Now not so RAT cat

Frank is looking not so 'rat-ish' now that he's starting to get some meat on his bones. cute little thing, isn't he?

I just had to put this one up to show the size difference between big fluff and little fluff.
Winston may act like he doesn't like Frank, but they sure get snuggly sometimes. :)

Motercycles and Mayhem

Nathan got a motercycle...yep, against my will and his better judgement he got a motercycle. I couldn't even tell him no "because it's too expensive" because his brother GAVE it to him :( He already went and took his test and got it inspected ($7) and registered ($10).... I guess I should be happy because it will save us A LOT in gas money each month but I just worry about him...people don't pay attention, especially now with text messaging and cell phones...and I worry about him getting hurt.

-

Frank is a biter...he discovered that toes wiggle when bitten and he thinks it is great, so that is making sleeping time a bit tricky. The good thing is he and Winston seem to really be getting along...Winston just needs to realize that Frank isn't quite big enough to full on wrestle and play with yet - and we have to gently remind him from time to time.

-

My mom is still not doing too well...she's still in ICU...this makes 9 days. And things just aren't healing like they want and she is just not doing too hot...I worry for her and I worry about my dad who sleeps (or attempts to sleep) on the couches in the waiting room...I went down last night (it is almost 1.5 hours from my house to the hospital) and babysat the waiting room while dad went home to shower. Today she is having no visitors and they are going to try and get her to sleep and eat and re-coup from all the craziness...

O-Day

Well, my mother entered open-heart surgery about a half hour ago. Meanwhile, I am over an hour away working - partly to stay distracted, partly because we can't afford for me to miss work since Nathan got laid off...

I took a Prozac but I am still kinda freaking out. I know that thousands of people have had the surgery, but that doesn't abate my fears.

All I would ask is that anyone who reads this today keep my mom and dad in their prayers.

Thanks.

The Deal Breaker...

When we moved here last year from R.I., we thought we were making the right decision, and we had several things happen that would seem to have solidified that belief...we found a great house, for a great deal - Nathan's job that worked with his schedule and paid him well...

And things have not been all peaches and roses since we unpacked our boxes. Church has been hard - friends have been hard - money has been almost enough to kill us by itself - I weigh more now than I have EVER weighed - Nathan and I are constantly at each other's throats over STUPID things - our neighborhood is the mexican/white-trash ghetto - family troubles - Nathan lost his job - I can't go to school because of lack of fundage - and the list could go on. and I know I am beating a dead horse by complaining about it all...but 'it's my party and I'll cry if I want to...'

We tried to keep positive and think that we were here 'for a reason' and that all would smooth out over time, but I am beginning to think that it won't. And this last blow of Nathan losing his job just might be the "Deal-Breaker" for us to stay here...maybe it will be Anchors Aweigh for us, sooner than we ever thought...

Hell of a blow

Well, it figures that something like this would happen...
Nathan was 'let go' from his job this morning...not fired, but they 'No longer need him' according to the owner. He got a wild hair up his wazoo and decided he needed to cut back and 'let go' 10 or so people, and unfortunately, Nathan is apparently expendable.

So now we are up sh*% creek without a paddle. We are already tight on money and now we will have even less money coming in until he or I can do something else, which it will likely fall on me since my schedule is less sporadic than his.

Wish us luck and keep your fingers crossed, we're sure going to need it.

Ahhh... SUCCESS!

Today I successfully wore a pair of WHITE linen capri's ALL DAY and when I just took them off they were STILL WHITE! I even cooked stuffed pasta shells ...with RED sauce...at my parent's house...
I have to say this is probably the first time in my life I have been able to wear such pants/skirts without 'decorating' them with something I am doing/eating.
I know it doesn't seem like much, but I was really excited!

All sorts of good news!

...what a nice change...

My mom finished her heart cath about an hour ago and she is doing good...her full-on surgery will likely be next week or possibly the week after, we'll jsut have to see. I was really nervous for her...and I feel bad for my dad, he is with her and just has to sit for the next 8-9 hours while she lays still...I made him a 'busy book' yesterday filled with mazes and word searches and pages to color (yes, for my dad) to keep him busy, hopefully that helps.

The other good news is that Nathan and I have a new addition to our family!!! No, not a baby, at least in the socially acceptable definition of the word...

I drove down to see my mom last night before her procedure this morning and we were going to meet my dad for dinner...we were driving along this 55mph highway and off to the side of the road was this little black kitty, so I made mom stop and I got out, walked back to it (which was funny because I was in 3" stilettos on the gravel shoulder). He got spooked and ran into a big sagebrush (stupid desert) and it took me about 10 minutes to coax him out. Once I got him he purred and loved me non stop. We took him to my parents old house, locked him in the bathroom, went to dinner, then to Walmart to get food and a litter pan then back to pick him up. He is SO stinkin cute...but WAY malnourished. He is probably about 8-10weeks but is NOTHING but fur and bones. His little shoulder blades and pelvic bones just stick out...my dad said he looks like a bat...and his tiny tiny skinny tail looks like a rat tail so his first nickname is Bat Rat Cat... I was so worried about Winston accepting his new friend/brother/lover/whatever but I just couldn't leave him on the side of the road. Winston took it rough. He hissed - but didn't spit or swat or growl. He seems curious about the kitty and only time will tell. I hope they get along ok... We are taking him to the vet tonight to make sure he's all ok, and get him vaccinated and all. If it turnes out he really is a boy (which I think he is) is name will be Frank...as in Sinatra....get it Frank Sinatra....Rat Pack... :)

Isn't he cute though?

Updates....from the absent one

I am sorry I have been absent for so long...we have had quite the month. Nathan's siblings have been visiting from all over the world and so we spent quite a bit of time with them and between that and work that made for very little sleeping time.

And I have also been feeling extreemly depressed lately...and scary thoughts are best not shared :(

My mom has to have open heart surgery the first week of September, and it is scary. Some of my family (who shall remain nameless...) don't seem to get the big deal that it is and that frustrates me. I mean, our mom could die...and they don't seem to care. So we haven't spent a lot of time with my side of the fam because of the tension and stress...I just don't need that right now. I feel bad because we haven't helped with their move as much as others have and as much as I feel was expected of us...but we had a choice to make - spend time with all the out of town siblings, spouses and kids we never see (for example I have 1 niece and 2 nephews I had never seen until this last couple weeks) or go help with the move and be around all the contention and mean-ness...we knew our choice would upset someone, but I had no idea there would be this amount of hurt feelings. I am not sure even what to do because I want to say things but I don't want to cause more hurt feelings and stress, especially with the surgery looming close...

In other news our only neoghbors that had any interest in knowing us....moved. Now we are stuck with white trash, and Mexicans (nothing wrong with that...they just do NOT want to be our friends :( ...sad)

In happier news our garden is doing fantastic! See:

This is all the stuff we picked out of the garden in ONE EVENING!! There are chili peppers and green peppers and yellow squash and several types of tomatoes and one lonely cucumber...our cucumbers are the only things that are not doing so hot...well, them and the butternut squash. It has been so nice to have fresh FREE produce to eat the last few weeks. Having a garden is sure paying off.

Well, I am off for now, hopefully my next entry won't be a month out.