Hug A Cat Day

I just heard on Facebook that it's Hug A Cat Day (although Googling it says Hug A Cat Day is June 4th.)  Punk just wants to know how this is different than every day.

"Uh, Mommeh?  Ure squishin' mah lungz"

Whoops. Overdue Update. It's a Novel. Sorry.

Sorry I haven't been with you guys for a while.  I hadn't even noticed--things have been a bit hectic for a while--until Kristi asked where I've been.  I've been here, I guess, just not vocal.  Given how much has happened since the last post, let me catch you up:

•  We had a party (in our apartment--hence lotsa cleaning) for our anniversary.  Found pixi stick sugar on the floor and pretzels behind the couch the day after-- pulled a muscle restraining myself from kicking the guest resposible's ass.  Had to clean again.  
• Got a Wii.  Spent time unlocking all levels and getting ratings only to discover I have to do it all again to unlock everything.
• I hosted a sleepover for my favorite surrogate family.  The kids swam in the hotel pool and then everyone had pizza in my apartment and the kids stayed here while their parents went back to the hotel.  I figured they could use some alone time because they're moving soon (actually, they move officially tomorrow) and L was leaving a couple months early to set up their house and start work at the new place. So the kids stayed here.  Of course, that meant cleaning up before and after them.  It's crazy what 3 kids and 1 cat can do to an apartment.  
• Went mattress shopping to prepare for our tax return so we could finally get a bed.  We've been sleeping on a futon for a year. 
• Bought a bridesmaids dress. 
• Went to Biolife regularly. 
• We had Easter at our apartment, just us.  Andy got me an egg dyeing kit because I loooove dyeing eggs.

• Baked a cheesecake for Andy's birthday.  White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. 

• Andy's dad and brother, Sam, came up to see Dan (Andy's other brother) run in the Sioux City Relays.  Sam stayed with us part of the time. So guess what I did?  Cleaned again.  
• My parents came up that weekend too, to bring our bed frame and a treadmill (the family who is moving gave it to me--the emergency stop thing is technically broken so they can't keep it around with kids--so they bought a new one- this one's been in their storage room for a while and since they're moving they needed to get rid of it fast.)  Since they brought up all that stuff, I had to rearrange most of my apartment.  The treadmill is in the corner of the living room so the futon, coffee table and lamp had to be moved.  Oh, and all of Sam's stuff since he slept on the floor that night.  (On the futon mattress-- one of our futon support bars came loose and neither Andy or I could get it back.  My dad fixed it while he was here--oh, also, to clarify, we have a futon in the living room and one in the bedroom.  We lived in a dorm before here, you know!)  I also had to rearrange EVERYTHING in my bedroom.  The bed is on the wall where my bookshelf used to be. I pulled all the books off the shelf and Andy took it apart to move it to the other side of the room.  The futon was turned the opposite way and put up to couch position.  So now one side of my bedroom is a reading nook.  Love that.  Bed frame assembled to wait for mattress.  
• Ordered a new mattress!  Woo hoo!  Put up art that had been waiting for that.  Bought new sheets and washed them to be ready.  Bought slats for under the box spring.  The kid working at Home Depot cut EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. WRONG.  Pulled a muscle restraining myself from rolling my eyes and doing it for him. 
• Took Punk back to my parents' house in Nebraska to get his shots from a vet I used to babysit for (she trusted me with her kid, so I'll trust her with my baby.) Punk remembered her from last year and got so upset he got himself loose from his harness and crawled under the car.  After scratching my face.  Took a bit, but we finally got him out from under the car.  We were all grateful he stayed under the car and didn't run instead.  He's fast, dude.  Finally we got the shots done.  The only way to get Punk to hold still was for me to hold him and sing to him (Will you take me to... Punkytooooown!!) which impressed the vet.  Andy made my day by telling her that Punk only likes me and just tolerates other people cuz I make him. While we were in NE, I packed up some of my favorite books and such to bring home with me. 
• Our mattress was delivered!

• A kid I spent 3 summers nannying for just turned 16 a couple months ago and right before mother's day, she rolled her car.  She broke broke 1 vertebrae, crushed another, broke 2 ribs and injured her knee.  She is in rehab/physical therapy and seems to be doing well though.
• I helped a friend move from Dakota Dunes back into Sioux City.  She lives just down the hill from me now.  I'm hoping that means I'll see her more.  It's been a lonely for me here for the past few months.  
• Andy's brother's girlfriend stayed here before leaving on a class trip.  Cleaned again.  Boys are f-ing messy.  
• Got new internet service!!
• Made Mother's Day cards and wedding dvds for the moms and grandparents. 

• Made recycled magazine coasters while watching season finales of my favorite shows. 

•  Punk developed a lump on his back the size of a marble (right about where he got his shots).  It didn't bother him but it bothers me.  It's almost gone now, but  it drove me crazy for a week.  It showed up really fast and shrank really fast, but for a week, there was just a marble sized lump on his back and you could see it, no matter what he was doing. 
• Punk woke me up by barfing in the kitchen one morning, so I went outside and took photos of dew and such after I cleaned up the barf.

•  Planted a window garden.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be relocating it to the apartment of the friend who lives down the hill.  She loves veggies too and had a key made so I can grow the plants on her deck.  

•  I also painted new pots for them. 

•  I reorganized my closet.  It needed it.  Every time I needed something from it, I had to drag 47 other things out first. 
• I checked to see if they'd filled the pool yet.  I checked several days in a row.  Finally today they started.  With a garden hose.  Shouldn't an in-ground pool have a system? 
• Finally, I "celebrated" Chad's birthday.  That was by no means easy.  In fact, it might have been the hardest thing on me all month.  I realized a few days ago that I've now lived more years without him than with him. That sucks.  Like, a lot.  

Aren't you glad I did that in bullet points instead of paragraphs?  You think it's long now?  Trust me, it could be worse.  So I'm sorry I hadn't blogged in so long, but I guess I was busy living.  Thanks for reading, all of you who made it this far.  I'm off to bed now. Nighty night.

Being Bodacious: Chapter 3

I’m a couple weeks behind on Being Bodacious.  I’ve been putting off this post for no real reason.   I haven’t felt like typing anything, my internet is down, I miss my dad and this will make it worse.  Those are the excuses I’ve given myself, but finally I just had to slap myself and remind myself that things won’t change unless I change them.  


So, that being said, Edition 3 of Being Bodacious is about NAMES. 

As the lovely Janey says, “A name is how you are identified. How you identify yourself. Often times, a name comes with a background or meaning or significance. Names are given with great care and thought.”

My given name is Misty Dawn.  Long before I was born, or even conceived, my father was an over-the-road truck driver.  (Over the Road is a radio program for truck drivers that I’ve always been fond of… that, actually, will come into play later).   My dad used to do long hauls down to Texas (we’re from Nebraska) so he would be listening to the radio late at night as he drove.  His favorite DJ was The Midnight Cowboy, Bill Mack.  One night, Bill Mack announced that he and his wife had just had a baby, Misty Dawn.

My father was instantly enamored with the name and later called his mother to tell her that if he ever had a daughter, he was going to name her Misty Dawn.  My parents had 2 sons first, but then I came along, and my father got his Misty Dawn. 

The name turned out to be kind of coincidental… I was born at 6:04a.m. on a foggy day.  A misty dawn.  (And, in case you are wondering, I DID get that joke a lot as a child. And it’s not as funny as people seem to think it is.  Or original.  Do people REALLY think they’re the first one to think of that?  Really??)

As for how it’s influenced me…. I don’t know.  When I was younger, I always wanted to have a name that could be shortened into a nickname.  All my dolls had long names so they could have cute nicknames.  Other than that, I don’t know it’s had much of an effect on me--Although, when Andy first told his mom about me, and told her my name, she said it sounded “like a 70’s porn star,”  Which, if you know me, you know I found ridiculously HILARIOUS—especially since I was in a “dirty girl” phase at the time…

Oh, and Over the Road?  It was the first Bill Mack radio program I ever heard.   Just a fun fact. 

Year One

Yesterday was my (And Andy's too, I guess... whatever... LOL!) first wedding anniversary.  The last week or so has just been hectic.  We had a party to celebrate with some friends, because, helloooooo, wedding PLUS St. Pat's??  BIG DEAL HERE!!  This weekend a family from my hometown is coming to visit us (I used to "second mother" them. I miss them TONS.)  That said, I was too busy and too worn down to post yesterday.  I was not worn too worn down, however, to torture my boys by making them take a family photo.

 

I set up the tripod, figured out the lighting, figured out the timer, and got everything ready before I even made them get off the couch.  And wouldn't you know-- The SECOND the timer went off and the camera flashed, the cat got fed up and tried to propel himself off my face.  Jerk. 

So of course, I made them try again. 

 I gave up after bribery ended up in Punk biting my fingers just as the picture was taken. 

Oh, and please excuse my puffy face.  Apparently, it's a terrible idea to have Chinese food right after going to Biolife because the salt will make your face blow up like a balloon.  And somehow there's a giant shadow behind my head even though I spent 10 minutes while setting up on lighting.  I blame the cat. 

I also put up my shamrock lights last week (they were a bachelorette gift from my dear friend, Kate.  I've never put them up because Punk always liked to try to chew on the wires, but he appears indifferent to them now.  I'm glad cuz I love them.  I've used them every night since I put them up).

I love how this came out.  OK, so much to do before company comes!!  Thanks for reading!

With Love

A dear, dear friend lost his sweet kitty to cancer recently, and if you know me, you know I'm crying my eyes out for him.  And given my last post, and the emotional state I'm in lately, you can probably guess that I've spent a huge portion of this week curled up in a ball, unable to do anything but cry.
I've lost a multitude of pets in the past, but Punk is my first indoor cat and I simply can not imagine what I would do if anything were to happen to him.

The Blues

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long.  Our internet has been total crap lately and can't be fixed at least until some of this snow is gone.  Andy told me last week that the news said even if it warms up to 60 degrees and stays that way, with as much snow as we have, it won't be all melted until the middle of April.  FML.  So until then, I struggle onward. 

I have The SAD really bad this year.  I get a little blue every winter, especially in December, with the whole Chad thing, but it's February now and I still can't find me.  I was contacted for a giveaway/review for a site selling bar stools, as well as cookware and tons of other things that I love, but I just can't pull myself out of the mire enough to even pick an item.  YOU KNOW it's bad when I can't pick a piece of cookware!  (Could you all click on that link please?  I'd like to help the guy out a bit, even if I'm down in the dumps.)

I've taken up going to the gym at night because a) exercise is supposed to release the chemicals that relieve depression and b) one of my college BFFs is getting married and sent me the final bridesmaids dresses.  As I am supposed to be the Maid of Honor (actually Matron.  That's depressing too.  I need a better word.  Can I be the "Awesome-ess of Honor"? --Say it like Goddess-- awesomess) I have to get in shape to wear this:

I was actually starting to enjoy the gym and feel better about myself when the temperature plummeted back to -5 degrees.  That blew my good mood right out of the sky.  I'm still going to the gym, but I abhor the thought every day.  

 I miss the sunshine and I ache for heat.   Are there any readers in the south I can come visit?  I got the bluuuuuez. 

 

*Janey at Confessions of a Middle Aged Suburban Diva put up another Being Bodacious challenge over a week ago... I promise I'll get to it, but right now, even writing this has been a strain. 

Being Bodacious: Chapter 2

This week, Janey challenged each of her Being Bodacious girls to pick a theme song for herself.  She says:
"A theme song should serve a couple of purposes, the way I see it. First, it should be a song YOU love. Not like, not tolerate, not think is just so-so. LOVE. Second, it should be a song whose lyrics – and even the melody – should represent some part, some essence of you. A song that makes you feel good. Gives you confidence. Lifts your spirits. Highlights your bodaciousness."

It's funny that Janey should choose music for this week.  Andy and I have decided that I'm at a stage in my life, where I just need a new iPod.  And of course, I want the Nano. It speaks to me.  I have 2 shuffles (and I LOOOOOVE them), but I need to see titles and make proper playlists and have my ENTIRE collection on one device.  So for 2 weeks I've been going through cds, getting ALL information about my music and getting my iTunes in order.  I'm missing A LOT of stuff.  But from each of those CDs, I'm reminded of other CDs.  I found one with a Carolyn Dawn Johnson song on it.  That reminded me of "Complicated" and "I Don't Want You To Go" and tons of others that were, for a time at least, theme songs of my younger years.  "Complicated" reminded me of a guy friend I had it bad for.  I used to watch music videos while I cooked with my babysitting kids and belt out the songs... They were my anthem.

As much as I loved those songs, and still love them now, they aren't me anymore.  I have my husband and I adore him even when I want to kill him.  (It's a good thing he makes me laugh!)  I don't pine silently for a friend and I don't worry about others seeing that I *gasp* LIKE this boy.  Those songs, are the soundtrack of my past. 

Then there's "The Good Stuff" by Kenny Chesney.  This is what I tell people when they ask my favorite song.  It is my favorite, so much so that I put it on my netbook.  It was also my "go to" song for this challenge.  But as much as I love this song, it's not about me.  It's about what I want to be but not what I am now.  I want those lyrics to be what Andy thinks of me someday when he scatters my ashes in Yellowstone.

Some of the lyrics fit my life now, they're the ones on my computer.  It's the part about meeting your love and getting married and taking care of each other.  That's the song of my life.

But if you want the song that I love, the song that lifts me up, the song that reminds me who I am, I'd have to say "God Doesn't Make Mistakes" by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. (I'm not a huge fan of embedding videos on my blog--they take so long to load-- so those are just linked. I hope you enjoy them.) The Lyrics are:

A couple inches taller
Another size smaller
A little curl in my hair
Used to wish I was older
Now I wish I was younger
Back when I didn't have a care
Most of the time I am happy with what God gave me
Once in a while I wish that some miracle would change me

I'm ok with the way God made me
I have my days but doesn't everybody
It's not always easy for me to believe in myself
But I gotta remember
I'm always gonna be a better me than anyone else
And God doesn't make mistakes

Mama says I'm special
Calls me her little angel
Yeah, I could almost do no wrong
But I trip and stumble
Guess that's what keeps you humble
But I pick myself up and I carry on
I'll never be a flawless model of perfection
Nobody's perfect and I admit I'm no exception

I'm ok with the way God made me
I have my days but doesn't everybody
It's not always easy for me to believe in myself
But I gotta remember
I'm always gonna be a better me than anyone else
And God doesn't make mistakes

I'm thankful for the rainy days
They only make the sunshine sweeter

I'm ok with the way God made me
I have my days but doesn't everybody
It's not always easy for me to believe in myself
But I gotta remember
I'm always gonna be a better me than anyone else
And God doesn't make mistakes




And some days--ok, a lot of days-- I need that reminder, that I'm not perfect,  but I'm me, and I'm pretty damn awesome.