Because I'm bored and a few of you asked...

I know that I should be thankful that I work for a company that gives so much to it's staff and sales people by sending us on a luxurious cruise, and I am.  But honestly these trips are not fun, it's work and I have to be "ON" at all times and the 4-5 day trips are hard enough, but at least we've never been stuck on a boat together before.  I have gone on a 4 day cruise before with my BFF, by day TWO I had enough of the boat (and the BFF) and barely made it to the end without jumping overboard.  SEVEN DAYS and SEVEN NIGHTS is a LONG TIME.  I was happy to have learned this week that I will have both internet and cell phone access during this time so it is possible that I might surprise myself and not kill anyone.  Lucky you, I am sure I will be spending an inordinate amount of time blogging about the great adventure...

So a few of you asked about the outfit for the SHOES...  Actually there wasn't an outfit, but a really cute shirt that I found at Target of all places:

My original thought was to get a pair of black slacks to wear with this shirt but then I discovered the SHOES, and they matched so well but had brown in them, not black, that I am rethinking this and now need white pants.  See how well these match:

 

So before going shopping again, I went through my closet to see what all I had to take on the cruise and I discovered that the SHOES also match these outfits:

Brown Strapless Dress

and dress bought and never worn...

So since I am bored I thought I'd also share one of my 'formal' dresses that I am actually really impressed with, mainly because I got it for $49!  The extremely cute and MATCHING shoes cost more than that I am ashamed to say...

 

This dress is a little bit out of my comfort zone and I will have to pull out the spanx, but the matching shoes were too cool to pass up.

See what boredom does for me?

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that it has been 10 days since I had time to blog or go blog walking, where did the time go? I could say that time flies when you're having fun but I don't really recall having a whole lot of fun lately...


Work is overwhelming at the moment which given the current economy, is a good thing for me, right? Got caught up on a bunch of stuff yesterday since we had a snow day. Well a snow day for Texas is more like an ice day and pretty sure that nowhere else in America stops for such things, but we are Texans and we don't actually know what to do with such stuff. I enjoyed HALF of my snow day until the Big Guy called and really needed me to do some things at the office...


Nothing much else is happening, that I can recall at least. C1 had the grand opening and ribbon cutting at his gym last week. I was a very proud mama at that event. C2 still struggles with some issues but has been released for 'light duty' and against my deepest wishes, has returned to working for his father giving up the opportunity and the golden ticket of a college education. C3 keeps growing and is probably the tallest member of the family - weird. He has begun working out in anticipation of football season foregoing basketball and track this year and he has 'guns.' For those of you not surrounded on a daily basis with the male species, these are muscular arms...


I've been shopping like a mad dog looking for stupid 'formal' attire for the stupid cruise that I am being forced to go on for seven days in a couple of weeks. Doesn't being forced to spend 7 days and 7 nights stuck on a ship with your fellow employees and agents sound like a good time? NOT. I am dreading this on multiple levels. I will say that I have found some really great deals and some really cool shoes. Here is my favorite pair...


That, my friends, is all I've got...

Pride

Over at Jane!'s she asked an interesting question, "How do you feel today?"

Thought I'd share my comment because this is really how I am feeling today:

"PROUD. A part of history in action. Years down the road when people ask where I was I will remember this day along with countless others, including but not limited to, the end of the V war, Elvis' death, the Challenger exploding, 9-11 and now this, the first black President of the United States. PROUD."

Even if that meant I had to secretly watch as much as I could online while my assistant was my watchdog. I hope my dvr worked at home...

Is today Monday?

I'm not usually a person that succumbs to the Monday blues or wishes that we could just skip this particular day of the week. But today, today I needed a do-over.

We started the day with a little, shall we say, constitution issue. Okay, so I made fried catfish for dinner last night and we don't generally eat fried food so I could understand this, however it was a little inconvenient and frankly uncomfortable.

My first phone call of the work day was from the Big Guy, my boss, whom happened to be in a foul mood, and subsequently ended with him getting, shall we say pissy, with me because I didn't think we could fit 27 people in a room with the capacity of, say 10 people, for a big meeting on Friday. The end result was him telling me he would come in and figure it out himself...

So as any good employee would do, I went about trying to PROVE that I could not fit 27 people in that room by moving every chair in the building, with the exception of the chairs that had actual people sitting in, into said room and discovered that I COULD fit 28 chairs into that room although there was no room to sit in said chairs nor walk into said room...

It was really turning into a wonderful day when said boss man's wife came in and decided to share her displeasure with my "trying to prove a point" and actually frightening my assistant into a stupor (which, sadly, is actually as easy as saying BOO!, but...). Technically I guess boss man's wife is also technically my boss, so like any good employee would do, I kept my mouth shut. Even the second time she came back to voice her displeasure, I held my tongue.

So after that fun part of the morning AND getting said boss man to agree with me that we needed to secure a meeting room of proportional size, I left for lunch and to practice some breathing exercises and drove to Taco Bell for some comfort food.

Drive all the way over there, wait in line, give the girl $20.32 for my $4.32 taco meal. She announces to nobody in particular (as far as I could tell) that she has no one's and I sit there looking at my tea thinking, "It would be nice if you just hand me the tea, I’d like a drink', as she counts the coins in her cash drawer. Finally, she has pity on me and hands me my tea. She walks away and yells at the manager that she owes me $1 and he then proceeds to walk to the window and hands me $1. I say no, she actually owes me $16 because I gave her $20.32 and after a long discussion I get my additional $15.

Driving back to the office said boss man's wife calls and asks if I’ll pick up something for the Big Guy since she had to leave to run errands. Call the office tell the receptionist to tell the Big Guy that I just went through Taco Bell but could go back or anywhere else he’d like. While holding on the phone and getting close to the office I pull in a parking lot to avoid driving all the way back when she comes back on the line and tells me that he does not want me to worry about it.

Drive back to the office, park my car, grab my purse, my drink and discover THEY DIDN'T GIVE ME ANY DAMN FOOD!

To keep from boring you with my MONDAY SUCKED story in further detail, I believe that it's suffice to say that my MONDAY SUCKED and end this sad tale now...

There is a good reason for hiring contractors

My bedroom is ALMOST completed, actually it SHOULD have been completed Wednesday but the countertop guys didn't show up until yesterday. Was SO excited to have the 'last' piece in place so that I could reveal the results, but needless to say they screwed up some stuff and I have to fix it to my satisfaction. That and the fact that Hubby said he "could handle the plumbing and shower door installation."

The shower door came in last Friday and we picked it up on Saturday. Really looking forward to trying out the new shower, this is what was done on Sunday:

Then he was too 'tired' to finish it and said the glue had to dry. So on Monday, he got this accomplished:

THAT, my friends, is a drilled hole for the shower door brace. A drilled hole, as in ONE hole, when 7 more are needed. Then he got 'tired' again. So since then, this is what my shower looks like:

So no showering in the new shower one week later... AND no water in the sinks since yesterday. That would be because they had to turn the water off and take the old sinks out to install the new countertop and sinks and Hubby said it was no problem hooking it back up "that will only take a minute or two to do..."

Of course he didn't have all the 'parts' he needed so no water last night. Went tonight to get the 'parts' and came home and guess what? He was too 'tired' to do it and went to bed. So yes we are washing the dishes, our faces and brushing our teeth in the kitchen like a bunch of hicks from Hicksville.

There is a GOOD reason why I hire contractors to do my home improvement projects...

I am a total slacker and other reasons I suck...

The New Year is supposed to bring new changes to one's life and one is supposed to make resolutions to become a better person in the New Year, etc., so forth and bullshit...

In my annual "I don't do resolutions, but will work on being a better person" evaluation of myself, I have decided that I am just plain and simple a total slacker and I suck. Don't try to argue with me nor give me any pep talks, I'm really not looking for that. I am just simply telling the truth as only a true blue slacker can.

I've been slacking in many areas, not just posting insightful and meaningful blogs (like THAT ever happens) or keeping up with all of my blog buddies, but in all sorts of ways. Actually I don't know if SLACKER is the proper term her, maybe it's more of I AM A MIDDLE-AGED, TURNING FRUMPING, LAZY ASS WHITE WOMAN, however slacker is much shorter to type, yet another example of my laziness...

I really wish that I could say that I am totally overwhelmed with life and that I just have so much on my plate that I have shut down mentally, but honestly life is really easy right now. Yes, I'm knocking on wood and crossing myself and all of that crap because I said this out loud. I keep hoping that this is God's little way of rewarding me for all the hell and crap that I have gone through in my life or maybe it is just I have finally become 'settled.'

With my track record I know this may not (okay it WON'T) last forever and one would think that I should be savoring the calm between the storms and just go with it. But no, instead of enjoying this time I have begun internally fretting over why if life is so good right now then why am I not taking the bull by the horns and enjoying it? Why instead have I become a slacker and decided to sit on the sidelines instead of rejoicing in the freedom? Because I suck.

I suck at enjoying the good things in life. Even though we still have one child at home, he is the easiet (and sweetest) child we have and I'm not constantly running here or there helping him chase his dreams. Work is good, things are running fairly smoothly and I have the ability to pretty much set my own hours and once I leave at 5:00 I turn my 'work brain' off and I don't think about it until the following morning when I come in again. I've climbed the ladder to that spot I've always dreamed of and I feel secure and safe. After years and years of financial struggles, we are finally in a place where we have what we need and want and still have some left over to use for enjoyment instead of living in fear of how we are going to make it another day or week. Hubby and I have settled into that perfect harmony of two souls destined to be together forever. Sure we still have our squabbles, that's part of our schtick, but we are finally on the same page at the same time.

So why all this internal discontent? Why can't I get up off my lazy, slacking ass? Why can't I accomplish the simple day to day goals I set for myself? I wanted to begin this New Year with a healthy attitude, a healthy mind, body and spirit, but I just find myself sitting on the sidelines and watching it go by, well actually I find myself sitting on the couch watching The Biggest Loser, crying, eating eskimo pies and thinking that I am such a slacker and I suck...

Enough Awards Already

Catching up on a whole week worth of blog reading I discovered that I got a damn award from the wonderful Mrs. K! and apparently I must share it and pass it on...so here goes:

For this award I must list five addictions (Please NOTE I have given this MUCH thought):

1. Eskimo Pies
2. The Biggest Loser (Yes I was watching and yes I was saying HOLY SHIT!)

3. Diamonds

4. 800 count sheets

5. Tylenol PM

Ok so now I must pass it on...since Mrs. K didn't share the rules because SHE FORGOT THEM, I guess I am supposed to share this SO, I give this to the following women:

Hawkeye Chick

Sarah

Jane!

June Cleaver Clone

and anyone else that wants a damn award...

Quick Update

Yes I have been MIA and no, I don't really have a good excuse except maybe, well life. Here's a quick update to keep you on your toes:

• NYE - began cleaning up the mess from the construction that is 90% complete. Watched 'The Women' - loved it! Highly recommend it. Never realized that the new year had started until C3 came out of his room at around 12:15 and told me "Happy New Year."
• New Year's Day - continued cleaning up the mess.
• Friday - carpet was installed, men folk went to Cotton Bowl, spent blissful afternoon alone shopping for accessories for new bathroom.
• Saturday - continued cleaning up mess and installing stuff. Painted OLD, UGLY mirrors from bathroom and was pretty impressed with my handy work (ignore ugly countertops, still waitng on those to be replaced):

• Sunday - more cleanup of mess...
• Monday - WORK - begin playing catch up after missing practically two weeks.
• Tuesday - WORK - beginning to KICK MY ASS. Watch Biggest Loser - not so sure I am happy with the little turn of events in this season premiere...
• Wednesday - MORE WORK - received RAISE - does this mean I have to now WORK HARDER?
• Thursday - WORK REALLY HARD - try to squash feelings of becoming serial killer and eliminating entire staff...
• Friday - TGIF, bring on 1:30 so I can have a break...

>

Things Happening In My World Today...

• Today is C2's Birthday - Happy Birthday to HIM!
• Still alive, although not up to par, but at least not wishing I were not alive anymore...
• Survived Christmas, no Chinese food but I didn't cook and we survived anyway...
• C1 met 'the girl's' parents on Christmas, they seemed to have liked him...
• Still have not met 'the girl' but really wasn't in the shape to meet her...
• Went back to work today, nope nobody took care of my 'stuff', won't even go there...
• Painter Dude STILL has not finished the "3 day" job, we are on day 10 I believe, won't go here either...
• C2 went to a '3rd Party Physician Evaluation' today and we learned that the toes on his injured foot no longer work. Don't know exactly what that means and not sure if one really needs one's toes either...
• Gained 4 pounds of the 14 lost back, dammit...
• Could be the backed up piping, won't go here either...
• Got somewhat useful Christmas gifts this year except from my mom who bought me bath towels. Why? Okay they are useful but totally unwanted or needed...
• Discovered my pocket digital camera no longer works and I was all set to share the interesting jewelry that C3 bought me. Not sure about the camera, but know that hospitalization and not being VERY specific on what I wanted to comes to play on that gift, will work on getting picture.
• Had THREE out of town meetings in January scheduled during my absence at work. Oh yea, wasn't going there...
• Thankful that there are only two work days left in this week, hope they go fast, could use some time off while not wishing to die...
• Carpet is being installed in bedroom on Friday. Hopefully will be able to handle this luxury after having concrete floors for the past THREE YEARS...
• Shower door and counter tops won't be installed until the 14th, the very day my haircut and color is scheduled, hmmm...

That's about it, what's happening in your world?

Merry Christmas!

Back at home and still not feeling too hot but life will go on with or without me... Have been in a major panic about all the the things that have and have not been done and I just recently decided to just throw in the towel. What will be will be. May not be our traditional holiday and I may not be all that Merry but we will all be together and that's what counts. I am looking for a Chinese restaurant that is open tomorrow so that we can be just like the family in The Christmas Story and have our Christmas dinner there. Won't that be a hoot!

Managed to lose 14 pounds in the past several days and not that it doesn't make me really happy, but I do feel just like skin and bones and too tired for much effort. Hopefully the next four days can be somewhat relaxing and I will be back to my old self again only skinnier!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and that all your wishes come true!

all things related to panties and not...

Recently some of my fellow blog buddies have gotten their panties in a wad because of my lack of remembering and sharing things.  So as I lay awake on this eve of eve before Christmas Eve oddly enough, the thought of panties are clearly on my mind, so why not share?

Last week I was in a rather serious discussion among friends on the use of the term nylons versus panty hose which turned into a deeper discussion of does one wear panties with panty hose or not?  As we dove deeper into the proper occasions to wear panties or go commando, I shared a memory long forgotten that made me laugh.  Back when my older two boys were young ones, I had a tendency to call their undergarments 'panties' versus the proper macho term of underwear.

I don't recall exactly how or why the use of panties began in exchange for the proper term, but I do recall that it upset Hubby greatly so I continued to use it.  My young sons did not know the difference between panties or boxers or tighty whities or briefs, we simply referred to them as panties.

I would tell my two young lads to 'run and put their panties on' after taking a bath or remind them to 'change their panties' after swimming and I would get a wicked, evil pleasure when they in turn would ask me if they could wear their 'superman panties' today?  Yes, that very small word could literally drive my husband insane.  Ah... memories.

Still to this day my husband cannot stand the word panties and I still get that sick, perverted pleasure knowing that by merely using the word it will drive him bonkers.

Bless his little soul, I have been driving him stark, raving mad in the past couple of days.

Seems last Thursday I began having the tell-tell signs of a UTI starting and sure enough by Friday morning I knew I best call the doctor before the weekend arrived.  As luck would have it the doctor could not see before Monday so I asked if I could just stop in and leave a sample and perhaps get some medication?  So I did just that and by mid-afternoon, I was in full blown UTI mode and thankful that I had insisted.

I began taking the medication right away but by Saturday afternoon I became deathly ill with a kidney infection.  Enough so that a trip to the ER turned into a hospital stay, where I now sit writing this post because I cannot sleep.  But excluding all of that, well sort of, maybe more including all of that, being drugged and hooked to a continuous IV drip of fluids and antibiotics, it became rather difficult to get one's self up, wires untangles, machinery dragged across the room and into the restroom where one must measure all quantities of liquids coming out BEFORE they actually come out.  (TMI, I know).

Not coming to the ER prepared to spend the next 4 days and Hubby's inability to grasp the notion of the plural of panty is 'panties', meaning many, not two, it has become necessary to make several requests of him to bring me additional sets of panties.  In his exasperation this evening Hubby showed up with more panties than I even knew I had.

Thus, I have decided in my final attempt to bid adieu to a really sucky and unhealthy 2008, I will send it off with a wreath made of panties, tied with a bow and ribbon simply stating, 'Kiss MY Ass 2008!"

 

Well Hell Am I Supposed to Remember Everything?

Alrighty then, obviously forgot to mention the liver tumors, so get your panties out of a wad and forgive me!

Back when I had the fake heart attack in April, thus producing major panic attacks, the cardiologist had me do a MRI so that he could prove to me that I was completely fine and had nothing to worry about. The results of that MRI were that I had mild coronary artery disease (did I mention that before?) but nothing to worry about. He instructed me to keep taking my cholesterol medicine since this was the remedy anyway.

A couple of weeks later my regular physician reviewed the results of that MRI and called me to discuss the 'liver tumors' - and I responded with "WTF are you talking about?" Apparently I had three suspicious masses on my liver and she was shocked that the cardiologist did not mention this (he has since been relieved of his position as my cardiologist). I was sent to a Gastro doctor (wasn't even going to try to spell that one) and he had me do an 'invasive MRI'. That entails putting dye in your body through an IV and you must remain in the small tubular device for an hour or more. Having MAJOR claustrophobia AND already suffering with panic attacks, I was sedated and lived through it. The result was that I indeed have three tumors on my liver that have thus far been determined to be benign. I was to repeat the same scan in three months to measure the size of the tumors and see if there was any growth.

So Monday morning I went for my scan. It was 26 degrees here in Texas, not cold by some of your standards, but colder than a witches tit here. They had told me not to wear anything magnetic so I showed up in my little jogging suit ready to have some good drugs. Once inside the clinic, where the temperature was approximately 30 BELOW 0, they asked me to change into the little nightgown and I could keep my panties on. I changed quickly because it as colder than a witches tit (I mentioned that already I think), got on the table, the IV and anxiety meds were started, the dye began and once I was blindfolded they slid me into the small tubular device. Drugs were working rather nicely and the machine started to whir and cling and clank and after a few minutes the tech asked me if I had removed my bra. Ooops, nope forgot that.

The machine was stopped I was pulled back out and then we had to figure out how to get the bra off with the IV connected. Good times. We managed to slip it over the IV wires and hung it on the IV pole. I'm blindfolded again, slid back into the small tubular device and the whirring and clinging begins again. Moments later, the device stops, the tech says, "I'm sorry, we are going to have to pull you out again." I am pulled out one more time to discover that the wires in my bra, that was hanging on the IV pole, was being pulled magnetically to the machine and trying to drag the IV pole with it and causing the machine not to work. Unfortunately Jane I did not have a Titanium bra...

So anyhoo, after all that fun and excitement and coming home to sleep it off while the Mexican tile layers continued tiling and jamming to their Spanish radio station, the Gastro doc called yesterday to tell me that the tumors have not had any significant change in size. So there, that's the story. Will have another scan in April to check one more time and go from there.

Any more questions?

Life and other piddly crap...

So apparently my Vote for Ed campaign worked really well and Heba was not one of the final three. But, that backfired on my ass and she won the loser portion and $100 grand - arghh. But, did you all watch the finale? VICKY LOST AND ONLY LOST TWO POUNDS SINCE THE LAST SHOW! Muwahahahaha! Oh yea, and my girl Michelle, whom is a local FORT WORTH gal, WON! Whoot! Whoot!

Life around the Kat homestead is a little bit hectic right now. Workmen have taken over my house and continue to make things last longer than promised. Currently everything from the socks I wear on my feet to the furniture in my master bedroom is tucked either into the spare bedroom or the hallway and Hubby and I are sleeping in there as well. (The spare bedroom, not the hall) Hmmm... Hubby and I have never shared a queen size bed in our entire married life. Even in hotel rooms with two beds we sleep in our own bed. This is proving to be a challenge, thus Kat blogging at 10:30 at night...

But, the painter shall start Friday, the tile dude did a fabulous job on the floors and shower, counter tops won't be in until January 19th or so and the carpet is basically waiting on the painter dude to finish and then you throw in Christmas to that mix and who knows when my life will stop being topsy turvy?

Another BUT, I have completely finished all my Christmas shopping although it is all stacked over at my mother's house and I still have yet to figure out a time to go over there and wrap and stuff. Thus anxiety levels are getting high over here, well at least mine are...

But the good news in all of this, had another MRI this week to measure and see if the liver tumors have grown and the result is that there is no significant growth to the tumors so I am free until April when I have to do another scan. Which kind of makes me wonder, have I ever mentioned this? If not, surprise!

Also finished the annual family calendar and I must say my craftiness impressed even me! June, you will be so jealous, but did you know that they have scrapbook software that has all the pages you could ever want or imagine already made and all you have to do is drop in your pictures? Sorry a little late in sharing that with you, but who knew?

Trying to catch up on everyone else's life, just wanted to let you know that a) No, I have not learned any Spanish in the last week but I have learned that I have a great distaste for Spanish music, b) I'm alive, c) Soon, very soon, I will no longer have a concrete floor in my bedroom after three very long years and d) I'm still a Scrooge! BUT, what else is new?

I wonder how many times I used the word but in this one entry? Hmmm...

Picture perfect day...

Just picture this in your mind...  Sunny day, perfect temp, off work at 1:30, long afternoon nap...

Ahhh...? 

NO, ARGHHH...

Finally have some work going on in the concrete floor, no texture or painted wall bedroom.  Great, right?

NO!

I come home to a completely destroyed, extremely dirty house with six non-English speaking males, making loud, obnoxious noises, playing extremely LOUD non-English speaking radio station...

More later when I can hear myself think...

 

just do me this one favor...

Fellow American's, by now you know I am addicted to the Biggest Loser. Tonight all my dreams didn't come true because Vicky the Bitch made it to the final round along with my favorite Michelle. Yes I am just a little biased because Michelle hails from my little area of the Metroplex but since I can't vote Vicky off I need your help in voting Heba the Heifer off. That's right Heba and her husband Ed fell below the yellow line tonight and instead of having the opportunity to save each other, America gets to vote which one will be in the final three.

That's right we, or more specifically I, get to vote for the one we want to see in the final three. Both Heba and Ed gave passionate pleas for why we should all vote for Heba, but you know I have always felt that paybacks are HELL. If I can't kick Vicky out then as Scarlet once said - "As God as my witness... Heba the Heifer has got to go!" Well maybe she didn't exactly say that, but if she'd seen this season she would have.

So, I need your help. I need you to vote to put Ed in the final three. Let poor Heba lick her wounds on the sidelines for being such a bitchy person. Here's what you can do, just this one little favor for me, in the next 24 hours you can vote to keep Ed on by either calling 1-866-613 -0002 or by going online and voting here http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/vote/register.shtml. You can vote as many times as you'd like, but you must do it by 9:00 PM tomorrow, December 10th.

I'm counting on you blog buddies, just this one little favor is all I ask...

And that's all she wrote...

So the space is officially gone, it broke my heart.

Party went well, biggest turn out so far. It was exhausting and my feet felt like nubs on the bottom of my legs at the end of the day but at least it is done until next year. Was very good at avoiding short, fat, bald, egotistical, male chauvinistic pig for most of the day, well that is AFTER he showed up 2 HOURS EARLY and I had to tell him to go away we did not have time to entertain him and still had too much to do and he was in the way. That was fun! We took our staff photo and he showed back up in the process and insisted on getting in on a shot. I will post that as soon as I upload the pics so you all can see.

Plans today were to go Christmas shopping and decorate. Let's just say that did not go accordingly due to Hubby and his ADD. Well that and the fact that we went to purchase the tile and countertops for our bathroom because he promised me we could finish our bedroom for Christmas. You know those concrete floors are getting old... Anyhoo, after his sticker shock at Lowe's we had to come back home so he could revive himself. That was all we got done...

Did get the tree up, not decorated but up and the lights working. Don't know when that will get finished. Maybe tomorrow I'll have more luck...

So Where Do I Begin...

So I am officially shutting down my spaces site. I am very unhappy about the new changes that they made and the fact that they published my private information without my knowledge and before I had the opportunity to make the necessary changes to stop it. I won't even dwell on it though it saddens me that my blogging life began there and that is where I met all my wonderful friends. I hope my followers follow me here, it will be upsetting that I lose friends over their stupid changes...

This week has been a rough one. I am feeling a little better each day but this icky stuff seems to be taking a toll on everyone around here. It couldn't have come at a worse time, tomorrow is our annual holiday party for our agents and we are giving the car away. Getting ready for that always proves challenging and this time was no different. Seems my scroogeness has worn off on others in the office and nobody wanted to get things done, least of all me. After running all over town today with last minute details I was just about wiped out when who shows up a day early? Nobody better than the short, fat, bald, egotistical, male chauvinistic pig manager that has an issue working for ME. And when does he show up? At 4:00 PM, the end of the day. And what does he want? To spend a 'few minutes' discussing his 'ideas for 2009'.

ARGHHHH!!! So I did what any really professional executive would do. I pretended to be on the phone for about 30 minutes or so (redialing my home phone over and over listening to my answering machine) and then gave him a quick 30 seconds - 'Sorry I am so busy, wish I could have taken the time...' Tell him I will see him at the party tomorrow, stick my hand out for a quick handshake before I dash back to the other end of the building and what does he do? That short, fat, bald, egotistical, male chauvinistic pig entered my personal space and pulled me in for a hug where the top of his head hit me firmly in the right boob! First, just invading my space made me extremely uncomfortable, second the dude had BATHED in the most overwhelming, disgusting men's cologne and not only did it make me want to vomit, it saturated my clothes and I smelled him until I could get home and bathe and finally, his head touched my boob! Lord give me the power to deal with him and all the others tomorrow!

As far as preparing for Christmas, this is just about all I have done with the exception of agreeing with my siblings to go in together on getting our mom a flat screen TV and agreeing with Hubby's siblings on buying his parents a new rangetop. Two down, who the hell knows how many more to go. But like everyone else I am shortening the list and conserving some this year. Hoping that makes this season less stressful too, we'll see.

But for now, I am off to bed, C3 has choir at 7 am and then I have full day on my feet with a smile on my face. Hopefully next week life will slow down just a little...

Til next time...

Being Sick Sucks

 

Well Thanksgiving turned out really nice and all of Hubby's family was there to celebrate and wish him a Happy Birthday.  Believe it or not, Bitchone and Bitchtwo were on their best behavior and Bitchone even APOLOGIZED to me personally for being such a cow to me last Christmas.  It was totally unexpected and heart warming and she actually made me cry.  Too bad as history tells it won't mean anything come Christmas, but it felt good for those 5 minutes...

I wasn't feeling too hot on Thanksgiving, kind of an allergy thing starting up, but I didn't let it stop me from doing all the cooking or having a good time.  By the time we got home though the body aches and chills hit and I ended up in the bed for the rest of the weekend.  Like flat on my back, moaning and groaning, in the bed.  Went to the doc today and got a shot and some antibiotics and hopefully will be good as new soon.  If only my damn head would quit pounding and the snot would quit poring out of my nostrils...  TMI?  BTW, anyone have a good remedy for raw, sore, chapped face from blowing your nose nonstop for 96 hours?  Really could use one...

Actually had my whole little crew with me for Thanksgiving and although we weren't dressed our best, I managed to sucker them into a family shot (with my new camera) and so I before I retire for my little nap, I leave you with this...

Aren't we precious?

Thing I am Thankful For...

 

I know that there have been tons of "what I am thankful" blogs today and I almost didn't post mine but after reading and catching up on all my blog friends, but I decided that I really do have a lot of reasons to be thankful this year and I wanted to share them, more for me than anything else...

I am thankful for my Hubby.  Even though he warps between his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality on a regular basis and even though his snoring makes me want to commit murder, almost on a daily basis, I am thankful for him.  I am thankful that we both took to heart our original vows, for better or worse, through good times and bad, and we have been together for damn near 30 years and still love each other.  I am thankful that he is both my friend and my lover and I am especially thankful that the latter is as good today as it was all those years ago.

I am thankful that C1, my oldest child, has finally come into himself as a responsible adult.  I am thankful that he is pursuing his dream and that he is opening his very own, hopefully of many, gyms this coming week.  He makes me proud.  I am thankful that he has found a girlfriend and for the first time in his life he has made the decision to begin a relationship based on getting to know her before intimacy.  I am thankful that he trusts me enough and respects me enough to share this with me. (Lord, I hope I didn't just jinx him)

I am thankful that C2, my middle son, is making a healthy recovery and I am especially thankful that God spared his life this year.  Though some of this process has been rough and there is still more healing to come, I am thankful that we have bonded and become closer in the past 4 months and he has allowed me to mother him even though he is an adult and doesn't need or necessarily want my mothering.  I am thankful that he has made the decision to go back to school and follow his dreams.  He also makes me proud.

I am thankful that C3, my baby boy, is becoming the young man that he is.  I am thankful that even though he has moved into his teenage years, that he has moved into them gracefully, with dignity and with the sweet natured compassion that he has always had.  I should be thankful that he thinks that we have such a close relationship that he feels comfortable waking me at midnight on a Tuesday night to ask if he can go up the street and spend the night with his buddy.  SCREECH.... Brake, WTF?  No I am not thankful that he feels this comfortable.  Hmmmm...

I am thankful for my family, especially my mother, who is always there for me.  I am thankful that for the first time in my life she has not put that old 'Catholic guilt' on me and pressured me into over-extending myself and my family this Thanksgiving holiday and finally at the ripe ol' age of 72 she has accepted that traditions can change and that doesn't mean I don't love her any less.

I am thankful for my friends and extremely thankful for my two new, very best friends that have helped me more than they will ever know through this trying year.  Who would have ever thought that the three of us from very different backgrounds, at very different stages of life (okay, age) could become so close after sharing three very different crisis'.  I am thankful for both of you every single day and even though we have yet to figure out how or where we will finally meet, I look forward every day to sharing my life with you two, even though you make fun of my Texas Twang accent, you wenches!

I am thankful for all my blog buds and all of you that actually read my blog, even you lurkers that never come out of the closet.  I am thankful that I get to enjoy the relationships I have built with all of you and that you allow me to share in your lives as well.

Even though I had some very serious health scares this year, I am here today to share with all of you the things that I am thankful for and for this not only am I thankful, I am blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cat Stories and Other Ramblings

No, I didn't forget how to spell my own name, I might actually talk about cats! Which reminds me, I've been married for over 26 years to the same man and in his cell phone my number is listed under "Cat" and when I pointed out to him that he spelled my name wrong, he actually said, "Does it really matter?" Uh, YES, asshole...

Been trying for over a week now to come up with something interesting or funny to blog about or even something to bitch about but I have come up empty handed. Can you believe that? Kat has NOTHING to bitch about! Seriously, nothing exciting is happening in Kat Land, nothing traumatic has happened in some time, nothing or nobody has pissed me off in awhile, well there is that Biggest Loser thing Tuesday night, but we won't go there today... So it leaves me with nothing. I hate having nothing.

I refuse to believe, which might actually mean PARTICIPATE, that Thanksgiving is next week which will then be followed by the dreaded Christmas. ARGGHHH... The only thing exciting about this whole scenario is I get two days off next week and I will get two days off for Christmas and two days for New Years. And that about sums up my holiday spirit.

So... In talking with a couple of girlfriends about the pros and cons of adopting dogs as pest controllers, one of them showed me a picture of a rat terrier dog that she wanted to get for her rodent problem. My apologies to those of you out there that have one of these creatures, but man that was one ugly ass dog. Which led to the discussion of cats as a better alternative to pest control, except she didn't like cats. However, in my excellent salesperson of the year mode, I believe that I have convinced her to buy her baby girl a kitten for Christmas - I'm so good.

Our discussion led me to ask if I had ever told them my 'cat story' and it appears that I have not shared this tale with many people, not even blog land Or maybe I have and don't remember it because I have been having menopausal memory issues lately and I am too lazy to go back and research if I've shared it, either way you get to hear it, even if you've heard it. Disclaimer - don't be sending me any mean and hateful emails or comments about my being a murderer either, I KNOW that and I live with it every day of my life...

In true Kat Land form, when things go wrong, shit rolls down hill and things kind of spiral out of control, needless to say this was one of those times. When we purchased our home about 19 some odd years ago, we learned that we had a serious rat infestation. In all fairness, and not because we were gross slobs, the house that we purchased had been vacant for several years due to the fact that the owner was in a nursing home and once she croaked her children couldn't wait to unload the house. Thus being vacant for all those years, the rats moved in and took up residence unknown to us and we got a helluva a deal . Hubby's solution to the rat infestation, after we spent thousands of dollars on 'professional' pest controllers that could not control the problem, was to buy a cat. I was not a cat person and actually was allergic to cats, or so I thought, and needless to say was not thrilled with this solution but I was less thrilled with living with rats.

Hubby took me to the local shelter to find a cat and I fell in love with a beautiful black and white kitten. Hubby tried to convince me that we were looking for a cat not a kitten but I was adamant that if we were going to get one of these creatures only this one would do. I didn't like any other color of the kittens or cats, they all gave me the creeps. The only one my heart fell for was the black and white kitten. We brought her home, named her Sheba, got her fixed and she became my baby. I actually don't recall if Sheba ever killed any rodents, but she was the queen (well the princess anyway) in our house and we all loved her.

Fast forward five or so years and one extremely cold and dreary December on a Sunday evening, just a week or so before Christmas, I was busy doing the week's laundry. Since I hate doing laundry more than anything in the world, I would procrastinate and it would take me a full weekend to complete the chore. Hubby is a construction worker so his work clothes are always the last load to do. Around 10:00 or so I took the load of his clothes out to the garage to throw them in the dryer and discovered that the dryer door was open and the load of towels sitting in it were still wet. CRAP. I knew that I would have to wait for these towels to dry so that I could throw Hubby's clothes in the dryer and so I slammed the dryer door and turned it on. Went back in the house, bitching and moaning that I had to stay up past my bedtime while everyone was tucked safely and warmly into their beds.

About one hour or so later, that procrastination thing again, I went out in the garage to switch the loads. The dryer was still running and pretty hot and when I opened the door and bent over to pull the towels out, a scene straight from the exorcist happened right in front of my eyes! My cat, my beautiful Sheba, had apparently been in the dryer with the towels when I slammed the door and turned it on. And she had been cycling for an hour! After my blood curdling scream and panicky run to wake Hubby, he was able to get her out and she was a horrible mess but still alive. In my panic I called 9-1-1 to find out what to do and they sent me to an all night emergency animal hospital. I was too freaked to handle it so Hubby took Sheba and they assured him that they could make her all better, just give them $500 now. We were so distraught that we gave them the money and then stayed up all night crying and consoling each other while calling the hospital every hour on the hour. The emergency hospital closed at 7 am and they told us we would need to have her picked up before then.

We finally went to bed around 2:00 in the morning since Hubby had to leave for work at 5 am. As Hubby left, I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard a loud boom and felt the house rock. With just a towel I ran out to the front yard and as I watched Hubby's tail lights driving up the street I heard a horrible hissing sound and discovered that as Hubby was pulling his trailer from the side of the house he had hit the gas meter and broken it. My first thought was explosion and getting my kids out of the house. I ran hysterically back into the house and threw on the first clothes I came to and quickly woke C1 and C2 up and screamed at them to get dressed and ran and grabbed C3 from his crib as we all dashed out of the house, shoeless, to the neighbors house across the street.

The house caught fire and since this was during the pre-cell phone era, the only way to get a hold of Hubby was to send my Dad to his job and I asked my Mom to go pick up the cat. During the aftermath my Mom came back with the cat (in the trunk of her car) and pulled me aside and told me that the cat looked pretty bad and she was taking it directly to her vet. The vet ended up assuring us that it was much more humane to put Sheba to sleep and couldn't believe the emergency hospital had not made the same suggestion.

We were soon moving into an apartment because our house was uninhabitable and I was explaining to my children that within a mere 24 hours their house had almost burnt down and I had murdered the beloved Sheba. Many, many tears were shed and shortly after my BFF and several others went on a mad hunt to find a replacement Sheba. Finally a replacement was found but with one problem, she was a he. I went to the shelter were he had been located, fell in love again, had him fixed and soon brought him home and he was quickly christened 'Sheba Two'. I never divulged that she was a he until many, many years later when I was called out. Thankfully, eventually the children forgave my deception. She/He is still my princess and will be 14 years old this Christmas. Well at least that's one good thing to celebrate at Christmas!