The Grab Bag

Well, my goal of writing four posts a month has not happened thus far. It's been a BUSY two months, but really, I think it's more laziness... that, and - when I go to write, I have it in my head what I want to write about or say, but then I look at my laptop and it goes into smoke. This one, I think, is going to be a grab bag of goodies more than anything specific... here goes.

Birthday, yo...

My birthday came and went in January. I stopped really celebrating my birthday when I was somewhere around 13ish - it was always never a big deal. I have always wanted (as an adult, anyway) to have a birthday party, where I could have all of my friends together to have fun. Just a party. I cannot remember the last birthday party I had (I think it was when I was before 10, but I think those were just mixed in Girl Scout things, or they were just family get-togethers). I dream of throwing a 70s/disco themed roller skating party, where everyone has to come in 70s getups - but unfortunately, here in SoCal, roller skating centers are few and far between, and none close by to me. That is my one party-really-wanna-do-idea. I'm sure - if I give way to dreaming and scheming - I can come up with others, but mainly, they'd definitely be costume parties. Anyhow, I'm now 37 years old, which doesn't seem as old now as it did (theoretically) when I was in my 20s. I have no issue with my age, nor do I act or look my age (whatever that means).

A Clusterfrick of Fur...

Also in January, Awesome gave birth to a litter of four kittens. This was a bad/difficult pregnancy and delivery for her, but all of the little fuzzbuckets are still alive and kicking (despite colds/eye infections that I've been treating for a month now). Just a recap: her first litter was a four-pack, who all died in their 6th week. Not sure why, but it was not fun. Her second litter was a onesie, Lil Bit, who is now 7 months old, is a big brother extraordinaire and my stalker (he is currently lying down on the other couch - directly across from me - and staring at me. He stands outside the bathroom door, and if I shut it shut it, he head butts it. Yep, he's decided he's mine.) - and he plays with the new litter and kinda watches over them and helps teach them. It's actually kinda cool, considering he didn't have that as an example when he was a babe, but it grew out of instinct. Awesome is still a psycho bitch. She's a good momma, but waaaaaaaaay too overprotective and asserts her aggression to those she deems unsuitable (which is just about everyone). I'm worried that when I have her spayed (which will be soon) that she will be a psycho bitch forever because her hormones will not have restabilized to "normal" (ie, pre-pregnancy). But, she cannot physically go through another pregnancy and labor like this last one, so this has to be the last one. We think she was actually 1-2 weeks overdue - the kittens were large and eyes opened by the time they were all a week old. They started going after the big kitties hard food by the time they were a month old. They still nurse occasionally, but their main diet is (and has been) hard food, fresh water and soft food once a day. Same as the big kitties. Now I gotta find them a home...

Monet, the 18yr old calico is slowly becoming a senior kitty... Up until about 4 months ago-ish, she rocked it with Awesome and had a second kittyhood. Now, she's chill, usually hiding out in a cupboard in the kitchen. I can tell that she has a touch of arthritis going on, because she is not jumping up on places that she usually did as often. In order to ease her getting out of the house (vis a vis my mother's bedroom window of all things), I am going to dig out an old ladder from a bunkbed set we used when I was a kid and hook it up so she can get in and out regardless of how her arthritis is doing that day. She still has her appetite and her motor works, and she is not in any pain (trust me, she WILL TELL YOU LOUDLY when she is!), I am not too concerned - aging affects all of us at some point in time. It is just weird to have to figure this out at the same time I am watching a foursome of baby fur go nuts. 

On Procrastination...

I never got my Christmas/holiday cards out... I had enough and started embellishing them, but never got them out. So now I'll have them for next year, and hopefully I'll get them embellished and ready to go between now and November. It's becoming an annoying habit of not being able to get cards out on time EVER. I think the same goes for packages as well. It's not that I don't have things to send out - I do - but I think, oh, I can fit ONE MORE THING in the box/envelope/whatever. And I never seem to stop adding to the box. I took one morning before work and finally boxed/packaged and addressed all of the stuff I currently have to send out, and have been taking one or two (however many the paycheck will allow) to the post office once a week. This seems to be working, although it may take a while before I get everything out. Last week, I got the customs forms, so I can fill them out before I get to the post office and I can start sending out international packages. I am trying to package things as I pick them up now - I have a big box that I need to fill that's going to England, so I have it in the mail "center" and open, although it is already addressed and otherwise ready to go. As the I pick up goodies for this box, I put them directly in there, so there is no hiding crap in 200 million different places. I don't know if this is summed up to procrastination (which I am really good at) or if it's the desire to send something something that they will love and I can't send it out until I think they will love it. Acceptance much??

Doing it Organically...

So my goal to get out of the house and meet people (specifically: DUDES) is not really going on. Prior to my trip to Oregon to see the Monkey, I worked as much as I could so I could be able to take the time off. Since I've been back, I've been working (almost) nonstop due to others being sick and the store being short-staffed. I have looked up dancing lessons, but unfortunately, they seem to be in Pasadena as the closest place to go, and while that is really not that far from home, it is when you have to take two-three buses to get there (and ostensibly, get home). I've even checked Parks and Rec for my city and for the nearest to me (although I doubt I would meet someone my age there, I still want to learn how to dance), and there is nada that would be on my days off (for some reason, Wednesday seems to be the go-to day for dance classes). I am buying my first opera ticket tomorrow morning to go see Lucia di Lammermoor at the end of March - I've already made arrangements to switch a day with Donna so I can go see it (because it's on a WEDNESDAY, but of course. Thursday's tickets, which would be my actual day off, are more expensive, of course.). I also want to go see A Streetcar Named Desire, which is in May. I have already bought my dress for the Lucia - it's a blue semi-illusion wiggle, vintage - and my purse will be bought as of tomorrow morning - a Jonathon Resnick with interchangeable outer decor. I will, of course, post pics when I have both. Now it's just a matter of shoes.... I would love to go see The Book of Mormon, but I think those tickets (what's remaining would be $90+) are a little out of my reach... we shall see. In April, I will be doing a 5K with Purple at the Santa Anita Racetrack, but since I have to work Saturday afternoons, I won't be able to stay to watch the races (this may change... we will have to see when the dates/times are to maybe see about switching with someone so I can, cause I'd love to put on a fancy dress and big-ass hat and watch a race in person - ok, mainly it's so I can wear the big-ass hat. I cannot tell a lie.). I still want to go down to Downtown LA and pick up postcards from each "section" of LA's awesome downtown - Chinatown, Olvera Street, Little Tokyo, the Fashion District, so on and so forth - so I can send them out to my PUGPals. And so I can explore. I do explore the "excitement!" of downtown home, but it's a small town (comparably speaking, to LA proper and some of it's larger cities nearby), so there's not much to explore - or places to meet people. I do enjoy knowing that I am putting my money back into my very local economy, which in turn, makes a difference in helping us develop more jobs (ok, so I can't take all the credit for that - other people helped... but still, it's kinda cool knowing that your money going into the local shops helps those shopowners expand business and employment.). 

And this month's foodie addiction is....

Limon Lays and fresh pico de gallo. I can eat it for days, which is funny to me because it is what I craved when I was pregnant with the Monkey (and no, don't even think about asking. There are certain things that have to occur in order for pregnancy to even be a possibility... and trust me, I would know if those things had happened. And this would probably be an entirely different blogpost) - I would cut up huge chunks of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro (I wasn't accomplished enough to add the seranos yet) and (back then) I would mix it with La Victoria's salsa verde to give it a little more of a salsa feel (but then again, I would not add the La V and just shovel it in my mouth as was). Anyhow, FREAKING AWESOME IN MY MOUTH. 

Also in love with Coffeeside Cookies, which are dipping cookies, similar to a biscotti. While they have no obvious coconut flakes in them, they have a distinct macaroon flavor to them and they are just yummy in my tummy with coffee or tea - basically, anything hot. Speaking of dunking cookies, Girl Scouts have Dulce de Leche cookies in limited markets (I bought mine in Oregon, and for the love of holiness, they are NOT being sold in California!! I protest!!). They are tiny, but have a light caramel flavor to them and like a shortbread cookie, are great to dunk in warm/hot beverages. Or to eat in the middle of the night when you're sleepwalking/eating. Whatevs, doesn't matter. 

I have been on a hummus kick for the past two and a half months now. Sabra's roasted garlic seems to be my go-to, and they have go-cups that have the fancy-schmancy new baked (?) pretzels with them. Bad breath who cares - not kissing anyone anyway, and anyone that close to my mouth is going to be in for a world of hurt. Nice thing is that it's good fiber, which is beneficial. 

Haagen Daas Salted Caramel Truffle Ice Cream. Enough Said.

The Glass Ceiling at work will be discussed in a later post... I need to chill a bit or it's going to read like a sailor wrote it. 

The trip to Oregon was a doozy, so it's going to get it's own special time too.

And the kvetching about things that need to be purged shall begin. April 25th marks a very special day that I do not want to have the past and it's issues clouding and it's beyond time to let things go.

Let's wrap this up, shall we? I've gotten to know a few of my neighbors even better since I started working at the store, which is kinda cool. My hairdresser survived a brutal attack by her then-husband, ending up with 12 stitches in the crown of her head and severe bloodloss. She also survived his suicide, which happened shortly after he bailed out of jail for assault with a deadly weapon (obvi to her). She is an amazing woman and I am so honored to call her my friend. 

Bedtime. Good night everyone, and big balls to ya.

PS: I know there are grammatical errors in here, especially the last half, but I've fallen asleep three times before I got through reading it. THIS grammar/spelling nazi is taking the night off and going to bed.