Kitty Update #2

They’re making great strides.  Hannah comes out from under the bed regularly now.  It used to take quite a  bit of coaxing, but now she practically comes out as soon as she sees my face, unless she doesn’t feel like moving at all.  Even that makes me happy b/c that is typical cat behavior.  They don’t do anything they don’t feel like doing.  Yesterday she poked her head out and even though she saw me looking she went on and did what she wanted to do.  I’ve also caught her exploring my closet. 

Last night she kept running back and forth from their room to mine to eat.  But she would run to her room, eat a little and run back.  I imagine that explains all the running I hear at night.  It also makes me wonder if she’s the one that throws up occasionally.  4 times I’ve found a partially digested pile on my carpet somewhere, but you can still see the shapes in the food as if whoever threw it up had just eaten.  I wonder if Hannah doesn’t let her food digest before playing.  That definitely sounds more like her than Candace.

Candace is really chill.  She doesn’t do much, but desperately loves to be petted.  She is happy with me just being in the same room as she is.  She used to spend her day between my bookcases and would purr quite loudly if I hung out in there.  Since CW accidentally scared her she’s been under my bed with Hannah and I wake up to her purring now.  Now she and Hannah take turns coming to me when I go down to visit and when its Candace’s turn she is selfish.  If I start to pet Hannah with my other hand, Candace will go to that one and push Hannah out of the way.

Candace as come fully out from under the bed twice now.  She only stays out for a few seconds and is clearly very nervous for those few seconds, but its a start.  She does love to be petted though.  Is petted the right word or is the past tense of pet still pet?? Hmmm. . .

Anyway my girls are fabulous.  They are slowly testing their boundaries while I’m awake, i assume to see if I’m going to be mean to them like their previous owners.  Hannah is really enjoying testing me and getting more comfortable with it, but I wonder if she trusts CW.  Of course it could just be b/c they spend a lot more time with me.  The other night she was about to come back into my room, and he was trying to tell her that it was okay for her to come in.  She started talking, which is unusual for her.  As soon as I peaked my head out so she could see that I was also in the room, she came in.  I guess seeing me made her feel safe.

I’m getting closer to having crazy playful kitties in my house all day

A Bad Witness

My pastor is always reminding us that we are to be good witnesses for those who do not believe in God.  That as believers we need to live our lives so that others can see how faith and see how God is truly a consistent part of our lives.  If we want to lead others to God then we must always live our lives right.  Its the “do as I do” principle.

Yesterday, I went to DSW and found some fabulous sandals.  While CW and I were in line the woman in front of us was frantically trying to find the coupon that she had.  She had found a pair of shoes in clearance that were 50% off and she had had a $10 off coupon.  Well, she’s discussing this with the cashier, who by the way is being genuinely nice, and starts to include me and CW in the conversation as well.  Then she acts like a bad witness and says

“That’s what I get for changing my G**d*** purse, before going to church”

REALLY??!!  Not only did she curse, which would have been easy to ignore, but she uses God’s name in the curse and mentions that she had gone to church that morning.  That is wrong on so many levels.  She behaved exactly how we are instructed not to.  Of course, we don’t know what church she goes to, but I pray that it isn’t mine.

Kitty Update #1

This is the fifth day that the kitties and I have lived together and I think we are making great progress.  Monday at some point they hid themselves under my dresser in my bedroom.  In order to get under there, they had to go back behind it b/c that access is blocked from the front.  When we chased them out from under it, Hannah went under my bed, and Candace went back to their room.  Well, Hannah has claimed the space under my bed for herself.

She was there most of the day on Tuesday and yesterday, even though I was also in the room most of the day.  By the end of the day on Tuesday if I laid on the floor with my arm under the bed and called to her, she would come so that I could pet her and purr like a motorboat.  I haven’t been able to really pet Candace b/c she spends most of her day behind the bookscases where I can see her, but can’t really reach.

What makes me the most sad is that even though Candace will come to me so that I can pet her, she regularly looks behind her as if she’s checking for an ambush and if she gets too close to poking fully out from under the bed, she retreats a little bit.  It’s so sad to think what used to be done to them.

Well, they’re definitely warming up.  This morning I found them cuddled together between the bookscases.  Even though, I can’t fully reach them, I can stick my fingers in there.  Hannah began rubbing her head on my hand, then Candace pushed her out of the way to get to me, then they both started purring.  Candace also likes to talk to me.

They’re progressing much more quickly than I expected.

Meet the Girls

Meet my girls, Hannah (on the left) and Candace (on the right)!!  I’m so excited about them!! 

I’ve been wanting a cat for years, but the circumstances were never quite right.  Well, months ago CW and I started discussing me getting one.  I’ve been frequently visiting the website of one of our local cat charities and longingly looking at the pictures of the cats they have available for adoption.

Well, Monday or Tuesday CW mentioned that a guy that he works with had two cats that he didn’t want.  Apparently someone he knew didn’t want them anymore and left them with him.  Well, this guy didn’t like cats.  He just wanted them out of his apartment.  So, Thursday after dance rehearsal we went to see them.  I just thought they were going to be two random cats.  It was immediately apparent upon seeing them that they were siblings.  We asked what gender they were, which wasn’t an easy question b/c the guy is Mexican and speaks very little English, but he eventually understood and said girls.  Once they were coaxed from under the couch, they ran and hid at the end of the hall.  The guy went to get one of them, and she was terrified.  I knew immediately that they were nice cats though b/c typically when a cat is scared it will bite, scratch, claw, hiss do anything to get alway.  She was scared and tense, but didn’t try to injure him at all.

We didn’t take them then, b/c I had only planned on taking one, but I knew I wouldn’t feel right separating them.  The guy was begging us to take both of them anyway. 

So Friday, we went out and bought all the things you need for kitties. 

 

 

A litter box and a cute mat to go underneath that helps catch the litter that’s stuck to their paws.

 

 

 

 

a “diaper genie” type canister for what comes out of the litter box, food dish with matching mat, and an auto-waterer.  It has a resevoir that holds about 2 liters of water and automatically refills the dish when the level goes down.

 

 

 

 

and of course when I saw it at Walmart I couldn’t help but purchase the 8ft. tall cat tree for them to claw and climb on!

 

We took the bed out of my second bedroom and b/c the carpet in there is the only carpet in the house that wasn’t replaced before I moved in, its the perfect cat room.  Now all I have to do is convince them that I’m safe. 

Their previous owner and the guy that I got them from weren’t very nice to them.  Although they were fed and kept clean they weren’t cuddled with or played with.  They were basically ignored and the guy that we got them from used to kick them if they got too close.  They are emotionally scarred and I can see in their pretty faces that they are still very nervous that I’ll turn on them.  They love to be petted and purr like little motorboats, but they are afraid of being picked up.  It is of course promising that they are exploring my house.  They mostly just hide.  In their room I left the dressers and night stand for them to climb on and hide under b/c i know cats like to do that.  That pic of them is of them under one of the dressers.  Today they’ve been hiding behind the two bookcases in my living room so at least they’ve made it to the front of the house.  I will continue to talk to them and pet them everyday and I know that one day they’ll be the sweet playful and free kitties that they really want to be.

I’ll let you know when that happens.

movie vs. novel

So I’ve been told by my mother and CW both that I’m supposed to write a novel.  My mother has been saying it for my whole life, all she does is change what she thinks the novel is supposed to be about.  She used to worry that it was going to be horror b/c when I was 10 I started reading Stephen King novels and he was my favorite author back then.  Currently I have two ideas and they’re both science fiction.   Now the only other choice is to write a novel or a movie script.

When I write stories I can always “see” what I’m writing happening in my imagination.  My stories play out before me like watching a movie, complete with dialogue, scenery, and a soundtrack.  I agonize over the settings of various scenes, what the clothing should look like and how the music should sound.  I already know that one thing I really need to do is learn to draw.  If I could draw things out it would definitely help.  Maybe I could pick that up while I”m not working.

Anyway, I’ve started working on one of my ideas and plan on finishing the rough draft by the end of the year.  Wish me luck!

New laptop

Yea!!  I am writing this blog from my new laptop!!  My mom bought it for me b/c she knows that I’ve really been wanting one.  B/c of her position as the Minister of Finance at our church, she occasionally is required to teach classes about church finance and administration to people from other churches.  She is paid well for each time that she teaches the class and decided to use the money from her latest class to buy me a laptop.

The fact that I have it is not nearly as awesome as the story of how I got it.  I went to Best Buy yesterday, determined not to pay more than $500 for the laptop b/c as we all know by the time you buy the warranty, Microsoft Office Suite, antivirus software these days you’re practically buying a second laptop.  Plus I needed to buy a wireless router so that I could have a wireless network in my house.  CW and I read the specs for all the laptops that were $550 or less.  The one that I was most interested in had 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive and was only $400, but that was sold out.  Apparently there had been a mad rush for that laptop on Sunday morning, b/c it was advertised in the Sunday paper and they were sold out by 11:30 on Sunday morning.  That was clearly not meant to be my laptop as I am always in church at that time.

The second laptop that I wanted was also sold out.  This initially made me think that if they were both sold out, then the displays should be taken down, but what do I know.  So we kept looking.  The problem was that the other ones that were in my intended price range were just not as impressive.  I noticed some laptops in one of the cages, that didn’t have displays, so we asked one of the sales associates if he could find out the prices.  He was really nice and actually looked up the 4 that were there, but only told me the price for one.  He said that it as $431.  When I asked him what the specs were he said “Just trust me, its a steal.”  Long story short that’s the one I bought. 

This laptop is a Toshiba Satellite with 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a CD/DVD burner and a built-in webcam and microphone.  This is actually way better than the other two that I had looked at since they only had 3GB of RAM, a CD burner and no webcam or mic!  This is one of the laptops that they had on sale at Christmas time and they thought they had sold them all, so the display one had even been sold already.  Its not even on the website anymore! 

Alot of people would call that luck, but I call that a good ole’ fashion act of God.  Who knows what other blessings I’ll receive now that I have this.  I’m so excited!!

P.S.  As for the job hunt it’s going okay.  I’ve applied for a lot of jobs, but one of the jobs actually contacted my references last week.  I’m expecting good things to come of that.

        

My Birthday!!

So last night it dawned on me that my 30th birthday is fast approaching and I haven’t started planning my party yet.  That’s a problem!  I haven’t had a birthday party since I turned 16 and I think that’s ridiculous.  My family usually just goes out for birthdays and the birthday girl gets to choose the restaurant.  Well, I want to enter 30 with a bigger “to do” than that.  I’ve been trying to get my parents to plan something, but they just laugh about it.  I’m sure they know that I”m excited about it, but I don’t think they take me seriously when it comes to me actually wanting a party.  Well, if I have to throw it myself then I will.

With that said, if anyone has any suggestions then let me know.  My first order of business will be to find a location, b/c I want to invite more than just my family, even though that alone is about 20 people.  Last night when we went dancing I was on the dance floor thinking “My iPod could DJ better than this guy is”, so I’ll save money there.  I’ve got about 2 months to add party songs to my collection, then I can just hook up my iPod, put it on “shuffle” and let it go.  I’ll also save money by making the cupcakes myself instead of buying a cake.  Real Simple magazine did a book about celebrations that I bought that has some great ways to spruce up box cupcake mix so I can easily use that..  I think this is going to be my best birthday yet!

An Entertainer

The other day CW and I were discussing the fact that I regularly say that I’m bored.  He asked me about a relationship I had where me and the guy didn’t argue a lot.  He was trying to say that it was mostly b/c me and that guy had sex regularly, saying that b/c he and I are celibate we need to work harder to entertain ourselves.  I said that wasn’t true b/c I could only think of one relationship where the guy didn’t get on my nerves on a regular basis and that was with GJ.  He asked me why that was, what did G do that I liked.  By the time I finished listing things he said that G kept me entertained.  He may not have been purposely trying to do that, but his personality was just naturally entertaining to me.

I’m realizing that that is true.  He was so funny all the time.  In other relationships I’m always the one who is funny and constantly making the other person laugh.  I don’t do it on purpose though.  My mother is always telling me that I’m funny, and from my point of view I’m just talking, but CW says the same thing.  I was never bored with G b/c he was a lot of fun.  We could spend all day in the house and I wouldn’t be bored once.  We watched a lot of the same TV shows, played games, our conversations were fun, I just enjoyed so much about him.  “Well why aren’t you with him anymore?” you’re probably wondering.  Well the relationship ended b/c he cheated on me.  He was man enough to admit it on his own, but it still happened and I wasn’t going to put up with that.  Honestly, if that hadn’t happened though I would have married him. 

Anyway, its official.  I’m adding that to my list.  I need a man who is naturally entertaining.  I never knew that about myself, but it makes total sense.

No excuses

Okay, no excuses.  Its been about 2 months since I’ve posted anything.  No too much has happened since then, but that’s still no excuse.  I couldn’t blog from the school where I was teaching and b/c I hate being tied to a desk I wasn’t turning my computer on.  Well, that’s all in the past, so today is the first day of a new goal to post at least once a week.

Let’s catch up!

My last day as a teacher was January 23.  That’s right, I resigned!  Teaching was just not a good fit for me, at least not teaching public school.  I still enjoyed working with children, but there is just too much wrong with the way schools here are run and it totally drained me.  I was loathing going to work in the morning and coming home completely drained even after one day.  If I’m going to work with kids, I’ll have to find another way to do it.  I totally enjoyed teaching writing though, much more than teaching literature so I may investigate ways to do that in the future.

Right now I’m just looking for another job.  I make it a point to apply for at least 20 jobs a week.  So at this point I’ve applied for about 27.  I know that something is going to work out so for now I’m just enjoying my time off.  That’s basically it.  I’m still dancing on Sundays and dating CW. 

I’m trying to convince my mom to let me volunteer to be her secretary until I get a job, but I think she’s worried that her boss will hire me and that it won’t pay enough.  She just keeps saying “there’s no money in the budget for me to have a secretary.”  I say “Mom, I’m going to volunteer to do it for free.”  She says “You’ll get a job soon.”‘ I know I’ll get a job soon, but I guess she just doesn’t want to risk that ending up as my job.

Well, I’ll mark that today is Tuesday and that by next Tuesday I’ll need to have updated you.

I’m so excited about my future!!

November

Well, November just flew by. I had so many lofty goals and only accomplished the one that I didn’t have a choice in.

1.  The dance group that I’m in was in a stage place that was performed on the 29th.  There were supposed to be 2 performances, but the writer/director cancelled the Sunday one (praise Jehovah for that).  Well, between rehearsals for that and doing my school work, and what I’ll explain in #3,  my only accomplishment was remembering my cues and the various dance numbers. 

2. I didn’t get the novel done.  I really like the idea though, so I’m going to outline it and work on it slowly instead.  Maybe next November I’ll have the manuscript done and will spend NaNoWriMo revising.

3.  I’ve sort of made a new friend and we’ve been hanging out on a regular basis.  I think today is the first day in a month that I haven’t seen him at least for a little while.  He’s not really a new friend b/c he dances at my church and that’s how I met him 6 years ago, but I didn’t know he was so cool. Its been a long time since I had a friend who could actually dance and of course he loves to do it, so every other Friday is our standing date to go out dancing.

4.  I’ve finished T’s penguin hat (finally) and now just have to sew the seam in the back.  Its really cute though so I’m determined to sew the seam tomorrow and get it to M next week.  I haven’t gotten hardly anywhere on S’s baby gift though.  This will be the first baby that will get the gift after they arrive. 

5.  Speaking of S and M,  I haven’t talked to them in ages and its totally my fault.  I’m turning into the kind of friend I typically am since I hate talking on the phone.  It had been my intention to talk to them like once a month, but I haven’t done it.  But since my schedule has calmed down, I’m making it my New Year’s resolution, but really I plan to start this month.

6.  I did, however finally finish painting my prayer board.  I was instructed to post my prayers, blessings, and other religious assignments on a board, but I didn’t want it to be a plain ugly brown cork board, so I bought a board, acrylic paint and brushes and was going to paint stripes.  First I thought I’d be cool with doing the stripes by hand.  They werent’ perfectly straight, but the first few looked nice then they started getting choppy.  With board #2 I wanted to tape the stripes off so they’d be perfect and CW and I found out the hard way that even the weakest painters tape picks up pieces of cork.  So I’ve finally done board #3. Almost the same colors, but this time I used a stencil.  I like it.  I was feeling very much like M, when I did that yesterday except she probably could have done the stripes freehand, as artsy and capable as she is  

6.  Oh and I’m dead set on being done as a teacher at the end of this semester.  I’ve been researching technical writing, which I had never heard of until M told me about it last school year.  Its like my perfect job.  If I had heard of it in college I would have never tried teaching, but then I wouldn’t have such awesome friends, so it was worth it.  B/c I need to build a portfolio first I think that when I leave teaching I’m going to find a temporary job like being a bank teller or something, like that.  Something that I’ll be good at and will enjoy, but won’t have a hard time walking away from.  No matter what though, this lady will not be a teacher at the end of January.  Yea!!

7.  Monday marked the 1 year anniversary of me leaving ExH.  December 1, 2007 was the day that I moved out.  How fast that year went by and I wouldn’t change a thing!!  I can’t believe that its really been a year.  I didn’t celebrate, but I’m no less excited.

Okay that’s it so far.  It would be so much easier to blog if I could do this at work, but alas I can’t.  I’ll just have to stop being lazy and make it a point to turn on my computer at least once a week.

S and M, I hope you can forgive me.  And if I don’t get my original gift done by the end of next week, I’ll send Baby B a handmade back up gift, and send the original one when I get it finished.  I love you ladies!!