Just Catching Up

Fitbit:  I've decided to stop wearing my Fitbit.  Actually, I decided that a couple of weeks ago.  And I'm happy to say, I'm glad I did.  I was getting so hung up on how many steps I hit in a day.  It was a little unnerving.  I'm glad to not be tied down to that little contraption any more.  If anyone wants a Fitbit, let me know.  You're welcome to mine.

VBS:  I'm teaching music at VBS at St. John's this week.  The theme is a campout.  The theme song is Kum Ba Ya.  So I've gotten to sing that song SEVERAL times this week.  The preschoolers and kindergarteners have another song... the first and second graders have another song... and the third and fourth graders have another song.  So I really only had to learn four songs.  Dealing with so many kids in such a short period of time wears on me.  I'm just not a kid lover. Looking forward to the week being over.  Only one more night to go.

Work:  My new job is going pretty well.  I'm working on the IT budget.  Not by myself, thank God.  It's enough to keep me busy though.  I'm really happy to be back on the IT contract.  I'm also spending some time studying for my Security + certification.  It's a bit overwhelming, but it gets a little more manageable with every day that goes by.

Health Insurance/401(k) - I've been trying for a couple of weeks now to enroll in both of these with my new company.  I finally got my health insurance lined out yesterday.  I've already racked up $1,200 against my new $4,000 deductible.  I'd like to see it counted.  So I need to figure that out yet.  And I need to call about managing my 401(k).  But I'm working on it.

Mental Health -  I haven't had a depressive day since early in December.  That's six months depression free.  Six months!  My meds are definitely working.  Robin has taught me several things to keep my mind focused on being more positive and dealing with stressors better.  That's definitely working too.  Here's hoping I can go another six months!

Cats -  Mom was on vacation this week so I watched her cats this week.  So I got some feline therapy each morning and afternoon.  Yea, me!  Time spent with Barnaby and Elliott is good for me.

When all else fails...

...cute kitten pictures!  And tuxedo cats are so darn cute!  They're so cute, I named them.

Hi, my name is Oliver.

Hi, my name is Shakespeare.

Hi, my name is Pepper.

Hi, my name is Elliott.

Hi, my name is Argyle.

Hi, my name is Henry.

Hi, my name is Lily.

Hi, our names are Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hi, my name is Domino.

Hi, my name is September.

June Bug

I know I've mentioned my cat before, Linus Felinus. He's pretty much MIA, catting around the neighborhood and spending little, if any, time at my house. But never fear, I didn't have to go too awful long missing paw prints all over my black car.

Jeff and his girlfriend Lacey had a cat at college. They weren't supposed to have pets, but apparently lots of the kids did. Anyway, this particular cat is a long-haired female. She is black from nose to tail, except for a bit of gray on her underside. She has claws on all four corners and she's not all that discriminating about when she uses them. We don't know exactly how old she is, but we're guessing 3-4 years old.

Jeff and Lacey named her June. Apparently because her goldish-green/greenish-gold eyes reminded them of a summer evening. Awww, how romantic. June reminds me of Ward's wife on "Leave It to Beaver". So to me, it's much too matronly a name for this little black, ever-moving ball of fur. So, I call her June Bug...when I'm not calling her names.

She's really a pain in the butt. She knocks everything over. She's constantly clawing me...even when I'm sleeping. She even ticked off a skunk and now smells like one. And her favorite place to sleep outside (yes, she's living outside as long as she smells like a skunk) is in a bed of weeds that leaves burrs in her fur...and she doesn't know how to remove them!

Yesterday when I left for work, she was talking up a storm. I couldn't see her and kept trying to get her to come to me. I wanted to know exactly where she was before I backed the car out of the carport. She never came. So, I started to walk around the car and found her...on the roof! I wasn't feeling all that well, not to mention I was running late. So, I left her up there, thinking she'd come down when she was ready. I don't know if she was STILL up there or if she was up there AGAIN, but when I got home 12 hours later, there she was...on the roof.

I tried to get her to jump down to me. But she wasn't at all interested in that plan. I really didn't want to have to go up after her. So, I 'walked' her to a tree. As I walked around the house, she followed me...from above. Once we got to the tree, I encouraged her as she made her way down to the ground. She seemed pretty relieved to be back at sea level. She then clung to my legs, trying to rub her body all over me to show her appreciation. Little did she know, she was nearly knocking me down!

Not sure if she'll venture up that high again. But now that I know I don't have to climb up after her, makes no difference to me if she wants to hang out up there. Honestly, the happier she is on the OUTSIDE of the house, the happier I am on the INSIDE of the house.

I wonder when Jeff is going to take her to live with him.

Practically perfect in every way!

First, I survived my one-day-of-the-year car-hopping stint. And it actually went pretty well. The restaurant purchased a new computer/cash register. So, I didn't have to copy prices off the menu board and figure up my own tax. That was GREAT! And we had someone behind the counter all day entering things into the computer/cash register, making drinks, AND ice cream. THAT was GREAT! AND it didn't rain! There was supposedly a 70% chance of thundershowers. I thought for sure I'd be soaking wet in the first hour. But nope! Not a drop. It was a gorgeous day! THAT was great too!

I'm not sure how much we made. We left all of our tips at the restaurant. They're going into the pot with the night shift and then we're just splitting everything 50/50. So, I'll know after 10pm. I think we did pretty well though. And Jeff? He was SUCH a God-send. He wasn't all that excited when we first got started. But he warmed up to the idea and was a HUGE help. Thank God for Jeff!

After car-hopping for six hours, I sang at mass. That went well. I'm glad for that too. I never want to be a distraction while singing at mass.

Then I went to Grand March. I really wish Jeff would have gone to prom. Of course, he probably wouldn't have helped me today if he had planned to go to prom. But still. He's never been. And I think he would have enjoyed the experience. But the girl he wanted to take wasn't allowed to go. Too young. He didn't want to go with anyone else. So, he didn't. He didn't even go to Grand March to see his friends. He took a nap after car-hopping all day. He plans to go to Post Prom though.

But my point is, already once this evening, he's mentioned that he wishes he would have gone. I'm like, "no kidding, me too." I just feel like I'm missing out on so many experiences with Jeff because he chooses not to take part... like his going back and forth between walking at graduation or not. OF COURSE YOU SHOULD, if I had my way. But he's not going to do it for me. He has to want to do it for him. And honestly, there's no telling until about an hour before the event. Ugh! This kid, I swear!

Anyway, back to prom. I saw lots of shiny, shiny dresses and shoes. I saw animal prints! I saw several girls who appeared to be wearing high heels for the first time in their lives. (What were THEY thinking?!) I saw LOTS of curls! I saw LOTS of guys wearing shades. I saw some GORGEOUS dresses and some not-so-attractive dresses. And I saw one of Jeff's close friends crowned King. Congrats, Gage!

Now my day is all but done. I'm going to read a couple of hours out on the front porch with Linus Felinus. It's absolutely gorgeous outside and I'm looking forward to it...except that all those kids are across the street. Hopefully that's not a huge distraction. THEN I'm going to bed WITHOUT setting an alarm clock.

What a day! As Mary Poppins would say, "Practically perfect in every way!"

I got nothin'...

I have accomplished a whole lot of nothing today except sleep in and have lunch with my son...both enjoyable.

I could have typed up the notes from my class reunion meeting last week. I could have written a chapter or two. I could have started making thank-you cards and receipts for the people who have already replied generously to my Relay for Life donation request letters. I could have done housework or cleaned out my car, both of which really need to be done.

But what I mostly regret is not mowing my lawn.

Jeff told me every day this week that he was going to mow my lawn. Every day of his spring break. But I am now the only yard in the neighborhood with long grass. Me mowing the lawn would have accomplished two things. One, my yard would look better. Two, it would have totally ticked Jeff off that I did it instead of thinking it was okay that he DIDN'T do it.

My fear? I haven't seen Linus Felinus for two days, but I'm pretty sure it's just because he's lost in the underbrush somewhere. I hope he finds his way out safely...before the lawn actually gets mowed.

Still Reading "The Shack"

I am still reading “The Shack”. I can’t believe how long it’s taking me to read this book. It’s not that I don’t find it interesting. I even love the writing style. But for some reason, it just seems to be taking me forever to get through this one.

I try to read a little every night before going to bed. It helps me take my mind out of my day (my stresses, my bills, my to-do list) and lets my mind live in a make-believe world where the problems are not mine to solve. I think it helps me fall asleep.

So, I am making progress on this one, just not as fast as I expected. And I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps God doesn’t want me to just zip through it. Maybe, just maybe, He wants me to take in a little at a time and let it swim around in my heart and soul awhile before taking in the next little bit.

At any rate, I’m enjoying the book. And last night, I enjoyed it while sitting on my front porch with Linus Felinus. The wind was a-blowin’ so hard, it sounded like the ocean! But we were fairly protected on my porch. I was hoping for a thunderstorm. But if it came, it was well after I closed my book and went to bed. Tonight will be much too cold to read outside, so I’ll be back to reading in bed…my second favorite place in the world to read.

Silly Groundhog

I could have posted this a couple of days ago, but I had other things to say. : )
On Jan 28th, we had so much snow and cold weather that our workplace was closed. Schools were out of session for DAYS! And several hundred (maybe thousand) homes were without power.


As of Sunday, Feb 8th, just a week and a half later, we have NO snow and 50-60 degree temperatures. Actually, that's an inaccurate assessment. There IS snow.the piles that were created/assembled in several parking lots across town. But even those are dwindling, melting before our eyes.


So Linus Felinus is back to living outdoors again. His house. And my car has his signature prints all over it as proof.


It's been so nice for the last few days that I'm convinced that winter is over in southern Indiana. What are the chances? That silly little groundhog says no. But we even have thunderstorms in the forecast for tomorrow night. I LOVE thunderstorms! (Then again, I loved the snow... reminded me of Colorado.) Of course, with all this melting snow, we don't really need the precipitation. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.


Bring on the rain!

I Have a Cat

His name is Linus. I love his name.

I got him 'free to a good home'. But within a week or so, he had a cold in his eye, so I had to take him to the vet. It cost me like $85 or something ridiculous. I mean, he was this tiny, little thing. I couldn't believe he was already costing me money. So, he quickly inherited a middle name... PITA, which is short for Pain In The A$$.

All of my cats get my son's last name. So, this one was now Linus PITA-bread Underwoo. I added the 'bread' just because it rolled off the tongue better. As for the last name, the first D is silent and the second D is invisible. So, it's more like Unnerwoo. Linus PITA-bread Unnerwoo.

Before Linus, we had Peek-a-Boo and Lily. Again, I played with their names a bit. That's what I do. Peek-a-Boo became Peek-a-Durn-Boo Underwoo. And Lily... well, Lily had a really long name. It went with her really long tail. She was also a total tomboy, not afraid of anything. So, she became Lily Monster Moe With a Long Tail. Monster was pronounced more like Monser. Moe, just because it made the name roll better. And 'With a' was more like Wissuh. (She knew I was talking to her!) Peek-a-Durn-Boo Unnerwoo and Lily Monser Moe Wissuh Long Tail.

I actually have several nicknames for Linus...like he needed another nickname. I often call him Little Man Linus... pronounced L'il Man Linus. Of course, it made more sense when he was a kitten and well, little. Now, because he insists on living outdoors, he's fat and fuzzy. I assume he's fat because he's kind of in hibernation mode, what with winter coming on. He's fuzzy because his coat is coming in really thick. He'll thin down again as the weather warms up. But right now, he's fat and fuzzy...totally NOT a L'il Man Linus.

I also call him Linus-Felinus. It sounds very Latin and distinguished. I don't know if Linus can be described as either Latin OR distinguished. But it's cute. And Linus is cute. He's a cuddler and gives me a kiss before his dinner every night. He's definitely a cutie. So, I'm sure he'll hear that one again and again.

L'il Man Linus-Felinus PITA-bread Unnerwoo. My cat.