Pining for some Good Literature

Ok, so I have just finished reading the second book of the Eragon Trilogy, Eldest. I know you must be thinking, "What is this you are speaking? You just said that you finished reading the first book on Friday, and the second book is over 600 pages long! Are you lying, or are you out of your mind?" My answer: neither. I just have a lot of time on my hands, and once I start reading a book that I'm at least mildly interested in, it's practically impossible for me to put it down. I think I might be a little obsessive-compulsive about it. I lose all sense of time and space, and become so totally immersed in the book I'm reading that nothing else even pricks my consciousness. And then, when I read the last page, I feel desolate. I feel thirsty for more, and antsy because there is no more to read at the moment. And why, you ask, shouldn't I just pick up another book and read it, or even reread the first book? Because it just wouldn't be the same.

So for now I am doomed to wander aimlessly around my house, wishing I was curled up with a good book, and shooing my bothersome cats away from whatever their current life-threatening pursuit is. Usually for Trinket it is chewing on electrical cords, and for Gizmo, chewing on Trinket while she is chewing the electrical cords.

Funny Cats and A Crappy Movie

Okay, I'm really tired, but I just have to post about something before I go to bed tonight. I went to see the movie Eragon tonight with my wonderful husband who I love so much, and I was sorely disappointed with it. You see, a week ago I bought the book to read while I was in California with David. I was hesitant about reading t at first because I thought it would be a cheap knock-off of the Harry Potter genre, but I was wrong. It was an entertaining read. I could tell that the writer of the novel was young and inexperienced, but it was still largely captivating and amusing. Then I went to see the movie. Whoever wrote the screenplay and directed that movie didn't read the book. If they did, then they need to be either blacklisted or shot, whichever is worse. Probably shot, because then there would be a 100 percent guarantee that they would never disgrace another literary work again. The movie was choppily put together, all action, and zero storyline. I left the theater unfulfilled as a viewer. If you had never read the book, then you would probably assume that the book it was taken from was a 10-page pop-up book.

Ok, now for the funny cats. I hvae been watching my hilarious cats for the last ten minutes while they tried to figure out a solution to Trinket's recent predicament. She deliberately put one of her jingle balls into her water bowl. You know how I know? Because the first time David took it out for her. Then I watched her deliberately pick it up in her mouth, walk back over to the bowl and drop it in again. So, now we are just watching to see how she fixes her own problem. Gizmo is addicted to trying to get it out. She just can't leave it alone. You know what her method of choice is? Bobbing for it like children bob for apples on Halloween. It's a plastic ball, so it's floating on the surface of the water, but the water is deep enough that Gizmo can't get her teeth around it without dunking her nose in the water. And every time her nose comes into contact with the water it surprises her. You would think that after the second time she snorted water up her nose she would catch on. And Trinket is just sitting on the sideline, watching with glee as her sister alternates between dunking and sneezing. I have to go intervene before Gizmo drowns.

Feeling Better

Okay, everyone, sorry for that brief lapse of depression. I'm feeling much better now. Today I woke up, opened my eyes, and thought "Hmmm.... What is this I am feeling? I no longer feel like jumping off of something tall! I feel Happy! Oh so happy!"

So now it's time to catch up on everything I haven't talked about in a while. The pets are all doing good. The last couple of days I've had people come over and work on my yard (it was in an atrocious state of disrepair) and Sadie and Buster have been thrilled to have company. I think that they would be tickled pink if I invited someone new over for the specific purpose of throwing a ball for them a couple times a day. It's not that they are deprived of attention, it's that they get so ecstatic when someone newwill play with them.

Gizmo and Trinket are also doing well. Trinket has gotten much more vocal these last couple of days. Whenever I let her out of her bedroom in the mornings she "meh"s and chirps at me for about 10 minutes straight, and wants me to sit on the bed with her and pet her. Then she's done, and she's ready to go do something different. Gizmo is also happy, for once. She worked up to about three good moods a day, where she wants to be cuddled, and will purr while you hold/pet her. I know that the atmosphere of my house has changed for the better since my cats have stopped despising my presence. We'll see how they feel after David's and my upcoming trip to California.

Which brings me to my next piece of news- David and I are going to California! We are going to go together this time! Normally, he takes a trip to California every couple of months and stays for two or three days. This time he is going for 4 days, so I am going with him. Yay! I love to go to California!

And as far as school goes- I am a star!!! I got a 112 on my lab final for biology! I am awesome! That means that I got every question right, and all the bonus questions right! Hooray! I don't know yet what I made on my math final, but I am expecting an A or a B in that class. I got mid-As in both of my online courses. The only final I have left is my Biology lecture final, and that one is on Monday at noon. I have high hopes for getting a 100 on that one too.

I think that is pretty much everything I know for now.

I'm so Great!

Ok, I'm just going to take a moment to bask in my own glory. I am the best. Let me tell you why I am so good. I made a 99 on my first major test in my Biology class. I had the highest grade in all the classes. I am so proud of myself!

Ok, so moving on to the rest of the happenings in my life. I was telling David last night that I feel so happy with my life right now. I feel so content and fulfilled. I'm on course for getting my degree, I have pets that I love, I have a cute little house, I have a good relationship with my family, wonderful friends at church, and I feel that I am making progress on my relationship with God, which is a somewhat new occurrence (the progress, not the relationship), and finally, I am losing weight, and I got to buy cute new clothes in the next smaller size yesterday, and my double chin is on the way to gone once again. So, pretty much everything is going my way right now.

Last night there was a family get-together at my sister Melanie's house, and my neice Shayce was the star of the show. She has gotten to a very cute age. She's about 16 months old, and can walk with a lot of confidence, and talk with even more (even if no one else can understand what she is saying). Last night she was trying to master the step in the entryway of Melanie's house, every time she would step up or down without taking a tumble, she would clap her little hands and say "Yay!" Everybody thought that was the cutest thing, and we would all laugh and cheer her on. One time, she came into a room full of people and said "Heyo!" and everybody said in unison "Hello!" back to her, and then she waved her arms and danced around with glee.

For the last couple of days I hae been on a little bit of a pendulum with my feelings about having children. Some days I think I want to have three or four, and other days I think that I don't want to have any. I think a lot of that depends on how well David and I are getting along. When we get along well, and he is being nice then I think, man, I can't wait to share this with children. When we're being mean to each other then I think, man, I'm glad I don't have children, and I don't want any ever if this is what we are going to inflict on them. I guess we will justhave to wait and see how things pan out. My mom has been a little less than subtle in suggesting how nice it would be to have more grandchildren. I'm happy that she's looking forward to it.

The Tenacity of Baby

Today I have been spending the day with my baby neice, Shayce, who is almost 15 months old. Her vocabulary is expanding rapidly- she can now say "No, Hot, No, Daddy, No, Mommy, Papa, Shoe, No, Thank you, Uh-oh, Milk, Moo, No, Duck, Quack, No, Boo, Yay, No, Hello, and No" all will great consternation or excitedness, depending on the mood of the moment. Every time you sit down to feed her anything, she says it's hot. I say, "It's okay, Shayce, I just tasted it. It's not hot," then I give her a bite, and she says "Hot!"

Anyway, a minute ago, she had something in her Shayce death grip, and charged through the kitchen at a trot just in case Papa decided to stop her and see what it was, which he tried to, but then that baby did the funniest thing- she swatted his hand away and scooted past without being deterred. I laughed... hard. I knew that baby had gumption, but I had seriously underestimated her.

My Poem

Hey guys,

I decided to write a poem today about how I was feeling, and some of the things that I've been thinking about. It might or might not make any sense, but I guess that's just poetry isn't it?


"I'm angry" said the little one.
"You're not." the big one replied.
And so it goes, forever and on
Til conversation dies.

The little and big
Both deny one another
Feelings, thoughts, care, and consideration
Until one of them gives in and gives up
And is extinguished forever.
The two can't exist side by side in harmony
Because, you see,
They are opposites.
One is black and the other is white.
One is good and one is bad.
In Fact, one was created by the other,
A fashioned hit-man with sadistic twists
To provide torment and silence
to Pretend death until it is real.

"Let's play a game!
It's called I forget.
What, you forgot already?
I'll show you how to play.
You just forget I'm here,
and then when you aren't expecting it,
I'll 'get you too. Oops, where'd it go?
You don't know where it is
what it is
who it is
because it's me
and I'm really really good at this.
I'm the one who came up with this idea.
Actually you started it, but I beat you at it.
You wanted to make me quiet.
You told me not to tell.
"Stop crying- it won't do any good."
I was hurt and you wouldn't listen
I was angry and you wouldn't listen.
So I held my breath
Ifaded and thinned into a mist
and passing shadow.
Now you can't see me at all.


So now I will get you back-
I'll mess you up
and you'll never know who did it
you thought I was gone,
but you just can't see me.
You don't know where I am
so now I can win.
I'll show you
I'll show you what it's like
what it's like to hurt
what it's like to be shut out
what it's like to feel confused and rejected
and you won't know what's going on.

You saw me for a minute the other day
I thought maybe we could play
We can be friends!
I'll be really good
If only you will like me and stop
ignoring me
not seeing me
silencing me
pushing me down
locking me up
caging me in.
I'll be good if you just let me live
I want you to know me
I want to feel
I want to help you.

But it's painful to see you.
I've done wrong to you.
They've done wrong to you,
And now I'm like them
I have to follow orders
I have to squash you
That's what they told me to do
If you want them to love you
You have to let me
Or else

They won't ever see you
They can only see themselves.
If you aren't like them
They won't ever love you.
If you want to be like them,
then you have to die
And let me be them.

i just want to live


And so it will go, forever and on
Until each of them gives
The other a chance to bask in glory
Working together to weave a new story
The little one teaching the big,
The big one listening and giving protection
So then they both can live.

Back to School, Back to school, To Show my dad that I'm no Fool!

In case anybody didn't recognize it, the title is a quote from Billy Madison. I love that movie....

Well, folks, it's back to school for me! I guess I got tired of staying and being babysat by my cats, because the spirit moved to go to a nearby college, chat with a couple of people that work there, and then give them money. So, now I am going back to school. Probably for the rest of my able-bodied years. Hopefully at some point I will become a teacher instead of a student.

Trinket has been on her diet for about a week now. A week and a half ago, David and I went out of town for his brother's wedding. They got married, everyone was happy, tra la la. We got home, I swung the door open, and we were greeted first by a laborous, deep throated meow, followed a couple minutes later by the most rotund thing called a trinket that I have ever seen. Her gelationous, enormous body rolled along in a different time zone than her head. She was winded by the time she got to the door. She managed to leap up onto to couch next to me after I sat down, but the effort was almost too much. She sprawled out next to me and started laboriously snoring. When David started referring to her as "Chub chubs", and I knew exactly who he was talking about without any further clarification, I decided it was time to downsize the Trinket's meal plans. There is no longer a limitless food supply always available to them. Gizmo has not been shy about clearly expressing her disgust and outrage for being punished for Trinket's overindulgence.

Trinket also has had a hard time with not always having a snack on hand. For once, she actually has to get off her lazy duff and do something to amuse herself rather than just grabbing a tasty treat. I told David that I thought Trinket was becoming an emotional eater. He laughed and Trinket looked up and to the side in indignation. Then she rolled off the couch. I guess gravity just gets the best of her sometimes.

A Shared Delusion

Today I have been spending time with my sweet niece and my mother, and I've had a moment to ponder a thought presented to me recently by a friend. You see, Shayce does not want to take her afternoon nap. She is certain that it is not necessary for her well-being, and absolutely detrimental to her current state of happiness. She would like to convince me of the same. And that, my friends, leads me to the thought offered me by one of my dear friends. Just because I talk, argue, and convince you to believe something that I think is true does not make it so. Group opinion does not make truth, just a shared delusion.

So, despite all of Shayce's tactics at persuading the rest of us that naps are unnecessary, she must still go to sleep. She has her delusion, but the rest of us don't have to share it.

Baby News

Well folks, it's time for an update on the little baby we call Shayce. Especially since there have been vast changes since the last time I posted about her. She is now walking. Somewhat. She can take about ten steps and then fall. She can also bearcrawl. She's a very adept crawler. She can get anywhere in the house in less than 2 minutes. So if you're the babysitter and you have to use the bathroom you better pee quick.

She has also started talking somewhat. She can say "Hewwo", thank you "Day doo", Dada, Hi there "Hay dah", and sometimes when she falls down she says "Wohwohwoh". I was reading her one of her little books, and when we came to a picture of a cow, I said, "Look Shayce, a cow! Cow says Moo!" Then she said "Moo!" She's so cute!

She's also gotten to where she throws fits when you do something that she doesn't like, or when you don't let her do something that she wants to do. Even then she's cute.

Got to go. She just came over with a big "Hewwo!"

Pretty Packages

All right guys, it's time for the bi-annual story with a moral.

This afternoon, as I was sprawled across my wonderful, comfy, king size pillow-top mattress on my beautiful bed that my handsome husband bought me, talking to him on the phone, my Trinket and my Gizmo joined me on the bed. For a short while they were content just with being on the bed. For a short time they were just fine pretending to people, enjoying the comfort of a luxurious mattress instead of a kitty bed, or just the carpet. Then after a couple of minutes, contentedness turned into boredom. Gizmo resumed her kitty ways and began washing herself, and Trinket turned to the pursuit of the glass chalice in which the people water dwells. It became a game- Trinket would walk over to the glass and start to sniff, perhaps have a taste, and her mommy would notice the mischeif and pull the kitten back onto the bed, roll her over onto her side and pet her. Trinket would purr, allow herself to be wooed by the delights of being caressed and leaving a token amount of shedded fur on the bed, and then resume her pursuit of the people water. After several circuits of the game, I got off the phone with Wonderful Husband, and began trying to convince Trinket that I didn't need help drinking the water. I lured her over to the other side of the bed and petted her. Then I cradled he rin my arms and stroked her belly. I tried playing with her with a string. And still, she would humor me for a minute or two, give me a decisive "Meh", then wriggle away and go for the water. So, I gave in to her. I decided to share my water with my delightful kitten. I went over to my nightstand, and there was Trinket, looking at the water in the glass with lust in her pleading eyes. I picked up the glass and asked if she wanted some. She purred. So I took the glass, and she followed me into her room, where I poured the water from my glass goblet into her water bowl. And then, guess what happened? She watched me pour the coveted water into the bowl, gave the bowl a derisive sniff, then stalked away. No thank you. Just a disgruntled wave of the tail.

So, where is the moral in this little experience? It struck me that the only difference in the water in her bowl and the water in my glass was the outside packaging. The water is inherently wet and delicious, but the presentation was what mattered to my Trinket. This led me to my thoughts about how Trinket is not so very much different from myself (aside from the fact that she is an animal and I am a human), or even from the world at large. People also tend to go more for the outward appearance. Why else would there be discrimination against fat people, ugly people, dirty people, and minorities? They did a special on Dr. Phil and showed that there is a vast difference between the way handsome people and pretty people are treated. We, as people, have been duped by appearances. Why do people act like a fat person is less precious or worthy of love than a thin one? Why do they think that an ugly person is less worthy of admiration than a thin one? All humans have the exact same basic worth- despite fat ugly, white, black, yellow, green, purple, or warty, and despite their education level, income level, or criminal record- because they were made by God and loved by him. Not saying, of course, that it would be wise to invite a serial killer over for dinner or hire a child molester to babysit the kids. There's nothing wrong with protecting oneself against the mistakes and downfalls of another person. What I am saying, though, is that all people have inherent worth, in spite of genetics and bad choices. Whether you look like a glass chalice or a kitty dish, the water inside is still the same.

A Trinket in the Land of Men

Pretty catchy title, huh? I just realized that I didn't specify which one of the kittens in the pictures is Trinket. Trinket is the black and white tuxedo kitty, and Gizmo is the zebra-striped brown tabby.

Gizmo got groomed for the first time yesterday. She has experienced baths before, and had her claws clipped before, but yesterday is the first time in her whole life to get combed. I was informed that I was mean and wretched by my poor pitiful kitty while I removed the knots from her extra-fluffy plume of a tail.

Trinket, however, is doing quite well. She has learned how to give kisses (I lean down, she sniffs my face, we touch noses and I make the kissy sound with my lips, and no, I don't actually kiss her- gross!). She likes to sit from an imperious height (the back of the couch) and observe the goings-on of the house. Occasionally she gets so involved in whats going on at the moment that she slides from her lazy reclining position, does a flip as she falls, and proceeds to land on some weird part of her body.

So, that's pretty much it for now. Just thought that you guys would enjoy a little update on the furries.

Oh yeah, I have dogs too. Two of them. Today David and I went on a walk and left Sadie at home. Poor puppy. Sometimes she knocks on the door in the afternoons and in the evening when David gets home to make sure that we remember she exists and needs food (I'm exaggerating, by the way, but she really does knock on the door. You could have just spent one hundred sixty three and a half hours straight playing with her and still, thirty minutes later, there it is again. The demanding "bang. Bang. BANG!" I digress.)

David just discovered that Trinket knows how to open doors. If a door isn't latched in this house you had better be prepared for a friendly little furry intruder to arrive within minutes, announcing herself with a self-satisfied purr, and an open, wide-eyed look of triumph, joy, and curiosity, as if to say, "Hello! I'm Here! I take it I was invited since I managed to bulldoze the door down. Pet me! I'm the Baby, gotta love me!" She's a very sturdy little cat. She can handle any door in the house.

David is cleaning the litter box right now and said that he thinks that the cats crap twice their weight every day. Then he asked if I thought tigers cover their poop too. Trinket doesn't. Guess she's not a tiger.

Petty Indulgences

I think everyone in the world needs a pet. Whether dog or cat, depending upon a person's tolerance of devotion and adoration, all people need the experience of complete, open, unconditional regard.

Let me take a minute to tell you about my Trinket. She and I did not bond too well at very first. At first my feelings for her were slightly polluted by my past crumpet-who soaked-up-all-my-excess-time-and-attention-and-squeals-of-she's-so-cute-look-at-the-kitty-show-me-the-kittyness (otherwise known as Gizmo), who wasn't shy about voicing and displaying her opinion that the new kitten should curl up, wither, and die.

But, now that that's all over, Trinket has become the delight of housewifely existence. She's not a graceful being by any stretch of the imagination, managing to disprove the theory that cats always land on their feet at every given opportunity, but all is forgiven when laughing at her spastic displays of playfulness when she joyously manages to find one of my ponytail holders on the floor, and also when I'm being clumsily "wooled to death" (as my oldest sister used to say about my crawling on and off and on her lap in effort to cuddle and find a comfy spot at once) when Trinket is in one of her moods of complete and utter love and adoration. It's just impossible to get mad at an adolescent cat who's wanting to love on you so much that you have to reach for her wreckless little fluffy body to keep her from tumbling to the ground. And reach for her to move her off the keyboard because she wants you to pay attention to her and not the computer. Her rattly purr that makes the walls vibrate when I pet her makes me melt.

And sometimes Gizmo still wants her to curl up and die.

The Silent One Speaks

News Update: I have a new cat!!! About a month and a half ago, my husband took me kitten shopping for an early Christmas present, and I got a black and white tuxedo kitten. We named her Trinket, mostly because it fits her perfectly, but also because it goes well with our other kitty, Gizmo. Now, up until purchase of new kitten, Gizmo was a very very quiet cat. Her silent behavior, however, was replaced upon meeting with hisses, snarls, and gutteral moans. Trinket, much to the dismay and puzzlement of Gizmo, is a very vocal kitten. She mews frequently and has even accomplished the art of hum-mewing with her mouth closed. So, once Gizmo got over the initial shock of a small, furry, noisy entity dwelling in her castle, they began the bargaining phase. This entailed a daily meeting of furry minds and wills on either side of the bathroom door, directly following Gizmo's release from her nighttime prison (the office). My husband and I have different translations of their little exchanges. What actually happened went like this:

Gizmo: (trilling) Prrrow?
Trinket: Meh meh meh meh meh meh meh meeeeeeehhhhh!!!!
Gizmo: Prrrow, prrow row?
Trinket: Meh meh meh meh mehmehmehmehmehmehmehmeh mehmehmehmehmeh mmmeeeeeeeeehhhhh!!!!!!!!
Gizmo: silence with laid back ears
Trinket: Meh! Meh! Mmmeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!

David's translation:
Gizmo: Still there?
Trinket: Yes Yes Yes Yeeeeeessssss!!!!
Gizmo: Ok, this is how it goes- you come out, and I eat you for lunch.
Trinket: Don't eat me don't eat me don't eat me don't eat me!!!!!
Gizmo: Still listening to groveling
Trinket: Don't eat me don't eat me don't eat DDDOOONN'TT EEEEEAAAAAT MEEEEE!

My translation:

Gizmo: Friends?
Trinket: Friends, friends, I promise, friends friends!!!!!
Gizmo: Friends?
Trinket: (louder) FRIENDS, FRIENDS, I PROMISE, FRIEEEENNNDSS!
(Door opens a crack and furries spot each other)
Gizmo: NOT FRIENDS!! NOT FRIENDS!!!

So, there ya go. After the initial period of socialization, which took about 3 weeks, they have become the best of friends. They cuddle, they lick, they play, and when Trinket does something dumb to get herself into trouble, Gizmo watches then looks at us vindictively (after the Trinket is chased away from her misdeeds) as if to say, I told you that kitten was trouble, but no one ever listens to me, do they?

Ah, so on to present events. The Gizmo, who used to never say anything, now slinks around the house, occasionally doling out a bite to the ankle or Trinket's neck and moaning at times as if she's having gastrointestinal convulsions. The most intriguing of Gizmo's new sounds is when David is sitting on the commode, at which point she walks halfway down the hall, sits down, stares at him and gives one, high-pitched "Meow!" and then looks at him expectantly as if she expects him to do something interesting. Maybe she is saying "Close the door, you're polluting the air!"

I'll probably think of more things to talk about later.