're fair game. And I have five cats, so as has been proven this week, my house is no save haven from the cold for the rodents of the world. And it's a good thing that the cats are good mousers, because the dogs apparently couldn't care less. My old dogs, Bo and Bailey, could sniff out a mouse and corral it before it even knew what happened. Willow and Bernie don't even seem to notice they're there. What use are these dogs, anyway? Oh yeah, they're good at giving and receiving affection. Okay.

Speaking of the dogs, Willow's ear is healing well, and she and Bernie are getting comfortable enough that they're starting to play with each other. They were trying to play last night, which was kind of interesting to watch - they're very silent when they play together, and there is a lot of climbing on top of each other and mouthing at each other with jaws wide open; they were having fun. I, however, was way too tense to let them enjoy it for long, because Bernie's teeth were way too close to her poor ears, and I just can't go through that ear bleeding thing again! Not this soon, anyway. So I kept stopping them. I'll relax about that after the stitches are out of her ear and some time has passed, I'm sure.

Also, Bernie is cute as can be, but I seriously need to break him of a couple of bad habits before I'll be happy. First, he's 2 or 3 years old, but he was a stray who apparently had horrible owners before he became a stray (as is obvious by the bum leg), and I don't think they left him inside much, because he isn't totally house trained. He's fine when I'm there - he holds it until I let him out, and he's even asked to go out a time or two. And he holds it all night, too, because he sleeps in my room with me, and I've never seen any messes in there. But when I'm at work during the day, he thinks nothing of "messing" on the mudroom floor - both liquid and solid. And it's driving me crazy. There is one thing that I will not stand for in a dog, and that's messing in my house. He's an adult dog, he is perfectly capable of holding his waste until I get home (Willow does, and both dogs before her did), and yet he doesn't. I yell at him about going in the mudroom, I praise him when he goes outside, and it doesn't seem to be sinking through his thick head yet. It better soon, though. C'mon Bernie! If you stop going in the house and if you stop trying to eat the cat food, you'll be the perfect dog! You can do it!

Anyway, that's enough animal talk for one day. This is totally becoming a dog/cat blog lately, isn't it? Sorry about that. If you like it, good, but I don't want to bore anyone who doesn't. They're just what's happening in my life recently.

Well, them and the brother situation, which hasn't gotten any better since I alluded to it in an earlier entry. I still won't go into details, but I will say that the words "jail" and "extradition" are involved, and the story broke in his hometown newspaper the other day, and things are going from bad to worse. His girlfriend has been calling me to tell me all the news, but frankly I wish she would stop, because I really don't want to hear anymore. I had written him out of my life a long time ago, albeit sadly, and this isn't making me want to let him back in. She has talked to a relative of someone who was there when the supposed crime was supposed to have taken place, and they say he didn't do anything, and I sincerely hope that is true, and that he'll be found innocent and all of this will go away. In the meantime, though, I would really prefer to hide my head in the proverbial sand and ignore it all.

And that's enough for this entry, I think. I hope you all are having wonderful weeks!