Tickle Me Tuesday

My fat cat is sick, so I'm totally all about cats today. This is what is tickling my fancy so far today! (click on each photo to be taken to the link).

I may or may not have bought this yesterday.....

I need this book!!!! NEED! WANT! MUST HAVE!

HAHAHAHHAH! I love everything about this! It's purple, the cat's expression, and that is on sale! You know, because if your cat gets cold you can put this on him or her. LOVE!

What cat items have been tickling your fancy lately?

Mystery Solved

I bought this from Old Navy, so I have had no excuse as to lose hair ties. Now, a little note to preface, when you have curly Ihateyouandwanttofrizzandruinyourday hair you need anything you can to pull that bad boy back. Well, at least I do.

I was complaining to C on the phone the other day that I couldn't for the life of me figure out where all my hair ties were going. I keep the ball in my purse, that way, should I need one in a pinch, I have one (or 20,000- you never know)! It was a mystery to me because the ball kept getting smaller and smaller, but I couldn't find any laying around the house. So odd. Or so I thought......

Now, a little history about the boys before I reveal how this mystery was solved.....

So Tiger and Spaz like to play, but only if there is catnip involved. In the past I have spent a boatload of money on toys, for them to just stare at them like they are waiting for them to come to life. Then they get bored and walk away. It has been awhile since C and I have had a kitten, and I forgot how active they were! So he ripped through all the old toys and loved the ones he got for Christmas from Chewy, Olive, and Sadie. (And yes, the gifts were for all three cats, but someone hasn't mastered sharing yet). There, now you know I'm a good mommy and buy them toys. There is no excuse for what you shall see below.

My money is on the little one doing this....

Apparently someone has been stockpiling hair ties and feels the need to throw them in the water bowl. This also means that someone has been crawling into my purse and removing said hair ties from the ball. Or stealing them from me when I least expect it. He is tricky. Also, I shall no longer spend money on kitten toys. I'm just going to buy him a bulk pack of hair ties. Good plan.

Moral of the story? Don't underestimate the sneakiness of a kitten.

Blog Yard Sale

I am attempting to clean out my closest. I am going to go through and pull things that don't fit, that I haven't worn, or that I have to realize, I can't wear anymore. Sigh.

Some of the items are brand new so I thought, if any of you all want them, they are yours!

I'll sell them to you for $5 plus $3 shipping. Just email me what you want!

Delias, size small



Loft, size 4P. Clearly I've never worn it. :(

Express, Size Small. Also available in White.

Navy suit from Old Navy. Size 4 skirt, Small Jacket. Yea, my fat ass can't fit this. It's wrinkley because I washed it. I thought I could wear it for my interview yesterday. Yup, not so much......

Shoot me and email or comment if you want anything. And if not, I won't be offended. Just thought someone may like them!

#HandmadeGiftExchange

I have a slight obession with Craftaholics Anonymous, as I've blogged about the fabulousity of that site in the past. With that being said, I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the handmade gift exchange!




I was partnered up with Ashlee, who by the way, is fabulous. Her blog is awesome. You should check her out. Oh! And she has the cutest Etsy shop EVER! Love her!

Look at what she sent me!

Since I'm totally looking forward to getting into sewing, this is AWESOME!

And she's such a tease! She sent me this next photo when it was in the mail. I was in suspense! :)

She made the packaging. She is so crafty. I'm jealous.



I love love love everything! Thanks so much Ashlee! And thanks Linda for hosting this exchange!

Cat humor for the day

I adore my friend Katie. She's fantastic. She always knows that a great cat post will cheer me up. And she's right! Check out the fabulousity that is today's!

Cat out of nowhere!



HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH Thank God Raven hasn't mastered this trick yet. And yes I say yet.

See how the door in the picture is propped open? Well, above our basement door is a sign that says man cave, because well, the least I can do is allow C to have one room in the house, right? Anyway, apparently yesterday this sign was bothering kitten and he jumped and balanced on the door (remember, it's propped like above!) and began hitting the sign. He is so bad. By the time I turned the corner to see what he had done he was screeching because he couldn't get down. I contemplated laughing and taking a photo, but was afraid he'd fall, so I helped him instead.

I now keep the door shut, but today I'm going to check my wall! Eek!

To do list

So, the hubby deployed in February. It is now mid July. And guess who has her to do list done? Not this girl. Woops.

So here's the deal. I wanted to do a few things before the hubby returns in 38 days. It's not looking too hot....

1. I wanted to clean out my closet.

I have an obsession with clothes. C can tell you though, when he is home, I'm good about shopping. I rarely do it. But, when is gone, I get lonely and cure that loneliness by shopping.

Woops.

I still have a lot off work to do.

I have a hard time getting rid of stuff. Everything has a meaning to me. I need to get over this. For those of you on here that periodically clean out your closets, how do you do it? I need help.

2. I want to learn how to cook.

Hubby is a meat eater. I can't stand that stuff. So of course when he is gone I don't cook meat. Unless of course anyone feels brave. If you know my husband in real life, ask him about the time I served pink chicken. Apparently it's not supposed to be a "pretty color." Who knew.

3. Work out like a mad woman.

I'm lazy. I work three jobs. This isn't boding well.

Amen, Natalie. Amen.

With 38 days to go, I have a lot to accomplish. Wish me luck! And if you hear of me slacking, crack the whip. Or, give me an ice cream sundae. That'll do too.

How does your garden grow?

Everytime C deploys I take on a new project. Last year I took a sewing class and this year I'm taking a knitting class. So much fun! But that's not the point of today (although I could tell you all my fun knitting stories- I'll save that for later). The point it, I have also begun to garden! Who would have thought that little ole me would have a green thumb?! Not this girl, that's for sure!

C and I signed up for a CSA last year. It was great! I would have done it this year, but I can't eat all that food myself. Anyway, we were exposed to some delicious fresh vegetables. This got us talking. We had been wanting to start a garden of our own, but there is nothing but clay in our backyard. It would take work, and frankly, I'm lazy. Plus I wouldn't know where to begin. It usually involved me staring at the ground trying to coax it to make something grow. Ugh.

Well, since I've cast a spell on my husband and am trying to make him all granola and earth loving (baby steps!), I thought this would be a great way to put this plan into fruitition. (I honestly don't know if that's a word, it sounds fancy). We- and by we I mean I, since C is 5,000+ miles away, I get to make decisions- decided to sign up for a garden plot with Grow Annapolis. For $40 we were given a plot, tools, compost, and some seeds and starts if we wanted them and we were off to the races. Here is how we started.

Please note, my husband is the logistics guy. I'm the "cram everything into the plot and see what happens" type of girl. This should be interesting.....

*Disclaimer: All personal photos

Doesn't look like much, huh?! Well believe me. It is!

Where those stakes are on the left is going to be canteloupe. Then next to that is strawberries, then a blueberry bush. The four stakes in the back are two rows of carrots and two rows of chives. Then we have a row of tomatos along the end, peppers in front of the chives, an eggplant in front of the peppers, and a squash next to that. Then behind the squash is cucumber. See what I mean about cramming. Woopsie. I was hungry when I was picking stuff out!!

So I planted and weeded and cared for it like crazy. I crossed my fingers and my toes something would grow!

After a few weeks it started growing! Oh, I got the bright idea to add lettuce. It was yummy.

And bigger! It started to remind me of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors!!

I sadly had to pull out my squash plant, as it got some sort of white powdery mildew. Apparently that is common if you overcrowd or water at night, both things I did. I have since started watering in the morning before coming into work. I was sad at first, but the mildew stuff is bad. It can weaken your plant. I don't want that. And I'm not sure if it could spread, but I didn't want to take the chance.

A good thing about pulling it up? Now my peppers get sun. They were completely covered before and not doing so hot. They strive on sunlight. So I'm hoping this helps. Also, I had some cucumbers that had sprouted that I hadn't even noticed because they were being hidden by the squash plant, so I was able to get to them as well. They were ready for the picking, so that was perfect timing.

What I have learned? Garden is a crapshoot. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you think, I'm going to have the best garden on the block, and things go haywire with the weather, soil, etc. Some fruits and veggies don't like certain conditions. And sometimes ducks eat your eggplant...... :(

My first tomatoes!  

Nom nom nom.....



I am not sure why my cucumber on the left is shaped like a grenade.......

Look how tiny this carrot is. It makes me laugh.

I do love me some strawberries!

And since this is usually parked right outside of the garden plot, I water the garden with it. I'm kidding. Maybe.....

Any tips or advice you'd care to share? I'm all ears! And tummy. I'm starving....



It's ok to fall down and skin your knee...

Take Gerald the sheep for instance. He is afraid, but he still takes the leap and gets to the other side. I think. :)

Sometimes it's scary to take the unknown path, or to do something outside of your comfort zone. I had this conversation with my friend Caitlyn last night. We both discussed how it's terrifying to feel as if you are "failing" but not going on the road you chose in college or what your career is destined to be. Personally, this is killing me. I feel like I've invested so much time and money and effort into this degree, that I need to use it. And I have been. BUT it's not working. It's not making me happy. In fact, I'm sad. So I need to change this. I just don't know how to begin....

 

I'm a huge believer in having faith and that things happen for a reason. Call me the crunchy, granola type, but I honestly believe the cosmic universe has some sort of plan that we are unsure of. I think God sits up in heaven and cracks up when we say "I'm going to do such and such." He's like, "sure, go ahead. Let me know how it turns out." And you know what, 9 times out of 10 it's a huge bust. But I think that's what makes us human, that we fail. It's how we pick ourselves up and learn from these mistakes that make us stronger. Like Gerald above. We don't give up.


I feel like though there is someone out there in this big ole world that wants me to fail. I kid you not (I can show you my Gmail outbox if you don't believe me!) I applied to 250 jobs in the past month and a half. I heard from 2. 1 was a phone interview where the woman said she loved me. That was promising. Yet now all of a sudden they are no longer interested. Ugh. I wonder if my name is associated with some crazy person or something. Who knows. Anyway, to whomever I pissed off or hates me in the universe that feels the need to ruin my life by not letting me find any sort of dang job, I'm sorry for whatever I did. I mean that.

Here is the point I'm trying to make. I've been terrified about some things lately. Terrified is an understatement. My career isn't going the way I want it to. Heck, I don't have a career! Yes, I'm using my degree. That part I'm thrilled about. But, I can't provide for my family, nor am I in a situation where I could stick with this job long term. I need a change. And that scares me.

Also, I've found out some news about my baby maker- it may be broken. This sucks. I've kept this in and only told a few folks the full details, but it's hard for me because I know C wants a kid and I may not be able to make this happen. I feel like a horrible wife- I can't provide my husband with the one thing he wants. That kills me. He has been totally understanding, which is amazing, and he has never made me feel horrible about this, but it's just something that I myself am dealing with. I mean, come on. As a woman, we are supposed to be the ones that bear the kids, right? And what do you do if you can't? I know, adoption is an option and I'm not ruling that out, but I really really really want C to have a kid of his own flesh and blood. I just have to get over this. Again, it's part of the whole "change" process. And I hate it.

I'm trying not to go crazy over all these negatives in my life at the moment. I'm trying to stay strong and smile and put on a happy face. But inside I'm going bananas. I honestly have been thinking of going to a shrink, with the hopes that just talking about it will help. That is why I'm writing this. I'm afraid. I'm afraid to take that step and let a complete stranger know my deepest, darkest secrets. But, then again, don't I do that on here? Hmmm. Perhaps this is the universe's way of telling me something.



There, I feel better. And hopefully the universe does too. :)

I'd like some cheese...

With my whine of course. I'm sorry to the folks that follow me on Twitter, I have been such a whiner lately. Here is why.

1. I miss my husband.

I knew what to expect, as we've been through two deployments already prior to this one, but it's just something about this one that is hitting me hard. I don't know if it's now that we are married or if it's because I always was surrounded by such a strong group of friends, who, bless their hearts, are swamped with their own busy lives now (rightfully so!), so I'm left to fester on my own. All in all, I need to get out of this funk and get over it.

2. I need a job.

I have a job, but I'm currently on contract, so every six months they look at the budget and decide if they can keep me. I can't keep living like that. Also, I don't get benefits or time off. Luckily I am on the hubby's health plan, so that's good, but heaven help me if I get sick. I've got to work through it. And no holidays for this girl. I see no mula. No work no pay. Blah.

3. I have an outrageously, overpriced mortgage that is the bane of my existence.

Here's the deal. Folks all the time say, "if you can't afford the house, why did you buy it." Well, a couple things. I moved into it. My husband has been married before. The ex made $100,000. They could afford it. I make $30. You do the math. We are able to make our payments, pay all our bills, and all that jazz, but that's it. No food. No nada. We are basically left with $20 at the end of the month. And that is if I work a full 80 hours a week, as mentioned in #2.

4. I miss my husband.

Normally if I'm having a bad week/day/month/year I turn to him. He makes me laugh. He makes me smile. And believe me, he gives the worlds greatest hugs. I miss that.

However, I'm trying to be more positive as of lately. So here is what I'm going to do about it. I met with the local community college yesterday to discuss options for joining the teacher program. That is something I've wanted to do, so why not make it happen. I've taken up sewing and knitting to take my mind off the negative. I've begun packing lunches and having breakfast at home in an effort to save money. I'm also not complaining to the hubby anymore. I want the next 44 days to be positive and happy thoughts.

So online community, if you catch me complaining, remind me I'm supposed to be happy, ok?! And thank you for letting me vent.