So many Dragons and attempting to blog again after almost 3 years

 

A lot has happened in the last couple of years and I'm not sure where to begin. So, maybe I'll start with dragons. I'm reading, at a snail's pace, The Hobbit. A friend lent it to me because the last time I had seen the actual text, I was pretty little and my Dad was reading it to me before bed every night. Of course, I enjoy the movies, the music and Smaug is one sexy beast! But, reading it as an adult is a fun adventure- when I remember to pick up the book. Normally, reading isn't a problem for me. Okay, I'll admit that I have had some struggles with some books in that they have actually put me to sleep- there were two in college and one in high school (I am looking at you My Antonia). Some of the books on Kindle have had pacing issues or maybe the story wasn't holding me- which I feel it is important to note that I have a high tolerance for a great deal and more so for the tedious and slow moving story, depending, more so than most people I know. 

Anyway, my struggle is not any of those things with the Hobbit, Tolkien is the kind of word porn that I enjoy. It is simply that I have been busy and set the book down and it got moved into the office/craft room, and just recently discovered where it had been tucked away to. The Hobbit is now out where I can see it and the sooner I get to read about one of my favorite arrogant dragons, the happier I will be- especially given events as of late. 

The second dragon item is that I started the Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon series tonight. I was not happy with how Game of Thrones ended. I could rant about that forever and a day, but I think that is best saved for another time. I am tired and its getting close to my bed time. Yes, I know how the story is going to go and like Rogue One of Star Wars, we get the gist. However, I do enjoy the court/political intrigue and well, DRAGONS! 

My third dragon item is that Selene- aka Amanda, aka my wife, and I, along with two cousins and a couple of friends, have been playing D&D A LOT! I'm finally getting to have characters that start at level 1 and actually level up, not just one level, but several. I'm finally getting to see what higher level characters are like, actually enjoy a story, learn more about and how to play the game. I understand some games fizzle out, but damn, it was disheartening. I tend to get excited and invested. If the character dies during session, fine, I will get over it, and that's one thing, but the whole campaign? That's shit. Unless the people who are playing are shit, but there are horror stories about that kind of thing on the internet. 

On a slightly shifted dragonesque topic, I've made some D&D and dragon centric things for my Etsy store. If anyone remembers, I kept talking about wanting to start a store. I finally did it! It is called Shadow Fox Witchery. I will most likely talk about the store more in depth later. Anyway, I embroidered two dragon designs on tote bags today. And I spent half my day ironing. Which leads me to the next topics. 

We've been busy. I didn't think the pandemic was going to take much toll on me, not like it did for a lot people. I'm introverted so staying home wasn't too out of the norm for me. Selene's work moved to remote- work from home- during the pandemic and that has now become permanent. We did get Covid and it was awful. I had had a fever so high I probably should have gone to the hospital, but we managed it. Our sleep schedules were sufficiently screwed up for a long time, and the Covid really took a toll on both our depression and anxiety. Then, trying to go back out into the world when things began to open up was a struggle. I am still ordering groceries online and picking them up. 

What's helped with that is that we have done some updates on our home. We redid the bathroom and are very shortly going to be redoing the kitchen. That has been a kind of a cluster fuck. We tried to do the online design thing with Lowes and the guy we were working with was okay, but he didn't stay within our budget and nothing was really going to change with the kitchen. Worse, everything is on back order and the wait time and how long we were going to be out of a serviceable kitchen was getting longer and longer. We can't not have a functioning kitchen for several months.  So, we went into our local store and just asked some questions of the kitchen designer there. We're doing this shit ourselves. She not only answered every question, talked us through how to do stuff we weren't sure about- because she's actually done it all herself, gave us resources, ect... And it was all significantly less than our max budget! We will be doing everything except the plumbing, that we need a plumber for, but we need one anyway to hook up the dishwasher and take a look at a leak in the basement. 

But we are having other issues with the house aside from a leak. Our oven door broke. Selene fixed it, twice. We are finally getting the pine trees removed in September and we were damn lucky that one a very windy day the one that fell miss both our car and Kat, our cousin's car, by mere inches. The fireplace was looked at and cleaned and has a great bill of health. However, when we tried to get two extra electrical outlets installed in the house, the electricians who came out to look into doing it, said we really shouldn't. And they were pissed for us. We have that great old knob and tube wiring. It hasn't really been too much of an issue until recently. The fuse for the main level blew four times tonight in the space of an hour. Apparently we can't have the ac running while the dishwasher is going and watch tv. Which is troubling, because we've done so just fine before. Odd combinations of stuff seem to trip it. Selene wanted to do solar panels on the roof not only to save on electric but to give us more of a buffer against the sun beating down on the roof. Because there's a good lack of insulation. I'm starting to think we are going to have to rewire the whole damn house sooner rather than later and am dreading that, especially if walls have to be torn into.

And if we get into more of the mundane problems, we spent a nice chunk of change on getting our car worked on. They were supposed to have fixed the ac in the mix of things we needed done. The front blows just fine, but the back is still blowing hot air, so they will be fixing that. And we have to take it back in, after this weekend, so they can replace the motor mounts and I forget what else they needed to do. 

Aside from dealing with all of those things. We have been to the Seattle area for vacation, albeit short and kind of packed full with places to go, it was so nice to get away. I forgot what a vacation actually felt like. Don't get me wrong, driving down to visit my family is a kind of vacation too, but it is stressful in that I'm the only viable driver out of Selene and I- we suspect she has narcolepsy but to be tested for it is so freaking expensive we can't afford it so she'll be getting no help for that anytime soon- and then there is the stress of family. I can't tell my Grandmother half of the things I do or am involved in, we don't discuss that Selene and I are married. My mother's health is worse than it has ever been, I'm certain she'd had a stroke, her episodes are so bad and she's afraid she will have one and won't wake up. My Dad is exhausted. Everyone is sure they can get some kind of help be it disability or medical help but every time my Dad does the paperwork, he makes too much on paper. I want to help, they won't really let me. Dad always has to work every time I am down there so I hardly get to spend time with him. My cousin Shi-chan is almost a shut in, her anxiety is through the roof. I don't even want to get into the drama of the rest of her family. I always leave a little more heartbroken and frustrated, defeated than when I arrived. But I still find my time with the people I love a treasure. 

As for the rest of it. We've been planning public community Sabbats with some friends, we joined a coven, are on the board and organizing Northwest Pagan Fest. Selene is still doing her Magickal Moot. I started doing my Pagans with disabilities support group again. I'm making stuff for my shop and vending every so often at public events. I will be at the Fairy Fiesta this coming weekend, Northwest Pagan Fest, and Witch's Night Out. Somehow we have managed to do some 'for the house' shopping to help us get better organized upstairs. The main level is next. Kat is working on the basement. We've watched some anime, tried some new places in town to eat at, played some D&D, and I have had a whole bunch of bad days intermixed from fibro flares, depression and anxiety, and being heat sick or exhausted. 

And I am not done. I've been looking at doing a podcast as well as a twitch channel. I thought about being a Vtuber, because it looks like a lot of fun and learning the set up to do looks fun too. Plus I really miss gaming.  The podcast is mostly just for fun, but hey, if it turns out to be even marginally successful, that's a bonus. 

AND I must be a masochist because I'm gearing up to really start writing again. I haven't been, not really. But last night I took 14 little notepad pages of notes for a short story I've wanted to turn into a book. Other stories I have let sit are flaring up again, and I'm just tired of wanting a thing and being too scared to do it. I'm sure, like with everything with me, it will be a slow crawl. But baby steps are better than no steps. 

Oh and lastly, I joined the Conqueror Challenges- The Lord of the Rings Shire one. I even ditched my old knock off fitbit for a real one. the old one wasn't actually counting my steps accurately, but the fitbit does and it is actually correctly logging my sleep- at least, it's getting the hours right. I don't know what crack my old one was on. Anyway, I am half way to Bree in the Challenge and when I get there, I will sign up for the next part of the journey. I'd probably be closer to the end if I'd had a real fitbit, but meh, it's fine, just means I will get more walking steps in. 

Well, I have written a small novel, probably riddled with grammatical and spelling errors aplenty that I won't bother editing- because I am lazy and actually trying to stay awake. I need to go to bed. 

So, see you later. 

Maybe. 

Hopefully. 

 

 

After yesterday, this is what I know.

Yesterday I was on and off the phone from 8 am to 3 pm. Nerve wracking doesn't even begin to cover it and I was so very relieved when I was finished and could retreat to my corner of the sofa and just breathe.

On the doctor front. The doctor my insurance assigned me didn't actually take my insurance any more. So I called my insurance to see where to go from there. The woman I spoke with was not only nice, but she went down a long list of providers for me and called them herself instead of just throwing a bunch of names and numbers at me. There were several that did take my insurance but they didn't have any openings until November or even January. But, luckily we found a doctor who not only took my insurance and had openings as soon as today, but I know her. She's Amanda's doctor. I had completely forgotten about her as a possibility. 

I saw her today. My blood pressure was really high- go figure. She wanted to talk about nutrition, because I'm fat, but she didn't fat shame me in the least. Instead she asked me what I ate yesterday and when I told her, her eyebrows went up. She said I wasn't eating enough to function and while I was eating mostly good stuff, it just wasn't enough. But since the hysterectomy, I'm not as hungry any more. I have always been a grazer during the day anyway, with a decent meal for dinner. Meh. She also wants me drinking 200 oz of water a day. Uh huh, we'll see about that, I get over 84 oz and I start feeling like I want to puke. And she wants me to take more Vitamin D and C and cut the melatonin down when I do take it. I forgot to talk to her about my thyroid. 

Back to yesterday's calls. 

I remembered that I needed to talk to the student loan people. So I called them and got put on an income based payment plan. I jut had to print, fill out, and sign some paperwork and I need to mail it off today. 

I also did my food stamp review, spent forever on the phone only to have some guy tell me I had to do it online. Then I filled out the HEM review paperwork- have to mail that off today too. And I left a message for my case manager at DSHS. She was out sick, apparently, some guy called me back to tell me, basically nothing helpful. 

I tried to call Rachel's landlord. He picked up but didn't say anything. Since he didn't say anything and there was a lot of noise I'm assuming he thought he had silenced his phone? I don't know. I am going to try calling him on Amanda's phone or make her call him. 

I made an appointment for the car to get looked at and fixed. I took it into the shop today.

I also called our apartment complex's office and left a message (because they never pick up the phone, ever), to ask exactly what it was they need about Amanda's 401k. I told them we were getting married next month and that they can talk to me since she's at work all the time and can't get into deal with them. I also asked them if there was anything else whatsoever that they needed. 

Well, apparently, Amanda called the on her break or lunch break because they called her again. They told her that we missed our lease signing appointment. WHAT APPOINTMENT?! Oh hell no! We never had a fucking appointment. The last meeting I had with the office, the woman I dealt with told me they would be signing leases on the WEEK of the 18th. They never gave us a time or day. I even wrote it in my planner, right in front of her. She told me they would work with Amanda's work schedule. Then on top of that, when I went out for a cigarette break last week (because yes, I broke down while stressed to smoke a little), I noticed that everyone else's doors had a notice on them but ours did not. So, I got up close enough to read the one on my neighbor's door. It was talking about lease signing. Nervous, I started to wonder why we didn't get one. I thought, on the upside, that it was because they had already told us when the lease signings were, but the more I thought about it, the more I started to get a little paranoid and worried. Why did everyone else get a reminder notice but we didn't? I mean everyone, I checked.

So that bull shit aside, Amanda got an appointment time with them this weekend wherein she will give them whatever it is they need. But I am pretty sure that they really are trying to find a way to kick us out. I'm pretty sure they are going to say her 401k is income and that will put us over the limit. 

That being said, I also spent some time calling mortgage lenders. I did get to talk with one and gave him some information. He had to pull our credit but sent an e-mil back to me today saying that we'll have to do this using Amanda's credit, mind isn't high enough, but it looks good. The next step is to get approved for a loan. So we now have the ball in the beginning stages of rolling as far as buying a house goes. I just have to e-mail him back, but I thought I would wait until Amanda got home so we could talk in person, instead of via her work e-mail.  

Apart from that, I need to get legal sized envelopes so I can mail my student loan stuff and we are having dinner at Rachel's tonight. But I think we are cooking? I'm not sure what's going on with dinner. I need to make bread though. The sourdough and pumpkin. I don't really feel up to it today. Oh, laundry. I need to do that. 

I suppose I should go find something to eat, since I've only had a small salad, three cups of coffee, and a cup of lemon ginger tea today. Cheese quesadilla, that sounds nice and won't make much of a mess.   

The Muslim Woman Teacher, the jealous girlfriend, sad news, and "I can't even".

I recently learned that the band H.I.M. is on their farewell tour. I know all good things come to an end, but I really liked them and while I haven't been to concerts in a a few years, I would have gone to see them if they came close to where I live. That's my sad news. I mean really, it could be a lot worse. 

I've either fallen asleep watching TV or planned to sleep on the sofa for the last couple of nights. Amanda and I have both been tired and so much so that we're too tried to go in and change the bed sheets by the end of the day. We've been too tired to do a lot and have pushed through anyway. Last week was a bit rough for both of us. Cousin Kat came and left over the weekend and then I had several days where I was in a lot of pain, foggy brained, and or really depressed. All of that is exhausting and instead of trying to fight it all and wear myself out more, I said 'fuck it' and decided to play Guild Wars 2. That was good, although frustrating because a lot of stuff is different and I'm not sure I was following things clearly. 

Anyway back to the T.V. NHK does some documentaries called Inside Lens. This week its about a Muslim woman in Indonesia who runs a religious boarding school. She teaches, runs it, and gives talks about how men should treat women better, equality, and how without strong women and mothers, we wouldn't have strong nations. She is AMAZING! She didn't used to run the school, it was her husbands school but he passed away and for awhile she was a little lost. But she is very religious and prayed and found her answer to be that she would keep the school running on her own, that the only man she needed was God. Here is the link for the documentary: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/lens/

I decided to do a written role play with cousin Kat. She's had a lot of hell recently and I wanted to give her a little something to look forward too, in my own way, that I knew I could do. There's not a whole lot I feel that I can do lately, so this at least gets me doing something constructive. Anyway, I've wanted to write a Kitsune story. I started a book years ago but never got very far with it. So, I decided to have a Kitsune character once again and see what I could come up with this time. I gave him a horrible back story and then wrote the opening post. When I read it to Amanda, she was a little and cutely jealous. She wants to play with Noritoki and really liked my opening. She even thought it would make a good novel on its own. 

Speaking of Amanda, we've both had a crummy last couple of weeks. The good stuff has been getting to see Cousin Kat, seeing a couple of friends, and the new episodes of My Little Pony on Netflix. Amanda was so depressed last night that she wanted to finish out the episodes, except that kind of backfired. The last episode was about Applejack's parents- who while the show has never said it, that I can remember, aren't living. The apple family siblings learned about their parents beginning relationship and how they came to be married. But both Amanda and I were really upset because while we know their parents are gone, we don't know the why or the how and ugh! So I suggested we watch some of season 2 of Kamisama Kiss because that's fun and cute and it has a pissy Kitsune named Tomoe who is freaking awesome, gorgeous, and I just love him. I also really like the anime because it make me laugh. There was an instance last night where one of the characters (we are watching the american dub- I like both thank you-) says "I can't even" and while a lot of people use that phrase, I've even used that phrase, it was so unexpected in an anime that it struck my funny bone just right. I'm still giggling over it. 

But that's the mostly happy stuff. We've got more car issues than we bargained for, as in it didn't pass the emissions test so we couldn't buy car tags and won't be able to until we can afford to get it worked on and then of it has to pass or we will have had to do 150 dollars worth of work on it to try to get it to pass before we can buy car tags. Amanda got me some bus passes for when I need to go somewhere and a friend is taking me to an appointment this afternoon. Aside from that, it's just pain, depression, panic attacks, and wedding stress.  

Last weekend's camping, playing chauffeur, Das Stein Haus, shopping, and lunch

Amanda found a cell phone camera lens kit in the check out isle in Wal-mart last night. Fun fact, don't leave the flash on when using them. By the way, that's Narcisa checking out the pickle in my cup.

Okay so last weekend we went camping out at a friend's house. It was a small, invite only gathering and the drive was beautiful. Of course it was a chilly, cloudy, and wet sort of day so of course I loved it. Everyone set up their tents in the rain because if we hadn't, it as decided that it would rain all day and then we would have been trying to set them up in the dark. Of course once all the tents were set up, it stopped raining. 

While we were there we had a Fairies vs. Goblins of theme. Everyone had a grab bag and depending on what was in it a wand or a glass ball, was what you were. The wands were fairies and the balls were goblins. I happened to pick up the bag with the blue ball in it thus I was the King- or because I am a girl- Queen of the Goblins. One of my friend's children was Queen of the Fairies. Everyone else was either fairy or goblin and we played games and did actives outside, tallying up which side was winning. At the end, the Fairy Queen and I had a battle/ sword fight with swimming pool noodles. We ended up calling a truce partly because some meddlesome boys kept trying to get in on it, and also because neither of us were giving up. Honestly, my back was giving me all sorts of grief but there was no way I was letting that little fairy Queen beat me! So for at least a year, the Goblins and Fairies have peace. 

Aside from Goblin and Fairy wars, there was drinking, good food, and we watched Practical Magic outside under the stars, drinking margaritas. Some of the other campers were in inflated swimming pools with pillows and blankets. I had to go to bed early that night because I was in a lot of pain. I also had reading done, which was helpful. All in all, it was a lot of fun and if we hadn't had to worry about Amanda getting to work on Sunday, we would have stayed longer. 

Monday, I took some friends to a doctor's appointment because they are currently car-less, after a fashion. I hung out at their place for as long as I could before I had to head back and get read for Monday night's event.

I headed over to the north side around the 5 mile area of town to go to Joann's crafts and fabric store for a bit. I saw plenty of things I wanted but I didn't buy anything. We still had grocery shopping and bills to pay, and honestly, I was too hot and achy from the weekend to really care too much. I did look at yarn and knitting needles.

Afterward I met Amanda and one of our friends at Das Stein Haus, a German bar and restaurant. 

Our friend ordered her own beer plank and Amanda and I split one. We couldn't decide which one we wanted to try. So why not try several? We also had an appetizer of Kazen Spaetzle, delicious!

These were our choices.

Here is Amanda's dinner a Schnizel dish

And here is mine. I can't remember what it was called but what I can tell you is that I was very bad and ordered pork. It had a yummy pork sauce, mushrooms, and it was atop a bed of Spaetzel. It was fantastic! 

To finish it all up Amanda and our friend had apple strudel and I had one of my favorite kinds of cake in the world, Black Forest!

Which brings us to yesterday. I had some grocery shopping to do and while I wanted to go to the Kiev Market and one of the Asian markets in my area, I didn't quite make it. I did, however, begin at Yoke's Fresh Market. I was looking for something in particular and couldn't find it but picked up some produce. Next I went to Winco and did the bulk of my shopping there. I was hurting, hot, and tired, by the time I finished there and knew my spoons were almost spent. I stopped by another grocery store and while they didn't have exactly what I was looking for at Yoke's, they had a decent substitute. Bonus, they had a nice deal on tea so I got a couple of boxes.

When I got home, I only brought in the groceries that had to come in and left the rest in the car. But I was too tired, hot, and in too much pain to do the usual meal prep. I spent some time on the phone with my Mom, went to the bathroom, and then picked up Amanda and then went to Wal-Mart to finish up shopping. I'd forgotten mayonnaise, needed pads, and shampoo. We grabbed food at Taco Bell, came home, watched a weird anime episode, and went to bed. 

And that brings us to today. I slept in by accident and just up in time to meet a friend and take lunch to Amanda at work. We stayed there a little longer than we intended but Amanda is working late tonight. I know that parking is difficult downtown, especially during lunch, and especially since there is construction, but as helpful as my friend wants to be with helping me lose weight along with helping herself toward that goal, parking two and half blocks from Amanda's work really doesn't help when my back keeps trying to lock up. I had to stop a couple of times to kind of slowly coax it into cooperating with me. Which of course made me feel even worse because my friend had to slow down to begin with and then stop in the heat while I shifted around until I could walk more. I know she doesn't mind, I know she will wait for me, but I still feel bad about it. 

Last bit of news, we might go look at and test drive a car tomorrow afternoon, after Amanda's doctor's appointment.   

Rainbow Raccoon the air is too still!

No, I'm not doing drugs, I just haven't slept very well the last couple of days. Either I've been been too hot or in too much pain. I think I got 4 hours Saturday night and less than 2 Sunday night. However, last night, well last night I crashed early on the sofa, don't remember getting to bed, and didn't want to wake up this morning.

I am still tired but not really able to settle enough to nap. Also, I've had to turn off the air conditioning again. The air feels very still, almost stale, but a little humid or moist. I don't like it but someone or a couple of someones will bitch if I turn the air back on. I will be moving into my bedroom shortly to sit in front of the fan.

Mixing bowls

Since I haven't been able to sleep I've been looking at pictures on the internet, mainly looking for something to replace the laptop skin I bought. We had to cut the skin to fit my computer but it doesn't want to really stay. So I was thinking to getting something smaller, like a car window decal. In all reality, I probably won't get a sticker any time soon. I have to save money for medicine and gas and things I actually need. Still, looking was fun.

Speaking of looking at things to look, I've also searched the Internet for dishes, side tables, and housewares in general. Eventually Skoora and I will be moving and we will need some things again,
especially since I'm unsure of what has been broken, what has been borrowed- not likely to be returned, and what we got rid of before we moved and then moved again.

I know for certain that its about time Skoora and I have a decent set of mixing bowls. Since I gave away our old dishes, we will need set. I like that the set to the left has 45 pieces but I don't know that I necessarily want white. Sure white will go with anything and everything, but I kind want something fun. Yet, I don't want something that can be dated or too heavy. Of course it seems silly to have a 45 piece set of dishes for two people except that we like to entertain and I really want to have holiday dinners at my house.

Of course I would love to have a KitchenAid Mixer but they are so expensive that I will just be content with a hand mixer for now... Assuming I still have one. At one time I had two and I'm not entirely sure how that happened. Also, since I will most certainly be on a tiny mission to start making cakes again, I thought picking up this cake decorating pen thing would be a good idea. My hands shake at the worst moments so it would be really nice to have a little more support when it comes to holding the icing bags.

And I will most certainly be doing this kind of organization in our next place! Why we weren't doing this before is beyond me.

Oh and thanks to my parents, I was able to get my car into the shop. It has been fixed and is just waiting for me to pick it up.

Music and a few other things.

Good news on the car front. It is only going to cost me $350 to fix it. YAY! That's so much better than what I was dreading.

Lately, there has been some unrest within my alliance in Guildwars. How do you not have issues where tons of people are involved, even small groups, especially where  only text is involved? You don't. Well, a few people were annoyed with the alliance leader and decided to leave the alliance. There was an issue with how they left, which, I agree was not handled in the best of ways. Those that left wanted my Dad and I to join them. I thought it over and talked to my Dad about it. We decided to sit on it for a few days. As it turns out, I don't think we will be leaving the Alliance to join theirs. There are some things going on in their alliance that I don't like. Sure it's one person but that person is also having a friend still within my alliance spy on me and other active players. I don't like that. So, I think we will simply remain friends with those who have left and play with them when there is an occasion.

I have been blogging a little bit today. I wrote a couple blog posts for Detangled Writer's. I wanted to work on a draft for this blog, but I just didn't feel up to today. My back has been hurting and I've had to shift my position from laying down to sitting up several times and never seem to be able to stay in one position long enough to be comfortable to write the lengthy blog that's waiting to be written.

On to music! I have mentioned it before and I'm sure I will again many many times, that my favorite internet radio station was taken off the air a couple of years ago. Since then I have had the worst time trying to find something to supplement. You know how you just find the right mix of things and it feels good and you can relax but not be distracted in weird way? Well this radio station was a mix of Gothic Rock, Love Metal, Industrial, Gothic Metal, Dark Wave, and New Wave. It was awesome! Of course I listened to other things too, like Jpop and JRock, my movie and anime soundtracks, and Radio Rivendell which does fantasy music and soundtracks. I also listened to Traditional Chinese music when  the mood struck me. But all in all that station was on almost 24-7. I wrote to the music playing the airwaves, slept to it, and listened to it while doing just about everything else.

Pandora sort of helps. I have two stations I can flip between. It's not the same but it's helping me get to a place where things feel right, enough to gain a little confidence in writing. Maybe that doesn't make sense to anyone else, but it does to me and that's all that matters.

Oh, I donated plasma yesterday and am going again tomorrow. It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it was going too. Better yet, the phlebotomist who hooked me up to the machine was really good. Even though she had to dig a little to catch my rolly-poly vein, she got it, didn't blow it, and it didn't hurt. I am going to keep donating plasma for as long as I can. Sure I like getting money out of it, who doesn't, but I also like that I am helping someone, especially since I am not an organ donor. I've caught shit from people for not being one. People have unfairly made me feel uncomfortable as if I was some horrible person for not being one. Do Not EVER tell me what to do with my body now or after I am dead. I have my reasons and if I choose to become an organ donor in the future, I will do it in my own time.    

The cats are doing well, except for all three of them needing baths. Galen has been pretty clingy today. Ellie is snoring happily beside me and I have no idea where Yoda went but he had a treat today, some ice cream. I gave him just a tiny bit  and then let Galen lick the bowl so he'd have a little bit of a treat as well. The cats all love to curl up on my bed but I think they like it even more so now since we have two fans going and the room dark. It's so hot that I closed the blinds and the curtains. I am thinking of buying another fan and putting a blanket over the window.