Summer's last blast...

This was a holiday weekend here so yesterday my crazy family got together for one last summer blast. We gathered at my sister's house with a bevvy of goodies to cook over an open flame and, as is the case with my crazy family, we just had to have some kind of strange entertainment going on.

This time my sister came up with the idea that we would have our very own version of "Dancing with the Stars". She downloaded music from that show and burned it to CDs. We each got one, chosen randomly, with a genre of dance attached to it. The thing is, she didn't get around to giving us the music until very late the night before we were expected to dance so many people opted not to do it. I was one of those people. But after three Long Island ice teas and a couple of Apple Martinis, the rhythm took over and I threw together a routine with my niece Jennifer. Our genre was the cha-cha and the song we got was "The Love Shack" by the B-52s. But, since we really didn't have a clue how to do the cha-cha we, instead, improvised a routine that was an homage to those who had danced before us. We started by ungracefully mimicking my oldest sister's free style jazz routine she did earlier. Then we went seamlessly into a hopeless salsa that aped my other sister's routine. We realized we needed some personal flare so we three in the "shopping at Walmart" portion that went right into a glorious booty shake. We ended the routine by dredging up the "boogaloo" as we made our way off stage (the deck).

We brought the house/yard down! Needless to say, we won the contest and got a standing O. Hahaha! They even asked for an encore of the booty shake which we graciously did again and again until they begged for mercy. We ended up relaxing around the fire and making S'mores.

My family is so crazy. We do stuff like this all the time and everyone gets involved. It's fun and it was a great way to blow off the stress of the week and enjoy the last blast of summer.

My facebook addiction...

I need a twelve step program for facebook users. Hello, my name is Mary and I am a facebook addict. I'm not quite sure when this all crept up on me. It started innocently enough with me logging on once in a while, leaving a quick status update and the occasional message for a friend or two. Then one night I thought what could it hurt to take a quiz or two or ten. And how much damage could happen if I just tried out some of these games. Farmtown? Cute... Farmville...more cute...Mafia Wars...forgetaboutit!! I became hopelessly hooked. Anyone who is on my friends list can easily see by my constant feed of game updates that I am an addict. I find myself wondering if my energy has replenished itself or if my sunflower fields have blossomed. I wonder if it's time to work again in Yoville and what else I can buy for my spiffy apartment there. Crap, I live in a nicer place in Yoville than I do in real life!! I eagerly look to my notifications to see which of my friends have updated their status or posted a new "All About Me" quiz. This is an illness. I know it is!

My friends complain that my lost cow announcements from Farmville are crowding up their home pages but as I see I have 26 Farkle chip requests, 6 Vampire wars requests, 8 Sorority Life requests, and at least 15 Farmville requests, I can clearly see I am not alone in my illness. Hell, I don't know if I'm ready to quit. I haven't reached my facebook rock bottom yet I guess. If you're ever in Yoville, look me up, leave a message...or better yet...gift me something nifty for my digs!

Wearing fur in bed...

I woke up this morning wearing a purring fur hat and some purring fur slippers. Arnie was sleeping on top of my head while Brigitte curled up down around my toes. I have to admit it was a lovely way to wake up on this cold November morning. Made it awfully hard to get out of bed though. I was too cozy.

I haven't talked about my cats in a while. Have I? I probably have...I'm turning into one of those crazy cat ladies. You know, the kind that when other people are talking about their real, live children chime in with some story or other about something cute their kitty did? Yeah, that's me. Anyway, indulge me....

Lately, I've been seeing some rivalry between Arnie and Brig and the center of their feud seems to be ME! If one wants attention, the other one wants it and they push each other out of the way to get it. Arnie in particular has proven to be very jealous of any time I give Brig. He's always popping her in the nose to get her off my lap, gorging on her food before she even gets to it, and nosing his way past her if she's coming up to say hello. Brig takes it all very well but I feel bad about it so I try to give her a little extra attention or make Arnie wait. Then I realize...they're cats for crying out loud! I can't tell you the number of times I get all heady and thinking "what's going on in their little brains" when the truth is all they're thinking of is "food? sleep? mousie toy?"

I know they have distinct personalities but, honestly, I start treating them like their my kids and that's just wrong, isn't it?? I even talk to them about stuff I know they have no way of understanding. I don't even know why I do this. See? I am the crazy cat lady. Good lord...

I hope it's true that cats always land on their feet...

Arnie went nuts today. Well, more nuts than usual. It was the first day in months that it was warm enough to open the window for a short time just to get some fresh air in the house. I realized that the windows haven't been open since I brought Arnie home. He went completely loony. Started running madly through the house and leaping on the window sill which sent his body slamming into the screen. He loves it on the sill and I think his spring fever got the better of him.

Thank god I have screens on the window because I'm on the second floor and that would have been one hell of a drop for him! Crazy damn cat!

My brain is too full...

Tonight my head is swimming with thoughts. I have been thinking of all the plans I have and how to make them come to pass and what I need to do to accomplish that and what the obstacles might be...

The thoughts I'm having are for long range plans and there is nothing I can do at this moment to make them happen which is why this is so maddening and probably will cause me to have a sleepless night. My mind does this a couple of times each month. I have these meandering thoughts, one leading to another, and no end in sight. Thoughts like "if I get the chance to move abroad, what will I take and how" and "what kind of jobs will be available to me" and so on. Of course, there's no way of knowing that now and that's exactly why the thoughts won't leave me tonight.

I think there is something about the excitement of just thinking about making this happen that causes my mind to muddle down in it. I mean, it is a thrilling plan for sure and something I want more than life itself. I know that it will happen but, as with all good things, I have to take it one step at a time and not get ahead of myself. Of course, my mind is so far ahead that I will have to run to catch up!

I've begun making mental lists of all that has to be accomplished in order to do this. I have begun to categorize the lists in order of importance. I have begun fantasizing about what it will be like. In short, I have begun making myself a little crazy about all of it!

It will happen. And I won't be alone in the planning. So, for now, I just have to relax and take it one day at a time.