Miss Cairo Kitty

If you know me, are a regular reader of this blog or viewed my photos on Flickr you would know that I have cats, two of them in fact. One pleasantly plump, the other....not even close.

Cairo has always been skinny. In fact that is one of her nicknames. But lately she has been getting a little too skinny. You can feel her bones when you pet her. She has always been a good eater and she still is. She has just been losing weight. She is an older kitty, probably over 10-years. I say probably over only because we adopted her when she was supposedly 1-year old.

I tried feeding her canned food to see if she would gain weight. It didn't help. So off she went for a Senior Wellness checkup. We got the results back this morning and she has hyperthyroidism. I have to say I did breathe a sigh of relief. It could have been a lot worse. I picked her up some medication and so far the kitty who is the most difficult kitty to medicate, has been tricked into eating her pills twice. Keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't figure it out.

The calm before the storm

To think these pretty fluffy clouds could turn into something not quite so pretty or fluffy.

The final lesson

I have finally reached the final lesson of my class. Only 2 more chapters left to read. Yay! Then the real studying begins. 

I plan to take my final in just 3 days! Yikes! I think the only reason I am stressed out about passing the class is because the class is required to keep my job. I think if I was taking these courses on my own it would not be so stressful.

Just think, in 3 days life will start to get back to normal around here. Well that is until I start on the next cluster of classes.

The final stretch

The following photo pretty much explains what has been taking up all my extra time these past few months.

I was supposed to have finished the course last month (July) but due to jury duty my class was extended a few extra days. Now I have just one week left before I take my final exam. I don't think it has hit me yet that I only have one week left. I still have a few chapters and lessons to complete.

I sure hope I don't do anything crazy to procrastinate, like for example.... move all the furniture in the living room to clean every single base board, vacuum ALL the furniture, clean the windows or maybe even super scrub the shower. You know all those things you don't do until you absolutely have to. Oh wait....I already did them.

recalled

Things have gone back to being pretty quiet on the old blog. Not so in real life though.

I guess I did end up jinxing myself. I was recalled for jury duty after all. However it was not due to the same reason I was originally called. Remember the out-of-state alternate juror? She was already there. I was actually the 2nd alternate juror that was called back to active status.

It has been 2 weeks now since I have been called back. The first week was pretty overwhelming (and a bit chaotic). Everyone else had weeks more experience with the process that I. I felt like everything was in super fast motion, but by the next week I felt much better about the entire thing.

Today's session was pretty full (due to the holiday) and made for a long day. But I am pretty happy to say that I think I am finally getting the hang of it. It is all so very interesting and I am glad that I get to be a part of it, even though it has pretty much turned everything else in my current life's schedule upside down.

backyard blooms

With all the rain this past spring our backyard just exploded in color. The lantana were blooming like crazy and there was green everywhere you looked. It was the prettiest I think the backyard has ever looked (so far)....and to think it was mostly due to weeds. 

It's only thing we haven't killed in the backyard....so far (the flowers, not the weeds).
 

Of course now that it's June (the photos are from March) there aren't that many left.

alternate

Open Outlook. Create new email.

Dear Boss,

I have been chosen as an alternate juror.

Click Send......

*ring*ring*ring*

Hello this is the jury commissioner, one of the jurors has been excused and we need to call you back. You need to report tomorrow.

Immediately after clicking send I received the above phone call and of course while I am on this phone call I receive the email response from my boss telling me how happy she was that I was able to work.

I didn't mind being called back. What I did mind is that I knew the other people chosen as alternates had no plans of going back to sit on the jury. I think I was the only one that gave a work number and actually answered the phone. I do know that the first person they tried to call was unavailable as they had "left the state". I find that a bit hard to believe as everyone's schedule was gone over and no one had any vacation plans. I was told to sit tight and that they would try to get in contact with the "out of state" juror.

That was last week. I still have not heard back. I guess I don't have to go back to jury duty after all. Of course now that I have said this I am pretty sure I have jinxed myself.

What jury duty has taught me......so far

From the first letter I received, I knew that this jury duty stint would be different. Normally (for regular jury duty) you receive a letter with a date and a number you have to call. If you are lucky your group is excused and you don't even have to go down to the courthouse.

This all started with the "warning" letter I received back in December. It said I was selected as a prospective juror and that I would receive additional information if I was selected to report. Six months after I sent in the requested contact information, I received my summons. I was given a date and time to report at the courthouse. I even received a reminder call a couple of days before. Talk about different than the norm.

The last time I had jury duty I made it into the court room but I was only one of the prospective jurors sitting in the audience, I was never was called to sit in the jury box.

You know things are not going well when your name is one of the first called to enter the court room for jury duty selection. I was juror #17 and was immediately given a seat in the box. I knew there was no way that I would get out of that box. I tried, but I got nervous and I am sure I did not sound as convincing as I could.

Orientation started right after jury selection. Yes, I said orientation. I have been in orientation for the last 2 weeks. We were given a 2 week course on AZ law. If you ever have trouble sleeping, may I recommend reading the AZ statutes.

So what has jury duty taught me so far? It has taught me that lawyers don't like to share, well at least when it comes to restrooms. We have been meeting in a board room on the first floor. Every floor has a restroom except for the first floor. Closest restroom that us lowly jurors are allowed to use...16 floors up.

The view from the 16th floor

My little bluebird of happiness

While looking thru last year's 365 Days project (the photos I have yet to upload) I found that right around this same time of year (last time) I just happened to take a photo of the same exact thing.

This candle.

I have found quite a few things that I am taking photos of this year that I already took photos of last year. I guess I need to have more interesting things going on in my life so that I can take pictures of different things.

So back to the candle. I bought it many years ago at Bath & Body Works (back when they sold candles). I have yet to use it. It smells like yummy vanilla. I am sure it won't smell that way once I light it. There is just something about it that makes me smile when I see it.

Lots happening around here. I was just chosen for a 4-month jury duty stint. Just one more thing to add to my ever growing list of obstacles that will keep me from getting caught up on my 365 Days project.

Introducing Herman

The baby blanket I was crocheting for my co-worker is finally complete and has made its way to its new home. It ended up being so soft and comfy. I hope the little one likes it.

If you are curious, all info on the pattern, yarn, etc are posted at Ravelry. 

[Things I ♥ Thursday] Blue robin eggs

I have always had a fascination with robin eggs. There is just something about them that makes me stop and smile when I see them in a photo. Maybe it's their beautiful color, maybe it is because they remind me of Spring or maybe it is because I have never seen one in real life. Come to think of it...I don't even think I have ever seen an actual robin.

1. Baby slow down, 2. Three, 3. robin's egg blue, 4. Robin's egg blue, 5. broken egg blues, 6. robin's eggs, 7. Cradled, 8. My adventures of mowing....2nd thing I almost mowed over., 9. T is for Teal., 10. The Robin's Nest, 11. Out Of The Blue (Robin Egg), 12. The Robin's Nest, 13. robins-egg

Created with fd's Flickr Toys
All photos in this mosaic © their respective owners. 

[Things I ♥ Thursday] Daffodils

On Wednesday I bought a bunch of daffodils.

I can't wait until they bloom. :-)

1. 29/365..., 2. Untitled, 3. {66:365} yellow, 4. 74::365, 5. $3.49 worth of happiness, 6. The Quicker Fliz!, 7. Spring bokeh, 8. {66} today was yellow, 9. Daffys, 10. Daffodils, 11. Thank you for half-a-million views!, 12. Daffs, 13. Pleasant Anticipation 
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
All photos in this mosaic © their respective owners.

[Things I ♥ Thursday] Flowering tree blossoms

I am so in love with the blossoms from flowering trees. Maybe because they don't grow here in the desert. I really want to grow one in the backyard.

1. More spring blooms, 2. friday's flower power, 3. apple tree blossom, 4. Delicadeza em flor, 5. Sprout, 6. Untitled, 7. pink & blue, 8. secret garden almond flowers, 9. Thinking Spring

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

All photos in this mosaic © their respective owners. 

it's just a baby

Many many years ago I started a baby blanket for one of my nephews (I am ashamed to say how many years but the "baby" is now in elementary). The blanket was to be a Christmas present but at the last minute the blanket went all wonky so the yarn (and mostly completed blanket) were stashed away.

I have been itching to make something and when I found out a co-worker was expecting I knew it was time to finally put this yarn to use. This is the yarn before I frogged the rest of the blanket. Back when it was just a baby ball of yarn.

There's no secrets this year

The last days of 2009 (that would be December 30 & 31) we had new windows installed in our home. I LOVE our new windows but the experience of getting them installed is starting to mess up that love.

We have 2 bathroom windows. We ordered frosted privacy glass and frames that opened from the bottom AND the top since one of the windows is actually inside the shower.

When the windows were installed it took two days. The first day to take out the old and put in the new, the second day to plaster & finish up. The first night (before the plaster) I was trying to figure out how to open the bathroom window from the top. We found that the windows that were installed only opened from the bottom. (As you can see from the photo, a window that only opens from the bottom is not really ideal).

The next morning when the installers returned we explained the situation and they plastered and finished all the windows except the bathroom windows. We then had to wait for the correct windows to be ordered and the window trim for all the windows (as the company did not even order it).

Fast forward to February. The installers return to install the correct windows. I get a call at work from the husband that although the windows are now the correct style, they are missing the privacy glass. But no one realized until after the windows were installed (and plastered in). So yet again, we wait for new windows. But this time the company was only going to change out the glass and not the entire window.

I do not really like that we will have new windows that were no longer considered new. I worry about the window seal not being as good as an original window.

Fast forward to March. The windows are in and the installers come. It appears that the company had ordered 4 Top windows and no bottom windows. Installing just the glass has chipped the actual frame, we were told we could paint it (although we were originally told that we could not paint this type of window). I don't want to have to paint over chips on my window frames when they are supposed to be brand new.

So now we wait to see what happens next. I wonder how long it will take this time.

moody

I am in the mood to make something.

I want to make something new and something with yarn. I don't feel like working on any of my old projects. The thing is...I am a planner. But I can plan forever and a day and still not start on anything. I want to make a blanket but there are 2 that I want to make and I could not decide which to start first. I finally made my decision. I then spent pretty much all evening deciding on what yarn to use. Since this yarn is for a blanket I plan to use El-Cheapo yarn. I saw that Jo-Anns had the yarn I want to use on sale. I checked to make sure it was not an online only sale and it was not. Since the new sales always start on Sunday I decided to run down to the local store and buy some yarn tonight, that way I could spend Sunday working on my new project. I got to the store 30-minutes before closing and found that this particular yarn was so NOT on sale. I was pretty disappointed. I guess it was okay though since the store was out of the colors I wanted to buy. So it is back to the drawing board. Maybe I will just order the yarn online, but if I do that it will no longer be El-Cheapo yarn. If I have to order online, I may as well just order the good stuff. :-)

And onto other projects. I have gotten behind with sharing this year's Project 365 photos. Not only here but also on Flickr. I hate when I get behind on updating my photos. Of course this is not anything new. I think it bothers me a bit more this time as I am having a lot more fun taking photos this year.

a bit of the purple

Well it's a start. Hopefully this blog is on it's way to being non-boring. At least from a color perspective, I cannot vouch for the actual blog content though. LOL!

So what do you think of it so far? It seems a bit purple. Maybe after a few hours sleep and a super long day at work it will look a bit better.

So ummmm.....

It appears I have kind of deleted my blog. Oops!

Please excuse the mess while I try to get it back. Yea....maybe I should just go and make dinner.

Today

Today was a good day.

Today I made a friend. 

In order for me to take my final I needed to find a proctor. Someone to sit with me while I took my test. It was really hard for me to find someone that was willing to do this. And I have to say it was pretty depressing too. I finally broke down and posted on Facebook that I needed help. I was so happy when someone responded. I don't think she will ever realize just how much I appreciate her for doing this. I really enjoyed the bit of time we had chatting and I am happy to know her better.

Today I took my final. 

I am happy to say that I passed. Yay! I am really looking forward to my life getting back to normal...well at least for a few weeks.

And to make this day even better, one of my photos {the button heart one} was chosen as today's daily 365 photo over at Shutter Sisters. How cool is that?

Yes....today was a good day.

It's the little things

I thought I would share the last couple of photos I uploaded for this year's Project 365. I am really happy with the way they turned out. 

With all my time being used for studying and not much of anything else, I find that just taking that one photo a day is going a long way at keeping me sane. It has become that one tiny bit of creativity, no matter how small that bit is, that gives the day it's spark, calms my anxiety and makes me smile.

The end is in sight

January is moving right along. I really cannot believe the end of the month is in sight.

I have not been doing much of anything other than studying. I am tired of studying. I am really looking forward to being finished with this class. That lucky day is the 31st of January. The thing is...this is only the first class. I have a lot more classes to go until I can sit for my certification. I may take a little break before I start on the next one though.

The 3rd week of January was spent pretty much at home. Lots of studying and the weather made it so that being home was a pretty good idea. We actually had a Tornado Watch/Warning this last week. Quite the excitement around here. You don't see that many tornados out here in the desert.

...and so ends the 2nd week

The second week of January sure was a busy one. In addition to the usual going to work and coming home to study, I actually got out of the house for fun. Yep. I know you find it hard to believe. Me, the person who never goes anywhere actually did. It was nice to actually have some place to go.

A traveling friend is in town and it was nice to be able to catch up with each other. It has been about a year since she was last here. If only I did not have to worry about completing my class, I would be able to spend more time with her.

Speaking of completing my class...as of today I have 8 chapters to read/tests to take (not including the final) and only 14 days in which to do it. I also still have to find someone to proctor my final. I am finding that to be a very hard task. I cannot have anyone related (or married) to me proctor my final. Since I pretty much only have my family in town it makes it kind of hard to find someone.

Well, I can hear the microwave beeping at me. That means lunch is ready and my blogging time for the day is done. Time to hit the books!

One week down, 51 left to go

I find it a bit hard to believe that we just completed the first week of January. It feels as though so much more time has passed. Maybe because my days have been full with going to work, trying to study and starting a new 365 project. Yep, you read that right. I decided to embark on yet another daily photo project. This will be third year of taking a photo-a-day . . . BUT it is the first year where I actually start on the first day of the calendar year.