Exhaustion

It's rare that I'm in bed before 11:30pm on weeknights.

And when you get up at 5:30am, suddenly that alarm clock is deafening, and you wonder what the hell you're doing, getting up so early in the morning. "Just a few more minutes", you think. Caffeine no longer seems to help, and it's all you can do to just get through the day.

Even rehearsals, that I generally look forward to, are now testing me in ways that I had forgotten about and/or ways I didn't think was possible. My old self is creeping out with attachments and anxiety, perfection and defensiveness. Maybe it will be good for my character, who knows.

I really don't like this cranky, testy personality.

But I guess one good thing, in all of this, is that PJ is no longer peeing on the carpet in the hall.

Gratitude #16

Don't be fooled by the cuteness...

1. This pet-stain/smell remover. We have tried a host of products, which make our place smell clean for awhile. Now it's possible that we've just adjusted to the whiff of kitty pee on the carpet (even with pee pads he can miss), but I swear this stuff works. The true test will be when Sam and Phil visit us next week!

2. My own perseverance. I got my weigh-in results from bootcamp. I gained a pound but lost 2.5 inches and 2.29 pounds of fat! Go me!

3. Advil. Nothing like it to relieve a bad sinus pressure headache in the middle of the night.

Lovely Meows

With the last weeks being so stressful and today being quite hectic - packing and cleaning up this place is hard to do by myself - my little kitties have been such a comfort to me, especially when I'm lonely/sad/scared. Here's a shoutout to my precious kitties!

Precious PJ. He's just a love.

Princess Quinn, and don't you forget it! I took her to get groomed today and the groomer gave me $5 off because she was so sweet and well behaved!

The tomboy - Bean. She's Matt's cat through and through, and misses him terribly.

Living through the haze

(For Emilie)

I caught the flu and a nasty head cold the other day so I'm in a drug-induced haze right now. Thank goodness we have heat and internet so I'm not going completely crazy. And I have to say that Matt is the best nurse-husband hands down. What a trooper!

Fashion Week in Las Vegas was amazing - you can read more here. (I have to say though, never EVER stay at the Trump Towers. What a miserable experience, but girlfriends make it better.)

The cats have definitely calmed down since the move. Now that we have heat they aren't running around like crazed felines trying to keep warm. I'm actually overheating because I'm so used to wearing so many layers during the day. We also have internet now, so we aren't completely cut off from the world anymore.

Now, back to bed. Thank goodness for the drugs that take away sinus pressure and fevers.

Gearing Up

We move a week from today. And I must say it's hard to think of leaving this place. Not just our apartment but this building. This neighborhood. When we first moved here I was so terrified and stressed out. Fast forward three and a half years later, and we've made a life here. Friends that are our family, weather that I can't live without, and jobs that we both enjoy (for the most part). So while I'm excited to move on and start anew, leaving this place will be a little more painful that the other moves. Our live in L.A. started here. But we have other places to go. :)

It is amusing to see how the older 2 cats, PJ and Quinn, know what's going on when things start disappearing into boxes. But Bean...she's kind of freaking out, though enjoying the jungle gym that the stack of boxes have created. It's pretty cute.

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I feel like doing this too. But then I'd probably break the printer. And I wouldn't get a paycheck.

I laughed so hard, I cried!

Vacation!!

Hubby and I are off to Napa and possibly another day trip to San Francisco. Leah is getting married - who knew? When we visited her and her family (Matt's side) at Thanksgiving, there was talk of Colin proposing. And now, here we are.

I really should be getting to bed but I know I'll sleep in the car. There's a few loose ends to tie up, and a BIG HUGE MONGO thank you!! to Paige for watching, feeding, and attemping to medicine our kitties. (And sorry for the early wake-up call.)

Pictures will be taken. Unfortunately I don't have any from Solvang, but hopefully we'll be back at the end of the summer and can snap some shots then. It was great fun, and for more details see this blog and this one too.

Hanging in there

Sorry for the bullet list, but I just can't think right now.

• 3 cats on 3 different kinds of food. PJ on wet food because he has bad teeth, needs to gain weight, never mind he's also on inflammatory meds for his chronic pain in is vertabrae that fused together; Quinn needs a high fiber diet and has to lose weight; Bean is still young and healthy...how are we supposed to manage this, especially when we're out of town for the next 2 weekends?? Kind of panicking here.
• Work is very hectic and busy, but at least the days go by fast. I barely have time or energy to blog these days.
• We're going to Solvang this weekend which will be a welcome escape from the busy city. Next weekend I'm taking a few days off work and we're heading up to Napa for Matt's cousin's wedding. We're sharing a hotel room with his aunt and uncle from Washington which I'm looking forward to as we hardly ever get to spend time with them.
• Katie went to her senior prom a few weeks ago, still waiting for pictures...
• Must get back to work, loads to do, but at least now we're moved in.
• Oh, and I'm back under 160 pounds! Just 15 to my goal...
• One more thing - Did anyone else watch the season finale of LOST last night? WOW.

It's May?? Already??

Seems like just yesterday I posted this!

On Friday Don turned 30. And surprise! Nathan and Jessica, 2 very dear friends from Washington, showed up at lunch. Sneaky Cindy had arranged the the whole thing and watching Don's expression of "holy crap!" was really fun. We celebrated the whole weekend with lots of beer, barbecuing, gaming, guitar hero, and ended with seeing "Ironman" at Sherman Oaks ArcLight. Added bonus: Paige moved down! She got a roomshare in Valley Village just 1 block away from the community garden that Katy belongs to. It's a great place for Paige, and I'm just really excited that she's here.

Weekend plans include ripping up the carpet in the bathroom. There's enough cat pee to smell up the whole place and I'm just sick of it. So, I'm calling my landlord this week and letting him know that this is what we're doing, whether he likes it or not. I just can't take it anymore. First thing Saturday morning, I'm off to Home Depot to get a decent knife and suggestions on what to do. I also need to figure out if the floorboards are saturated, which they probably are, and how to get the smell out of them. And is it worth it to replace the carpet or just cover it with area rugs until we move? Ideas? Suggestions?

P.S. Lena, thank you for your email, you are so sweet. Sorry I haven't responded yet, but I will! xo

Not a happy camper

I've been sick since Wednesday thanks to that candidate who came in the the flu Tuesday night. I wanted to yell at her to go home, but instead I ran to the back offices as fast as I could. Too late. We've had so many people, staff and candidates, come in sick that I think my immune system just couldn't take it anymore. It started off with a touch of the flu and is now a head cold. While I'm feeling better I'm still not 100% and to top it off my sleeping pattern is totally off thanks to these 4 hour naps my body has been craving.

In addition, PJ is at the vet until Monday due to a high fever and a limp that the vet couldn't see (because PJ was so scared at the vet, he didn't really walk, he just did that cat hunker down thing). So while I'm a little freaked out about the cost of all this, I'm more concerend about my kitty and hoping that he's going to be ok. I honestly believe it's an infection due to the limp, but you never know. We just have to wait and see.

Our furry friends - aren't they cute?

From top to bottom:

PJ asking to play, hiding while I'm making cookies;

Quinn sleeping on the tower, playing with the camera;

Bean sleeping after a long day of play.

Home again

Well I'm back in L.A. now and after cleaning up after the kitties (having been home alone for 4 days with no humans) - to which I will not describe in detail except to Matt - I have a sore back and the starts of another cold. Tonight I will dine on Thai food and catch up on movies. Tomorrow holds a trip to Rite Aid, Ralph's, and Cindy's Birthday Dinner! I hope to have our new digital camera charged and ready for tomorrow's celebration. If not, the old one will have to do until Matt gets back and can hook it up for me.

It's windy and blustery tonight. On the plane, the pilot announced that it was 62 in Burbank to which all the passengers sounded their joy. What he forgot to mention was that it would be terribly windy and cold upon landing at the Burbank airport! Oh well. After yesterday's 29 degree high, this feels like the Bahamas.

It's good to be home.

Tail of a kitty

Rudy.

Our big tabby. He lives with my dad and my sister now, and he's kind of a diva/bully. A diva because he knows what he wants and he'll wake you up in the middle of the night to get it, or stand on your chest just as you're waking up to get some food (when he already has some in is bowl). He also has this really funny meow that Matt and I call the "diva meow." Mind you, this is a 20 pound cat, and when he meows, it sounds a little pathetic. He almost squeaks, and his lower jaw wobbles. It's quite adorable and amusing, and the first time he did it as a kitten, Matt and I in unison went "AW!"

He is a big of a bully, however, and gave my sister's cat, Coconut, a bit of a serious injury where she had to have surgery a few weeks ago. He's a tomcat, always needing to be first in the pack and in charge. I know Matt really misses him, but Rudy really enjoys his life here and is able to be outside which is something we would never be able to give him. Plus, there is no way we could add another cat to our mix. No thank you! If we ever got a house, then maybe, just maybe, Rudy could come to California....maybe....

I write this because guess who woke me up at 7am and decided he needed some food when he already had some in his bowl?

Rough days ahead

But little things make me laugh. Thanks Katy!

An oldie but a goodie

From an older post...

Baking Cookies (with your cat)
1. Look in cookbook for cookie recipe
2. Get cup of coffee.
3. Get cat off of cookbook.
4. Find that special recipe.
5 . Get cat's nose out of coffee cup
6. Go to fridge and get eggs.7. Get dry ingredients from cupboard.
8. Break eggs in small bowl.
9. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.
10. Answer the phone.
11. Cat ate eggs; get more from fridge.
12. Get cat out of flour bowl and dust cat off.
13. Get Band-Aids for scratches on hands.
14. Throw flour out and get more.
15. Preheat oven for cookies.
16. Looking at cat & wanting to bake cat now. Cat runs for cover into bathroom.
17. Flour the counter to roll out cookie dough.
18. Big crash in bathroom; run to see what happened.
19. Cat has TP all over floor; stuff spilled and knocked over on top of bathroom counter.
20. Yell at cat. Cat falls in toilet bowl.
21. Can sense cat is angry.
22. Take cat out of toilet to dry cat off.
23. Get bandages to cover more scratches on arms and legs.
24. Cleanup bathroom.
25. Hear a thump in kitchen ...Oh Golly ... now what?
26. Get cat off floured counter in kitchen.
27. Try to pick out cat hairs from flour.
28. Step on cat's tail and get bitten.
29. Get coat, car keys, and go to store to buy cookies!!!