Alright already.......this one is for Miya....

Here's the freaking cat! Happy? Actually, I had planned to blog about the little stinker today anyway...

I literally let the cat out of the bag yesterday anyway when I stated that I had a kitten sleeping with me so I figure its time the world got to see the new "man" in my life. His name is Jasper and he's firmly established himself as the rightful dominant male of the household, however, as our household consists of myself, Annie and the dog and we're all chicks essentially guaranteed Jasper the male vote anyway. He came home Saturday night and its amazing how quickly you get used to having a cat in bed with you again. Everytime I go to roll over or move I wake up fully and have to see where the cat is before I do....seriously, he's so tiny he's about the size of a coffee mug right now...I'd hate to squash him! Luckily he'll grow fast so it won't be an issue. He's already able to climb up and jump down off of my bed without assistance and this morning proved he was more than capable of climbing Mt. Mommy as I was blow drying my hair.

Life has changed a bit....I had to buy a pet gate to keep the dog out of my room and out of Jasper's food. Cutting a cat sized hole in it last night was interesting, but rewarding, as my idea seems to have worked. Jasper can come and go as he pleases, the dog is stuck on the other side of the gate (and not only out of Jasper's food but my waste basket as well)yet she can still look through the gate and see what the cat is up to.

I know I said I would never have a cat again after Basil but its funny how quickly something new to worry over and care for can take that old pain and turn it into love. Yes Jasper is a commitment...I could easily pass 50 and still have him around (man, am I really that old?) but he's such a sweet thing that I really don't mind (yes you all heard right--for those of you who knew Basil...Jasper is the complete opposite, he loves everyone!)

Sorry to all about the quality of the pic....Miya, once I get a better one I will email it to you, he rarely holds still long enough for me to get a good shot...I have plenty of closeups of his nose though as he keeps zipping in to sniff the camera.

Happiness is being owned by a cat? Nah, happiness is having the cat for your friend.

stand back boys...she's toxic!

Perhaps not bad enough for a gas mask but after I modified like a bajillion (okay 1000) switches over the last few days my hands were fairly well coated with silicone caulking. Silly me didn't want to show up at Outback's last night for dinner with Jase so I used some goop remover and scrubbed myself free of the caulk....only to rub in the overwhelming smell of citrus based acetone. Besides stinking to high heaven my hands were practically white from the dry skin I'd just given myself...so I grabbed the only hand lotion I had in the car which was a verrrrrrrrrry pungeant mandarin orange from bath and body works (in my defense the lotion was a gift and is not something I would have purchased for myself). Needless to say, boy I was quite citrus-y last night! Not only was Jase kind enough to refrain from commenting, he managed to eat and keep down his burger. As for me, I had a serious case of queasiness by the time I got home. Several handwashings later didn't remove one bit of that stink but somehow the kitten slept with me anyway. Got up this morning and, while I can still smell a few hints of acetone, the lime verbina lotion I have at work seems to have fairly well masked it!
Lesson for the day girls: acetone might be good and well to use removing nail polish (in small doses of course) but NEVER use it for any other purpose on your body! Not unless you intentionally want to clear a room (and your head cold!)

what's found is new again.....

Not always really, but for me this is oh so true. I open a box of items that have been packed away for awhile and not only am I amazed at just where and when did I acquire all this cool stuff, I also stand in awe of what good taste I have! (Not that anyone else would really agree but I always pick out the thing that I will just love...seriously, consult me if you're going to buy me anything and I guarantee I'll love what I pick out!)

This time the old isn't necessarily new, but I love it when I forget I own something and then stumble upon it. Case in point: I grabbed a cd binder on my way to work yesterday because I knew I was in for a long day on my feet in the warehouse modifying security switches for a rush order. No idea what was in the thing, in fact I had no idea when I last used that particular binder. Imagine my astonishment of getting to work, opening it up and finding my "Elizabethtown" vols 1 and 2 soundtracks. I LOVE those disks! I promptly put them in and, while they weren't the rock I'd planned to keep myself going, they were exactly what I needed because the soothingly mellow tunes kind of drop you into some sort of zen state where you can handle whatever comes your way. Ok, ok....maybe its not quite that melodramatic, but dang I missed those disks.......even though I didn't remember it until just yesterday!