Narcoleptic Squirrel

With tax day looming, I originally thought today’s squirrel should commemorate that. However, finding a squirrel appropriate for that was neither easy nor fun. Besides, no one wants to be reminded about paying taxes right? (Although, since I love you all, and don’t want you to go to prison and take it up the butt in a different way, please remember to file your taxes by midnight, April 15th.)

So, I thought I would give you a different reminder! It’s spring! (Though the snow in MN would have you think differently, it is, in fact, spring.) That means all the animals are having babies! Tiny, adorable, babies. The problem is that humans are all up in these poor animals’ grills! Mamas get hit by cars, nests get knocked loose during yard work, neighborhood cats and dogs drag wee ones away from home…the list goes on and on. Luckily, there are places that are dedicated to saving these tiny creatures. Locally, we have the The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota. They saved this adorable guy recently:

Look at that face! I have longed to volunteer here, but this year is crazytown right now. If my apartment would let me, I would take some of the tiniest animals that need round-the-clock care. However, then I would be homeless and no one would be better off. So, if you have any time to spare for these tiny animals, I say you should apply to help. Directions, and applications, are on the website.

Also, if you find a displaced baby animal (or any wild animal), or notice anyone causing them harm (like the year our neighbors were trapping squirrels and letting them starve/freeze to death) please give these guys a call. If you don’t live in MN, look up your local center. I know that lots of people think of this wildlife as pests, but they were here first. We are displacing more and more of them, and without them, the world would not be the same. So, help save the adorable animals!

I thought I could sneak in a quick link round up in the middle of my Project Runway application mayhem. However, I somehow closed the links I was going to use and my brain fog cannot remember what they were. I tried, but it is already well past my bedtime and I am having no luck.

So, I’m sorry, readers. I will sort out a better way to keep my links fresh and ready to go for my round up for future posts, so I don’t wind up in this bind again.

Have a lovely April, friends!!!

So, here I sit at the computer trying to procrastinate away the coming Monday. I have a hard time tucking myself in at night normally. However, Sunday nights are exponentially more difficult for me. It’s as though not going to bed will keep the evil Monday at bay and I can continue my blessed weekend. Alas, this has yet to work. Instead I must face Monday sleep deprived and push through until Friday afternoon rolls around to greet me. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Tonight is even worse. Instead of bidding adieu to just the weekend, I am kissing my week of vacation good bye. Work has been exhausting of late, and with all of our family living out of state our vacations are usually used to visit them and share their special events. So, I used some of the (amply) provided PTO from my employer. I armed myself with a long list of things to get done and places to go. Alas and alack, there are only 24 hours in a day and I feel I came up woefully short. So, I shall focus instead on what was accomplished! I am going to borrow Pickle Juice’s (where have you gone??) bullet list, patent pending.

• Getting super dressed up and going to a play and after-party
• My semi-annual dentist visit (including getting fitted for my night guard!)
• A neurologist appointment (the verdict being that I have a structural problem preventing my neck from healing and a referral to a physical therapist.)
• Going to karaoke (on a school night), going to another bar after, and finally hitting Mickey’s for some greasy early morning vittles.

A chiropractic adjustment

• Patching and painting all the wee nail and screw holes in our walls-which I have been putting off for ages. Not so glamorous, that task.
• Spring cleaning our bedroom. (I have to be honest, there are a couple of loose-ends there, but we can wrap up this week for sure!) This was a bigger task than I anticipated. Moving furniture, culling our possessions. How did we wind up with so much stuff already???? I thought about selling some things, but I think Goodwill will just have to do.
• Grocery shopping
• Audition to be Purina’s Cat Chow Correspondent! (I will take any and all prayers, happy thoughts, crossed fingers, etc. These can be applied to G and I!) It went well…since I am a crazy cat lady. It is a national search, though, so competition is FIERCE.
• CON meetings, our department, division, and CONcomm. I think we may just get this thing together.
• Haircut and color. My hair was getting shaggy and I was antsy to right the situation. My hair was extraordinarily well behaved that day, and I was tempted to just leave it alone. However, I got the color refreshed and lots chopped off. So much better. I think I will get even more chopped off next time!
• Movie time! We saw The Adjustment Bureau and enjoyed it immensely. We had free passes, and coupons for our snacks, so it was an affordable evening out. I highly recommend the flick. It’s a sci-fi love story, and totally reminded me of Dark City. Plus, Matt Damon is just so endearing in it! You can help but root for him.
• Household budget. Again, not totally done because I am trying to be super thorough. It was definitely shocking to see how much money we shell out for things. I could see some places where reigning it in will be easy, but I have a feeling that won’t be enough to get our finances where they need to be. Sigh.
• Sleep. There was a lot of time dedicated to rest. Maybe too much, but that is what vacations are for.

Not part of the list are all the boring things like errands, and how I learned how to put together a bulleted list in HTML. All by myself! Okay, Google helped. I realize now that I am running out of things to do on the computer to keep me from having to go to bed…and work. Darn.

So, it has been months since I have bothered to write, many apologies. Suddenly, I’ve had more going on than I’ve know what to do with, much less write about it all. My top priority has been to keep up with my half marathon training, as I’ve a lot invested in it so far, I must follow through. I have carefully laid plans for the new year, and how I will keep up with my posting, and not fall so far behind that I don’t know where to begin. In the meantime, I leave you with a little year in reflection meme.
January
Where were you new years eve?
With G at the Chatterbox Highland, where he was running karaoke. Luckily a couple of dear friends joined us, and we had a lovely NYE. My theme for dress was flapper inspired.
Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year?
Mainly, to lose the last bit of weight, keep it off, and get really buff. Part of this involves me completing a half marathon!!!!
Does it snow where you live?
Yes. Yes, and yes.
Do you like hot chocolate?
I like it, but I consider it a big splurge, so when I drink it, it must be really, really, really fabulous.
Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?
No, but I would like to do this at least once in my lifetime.
FEBRUARY
Who was your Valentine?
My G-funk-daddy
When you were little did you buy Valentine’s for the whole class?
Yes. I didn’t like to be the one left out, and didn’t want to leave anyone out. I also always wrote everyone’s names on theirs. I disliked getting Valentines with blank envelopes. Even if it was just for show, I liked thinking that there was at least a modicum of thought put into it.
Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?
I don’t care which way it goes…but I like the anticipation and hearing the news.
What did you receive for Valentine’s day?
This is really terrible…I remember the card very clearly, I remember dinner…I don’t remember what I got as a gift 🙁
What did you give for Valentine’s day?
I remember the card I gave, and dinner…my mind must be going in my old age!!
MARCH
Are you Irish?
Yes. Though, ironically, not where I get my red hair.
Do you like corned beef and cabbage?
more that it doesn’t like me.
Did you wear green on St.Patrick’s day?
I was working, so only a bit of green this year.
Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?
I like winter, and I like spring. I don’t like when winter hangs on and you can’t get used to the weather one way or another. I don’t know if that answers the question, but that’s what I’m sticking to!
APRIL
Do you like the rain?
I’ve grown to accept it.
Did you play an April Fool’s joke on anyone this year?
Yes. My German boss has a fascination with American pop culture. This year, one of his big fascinations was Spider Pig from the Simpsons Movie. So, one of our graphics girls made pig prints out of adhesive vinyl, and we ran them along the ceiling from the door to our offices to his desk, and left an autographed photo of SpiderPig on his desk. The prints are still on the ceiling!
Do you get tons of candy for Easter?
I got some, I wouldn’t say tons.
Do you celebrate 4/20?
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
Do you love the month of April?
It’s okay. I don’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other.
MAY
What is your favorite flower?
I can’t name just one…and I can’t think of one I specifically dislike, so I say, all of them!
Finish the phrase “April shower…”
often are followed with snow or ice in these parts.
Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day?
I didn’t know this was a thing. I doubt I will ever celebrate it in the expected fashion.
Is May anything special to you?
The hubs and I consider our relationship beginning in May. We went from acquaintances to inseparable so quickly, we couldn’t pinpoint a date. So, while we were dating, we just used May 14th to celebrate. In ’09 it will have been ten years ago in May that we became inseparable.
JUNE
What year did/will you graduate from High School?
1996
Did you do anything fun during this Month?
I just remember a lot of cleaning, as we were getting ready for houseguests. Oh, and I did a show. It was a long, long process.
Have a favorite baseball team?
The brief flicker of interest in baseball I had as a child is now gone. However, during that flicker, I loved the Tigers…so I suppose they will always have a soft spot in my heart. I also like the Cubs. Mostly ’cause Wrigley is awesome, I love Chicago, and somehow rooting for the Sox is just wrong.
JULY
What did you do on the 4th of July?
CONvergence
Did you go to the fireworks?
no…we could see them from the hotel, but I was doing something else for some reason. Too bad, I LOVE fireworks.
Did you blast the A/C all day?
We were in a hotel…they blasted it for us.
AUGUST
Did you do anything special at the end of your summer?
Went to Lollapalooza in Chicago. It was awesome.
What was your favorite summer memory of 2008?
Oohh…CON was pretty fun with the sis and kids, as was Radiohead and NIN at Lollapalooza. Oh wait, I’ve got it! It was seeing Perry Farell and Slash perform “Superstitious” at Lolla…nothin’ quite like it!!!
Did you have a sunburn?
No. I am very careful to avoid this, as I have so little pigment in my skin.
Did you go to the pool alot?
No. I planned to, it did not happen.
Whats special about Aug?
It’s my sis’ anniversary!
SEPTEMBER
Are you attending college/school?
No. But I miss shopping for school supplies. I love school supplies.
Do you like Fall better than Summer?
YES!!!! It’s my favorite!!!!
What happened this month?
Not too much.
OCTOBER
What was your last Halloween costume?
Captain Liberty from the live action The Tick series.
What is your favorite candy?
Anything fruity. Or Mounds/Almond Joy. Oh the coconut deliciousness!!!
What was your favorite thing(s) about this month?
Well, October is my favorite month, so there were lots of good things!! My wedding anniversary, which was spent in Anaheim at Blizzcon and Disney was pretty f-ing cool. I had a great birthday, surrounded by friends. Halloween was a swell time, aside from Niles trying to sever his leg. It was a really delightful month.
NOVEMBER
Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?
We stayed at home. It was perfect, except for discovering I seem to have developed a Turkey allergy.
What are you thankful for?
I have a job, a house, a cute hubby, furbabies that I love so much it hurts, great parents, a cool sis, niece and nephews that are turning into such amazing people I practically can’t stand it, and wish I would have been half that cool at their age, friends that stick with me despite hectic schedules and distance, friends that though new and shiny mean a lot to me, that I can run for miles without stopping, and that I still have hope for getting my act together.
Do you love stuffing?
Well, I used to. Now, I shall stick with dressing.
Anything special in this month?
It is the anniversary of my engagement. (the day after T-day, 1999 on top of l’arc de Triomphe) It would have also been my birth month perhaps, but I was a little anxious to get out. So anxious in fact that I didn’t finish baking first. Even then, I really loved October!!!!
DECEMBER
Do you celebrate Christmas?
Yes. Though, the fact that I call it Christmas is really force of habit. I am really celebrating Yule. I will leave it at that, because I doubt this question was intended to get me started on my beliefs….
Have you ever been kissed under the mistle toe?
Not that I recall…
What do you want this year?
Santa has already been very kind to me. I’ve gotten the things I asked for…even if I can’t open some of them until the 25th!! Other than that, I would really, really love a clean house.
What do you love most about December?
Getting dressed up for holiday events. Though it isn’t the case this year, I love all the rituals of December. The lights, the treats, the cards, wrapping the gifts I thought about and chose so carefully. I don’t do any of it because I feel I have to. I honestly enjoy it, and love to see the reactions. I wish more people thought about their enjoyment of these rituals, instead of giving into the obligation. I wouldn’t want anyone to get me anything because they felt obligated…that just makes me feel bad.
Oops, off track…back on track…I also love the snow…and snuggling with my sweetie, and watching movies that make me all giddy. Oh and the egg nog…
Well, I am off to bed. Have a holiday full of blessings!!!

Yesterday, Proptart found this kick ass tutorial on line for making take anywhere shopping bags out of old tank tops! We said this would be a perfect project for earth day. Not only would we be repurposing an existing item and giving it a new life, we would also insure that we would have a bag anytime we were out and about, thus negating the need to use evil plastic shopping bags that will sit and sit and sit, or from buying a reusable bag every time because we forgot ours!
Check out our super fantastic handiwork here.
I was only disappointed that my machine was being grouchy and would randomly decide it didn’t want to dig into the fabric. I don’t know if it was unhappy out of its home environment or if I over worked it trying to get it to sew through multiple layers of indoor/outdoor fabric. Methinks she is just way overdue for a tune up. I am hoping she will make it through the last of the current project I am working on, as it is a gift, then she will get serviced. I really, really, really love my machine. She is a Singer that is older than I am, which was purchased from a family friend. She has been reliable in the approximately 13 years she’s been with me, and I really want to have her forever. I see all the “fancy pants” machines that are available, and they just don’t do it for me. I do admit that I also would like a serger, but that’s it. For everything else, my lovely singer does the trick!
In other news of the very old kind, I am in love with Austin Scarlet. Yes, I know he’s so four years ago, but I only saw Project Runway for the first time this evening, whilst sewing Earth Day bags. Mr. Scarlet is adorable! I could eat him with a spoon, or in the very least keep him as a pet, from whom I would borrow fantastic rhinestone necklaces and ascots. Adorable, I say! Also, I am now addicted to PR. I must see it all. Although, I do not have cable, so I may need to schedule gym visits around when the next season is on, and hit the elliptical for the duration.
Have I mentioned he is ADORABLE?

My Crush baby just came home!!!
He seems to be nearly back to his old self. *whew* Plus, he came home with what seems to be the best possible outcome, which is weird only because for a bit it seemed worst case scenario (a scenario which we could not afford). He appears to have passed the stones (with some help) and that the crux of the problem was actually a blood clot.
So, no need to redo his PU, no need to slice in to remove stones. Now, don’t get me wrong, this was expensive, but half of what the best case scenario was when we brought him in.
So, while he is not super thrilled with us right now, and we have to take him in in two weeks to have him re-checked…he is practically his old self.
Hurray!!!

So, last night I notice that my Crush (my fat orange beastie) was in the litter more than usual. I take notice, but otherwise he was acting completely normal. This morning, however, his royal fatness was quietly lying in bed come breakfast time. Usually, he is mewing before our alarms go off to remind us that it’s time to feed the kitties! Nope. I talked with G later in the day, and he mentions that he fed the beasties, but Crush didn’t come. Anyone who has met Crush knows that Crush doesn’t miss meals. To Crush, there aren’t enough feedings to satisfy him. So, for him to not eat is sort of a big deal. Also, instead of his usual squeaky meow, he was periodically letting out a low, piteous meowl.
When we got home from work, G attempted to put out dinner for them. Again, Crush didn’t eat. He stayed where we found him upon our arrival, on the office carpet. So, G called the vet who told us to bring him right in.
He has stones in his bladder. One was half out, so they pulled it out and he piddled a little. They did an x-ray to indicate that there were more stones. They wanted to stabilize him, and they want to operate, probably tomorrow. Now, I thought when they di the extra snip on his boy bits, essentially making him a girl (there was reconstruction involved), that that was to prevent this from happening. Apparently, there can be a build up of scar tissue, which facilitates blocking. The vet said it could also be something to do with his liver. They would look into the root after surgery, and he will most likely need to be on a permanent special diet.
I want my kitty to be okay, but this is a lot of money we don’t really have right now (and yes, I am aware we should have kittie insurance). I feel terrible, because I am worried it is because he could be depressed (he hasn’t been the same since we put Wishbone down) or because I put him on a diet because I was worried about weight related maladies, or is it something environmental, like something he is ingesting somehow that is causing it.
Gah.
Anyhow, my baby is at the vet right now with a catheter and lampshade collar and IV. Please send some love and healing his way, and maybe any change you find in the sofa.