Shh…Sammi is sleeping.
This past weekend we traveled out of town for a wedding and brought our favorite furry travel partner. We stopped at the hotel to get ready for the dinner and reception and when we went to leave, we saw Sammi had made herself quite at home! ❤
I used to have an old chair that I absolutely loved. I still have it, but now it’s in the basement and is used primarily by my boyfriend when he games. Win-win. 🙂
At any rate, first my Rosie and then Grizzy took up residence on the top of the back cushion, so often in fact that the cushion had a permanent “V”-shaped dent in it. Our friend Rene commented that Grizzy had created a “butt groove” in it and that cracks me up because it was so funny and so true!
Dent in process.
Fast forward to today and we have a new chair and ta-da! Grizzy has once again claimed a spot atop the cushion. It’s not quite permanently dented yet, but whenever I see him there I want to sing, in the spirit of Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” G’s working on those butt grooves…. 😀
Which brings me to my next point: My laptop isn’t quite at death’s door, but it’s slowing down considerably. At least two keys stick pretty badly, which makes typing clunky so I’ve been using my computer for “have to do’s” (like work) and not “want-to-do’s” (like blogging) because by the time I get to the latter I’m exhausted from work and how putzy this thing is.
I’ve had this laptop since April 2015, so it’s been a little over four years. Not too bad for a laptop, I guess. I think my last one made it close to five years but toward the end it was really chugging along. It took a looong time to boot up, much like this one!
So now I wonder, do I get another laptop (cheaper than a desktop setup; familiar; takes up less space) or do I bite the bullet and get a desktop (much more ergonomic; I could get a bigger screen; it’s easier to do certain tasks while sitting at a desk).
It’s tough because I can see pros and cons to both. One option I’m considering is a Surface Pro because it seems to do double-duty. What’s unfortunate is no matter what, it’s a chunk of change I wasn’t quite expecting to spend. It was always one of those “I’ve got time” things and now it’s suddenly “Nope, the time is now!” And this doesn’t quite seem like an emergency-fund purchase to me; more like a necessary evil. :p Oh, well. I know it’s time to do some serious thinking and price comparison-shopping.
You know what’s funny too? I scrolled through the blog to see when I bought this computer and I saw pictures of my old apartment and got sentimental. Sometimes I really miss that place. It was such a great little space, really lovely and full of memories.
Anyhow…good night, all! 🙂
The cats love to look out the windows, and I love a deal, so hurrah for finding this excellent window perch at Aldi!
Enjoying some fresh air.
Checking out the outdoor action.
It was eight dollars and change and works great. As you can see, Sophie is enjoying it. Occasionally Grizzy will go up there, but for the most part Sophie has claimed it. I’m so happy they like it!
In other news, I am so happy we’ve finally gotten some nice spring/summer weather. It feels really good–mentally and emotionally. I commented to my boyfriend that the past few days I’ve felt *good*, which was surprising because I didn’t think I felt bad before. However, it’s a significant change. This “good” feeling is probably the best I’ve felt in months. It’s kind of strange. Maybe it was a hard winter? Maybe I was overextending myself? Maybe I didn’t have a good attitude? Not sure, but a) I’m really thankful for it, and b) it’s something I should probably be mindful of in case it changes.
Now I’m sleepy and I see the kitties are napping on the bed so I think I might join them. 🙂
It’s a somewhat gray day here in the upper Midwest, so here are some bright flowers to brighten your day!
I think the wacky weather has played a role in me not blogging. No joke, I have drafted blogs in my head so many times but when it comes to sitting down and getting them onto paper (well, WordPress), my motivation runs for the hills. But I really enjoy this, so I’m trying to schedule time for fun things. That sounds silly, doesn’t it? But the weather really has sapped me of a lot of motivation and scheduling fun, like “To-do: Knit” has helped.
I hope you all are doing well!
1) Today is the first day in a week that I haven’t taken any sort of decongestant or anti-mucous OTC meds, yahoo. The bug I had came on fast but I’m thankful it’s only lasted about a week. That’s still not a short time, but given my history with viruses, that’s pretty darn good.
The only downside is it knocked down my motivation to zero. Some days I could do only the bare minimum (thank you, constant cough) and other days when I seemed to feel better (i.e., I wasn’t coughing my head off), I still had no energy whatsoever. So I’m glad to be feeling more with it and motivated.
The Slim G and matching slippers.
2) I love, love, love these slippers. I bought them from a thrift store, a fact that makes me love them even more. Brand new, they run about $60 at LL Bean! I’d say they are a wise investment at that price, though; they have rubber bottoms so you can walk outside and are wool, so they’re warm. I rotate them with a pair of soft-soled bootie slippers, but I still wear them almost every day.
Sammi likes to be as snug as a bug in a rug.
3) Sammi is over the snow and cold. Our old girl turned 14 last month and while she bounds around like a puppy when we walk, she’s very content to snuggled up under the covers when we’re indoors. Yesterday was sunny and not *so* extremely cold and she took the opportunity to hang outside for a bit enjoying a warm patch.
4) I’ve declared this a year of finishing knitting projects. I need to finish two scarves and a hat. After that I plan to knit a Carbeth sweater, but that may be an early fall project. The past week I haven’t wanted to do anything, but I’m trying to be more purposeful and actively do more fun “for me” hobbies this year, so last night I cast on one of the scarves. It felt really good.
5) Totally random, but this year is the first year I’ve had to write out a check for taxes because of my freelance work last year. I guess I felt kind of professional? haha It’s been a lot of work, but I’m grateful to have it.
There you have it! I’m going to go home and try and get a few smaller tasks done tonight, but come tomorrow, I plan to be back to 100%! We’ll see if that happens. 🙂
It’s snowing outside and I love it, but it’s not officially a snow day according to my employer. We do get a late start, which is nice. I’m curious to see how many people actually show up.
I do love the snow, but I don’t feel like shoveling right now. Here’s an image of my shoveling job a couple weeks ago. It was surprisingly fun!
Oh look! More snow! (Actually, this is from two weeks ago, but the exact same thing is happening now.)
Then I cam inside to see Sophie snuggled up in some clothes. That little one makes my heart melt
I squee every time I look at this picture. ❤
I’m trying to get back into blogging. There have been many, many times I’ve started a blog in my head but then when I got the chance to type it out, nothing happened. Maybe this will get me started again! 🙂
One of those Friday Five quizzes on this snowy Saturday:
1. What are your feelings about winter?
I enjoy it quite a bit. This year I shoveled the driveway myself a couple times; it was fun!
2. What is your go-to drink in the winter? (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
Hot water. I also enjoy Hot Toddies and Tom & Jerrys.
3. What are your favorite things about the winter?
The snow being so pretty. Being able to dress up in layers. The holidays. The forced slow-down.
4. How do you deal with the wintry blues?
This year I decided to spend more time on hobbies, so I’ve been knitting, thinking about sewing again, journaling more, and getting started on scrapbooking.
I had the blues really, really hard right around Christmas and New Year’s, so I’m actually thinking of getting a little sun/happy light.
5. What are your least favorite things about the winter?
Driving in sloppy snow. My car looking (and being) filthy.
I decided this year I’m going to make a point of doing things I enjoy. I’m still freelancing, which is a chunk of time, but I feel like I’m managing time better. I’m also scheduling time for things I mentioned above: knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, journaling. I’d like to feature more of that here. But first, I need to get restarted with blogging so ta-da!
Now I’m off to work on a couple blogs for my side job, so hopefully I will see you again soon. Happy Saturday!
I was there!
I really dislike the phrase “all the feels” but I have to admit it popped into my head when I saw this email. Last year on October 1 I ran my first half marathon, the Smuttynose Rockfest half. I also realized my years-long dream of going to New England.
As you can see from the picture, it was a glorious sunny day. It also got HOT! I didn’t have my water belt and at the end my contacts were literally popping off my eyes at the end, I was so dehydrated. Lots of lessons learned during that first half! But I smiled so big my face hurt and I wore that smile all day.
The town basically shut down for that half, but that night, after everyone left, it got really, really quiet. I found this a bit odd, but also somewhat nice because the half took it out of me physically, emotionally, and with all the people and commotion, I was spent. We went to a bar, one of the few places open!, and had a little bit of dinner and a beer. The next day we trekked up to Maine where we stayed a night on the beach. Originally we were supposed to hoof it on over to Vermont, but that would have been a lot of driving and we got a great off-season rate for a hotel across from the ocean.
That night we heard that Tom Petty died. We went to bed but I stayed up listening to the waves, they were so loud. The next day I woke up and watched the sun rise and walked along the beach. I remember thinking the sand was much harder than I expected; not quiet like cement, but very firm. That quiet pocket of time was so perfect; it’s something I will always remember and cherish.
Happy October, everyone! I have been embarrassingly absent on the blog front. It makes me sad, so I’m going to try and change that.
What’s been going on…let’s see, a lot of work, that’s for sure. The day job has been pretty busy and I’ve gotten a pretty steady freelance gig through the end of the month. It’s good, but tiring.
Also at the day job, we’re moving floors. First we move to temporary digs while out new spaces are built. Then we move into the new (smaller) spaces. It’s part of a consolidation effort and it makes sense but let’s face it: moving isn’t fun! If nothing else, the plywood moving carts have me feeling like I’m in the lumberyard at Home Depot and my head and sinuses are not appreciative.
Anyhow…as I was packing up, I really looked at my picture of Sophie and Grizzy that is on my desk. It made me miss my little apartment. I’m very happy where I am now, but I have so many good memories of my apartment, really looking at the picture and thinking about my apartment tugged on my heartstrings. I was very fortunate to be there. ❤
Sweater progress. I’ve finished my sweater (pictures forthcoming). It was a lot of fun and I’m taking a class to knit another one soon!
Get certified in Google Analytics. Well, Google decided to remove the certification for this, so now I take tests and get certificates showing I passed. I’m halfway done and while it’s interesting, it’ll be nice to be done. It’s helpful for work but not a life goal, I guess.
Update the blog more regularly. Working on that right now. 🙂
Make meditation a regular practice. This is why I love lists and I love journaling. It helps me remember things I want to do. I’m going to shoot for this tonight.
Practice yoga more often. Again, going to do a little bit tonight. 🙂
Where do I start? I’ve been absent for a while, although I have checked in on blogs. I’m not sure if I should chalk my being quiet up to the day job (we are training on scrum and agile, which has been interesting, to say the least), freelancing at night, family going-ons, or just general tiredness.
There have been so many time I’ve started and update in my head but I never got around to typing it out. It’s a frustrating paradox because I want to add posts so why don’t I? Minds are weird sometimes.
Anyhow, it’s not a satisfactory excuse, but there’s my excuse.
Here is one post I’ve composed in my head a zillion times over but never published:
Sophie LOVES to be brushed. I’m talking L-O-O-O-O-V-E-S to be brushed. To the point where she wakes me up in the morning (she’s my little alarm clock) and runs to the basement steps and waits for me to follow.
She’s always loved the basement for some reason. Oftentimes, and not just in the morning, she’ll wait down there for me and cry until I come down. So now we have a routine: She’ll run into the basement and cry until I come down. Once I’m there she’ll start talking like mad and jump up onto the dryer and roll around and start gently headbutting the dryer knobs. It’s brushing time!
Lately she is amenable to rubs instead of brushing, as pictured, but more often than not she wants the brush. I’ve known cats who enjoy being brushed and cats who are indifferent and cats who straight-up hate it, yet I’ve never known a cat to love brushing as much as Sophie. She gets jealous if I brush Griz! LOL
So there is one update. 🙂 And ah, I have one more. See that URL up there? I’ve owned it forever but I finally got it to switch over without losing all my existing content. One of those silly little things that feels very satisfying.
I know this isn’t much of an update, but at least it’s something. I plan to get at least one project done this week (that would be blocking my sweater, it’s a long story), so hopefully I’ll have a more interesting post by this weekend. Baby steps. 🙂
Happy September!
