And then, there was clusterfuck.

Right before Derby Day, I made this secret bargain with God. Everyone around me was getting sick, I was starting to feel run down and living in eternal fear of getting sick before Derby. So I made a deal- let me be be well for Derby, and after that God could give me swine flu, SARS and TB all at once for all I cared. I didn't expect Him to actually do that- the day after Derby, I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and coughed, sneezed and otherwise expelled fluids from my body for about three weeks. The day I was ordered home from work, my computer died. And now, I am forced into the house with allergies, but at least with a borrowed computer.
But here are the highlights:

Kentucky Derby: Continued, of course, to be the best day ever. I was disappointed that I was not able to see Indian Blessing run, but thrilled to see Einstein and Cowboy Cal do such fierce battle down the stretch. If my computer was not dead, I would be able to share an awesome photo of Einstein walking out after the race with the replay of the photo finish playing on the prompter over his head. And then came Mine That Bird, who I initially thought was Fresian Fire coming from the back of the pack (the infield is not know for its clear view!), stunned the entire crowd. I believe my exact words were, "Wait.... who the fuck is number eight???" And I admit, I was more thrilled for Calvin than the horse, and was sure that he would never run that well again.
Preakness: Was better than the Derby. The race, I mean- nothing is better than the overall Derby experience. I've followed Rachel Alexandra all year, had to pull over to listen to her run in the Oaks because I was still on the road and was almost overcome with excitement. Watching it later was surreal. And then the Preakness... I actually road tripped it to the nearest track to be able to watch the race on a huge screen with other racing fans. The drive was worth it to see these grizzled, cigar-bearing, form-following old handicappers scream, "C'Mon, Rachel! C'Mon Rachel!" looking mysteriously misty-eyed as they conjured images of past great fillies. Watching her rip through those early fractions, pressured all the way by the boys and then holding off a late-charging Mine That Bird while struggling to get ahold of a track that she clearly didn't care for... it was beautiful. Her performance and Calvin's exuberance we enough to remind anyone of why they love horses and the sport. I can't wait to see a Rachel Alexandra/Zenyatta match-up a la Personal Ensign/Winning Colors. And with plucky little Mine That Bird's back to back stellar performances, the Belmont is shaping up to be an interesting race.
2007 Foal crop- Sunday, I saw one of the babies I delivered, out of a mare who was very special to me, run second in her very first race. I did not breathe for five furlongs, then burst into tears of pride. I am absolutely, utterly in-freaking-sane. She was beautiful.
The Cats- While out of town the other week-end, my cousin lost my cat Kody, the most special, wonderful, perfect cat on earth. She then lied about it, and tried to hide the fact that he was lost. This led to a hysterical, scared of the dark/coyotes me in the woods with Luna at midnight searching for him. Luckily, thankfully, wonderfully we found him. But I have now cancelled all of my trips for the rest of the summer. In happier(?) cat news, I was tricked into bringing home a 6 month old kitten from work. His name is Peabody, and he is a TURD! We loves him.
The Dogs- Luna has finally been diagnosed. On a last-ditch effort to avoid endoscopy, I tested her for food allergies, even though the food trial had been a failure. It failed because she was allergic to the hypoallergenic food! And everything else- she had high reactivity to 16 out of 24 allergens tested. She is now on a homemade diet, because it was utterly impossible to find a dog food without an allergen, and we had to minimize the number of things she could react to. She thinks me cooking for her is amazing. I think that she is worth it!
School- Starts in July. I am doing my very best to study for Clep exams in the meantime, but reading my Abnormal Psychology book is way more interesting...
Life- I have discovered that there are all sorts of cool things to do in my free time, so why the hell did I used to spend 60 or more hours a week at work hiding from it? There is more to life than that!

NOW! NOW! NOW!

You know what I think everyone who wants to return to school blocks out of their head? The nightmare that is scheduling classes. What a pain in the rear! Part of my issues are stemming from the fact that since I did not graduate from high school in this state, the school is convinced that my high school and first university I attended are lying about my AP scores. This must have been something that they cooked up while having lunch together, "Haha, won't it be funny to put fake AP scores on this girl's transcripts? If it says it on both, people will have to believe us, WA HA HA!!!!" So, I am having to order my scores from AP themselves (at $25 per score- thanks a lot!), because my new school won't take any word on the subject but theirs.
Luckily, my advisor was extremely cool, and is over-riding me into my chosen classes until the school gets my scores... because even though I have taken courses building off of Psych 101, when I go to register for upper-division classes, the computer sees that I don't yet have credit for Psych 101 and has a panic attack. I kid you not- red X's go up, shrieking noises are heard and the whole computer begins to shake. (I may or may not be causing two out of three of those symptoms....). And since she can only override specific sections, registration goes something like this:
My Psychology research lab opened up on a Wednesday! Frantic copying and e-mailing of course section ensues.
E-mail reply: You forgot to include your student number, waiver of ownership to first born child and the 3,000 digit secondary call number! When I get that, I'll override!
Hair pulling and looking up said numbers ensues. Waiver to ownership of firstborn child notarized.
Email reply All set, go ahead and register.
Log onto student account: ERROR!!! ERROR!!! This section is closed!
Shrieking noises and computer shaking commences.
Rinse and repeat!
I have now been doing this dance for ONE SOLID WEEK trying to register for summer and fall. In the meantime, I have also been studying for Clep Exams, since this school requires a couple gen eds that I had not been required to take before, and really don't want to take now. And I am cool with that- they want a full year of US history when I've only taken half so far? That's cool- I like history, and I took honors US history in high school- Clep exam, no sweat! Astronomy and Geology aren't good enough science classes? No sweat! I took honors Biology in high school, plus plenty of animal science classes- Clep exam, nooooo problem! But "pick another Humanities class because your entire Theatre minor, plus work experience in theatre outside of school can't count as a Theatre Appreciation class??????" COME ON! Too discouraged to fight the powers that be on that one, I say bring on the History of Western Civilization Clep exam (another honors class in high school). I know I sound like I am bitching just a wee bit (who, me?), but I actually am not terribly upset because it appears that I will be able to graduate within a year, 18 months at the most. I have already started researching grad school.... because I just like to keep adding the stress!
My biggest motivation for getting this all done, like NOW, is so that I will have nothing to stress over on Saturday. Saturday being the most special day of the year, the day that make all other days worth getting through. Yes, friends, this Saturday is the first Saturday in May- Derby Day! The day that I reserve the right to be a complete pain in the ass, to rouse my friends from their beds at 4:30am because GOD FORBID that I not get my spot on the rail, right in front of the huge TV screen, over looking the backside. The world will end if my view of barn chores is obstructed, or I am not close enough to the turf horses to feel their breath. And dang it, how would I be expected to keep myself from falling over in excitement if I didn't have the fence to cling to anyway? But, on the bright side, I always bring good snacks and am generally in such good spirits that I practically radiate sunshine, so every year I am forgiven for my neurotic MUST GET TO CHURCHILL DOWNS NOW! NOW! NOW! attitude and everyone has a good time.
This year, Derby is even more special because I will be getting to see friends who I love and have not seen in months due to my relocation. (Except those of you who will be out of town- that makes me sad, partially because I will miss seeing you, and mostly because it boggles my wee brain that anyone would travel anywhere other than Louisville, KY the first week-end in May!) Usually, I compare Derby to Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years all rolled into one day.... this year, we'll throw Fourth of July into the mix. Here's to the best week-end... ever!

And finally, the wheels are in motion.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was thoroughly convinced that she was going to live on a thoroughbred breeding farm. She was also going to be a psychologist, a lighting designer/stage manager and write children's books. The day would go something like this: wake up before dawn, feed the horses, groom them, get the vet work done, see patients, evening barn chores, go into town and work on a show, come home and write kids books for an hour or two, bedtime, repeat. That girl was an overachieving idiot. That girl was me... and still is. I am still the overachieving juggler of a million things, but my focus has narrowed. I mean, I started school 7 years ago with a double major of theatre design and psychology with a minor in animal science. Then dropped to psychology with an animal science minor. And then, my head exploded and I had to go work with horses to fix it, which expanded into an overall interest in veterinary medicine... and then, I was going to become an LVT and then get a master's in psychology and work with animals part time and be a full-time therapist and raise horses on the side, and oh, yeah! Wouldn't it be cool to have a family and kids someday too? And a therapy dog! Because I can juggle all that, no sweat!
Wait... I said my focus had narrowed, right? Yeah, apparently not as much as I thought it had. OK, basically, this is all a very long-winded way of pointing out that through it all, the desire to be a psychologist has been there. In the back of my mind, it has always come back to "one day" I'll go into therapy. Over the last few years, I have noticed this coming out more and more at work. My mental focus has shifted from just making sure that the animals are well-cared for and comfortable during their illness to making sure that the owners equally comfortable and re-assured of the care they have given their pets. And to making sure that euthanasia's are equally about the pet and the owner. I've started reading more and more about the human-animal bond and grief, and using what I've learned when clients ask the Big Questions, "How will I know when it's time?" "Is this happening because of something I did/didn't do for him?" "Do you think he hate me for putting him through this treatment/surgery/hospice care?" And slowly, very slowly, it has finally clicked in my mind that I need to do what I have obviously been meant to do all this time.
Monday evening, I got my acceptance letter for school. I plan to bang out the bachelor's in psychology that I abandoned within 12-18 months so that I can move onto my master's in professional mental health counseling. So, as of June, I will be a full-time student, a full-time vet tech, and a full-time cat/dog/horse mom, all while still somehow taking care of myself. The idiot overachiever wouldn't have it any other way....

Ten year gap

Last night, my fifteen year old cousin stayed overnight. Let's just say 10 years is a major age gap!

On men (boys?):

Littlest Cuz:

And I mean, all my friends we like "oh, he is soooooo cute! I wanna marry him!" And I was like, "EEEEEEW! He's OLD! I mean, you know, he was prolly like 26 or 27 years old! That's nasty!

So apparently, a week from tomorrow I will officially fall into the category of "Old and Nasty." Great- it's all down hill from here!

On my high school culture:

Me: (while watching a movie preview)

Wow... so they are basically making I Know What You Did Last Summer again! What a rip-off!

Littlest Cuz:

Oh, yeah... wait, what are you talking about? What movie is that?

later....

Me: (singing)

"It's something unpredictable/ but in the end does right/ I hope you have the time of your life"

Littlest Cuz:

Wow, this must be the oldies station!

Then I watched her eat a pizza and half a bag of frosted animal crackers, remembering when I could eat like that and still be built like a twig. And then, I finished the bag.

V*A*C*A*T*I*O*N

I am leaving for the mountains after work tomorrow to spend the whole week-end with my very beloved friends and their kids. I don't think I could be more excited! Workaholic (and penny pincher) that I am, I never, ever get to actually take a vacation. This will be the first one I've had in years. Of course, leaving my animals is the hardest part, and I left a page and a half of instructions for my cousin to follow, detailing everyone's medications, what they eat, what they can't eat, where they eat and why. Emergency numbers in case they get sick. Extra numbers in case my cell phone is out of service. I pre-filled gel capsules for those who have multiple medications (Buddy Luck) and set them in individual bags. I left extra instructions in case Kody's bronchitis flares up. I gave detailed instructions on how to induce vomiting if one of the dogs eats something they shouldn't... get the idea? Completely and totally neurotic, I swear! Yes, I am one of those people. I can't help it- my animal's are very beloved, and very high maintenance. And yes, one of the reasons I am taking my computer is so that I can be contacted via e-mail if my cell phone doesn't get signal. In my next life, I would love to come back as one of my own pets!

***Oh, and in answer to the question in the previous post's comment section, the word I googled was "morning."***

Guilty

As much as a love living out in the country, and as much as I think that my life has improved since I moved here and it really was the right thing for me to do, the root of my decision to move was my family. I wanted to be able to help my grandparents, especially since they are not in the best of health.
So last night, when my grandfather called to ask me to watch my grandmother this morning while he went to the doctor, my first reaction was, "Yes! Something that I can do to help!" My second thought was, "Shit! I have treatments tomorrow and eight animals in the hospital- there is no way I can juggle both!" So, my mind started racing back and forth- could I go in @ 5:30, be done by seven and back in time for his appointment? No, because the doctors wouldn't be in until 7:30 or 8, and I needed to be there for that. Could I take her with me? No, there was too big of a chance she would get into something if it were one of her 'bad' days. Finally, I had to admit that I just couldn't do it.
While my grandfather was totally understanding and fine with this, I feel so guilty. Total and complete failure in my ability to juggle work and my family. Ga, what a slug I am!

Welcome to 2009

When I started making my New Year's Resolutions, I looked back at my 2008 resolutions. Wow- talk about ambition. I was going to learn to draw, write a book, become a rollergirl and keep a constantly clean house. Instead, life took over and I ended up not pursuing any of those hobbies. And moving does not exactly allow for a very clean house, no matter what the circumstances!
But, I am starting off this year in a new place, with a new job, in a new relationship and with three more pets than I had at this time last year. With all those accomplishments, I have much more confidence in my ability to keep this year's resolutions!

New Year's Resolutions- the 2009 Edition

1) Plant a garden this spring

2) Re-enroll in school

3) Continue going to the gym 3-4 times/week

4) Do some advanced training with the dogs.

5) Keep up with my book clubs.

6) Pay more attention to my health.

7) Restart my cat blog.

8) Be less relaxed about my housekeeping.

9) Get out and do more things that I enjoy- museums, swimming, etc.

10) Find a place in this area for volunteer work.

I think I got a good combination of doing things to improve myself, doing things to help others and doing things for my own happiness. We shall see!

Oh, and I know we all need better luck in 2009, so I hope you all ate your black eyed peas! :)

New Years Eve

Well, here we are on New Year's Eve- my favorite recognised holiday of the year. (through some travesty Derby Day is not a nationally recognised holiday!) I love, love, love making New Year's resolutions, eating black eyed peas and making that fresh start. I know that the "new year, new start" thing is totally arbitrary, but it works for me. For some reason or another, I always feel more thankful for things on New Year's than I do on Thanksgiving, and more excited and happy than I do on Christmas.
It's because I feel so strongly (and superstitious!) about New Year's, I have chosen to welcome 2009 at home with my animals. I saw my family earlier in the day, and we enjoyed a nice dinner together- which was great. But afterwards, I just wanted to go home. 2008 was an absolutely INSANE year for me, and I am ready to let it go. And for whatever reason, I feel like I need to be alone to do this. This will be the first New Year in a long time where I am starting the new year in a relatively content state. I am not in knots over a relationship (more like excitedly optimistic!), I am happy with where I live, happy with my family situation, I am pleased with the decisions I have made this past year (no matter how difficult and earth shattering they were), and though most of my friends are far away, I still feel their love and support.
My friend Martha always says that animals are the embodiment of God- unconditional love in a living, breathing, tangible form. I sometimes wonder if I would have gotten through everything that I have this year without Kody's fur to cry into, Bouvre's purrs, Tabitha's kisses and headbutts and Luna's adoring looks. And on the flip side, I wonder how much of my drive to get through things was a direct result of needing to take care of them as much as I needed to take care of myself. Some people will never understand what the human-animal bond is, and I really pity them.
So anyway, that is who I am spending my New Year' Eve with; my network of unconditional love and support... all six of them! Lucky for me! :)
Happy New Year to all, and I'll see ya next year!

AlyKat + Ipod = Luv 4ever

Wow. I am in love, in LOVE with the wonder that is Ipod. What's that you say? You're wondering if I meant to write this post five years ago? NO! I am just behind the times. And too cheap to spend $100+ on a toy for myself.
But I've coveted an Ipod, my green eyed monster flaring every time I saw someone at the gym with their cute little Ipod bouncing along with them on the treadmill. And then yesterday, I discovered the $48 joy that is the Ipod shuffle, which combined with the $25 gift card I won was too good to pass up.
I stayed up until 4am putting music on it, and listening to the music that I (with the help of Cowboy Cal, who would have a fit if he didn't get a mention here- everyone wave to Cal!) had put on. Oh, the wonder that is shuffle! "Hey there Delilah" next to "I Hate Myself for Loving You?" Perfect! Makes sense to me. I finally have something to compare my brain to- it is one big Ipod shuffle. Randomly connected thoughts that only make sense to me- my Ipod knows how I feel. We had a bonding moment. Seriously.
Yup, maybe I am a little too in love with an inanimate object. But I pined after Mr. Ipod for years, built an image up in my mind that nothing could actually measure up to... and he DID!

Yummy

Pumpkin Dump Cake (despite it's name) is YUMMY!!!!!
Chocolate Eclair cake is YUMMY!!!!!!!!!
As is turkey, broccoli casserole and mashed taters!
Maybe this holiday isn't so bad after all....

Baking...

I discovered yesterday that my family is gathering for Thanksgiving dinner this week-end, after all going our separate ways on Thanksgiving day. So, tonight I am in the kitchen making a chocolate eclair cake, and prepping my pumpkin dump cake that I will put in the oven tomorrow.
Is anyone else grossed out by the name "pumpkin dump cake?" Perhaps I'll come up with another name before dessert time tomorrow...

Happy Birthday, Dear Cal...

What is it about agreeing to post for 30 days strait that makes writing something SO HARD???

Luckily, today is my friend Cal's 30th birthday so I have something to post about. And since he is basically my big brother, I can take this opportunity to taunt him about being an old, old, OLD man. Like, could totally play father time this New Years....

I tease because I love!

And now, I compliment because I love. My best friend Cal is also the worlds nicest (oops, I mean toughest- he likes to pretend he is tough) person. He is a wonderful father to his two boys. He will always, always drop everything for a friend in need. And he makes really good BBQ steak sandwiches and jalapeno poppers! And when the teasing gets out of hand, a good pinch will always shut him up! :) Basically, he is the best surrogate big brother a girl could ever have!

Happy Birthday, Cal!

Today in Seven

Whatever happened to the Today in Seven words or less blog? I LOVED posting my seven word days, and one day it disappeared!
Well, here is my Sunday in seven words:

Free Pizza + TV Movies = lazy, hazy Sunday!

I love Sundays....

These hard times

Something really messed up happened the other day. A client called and tried to refill a controlled substance, even though we hadn't seen her in over a year. She proceeded to shriek and curse at me, demanding to know what I expected her to do since she had NO *%#!# transportation! She could NOT #$!%! take a day off work or she'd be fired!!! Did I want her cat to #!$%# DIE???? And on and on. I would have been more offended by this, except that she sounded kind of weepy at the same time.
So, I politely worked with her. I looked up the number of a mobile vet, but she elected not to use it. I moved around some things on the schedule to squeeze her in for a Saturday appointment. I talked with the doctor about dispensing just two pills, enough to get her through to that Saturday appointment.
Now, usually in this situation, the person continues to be huffy, and will never admit that I went out of my way to help them, even though they didn't deserve it.
This lady? She took a deep breathe, and thanked me profusely for helping her work everything out. She then took it a step further, and thanked me for being so nice to her even though she hadn't been nice to me at all. And she kept her appointment.
The moral of this story? Everyone is stressed right now. But a little kindness goes a long, long way!

Share a quote

In the past two days, I have heard to two most hysterical comments ever:

From one of my very best friends:
"Romantic love isn't real! You get the same effect from eating chocolate. Any 'emotion' that can be replaced a food product is NOT really an emotion."

From one of my co-workers:
"Ewww! Chapped nipples! See, that right there is why I don't have children."

If you don't get the same enjoyment that I get out of this, you need to learn to be more easily amused! :)

Meme

I was tagged to do this meme by two awesome people, marymartha and Katie! They must know that I have be reaching out BADLY to fill this blog every day in November! :)
So, here's what you do:

Grab the nearest book.
Open it to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

OK, my computer sits right next to my bookshelf so it took me a moment to decide which book was technically the closest. I did the close my eyes and see what my hand touches first method, and the winner was My Racing Heart by Nan Mooney.

She called the horse Rattlesnake, because she figured he should know about his craftiest enemy right off, and ignoring the wisecracks, she set about transforming them both in to working trappers.

So I will now tag Cowboy Cal (in hopes that he will update his blog!) and nvr_surndr.

The tale of a bathroom, a wasp's nest and a malfunctioning door lock.

Once upon a time, there lived a girl who was a huge Chicago Cub fan. From her first game at the tender age of seven, she was in love with the Cubs and Wrigley Field. Always a loyal girl, she stuck with her Cubbies through years and years of last minute chokes and endless losing streaks. Which is how our heroine's bad night started on Saturday.
Now, perhaps if she wasn't in such a foul mood over the Cubs going down in three strait games, she would not have slammed the bathroom door with such vigor that night. And the door lock might not have jammed into the locked position. And she might not have been hopelessly trapped in a bathroom full of wasps (living and dead) in the wee hours of the morning.
But trapped she was, and frenzied into a claustrophobic panic, she began to rip the bathroom apart in search of some kind of a tool that would break the lock, unscrew the doorknob or just bash the door down. At this point, our heroine was not picky. But she was out of luck- there were no tools.
But fear not- our heroine had another plan! Carefully picking her way barefoot through the graveyard of wasps, she climbed onto the toilet and squeezed through the window. Though the original plan was to scale down the logs, our clumsy heroine lost her footing and tumbled 12 feet onto her rear end.
Fortunately, a friend had crashed out on her couch after the baseball game and let her back into the house with minimal mocking. He then proceeded to climb back through the bathroom window, and with the strength born from years of opening pickle jars for distressed women, managed to wiggle and slam the door until it opened. He then cautioned her NOT TO SHUT THE DOOR AGAIN until it had been fixed. Our heroine nursed her bruised ego with a chocolate chip cookie.
Now, if Monday hadn't been such a long, trying day, she might not have been quite so annoyed when she started searching for clean towels. The cats howling for their dinner might not have frazzled her nerves quite so much. And she might not have panicked quite as bad when she saw more dead wasps on the floor; she certainly would not have slammed the bathroom door BEHIND her in an effort to keep the cats from stepping on or eating the dead wasps. But slam the door she did.
Always the optimist, she quickly evaluated the pros. THIS time, she had shoes on. This time, she had her cell phone. And then she evaluated the many con's while desperately slamming her body into the door, trying to re-create whatever combination of masculine energy had scared the door into opening the last time. Cuz it sure as hell didn't want to open for her. So, again, she picked her way through the wasp graveyard and jumped back out the window. Again, she lost her footing and slammed back into the house instead of launching away from it. At least this time, she landed on her feet.
After narrowly escaping being attacked by her own dog, who apparently is very protective of the house, especially when a disheveled figure thumps out of a window and starts creeping towards the front door in the dark, she discovered that she was in deeper shit that she had first imagined. Perhaps if she had known that her dog would never let a strange person get to the front door, she wouldn't have locked it. And the back door. And all the windows. (Except the bathroom window, which really didn't help the situation). And so the phone calls looking for help began. As did the mocking. "I told you not to close that door again!" "Didn't you learn to keep tools in there the last time???" "Do you really think closing doors when you are alone in the house is necessary???" Such abuse for someone who was only trying to protect her poor, innocent cats!
Finally, she was able to get ahold of her cousin. Yes, cousin did have the key. Yea, cousin was planning to stay there tonight. Yes, she was on her way now.... from one state over! So, our poor, disheveled and exhausted heroine curled up on the front porch for hours, hoping that her trusty dog would have the same reaction to coyotes as she'd had to seeing her owner in the dark.
By the time she was able to crawl into her own warm bed, our heroine had come up with her own line of bathroom survival kits.

"Bathroom Survival Kits... It Ain't Just Double-Ply Toilet Paper Anymore!"

We like the moon!

I really hate how much I have been neglecting my poor lonely blog! Actually, I have pretty much been neglecting everything inside the house which means that there is a lot of unpacking still to be done- not that the cats mind the extra beds, but it does look a bit sloppy!
Everything is just so pretty here, and I can't resist wandering around outside after work. It seems like every day, I discover something new hidden in the grass, between the trees or buried at the foot of the pond.
I also can't get over my outdoor kitties that were left out here by the previous tenants. They are very sweet, but very much a part of the outdoors. They hunt with precision, they can scale the tallest tree in seconds and they can run like the wind.And even though they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, the boys do appreciate their catered dinners!
Kody has also been able to return to the life of going outside for leash walks during the day. He very, VERY happy about this. Since the outdoor kitties are off in the fields for most of the day, and there are no random dogs running around, I feel safe enough to let him out... as long as he is on a leash, during the day, within two feet of me, has my undivided attention, Luna's in the house, the other cats are out of sight he has flea medicine on, .... Luna obviously has no objections to me wanting to be outside all of the time, since it means that she gets to herd the cows and run and run! There was a tense moment when she tried to herd Star and almost got kicked, but that is a whole other story!

And of course, by the end of our walks she is so covered in mud that she needs a bath. I can't decide if she feels like it is worth it or not...

She and Spike, aka the cutest puppy EVER, have been playing together a few times a week at least. She loves him so much; I think because he is the only one in her little world that she can boss around!

So, while I would love to write about my new job, helping my grandparents, my new found love of cooking, and the excitement of re-learning my way around town, I have more pressing matters at hand. Like going outside to contemplate the moon without the distraction of streetlights.

Tales of a Trash Can

You guys may be interested to know that I may have single-handedly come up with the solution to Save The Earth! How, you ask? It's simple, so simple that someone really should have thought of this before- make everyone on Earth haul their own garbage. Now, stay with me on this. I am the queen of disposable, due to my debilitating allergy to washing the dishes. My fridge used to be stocked with 24 packs of soda, various frozen dinners and individually wrapped carrots and apples. The cabinet was a sea of Easy Mac, 100 calorie packs and paper plates. It's a sickness, I tell ya! A sickness! Convenient, individualize packaged items are taking over the world, feeding dish washing allergies everywhere!
Well, a dish washing allergy has a cure, you know. Apparently, there is a much worse allergy to have- the "driving four miles to the dump every time the outdoor cans fill up" allergy. Suddenly, it is way more fun to do dishes, way easier to cook instead of heating prepackaged dinners and soda out of a two liter tastes way better than canned. I've been in this house two weeks, and I have only had to take the trash outside twice. I have two big outdoor garbage cans, and have only filled half of one. Over the course of TWO WEEKS! Potentially, my garbage could only go to the landfill once a month instead of weekly like it does when there is a city to pick up. That's cutting down my garbage production by 75%! Now imagine if the whole world cut their garbage production by 75%...

******

On the Buddy Luck front, he is still an indoor cat, for the moment. Thanks for all the input! However, as soon as I started talking out loud about letting him out, he began to backtrack. He hasn't been darting for the door, and seems to have more interest in sleeping in the kitchen window than being outside. Who knows what is up with him? Maybe he just likes being contrary. Maybe he heard the coyotes howling in the night and changed his mind about the safety of the outside. Personally, I think that he saw that the outdoor cats are eating Meow Mix and have to work for anything else, instead of eating the gourmet fare of Purina UR supplemented with canned something or other for supper. I mean, he is pretty food-motivated!

******

Two days ago, Luna discovered that she could squeeze under the gate and get into the field with the cows. Within five minutes, they were standing in a circle in the middle of the field while Luna bounded around them, barking joyfully. This morning, she discovered the pond out there. My beautiful, fluffy black and white dog ran back to me as a solid black half drowned rat. Priceless. What a week to misplace the camera!

Dilemma, Dilemma

I'm having a dilemma about Mr. Buddy Luck. You see, before his rather exciting entrance into my life, he was a mostly outdoor cat. From what I understand, he really enjoyed being an outdoor cat. And from what he is telling me now, he really wants to be an outdoor cat again.
Buddy Luck has been trying to pull Free Willy's since we got here. At the apartment, he was very intimidated by the constant cars, sirens and people walking by; he never ever tried to venture out the door. Here, however, he has been eagerly waiting by the door to get outside. The couple of times that I did let him out onto the porch, he was more content than I have ever seen him in the house. He lazed around, happy as can be. He never acts this way in the house; in fact, he is usually on the alert for the dog, the other cats or the dreaded vacuum cleaner. I really think that he would be happier as an outdoor cat that maybe just came in at night.
I'm partially feeling guilty about these thoughts, since I would never, EVER let Kody or Tabitha be outdoor cats. I'm sure they would enjoy going outside, but I'm just too attached to them to risk anything ever happening to them. Plus, they really are happy inside the house. I've tried to keep at least a little detachment when it came to Mr. Luck, since the goal was always to find him a home. I love him to death, but the small amount of detachment is just enough that I would allow him outside for his own happiness. But it makes me feel guilty, almost like he is the red headed step child that I am throwing to the wolves. But if he would be happier/But he would be less safe/But he would be happier/But he would be less safe. I don't know.... any opinions out there?

Here are some farm pictures to enjoy:

Luna has not quite figured out how to get under the gate and start herding the wildlife, but she really wants to. So badly she can taste it.


The cows are starting to grow on me. They are so peaceful to watch!

My Star, who is about 18 or 19 years old. She's a beautiful old lady, isn't she?

For once, I can't wait for fall. These hills are incredible when they are covered in reds and yellows!