Happily Ever After

I saw this on Pinterest the other day (Yep you can follow me there too!) and it is the perfect picture to add to this blog that I have been meaning to write for awhile now.

I found another saying some weeks ago, put it on a post it note, and then stuck it to a kitchen cupboard so I wouldn't lose it before I could blog about it.  "Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life..... Love comes along and brings you a fairy tale."  My niece Ashlyn, who is fifteen, happened to see it on the afternoon of her first date!  Even though she was giddy and singing through most of the egg coloring session with the little kids, she stopped for a moment to tell me that she doesn't believe in the fairy tale.  Yes, I am aware that my jaded self just might have caused that.

I guess I don't even really feel bad about that one, because life and love are no fairy tale.  It's tough stuff, it's messy, and it can be very ugly, but the beautiful moments make it all worthwhile.  They are what gives us the will to dust ourselves off and try again.  I believe in reality, not fairy tales.  I'm glad that she does too.  It wont diminish the beauty when love comes knocking on her door.  In fact, I think it actually enhances at it when you aren't looking through rose colored glasses.

I think her exact words were, "Auntie, I don't believe in happily ever after."  Now that part I did take exception with.  I will tell you what I told her.  "Ash, we all make our own happily ever after.  It's up to you to choose how it will be.  The life I have now, living on my own, with my new job, you kids, and Milkie, is pretty fabulous.  If this IS my happily ever after, I'm fine with it."  Heck being in a relationship isn't necessarily the key.  I've been in several, and being "happy" had little to do with it most of the time.

So as the picture says above, I will choose to take my happily ever after one day at a time.  If it's just me, that's fine.  If Prince Charming got lost somewhere and eventually shows up outside my door, that's fine too.  All that matters is that we (Ash and I )  LIVE HAPPILY ever after. 

Outta My Hair

Today I tried the new AVON hair color, and ♫Washed that gray right outta my hair!♫  I have to say, I was skeptical, but being somewhat of an expert at home hair coloring, I thought, "What the hell?"  Really, I am pleasantly surprised!  My hair is really soft, there's no trace of any kind of chemical smell, it wasn't too tacky feeling while on my head, and rinsed out really fast.  The red/brown color is pretty true to the other brands I have used, and as long as it holds the gray off for a couple of weeks I will be switching brands permanently.  Well, for as long as AVON carries it.  Those of you who are long time AVON users know what that means. :)

I'm not sure if I have ever blogged about the fact that I am an "AVON lady."  It's kind of odd that I wouldn't, but I don't think I have.  We'll save that one for another time.

Now we'll sing the other song that goes with that tune.  The real words.  ♫I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair. I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair, and send him on his way.♫  Which is how I feel about the rest of my life right now.  To quote Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

Let It Be

It is what it is.  But.......what is it?  THAT is the question.

What a fun weekend!  Porterhouse on the grill, summer breezes in the air, fuchsia painted toe nails, cruising the highway with the windows down and the radio cranked, sandals, puppy discussions, Capri's, tossing sticks in the trout stream, melty kisses, sun pinked skin, snuggling, wine coolers, tired eyes, lots of laughter, donuts, a cross word puzzle, pony tails, crazy tv, NASCAR (with a win by Jimmie Johnson.....man is he hot), popcorn, and a brown eyed man.

Ok, not just any brown eyed man.  THE brown eyed man.  I KNOW.....  I can't believe it either.  My head has all sorts of things to say, and questions it needs answered.  My heart is thrilled and just wants what it always wants.  Him.  Nothing more, nothing less.

All I can hear in my head is Paul McCartney "Speaking words of wisdom, let it be."
I think we'll go with some middle ground here, and without defining it just let it be and enjoy it, whatever it is.

Ninja Kitty Part Two

On Wednesday at work, I was discussing Ninja Kitty's antics with Dr. Miller.  I hadn't seen her in over a week, probably because the weather was rainy and cold, but we were trying to devise some way of keeping her off the window sills.  He was going to be bringing in some chicken wire to block our pet pigeons out of the gap between the buildings (man are those things filthy) and thought maybe if I put a piece down on the sills she wouldn't like the feel of it and would stay off of them.  Well, it couldn't hurt!

Inevitably that night Milkie had a visitor, and I didn't have the chicken wire yet.  At five a.m. I was awoken to the sounds of Milk going crazy with the living room blind.  I had forgotten to leave that side up in case of a battle.  I grabbed the first thing I could find, a cardigan, and raced out to the living room.  Opening the blinds I see Ninja Kitty stuck to my screen spread eagle once again.  WTF!  So I smack the screen a few times and she jumps down.  However, she immediately runs back up the porch, stares at me a minute and then flings herself three feet through the air to STICK BACK TO MY SCREEN!  She never, at any point, even touched the window sill.  How the crap does she do that?! 

I smacked the screen and yelled a couple of times and she jumped down, at which point I ran for clothes that I could actually run outside in, and a large glass of water to throw at her, because I couldn't think of anything else.  By the time I got back she had vanished.  When I left work on Thursday I had a large piece of screen in my hand, and a plan.  Dr. Miller thought it sounded like it would work, so I set to it the minute I got home.

The chicken wire is currently lodged under the screen, and under the closed window, to hold it in place.  It then does a few accordion folds and is jutting straight out from the window, to prevent her from jumping.  There is no way around it that I can see, and the past two nice nights there have been no Ninja Kitty sightings that I am aware of.  Round two goes to The Queen!  Stay tuned, cause I have a feeling this isn't over. :)

Side Note:  When I got home on Thursday and went to put my plan into action I was immediately foiled by the damn screen.  It would not budge, no matter what.  I looked for slots to push, etc. and couldn't figure a thing.  I sat there for a moment, wondering if I was finished before I began, and with a sigh said aloud, "These are the times when I wish there were a man around."  Then......... I pulled up my big girl panties and dealt with it. :)  I grabbed my little tool box and started picking and pulling til I finally budged it and could see an area to poke at further.  At that point I didn't care if I broke the damn screen, I just needed to be able to handle it myself, and I did.

TMJ

The technical term is Temporomandibular joint.  I just like to call it, To Much Joanie. 

Apparently when my fabulous landlord left me the renal increase note, taped to my front door, I started clenching my jaw.  I clenched that sucker until I just about broke myself, but at least it kept me from clenching my hands around the landlords neck.........

I really didn't have any other stresses in my life, so that has got to be it.  I have just started on this new path and have stumbled, but it I hadn't taken this path I would have fallen off a cliff for sure. Thank God I work for a Chiropractor, that he is indeed fabulous, and that chiropractic care is now a benefit! I'm just about back to normal, whatever that means. I also now own a mouth guard, and while I really can not sleep with the thing, I put it in during the evening hours if I feel myself tensing when I should be relaxing. Like the other night when I wrote the rent check, and immediately put in my mouth guard afterwards. That was a no brainer.

 Everything happens for a reason, so I'll just pick myself up, tuck in my mouth guard and press on.

Ninja Kitty

Almost every morning, at roughly 5 a.m. Milkie has a play date.  The first time it happened she about went through the blinds in the living room, and I woke in a panic thinking someone was trying to break in the front door.  It continued, so I just left the blind on one side open about six inches.  I never learn.

The visits continued, but for whatever reason "outdoor" kitty would run around the building, causing Milkie to race around the apartment like a crazed maniac.  Two of the viewing windows happen to be in my bedroom, so she would periodically thump onto my bed, and/or run across it.  This is still all happening at five in the morning. (If you haven't noticed, she isn't a lightweight, so you're never going to sleep through that.)

Then the same ritual started to occur just after the sun went down, so I began to wonder if it was a stray.  Last week I was curled up on the couch with Milkie, watching TV, when what I thought was someones head appeared in my window.  I jumped, she jumped, and the cat that had jumped up onto the window sill from the front porch, fell off.  Stupid cat.

This past Sunday night the cat appeared in my window again, and he and Milk started to do battle.  Of course there is a closed window between them, but this needs to stop before the windows are open in the summer!  I went for the front door, Milk turned to follow.  I said very sternly, YOU ARE NOT COMING. NO!  So she went back to the battle.  I whipped outside and clapped my hands loudly.  The cat with a ringed tail (So he will now be called Ringo) ran for his life.  Showed him! hmph

Then at five a.m. it was go time.  Milkie was out of control, running from window to window, and then she stopped in my bedroom window and began making a huffing noise and pawing at it.  I hopped out of bed and walked around wondering what the hell.  A cat, NOT Ringo was perched on the fence, about two feet away and to the left.  It must have used it's claws to climb it, that's a five foot high wooden fence.  Little Creep.  I yelled at it, as loud as I dared.  I smacked the window a few times, and all I got was a look that said "Seriously?"  *sigh*  So I tried to go back to bed.......

The pawing and huffing (Milk) continued, and then she raced off to the living room, so I assumed we were taking the battle somewhere else.  *double sigh*  Soon after she came racing back and started pawing with a vengeance.  Then she dropped down on the floor and started jumping up at the window, literally throwing herself at it.  I got out of bed again, with a "What the hell is your problem?" Tossed open the curtain........... and I wish I had a picture of what I saw. 

There was a smallish (prob an older kitten) black furry cat stuck to my screen.  All of her paws were spread eagle, and attached, and there she was.  I'm sure another "What the hell?" escaped my mouth, and I smacked that window right where she was as hard as I could.  She went flying back like they do in that reality show when they are eliminated and attatched to the "rope".  It was hillarious.  She was fine, landed on her feet and sat there staring up at me.  I looked at her little kitty face, with a look that said "Seriously."

Then I sat on the bed and laughed my head off, at five- thirty a.m.  Not much can amuse me at that hour!  Thank God it rained last night and I was able to sleep.  Guess it's time to get a squirt bottle, cause this has to stop.  I mean, I'm glad Milkie has friends, but can't they play in the daytime?  Plus the wrecking the screens thing.  Ugh.  It's always something!  :)