Thursday This n That

Dragged, kicking and screaming, into this decade, I am finally allowing Windows 10 into my home.  I'm kinda forced to, and believe me, I wouldn't be doing it if they* weren't forcing us to.  But nothing seems to be updating for Windows 7 anymore.  Bastards.  You see, Hubs needs a new computer because his laptop is like 13 years old and we're on tenterhooks wondering whether today is the day it's going to die.  We stopped closing it years ago because the monitor/lid hinge was getting to where it was close to popping off the next time we opened it.  Anyway, I hit Newegg and ordered it up last night - 'puter, monitor, keyboard, mouse.  All for under $200.  Yay.  Yeah, they're refurbs, but I've been working on a refurb for 3 years.   Once Hubs' is in and we're sure it works and junk, we'll order me up a new 'puter, too.  Just the machine - I have a monitor, etc.  Maybe afterwards, we'll be able to load stuff faster than the speed of snail.  Freakin' browser with it's 'we won't update your software anymore you dinosaur' messages.

I know you haven't heard from me in a while.  Work takes pretty much all my brain space these days.  I wish I could talk about it, but there are eyes everywhere.  :waves:  

The kittens are 11 months old now.  Sawyer is my chonky boi, but Finn's no itty-bitty kitty himself.  They're the same length stem to stern.  Sawyer's a bit wider and Finn is smidgen taller.  We'll weigh them at a year.  

Sorry, I had to stop there for a while because Hubs wanted to go over the budget.  End of year, trying to figure out where the money went... Weeee.  We're definitely better off this year than we were last year, and last year was way better than the year before.  Hell, we're out of debt now.  Woohoo.  Say what you will about work, it does the trick, eh?

Speaking of which, I should probably stop here and start moving in a general workly direction.  Have a great day wherever you are.  

Peace out.

*The assholes who make computer software.

Sunday Update - Week Helifino

 I really have a tough time writing anything these days... including a blog post.  So, bear with me.

I finally finished a book yesterday.  It was Silver James' latest - Crossfire - and it was AWESOME.  Her best yet and all the others were awesome, so that's saying something.  Yes, it took me like a month to read it, but that's totally on me.  Reading is like writing for me, in the fact that I've been having a tough time doing it.  I lack focus for anything not work related.  Which kinda sucks.

The other day someone gave me a box of books, too.  And I want to read them, but when I will is anyone's guess.  I have only read 17 books this year.  So much for the goal of reading 50, eh?

Okay, so I lied a little.  My lack of focus is not just work.  It's kitties, too.  These boyz take a lot of attention.  I've had to get up twice now just in the space of typing the above.  Sawyer's always into something, and Finn is often along for the ride, but he's also starting to instigate things himself.  There's the third time... And now Sawyer's in the bathroom because he wouldn't leave stuff alone.

Anyway...  

Life is pretty boring out here in the back of beyond.  I work, I eat, I sleep, I attend to kitties (if only to give Hubs a break because he's home with them all day).  Not much else going on.

But I'm not dead, so there's that.  

How life treating you these days?

A Few Thoughts for a Nothing Morning

I wonder if the person who coined the term 'windbreaker' for that certain style of jackets giggles every time they hear it.  "farter'... hehehe

For some reason, Sawyer is obsessed with feet.  Socks on, socks off, shoes, no shoes.  He must have the feet.  Finn, on the other hand, is obsessed with used tissues. He couldn't care less about new tissues, but blow your nose in it and set it down... haHA.

I got the Boyz a couple of dog toys - a mallard duck and a raccoon.  The duck was the goal, but I bought the raccoon, so they'd each have a toy to play with.  Nope, they just love the duck.  The first time one of them grabbed it by it's neck and ran through the house with it... achievement unlocked.

By the way, the Boyz have been weighed.  At 8 months old, Sawyer is 11.5 pounds and Finn is 9 pounds even.  Sawyer's my chonky boi.

So, I was laying in bed last night not sleeping and thinking about the demise of my writing.  And wouldn't you know it, the answer of 'where the hell do I go with the next book?' hit me like a bolt out of the blue.  Of course, I am up to my ass in alligators, so finding time to write will be difficult, and I may be burned to a crisp if I try to write while doing everything else, but there it is.  

Speaking of busy, the past couple of days, I've been working 8 hours... with a half hour lunch in the middle... then coming home to do spreadsheets.  And finishing at about 8:30p.  Yeah, add writing to that... :snort:

Oh, and then I play with the kittens before going to bed, because I don't want to neglect the babies.  Poor Hubs.

And that's about it.  Time to call the Michigan office before I have to get ready to go to the Missouri office.  Yay.  

Thursday This n That

I don't post very much anymore because I don't really have much to say.  Work, home, kitties.  The occasional trip to Wallyworld.  This is my life now.

Briefly touching on my old life, I signed up for the Smashwords sale next month.  50% off all my books during July.  (Although, if I read it right, any book that's 99c now will be free.  There are a few of those, so go for it.)

Today is my one-year anniversary of going back to work.  I should get my review today.  I think it'll be a good one.  I've hit my goals, my customers love me, and I take on whatever is thrown at me. If not always with grace than at least with style.

The kittens are slowly settling down.  Well, for varying definitions of 'settling down'.  Sawyer decided it was fun to jump down behind the tall dresser.  Unfortunately, once he was back there he couldn't get back out.  The first time, he accidentally fell back there.  The next several were intentional.  So this morning, I moved the dresser flat against the wall so he can't get back there.  We've moved or hidden so many things now.  Our spare room looks like The Room of Requirement.  I half expect to find a diadem in there.

Finn has become my little cuddle-bug.  He's such a good kitty that he sometimes gets less attention because we're constantly having to deal with Sawyer's antics.  Luckily, he's pretty much happy playing by himself.

We have baby turkeys.  Yay.

And fawns. Yay.

Okay, well, that's about all I've got for this morning.  Have an awesome day out there everyone.

Sunday Update - Week Huh?

Two Sundays in a row... I'm killin' it.

We saw our first fawn of the year today.

We introduced the spray bottle today in an attempt to curb the kittens' worst infractions - chiefly getting into the places where we have electrical cords that could easily zap them into kitty heaven.  After the first squirt, Sawyer now squints his eyes when I bring it out and seems less likely to get into trouble, but the minute our backs are turned, there he is.  He's a bull-headed little cuss.

I bought them a big, fluffy, decorative pillow to play with.  It looks like a muppet or one of those things on the cell phone commercial - no eyes, just blue fur.  Hubs named it the Blue Buffalo. Finn is already trying to kill it.  Sawyer fears it a little.

Work is work.  I'd talk about it more, but I can't.  

I booked my trip to Michigan.  It's been 9 years.  Time flies.  When I had the time, I didn't have the money.  Now I have the money and don't have the time.  Well, I made the time this time.  We can mostly thank Hubs for that.  He started it by going to see his mom and encouraging me to see mine, plus not worrying about the time I'll be taking off work.  These are the first vacation days I've taken since I started there a year ago.  (I had a couple days off due to illness and a couple due to weather, but these are the first days for just relaxation.)

That's right, it's been nearly a year since I started working again.  Whoda thunk it.  

Okay, that's about it for me today.  How are things in your little corner of the world?

Sunday Update - Actually Sunday For a Change

 Another week went by in a blur.  Let's see what happened...

Well, Hubs got home from a trip.  I try not to say beforehand if or when either of us is going to be away from home because that just makes good sense.  But I can tell you afterwards, so there it is.  He went to visit his mom for her birthday.  Yay.  And he had a nice time, so it's all good.  No, I didn't go and no, taking separate vacations doesn't mean there's anything wrong.  He needed to spend time with his family without me tagging along and it made good financial sense.  Plus, someone had to stay home with the kittens.  I'll go see my mom somewhere along the way.

So, I've taken a couple roadtrips back and forth to the airport - which is like 75-90 minutes away depending on traffic.  It reminded me why I hate the city.  Too much traffic, too many inconsiderate drivers and pedestrians.  

I've seen a couple of deer that look post-pregnant, so the countdown for fawns has begun.

Work is work.  The stress level seems to have reduced, which is good.  I'm enjoying knowing the customers so they feel like people and not a number.  I even had someone call in and comment 'wow, a real person and not a phone tree'.  Yep.  Although, they do get a phone tree if no one picks up before the 4th ring.  I try to make sure the 4th ring never happens, but I'm not a god.  

The kittens are growing like weeds.  And getting into everything still.  Except their growth means they've got the heft to knock over things they couldn't when they were smaller.  The trick is to distract them.  Take all the mischief energy and redirect it.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  Right this minute, I have distracted Sawyer with a jingly ball, so he's running around the house playing a solo game of soccer instead of trying to climb into the paper shredder again.  Okay, in the time it took me to type that, he's back getting into trouble.  :shrug:  Finn is so much less troublesome, but we love them both.  

Jumping back to the stress level... now that the stress is less, I'm gaining weight back.  Not necessarily the happiest of side effects, but I'll live.

Well, that's about it for me.  Time to start whatever passes for a Sunday around here.  Ink Master marathon!  I'm not sure why that show is addictive for me, but it is.  Have a great day whatever you're doing.  :hugs:

Random Update

First thing in the morning is a bad time to blog.  I have kittens to wrangle and coffee to drink and I have to smoke out in the sun porch now, so I can't exactly sit here while I'm doing it.  Then I have to get ready for work and whoosh, out the door I go.  Nights ain't all that great either.  I get home from work and I'm a totally toad.  Eat dinner, watch a little TV, maybe read a few pages of someone else's words and then I'm off to bed.  Weekends?  Well, there are errands to run and I spend a lot of time decompressing away from the computer.  Cuz like I sit in front of a computer all day long at work.  So it's not like I'm quitting blogging.  I still want to blog.  I just don't have the energy or the brain power to do it as often as I'd like.

And there ya go.

I haven't been reading much.  I haven't been baking at all.  We won't talk about activity.  And I weigh around 160.

They changed the office hours at work a smidgen, so we're not open until 5:30 now.  Which means I get home a half hour earlier M-Th.  Yay.  

Sawyer has this thing where, right after Hubs cleans the litter box, the dang kitten jumps in and then attacks the litter.  Totally ruins the feng shui in there.  Weirdo.  He's also our soccer star.  And he's obsessed with the ceiling fans.  Finn is our quiet boy, except when he talks to himself.  Walking around the house meowing little meows under his breath. He also likes to play in my hair, which occasionally turns into attacking my hair.  Scalp ouchies.  Bummer.

We've been hearing coyotes a lot lately.  Which does not bode well for the fawns should they arrive early.  Hopefully, the 'yotes will move along before the actual fawning begins.

Well, that's about all I've got time for this morning.  I'll try to remember to stop by on Thursday.