9 Lives....

OK, so you've heard about my mouse issue which Thankfully was resolved over the past couple of months. (I'll spare you the gory details!) Then we had the holidays, which I must say I'm glad are finally over. Now it's time to start blogging again for the new year! So, much like my fellow Blogger Danielle, I've been pondering what I should post about and then with some help from my son, Walker, it came to me earlier this weekend.

The day after Thanksgiving, my Mom and I took part in the annual "Day after Thanksgiving" crack of dawn sales in the nearby town of Jackson. All in all we did pretty well. We got everything we set out to get. My dear Herb was working that day and since we were out early, he put in a call for some breakfast to be delivered to him (that is me delivering it to him) at work. So, off to deliver some BK breakfast we went.

I sat in the break room with him while he ate his breakfast and gave him the low down all the Christmas purchases I'd made (all before 7am I must add.) When he was finished with his breakfast he motioned me to the break room door where he told me to "ssh" and then opened the door for me to look. All I could see was small kittens scattering everywhere. I did the "aw" and "how cute!"

Herb said the Momma cat had them in the plant and that they were going to be killed with all the heavy machinery around. So, I said "You know, Sassy could use a friend. She's been lonely since Scaredy died a couple years back." To my surprise, he said "well take one home!" I was shocked.. I told him to catch me one and I'd take it home. So, I got the first one he could grab. A cute grey stripped cat with beautiful gray eyes. I put it in my coat and went to the car. My Mom who was waiting in the car let out a squeal when she saw the kitten and instructed Herb to "Go back in there and catch me one too!" So he brought out another cute kitten and we took them home.

First thing I did was give her a bath. Her hair was so filthy and dusty from the plan you couldn't hardly tell what color she was. Once that was complete I put a cute collar on her with a bell so I could know where she was. She was so small the collar was almost too big. I then introduced her to our cat Sassy.

Here's a picture of Sassy. Sassy is rather unusual looking. Her story is also one of being a "rescue" cat . I thought

for certain that she would take up with the new kitten. Boy was I wrong! I don't know who hissed louder. For about a week they couldn't stand to be in the same room with each other! After a month now things are better. Sassy does play with the new kitten and shares space with her. I think they're becoming friends.

So, for a few days the New kitten didn't have a name. I, being the good mom that I am, went through the trusty "baby name book" and picked out a page of names I thought would work. I ran each of them by my son, who would say "uh, no" about a million times. Then he shocked me by coming up on his own with a very lovely name.... Lila. I liked it. Somehow it hadn't made it onto my list but it was good. So, we now have a new kitten named Lila.

Lila is very cute.

See, I told you she was cute! However, she is also very,very curious. She's into everything!

I believe in the old saying that Cats have 9 lives. Unfortnuately, if this is true, I think our dear Lila has already used up three of her 9 lives!

Life #1 went a few weeks ago after Herb had gotten a drink out of the refridgerator. He and Walker were watching TV when they heard some banging noises coming from inside the refidgerator. He got up to see what the ruckus was and out jumps Lila when he opens the door! She had somehow gotten herself inside when he got his drink 10 minutes earlier!

Life #2 was lost a couple of weeks ago when Herb went outside. She tried to follow Herb out and managed to get her head caught between the door jamb and bottom of the door! I heard this awful sound like something dying, and when I opened the door, I could see why, her head was stuck! I quickly opened it and she came jumping up out of there! That was a close one!

Since she's so curious, Herb and I decided we needed to find something to entertain her with. We looked at Cat toys and houses and decided we couldn't afford to buy one but knew we had stuff lying around the house and garage that we could make her one with. So , New Years Day was spent in the garage building the ulimate cat playground! It was a family affair. Walker and Herb built it with very little help from me. I helped design it. It's not purrfect but it will do. after about 4-5 hours, it was done!

Life # 3 was lost playing on her new toy! Near the bottom of the above pix. you'll notice the black tube across the front with two things hanging down. These are toys that are attached to fishing line. Herb used about 4 strands on each as he was worried the toys would come off too easily if he used only one strand. A couple of days ago, Lila was playing on her toy when she suddenly jumped from one level to the next. She got her neck stuck in the fishing line and almost choked! I guess the cat should be lucky she has 6 lives left!

I sure hope that what they say about "curiousity killing the cat" doesn't come true with our new little one!

Until next time! I wish all of you out there a safe and wonderful New Years~

Tag.... 8 things that make me question my mental health

My fellow Blogger Danielle has "Tagged" me and I must now develop a list of 8 random things about myself to share with you. I've been giving this a lot of thought and have decided that the list needs to be representative of my profession as a Social Worker and also give some perspective of my past employment in the mental health field.


So Here is my list of 8 things that have me convinced that I have various symptoms of a number of DSM-IV diagnosable mental illnesses.





1. 305.90 Caffeine Intoxication I admit it... I'm addicted to Coke Zero. I keep a stock of it at work, at home, and in the car. I consume at least 3-5 cans of Soda a day.... I savor it like a wino savors a good bottle of wine... I know it's a sad vice to have isn't it...


2. 294.8 Dementia NOS I am the most forgetful person ever! I really have a hard time remembering things. I have friends who will say "Remember a few years ago when we...." and I honestly can't remember or it takes me a while to remember what they're talking about.

3. 300.3 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder I'm not OCD in the normal sense of needing things to be clean, neat and orderly. (probably far from it on the clean and neat sense LOL) I have the OCD that makes you be compulsive about routines. I have a nightly routine and I can not go to bed at night without 1. washing my hands 2. washing my face 3.taking my contacts out 4. brushing my teeth. 5. putting on my "Burt's Bees Chap stick. And it has to be exactly in that order. Which leads me to my next mental illness symptom.





4. 304.90 Other (or Unknown) Substance Dependence I'm addicted to the "Burt's Bees Chap stick. I kinda freak out if it's not where I can readily find it, so I have at least one tube in every room of my house, the car, my purse, and office. It can't just be any chap stick, it HAS TO BE Peppermint infused Burt's Bees. I've actually left work before to go buy the stuff because I couldn't find my tube!






5. 301.0 Paranoid Personality Disorder It may seem a little paranoid upon first glance to believe my neighbors are out to steal my Yellow Lab but I really do believe it's true and I have some facts to back me up. I have this gorgeous Yellow lab puppy named Carly. She and my father in law's chocolate lab Addy disappeared one night over the past summer. I spent half the night calling for her to no avail. I even drove up and down the roads in my neighborhood the next morning looking for her thinking maybe she'd gotten lost. I'd all but given up when I pulled into my father in law's driveway just happened to looked over at his neighbors house. I saw the neighbor lady let MY DOG out of HER house! I called for Carly and she immediately came over and was excited to see me! I was so happy to see her that I just put her in the car and drove her home. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed that they had actually changed her collar! They took her very stylish tan and turquoise collar off and put some cheap red collar with bones on her! I was Pissed! Herb told me I was over reacting and to let it go. So, I did. Until... a month later when they did the SAME THING to my father in laws chocolate Lab and changed her collar too!! Now who's paranoid? Huh!?



6. 315.1 Mathematics Disorder OK, OK, I know it's an old adage that people go into social work because they can't do math, but for me it's totally true. I can't do it. Never have been able to. Thank God I have 10 fingers! LOL.. My son who is in the 5th grade is damn near genius in Math and scored in the 99th percentile on national achievement tests in math. How may you ask is this possible? My theory is that when I was pregnant, he sucked what little ability to compute figures right out of my body and into his. Maybe he'll buy me a nice retirement home someday when he's rich~

7. 312.30 Impulse-Control Disorder NOS If I want something, I usually just go get it. I am very impatient and can't wait for things. If I want a report from someone by a certain date/time then I expect it either on time or early. Another example of this is that I tend to speak before I think and this has gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years!

8. 315.31 Expressive Language Disorder This usually occurs when I have two names that are similar in nature and I'm always mixing them up. For example Danielle and Darlene are both "D" names and I'm always getting them mixed up. I know who is who but for some reason the connection between my brain and my mouth just doesn't always work and it ends up all wrong! I also have this problem with coming up with a specific word. I can give you the definition of the word but can't spit out the word itself.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed learning about me and the symptoms of my mental dysfunction. I'm supposed to pass this on and tag other bloggers but the reality is I just can't remember any one's names! LOL...

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Holiday!

Until next time!

That D#%$@ Pesky Rodent!

Ok, typically I'm an animal lover. I mean, I have 4 dogs, a cat, and a pet goat. So imagine my suprise this weekend when I found myself feeling like "Tom" from Tom and Jerry Cartoons of my youth.

I used to LOVE to watch that silly cartoon when I was a kid. I'd laugh at how "stupid" Tom was and marvel at how clever Jerry was. I kept thinking, why don't they just buy some poison or a trap. That'll get rid of that mouse!

My two brothers and I would sit and watch every episode of the cartoon which I'm certain was created before our parents were even born. This was back in the days before there were 20 cartoon chanels for kids to become absorbed in and when cartoons were only on Saturday mornings.

My Advendture started last week when I was getting ready for my son's football banquet. I was preparing a potluck dish when I noticed out of the corner of my eye something moving on the counter top and then saw it skirt across the stove and down into the stove burner. All I could see was it's tail. I let out a loud scream and then proceeded to dismantle my stove trying to find the mouse.

Needless to say I couldn't find it. So, the next day I purchased a package of cheap Dollar store mouse traps, baited them with peanut butter and waited............

A couple of hours later I noticed the traps had NO BAIT left on them!!! I was perplexed. Maybe I didn't get it on the trap good enough.... I set the trap again and waited... Again that sneaky rodent got the peanut butter off without setting off the trap!!

Herb and I set off on an excursion to by "the better mouse trap." All the while I kept thinking, how did my cat not already catch that darn mouse?!?!?! At Lowes, Herb and I stood in front of the "outdoor pest control" section marveling at all the tools available for rodent removal.

You have the Tomcat trap with the fake cheese. Instantly kills the mouse.

Then you have the poison which they eat and kills them eventually..... We've used this before but the unfortunate reality is they die in your heat vents and then your house stinks for a long time! :( So we didn't want to use this again.

Then you have the traps which kills them but conceals their bodies so you don't have to see them. Sounds appealing but we're just not sure how they work so therefore can't be sure they will actually work.

And last but not least you have the "Glue Traps."

These trap the mouse live and then you have to watch them suffer or kill them yourself. Once they get stuck they can't get off unless they chew a leg off or something. Disgusting!

We decided this was just way too inhumane and there for went with Option #1- Tomcat mouse trap.

We came home baited the trap with some peanut butter and waited. Suprise, suprise! The D@#%$ Mouse ate all of our bait and the trap was not tripped!

Herb has decided that we now have a new pet and the eventually the mouse will get fat eating all my peanut butter and will eventually set the trap off and then I will have my revenge.....

Until Then!

The Palatal Expander

Ok.. So I think in my last blog I mentioned my 10 year old son, Walker. So he's a bright, smart 10 soon to be 11 year old boy who by all means is healthy and happy. So, it was somewhat of a suprise last spring when I took him to the dentist and she recommended he see an orthodontist because in her words "The kid doesn't have any room for more teeth and he's got a lot more that needs to come in." So, I knew this couldn't be good and that it would cost me money that frankly, I don't have to spend.

I put off making the call a for about a year until I ran across the Orthodontist business card in my purse. I gave them a call and set up an appointment. We walked into the office the first time and I was amazed at the number of kids and their parents crammed into this small lobby. There was only one chair left so Walker and I looked at each other and then he took off like a sprinter to the chair and sat down. For the first 10 minutes, I stood looking sort of stupid waiting for a child and parent to get called back for their appointment so I could have a seat. Luckily, things went pretty fast and I was able to sit down to only then stand back up two seconds later when they called us back.

The Orthodontist staff were wonderful. They took the time to go over all of the tools they use and make it less intimidating for Walker. The Orthodontist came over and took a look and just kept shaking his head. Again, couldn't be a good sign. The then started to explain that Walker didn't have enough room on his top for all of his permanent teeth and that they would need to "make room" for them by putting in an expander. He then went on to say that he felt the problem was more than likely caused by genetics. I was thinking WTF? My teeth came in very nicely and I only had to have braces to correct an overbite. What genetics? He then asked about Herb and his teeth. I did a mental head slap, WTH should I have asked about Herb's "genetic dental history" when we first met to see if we'd be compatable when it came time to have kids????

I just about fell on the floor when he told me what the cost for treatment would be! I was shocked. I have crappy dental insurance which only pays 1,000 lifetime max for orthodontic work so I knew I would have to pay the remaining $3800! I was shocked again when they gave me a payment plan which included an initial down payment of $860.00! I was told the the "high down payment" would enable me to have a "low monthly payment" of $140.00! By that time, I'm already in a tailspin thinking.... WTH how am I gonna come up with $860.00 in 30 days? Walker left the office excited about getting "a mouth full of metal" and I was still realling from the initial sticker shock!

Long story short, I managed to scrap together enough cash for the down payment by cashing in an old deferred compensation policy I had. We went yesterday and got the appliance put in and now my son talks like Daffy Duck! After the appointment I dropped him off at school. Later in the evening I asked how his day was and he replied "It was good but I can't talk very well and I couldn't eat my lunch, I guess it's like I'm going to be re-born again so I can learn to eat!"

So I'm attaching a picture of Walker's "appliance. I have to use a hook looking tool to crank it 2 times a day. This causes some pressure and pain and Walker is on a steady dose of Ibuprofen. (So much for the "say no to drugs" approach I had going the other day..)

By the way.. Herb thinks I'm crazy for putting our son through this and has accused me of liking to inflict pain on Walker to pay him back for child birth! I don't know why he would even think something like that! But it sure does look painful!

Ok....Here Goes

Hi, I'm Angie and this is my blog. This blog is my way of expressing my thoughts and feelings and is in no way meant to enlighten you but rather to find the humorous things in life and ponder what it all means. Here's a little about me. I'm 33 years old and I live with my "life partner" Herb. We have a 10 (soon to be 11) year old son named Walker ( no we didn't name him after a Texas ranger or good ol "W' either.) and our 4 dogs- Misty, a black lab; Carly a yellow lab, and Benny and Gi Gi our chihuahuas . We live in a rural part of Southeastern Ohio where there is significant amount of unemployment and the community is mainly Appalachian and somewhat redneck.. Big city drugs have found their way into our small communities and it's not at all unheard of to hear about catalytic converter and copper thefts.

I was watching one of those Dr. Phil shows today about chid abductions and it got me thinking about my son and what I'm teaching him about strangers and drug dealers. So, I called him for a talk and to inquire about his thoughts on the subjects I had been watching on the TV. I posed the question "what do you think a drug dealer looks like?" Walker kinda looked at me like I was losing my mind and said "well, they're freaky looking and walk around stumbling all the time." I was kinda shocked because I never really thought much about it but I guess on TV they are portrayed as being "strung out" but in reality I know they're not usually and that dealers look just like everyone else. So, I sat down and had a talk with Walker about this and I think I got through to him. We'll have to wait and see what the next 8 or 9 years brings....