3 DAYS, AND COUNTING

Ah, the sweet day-dreamy state of impending vacation is upon me and getting more intense with each passing day.

Yesterday I did the cat-care run-through with Kind Co-Worker during lunch, making special note of all the places she can obtain hidden back-up keys. Honey remained under the bed and was all wide-eyed and limp, but was fine later. KCW will drop in once per day and being a cat lover she's the best person I could find.

Procrastinated Task #1, change out my winter to summer clothes, was faced and swiftly dispatched Monday after work. My winter wear just will not do in Arizona so this was an essential task. Tonight I may take on #2, the spring cleanup of all the bird seed hulls that have mounded beneath my birdfeeder. My landlord has been tolerant of my bird feeding and I want to keep him that way.

The smelly (mold, mildew) piece of luggage I'd purchased for my trip was returned to Wal-Mart and replaced with a nicer piece picked up at Marshalls. The Shoe Department there cast a spell on me, making me forget I was on my lunch hour and compelled me to try on and decide between many worthy canidates. In the end two pair of comfortable mules jumped into my shopping cart. Back at work, I put on a 'ditzy blonde don't expect me to have to keep track of the time' look to safely stride to my desk almost 30 minutes late.

Three days to go!

10 THINGS

10 Things Most People Don't know About Me

1.  I've lived in 6 states.

2.  I make most of my skirts which are all cotton and most have print designs.

3.  I hate bangs (I'm talking about hair here.)

4.  I won a color TV while attending a vendor presentation.

5.  I'm the eldest with the next sister 11 months younger; people used to think we were twins.

6.  I'm a night owl.

7.  I get a little edgy when drawers are left open longer than necessary.

8.  I've studied Spanish and Russian and retained neither.

9.  I was once in a cult.

10. I have over 120 credits toward a BS in Chemistry but did not finish. [Smart move, huh, but there are reasons.]

SINCE I LAST BLOGGED....

Holy Week has come and gone, and it was once again beautifully moving and inspiring. My church is multi-cultural with a large Hispanic population and our Holy Thursday Mass is bi-lingual. The Hispanic choir sings their songs and are accompanied by a brass section and it is far more uplifting and dynamic than my usual anglo Mass. After the Mass there was the quiet somber beauty of the Holy Hour in a darkened, candle lit church until midnight. Good Friday and the joyous Easter Sunday were also special celebrations, each beautiful in different ways.

Many projects managed to get done the remainder of the long weekend:

~~ boxed my old laptop & accessories to mail to my niece

~~ completed my Looking Good April music swap CD

~~ mounted a shelf over my stove and prepared another for my bathroom

~~ re-burned two storage mp3 disks that had been corrupted [this was on my To Do list for months]

~~ began a database on Vegas hotels for the Unofficial HTCon

~~ made long phone calls to family members and friends

~~ printed 6 weeks of family photos for my daily letters to my Dad

Since I've been more of a Martha than a Mary for quite some time now, having the opportunity to cross tasks and projects off my To Do List is certainly satisfying.

Honey continues to be a delight. She is starting to allow me to come sit next to her cat chair and pet her; in the mornings she now watches me as I head out the door to work.

Yesterday's thunderstorm had Honey hiding under the bed and very frightened; she needed a great deal of attention to comfort and relax her. Since then she's wanted more attention and she did not want me to leave this morning. Perhaps being an outdoor cat for some time, these storms were very traumatic for her.

Work plods along. I'm bored. The building is still making me feel a bit sick on a daily basis, but as windows open it becomes more bearable. Right now my routine workload is a bit low and I've got a 'short-timer's attitude' as my Arizona trip approaches.

Now that my desk is in the same office as my manager I feel a little more constrained even though he does not comment on any indiscressions he observes. Hey, I'm a Gemini and need a little more latitude than more straight-laced signs!

Allergist. I have one now. My problems with asthma and allergies in the workplace, two really horrible allergy years, and a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines that only provide slight relief at a substantial total cost, finally broke me down and brought me to the Allergist's door.

I had all the tests. The good news is I can eat anything I want (and already do!). No food allergies. The bad news is I'm allergic to house dust and dust mites, tree pollens, grass pollens, ragweed pollens, molds & mildew (in my work area, I'm sure), and cats (oh NO!) and dogs.

The Rxs the Allergist offered me are pretty much everything I'm already on. In my way of thinking more medication is not a solution for me. I have about 7-8 months until the bad office environment begins to affect me severely again and I must be somewhat de-sensitized to the allergens by then. Therefore, I'll be going for allergy shots beginning next week.

It can take 6 months to over a year to feel a noticable difference and shots will be needed for years to come. But there's hope down this route, and that's always good.

WHEW!

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level Score Purgatory (Repenting Believers) Extreme Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) High Level 2 (Lustful) Low Level 3 (Gluttonous) Moderate Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) Very Low Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) Low Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) Very Low Level 7 (Violent) Moderate Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) Low Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) Very Low
Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Purgatory

You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven.

ETA: I can't seem to get the neat graphic of the levels to blog for me here.; check the site. Take the test!

SWIFFER SATURDAY SNIT

Swiffer Saturday Snit

1) Back to me, 2) Facing, but not looking at me, 3) Facing me but not happy

Well, yesterday was another bi-monthly Swiffer Saturday in the Honey-Life household and it was greeted with more attitude than ever before, as documented in the photos above. Apparently since Honey has made clear to me MANY times before how much she hates Swiffer Saturday and I have once again assaulted her space with the dreaded swiffer, and all it entails, I was due for extra punishment.

'Talk to the Back' went on and on. What was a quick 20-minute clean-up turned into an entire afternoon of snit as Her Royal Highness once again made her feelings very clear to me. When I approached her on the other side of the bed she would not even look at me for a while. Then she accepted pets but was still not pleased. I could see it in her eyes.

I apologized once again [Sorry 2004] but told her it would not end Swiffer Saturdays [so get used to it.]

Actually, we're doing just fine. In the past month the line between my space and Honey's continues to blur. She gets insecure at times when she ventures closer but we're doing great overall. Love her!

HAHAHAHAHAHA, part 2

This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you  predict snow but don't get any....a true story... We had a female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?" Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too! They were laughing so hard!

HAHAHAHAHAHA, part 1

Here are some true stories that had me rolling on the floor:

While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving "right now!" she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!"  The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me were screams of laughter.

Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunchin between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my
seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him if he needed to go,and he said No." I kept thinking, "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?"
No," he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse.Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny, did you have an accident?" This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled. "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!" While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing! He calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!