Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Starting the new year - "feet up"...

Chuck asked me to do a New Year's post yesterday and I didn't... had to think of what to write. But after today, I have plenty to write about - will try to be brief...

First, one of our three cats, Spike, became suddenly ill two days after Christmas. We kept an eye on him all day and I finally called the vet b/c he was NOT okay. The vet was about to close, but he kindly stayed to check out Spike before he went home. THANK GOD!!!

To save you the "fun" details of his illness, let's just say Spike would not have survived had I not taken him to the vet. He is STILL at the vet and will be there until Thursday (so we are told). He is doing much better and we are very relieved. The kids were pretty upset. We were honest about how sick he was and that he may have to go to Heaven. Fortunately, we don't have to do a kitty cat funeral any time soon!

Next issue: We took the kids shopping today about an hour from home. I had Toys R Us gift cards (from LAST Christmas - ooops!) and they each got to pick out $20 in toys. They were thrilled! After 90 minutes of Geoffery torture, we got some lunch and then went to the mall. Did some more shopping - the kids were not real happy for most of it, but we survived. Chuck and I had fun! Then we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. I think Chuck actually has more fun than the kids, but we all had a good time.

We headed home much later than I wanted to (school/work starts again tomorrow) and on our glorious drive home in blizzard-like snow in the back hills of western PA, I hit a FREAKIN' DEER!!!! It flew up in front of the car - feet UP - and almost landed on the hood. I managed to only say a few cuss words (which Creighton kindly reminded me I said). About 4 other cars stopped - two people asked if we were okay - the other two were hoping to get a dead deer to take home. The deer was in the road, kicking, trying to get up. I was freaking out (internally) and trying to calm myself down so the kids wouldn't freak. Needless to say, we are all okay - I'm still a bit shook up - it's the first time I ever hit a deer. Good times! Since Chuck didn't have his gun and we had no knife to kill the deer and put it out of its misery, Chuck called 911 to report the deer in the road. Again, we were in the back hills and not exactly sure where we were. At Chuck's request, I put the car in reverse so I could back up and put the lights on the deer so no one would hit it and get into an accident. As I was backing up I noticed something strange... the deer was GONE! I guess it managed to get up and stumble away. And... I drove home white-knuckled, scanning the road, trying not to jump at every leaf that blew across the road. Again... good times!

So, now that I have finished grad school and I will actually get PAID to work, my first month's paycheck will pay the vet bill and our deductible for the car to get fixed. At least, I hope my paycheck covers it!

By the way, Chuck had an epiphany for a tattoo. We have been throwing around ideas - let us know your vote!

1. "Best before June 21, 2005!"
2. "Loses potency if exposed to extreme heat and pressure!"
3. "Best before date on can!"

So I will close this post with a heart full of well-wishes and blessings to you all in 2008!

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