At 44 pounds, this cat is more than twice the size of my Lucy… yikes!
And here’s the breaking news update from SFGate:
Breaking enormous cat news! It turns out that the 44-pound feline found roaming Voorhees, N.J., and dubbed “Princess Chuck” is actually a he named Powder. His owner, who said her home was foreclosed, abandoned the portly pussy. An animal shelter has been flooded with calls from people wanting to adopt Powder.
Time for a diet!
I really enjoyed this article in SFGate, http://tinyurl.com/6nr5ja
Call me crazy, but this courageous man’s story speaks to my independent nature. There is a part of me that is attracted to a lifestyle with “no strings attached” – no PG&E bills to contend with, no lawns to mow [not that I mow the lawn myself but you get my point!] - living off the land and using survival instincts.
I am also inspired by a man who has hit the bottom and is making strides to change his situation. I do admire his craftiness and will to survive. Plus, I am sure he is saving more money per month than most people in the Bay Area.
A couple of my thoughts:
I wish him luck and hope he can stay safe and healthy.
I also wonder if he might not be able to get a better job? Telemarketing for a software company should yield more than what he makes now. Back at Lyris in 2003, I hired an entry level telemarketing person for $30k/year plus benefits (I thought that was a ridiculously low salary at the time).
I wonder if he is going to suddenly get some job opportunities, donations, etc as a result of this article being published?… I hope so!
I’m feeling really uninspired today. Have spent the last hour surfing the web – correction, StumblingUpon – trying to find inspiration for today’s blog post. I’m coming up with nothing. Maybe my brain is in non-absorption mode? Decided to start typing and see if anything comes to me…
It’s not looking good so far, however my OCD personality is causing me continue to type. I made a promise to myself to blog every work day, but I’m starting to feel a bit lame writing about nothing.
Well, to make this post somewhat worth your time : ) – here are some fun pictures taken recently:
Oh, and I just found a quote I like,
“Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” – John Stuart Mill
Thanks for your time! I will try to be more interesting tomorrow.
I don’t have to remind anyone that I’ve adopted a “clean-living” lifestyle. It hasn’t been as agonizing as I thought it would be. I’ve gotten used to it… although I SOOO wanted to snatch someone’s glass of chardonnay while dining at Sideboard the other day – I refrained.
Mostly, I don’t miss alcohol. Instead, I’m having a hard time dealing with the reactions I get from others because I’m NOT drinking. My true friends are wonderful. They act completely normal, drinking wine as usual and not making a big deal over the fact that I’m not joining them. I would be really bummed if they felt awkward drinking in my presence.
I don’t understand why others feel the need to bring attention to the fact that I’m not drinking.
At lunch with my family the other day, my mom’s husband Bert brought some wine. The waitress came around to pour me a glass and I declined. A bit later, Bert pointedly asked if I was SURE I didn’t want any wine. Before I had a chance to reply, my mom quickly interjected, “no, she doesn’t want any wine!” OHH-KAY, a bit strange and awkward. She probably doesn’t believe I have the willpower to resist!
Last weekend at a group dinner, I drank virgin cocktails. One of the men in the group learned that I wasn’t drinking alcohol. This was clearly a comedic episode for him as he proceeded to laugh hysterically and make sarcastic and disbelieving comments. Maybe he thought I was joking? – As IF I would not drink for a joke. A moment later, he said, “what a sacrifice!” For some reason this comment bothered me more than anything… so full of assumptions. Maybe I’ve given up alcohol cause I woke up one morning and no longer enjoyed the taste of alcohol? Maybe a doctor told me to stop (thus it wouldn’t be a sacrifice, it would be a requirement)?
I’m sure I am being too sensitive. AND, who am I kidding? This IS a sacrifice (truth hurts, right?) Let’s face it, I made my bed and now I must lay in it. People know me as a drinker. I have never been one to decline a glass of wine – never, ever, ever. So, I’m sure people feel somewhat awkward because the ME they are used to, is not acting like ME.
News Flash!
“Sheila DeStefano Bakes Home-grown Blackberry Muffins for Breakfast”
Those who know me well, are aware that my idea of cooking is popping a TV dinner in the microwave, so this was a HUGE event.
Over the weekend, we discovered an overgrown blackberry bush in the yard. Since our landlord fired the gardener, our backyard has been in disarray so we haven’t spent much time back there. What a surprise! There were tons of blackberries that had died from the heat, so I picked the ripe berries and found them to be very sweet.
A quick search on www.cooks.com and 45 minutes later, breakfast for the week!
(and YES, the muffins did taste good, ask Pete!)
The good news is my Monday is flying by adequately quickly. But it is never a good sign when you get a sales lead from an email address that includes, ”runaway_granny”. Life in sales.
I would classify this past weekend as a perfectly satisfying weekend with all the elements: dinner & great conversation w/ friends, time with family (mom’s bd), activity (biking with Jax & Mark) and time with the hubby (watching the movie 21).
I think my newly adopted “clean living” lifestyle has helped me mentally as well as (hopefully) physically. I will say, my mind seems clearer lately. I’m less absent-minded. Could it be some of the brain cells I’ve killed over there years are growing back? Or do I just have a need to “believe”?
I’m in a much happier place today. I am extremely lucky to have wonderful friends in my life to help me maintain my sanity. I hope they know I appreciate them beyonds words on a blog.
Also, it’s FRIDAY! Oh just as an aside, it was another single line on the plastic device, but I’m done bitching about that for today.
Here’s what’s going on:
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Great writing! Someone to admire…
A friend who attended BlogHer gave me some web addresses of women she met who blog about their struggles with infertility. I haven’t had the desire to check them out yet. Not sure why.
I have often thought about whether I should start a blog focused on my fertility challenges, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do so. I guess the optimist in me is keeping hope that this is a temporary situation.
Let’s face it, I’ve been dealing with this for over a year now. It sure ain’t temporary and sure doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. As I go through box after $30 box of ovulation kits only to see a single blue line each day… my emotions and state of mind are on a constant roller coaster ride. One day, I am optimistic after the positive words from my Chinese medicine guru. The next day, I am bummed again from a negative result on a stupid plastic device. Those DAMN plastic devices. I hate them. (guess you can tell which frame of mind I’m currently in?!?)
The next question is… do I skip the madness and go straight to the “big guns” treatment: I.V.F (price tag $13,000), do I keep spending cash on acupuncture treatments (still much less than the Western treatments) which may be a slow process – and let’s face it, I ain’t getting any younger – OR do I baby step it with $3,000 I.U.I treatments which may not work and require I do I.V.F anyways?
Also, the issues have been isolated to me so far. My husband hasn’t been a factor at all. But let’s face it HE isn’t getting any younger either.
Can someone wave a magic wand and make me fertile, please?
Somehow, I have found myself addicted to Twitter. Chute, I even set Lucy up with an account!
It’s a great tool for me to quickly let a bunch of people know what I’m doing. It’s also the easiest way to learn what’s new in technology, sports, and other topics that interest me.
You can do it to! Simply find an available twitterer from Twellow who is an expert in the industry and start to follow them.
Next thing you know, you’ll get up-to-date “tweets” as your “followed” twitterers post something. You can get these tweets on the web or even on your cellphone if you want.
The problem with Twitter is it is highly unstable. The service goes down if there are too many twitterers using it. I have seen their “service down” screen (picture of a whale being carried by a swarm of orange birds) way too many times for something that so many people rely on.
There is clearly much misery displayed (in the form of tweets received an hour later than intended, once the service has returned) from users who are sick and tired of the lack of availability of this tool.
Sadly, I think everyone is in the same boat as I. We love to hate Twitter. I can’t imagine giving up on Twitter at this point, so I just live with it.
