A few of my favorite Daisy things...

I adopted Daisy from a local cat shelter in January 2001, when she was about 10 weeks old. I went to the shelter looking for a black cat...but found this adorable black and white kitty with super long whiskers and green eyes. She had me at meow.

Some of the funnier/endearing things Daisy did:

• She purred as loud as an outboard motor. As a kitten, the purr was bigger than the cat.
• When she was a kitten, Daisy would sleep at the foot of my bed, under the covers. She was my own personal foot warmer.
• When it was just the two of us (before Gatsby and the rest of the family came into the picture), Daisy was my 'feline alarm clock.' Every morning she would lick my forehead when it was time to wake up. Nothing like sandpaper kisses to wake you up.
• Whenever I was reading (or studying for the bar exam) Daisy would curl up on the magazine, book, newspaper I had in front of me as if to say "Hi. Remember me? I'd like some attention now, please."
• As a kitten, she would run through my apartment and then jump on the front window screen, hanging on for dear life with her claws. Very cute.
  
• Some of her favorite things to eat at one point or another: McDonald's fries, milkshakes, spaghetti, and of course...the milk left in my cereal bowl.
• Ever the Alpha female of the household pets, when I adopted Gatsby in April 2001, Daisy scared her so much that Gatsby hid under a bed for about 4 hours. After that they were the best of friends.
• Daisy had these adorable fangs -- her top incisors were so long...they really looked like fangs. But it was so cute. Sadly, they had to be pulled a few years ago when she lost all of her upper teeth.
• Daisy used to sleep in the bathroom sink. I would come home from work and find her curled up in the sink. Very odd. She and Gatsby also used to play in the bathtub.
  
• No matter where she was in the house, as soon as Daisy heard the can opener she would come running into the kitchen...because the sound of the can opener meant TUNA! And tuna was one of her favorite things. [Imagine her disappointment when it wasn't tuna, but was a can of green beans, instead!]
  
• When Kevin and I brought Mollie (the dog) into the mix, Daisy once again had to show her who was boss. She would trap Mollie in a corner and hiss at her...of course, Mollie tried to fight back. They never did have a great relationship (I think Mollie really wanted to be the Alpha!)
• Daisy loved to curl up on my lap and give me love -- she'd purr like crazy, pawing my face and neck and then the kissing would start. Honestly, she'd give you a bath if you let her.
  
• When I was pregnant with Olivia, I think Daisy had some jealousy issues. She would (1) drape herself over my belly and purr loudly and (2) she slept in the crib from the day we set it up until the day we put Olivia in it. Then, Daisy never went near the crib again (although, my mother-in-law was convinced that Daisy would suffocate the baby..because that's what cats do. HA!)
• Daisy was a bit of a thief...she would go into my purse (or diaper bag) and pull out Kleenex, paper, money...and then I would find the 'stolen' items in her water dish.
  
• At any given holiday where giftwrap was involved, you could find Daisy buried at the bottom of the discarded wrapping paper...hiding. It was very adorable.
  
• As sweet as she was, if you were a stranger...beware! Daisy would growl and hiss and look at you as if to say "what in the HELL are you doing in MY house with MY people?" Because of course, it was her house...we just happened to live there.
  

Daisy

Daisy Mae
November 2000 - February 2009

I'm very sad tonight, having said 'good-bye' to my Daisy.

Daisy was my first kitty. I adopted her from a cat shelter when she was just a wee little kitten. She used to have these adorable fang-like eye teeth (until she had all her upper teeth pulled 3 years ago). When she purred, she sounded like a motorboat...totally adorable. And she was so cuddly....she would just curl up on my lap and paw my face with her little kitty feet. She was also very temperamental, moody and would let you know (loudly) that she was angry or irritated. If you were a stranger to her...you should prepare to be hissed at, with some growling thrown in for good measure. But if she liked you....prepare to be kissed to death. Oh, and if you were reading a book and not paying attention to her...Daisy would lay on top of the book. If you were eating cereal, she would paw at the bowl until you gave up the milk.

But lately, Daisy just wasn't acting like Daisy. She'd been having some health issues for the last two years, and the vet (finally) diagnosed her with 'diabetes insipidus' (which is also called 'water diabetes'). Basically, her body was unable to filter the water she consumed and she peed everywhere. All the time. All she did was drink water (think uncontrollable thirst) and then she would pee -- everywhere but in the litter box.

I think the diabetes had been going on for quite some time...but had just recently progressed to being REALLY bad. There was nothing that could have been done to reverse it or stop the progression of the disease, and essentially the vet said she would just get worse and could die of dehydration if she was unable to find water (for example..if we were gone for more than a day).

And so, to end her suffering and save her any further pain and illness, I chose to have her euthanized. Do I feel horrible about the choice? Yes. Do I think it was the right and humane thing to do? Yes.

And so, I went (with my sister) to the vet's to say good-bye to my Daisy....

....and boy was that cat pissed!

For about 20 minutes I tried to coax her out of the cage so I could hold her...but all she did was hiss and growl and scream (yes, cats can scream) at me. I told her that I was sorry...and that I loved her. I wasn't able to stay with her as they put her to sleep...because they were going to have to sedate her first (she was that angry and out of control).

I came home and told Olivia that Daisy had to go to heaven. I have no idea if she understood or not. Emma is too young to realize what happened. And then, I told Gatsby (our other cat) what happened. Yes, I talk to my cats (cat)..sue me. Gatsby has been sad ever since I took Daisy to the vet yesterday afternoon. But, they were very close ... so I think Gatsby is going to be sad for a while too.

This may be too much info to share...but I also chose to have Daisy cremated and have her ashes returned to me. I couldn't bear the thought of them dumping her in some mass grave at a pet cemetary. How horrible. She was part of this family...and should be treated as such, even after she's gone.

So, Daisy Mae...I'm sorry you were so sick and I'm sorry you were suffering...but know that you were loved. Very, very much.

Waffles? Pancakes? Why not both!?!

This is seriously the coolest kitchen gadget ever!

Introducing the Nordic Ware Waffle Pancake Pan!

It makes pancakes that LOOK like waffles!

Brilliant!!!!
Yours for only $39.95 @ Williams-Sonoma!

UPDATE 3/8/09:
I purchased this yesterday, along w/ the
WS pancake mix. The pan is relatively easy to use,
and the pancakes cook quickly. A few things to note:
they only look like waffles on one side, really. After
flipping the "paffles" (I just made that up!), the other
side doesn't really have the indentations. But they
are still really cute. And tasty. I only had one "mishap"
with the first pancake I tried to flip. :)

In case you were wondering, Big Brother IS watching...

Perhaps this isn't news to anyone else, but I found this Web site today and was surprised at how much information it gave me.

It's called Pipl (prounced 'people'). You can use it to search for anyone.

I searched my name...holy crap, Batman...there's a lot of stuff out there. It listed my Facebook page, my MySpace page, anytime my name was mentioned in a local blog or newspaper. So yeah, pretty much EVERYTHING is out there.

Go here.

Sites like these are why I couldn't quite understand all the hubbub about the whole TOS changes at Facebook. There isn't much about us that is "private" anymore -- the Internet has made certain of that. People, your names are all over the Web. Don't believe me? Google yourself. You'll see. Hell, I can Google my maiden name and still find the articles I wrote as a reporter 15 years ago.

And here's an interesting tidbit: I only found this Web site because one of my coworkers was telling me that her husband's company uses it to search potential job candidates. Yeah. Just one more reason why your Facebook page settings should be set to PRIVATE. Because even though Pipl listed my FB page, it was listed as private and one has to 'friend' me in order to see it.

Big Brother is watching friends....but I don't know that there's much we can do about it.

Why is this necessary?

So, the Academy Awards are Sunday night. Ah, the Oscars...the dresses, the red carpet, the swag suites and gifting lounges.

What's that? Never heard of a swag suite? Well, let's review: Swag suites are rooms, sponsored by various companies, filled to the gills with expensive gifts...all for the taking, all free. Freebies for the one group of people who don't need anything handed to them.

Read more here.

So, in the midst of the worst job loss numbers in 34 years, an economy that keeps failing, and whatever other fresh economic hell awaits us tomorrow or the next day....Hollywood is once again spoiling itself.

I'm irritated by it all. I've never understood why celebrities need to be given expensive gifts. Basically they just walk into one of these suites and they can grab anything their little hearts desire. Trips, phones, jewelry, bags. All FREE.

You have to wonder if these celebs even have the slightest sense of guilt or "gosh, I feel so blessed to have all of this" when they're in these gifting lounges.

You also have to wonder why no one has said 'enough!' and decided that maybe instead of 'taking', these celebs should consider 'giving.'

Yeah, that's right. I said giving. Instead of swag suites, why not have charity suites -- where celebs can raise money for charities of their choice and help out those who are less fortunate. Instead of just giving this crap away, why not have silent auctions for the swag? And then give all that money to charity?

I'm just sayin'....instead of helping themselves, perhaps the celebs should be helping out the less fortunate. That would make a much better story.

My valentines....

The girls...at the Toledo Museum of Art.

I could have bought a Kia Rio with that money!

OK, so the hubby and I are preparing our tax documents to hand over to our accountant (read: my dad....also known as Super CPA).

Anyway....the last document we needed was the tax form from our daycare. It states exactly how much money we paid last year to have our children cared for while we worked. I damn near choked on my coffee when I saw the number.

$14, 200!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, kids...you read that right. Fourteen THOUSAND two hundred dollars.

Holy shit Batman. That's a lot of money.
And, the girls only go part-time. Four days a week, from 7:30 am until 3 pm.

Crap almighty.

I could have purchased a small foreign automobile for that kind of cash. That amount of cash would buy about 3,000 grande lattes at Starbucks. [I think. I'm not THAT good at math].

Anyway....I'm just FLOORED at how much it costs families when it comes to childcare. It's absolutely ridiculous that it should cost almost $15,000 a year for daycare.

I could go on and on about the cost....but I won't. I just wanted to share my shock of the day.

Is it just me....

...or is there a typo in today's Vimrod?

Nonethless?

Or is it Nonetheless?

In the last 10 days....

...nothing blog-worthy has happened.

Hence, my total lack of blogging lately.

I haven'te felt inspired to share my wit with anyone (because I'm so witty).
Apologies all around.

I'm in a funk, I think. This whole not-going-to-have-my-job after June 30th is really getting me down. Add to that the fact that it's STILL winter (despite the near 60 degree temps that are forecast for tomorrow), and the fact that I still need to lost 30 pounds (and am seriously lacking the motivation to do so)...and well, you've got a funk.

I keep thinking of posts to write about my job....but as I start to write them in my head, it just sounds as if I'm throwing a big pity party for myself and that's just not right.

Yes, it sucks that my job is going away because of stupid budget cuts.
Yes, people keep saying "oh that's so not fair"...tell me something I don't know.

But I think what is really bothering me is this: it feels like an epic failure in my book. Here I am, 36 years old (as of Thursday) and I am going to once again be unemployed. No job. And, no career.

Yeah, that's right....there's the rub: No career.

That's what is making this so much worse.
I don't have a career.
Right now I have a job....but it's not a career.
And yes, there is a difference -- at least in my mind.

I have friends who have "careers" -- lawyers, teachers, journalists....things they have chosen as their career path and STUCK WITH.

Me? Let's see...I've been a newspaper reporter, an association executive, a college instructor and now an editor. Nope, no career path there. I tried to get on the path to a career -- twice. First it was working as a reporter...which was OK if you eliminated the editor, assistant editor and location of the job. Next, I went to law school...which would have been great had I been able to actually PASS the bar exam.

And so here I am....with a collection of jobs on my resume...but no career.

It might not seem like such a big deal to others...but to me, it is a big deal. Ugh. Anyway...I've vented and now I'm going to stop before people start to think I'm feeling sorry for myself. I'm not....I'm just pissed off.