Gracie and Her Cast

Gracie had a vet appointment yesterday, to do a recheck on her leg. The cast looked fine, so the vet didn't change it, but she did do an x-ray to find out that her leg was starting to knit back together, but it was going slowly, so she's going to be in the cast for a while. No problem - she wants out of the crate pretty badly, but she's doing well in there. And then this morning I went in to check her food and water, and noticed that the cast had fallen off. D'oh! Damn it! So I had to head back to the vet with her today to have a new one put on, and I only hope she didn't undo the little bit of healing it had started to do. We'll see.

So she's at the vet's office today, getting re-casted, so to speak, and my bill is going higher and higher. Sigh. The x-ray they took yesterday added $77 to the bill. Will they have to do another x-ray today? I have no idea, but guaranteed the bill will be going up again, because even if they don't do another x-ray, they will need to sedate her to put a new cast on. Sigh. I hate bills.

I just hope that the outcome of all of this will be that she heals perfectly and is back to normal at some point - probably in March or April. We'll see.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and J Spoils Me

Today is my Mom's birthday. She would be 70 years old, if she were still here. I love you, Mom, I miss you and think of you always.

*********

I have been so incredibly spoiled this week. J is on vacation this week, and instead of laying around relaxing and watching TV all week, he has been cleaning like mad - the house looks so great I can't even tell you - AND he has been cooking me dinner every night. Talk about spoiled! We had salmon last night, and we've had stuffed chicken and cheesy pasta and corned beef - it has been so luxurious. I can't remember the last time that I have had someone cook for me this much. No, wait - I can remember, and it was my Mother, before I moved out of her house when I was 19. So there you go.

And we've spent the evenings together, when I've gotten home from work. We've watched TV and watched an episode of Buffy (which I really missed - it's been months since we've done that) and basically we've just enjoyed being together. It's been a really nice week.

I'm lucky to have him.

What I Want

What I want to do today:

1. Go back home and snuggle into bed with J. Who has probably gotten up by now, but it's still what I want to do.

2. Spend the whole day at home with J, just relaxing and hanging out.

3. Not much else.

It sounds so good to me. I miss you, J. I wish I were home with you.

Basketball and Cold and Gracie, Too

Yesterday J and I went to they Syracuse basketball game with his Mom. The team lost, but it was a really fun day, anyway. I like his Mom - it's fun to be with her. We went to the game, and had a soft pretzel and a soda while we watched, and then we went to a local diner where his parents like to go, and ate a late lunch. It was a very fun day - long, but fun.

Today it is freaking cold outside, and it's going to be just as bad tomorrow. Brrr. The good news is that we're doing fine on fuel. Of course, we're keeping the thermostat down to 57, and the kerosene heater can only make up so much to get it warm. It's not too bad in here, though - we just bundle up and use blankets. And the dogs and cats sitting with us helps, too. :)

Gracie is doing well, too. She doesn't like being in the create much, but when I bring her out she doesn't want to sit still, so since I can't let her run around, she isn't out as much as I would like. But I just can't let her walk around like she wants to, for fear of her damaging her leg more, so if she won't sit still for long, she has to go back to her crate. What else can I do? Still, she's eating and drinking, and she's using her litter pan, and she looks good, so she'll be okay. Once her leg is all healed again, she'll be running around just like she used to.

Also, J is on vacation this coming week, and I wish I could have at least taken tomorrow off to be with him. It's a holiday here - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - but I didn't have enough paid time off coming, so I have to work. Sigh. Oh well. I guess I'll just go have fun now. :)

Gracie Update

Behold my Gracie Lou, with her leg in a pretty green bandage, decorated with her name and little red hearts. :) My vet's office did the decorating, and I think it's so cute.

I got off work at 4:00 yesterday, stopped at the store to get some litter for her, and then went to the vet's to pick her up. She is doing fine with the bound up leg. It's a little hard for her to get around with it, but she's going to be confined to the crate until it's off anyway, so that is okay. I have to watch her toes for swelling (so far so good), and I have to watch the bandages to make sure they don't start slipping, because she was very swollen when they put the bandages on, and when that swelling goes down, they could loosen right up. But that's no problem, I can do that. I just hope neither of those things happen on the weekend, when the vet office is closed.

So I bundled her up in her crate, and brought her back home where she belongs. I settled her in with the blankets as bedding, filled up her litter box and a couple of dishes with food and water, and let her get comfortable. She seems a little confused at being in a crate with the door locked, but she'll heal better if she isn't trying to run around on that leg, so that's where she'll be for now. I'll bring her out from time to time to give her a change of scenery, holding her in the living room and letting her socialize with the other cats and see a different room for a while.

I'll tell you one thing, though - I can't wait to have her healthy, bandage free, and running around with Sable again. It makes my heart hurt to see her like this. I hope she heals well.

Gracie

Last night when I went to bed, I read my book for a few minutes before I shut my light off. I was in a good mood, because J and I had spent a nice evening together (he had yesterday off), but for some reason as soon as I shut off my light, I started thinking about Gracie (pictured right there). I realized I had only seen her once that evening after work and before bed, and when I did, she was sitting in front of the mudroom, meowing very low and pitifully. I lay there, getting more and more worried about her, so I finally got up to look for her. I wasn't ever going to get to sleep if I didn't. I searched the house and didn't find her. Zelda and Sable were following me around, meowing, apparently thinking this was a fun new game to play at almost 10:00 at night, but there wasn't any sign of Gracie. Finally I opened the mudroom door and called her name, and I heard her meowing from inside the couch.

Yes, you read that right - from inside the couch. This is an old couch that the cats had clawed on the sides, opening a hole where they can climb in and out. They like to sleep in there sometimes. I called to Gracie, trying to get her to come out, but she wasn't interested at all. I tried pulling her out, and she yelled like I was killing her, so I just went to bed and left her there. I got up at 2:00 or so to use the bathroom, and checked on her again, and she still showed no sign of wanting to come out, so I left her again.

This morning when J got up and got ready for work, he went in and pulled her out of the couch for me. He said she yelled like he was trying to kill her, too, but he put her down on the futon and she ran upstairs, and looked fine. I got up 40 minutes or so after he left, and took care of the dogs and scooped the litter and went to give the kitties their treats. Sable came running, as did Zelda and Lucy, and even Kate came out of her house to get some, but no Gracie. So I called her and called her, and when she didn't come, I took some treats upstairs to the cupboard where we keep some blankets - the cats like to sleep there. And there she was, all snuggled up. I gave her the treats, and petted her head, and she was fine, except that her right front leg looked funny. I moved her leg around, and it felt like it wasn't even attached to her body. It was very weird.

So I got a little freaked, frankly. It was just about 7:00 in the morning. I tried calling my vet's office, but they weren't open yet. So I called J to see if he had noticed anything wrong with her yesterday or when he pulled her out this morning, and he hadn't. He didn't see her much yesterday when he was home, and she ran upstairs fine this morning. So I had no idea what had happened or when. I figured whatever it was it must have happened at some point yesterday, though - that's why she was hiding in the couch.

So I took my shower and got dressed, and then it was finally 7:30, when the vet's office would be open. I got them on the phone, and got an appointment for 9:00. Good. They'll take care of her.

I was pretty much ready to go, but it was only 7:40 or so at this point, and I didn't have to leave until 8:30. So I went online and checked my e-mail, let the dogs out, and went out to the garage to get the cat carrier, then cleaned it up and lined it with a couple of towels for her to lay on. Then I went up and picked her up off the blanket where she was sleeping with Lucy, and put her in the carrier - which was much easier than it could have been, but she still fought, even with one leg out of commission.

We got to the vet, and I filled out the paperwork for her, and asked if I could do a payment plan, and the receptionist told me that they don't normally do those, but she would ask the vet. Which made me sweat a little, because I am B-R-O-K-E broke! Btu luckily I used to work there, and the vets know me and like me, so they said yes to the payment plan. Whew! And the Dr. looked Gracie over and took her back for an x-ray, where she managed to spray her anals all over. Ha! That's my girl. She was a little stinky when they brought her back, but she had shown them, so it was fine. And the vet finally came back in and told me that Gracie's elbow is broken. :( Poor kitty. The type of break that it is usually comes from them either getting their leg caugt in or on something, and it gets broken when they're freeing themselves, or she may have jumped to the floor from somewhere and landed wrong. I'll never know which.

Long story short (is it too late? I think it might be), she is in the vet's office now. They're keeping her until tomorrow. My options were a super expensive surgery or wrapping her leg and hoping it heals well, which it should if she doesn't move around too much. So tonight when we get home, J and I are going to set up Willow's dog crate in the mudroom, and I'll set it up with some bedding for her, a small litter pan and a dish for her food and water. At the vet's suggestion, she is going to be confined to the crate for 4-6 weeks, until her leg is healed. That way she won't be able to move around too much and she won't be able to jump. It's like kitty bed rest. I'll post pictures of her in her crate once she's home and set up, and I'll give updates on her until she's all better.

And as for me? I was more stressed this morning than I have been in a long time. But she's going to be fine. So it's okay. So what if I'll be even more overextended financially? At least my cat will be okay.

Sims and Reading and Other Stuff

I need to take some new pictures to post here. I haven't had any in a while, it feels like.

This is my first normal week of work since before the holidays. It's weird to think that I could have gone three weeks without working a normal five day week, but I did. Well, actually, I worked all of last week, but I was out of town for work the first two days of the week, so it wasn't exactly a normal week.

Anyway. Last night I went to my sister's house for dinner for the first time since Christmas, and it was so nice to see her and her family again. I missed seeing them. Her son didn't know I had gotten engaged, because he wasn't there when I stopped by on Christmas night with J. So he gave me a high 5, which was cute. She has a great family.

When I left there, I drove through the snow and got home to spend the evening alone - J was at work. So I took care of the dogs and changed into my pjs and hung out at my desk in the living room. I watched some TV off the DVR, and I got the pictures together for my next Sims legacy chapter. And when I was done, I picked up my book and started reading.

I don't think I mentioned in here, but I got an amazon gift card from my friend Sally for Christmas, and I spent it on the next expansion pack for the Sims (which comes out in February) and the Philip Pullman trilogy. I had been wanting to read that for a while, and thanks to the movie coming out recently, they are in print in a boxed set. And I LOVE the first book! I just want to keep picking it up and reading more. If I could get away with reading at work, I would. It's great. I haven't been reading for recreation much lately, and it feels really good to be this into a book again. I missed it.

Not Much

My eyes have been feeling hot and tired all day at work today. Is it because it's hot in here? Or from staring at the computer screen all day? I have no idea, but they felt fine outside and at lunch, so it's definitely the office. Sigh.

I'm so happy to be back to a regular schedule at work again. The long break at the holidays was really nice, but since then I've made up time last week by working long hours, and then I had to go on that trip the first two days of this week, so working just a normal, 8-4:30 shift the rest of this week feels like heaven. Of course, this doesn't mean I wouldn't rather be home playing the Sims and petting the dogs and cats, but you know. :)

And wow, I am really out of things to say now, so. Bye! :)

Home Again, Jiggety Jig

I'm back home after my short work trip, and so happy to be here! I got home, thinking that J wouldn't be home for another half an hour or so, but he was here! He surprised me. :) I was so happy to see him. And I came into the house, and when the dogs saw me, they got all excited - especially Willow. I feel so loved! :)

I had a good trip home. I had a friend from work riding with me, so I had conversation on the way there and back, which was nicer than being all alone. And oh man, it's so warm out today! Jen (the friend from work) said when we stopped for lunch that she felt like she was on a road trip in Virginia, it was so nice out. How often can you walk around without a jacket in Central New York in January? Not very freaking often, I'll tell you that.

And now it's 8:15 at night, and the cats are coming around to welcome me back (they're not as demonstrative of their love as the dogs, but it's nice to know they missed me, too), while I play the Sims and watch Law & Order: SVU. It's nice to be home.

Oh, and also - J doesn't decorate for Valentine's Day, but while I was gone? He bought two strings of heart lights and strung them up in the living room. :) He's the sweetest.

Hotel Entry

I had to go out of town for work, so I'm sitting in a hotel, my laptop on my lap (ironic, huh?), watching an episode of Friends. And of course, wishing I were at home, because I miss my J. :) But the trip has been fine. I got here safely, and the meetings haven't been too horribly boring. I had to go to a cocktail reception earlier, which I was dreading, because I usually suck at those things, but I got to hang out with three other people from work, so it wasn't bad. I got to avoid socializing with anyone else, so it was a successful night. And then there was dinner. Woo, free burger! :)

The funniest part of the whole evening, though, was fitting nine people in a seven passenger van. Ha! I ended up riding back to the hotel with my boss sitting on my knee. Now that is something you don't say every day.

Also, J is a genius! This is something that happened Saturday, after I posted my entry. J and I had moved the TV up on top of my DVD cupboard, and everything was working fine. Until I went in there with the vacuum cleaner to clean up the dog hair that had been revealed where the end table used to be. I was diligently vacuuming, and suddenly pop! No more power in the bedroom. J went down to look for the popped breaker, and there weren't any. We tried them all, and still no lights. We had no idea what was going on. I called our fix-it guy, but he never called me back all weekend, so we didn't have any power in the bedroom for the rest of the weekend. Sigh. But! J went to work this morning and was talking to some people, and got an idea of what it could be, and when he came home, all he did was unplug the TV, which wasn't plugged in all the way, and plug it in the rest of the way, and ta dah! The power came back on. So, yeah - he's a genius. I wish I were there enjoying the power right now. And the lesson I'm taking from this is that I should never vacuum again. :)

And now since I'm in a hotel room by myself, I think I might plug in the Sims and see if I can play without an external mouse. Night, folks!

No More Christmas

I got a great night of sleep last night, thank goodness. I got up at about 8:00 or 7:30 or something like that, and still felt like I could have kept on sleeping. It felt great, though.

Today J's brother came out to our house for the first time. He agreed to help J move a dresser here that was still at J's house. So J went out to his house and met his brother there, and they brought it home. I think his brother liked the house - it's very large, so it's impressive to someone who isn't used to a house this size. And it was just nice to have another member of J's family see the house and come out to visit, even if he didn't stay long.

Of course, since I knew he was coming, I spent the time after J left and before they got back cleaning. :) I dusted the furniture (and it needed it desperately), cleaned the toilet, cleaned the sheet for the futon, rinsed out and bagged up the soda cans and bottles and I was vacuuming when they got here. Oh, and I stripped the bed and made it up with clean sheets. The house looks much cleaner now.

We also are taking down our Christmas decorations today. I took down a lot of the smaller stuff this morning while I was cleaning, and we just finished taking everything off the trees. We have boxes of decorations in the living room that need to be moved upstairs, but before the night is over, Christmas will be gone from our house for another 11 months or so. I love the Christmas season, and I'm happy to see all of the decorations go up, but I'm kind of glad to get the house back to normal when it's all over.

Also, if you see the pretty blue button over there on the bottom, you'll see that I've done something completely foolish. I've signed up for blog 365, which means I have to write a blog every day this year (except for February 29th - we get that off). I don't have to write them all here, though - the posts on my Sims livejournal count. So I shouldn't have too much trouble keeping up with it for a while. I can also post just pictures or a video and it counts, so when I'm at a loss for words, expect to see a picture of a dog or cat. :) I'm not guaranteeing that I'll actually keep this up all year, but I'm going to try. So check here often! I'll be giving you lots to read.

But that's all I'm giving you tonight, because it's almost time to help J carry the decorations upstairs to the storage room. Later!

Sleep? We don't need no freaking sleep!

Gracie likes to be held while I brush my teeth in the morning (she used to like the smell of the mint in the toothpaste, now she just likes being held), so in the time before I start brushing my teeth, she usually sits on the toilet, staring at me like this, until I pick her up. She's a cutie.

So, last night I was so tired that I shut down my computers at 8:50, and had the TV off, the dogs out and in and was in bed by 9:19. But instead of getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep, I lay there wide awake, until about 1:00 this morning. When I first went to bed, I was thinking about my Sims legacy, and about some scenes that I need to get the next time I play, for a plotty bit that is going on right now. And I planned out not just the next couple of scenes, but the whole storyline. And then when I was done, I went over it again. And I tried to shut my brain off to go to sleep, but it wouldn't cooperate at all. Stupid brain. Finally I was laying there kind of whimpering, because I was so tired! And I was supposed to be getting up at 6:00 so that I could be at work at 7:00, and that was never going to happen now. And J woke up and heard me, asked me what was wrong, and I answered him all pathetic, "I've been laying here for 3 1/2 hours, and I've been awake the whole time!" He told me to roll over onto my side, and he started rubbing my back. He is so freaking sweet sometimes that it kills me. He fell asleep a couple of minutes into the rub, and I was still awake, but I still think it did the trick - I had managed to relax enough that I was asleep shortly after. You should all have a J in your life.

And of course I didn't manage to get to work an hour early, like I wanted to, but I did manage the regular time, so that's okay. And all of that planning that I did last night was actually worthwhile, because the plans I made all make sense, even in the bright light of day. Woo! Still, though, tonight? I'm hoping to sleep immediately and for at least eight hours. You hear that, brain?

New Year's Day

It's the last day of holidailies. :( I'm glad to be able to take some time off when I want to, but I'll kind of miss updating every day.

For the second year in a row, J and I stayed up to watch the new year in. This year was much better, though, because I wasn't laying in bed with a sore neck. Woo! I was actually upright at Midnight! J and I watched the ball drop, and we toasted with Diet Pepsi, and of course had our New Year's kiss, and then we went to bed. I never stay up that late! :)

The first day of 2008 was very nice. We relaxed, and I did some crocheting (it's time to get that blanket done - the baby was born days ago!), and J took down the outside Christmas lights and I made us scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner. It was a good day.

And tomorrow I have to go back to work for the first time in 11 days. Sigh. I'm going to work two extra hours a day to make up time (I didn't have enough vacation to cover the whole break), so I'm going from not working at all to working 10 hour days. Double sigh. somehow I'll survive, though. It's only three days after all, and then it's the weekend.

I also need to start my healthier eating soon. Once I run out of the candy from my stocking, that's it - way less snacking. I need to drop my cholesterol and just get healthier again. We'll see how I do with that.

And now this incredibly lame first post of the year is over. Sixty-two days in a row, people - I need a break. Happy New Year!

2007 Wrap-Up

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
I got engaged. :) And of course before that I fell in love with (or continued falling in love with) J, and was amazed at how I could fall more and more in love with every day that went by.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions last year, because I just felt like anything I resolved would be doomed to fail. This year, however, I need to resolve to eat and live healthier. I need to get my cholesterol down to a healthy range again, and I need to avoid getting diabetes or anything else my Mother had.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My nephew's fiance just gave birth to a little girl a few days ago. :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I lost my step-grandmother just before Christmas. She was really old and ready to go, so I didn't grieve too much for her, but I did find out in the process that there are still things about my Mother's death to affect me, this time namely having to go to the funeral home where I last saw her for the first time since she died. Death sucks.

5. What countries did you visit?
Only this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A million dollars? To pay off all of my and J's bills, so that he can quit the job he hates. But since I don't play the lottery and I don't have any rich old relatives, that's not going to happen. So I would say - simply enough money to pay all of my bills and maybe even have a little left to save for emergencies.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Christmas morning, because it's when I got my ring. :) I love being engaged, just as much as I always dreamed I would.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being the woman J needed, and opening myself up enough to accept his love, despite the fears I had to go through at the end of 2006.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I feel like I've failed hugely in the realm of finances, but then again, that's nothing new. I've been broke on and off from the time I moved out of my parents' home in 1988. Sigh. Right now I just keep looking ahead to two years from now, when I can get a home equity loan to pay off a whole heck of a lot of bills. And hoping that I can learn from my past mistakes to keep this situation from ever happening to me again.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, thank goodness.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Um...nothing really sticks out in my mind. But then again, I don't buy much.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Can I be selfish and say J's? Because he asked me to marry him, which I thought would never happen to me, and I am going to celebrate that everyday for the rest of my life.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Well, the whole media focus on celebrities (namely Britney Spears) is sickening. Do we really need to watch every move she makes? Or any other celebrity, for that matter?

14. Where did most of your money go?
BILLS!!! Namely credit cards.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Hmmm, take one guess! :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
I don't listen to new music much, really, but J introduced me to a song that is "our" song, now - You and Me, by Alice Cooper.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier.
b) thinner or fatter? about the same
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, sadly

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading. I don't read nearly enough anymore. But to find time to read, I would have to give up Sims time and/or other things I don't want to give up. So really, I guess I need to get better at balancing my free time activities.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Um...
I can't think of anything, really.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Getting engaged, then we went to J's family's house to open presents and have dinner, then we went to my sister's house to see all of her family, show off my ring and have dessert.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I was already falling in love when 2007 started, and I fell more and more in love with every day that passed since.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
We watched a lot of good ones before the strike started and we ran out of new episodes, but I think my favorite is one I watched by myself, online - Kid Nation. It sounded like a stupid show, but I got pulled in by the kids. Some of them were so great, and some of them were a huge pain, but mostly they were just kids having fun without their parents around. It was more compelling than it should have been.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No. One guy at work gets on my nerves big time, but I don't hate him or anyone else.

24. What was the best book you read?
Um, I don't remember? See the answer somewhere above about my not reading enough.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Did I discover Wolfmother in 2007? If so, I'll say them. If not, then no one.

26. What did you want and get?
My engagement ring. :) Sorry if you're getting sick of this type of answer, but it's the biggest thing in my life right now.

27. What did you want and not get?
I can't think of anything. Other than that million dollar winning lottery ticket.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I just watched two on DVD that I loved - Hairspray and Waitress.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 38 this year. What did I do? I spent it with J, eating chocolate cake and enjoying a day off from work. I never work on my birthday.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Nothing that I can think of. I had a great year.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Um, personal fashion concept? Don't make me laugh. I wear pants and comfortable shirts to work, and jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts at home. :)

32. What kept you sane?
My family, my friends, my animals and of course J.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't fancy celebrities or public figures.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Uh...I don't pay attention to politics, either. :) If it counts, I think the writers should get the money they're looking for, and I can't believe how cheap the networks et al. are being.

35. Who did you miss?
My mother, now and forever.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I don't remember meeting anyone new, really. I'm glad to have gotten the chance to get to know my great-niece and great-nephew a bit more, though. They're adorable kids.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Sometimes dreams do come true, if you only open yourself up to the possibility.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
When I get home from work,
I wanna wrap myself around you.
I wanna take you and squeeze you
Til the passion starts to rise.

I wanna take you to heaven.
That would make my day complete.

But you and me ain't no movie stars.
What we are is what we are.
We share a bed,
some lovin',
and TV, yeah.
And that's enough for a workin' man.
What I am is what I am.
And I tell you, babe,
well that's enough for me.

Sometimes when you're asleep
and I'm just starin' at the ceiling,
I wanna reach out and touch you,
but you just go on dreamin'.

If I could take you to heaven,
that would make my day complete.

But you and me ain't no movie stars.
What we are is what we are.
We share a bed,
some lovin',
and TV, yeah.
That's enough for a workin' man.
What I am is what I am.
And I tell you, sweetheart
that's just enough for me.

You and me ain't no super stars.
What we are is what we are.
We share a bed,
some popcorn,
and TV, yeah.
And that's enough for a workin' man.
What I am is what I am.
And I tell you, babe,
you're just enough for me.

When I get home from work,
I wanna wrap myself around you.
I like to hold you squeeze you
Til the passion starts to rise.

I wanna take you to heaven.
That would make my day complete.

You and me ain't no movie stars.
What we are is what we are.
We share a bed,
of lovin',
and TV, yeah.
And that's enough for a workin' man.
What I am well that's what I am.
I tell you, baby,
that's just enough for me.

My and J's song - You and Me, by Alice Cooper. It sums us up nicely.

Late Night Posting is a Bad Idea

There is a reason I don't usually write entries on weekends. They're boring! :) I didn't do much today. J and I tried to sleep in, but Willow woke us up, first asking to go out, then asking to go out followed by puking noises. What a fun sound to wake up to on a Sunday morning! So sleeping in didn't really happen. Then we had breakfast (I made him a ham and cheese omelet, which he said he enjoyed - it was only the second real omelet I've ever made)and took our showers, and then we got to work. We managed to have some down time for ourselves (playing the Sims and crocheting for me, watching and listening to football for J), but we also managed to: do the dishes, do three loads of laundry, pick stuff up, take down some of the outside Christmas lights, move some snow fence to cover the corner by the garage, pick up dog poop from the yard and get ready for work tomorrow. If you know me, and you look at that list, you can tell which of us did which of those activities. :)

So it was a quiet day, in which a lot was actually accomplished, so it was nice. And now it's 10:07 at night, and J is in bed, preparing for getting up for work at 4:30, and the dogs and cats are all sleeping, so it is super quiet in here. It's nice. It kind of makes me wish I was still a night owl, so that I could enjoy this quiet every night. Usually I'm in bed by now, though. I would be tonight, if I had to work tomorrow. But I still get two more days off, so going to bed early can wait for Tuesday night.

And suddenly tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and 2007 is almost over. It was a very good year for me, for the most part. I've been more broke than I have been in a very long time, due to some unexpected bills that kind of came one after the other, but I also fell in love, and that love has grown deeper with every passing day. J calls me a sucker, but I call myself lucky. I'll write more about 2007 tomorrow, but for now I just want to say that I am very grateful. My life was so empty, and now it is so full. I have a house full of animals, which can be incredibly hectic, but I love them all. And I have a man who is no more perfect than I am, yet somehow we're perfect together. I make up for his faults, he makes up for mine, and we love each other with the kind of love I used to only read about. I'm incredibly lucky.

And now I've gotten all sappy, so I'll end this here. It is obviously time for me to go to bed. :) Good night!

Sims and Football? Weird

Wow, my Internet is slow tonight. I've been waiting for eight minutes for this page to finish loading, and it's still not all the way there. I'm typing anyway - we'll see if it works.

I was playing the Sims tonight, and I try not to talk about the Sims here, for fear of boring all of you, but this was so freaking funny. I was playing a college student who graduated, and when Sims graduate, they grow up and change into adult clothes. The choice of clothing is completely random and picked by the game. This is what he grew up into:



I started laughing out loud, so much that J was wondering what the heck was going on. I couldn't help laughing, though. Could you?

So today was a nice, quiet day. I got up and took the recycling to the dump, with Bernie as my passenger. Then I came home and played the Sims most of the day, plus vacuuming. I still need to dust, but mostly the house is in good shape, so I feel good about it. Then J got home, and we've been hanging out ever since. He's even got me watching football with him tonight. He HATES the Patriots, and wants them to lose a game this season more than almost anything. Well, the Giants are beating them (so far), and I'm actually halfway paying attention. Am I turning into a football fan? Hmm. I think it's way too soon to say that, but oh man, I'm starting to learn a little bit more about it. It's weird. I'm not saying I'm going to turn all rabid football fan anytime soon, but I just never expected to care at all, and yet here I am, hoping that the Giants win just so the Patriots won't have a chance for that perfect season. I almost don't recognize myself. :)

And okay, it's been eight minutes since I started typing this, and the page still hasn't finished loading. Do I have any shot of getting this post online? Or of ever getting that picture added to the post? I have no idea. Sigh. I need to call my Internet provider - we've been losing connection a lot lately, and now I'm dealing with speeds slower than dial-up, and I have DSL. It's insane.

More Productive

I had a much more productive day today, I'm happy to say. I managed to do a few things around the house, like cleaning the couch cover and blanket and doing the dishes, and I called to order us some fuel oil and I called the dentist's office to clear up a billing mix-up (they billed the insurance I had at a job I left four years ago). And I watched a Netflix movie so that I could send it back (Knocked Up, which was pretty good, surprisingly), and I watched another movie that my sister lent to me (Catch and Release). So, I wasn't quite slug-like today. :)

And I was working on the baby blanket when J got home, so I even managed to do a little bit of work on that. Woo! Of course, the baby was born yesterday, so I'm already late with it. Sigh. I'll get it done soon, though, I swear.

Oh, and the baby is a girl, she's doing fine and so is her Mother, I'm glad to say. And my sister was supposed to e-mail me a picture today, but she didn't. Hmmph.

And now I think I'm off to bed early, because for some reason I'm feeling very tired. So. Night!

Whole Lotta Nothing Going On

I hardly did anything of value today at all. I got up at 7:00 to let the dogs out and in and feed them, and then I went back to bed. :) I stayed there until almost 9:00. When I got up I had a bit of a headache from being in bed too long, but it was so worth it. I loved every minute I spent in that bed this morning. Sleeping in on a Thursday is a very good thing indeed.

Once I got up, I started playing the Sims, and that's what I did all day. Well, I also did two loads of laundry, and I made myself lunch and made omelettes for me and J for dinner, but those are the only productive things I did all day. I didn't even touch the baby blanket that I'm making, and that baby is due on Monday. Yeah. I need to get that done. Sigh. I'll work on it tomorrow.

J worked this morning - he had to be in at 2:30 in the morning. He has the suckiest schedule - I really feel for him. He got home around lunchtime, but of course he went to bed for a while, and then he got up and did some stuff, and then he went to bed again. So I only got to follow him around the house for a few hours. :) I'm only partly kidding with that, too. It's nice to have a day at home to just play the Sims sometimes, but it can also be a lonely kind of thing. So when I have human company (in addition to the canine and feline company that I always have), I tend to want to make the most of it.

Anyway. That's what went on here today, along with a lot of kitty sneezing. Zelda had a cold last week, and she passed it on to Sable, who has it now. I think Gracie might have it, too, but I'm not sure. I'm hoping it doesn't hit all five cats before it is done, and at the same time I'm thankful that kitty colds don't seem to be contagious to anyone other than other cats (or so says the info I've found online). The dogs, J and I should be safe from it. Whew! And the cats don't seem to suffer much - they just sneeze a bit. Not too bad, as colds go.

And now my day of doing nothing is almost over, as I'll be going to bed soon, but first I'm going to watch another episode of Pushing Daisies that was stored on the DVR. Man, I hope they settle that writer's strike soon. The writers deserve more money, and I want my good shows to come back with original episodes.

And that's it from me for now. Good night, everyone!

(Oh, and did I mention that I'm engaged? I did? Oh yeah. :) I'm still getting used to the fact, myself. I keep looking at the ring, surprised that it's there. But at the same time? It looks so right there, like it's belonged there all along.)

So Happy

I'm still kind of reeling at the engagement. It doesn't feel quite real, yet. But somehow, the ring feels totally at home on my finger. :) I'm so happy.

So, I told you about getting engaged, but I didn't tell you the rest of the story, did I? Well, he proposed, and I started to cry, I was so happy. I have waited 38 years for that moment, and I honestly had gotten to a point when I met J that I never thought it was going to happen. I was prepared to be single for the rest of my life. I wasn't happy about it, but I was prepared for it. And then I met him, and I worked through my relationship issues, and we've spent the last year together, getting more and more comfortable with each other, and falling more and more in love. And now my ring is on my finger, as a symbol of that love and our commitment to each other.

It's funny, really - I don't really feel any sort of rush to get married at all - we're going to wait at least a couple of years, and I'm really fine with that. But I wanted this engagement more than I can say. I wanted this physical sign of his love for me, sitting here on my finger, as a sign to the world and to myself that there really is someone who loves me enough to spend the rest of his life with me. I wanted it more than anything. And now it's here. I've cried multiple times in happiness. I keep looking at it when I'm doing other things - driving the car, typing on the computer, washing my hands, playing the Sims - anything and everything.

I'm just so happy to have J in my life. I'm so happy that I found the person who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I thought it was too late for me, but it wasn't, because here he is. I couldn't be happier.

I just wish my Mom were here to see it.

All I Want for Christmas Is...

J and I exchanged gifts when we got up this morning. My last present contained this:



Nice, right? It's a tacky tree that I helped him pick out at the dollar store. He told me it was for a driver at work. Inside the package with it was an index card that said this: "Stupid, tacky tree. Not what you were expecting, huh? Well why not look in the dryer?!?"

So I go to the bathroom and open the dryer door and find another index card. This one said, "Nothing in here...why not go look at your desk."

As you may have guessed, there was another index card on my desk. This one said "Nothing here either...go back to the bedroom."

There I found this:



And inside the box was this:



Sorry for the bad picture - my camera isn't very good at macro photography. But it's good enough to show you that I am now engaged! :) It was a VERY nice Christmas.