Wednesday Wishes

This is Wednesday leaning out of her cat tree. She may look like just your average gray tabby cat, but she has many skills. Most of these skills, she uses for The Good. Okay, 'most' might be a slight exaggeration. Wednesday is a good little kitty, though, at heart. She loves her family, loves her sisters, loves annoying those sisters and she also loves to grant wishes. Every Wednesday morning, I will rub the side of the cat house and summon our magic cat!

My Wednesday Wishes for the week:

1) All My Girls in ONE Place - Doesn't it sound nice to get away for a girl weekend? We're spread out all over and I miss everyone terribly. I'm really wanting to organize a weekend (or even a looong weekend - who is going to miss me for four days?) where the ocean and the mountains meet. A few days of fun, friendship and writing. Late night wine, early morning coffee and laughter sprinkled throughout the day. Doesn't that sound nice?

2) The ability to make a decision - Without consulting everyone in my circle...twice...and then again. I hate being so indecisive. I haven't always been this way and I'm not sure when it crept into my life. Is it a product of getting older? I'm out of my carefree 20s when I didn't think decisions mattered so much because I could always change things. Then, I could jump into a totally crazy fun job with wacky hours that might be over two weeks later. Now? I can't even decide on living room furniture. For real. Or dog food. I will spend hours doing research to make sure I have a five star dog food brand that doesn't include any protein source my dog is allergic to and then stand in the aisle at the pet food store and over analyze all the analyzing that brought me to that decision...only to decide that I'm not sure again and I need to talk to more people. I'm shocked that my partner in Paws and Learn hasn't shot me. How many times can she go over and over and over the same things with me? Let's just say a ton! This week, I made a decision all by myself. Yay me! I'd like to continue this trend.

3) Playlist Suggestions - I was finally able to start running again this week, but I'm finding my playlists old and not as motivating as they used to be. I would love some song suggestions to keep me running on that track when I'd rather go home and curl up on the couch! Hit me!

What about you - what are your wishes for our magical little grey cat?

FUN Friday

TGIF! Hope you had a fabulous week - and if you didn't, I hope you have the weekend off to recoup!

If you love The Walking Dead and The Soup like I do, this is the perfect marriage!


What is cuter than little kid's evil laughter?


And let's end with this...I can't even tell you how many times I have watched it. Why does it have to be so far away??


KID FUNNIES:

So many this week, it's hard to know where to start.

Very lively 5th Graders this week. I felt like a celebrity as I was escorted out of the school by 13 of them from my last class. They were shouting questions at me. It was hilarious - especially the one child who had appointed himself my "security". He kept putting his arms out to give me space and telling his classmates "one at a time, one at a time." When he left me in the office, he said, "Man, I felt like I was guarding the President." Too cute!

I had a ten year old ask me for my Facebook page so she could friend me.

David: I know Chihuahuas have to be spayed because they shouldn't be having the babies. They're too small and can die.
Blanca: What? Unh-Uh.
Me: Yes, he's right. They can require c-sections and don't get them because their owners don't know. They can die in labor.
David: What's up, Blanca? That's right, I know stuff! Don't be doubting my knowledge.

Teaching 2nd Grade Kindness, we were talking about why you can't give your dogs cooked bone to eat.
Very Concerned Little Girl: Miss Jennifer, I need to use your cell phone!
Me: Um, why?
Girl: I have to call my dad and tell him. He was grilling chickens today and he'll give the dogs the bone!
Me: He's grilling them right now?
Girl: No, when he gets off work.
Me: So you can tell him as soon as you get home.
Boy: Why is your dad so mean?
Me: He isn't mean. He's doing it because he loves his dogs.
Girl: He loves the dogs so much, it's ridiculous.
Me: Does your mom say that?
Girl: Yeah, she yelled that at him last night when they got in a fight.

I'm still laughing just typing that.


I'll be NaNoing, though I'm behind on my word count. I have two hikes planned and even a little Christmas shopping. Though, honestly, we just bought a new TV and I'd really like to spend the weekend on the couch watching HD movies and television on that big screen!

What about you - any big weekend plans?

Wednesday Wishes

This is Wednesday leaning out of her cat tree. She may look like just your average gray tabby cat, but she has many skills. Most of these skills, she uses for The Good. Okay, 'most' might be a slight exaggeration. Wednesday is a good little kitty, though, at heart. She loves her family, loves her sisters, loves annoying those sisters and she also loves to grant wishes. Every Wednesday morning, I will rub the side of the cat house and summon our magic cat!

My Wednesday Wishes for the week:

1) Vintage Pit Bull Pictures and Signs - I'm getting ready to redo our den and I've decided that I want the walls to be decorated in full old pictures and signs from when our dog breed was beloved by America. I've been perusing eBay and getting outbid so I'm going to have to step up my game. When my grandpa passed, there were boxes and boxes of pictures to go through. I had set aside the pictures of him as a young boy on the farm with his American Pit Bull Terriers. I have misplaced it and am trying not to be devastated. That envelope is somewhere. It will turn up (do we want to take bets on it turning up after I've complete the decoration??). Not to panic (much). For now, it's bidding on eBay.

2) Christmas Decorations - Yes, it's almost that time. Since we'll be away for Thanksgiving, I want to get them up before we leave. The great thing about my Lily...well, there are so many great things about her - she's fabulous!...she doesn't mess with Christmas decorations! Now, Wednesday, on the other hand, will get into everything. I have to be careful what I put out because of the cat. But my dog who is tall enough to counter surf? She's a peach. She won't touch anything. I'll be wrapping my picture frames and making the place sparkle and shine this weekend!

3) Healing - I have two friends that are hurting over the loss of their pets this past week. I know that famous people usually die in threes, but this week I had three people I know lose pets (my brother as well as my two friends). Not something I ever want repeated. I wish healing for them. I wish that the good memories will help ease the tears. Anyone who has lost a pet knows how devastating it can be. Even when you think you are prepared, you're not. Each one takes a different piece with you. And let's add Understanding for my nephew who isn't grasping the loss of his dog yet. They tried to take him to the shelter to look for a new addition but Corkey didn't like other dogs and he broke down in the parking lot so, so worried that Corkey would be mad if she came back to another dog at their house. Too soon, too soon. He's been talking about her every day so she's on his mind a lot. His little heart is hurting and not really grasping. So healing for my friends, my brother and my precious nephew as well as understanding for him. That's it okay to let go, okay to love another dog. In time. It doesn't have to be granted this week, this month or even this year.


What about you - what are your wishes for our magical cat?

NaNo Fun

I love NaNo. It's the one time of year that I really let myself go where my writing is concerned. I have a loose outline and jump in. The freedom is frightening for me, but amazing at the same. While I have a general idea of where my story is going, I uncover new things all the time. Two days in, I discovered that my character isn't just a Gate Keeper. She's a Shadow Dancer. She can manipulate the shadows - making them do all sorts of cool things, even fight for her. This trait had been thought to be dead for hundreds of years. It showed up again in her. Yesterday, I found out that she can't wander the halls of the castle at night. In fact, she has to lock her door from the inside. We're talking 20 different locks of various shapes and sizes. Frightening things wander the corridors when the sun goes down. I wonder what they are?

Neither of these things were planned. Both just came out in the writing. You want a great playlist? I've been rocking Michelle Hodkin's for the past three days. I love other writer's playlists because I haven't heard of half the songs (usually) and even when I have, I never thought to add them to my own playlist. It's nice to get out of your usual music rut sometimes. If you haven't read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, you are missing out. It's beyond amazing. I'm hoping her playlist can play a little good luck into my NaNo.

Some of the things that aren't writerly that I look forward to:

The coffee - I always buy at least ten different flavors and it's fun for my tongue!

The candles - I just bought two new soy ones that are working out really well!

Pretty Little Liars - I reward myself for hitting my word count with episodes because I missed Season Two entirely.

Books - It's a GREAT excuse to buy a ton of books. I don't have time to read until the end of the day so I fall into bed with one.


The bad part about reading at the end of the day. I didn't get much sleep last night because of this:
Holy cow. If you haven't read Enclave, pick up a copy. I had to force myself to put it down at 2am this morning. Force. I'm a bit tired today. I just love when I find a book that can keep me up at night. Hunger Games did that (and I was warned not to open it late at night). The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer did that (again, warned not to open it late at night). I can't wait to crawl in with Enclave tonight!

What about you - any good books keeping you up at night? Are you NaNoing? How is it going?

FUN Friday

TGIF!!!

Let's start this Friday off with some laughs!


This is so hilarious and so sick at the same time. Jimmy Kimmel issued a challenge - tell your kids you ate ALL their Halloween candy and record their reaction. The last two kids are my favorite.


And while we're on Jimmy Kimmel clips, I don't know how I missed this one. Ron Artest is my new hero - not just because he makes it through this with his sense of humor still intact but because of what is mentioned at the very beginning of the clip (how much he raised and who he raised it for).


This likely won't be funny to anyone who isn't an NFL fan who hates the Raiders. It had me cracking up.


And because I haven't been able to get this song out of my head for a week...

I want you all to have it in yours too.

Sing it with me...
Soft Kitty
Warm Kitty
Little Ball of Fur

Happy Kitty
Sleepy Kitty
Purr purr purrrr


KID FUNNIES:
This is our first presentation board for Dog Bite Prevention. We use the big dog as our "safe" dog to teach the kids that size and breed don't matter. We need to see a leash, a collar and a GROWN UP owner before we can go up to the dog. If they are missing any of those things, we don't go up to them. (We also teach them that they can't go running right up to the dog. They have to ask the owner first, then say hello to the dog before petting).

So in one of my Kinder classes this week, this was the exchange:

Little Girl: Is that YOUR dog?
Me: Yes, that's my dog.
Little Girl: Is it a boy or a girl?
Me: It's a girl.
Little Girl: What's her name?
Me: Lily.
Little Girl: Oh. And is that your (sing songy little voice) boooooyfriend?
Me: No. That's my (sing songy voice) huuuuusband.

She looked really disappointed that we were married.


My brother had to say goodbye to their family dog Corkey this week. Corkey has been VERY patient with my five-year-old nephew. Very. Patient. She was already 11 when Dillon came along. She put up with lots of poking, pulling, grabbing, fast moving unsteady on the feet toddlerness. She nipped him a few times, but she was well within her rights and to my brother's credit, he never blamed the dog because it wasn't her fault. To my nephew's credit, this was still his dog and he loved her very much. Since he is only five, having Dillon in the room when Corkey left them was not an option. They elected to do it during the day while he was at school. (I promise this will get funny again in a second)

Saying goodbye to the family pet is always hard and heart breaking. Explaining it to a young child doesn't always work. We tried to go with the "Corkey went to Heaven" though I'm not sure why when they don't go to Church?? But that was the start of it. My brother tried really hard but made a complete mess of things.

Drew: God came down and took Corkey.
Dillon: No, He didn't. I didn't see Him.

Makes sense to me - Dillon didn't see God, so He couldn't have been there.

Drew: He did. He took Corkey and she's not in pain anymore. She's in Heaven.
Dillon: Dogs don't go there.
Drew: They don't?
Dillon: Nope.
Drew: Where do they go?
Dillon: Down there. (he points at the carpet)
Drew: Wait - what? No. No, they don't.
Dillon: Uh hunh. They go down there.
Drew: No. They go UP there.
Dillon: Down.
Drew: UP.
Dillon: DOWN!
Me: Dillon, don't you remember the movie - All Dogs Go to Heaven. (He nods his head) It's like that.
Dillon: Oooooooooh.

Then he runs off to play.

Drew: (to me) That was a good save there, Jenn. Whew. I was losing it.

Dillon did come out a few times that evening with "Corkey" sightings. I told my brother it would really be trippy if he was seeing her.


Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Any big plans??


Soft kitty...(go on, sing it! You know you want to!!)

Wednesday Wishes

This is Wednesday leaning out of her cat tree. She may look like just your average gray tabby cat, but she has many skills. Most of these skills, she uses for The Good. Okay, 'most' might be a slight exaggeration. Wednesday is a good little kitty, though, at heart. She loves her family, loves her sisters, loves annoying those sisters and she also loves to grant wishes. Every Wednesday morning, I will rub the side of the cat house and summon our magic cat!

My Wednesday Wishes for the week:

1) Sick Kitty - One of the unfortunate parts of my job is the animals that I tend to come into contact with. The communities that I tend to teach in have a high rate of stray animals. I'm not a person who can see suffering and let it be. Today, I came out of school to a cat that was near death. So very, very sad. I will spare you the picture, but the poor thing was suffering terribly. I carry dog collars, dog leashes and dog treats with me because stray dogs are a daily occurrence. You can bet that I'll be carrying a cat carrier from now on (and I'm not really sure why this never occurred to me in the first place). Anyway, tomorrow is my day off, but I'll be driving back to the neighborhood with a carrier. I'm hoping the poor dear made it through the night. I was able to talk a neighbor into making her a bed with blankets so we'll see. My wish is that I am able to get this kitty tomorrow. I want to end her suffering. I haven't been able to get her out of my head all day and I feel like such a terrible person for having to leave her. Horrible, rotten human. That's me. Hopefully, I can reverse that tomorrow and help her to go out with love. She needs her final contact with humans to be positive.

2) Travel - The hubster and I plan to do a lot of traveling next year. We've decided to take a bunch of small trips (one a month) to various places. See friends, have fun, just live life! So I've been caching trips here and there and have the first few months down. I know there are really cool places that I'm completely forgetting about. I have Whistler, Utah (hiking Zion!), Florida (Harry Potter!), Toronto (Jenny!) and a few smaller places to see other friends...Any suggestions for nice three to four day trips? We're actually thinking of ending the year in New York with a 5K in Central Park to ring in the New Year. Pretty wild! We love to be active so any place with hiking is a bonus for us! I've found some excellent deals so far and I want the deals to continue.

3) Candles - Please don't laugh. It's a bad obsession. People rocked my birthday last year and I've made it through the past 10 months without purchasing a single candle. I know - I couldn't believe it either. But I'm running dangerously low. Down to my last two. Gasp! I need more, but I haven't found scents that are working for my NaNo project. I'm visiting The Mom so I'm hoping I can find some at a little candle shop by her. Is it weird that I'm only asking for candles for Christmas and my birthday? I don't need anything else. Really! I'm a lucky girl. Candles and coffee and I'm set!

What about you - what are your wishes for our magical cat?

FUN Friday

(Lily in her Halloween costume)
TGIF! It's the first Friday in a loooong time that I've felt like almost normal. Close enough to celebrate Friday!

Let's start off with some laughs, shall we? I love Kathleen Madigan!


I really can't wait for this. I hope it's as good as it looks. It concerns me that there isn't a release date yet, though. That never bodes well.


This is a parody of my favorite commercial. Very effectively done.

I'm on a horse!

I'll be NaNoing most of the weekend, but still making time for some FUN! Well, as much fun as one can have without relapsing.

What about you - any big weekend plans?

Wednesday Wishes

This is Wednesday leaning out of her cat tree. She may look like just your average gray tabby cat, but she has many skills. Most of these skills, she uses for The Good. Okay, 'most' might be a slight exaggeration. Wednesday is a good little kitty, though, at heart. She loves her family, loves her sisters, loves annoying those sisters and she also loves to grant wishes. Every Wednesday morning, I will rub the side of the cat house and summon our magic cat!

My Wednesday Wishes for the week:

1) NaNo Success - Here's to wishing all my NaNoing friends success this month! My goal is 2,000 words a day. It's a struggle to focus at the moment, but as I start to feel better I'm sure that will change! I started NaNo sick last year too. It's becoming a trend. Hopefully, I can buck that trend next year!

2) Steam It - I love steam mops. LOVE. I'm always looking at new ones. They steam my floors without chemicals and they're quick and easy! I've got my eyes on this Oreck at the moment. It's perfect for my little anal retentive cleaning heart. It will reach the ceilings. It can steam the walls. It will do the shower (where I'm still using chemicals and it would be lovely to eliminate them). I really, really want it. I just don't want to spend $179.99 on it. No matter how many payments they give me. Maybe Santa will bring it to me. Or the price will drop. I want it!

3) Exercise - This pneumonia is rough stuff. I haven't worked out in over three weeks and I'm a girl who loves her exercise. I'm dying to run at the track or do an hour of kickboxing. At the moment, I'm only able to do slow, ambling walks with Lily. I want to be able to exercise again. Hardcore exercise. My body needs it. My mind needs it. So please can I start amping it up?


What about you - what are your wishes for Wednesday our magical cat?

Bear with me - between the illness and NaNo, I'm struggling to catch up with everyone's blog! If I haven't been by yet, I'm getting there!