Merry Christmas!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through our new house
Not a creature was stirring… except for miss Gweny chasing a mouse.
The stockings were taken to relatives with care,
With hopes that St. Nick would still find them there.
No children yet nestle all snug in their beds,
They may have some plans for them somewhere in their heads.
They dream of their wedding, a wonderful warm day on the beach
And hope a return trip isn’t too far out of reach.
They hosted a reception in their new home on a beautiful summer day
Thanks to our family and friends who came from near and far away!
They purchased appliances, grill, patio set, and new mower,
Before a foot of heavy snow, they got that snow blower!
They are happy to be settled and enjoying wedded bliss,
(They still often greet each other with a short kiss.)
She is NOT sick with a cold from working with kids in the schools
And he anticipates a season of taxes with plenty of tax rules.
They love Badger hockey games and trying new things,
And they can’t wait to see what fun next year brings.
Thank you for the many blessings that have reached us this year,
We wish the same for you during this season of cheer!

I love my husband!

Beware, I'm going to be really sappy here...


I was just thinking about how many wedding pictures I've framed and put around the house... too many? I don't know, but I like them. It got me to thinking, as I do often, how much I LOVE my husband. He is so good for me (and I hope me for him) in so many ways!

I work with little kids (3-5 year olds) so it follows that I am a pretty fun-loving little girl at heart. I was lucky enough to find a little-boy-at-heart to marry! We spend 75% or more of the time we are together laughing (the other 25% is NOT fighting either...we don't do that too often ;-) What we DO do (haha dodo ;-) is play... tickle or make funny faces/jokes/noises or call eachother ridiculous names (lots of them) or laugh at our kitty.

While my hubby may not be big on surprise flowers or stopping to pick up milk... I LOVE the surprise e-mails I get on an almost-daily basis that simply say "I love you!" or something else to make me laugh.



















We also have never had any problems sharing household chores etc. He actually loves to vacuum. I take out the trash and do the kitty litter. We share cooking (though it's more me) cleaning up and laundry. After living with not so equitable roommates in the past, he's the best roomie I could ask for!


















Most of all, he is my best friend. The first person I think of when I want to tell someone something. The person I need to hold when I'm watching a scary movie. The person who's opinion I always want to know (even if I may disagree!) We love the same foods and love to spend our time off in the same ways. He's the one I want to make happy and he wants to make me happy in everything we do.


I know we've only been married for 2 months -- so it's as if we're still honeymooner/newlyweds... BUT if you consider how long we've been living LIKE we were married... it's been FIVE years. Five years of living together, sharing expenses, coming home to each other, compromising, arguing, changing, but most of all ... laughing.

...and kissing too I suppose... (must notice the butt-grab!)

A "simple" project....

I think that Windows Movie Maker (WMM) is an awesome program. Easy to use and I love the finished project (it's very much like iMovie.. or whatever those apple people call it). So just after getting engaged I put together a short movie of all the photos of me and my betrothed. I left space for the wedding pictures and planned out a couple songs. Yes, I'm a planner... very very much a planner...

Snag #1:
--Songs you download are copyright protected and can't be imported to movie maker. But they're the PERFECT songs, I can't NOT use them!!!

Relatively easy fix:
--Burn a cd of the songs you want, then rip the songs from the CD and bye bye copyright problem. (just keep track of where on your computer you ripped them to). I see no problem in this as I DID pay for the songs and I'm not going to be selling copies of my wedding movie.

So months pass, wedding occurs (yay!). I compile all the pictures from everyone who attended (THANK YOU!) and pick out my favorites. Time to put the movie together...

Yes, WMM is easy to use, but that doens't mean it's not time consuming. I spent A LOT of time putting in the pictures, effects, transitions, music, titles, timing the music with a few appropriate pictures, timing the music for transitions from pre-wedding to wedding to pictures, etc. I play around with different songs, import etc. I 'publish' the movie... then realize I missed some transitions and stuff... back to work. Then I get some late photos that I want to add. All said I spent at least 6 hours on the project. Good thing this IS my summer job :-)

So I 'publish' the finished work. It's a .wmv file which I've had problems creating DVD's out of in the past. I look through the programs on my computer (I've never burned a DVD on my OWN computer before) I see nothing so I google 'Burn DVD from WMV') I get some great step by step directions. I download the two free programs they suggest, program 1 - converts wmv file to DVD format, program 2 - writes the file to the DVD, I closely follow all instructions and try to burn the DVD and ....

Snag #2
Didn't work. When I try to play the DVD our player says "disc is dirty". When I put it in my computer, it pops the tray back out and says 'please insert disc'.

(DVD-R waste count: 1)

Easy fix #1
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again... so I did... everything the same. Same outcome.

(DVD-R waste count: 2)

Easy fix #2
Try with a different burning program that I've used before at work. Download free program, read instructions, try again... no dice.

(DVD-R waste count: 3)

Easy fix #3
Figure out that I DO have a DVD burning software on my computer that's even better than the ones I downloaded (it makes a menu and everything). I put it all together, try again. The computer says 'DVD burned successfully'. EUREKA! My hopes are high. I pop out the disc and put it in the DVD player..... 'disc is dirty'

(DVD-R waste count: 4)

Easy fix #4
My sister gives me some of her DVD-R's to try, just in case that's what it is, though at this point we're convinced my burner is bunk. I use the program that came on my computer again and try, try again....

SUCCESS!

Finally, I have a burned copy of my Windows Movie Make photo montage, with the wedding video at the end so I can just play it on a loop at our upcoming reception.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

(unfortunately the file is too big to post here, my apologies!)

Fun in the sun!

Just have to share... he had no idea I was going to push and I had no idea he was going to drag!

Imagination gets the best of me...

While cleaning the tops of my kitchen cabinets (not fun, but judging by the sheer amount/thickness of the dust that was up there, VERY necessary), I found a few curious items: a (faux) diamond ring in box (I looked up the brand, 'Diamonique', it is a QVC brand), a legal folder that said 'contents of deed enclosed' or something like that which was filled with lottery tickets and a printout of the winning numbers, tickets to box seats at a Badger football game in November 2005 with the game book, crumpled pieces of notepaper which, when uncrumpled, read the movie times for a day of movies, and a small paper airplane made out of a church donation slip.

We know very little of the people that owned the house before us. They were (are?) an older couple who through some turn of events (went to a nursing home?... passed away?...) were foreclosed upon. We were surpised to learn the couple was older, given the house has 3 levels and so lots of stairs... especially as the house is new (5 years old) and so assumably, was built to suit the previous owners. The walls are all white and have very few holes from nails etc. (leading me to think they were either boring, unable or unmotivated to decorate). They did leave one decoration in the basement basement (the room that holds all the basement-like items...water softener, furnace, etc.) It is a decorative plate that reads something in German and says 'God' at least once. They put in some strange type of stone-tile surround in a formal dining room. It looks like it was meant for an electric fireplace, plant area, or possibly even an altar? (it does face East...) The guestroom in the finished basement has marks in the carpet which appeared to hold weights and training equipment, again surprising for an older couple...

As you can see, I've already done a fair amount of extrapolating about the couple. After finding these items today, my mind couldn't help but wander into 'what if...' territory. Then it wandered even further into pure fiction...



The ring...
thrown in frustration and disgust by a young man after learning his love had left him for another.

thrown in frustration and disgust by a young woman...after her engagement ring turned her finger green...

purchased from QVC by little old lady who lived here and tossed above the fridge to hide from little old man.

purchased by little old man for little old lady, hidden on top of fridge and forgotten.



The lottery tickets...
purchased by young man to fund his engagement ring purchase, alas, no such luck, he was stuck with one from QVC.

purchased by little old man to avoid foreclosure on his house.


The football tickets/book...
purchased by the young man as the venue/event for his proposal.

purchased by little old man and little old lady to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Movie times...
another possible proposal venue... ??

written out by little old lady in an attempt to get out of the house...thrown up there in frustration and disgust when little old man refused to go to 'Finding Nemo'.


Paper airplane...
made by little boy while being punished and thrown up there to escape getting caught playing while in time out.

made by little boy and accidently tossed up there...too high to climb up to get and forgotten.

Oh what fun an imagination can have with a few random items :-)

LAZINESS revisited... again... (adventures in first-time home ownership)

I realize I have revisited the 'laziness' topic many times. I now see why I was so wrong. In an apartment, you can be lazy. I mean really lazy... as previously described...

In a HOUSE... not so lazy. We bought a 'new' house (5 years old). Which does not mean 'new' when you consider that the basement was leaking, which takes some explaining*, radon levels were considered high**, no sump pump***, deck is in ill repair****, lawn is full of weeds*****, and we moved from an apartment to a house which means we have endless things to BUY******!!!!

*Basement is not leaking in a way which is typically thought. We have drain tile (as I understand it a mini-level below the basement which collects water into a 'sump-crock' which can then be pumped outside). We have a faulty retaining wall which partially washed dirt into the siding, which created a pathway for water to run over the cement foundation and get into the house itself. It wasn't a huge leak... but it was water on a finished basement... probably creating mold and mildew... which will now need to be remedied...(perhaps I should create *******?) by more people that cost $$$. We have had some people over a few times working on the retaining wall and after a huge downpour last night, the basement stayed dry (and will hopefully stay that way!!).

**Radon is a carcinogen that leaks out of the soil in this area and gets into homes. We had a test done as part of our home inspection. We were found to be in the 'high' range. LUCKILY, because we have drain tile, the radon fix is cheaper than for many people. We just have to install a fancy fan that pumps the air around the drain tile out of the house... therefore most of the radon that comes from the soil down there.

***The sump pump itself is the machine that gets the water from the 'drain tile' area (sump crock) to the outside of the house. We don't have one and figure that we might as well add one since we're putting the fan on that will effectively make it more difficult to add one later if it ever turns out that we need it.... just another expense...

****We were lucky enough to find a house that has beautiful decks. One private deck off the master suite, a large deck off the kitchen, and a patio below that. Unfortunately, these decks were not well maintained and have warped to the point that we need to repair the railings, warped boards, and they were also not built to 'code'. There is no 'flasching' between the deck boards and where it is attached to the house...allowing moisture to touch the house instead of having the protective 'flasching' between them.

*****Our lawn is the LAWN... the one you notice when you walk/drive down the street because it is FULL of WEEEEEEEEEEEEEDS!!! When touring the yard in flip-flops, you must also beware of many, many, many thistles! My soon to be hubby and I are fortunate enough that his father generously gifted us a few lawn treatments so we will no longer stick out and have a pretty yard soon!

******Our shopping list is forever growing... so far we HAVE bought: LAWN-MOWER, step-ladder, caulk, caulk gun, large broom, new showerhead, burst-proof appliance hoses, REFRIDGERATOR, OVEN, WASHING MACHINE, DRYER, new detergent for the 'high-efficiency' washer, MATTRESS, comforter and sheets for said new mattress, among other things I've forgotten I'm sure. We still NEED: PATIO FURNITURE (to enjoy the aforementioned decks), GRILL (to enjoy the aforementioned furniture), shower curtain-plungers-garbage bins-etc for FOUR bathrooms, hanging flowers, other flowers, learn how to garden, garden tools (I planted the 1 plant we do have with a kitchen spoon...), hose, sprayer, WEED WACKER, paint, paint tools.... and the list goes on....

So anyway... I WAS lazy.... BEFORE I had a house... but now I no longer have that luxury :-) It's still wonderful though... as long as I get past the fact that I will be broke until further notice...

Running... or really walking...

I have been running just about every other day for a few weeks now. A definite help is my soon-to-be-hubby going running 'with' me ('with' is a term used loosely... he leaves around the same time as me, but I have no hope of keeping up with him so he runs ahead and then comes back to run/walk with me). Another draw/motivation is the idea that we are running by our soon-to-be new house! It's about 2.5 miles round trip, with a healthy hill as well as nice flat areas.

I have tried to be a 'runner' a few times in my life but it has never, ever worked for me. Back in grade-school, I was the one who always wanted to be goalie... because I hated to run, and I was always the last picked in gym (yeah, I'm over it). In volleyball I could never run all of the laps (and there were lots and lots of them... I remember having to do about 50 one day when we had to run 5 lap for any serve anyone missed....) I just never could run.

I've always wondered why it was so much harder for me than for everyone else? I never gasped for air like I had asthma... my legs weren't in excruciating pain... my biggest problem has always been awful awful sideaches...

So here I am today. I'm trying again... but I still can't run for a long distance... though I will keep trying. At this point I can go maybe 1/2 a mile without stopping to walk. After a bit of walking, I run again, for a shorter distance. But I'll keep trying. Maybe... just maybe.. by the end of summer I'll be able to run the whole 2.5 mile loop. At the very least, I'll keep trying!

I am NOT lazy...

Ok, I disagree with myself, I admit... But I have been working hard at being NOT lazy. Here's my proof...

Since my lazy post I have: looked at 20+ houses, made an offer, accepted an offer, scheduled a home inspection, been to a home inspection, scheduled appointments with the loan people, been to an appointment with the loan people, scheduled appointments with the home owners insurance people, other bank people, talked to my entire family about the house, moved my car insurance to a closer provider (to coincide with the home owners insurance provider), gotten a permit for my 'paperwork' wedding at the Capitol building (I don't want to go through the hassel of a legal Mexico wedding getting transferred to be legal in the US), lined up a judge to do the 'paperwork' wedding, registered at two stores, signed a whole lot of papers, been running 3 days this week, fit in tanning so I don't turn into a lobster at my wedding, contacted my wedding coordinator about travel insurance in case I can't go to Mexico because of the flu, paid for the resort part of my wedding in full, as well as the usual day-to-day shopping trips, work projects, and self-sanity activities (watching a movie that made me BAWL... Marley & me :'( )

I think that counts as not being lazy, right? (buying a house is SOOO much more complicated than getting married)

Moving up??

So buying a house has prompted me to explore life transitions...

Starting when you're born, everyone is always talking about moving on... learning something new etc. etc. etc. (working with preschoolers, I may be skewed to pay attention to many of the early ones... anyway...) I have a distinct memory from when I was entering first grade... someone said, "Wow! Now you're really going to school, are you nervous?" (I say) "I hear there is homework ugh... no fun" (opinion influenced by elder sisters)

Just over 10 years later...I graduated from high school and everyone said (or at least said to me), "Wow.. you're entering the real world... are you nervous... you're headed for the 'big city' Good luck!" (or something along those lines). I am grateful for the well-wishes and, at the time, I was very excited to move on... but even then I was thinking... Madison... "big city"... ??? (not really.. I HAVE ventured outside of the great state of Wisconsin and we really don't have much to qualify as 'big city'...well, I suppose when you compare it to where I come from...) So I think to myself, 'Yep... I'm ready... and I've been ready for a while...'

So anyway, 2 major life transitions (though many more from a parent-perspective, I am sure) out of the way by 18. I go to college, I love it... I love Madison (for the not-so-big-city that it is). 6 short (loooooooong!) years later I graduate with a Master's degree. Everyone celebrates (though no one quite as much as me) and says, "Wow.. you're entering the real world... are you nervous... you're headed for 'real world of work' Good luck!" (all the while I'm thinking... uhh yeah, I've been ready for this for at LEAST the past 2 years!)

Again, I love the well-wishes and hope for the best. I have had most of my first full year of 'real world' work (and luckily I love the people I work with and more importantly the job I do). During this year I also got engaged to be married! I received even more congratulations (Yay... I'm even more excited for this transition than for the graduation one!) Another life transition in less than a year.

On top of the last one (granted one of the 'Big Three' as I have come to refer to them... Marriage, House, Kids), I am looking for the 2nd of the above... a HOUSE! As listed in a previous blog Animals of Many Kinds, I'm not entirely happy with my current living situation. We're looking to move up to no shared walls... of any kind.

Yet another life transition. Am I moving too fast? This is a big one... lots of $$ on the line... lots of stress for me and my fiance to handle. Should we think about having kids right away... get the third 'Big Three' out of the way???


NO!


We will be waiting... at least for a couple years! Get married (almost all plans are done really), find a house (where we will throw a big party to celebrate the former), then take a BREAK! And have kids somewhere in there... when we're comfortable...

I am still left to ponder (as I set up 'retirement accounts' etc.). Every time you enter one of my so named 'transitions' it seems like it's the end of something and the beginning of another. I have always looked to marriage, house, and kids (the 'Big Three') as the 'END' of the story...stability sets in...period.

But really... as I think... every 'transition' (including those 'Big Three') is just that... transitioning to the next level. There is no end. There is ALWAYS another step to look forward to, work for (a few I think of at this point of my life... having a baby... having another?... multiple child milestones... they start school... we sell/buy a new house... (beyond that let's not think about at the moment). The point is... I don't ever need to feel bored with my life... ever. There's always more to plan for... prepare for... help my family prepare for...

I can't wait!

The Bender Ball...

Oh yes, the one time I give in to a TV infomercial... I choose to buy the Bender Ball. $10 is a very inviting number to make yourself look good... so I go to order online assuming the S&H will be significant... it is... $20 is still an inviting number to make yourself look good. After viewing the website a few times over a period of months, I give in. I have a wedding coming up... a wedding on a beach... yes, I need it.

The ball comes. I didn't realize just how small the ball was on TV.


Gripe #1 - Ball could have been purchased at Wal-Mart for $2 as it is the same size as those cheap ones in the wire cages...

So, I get the ball and the training DVD. ... ... ... a month passes ... ... (please refer to my Laziness) ... the next time I really even think about the Bender Ball, I am looking at my credit card statement thinking, "Didn't I pay for that stupid thing last month??" I check... I did...

Gripe #2 - They automatically sign you up to receive the DVD video that you declined to buy when you checked out... it's a 'subscription' that I missed in the fine print.

So I call the Bender hotline (after doing 2 seconds on online searching, I see multiple postings of other people who are just as upset as I am... alas if I had only done that BEFORE!) I am unhappy to the lady, but I do realize... she just needs to make money and the only people she gets to talk to all day are people like me calling in to complain (most of whom aren't as nice as I am and take their frustrations out on her). I try to cancel the shipment... no go, it's already 'in shipping process'. I ask about canceling the 'subscription'... she says, "Don't worry the NEXT payment of $20 WILL BE your last payment, I am unsubscribing you from the program." I get a little testy with the lady...there's ANOTHER payment I have to make!?!? She explains that there is. I go on to ask about getting my money back (now up to $60 for this thing I haven't even used and looks like a piece of junk) She gives me a code to put on the package so that they will be able to process my return.

A week passes, the shipment comes... I don't open it and say 'return to sender' on the package (the h if I'm going to pay MORE on top of all this craziness) with the return ID she gave me. It's been a month... I have yet to see the $40 I am owed appear on my credit card statement.

After my post earlier this week, I get out the ball and try the DVD.

Gripe #3 - The lady who is supposed to be teaching me how to get toned abs... HAS FLABBY ABS!!! Yes, the lady looks more fit than I do.... BUT SHE'S THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE AWESOME ABS FROM USING HER OH-SO-WONDERFUL PRODUCT!!!!

(that's her in the middle, as I said... looks better than me, but she mushrooms over those pants from the side... grrrrr...)

It does seem like it's an ok work out, but I am probably deluding myself and trying to get some good out of my $60 at this point.... wish me luck on getting toned before my wedding!

se la vie

I AM LAZY

Not when it comes to getting my job done. I love my job. I also get done things that need to get done like grocery shopping (though my fiance and I hate it so much we go once a month). But, typically, once I get home from work. All productiveness falls way underneath the couch, where I can never get the motivation to find it. So.. I plop down and watch TV (usually House...even watching the news is too much work for me.) You might think, "Well, you must have a really stressful job, you need a break, I get it..." No, no, not so much. There are some stressors, but minor really. I feel like I have a good handle on things during my first year of full-time work.

So back to my laziness. My idea of a 'productive' day off would be one small project (such as organizing my closet (a 15 minute task). Get all the things that I've piled up on my shelves or on the floor when there's no more shelf space and organize them (I'm NOT a messy person, so don't imagine a disaster in my closet, just a few things that I don't fold because I know I'm going to wear them soon... why waste the energy?) Chores like laundry are a hassle, but I do them... typically my only productive thing of the day.

Now on to exercising, seeing my thoughts on getting things done you must realize that motivating myself to exercise is like, well, this:


So you would be surprised to learn that I DID run for a whole summer almost every day! But that summer has passed and the motivation for it gone. My new overall motivation is getting in shape for my destination wedding in June. Yeah, that's coming up, yeah, I'm STILL not in shape...

So here's to coming home from work tonight, changing into running clothes and GETTING IT DONE!

Animals of many kinds...

We live in 'luxury' apartments...I suppose they are luxury. We have a pool during the summer, a nice clubhouse with a big screen tv, pool table, poker table, kitchen, weight room, and fitness center. Our apartment itself is nice too. I love the kitchen/living room set up (though we lack cupboard space). HOWEVER we can hear our upstairs neighbors walk, run, do laundry, and up until a few months ago their dog which we assumed looked like this from all the racket he made:



But actually looked more like this:

(ok imagine something like a german shepard in color but really only about 20 pounds) NOT what we thought before seeing it.

Speaking of dogs. I am not a dog person. They are usually too big and scare me or are unpredictable and stinky (yes, without an owner that bathes them A LOT... they usually stink). Not that I have anything against dogs or dog-owners...I have met many dogs I like. I just like cats more. One of the arguments I hear a lot in favor of dogs is that they greet you at the door. Maybe my cat is unusual in this, but she greets me and Jif every time we come home. She runs in and mews, falls on her back and rolls around waiting for us to notice her and pet her. She has so many fun little things...

So anyway, our 'luxury' apartment has no soundproofing in the ceiling... at all. We learned to live with this for over a year. We tried to contact management for a noise complaint to add some sort of padding or something... but they needed to hear it before they would do anything. Seriously, how can 2 working adults predict when exactly this dog is going to go crazy while the office is open. Thus we were left with over a year of 'earthquakes' when they decided to play ball... 'thunderstorms' when the dog and humans would play chase... and 'trainwrecks' when they would simply walk around. Of course, this would happen in the bedroom, at 12am, during evening movie-watching. It was so much fun!!!! >:-(

Jif was a little more perturbed than myself... knocking/beating on the ceiling when they pulled late-night stunts or were just SO LOUD. I, on the other hand, worked up the courage (had enough to drink, perhaps...) to go up to their apartment one night to confront them (I heard them above me so I knew they were home). Heart pounding... I walk up the stairs and knock on the door. No one answers... they left to go on a walk before I got up there... what luck... I never worked up the courage again.

These neighbors have also left evidence of being lazy and disgusting dog owners... as evidenced by the yellow snow on our patio a handful of times.... seriously inconsiderate.

If you haven't noticed, I was talking in the past tense... as of Christmas, the dog is gone! (Jif and I hope to a better place... like something with a yard.) The two humans don't do half as much running around. They do laundry every single day, but you know, in comparison, Jif and I were jumping for joy for 3 whole months!

Guess what the human-animals upstairs have purchased now??? You'll never guess...

A rocking chair.

OH.

MY.

GOD.

I can't tell you how annoying it is to try to do ANYTHING with that rocking chair upstairs. Jif is also going CRAZY (his threshold is lower than my own) but I am going CRAZY too!

Guess what the human-like-animals upstairs did last night in the chair... 'breaking it in' so to speak... take a guess... yes... THAT! I was luckily not home for this atrocity... Jif was... and had to leave the room it was so bad...

WOW. I can't wait to buy a house (which is hopefully within the next few months). Jif and I haven't even considered a condo or townhome or duplex... we can deal with NO MORE ANIMAL/HUMAN NEIGHBORS sharing our walls of any kind.

Crazy dream...

Here is a good example of the strange way my mind works. I have crazy dreams (usually because I like to push the snooze timer... a lot...)

The Dream:

This morning my cute little kitty Gweny (short for Guinivere, though she has many names really...) had kittens. My mind suddenly says, "But she's been spayed, I really need to call and complain to those humane society people!" (my kitty also has an illness, FIV, which is much like HIV but for cats... there is no way the humane society could have known before I adopted her... and she's likely to live a very long healthy life). Anyway... she, who has no contact with other cats... had kittens.

My fiance, Jif, woke up before me and didn't feel the need to tell me about the surprise occurrence. (this is where the dream gets kinda scary) Some kittens didn't survive and are in the apartment (thinking 'lucky' from 101 Dalmations... but not so lucky) but Jif shows me the one that did make it. There's also a huge mess that he didn't feel the need to clean up (leaving it for me!?! my mind is very upset with this!)

The mess is made worse by the fact that my cell phone is sitting in... it. I pick up the cell phone and start to clean it off. It suddenly opens up and I find a whole host of things stored inside my cell phone... two extra face plates, and more that I can't remember. (this is while I'm still in the kitty dream... anyway...) It opened much like the cell phone in the transformers movie that became a transformer... and all of its special insides fit neatly back inside or could be opened again. I abandon the cleaning mission...

I find that, unlike what Jif initially thought, there are 3 living kittens from my Gweny's litter. (the cutest little fluff-balls you can imagine) I also find the kitty-daddy roaming the apartment (I just notice him roaming around, he had no other role...)

In my dream I am suddenly sad. When there was one new kitten, my mind felt we could keep it. (Yay!) It wouldn't be in danger of getting FIV since it would have inherited it (which is why we won't be able to add to our real-life kitty family). But since THREE kittens are there, there's no way to keep them all!

And with that, my dream ended and I decided to wake up and not hit snooze (for at least the 7th time... yes I hit snooze for over an hour this morning...). Happily when I woke up, my real-life Gweny was sleeping under the covers right next to me in her oh-so-cute way.

Blogging...

I've never done this before but have recently been introduced to the witty and fun directions that blogs can take. I used to keep a journal but now I think this will be so much more fun! So stay tuned to see what 'meanderings' my mind will take!