kiki

I have actually been intending to post this for about two days, and in fact it's been written for the last two days. I've basically been waiting for a good picture of her. i really wanted to take a picture during the daytime so that i didn't have to deal with horrible artificial light or use a flash. That's just my quirky thing. Well yesterday my mom pointed out that i was having such a hard time accomplishing this goal because i am in fact NEVER home while it is light outside! Just one of the hazards of winter i guess. But here is the post in it's entirety. Saturday has finally allowed me some beautiful light so that i could take a picture *smile!*



I have a little kitty cat whom we affectionately refer to as "kiki." However, her real name is Sophie. Add onto that the rest of her name, the complete pronunciation looks like this:

Sophie Stegasaurus Shape-Shifter Slakes

Please notice that there are 5 "S's" in her full name resulting in a shortened although not often used name. Quint"S"a. Pronounced - Quintessa.

This post, however, is not about the many names i have for my cat. It is about a certain affinity she has for living her life "outside the box." Although in this case, she was kind of in a box... but the terminology still works.

Tuesday night I was readying myself for a wonderful night of slumber and warmth by brushing my teeth when I heard her begin to "mew." Soph doesn't "mew" very often. She usually makes this audible purring sound. It's not unusual for her to run around waiting for me to go to bed as she likes to sleep with me. But it IS unusual for her to "mew." I didn't think a whole lot about it since she's always keeping me guessing. But when i had finished doing everything i had to do before bed and still had not seen her, i started to wonder where she could be. So i called her a few times and the only answer i consistently got was her pathetic mewing. I followed the sound back into the bathroom and searched for her (there aren't many places to hide in there *wink*) I finally realized that the sounds were coming from inside the wall.

My dad has been working on finishing our bathroom over the last year. It's been in working and running condition since about July or so, but there is one spot that has been neglected due to other more important things needing to be done. All of the plumbing for the tub and shower runs along the wall right outside the bathroom door and it has not yet been covered with drywall. Earlier that morning though, my dad had placed a huge sheet of drywall over the hole just until he could come up and finish it up. This happened at about 10am. I found the cat about about 9:30pm... in the hole...

PS: she is still going into the hole... i guess she is refusing to relinquish her favorite hiding place until the last possible minute. She's even been growling at my dad as he works on covering it up and she watches him from this vantage point. In case you can't tell what this picture actually is, it's actually right through the hole, past the pipes, and she is underneath the bath tub.

more mail sorting

so i spent another couple hours cleaning and sorting today. i found a ton more mail that was buried amongst all the clutter. So i sorted through all of it and then began the daunting task of shredding all of it. my brother has instilled the importance of shredding into me and on the one hand i am grateful for it, but on the other hand it is just such a pain in my butt! i hate shredding stuff but there is something in the back of my mind CONSTANTLY that won't go away unless i shred it all!

so here's the good part...

monday i found the $103 check from state farm. i also found a $10 old navy cash certificate.

so last night i cashed in on my old navy cash and got a new wallet and some chapstick. but tonight i found MORE old navy cash!!!

$20!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!

surprises amongst unsorted mail

this morning i brought a laundry basket to work literally overflowing with mail and other such fun things from my desk at home. when i walked in the door Mo asked me what it was and when i told her she responded by telling me about her similar "laundry basket."

hers was the back of a station wagon.

i felt slightly better.

so today i worked on sorting through everything and low and behold i found a check from state farm for $103!!! I read everything in the envelope to make sure it was for real and sure enough, it totally is!!!

my day has been made :)

where are you black sweatshirt?

I really really really miss my black sweatshirt.

It all started about two weeks ago. I found a great orange shirt on sale for $4 and snatched it up with little thought to what I would do with it. It was such a good deal the rest didn't really matter. I just had to get the shirt. Post purchase, I sat pondering (literally) how i would wear this new purchase... and it came to me... layers. and the outer layer would be a black sweatshirt. It just so happens that I had one in my closet, so the next morning, eager to put together my new outfit, i whipped it out and put it all together. Then i saw it... "it" wasn't just one thing. "It" was several things.

Before I continue here I would like to illustrate a fact of my life that I have learned to live with throughout the years. I have a very vivid imagination. I can create idealistic scenarios in my mind with so much detail and perfectness that often times when i attempt to recreate it in reality, I am disappointed. When i was very young (say about 2nd grade) I remember lying in bed one night imagining that I could draw a picture of a raccoon. I had it pictured in my mind and imagined my pencil perfectly forming the delicate lines that eventually made up a very realistic looking raccoon. I was beyond excited about bringing this to life and so the very next morning when I got to my classroom I busted out a piece of paper and a pencil and began to draw what I had completed in my mind the night before. However, all did not go as planned. My fingers would not obey what my mind thought up... and i ended up with a very, very unrealistic looking raccoon. In fact it probably didn't even resemble any kind of animal in the raccoon family, or any family... it was sad... I was sad.

After this experience I learned to leave many things to my imagination... but some things just have to be brought to life. And this particular outfit was one of them.

The "it" that i referred to adds up to a list of things so very wrong with my black sweatshirt. It had a couple, if not more, what looked like halfway bleached bleach stains. There were small tears from the last three years of constant wear. And to top it off, it had been washed and worn so many times it looked like i inherited it from a much larger someone than myself.

It just would not do.

But it had to suffice... for the time being. I decided right then that i needed to buy another black sweatshirt... and I would do it today. TODAY. So i went off to my very favorite clothing store, Old Navy to find one... there was an enormous sale going on, so as i was distracted from my main purpose, I still did not forget... and then, there it was. Sitting on a shelf, so lonely... and MARKED DOWN... to $7. It was a happy day...

This all brings me to today. my beloved black sweatshirt that helped me accomplish in reality what i had imagined is taking a vacation amongst alicia's clothing. I miss you dear sweatshirt, and i wish that you would come back to me. I think about you every day and when you come back, I promise to appreciate you for everything you are worth... just about $6.97.