The Holidays

This past weekend I went home to visit with my family for our Christmas.  People may have been wondering why I did Christmas 10days early, but when you work emergency management you have to do family time when you can.  My dad worked as a police officer and a firefighter for most of my life and we've always had to manage holidays and big family things around his days off, and now the family is doing it for me.

I had a good time at home.  It was a pleasent trip.  That's saying something because most of the time my sister and I get into it and have a huge fight that gets the parents involved and all around it just makes for a bad trip. However, that was not the case this time around.  It was an enjoyable visit home.  I got some good Christmas presents (maybe not all the ones that I wanted, BUT they were wonderful). 

I am working this coming weekend, which is Christmas if you didn't know.  I will be stuck in a room with 12 people who will be glaring at me because I decided that it's not financially responsible to participate in the pot luck Sunday dinner (read that as cooking for about 20-30 people).  Even doing finger foods of the cheapest kind it is just too much money to spend when things are as tight as they are.  Oh well though.  I am going to do what is right by me and my situation and not be bullied or guilt tripped into participating.  I will have declicious left overs that I will nom on my own while others are eating finger foods that sit out on tables for hours and hours on end.

I do believe that this place is slowly killing my soul, and I am looking for another job. 

On a lighter note I do hope everyone has a happy holiday season and that time with friends and family is good and that all loved ones are doing well.  George and I will be working this weekend, but still able to spend nights together so we shall celebrate a Christmas for us on Christmas and then when Autumn (his 8yo daughter) gets back to town from visiting her grandparents we will celebrate Christmas with her on Monday.

Happy 4 Months

Today, George and I have been together for 4 months.  It feels like we have been together for longer than that. I love him, and hope to have many many years with him. 

I love you, George!!





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In other news... Today is day 10 that my back has been ailing me.  On Thursday last I was making the bed (we all know that sleeping on fresh sheets is WONDERFUL) with George, and instead of moving one foot back and turning my hips and then bending over I just decided to bend over.  Bad idea.  I pulled something, or tweaked something, or slipped something. I did something, and it was BAD!  Immediately, I was bawling.  George got me an ice pack and took care of me that night, and has taken care of me since--picking up clothes from the floor, helping me get dressed because putting pants on with a messed up lower back is very difficult.  He has been so wonderful to me over the past 10 days in helping me do things, taking me places, etc.

I am going to go to the doctor's tomorrow to see if there's something that they can do for me.  I went the day after I pulled or tweaked or slipped whatever it was that I did (conviently enough for me I had a doctor's appointment that Friday).  The doctor last Friday prescribed muscle relaxers and pain relievers.  Well, I taken a few of the muscle relaxers and whenever I have taken them I wake up (because they KNOCK ME OUT) feeling like I've been drugged.  I had a headache, my muscles were stiff--in addition to my messed up back--and it's just not good juju.  The pain relievers have helped SOME to take the edge of the pain off, but they never took the pain away.  So, hopefully, tomorrow the doctor will be able to help me.

Last night when we went to bed George wasn't feeling well, and this morning he woke up and then threw up.  He doesn't feel well at all, and yet he came to work.  I think I will be taking care of him soon, and I will happily cater to his needs.  I love him, and that's what he's done for me and I will do it for him whenever he doesn't feel well.

Sometimes...

Sometimes, I wonder why I dream as big as I do.  I have HUGE ideas of what I would like to do for my life, my friends, my family, and sometimes random strangers in the street. Then I step back and realize that these dreams won't come true, at least not in the way that I want them to. I would have to be a billionaire in order for those dreams and aspirations to come true, and billionaire I am not.

Sometimes, I would just love to have the house of my dreams, and spend the day in the kitchen baking and cooking for the friends and family that will be coming over later for our monthly gathering.

Sometimes, I just want to pack a backpack and take off to some place that I've never been in the world.  Or, to pack up the car and just start driving and figure out where I want to go when I get there.

Sometimes, I want all of my money worries to go away.  The debt to be paid off (I'm not in that deep, but it's deep enough for a 24 year old).

Sometimes, I just want to curl up on the couch and read my book with a hot cup of tea or coffee or cider.

Sometimes, I just don't want to do anything.

All the time, though, I want to be able to provide for my friends and family.  To help them out when they need it and to make them feel loved, because they are.

All the time, I want to feel comfortable with my finances and not have to think about what I'm going to cut out this pay period.

All the time, I have to work overtime to pay bills and make ends meet and to barely have enough for a drink at the bar (not NEEDED in terms of survival, but needed in terms of sanity).



One day, I will have what I want.

Today, I wanted to complain about what I have, eventhough I have no reason to complain.  I have a full time job, insurance, a family that loves me, friends that love me, a boyfriend that loves, plenty of food in the pantry, and a good roof over my head.  I really have no room to complain, but I would like to have all of my bills paid off and have a good savings account balance (I'm working, literally, on both of those).

Ok, that's my bitching for the day.

Sad Day

I have just learned that a very dear friend of mine has been put into hospice care after a long battle with cancer.  It started out as breast cancer and that metastasized into so much more.  She doesn't have a lot of time left.  Today is a very sad day.

Ugh...

So I overslept this morning, and was awakened by the call from one of the assistant supervisors at work asking where I was.  I had turned my 0530 alarm off, and then just disregarded the other two alarms that I had set... and one was set to PM and not AM. Awesome.  It's great to wake up to the phone call asking where you are... Actually, I didn't even let her get that far. I realized what number was calling and answered the phone with, "I'm sorry! I'll be there ASAP!"

Being jarred awake like that SUCKS! Then you're shaky and off for the next few hours, or sometimes, the rest of the day is messed up because you feel like you can never catch up!

Finally, a cup of coffee and a glass of iced tea into the day and I was back to feeling like a relatively normal human being.

Tonight I am going to cook some hamburger rice casserole for my darling boyfriend, and we're going to catch up on some TV shows like Terra Nova.

As mentioned in my previous post I have been working A LOT recently, and I was finally able to have a few days off.  My first day off was spent sleeping and laying on the couch.  I know it's lazy to do that, but it really is just what someone needs sometimes!  Four days off were great.  I got to spend two of them with my "worse half" as one of our friends puts it (the female is the better half and the male is the worse half).  During one of those days I went with him to sign the lease to his new apartment, and then we went to check it out and move the bedroom set that he bought for his daughter (I found a GREAT deal for him).  It's a really nice apartment.  Vaulted ceilings, big closets, cute balcony.  This is finally the first step in us finally being able to be us. To be together without side stepping around someone else. Tomorrow is a big day for us as well.  While I do have to work tomorrow I will be going to his apartment (he's moving everything in tomorrow), and I will meet his daughter.  She's met me once before, and from everything that he's told me she already likes me, but I can't help but be nervous about meeting her.  I want her to like me.

Tuesday will be a day full of adventure and excitement! (This is when we need a *sarcasm font*.)

 I have an endoscopy scheduled for Tuesday.  Due to the weird, and sometimes pretty excruciating, abdominal pains I've been having the gastrointestinal doc wants to do an endoscopy on me to see if I possibly have an ulcer in my pouch.  I hope I don't.  I also had an x-ray done last week to make sure that there wasn't a residual gallstone in the little blip of a duct that is still there from the removal, and they found that my intestines are a little blocked.  So, literally, I am full of shit. HA! The GI doc has had me drinking Miralax to help with that, and an antacid just in case I do have an ulcer to help start the healing on it (if it's there).  On Tuesday I'll have the full schpeil (yeah, spelled THAT wrong, but whatever) on what's wrong with me, and hopefully we'll get this abdominal pain taken care of once and for all.

Now I'm just waiting on my appendix to go out.  Seems like for the past two years mid-July to mid-August my body has decided to PAIN ME and send me to the hospital.  First it was a kidney stone in 2010, and this year it was my gallbladder.  Next year it just makes sense that my appendix will go out; though, I hope it doesn't.  Medical bills are expensive!

OH! Random thought just now... I'm trying to get into couponing... We'll see how THAT goes.

ALSO!! Anyone who LOOOOVES pumpkin, and pumpkin flavored desserts should try my pumpkin cheesecake, and the "pumpkindoodles" (pumpkin snickerdoodles) that I made the other day.  Holy crow were they both DELICIOUS!!  Next I'm going to make a halloween cake... Or some variation of this... With sprinkles!

Musings

So, just to go ahead and get it out there today is working day 4 of 7.  I worked this past weekend, and it really wasn't bad so I have no complaints.  I was REALLY hoping that today I would NOT get called in, but that didn't last long as I was told yesterday to go ahead and come in and then this morning when I woke up I realized that the acting night supervisor had sent out the "call for help" email... aka the "if you can work overtime on dayshift PLEASE call" email, so I know I'm here for the day.  I was nice enough to help out a coworker and picked up overtime for tomorrow so that she could go on vacation... Now I'm wishing I hadn't done that, but it's too late now.  Not to mention I could use the extra cash what with a roadtrip to Florida at the end of the month and then Christmas "around the corner" after that.

October is a messed up work month for me anyway.  I am working these 7 days, then have a day off, working 1, on call, working 2, off 3, working 3, off 1, working 3, off 1, working 3, off 1, work 1 (trying to get these last two switched so it would be working 4), and then off the Florida. In October I have counted that the only Saturday I will have NOT working will be the one where I'm out of town, and I will have two Friday's not working, and no Sundays not working besides when I'm in Florida.  It's a crazy schedule, I did warn you about that.  When I come back I'll have a 5K to run, then work 3, off 1, work 3, and then back to a relatively normal November schedule (but at that point it's halfway through the month).  Oh man... it's going to be hectic, and those days off are tentative as I might try to pick up overtime.  There will be more overtime available as one of my coworkers has had her baby (or is so close to having the baby you can just say she's had the baby).  So I'll probably fill in a few of those multiple "off" days with overtime if I can--it's hard to come by, have to take it while it's available.

I've already told my parents that I'm going to be working on Thanksgiving (I've already told the supervisors that I want to be first in line for overtime on Thanksgiving), and Christmas (my squad is working Christmas again this year) so they're prepared for that.   I am also doing my best to spend time with my boy whenever I can.  I love spending days with him, and for the next month or so that is going to be hard to do but I'm going to make it work.

Ok enough about work stuff for now.  I have talked too much about it already, and have probably bored what few readers I do have to the point where if you've made it this far in the blog you are a TROOPER! 

I want to do a fall cleaning of my apartment.  I have WAY too much clutter and I need to fix that.  What I would LOVE is a full 3 day weekend, but as you read before I don't have one of those for quite a while.  So, I'm going to try to do a little here, and a little there, and just work on decluttering my shit.  This is when I wish I had a yard in a good neighborhood so I could just have a yard sale. But, instead, I think I will either donate goods to GoodWill or I will see what I can get for some things at a consignment type shop (I don't think I'll get much if anything, but something is better than nothing--sometimes).

*Sarcasm Font*

There are days when people really just need to be secluded away from others.

Today is one of those days for me.  I knew it would NOT be a great day due to the 3.5" palmetto bug, cockroach, whatever you want to call them... It was huge. 

Picture this:  I have just finished my shower and am talking to the two little boy cats. Mr T looks at me like he was caught doing something bad, and Thor was just sitting, facing the wall, looking up.  He looks back at me, and then turns his head back to the wall to look at something pretty high up.  So I slowly scanned my eyes up the wall KNOWING that something absolutely terrifying must be waiting on me in the corner he was looking at.  Sure enough, it was a huge bug. Normally I don't mind bugs, but when they encroach on my living space they freak me the fuck out.  I don't like it. 

I prance around in my bath tub just knowing that when I do pass by the bug, on my way to get a shoe to smash the hell out of it, he's going to push off from the wall and land squarely on my head.  Thankfully, that did not happen.  I return with a shoe, and make a quick dash past his stance on my wall again.  I raise the shoe, do a small jump, and squish the bejeebus out of it!  While raising said shoe and jumping and then with the smashing motion I yell.  Yup.  You read that right.  A battle cry was issued forth from my mouth in the attack against the monster bug.

After I had smashed the horrendous creature with my shoe I had to keep the cats at bay as I cleaned up the carnage and flushed the evidence.  Man, what a way to start the day.

Then, yes it gets MORE fabulous, when I arrive to work we get a little "come to jesus" talk from the supervisor.  Apparently, yesterday we were being too loud.  We were told three times to quiet it down.  Thing is, yesterday, NOT. ONE. PERSON. was being overly loud or obnoxious.  There have been times where I've literally had to plug my ear and scream into the phone to be heard or to hear, but yesterday, by my squad's standards, we were quieter than a mouse in church on Christmas Day.  So now, we all have to make sure that we don't make too much noise for the old bastards in here that can't hear or we'll get written up.  I happen to be one of the supervisor's favorites for yelling at about being loud, even when I'm not loud.  I know I will get a write up for being too loud.  I've already asked people that when the write up comes if they could back me up and say, "Yeah, you were being a bit loud" or, "No, you weren't loud at all.  As a matter of fact there were others that were louder."

So, today, keeping in mind that my day has not started off to a good note.  I am only to speak when spoken to, and I will not put my nose anywhere outside of my realm of work.  I will just sit at my computer and do my job and not talk to anyone.  That's what they want, right?  An android that does exactly what they say when they say, even if what they're saying do is stupid and counter-productive. 

Yup... That's my bit for the day. Have a good one.  I'll be minding my own business at my console.

Runs

I have started running... And by started, I mean in the last 4 days I have run twice.  The first time was on Wednesday.  I went to the gym after work and ran on the treadmill.  In 17minutes I walk/ran a mile.  Not too shabby for my first time running. Ever.  Then I went and ran today with my Ring Twin.  She ran her 2miles and then she came back for m and she walk/ran with me for the 1.2 mile loop that we did.  We did that in 20minutes and 14seconds, and that's not too shabby for my first run ever outside.  I do believe I am going to turn into a runner... That will be awesome!!

On another note, last night for dinner my Ring Twin and I had chicken that had marinated in mango tequila jalapeno sauce from Earth and Vine... SO DELICIOUS!! Also, we had a salad before the chicken was done, and then with the chicken Ring Twin cooked up some buckwheat groats and roasted butternut squash and then put an olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, etc vinaigrette type sauce on it and it was amazingly tasty!!  I love cooking with my Ring Twin.  I can cook this way at home, but it's so much more fun with her!

We're just recovering from our runs now, and then later we'll be celebrating a friends birthday and having a few brews downtown.  It's always a good time with the Ring Twin. 

Day Off

Today is one of my coveted days off.  Thankfully so was yesterday.  I have been working so many days of overtime or trading or what not, that I had almost forgotten what it was like to have 2 days off in a row.  It is fabulous.  Yesterday I spent way too much money on necessities for my apartment--cleaners, groceries, etc, but I spent most of the day with a wonderful guy who really did not mind going to the grocery store with me.  (I recently watched an episode of "Necessary Roughness," and on one of the recent episodes one of the men was explaining to another man that you know you really, really like a girl then you want to take her to the grocery store.  Well, he must really like me because he went to the grocery store with me. Ok, enough of that.

Yesterday, while oot and aboot (yes, said like a Canadian), I got the ingredients to make "White Chili."  I used this recipe:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/White-Chili-9.  I made the chili today.

Holy crow!! It's delicious!!

The recipe calls for slow cooking the chili for 3 hours, but I would suggest slow cooking it for 3 at the minimum and then probably, ideally, around 8 hours.  The onions, peppers, and even the northern beans still had a bit of a crunch to them and the longer they cook the more they'll soften.  The next time I make this recipe (SOON) I am going to let it slow cook all day.  Put everything together in the morning, and then let it all brew together for about 8 hours, and have it for dinner.  So. Delicious!

ALSO!!!! I had my first cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee from The Fresh Market.  I bought the whole bean bag, and then I ground the beans this morning just before brewing. Oh. My. Gosh! I have had some good tasting coffee before, but this... Oh, this was just amazing.  Perfect blend of pumpkin and spice and coffee and just nommy goodness!!  Thank you, Kitchen Monkey, for telling me about this coffee!! The World Market coffee was good, but it has NOTHING on The Fresh Market's Pumpkin Spice!

Off to enjoy the remainder of my day off!

Spazzy Randomness

There are certain days when you feel really, awesomely great! Then, crash. I think my caffeine is wearing off right now. Either Green Mountain Coffee Dark Magic (in a k-cup) has one hell of a punch, or I'm crashing from the oatmeal that I ate. Not sure which. I thoroughly enjoyed both.



There are some people that I interact with on an almost daily basis, and their "Woah is me. My life is in shambles. Blah. Blah. BLAH!" is really doing a number on my nerves. I am slowly getting closer and closer and closer to the point of saying something that really should not be said. I am not the type of person for a confrontation, but the individual that I am referring to is. I would not like to work with them for twelve hours with as spiteful, vindictive, etc that they can be. So, daily, I bite my tongue, and resist the urge to yell at them, "GET THE FUCK OVER IT ALREADY!"


On a better note, this week is payday! Which means I'm going to treat myself to a pedicure, and maybe to a new shirt or pair of pants. It's also shopping week... Meaning that it's time to restock some essentials in the fridge, cat litter, bug spray, you know, that kind of stuff. I know some people HATE shopping for those items, but I actually quite enjoy it. I like perusing the aisles and seeing what is on sale, and what is not, and just walking around kind of spacing then remembering what it is that I was trying not to space on and speeding off in the direction that I just came from for the item that was remembered, forgotten, and then remembered again. It's quite fun, as I'm a spazz and that just makes it great.


My Ring Twin came down this past weekend, and we had a gay old time. I miss her, and it is sad that she lives in a different town, but thankfully she does not live that far away. I shall have to go visit her soon! I love my friends. They are wonderful.


I hope everyone in cyberland has a GREAT day!!

September 11, 2001... 10 years later

*Moment of Silence*

It's been 10 years since the World Trade Centers were attacked by extremists.  Over 2800 lives were lost that day. I was in 9th grade, a freshman at Orange High School. When the attacks happened I was in first period, Civics and Economics, and there was a representative from one of the local elementary schools there talking with us about our class reading to the grade school children in the coming weeks.  It was until third period, Biology, that I had learned that the towers had fallen and what had taken them down.  I spent the rest of the day worrying about everyone in New York City and also worrying about my aunt; who, at the time, lived not too far from Washington, DC.  I was afraid that there would be something else.  Thankfully, there wasn't.  I spent all day trying to gain more information about what had happened.  When walking through the halls, if a teacher had a TV on to the news I would linger as long as I could outside of the room to try to get as much information as possible.  As soon as I got home from school I immediately turned the TV onto the news, and shortly after turning the news on Building 7 fell.  I watched for as long as I could before I just had to change the channel. 

Everyone please take a moment today and remember those who lost their lives as completely innocent bystanders.  Take a moment to remember the men and women that ran in when disaster struck to help others, and therefor lost their lives as well.  Take a moment to remember that everyday there are men and women fighting for your rights, and our country.  Without those men and women fighting on foreign soil for us, I might not have the ability to be posting this right now.

Say, "Thank you."

Remember to say, "I love you." 

Always give hugs and be glad that you get another day with your friends and family because you really have no idea when that will be the last moment.

Mmmm... Pumpkin!

I know it's not fall yet.  But, I love fall, and I need fall weather right now, but I don't have fall weather right now. So, how did I remedy my predicament? I baked some pumpkin muffins.  They weren't made from scratch, they were made from a kit, but oh man are they delicious!  I love pumpkin flavored items.  World Market has Pumpkin Spiced Apple Juice.  Pumpkin coffee. Pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin scones. PUMPKIN PIE! Pumpkin cheesecake (I have a pretty awesome recipe for this).

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  The leaves begin to change. The air crisps up.  Sweaters can be pulled out of hiding.  Leaves become crunchy, and fabulous things to chase down the sidewalk for the wonderful crunchy satisfaction.  Scarves can be unballed.  Pumpkins come into season.  Apples are totally in season. (If you're one of the lucky souls that lives near an orchard and can pick your apples whenever you want during the fall season PLEASE take advantage of that, even if you're just doing it for those of us that don't live near an orchard and can't pick our own apples--and selecting apples from the bin at the store doesn't count!)

I just LOVE everything about fall!! The random hot days.  The fact that in the morning you could need a scarf, but by the afternoon you're back to sweating a bit outside, but have to put on a light jacket for the evening.  But, the best part about fall is towards the end of fall.  That time frame between the leaves being at the height of their fall perfection, and when the trees are completely bare.  The time when it's almost required that you wear a long sleeve shirt of some kind, a light jacket, and a scarf when you're outside.  It's wonderful to take walks outside in the fall.  Cheeks getting slightly pink, ears have a slight sting from the cool in the air. It's just fabulous.

The best time of year to sit outside, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, and read a book, sit on a park bench and watch some of the people of the world walk by and think about what they're doing, where they're going, etc.  The fall is also the best food time, in my opinion (well, obviously it's my opinion, this is my blog).  You have wonderfully flavored baked goods, succulent meats, hearty casseroles, chili, squash... Oh, the squash! Squash is fabulous.  Butternut squash. Nom. Spaghetti squash. Nom. All of it. NOM!

Ok, I just wanted to put that out there for the evening.  I really cannot wait until fall is in full swing.  I'm trying to usher it in quicker by baking the pumpkin muffins, and drinking pumpkin spice coffee.  Speaking of coffee, I need to add that to my grocery list!

Woah! Oh yeah! I have a blog... Ha... Oops

People. Friends. Family. Random stalkers (you know who you are). Sorry that I have forgotten about you. I didn't mean to. I just, well, forgot. Lots have happened since DECEMBER of 2010.  It's now September of 2011.  Dang, 9 months. Almost to the day.

NO, I did NOT get pregnant and go "visit family" in another part of the world to be hidden from the shame of having a child out of wedlock like they used to do. HOWEVER, I have completed a 6 month stint on night shift, where my working hours were from 1900 (7pm) to 0700 (7am), and I slept between the hours of 0700 and 1900 (but mostly my sleeping hours were from 0830 to 1600----830 to 4p).  It was tough, but an experience that I am glad that I chose to go through.  I want to be the best at whatever job I hold, and how can I say that I know the difference between days and nights when I had never worked nights.  Now I have worked nights for 6 months, during the summer for the most part, over some major holidays, and it was definitely an experience that I needed.  I will say that I do miss the types and volumes of calls on night shift, and a lot of the people that I worked with, however, I do not miss sleeping during the day and missing being able to do things with friends or visit family because I had just been up for 12+ hours and now need to sleep before even thinking about driving more than 2 hours.

Also, during my hiatus, I have undergone surgery to remove my gall bladder.  Yeah, that was a fun 12 days.  It was the last balmy day in July.  I was sitting at my desk, dispatching the paramedics to the life and death and stubbed toes calls, when my abdomen (that pesky beast that we all deal with) decides that it wants to start turning in a burning ball of firey pain.  At first it was relatively manageable.  Hell, I initially thought it was just bad gas moving through my system and I'd let a good one rip after a while. Oh, but little did I know that my body had something else planned for me.  Not 10 minutes after the start of the cramping, burning, "no-position-is-comfortbale-enough" pain I was walking to the back office in the hopes that laying down for a few minutes would help, when I nearly fall on my face from doubling over in agonizing pain.  I make it to the back office with the supervisor offering her shoulder as a crutch, and I immediately ball in the fetal position with my forehead on the carpet (gross work carpet at that), my arms wrapped around my waist in a, hopefully, pain reducing hug (yeah, that didn't happen), rocking back and forth crying incoherently because the whole part of my body that was wrapped in epidermis, below the ribs and above the pelvis, was nothing but agonizing torture!  Thankfully, or more in a CYA (cover your ass) manner, the supervisor had already had one of my coworkers put in a call for an ambulance--yes, the guys and gals that I was just sending on calls are now being dispatched for me.  When they arrived they walked to the office, opened the door, looked at me for about 2 seconds before asking me if I wanted to be transported.  I, of course, just nodded my head, "hopped" on the gourney, and was wheeled away (how embarrassing).

The rest of the gall bladder story is relatively short after that, the initial excruciating pain was the most "exciting" part about the whole experience.  I sat in the ER for about 8hours.  I had an untrasound done of my innerds (totally awesome by the way).  The doctor or magical wizard that looks at the "films" saw that I had gall stones and that they were starting to obstruct the release of the lovely bile and other digestive juices from my liver to the rest of my digestive track.  So, during my 8hr lounge in the ER I see the ER doctor and then one of the surgery residents come in and ask me what I would like to do.  I tell him, "take it out as quick as possible so I miss as little time at work as possible."  I didn't want to have another trip to the ER due to gall baldder pain, and I didn't want to miss a ton of work for that stupid little organ (which I feel a little bit emptier now for not having; there's a hole in me that can never be replaced).  ANYWAYS, Sunday night I get admitted around 1am, so technically on Monday morning.  The surgeons were hoping that they would be able to get me into surgery on August 1st, Monday, but due to an unforseen trauma that came in I was bumped from being penciled in.  Thankfully, though, I was able to get sliced up bright and early on Tuesday by Dr Allison Lynn.  She did a great job, and was really nice (I quite enjoyed speaking with her before surgery and then at my follow-up days later).

I was able to go home on Tuesday afternoon.  My mom is fantastic and came down on Sunday night, and arrived at the hospital shortly after I was wheeled into my room.  So, mom took me home on Tuesday and stayed with me through Thursday evening.  I was told by the doc to stay out of work for 10 days after the procedure on Tuesday, so on August 11 I went in for my follow up and was cleared by Dr Lynn to return to work. 

12 days out of work when 1) you have no money, and 2) you're basically confined to your couch, and 3) it's "forced" time off and not voluntary really sucks! I lived though, obviously.  I was SO happy when I could return to work. Like I just wrote, 12 days off without wanting to be off, stunk. 

Since then though, I have gone on many dates with my now boyfriend.  I like him a lot. I have done a sleepover at work for Hurricane Irene, and my little boy cats ... OH MY GOSH I DIDN'T TELL YOU ABOUT MY LITTLE BOY CATS!

Alright, well. I have 2 cats now. They're about 5 months old, will be 6 months in about 2 weeks.  They are black cats with green and amber eyes.  They are beautiful little creatures! One night while doing my time on night shift a call came in about someone dumping a box of kitten behind a store, the cop got out there and sure enough, a box of four tiny kittens had been left behind the store.  When we called animal control to see what they would do about the kittens they said they would just put them down.  We were NOT going to have any of that, so we told the officer to bring them here and we would find a way to take care of the baby cats.  One coworker took the little girl of the bunch, another coworker took one of the other little boys, and then since there were two left I couldn't just leave one without a home, so I took the two innocent little beasts home with me.

It was probably close to 2 weeks of being the little boys' momma before I decided on what to name them.  Finally, I decided on Mr T (he had a mohawk on his back down to his tail, so it seemed fitting that a black cat with a mohawk be called Mr T... Plus, I wanted him to be SUPER awesome), and the second one is named Thor (full of energy and just a handsome fella).

But the boys are now eunichs.  A sad loss has come since I last posted on here, in that I had to put Scabbers down due to a brain tumor that was affecting her motor skills and interfering with her ability to eat.  I now have another little girl rat.  Her name is Hermione.  She's albino, and she's wonderful.  She's playful and sweet like Scabbers was, and she even likes playing with the boys!  I do have a happy little family.

I have been dating a guy for just under a month now, and I am so happy.  He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel beautiful and wanted and needed.  It's a very nice thing to be held by him, and then to see the look in his eyes.  It's wonderful.

Well, ladies and gents... If you have made it this far then you get a PRIZE!! What may that prize be, you ask?!

AN INTERNET HIGH FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oops, sorry!! Didn't mean to miss your hand and get your face!!