what to do

I don't know what to do. This is Joplin. You may or may not have seen her here before (i can't recall right off hand, she isn't out much). Joplin is 12. I don't know if you can tell from this bad flash picture or not, but she is extremely fat. She weighs at least 15 pounds, if not more. She has breathing problems. She even gets out of breath cleaning her front paws, which is about all she can reach at this point. She's extremely skittish. This has gotten worse as she's gotten older. The vet says she's part calico, and they get crochety when they get older. She hisses at everybody, even mark. yesterday, he reached out to pet her, and she had such a panic attack she almost fell off the sofa (mark has owned her for 11 years, and she was always "daddy's girl."). he told me she hissed at him again this morning. i have watched her hiss when sean gets UP from the sofa, where he's been sitting quietly next to her. she refuses to move, unless it's to eat, drink, or use the litter box. except lately? she's not been using the box. for a while, she was peeing in the dining room. the vet told us to make sure the litter box got cleaned daily, and to put bubble wrap where she'd been peeing, cuz they don't like the feel on their feet. this worked for a few months (once we got her past peeing on the bubble wrap). however, she's taken to peeing in FRONT of the litter box. and i don't think it's an accident, because she's picked the exact same spot three days in a row. even though we've cleaned it up every time.

so, it's come down to a decision. do we put her to sleep? we've tried to get her to exercise (cat toys, cat nip, even a laser pointer, which she chased for 2 days, then refused to do so after that), and tried to get her to lose weight. the hard part of that is that we also have jimi (i know you've seen him here, he likes to get in on my shoots!), and can't put him on diet food without him losing too much weight, and feeding them separately is impossible. it's been the main discussion around here for the last 2 days, and frankly, i'm the only one who doesn't dissolve into tears everytime it's brought up (it's not that i don't love her, but i'm the one who deals with her messes, sigh).

but when she is in one of her rare good moods, she's so lovey. purrs so loud you can hear her across the room. cuddles, and rubs her face on you. but they are rare. i wish i could get in her head, and ask her what she wants.

but i'm tired of walking into the house, and getting hit with that nasty ammonia smell, and i'm tired of getting hissed at when i have to move her to get at the remote for the tv (she will lay on it, and sometimes i think it's spite). she's never bitten me, but i'm waiting for it.

i think that mark and i have decided what to do, it's just him getting to the point where he's accepting it.

and i sit here and listen to the poor thing snore loud enough to hear over the harry potter cd i'm listening to.

i was asked

last night who shared my birthday. now, you have to understand, i probably have the world's worst birthday, beyond halloween or christmas. here's what i found. otto von bismarck? gordon jump? abraham maslow?!?!? interesting company, indeed!

sigh

ya know, i think 5 days off for liam is too much. he's grounded from video games because of his grades. he lost tv for 2 days because he didn't bring any homework home, even though he knew he'd have a 4 day weekend (the 5th day is because the kids ended up with no school because it's SEVEN FREAKING BELOW ZERO!)

so, i'm on a quest to get off my ever-spreading ass. i bought sean dance dance revolution for his birthday last year, and the kids enjoy playing it. i had him bring it out, and he and i played (and i broke a sweat, yippee!) liam got to watch, mostly because itwas in the living room, and i'm trying toget him to come downstairs more. so, when sean had had enough, and i was sweating heavily, we quit playing. sean went back into the spare bedroom to play a different game. liam asked if he could watch sean play, and i told him no. he got mad. he said it didn't make sense to not let him watch sean in the spare bedroom. he said "i never get to spend any time with my brother (sean just earned his games back yesterday)." then, finally "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

drama queen

hey!

Tonya, were you my #3 on my Pay It Forward thing? I can't remember, and I've lost your new email! ack!

funny man!

we decided to have breakfast for supper tonight (since neither mark or i were motivated enough to get up and make breakfast this morning, lol). i was in the kitchen working on the eggs and pancakes (my brother and SIL gave me an extra large electric griddle, so now i can make FIVE decently sized pancakes all at the same time (i'm so excited, lol!)). I had just taken the bacon out of the oven, and had put the sausage back in to brown a bit. because i do bacon on waxed paper, sometimes it smokes a little bit, especially with the bacon/sausage grease tossed in. I had just pulled the sausage out when i heard a fire truck run by the house, blowing it's horn for all it was worth. (we live on a semi-busy street).

Mark yelled from the living room "They know you're cooking!"

sigh

i'm at it again!

I've been making easter eggs. No, not the kind that turn into egg salad.

These:

Do you know how hard it is to get good pictures with 6 inches of snow on the ground? the eggs aren't quite THIS bright, but they are pretty. go, check them out! the link is over there----->

is it random wednesday . . .

if there's a theme, even if each thing on it's own is random?

anyway:

1. i would like to cancel the rest of winter, please. Mother Nature, please note that you've ruined way too many yarn experiences (meetings at the new Personal Threads, cancelling S&B, etc) this season, and it really needs to stop.

2. What logic is there in dashing in front of a moving vehicle that has already started its turn, on a snow-packed street? Seriously. I was turning onto Dodge St downtown, and some young idiot (male, of course, they all think they're bullet proof), decided that, even though i had already started turning onto dodge, and was just mere inches from the crosswalk, that he needed to come running out of the parking garage, and dash in front of me. thank god i was able to stop in time. i don't understand. 175# man versus 4000# vehicle. sigh.

3. I was in Starbucks fetching life juice for eliza, and they were playing "too darn hot." irony, much?

4. Explain to me this logic. Liam was sick last night, to the point of barely eating dinner (and he can absolutely pack it away), and sleeping all afternoon, and night. when he got up to go to the bathroom around 1030, he could barely speak. this morning? eager as a beaver, ready to roll, and telling me he'll throw anybody who tries to stop him from going to school in a snow bank. in the next breath? griping about someone at school who jinxed them getting a snow day. huh? (again, young male logic)(is it testosterone poisoning?)

sensing the theme here? we got about 4" of snow, and i'm sick of it.

Silent Poetry Reading

Ok, this is a slight cheat. it's the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. but those start out as poetry, don't they?

A long time ago when the Earth was green
There were more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
But the loveliest of them all was the unicorn
There were...
{Refrain}
Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn

Now the Lord saw some sinning, and it gave him pain
And he said, "Stand back, I'm gonna make it rain"
He said, "Hey, brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo

And take some of them...
{Refrain}
...Don't you forget my unicorn

Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched in the animals two by two
And he called out as they went through

"Hey Lord, I got your"...
{Refrain}
...But Lord, I'm so forlorn / I just can't see no unicorns

Then Noah looked out through the driving rain
The unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was pouring
Oh them silly unicorns

There were green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees

Noah cried, "Close the door, for the rain is pouring
And we just can't wait for no unicorns"
And then the ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and started floating them away
That's why you've never seen a unicorn to this day

You'll see...
{Refrain}
...You're never gonna see no unicorns

(i've got me irish up)

a new program

if you click here, it will clean the inside of your screen

Tips for ladies in year 2008

1. Aspire to be Barbie: that bitch has everything.
2. If the shoe fits, buy one in every color.
3. Take life with a pinch of salt, a wedge of lime, and a shot of tequila
4. In need of a support group? Cocktail hour with the girls!
5. Go on the 30 day diet. (I'm on it and so far I've lost 15 days).
6. When life gets you down, just put on your big girl panties and deal with it.
7. Let your greatest fear be that there is no PMS and this is just my personality.
8. I know I'm in my own little world, but it's OK. They know me here.
9. Lead me not into temptation; I can find it myself.
10. Don't get your knickers in a knot; it solves nothing; and makes you walk funny.
11. When life gives you lemons, turn it into lemonade then mix it with vodka.
12. Now smile and send to any girl wasting time at work, suffering from a hangover (or just suffering from work) who might need a reason to smile.