And its Monday again.....

How does Monday always get here so quickly? But anyway....Itty Bitty kitty came through her surgery just fine. She has been a little more quiet than usual this weekend, but is perking up more and more each day. Vixen did have a mild urinary tract infection and we got her to the vet for an antibiotic shot, mainly because that works for 2 weeks and getting medicine in this cat is virtually impossible. Hopefully things are all healthy and happy in Kitty Land for a while.

I put the lights on the tree this weekend. It seemed like a good time when kitty was not quite up to racing up and down the limbs. Bruce usually does the lights, but he was busy in the kitchen getting things prepped and ready for the new counter tops. One thing I realized: Its harder than it looks. It took longer than I thought. But I think I did a pretty good job of it. Bruce says that I have inherited the job from now on because its something he just never enjoys. I did run out and buy a new tree topper. We usually use an animated Santa and I love him. I decided he was too precious to risk on the tree while we still have young cats who climb it. So....a new, temporary tree topper was found. The choices are really limited out there. This is just a large red bow with LED lights. Its cute. Its not Santa but its ok. There are still no decorations. I am waiting to see how the cats do with the lights and maybe in a few days I will finish it up.

So the kitchen counter tops will be installed tomorrow. I can't wait. We have been living without a kitchen sink since Saturday...using paper plates, washing off the absolutely necessary things in the bathroom sink. The dishwasher is unhooked and as of this afternoon, the stove will be unhooked as well. Its been a bit, um, rustic. I guess I will run by and pick up some take out for dinner this evening. Bruce decided to do the removal of the counter tops himself to save some of the charges. The installation crew should be able to set up the new ones pretty quickly as everything is ready to go. I am looking forward to having a fully functional kitchen again......

Cats locked up

Its been insane around here this week. Work has gone completely crazy. Its been so late when I get home that it feels like I work, sleep and then work again. Seriously, I feel like I might as well set up a sleeping bag at the office. Monday was awful, but I kept telling myself that Mondays are always tough, so just hold on until tomorrow. Much to my dismay Tuesday was even worse. But again....I held out hope that Wednesday would bring some relief. Wrong. Wednesday was worse than Monday or Tuesday ever thought about being. Oh my Lord!!!

Also? I have lost my sub. He is (finally) going full time, and he deserves that. But now I will be working weekends, taking days off whenever I can borrow someone to work for me and it more than likely means no time off at Christmas, or New Year. Normally this would completely freak me out, but I am too tired to really care. It is what it is. At least Christmas is on Saturday, so I will be at home for the weekend.

Maybe some Christmas miracle will happen and another sub will decide to move to my route (although that will leave someone else in a bind). I have heard that some new subs have been hired, but no idea of when they might be in to train. I almost don't want anybody new coming in to work with me right now. I can only imagine a new person would take one look at how awful it is this time of year and run screaming out into the streets. I would. Hell, I almost do every single day of the week and I have been there for years.

But beyond work we have had our hands full here at home with kitty problems. One of the cats has decided to pee in inappropriate places around the house. Its so out of character because all of the cats have been so good and so meticulous about using the litter boxes (yes, plural....maybe its litter boxen?). We finally singled out the culprit (Vixen), and that took some time and sleuthing to figure out. I called the vet today and she said it could be a urinary tract infection. I have to bring in a urine sample. What in the world? Right now, Vixen is locked in a bathroom for the night in hopes that she will pee in a clean litter box (the Breeze system that has a grate filled with non absorbent pellets and the urine filters down into a drawer in the bottom of the box). So far the cat is miserable, and is crying to get out, but she can't come out until she provides a sample. Grrrr....

And besides that Itty Bitty goes in for her surgery (spaying) first thing tomorrow, so I have had to take up all the food dishes and now we have unhappy cats all over the house. No food, and they are feeling nervous that Vixen is locked up. They are standing outside the bathroom door meowing and sticking their paws underneath. Its going to be a long, long night.

Happy Birthday!!!!

26 years ago today, at about 8:30 in the morning, our son Stephen was born, and my life was complete. Happy Birthday my beloved son. I am really sad that we can't see you this birthday, but I hope you have a wonderful one. And an amazing year ahead, too.
We love you.

Happy Anniversary to Dad and Barb, too. 7 years ago today they were married and Barb became a Kintz. I hope you celebrate many more years ahead. We love you both.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family, plenty of good food and a little bit of time to feel grateful for whatever you have going on in your lives. I have so much to be grateful for that it would be hard to list it all. But I do have some that top the list of thankfulness.

- My husband, who is my knight in shining armor. He has been by my side since I was 15 years old. I don't know what I would do without him.

-My children (including my daughter-in-law) who always make me so proud I could positively burst. If I never had anything else in my life than this husband, this marriage, and these children then it would have been more than enough.

- The rest of our family because I love you all.

- My friends who cheer me up and listen to me whine when I feel down.

- Our home that provides a safe place and a sturdy roof over our heads.

- My job, because even while I don't exactly love it, I am grateful that it allows us to keep food on the table, health insurance to keep us healthy, and clothes on our backs.

- These warm furry little cats because I love them. They got me through the sadness when we lost the dogs, and they give me something to direct all my excess "mothering" to since the kids have moved away.

I am also thankful for cool crisp mornings, hot coffee, chocolate, clean laundry still warm from the dryer, hot showers, good books, and naps. I have a gazillion other things to be grateful for but excessive amounts of time to sit and play online here is unfortunately not one of them. I have a fudge cake to bake for the family thanksgiving feast. So have a wonderful holiday and think about all those amazing things that we sometimes take for granted every day. Love to all.

Countdown to Turkey Day

Nothing in particular is going on around here. I am working, running errands, baking some goodies and just trying to get ready for the big Turkey Day in general. We are having a brunch celebration at work tomorrow. I think we do it a day early because a whole lot of people take Wednesday off to either cook or travel. I have been instructed to bring sausage balls to that. I didn't take it off (we have taken off soooo much lately), so we will be in transit early Thanksgiving morning to be in Danville by lunch time. We are having a buffet at the Country Club with Dad and Barb, and our actual food extravaganza will be on Friday when the rest of the family can get there.

I would love to put up my Christmas tree. I feel like it needs to go up in all its naked glory for a while to let the cats (mainly Bitty) get used to it. But at the moment, there is a large box containing my new kitchen sink sitting right about where the tree needs to go. We are having our countertops put in next week, so hopefully that will finally be out of my living room. Seriously....the sink and faucet in a box about the size of a small car is in the living room. And a giant saw is sitting in my dining room floor. We spent the weekend putting down the quarter round molding in the kitchen, and we still aren't done. The saw has to be out and ready to go so we can finish....although I will say that the actual cutting was done out in the garage. He didn't turn the saw ON in the dining room. Grrrrrrr, my house is still topsy turvy. The kitchen china cabinet is in Stephen's bedroom waiting on the molding to be finished. Oh my Lord, I hope hope hope we can get this all pulled together in time for Christmas. Not just in time for the holiday, but in time for me to have a chance to decorate a little bit here and there. Its insane. I had no idea it would end up taking this long. But trying to squeeze things in between work and life just doesn't make for speed. The painting and updating I want to do in the living room, den and dining room will definitely be put off until spring. I am going to need a couple of months of having my house in order before we tear it all up again.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the long weekend, but I am also feeling a little sad that Stephen and Hannia won't be able to be with us. I don't like holidays without my kids, although I realize its probably going to happen more and more frequently now that they are grown. And we also won't get to see him on his birthday either, which makes it even worse. I know they are cooking their own little feast on Thursday. Stephen wanted plenty of turkey (the boy can eat some serious turkey) and lots of leftovers for those yummy turkey sandwiches....so....they are cooking a 20 lb. turkey for 2 people. LOL. I see turkey tettrazini, turkey salad, and turkey pot pie in their future for at least a week.....Well, maybe. He may prove me wrong and end up eating it all before they have to get creative with the leftovers.

hyperventilating

All of this Christmas stuff already has me hyperventilating. Its in the stores, on TV, on the radio. Good Lord, how can it be time for that already??? I feel like I lost October somehow. It can't possibly be time for Thanksgiving this soon. I haven't bought gifts. I have NO idea if we can even have a tree (with the wild kitten we have). Oh well....I have decided not to stress over the details.

Last year we had Christmas with very few of the trims and trappings. We had a trip to Jamaica booked and then Bruce got really sick at the last minute so we had to cancel. We came home on the night before Christmas Eve with no goodies baked, and no gifts under the tree. I was just glad Bruce was ok. We managed to celebrate though. Erica shopped for food and made dinner with all the trimmings. We played games, and we went to see a movie on Christmas night. It was nice. Just like the Grinch, "Christmas came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. ..." And I sort of liked it.

We are staying home this year. I am decorating as the cats will allow, but I am not going to kill myself over it. I am thinking I want to keep it low-key. Is it possible to have a NO stress Christmas? That is my intention. Laid back, time to chill out, talk and play games, and just enjoy having the kids all home for the holiday. A plate of cookies. Glasses of wine sipped over the scrabble board. That is all I want for Christmas this year. Well, I would kind of enjoy a few lights and a couple of ornaments on the tree......if the kitties deem it appropriate. LOL.

Facing Facts

I spent most of yesterday going through my clothes and cleaning out closets. I came to the realization that not only would I probably never fit into a lot of those things again, but even if I did they would be out of style. So....the result is a whole pile of stuff to take to Good Will. Its not that I am being pessimistic. Its more like being realistic. I am 48 years old, I have hypothyroidism, and I take at least 3 medications every single day that cause weight gain ....and I probably will have to take them forever. So.....it is what it is. That's not to say that I won't EVER lose some weight, but if I do then I am buying all new clothes and not closet shopping for something that is 10 years old and the wrong cut, or color or fabric. It felt pretty liberating actually.

I had to do the same thing with my shoes a month ago when I had the achilles tendon problem. My podiatrist gave me guidelines for the shoes I should be wearing. I got rid of anything that didn't fit the bill. Like flats, for instance. I love flats...but they are not so good for healthy feet. I need a moderate heel with good arch support. And just because I now know how painful it can be to go through foot problems, I am taking the advice to heart. Its not as easy as you might think, finding good comfortable shoes that do NOT look like orthopedic Granny shoes. It takes a whole lot of looking and trying on. I am figuring out certain brands that seem to offer the best fit, and that narrows things down a little bit. The one that is the most comfortable shoe ever (for me), is Rieker. Its a German company, and they call their shoes "anti-stress". I can't find them here. I bought my first pair in NY, and then have ordered 1 other pair. Not all of their women's shoes are cute, so I have to really look through what they offer. But if you can find a cute pair I would be willing to bet large sums of money that it WILL be comfortable.

The Doc (a cute little blonde girl that I swear doesn't look old enough to be out of college yet. Seriously.) also gave me a few other tips. Like never wear the same shoes 2 days in a row. It not only is good for your feet to have different padding every day, but it also gives your shoes a chance to air out. I had no idea it takes at least 24 hours for a shoe to completely "dry out". It not only keeps feet healthy but it will make your shoes last much longer, too. I have yet to convince Bruce of this, though. He buys 1 pair of sneakers and wears them all the time (unless he has to dress up) until they have to be replaced. Maybe I just need to make him go shopping!!! He has plenty of room now that I have cleaned so much stuff out.