The next big thing

He tried the snoring, but I fought back with earplugs. I just know he's been over there, in the dark, laying next to me, plotting his next move; the next big thing to disrupt my sleep. He's evil like that, ya know! haha

Last night he brought out the big guns: Hiccups. I couldn't tell you if they were audible... earplugs. But it was jarring the bed every 10 to 17 seconds. Yes, I counted, much like a small child will count the seconds between the thunder and lightning, trying to see if the storm is heading away or coming closer.

So I am exhausted this morning and I have him to thank.
Touche, my love. You won that round.

A tail of two kitties

We have two cats, Tiny Sue and Nessa Rose.They have... issues.

Each is unique in her own "special" way.

Ok, THEY won't be reading my blog, so I don't have to be nice: They're freaks, both of 'em!

I was just sitting here with Tiny Sue Tinerson (JP came up with her last name... whatever, he's a freak, too) and noticed yet another balding spot on her... she is an overweight tabby cat, and we got her when she was about a year old, from the Humane Society. She had been recently spayed, so I didn't think anything of her bald tummy at that time. And of course, back then, she was Tiny... thus the name. They had given her the name Tiny, I added the Sue, and there ya have it.

So now it's been.... 6 years I suppose. Her tummy is STILL bald. And cottage cheese fat, too. She's been to the vet for other things, and I've said "Hey, what's up with Sue's belly? Why doesn't she grow hair back there?"

MY VET SAID "Wow, that IS weird"

It's never a good sign when a vet is stumped by your bizarre animal.

Over the years, she'd get a bald spot on her arm, her side, whatever. So just cuddling with her tonight, I couldn't help but notice that she cleans herself... often. vigorously. harshly. with gusto.

Maybe that's why she never grew hair back on her tumtum... all that sandpaper cat tongue...

Then there's Nessa. She is a long haired calico. About the same age as Tiny Sue. Got her just this spring from a woman I used to work with at the bank. I wanted a friend for Tiny, maybe get her to work off some of the tummy pudge. (Don't ask how THAT'S going... they're just getting fatter together!)

Nessa has a problem with manners. In our home, animals are not allowed on furniture. Well, there are actually separate rules for dogs and cats. Dogs are not allowed on ANY furniture. Cats are allowed on SOFT furniture. Cuddle up next to me on the bed, curl up in my lap on the couch while I watch Letterman, whatever. But cats are not allowed on hard surfaces: dining room table, kitchen counters, not even the end tables and coffee table in the family room, where generally, anything goes (gggrrrrrr issues with that, too, but that's for another day)

Tiny Sue knows this rule, she used to ALWAYS abide by this rule. Ever since Nessa came along, and pretty much thumbed her nose at the rule, I have, on occasion, found Tiny also disobeying the hard surface rule.

But Nessa is the worst. She climbs up on counters for a purpose. She is a pig. She has a serious jones for people food. It's not like we don't feed them... on the contrary, I am pretty sure everyone in the house walks by and sees the empty cat dishES and fills it... all 5 of us, DAILY. And I'm also fairly certain that it's Nessa who empties those dishes more often than Tiny.

So to recap, Nessa is eating 90% of the cat food, and as much people food as she can cram into her fat face. Then she jumps down off the counter and proceeds to vomit. I don't know if it's the jolt of the jump that causes her to yack, or if perhaps she has a medical condition.

So there ya have it, I have two cats, one suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and the other is bulimic.

Damn, why's it gotta be so bizarre around here?

I know why: so I have something to scratch my head about...

Birthday weekend, early

So my birthday isn't until Friday, but we did fun stuff this weekend, since I have to work next Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday morning Mom and I got up and went to an auction. Such Fun! There's a buzz, a thrill... bidding on stuff. Will I get it? Will some dufus take it up over my own personal limit?
So, I didn't get anything... well, not true, I did get a pair of ramps, you know, car ramps for $6.
My mom got a complete bedroom set for a steal. It was a great day, Mom and I always seem to have a good time. And don't even get me started on the bizarre, freaky people watching. It's amazing just going to auctions to see the weirdos!

Then on Sunday, we got up early and drove down to the Cities. I won tickets to the Renaissance Festival at our county fair earlier this summer, so Mom and I went, and we took Kate and Hailey with us. Dogs are very welcome at the RenFest. We had a great day there, too. Spent a ton of money, and got a little too much sun on my shoulders, but it was SO worth it.

I have bowling tonight, first week of the season. I'm sure it will be ugly. I didn't bowl over the summer, so now I have to work on my average all over again. Probably spend all season just to get it back up to where it was at the end of last season.

***sorry, got distracted, just spent the last 5 minutes laughing silently (so as to NOT disrupt the funny) at Chloe charging herself in the mirror in my bedroom. She had the Squeekus in her mouth, and this other puppy, looking very similar to herself was challenging her... that puppy had it's own Squeekus, but was acting like it wanted to take Chloe's from her. I had to sit here on the bed shaking with laughter, not making a sound. You know that laugh, just shaking silently? Yeah, that was me... I didn't want Chloe to stop!

So yeah, bowling tonight. Ugh.
I also got a great picture for my birthday, Mom bought it for me last week. I want to get it hung up but I'm not sure where. It's a black and white photograph of a tree. An oak. A very specific oak. One from Oak Alley. You can see the house in the background, and the tree is just amazing and beautiful.

The job is great, LOVE it... the long weekends are wonderful for getting things done, and money is still good. In fact, tomorrow is my last payday from the bank. Yeah, that long for them to generate a check. AND THEY'RE A BANK. And honestly, they're not even generating checks, they're direct depositing everything. Not just for me, no employee gets a paper check. And it takes them half a month to do their payroll. My new job... I do the payroll. Pay periods end Sunday at midnight. I do payroll Tuesday morning. I print out the checks Tuesday morning. My boss signs every check by hand Tuesday morning. Checks are handed out Tuesday. If I worked on Mondays, I'd do it all then, and Mondays would be payday. But I don't, and that's ok.

My mom and my husband and my children have all noticed that my stress level and bitchiness level have both gone down incredibly. Much more peaceful household.

Part time lover

Yeah, I'm loving working part time!
Friday I got so much done!
All 3 kids got their school supplies (they start on Tuesday) all three kids got haircuts, I got some boxes and boxed up all my bank clothes (kept a few that fit, and that I like) and dropped them off at the local charity-run thrift store. Mailed off my "exit interview" from the bank. It goes to the head of HR and it is painfully truthful. I doubt my former boss, if she hears about it, will be smiling. Yeah, so maybe I did burn a bridge, but my former supervisor supplied the fuel, I just flicked my bic.

I also got a nap in yesterday, so it was a great day.

We have no big plans for the final weekend of the summer of 2009. I do have to work pull tabs tonight and tomorrow night, and I guess I'm just hoping for big tips... always makes the night go faster, if people are playing, and winning. Otherwise, I just have my laptop there, no internet, but I can play solitaire at least.

What I'm really looking forward to is NEXT Friday... my first day off after the kids go back to school. The whole day, to myself, alone, peace and quiet. I could get up and clean the house first thing, then just sit around and watch it STAY clean for hours!! That sounds a bit dull, and I'm sure I can come up with something better, but the point is that I can do WHATEVER I want!

First day of the rest of my life

I started my new job today.
It was nothing short of amazing! All that stuff I learned in college came flooding back (ok, some of it was " wait, I remember knowing something about this once") and it was exciting and a little scary. I remember myself in my computer classes, HATING the idea of screwing up an entry, because if I did, that would mean that I would have to go back through it, reverse journal entries, fix the booboo and then redo journal entries. I lived that today, and lived to tell the tale, nobody died, the business did not crumble around me... I fixed it, breathed a sigh of relief and moved on.

So at the end of the day today, everything was fine, everything balanced, including 2 months of bank statements. Invoices were entered, deposits are ready to go (I will drop them at the bank in the A.M. before heading to work tomorrow).

When I got done, at shortly after 4, I stopped at Mom's bar. I wanted to tell her about my day, and besides, my dear Gina was coming in shortly, and she just got a ton of great news herself, so we needed to gush a bit! Gina got engaged over the weekend (to a SUPER guy) and then this morning, she was offered the Assistant Manager position at Mom's bar.

Then after we left the bar, we grabbed JP and took him to get his opinion on a house that Mom is considering. Cute little house, great (big) fenced in back yard, some issues, but definitely the best we've looked at for her so far. So my Mom may be leaving us, but it's all good, she won't go far, but she will have something to call her own... as will I: our own homes.

So between my job, Gina's job, Gina's ring and Mom's (possible) housing options... I've decided that the three of us are THE CHARMED ONES. Yeah, that's right, everything is coming up roses for the three of us, and ya know what? Good! About time! We deserve it!