Broked Kitty

I was NOT going to have another cat. I had two already that I could barely afford vet bills on. But everytime I went over to Steve's sister's house, this little grey cat would go berserk. He would not leave me alone. I couldn't hold the baby, I couldn't eat dinner, I couldn't do anything without that little thing all over me. I can't say I didn't like it. I adore snuggly kitties. Finally around Christmas Kameron decided he liked the cat, too, so, home it went. The cat loves me. That's about all I can say for it. And did I get attached to it? yes. Real attached? I was ate up with that cat. (His name is Frodo by the way.)

Well, one day he decided to go outside. When I come home from work, he didn't come. I was worried sick! The next morning, he didn't come. The girls found him beside the garage. When we brought him in, he couldn't walk. So we took him to the vet. She did some X-rays and we found out that he had eveidently been hit by a car, or some sort of severe trauma, because his thigh bone was completely broken at the base of both the top and bottom joints. The bone was broken in such a manner that it was impossible to splint both breaks. We had a few options....we could amputate, euthanize, or we could gamble. So, we gambled. She splinted the bottom break and we left the other break to heal on its own, bracing it as much as possible. She said sometimes breaks like that would heal into what is called a false joint. We were hoping Frodo's sweet little leg bone would do this. He just wouldn't be able to move very much. And we knew that he would have a severe limp, always, if everything went according to plan. But I couldn't put him down, and I couldn't have his little leg cut off, so I gave the house payment to the vet and let her do her thing.

We had to do splint checks every week so she could keep an eye on the breaks. Using the litterbox was not a very pleasant experience sometimes, but I have to say that this cat was a trooper through it all. He never lost his appetite or snuggle capacity. I think he's even more snuggly now, because in order to let him get a reprieve from his dark cat box, I'd sit with him on the sofa in the evenings for long periods of time, holding him in my lap. I'd even let him chew on my hands when he felt frisky. We all signed his cast so he'd know we were rooting for him.

Finally, after all his shots and deworming and splinting and neutering, the cat is able to come out of the box. His hip healed about as well as we could have hoped. The leg gets a little stronger everyday and he doesn't limp near as bad as I thought he would, but the leg is certainly not usable for crouching and jumping. All in all, I think the vet did a wonderful job and I am so glad that my snuggly little baby is OK!!!!!

Another funny story......

I have a feeling I'll be re-visiting this blog prompt alot, posting as I remember them. Tink's blog made me remember this!

My Brother in Law, Captain Underpants

I had been dating this man for about 6 months or so when I thought it might be safe for him to meet some of my family. You have to understand, I have long been plagued by the meeting of the family. That's because they want to act like bullies or wierdos. I should write a novella on it at another time.

So I arrange with my sister to meet her later that evening at a local members only club she was part of for a few drinks and anight of laughter and relaxation with my friend. (He's not my friend anymore but that's beside the point).

We have to ring the bell at the locked door, and wait. We then have to introduce ourselves, and ask for my sister. The doorman yells across the area for her and I hear my brother in law yell. "I'll come get 'em!"

We are led into the foyer and you can see down a wide hall. We can't go any further until someone I know comes to escort us in to the building. I think at this point it I need to mention that just before we went in I told my freind that I was not responsible for any manner in which my family may act. Period.

Bounding down the hall, sideways, just like Tigger would do, comes my very tall, very thin, brother-in-law. He also has a glass eye, although in the fair dark it wasn't too noticeable. His arms are waving in the air, and he is wearing, over his clothes, a pair of women's bra and panties.

My friend was not overly traumatized and found it very funny. Back then I thought that was a good thing, although now I wish he'd run screaming, but that's beside the point. And I have yet another wonderful family memory for the journals.....

DSP Blog Prompt 4/27/07

Tell a funny story or your favorite joke.


My son is a practical joker. We have all gotten up in the morning at some point in time smothered in toothpaste, shaving cream, mascara, or guacalmole. We've had glasses painted around our eyes. We've had messages written on our backs. We've shot bottle rockets out of the window of a moving vehicle, toilet papered trees and thrown snowballs in wal-mart parking lot. We throw stuffed animals over the aisles in wal-mart, too. We know all the best interactive prank call websites. (Okay, maybe I play along with him a little bit. But, like a good Mom, I always warn him that if he ever gets busted and hauled down to juvie he has to act like I wasn't in on it so they'll let me bail him out. People just don't have the sense of humor they did twenty years ago, you know.)

We are always daring one another to do something. One day I dared him to dress up in a purple summer satin nightie and run around the yard. I did a scrapbook layout about it. Since pictures really are worth a thousand words sometimes, I'll let the layout be my real blog entry for the day:



A better posting of the layout can be found in my DSP gallery.

Blogging habits

I've recently started this blog, because I love to write and want to sharpen my skills. I am learning my blogging habits and while they are not really what I would like for them to be, at least I recognize them. Fortunately, I have learned to backdate, so one of the goals I have, which is having a frequently updated blog, has now become attainable. I have also learned that I'm not very good at writing in the blog unless I am absolutely alone. I don't know why! It's not like it's private. It's posted on the Internet! But, composition has to be done alone, at least for now. Maybe it's just because I think better when it's quiet, not because I am shy about my thoughts. Maybe it's because I don't want someone peering over my shoulder and talking to me about my musings until I'm finished musing them!

SNL Kit for April 2007

My contribution to Saturday Night Live on DSP for April 2007.
I'm a little late posting it on the blog....

DSP Blog Prompt Thursday 4/26/07

What is your definition of 'success'? Do you know any 'successful' people who inspire you?

To me, the average definition of a 'successful person' brings to mind someone young, slim, pretty, no age showing, dressed perfectly and professionally, has all thier ducks in a row for the present and the future, and has no worries about anything horrible happening to them, nor do they carry any scars from anything horrible happening to them in the past. They are career oriented and more often than not do not have children. This seems to be the image that phrase would like, and does, convey to the masses. This is what we should strive to be.

This person does not exist. And that is not 'success' to me.

I can say I know that my definition of success is not the above, but I have a hard time pinpointing what I think it is. I think that most of the time it directly correlates with happiness and meeting your life's goals you set for yourself, and how meeting those goals improved or did not improve your life. To me, a lawyer with an unhappy home life is not successful. A drug addict is not successful, although they manage to 'reach their goal' of getting the next fix....personal gratification which hurts everyone around them. One person may consider having children something to really look down on others about, others do not feel as if they are complete without children in their lives. I would say, to me, success is measured in happiness and strength. It is certainly not monetary, although money problems can cause great stress. Although, many people love to run into someone they did not get along with in the past and be able to say....I have a bigger house, a better job, etc. Does this really define success to them?

My own personal stories of success involve making it through a trying time in my life in spite of this person or that person who did their best to complicate things for me. Success is also surrounding yourself with people that truly love you, and have your best interests at heart just as you do theirs.

I still have goals that I want to meet in my life. But I also have goals that I have met. The most important one is happiness. We all come home everyday and can focus fully on what's going on in our lives by sharing it with others in our home, and draw strength and security from one another as we live our lives and work on our other goals that may make us feel 'successful'.

I do not know if I am a successful person yet. When my children emerge as clear thinking, responsible, happy adults, I will consider myself successful. But so far I feel like we are on the right track.

DSP Blog Prompt 4/23 : Is there a time of day when you feel most creative?

Is there a time of the day when you feel most creative?

There is no special time of day but my creativity, or hobby interest, runs in cycles. I seem to really want to crochet for a few weeks, or write for a few weeks, or just be lazy and read for a few weeks. Sometimes I get the urge to learn among those cycles. Some days I can scrap four layouts a day and then the well will be dry for two weeks. When I am stressed my creativity takes a serious hit, and when I quit smoking I wondered if my scrapmuse would ever come back!