Consider the day made.

The lovely Sauntering Soul has bestowed upon me the above two awards, and I am deeply flattered. Thanks, SS! I think we could be friends in real life, too. And my day (week) needed some making! (I'm also considering making the Hot Brazilian Magical Miracle Tea this weekend, just for general wellness purposes! Can't hurt, right?) I will pass the awards on to an additional 10-13 bloggers, per instructions, at some point.

First, though...let's discuss the good and the bad in my life, okay? It's kind of been a crappy few days, so I feel the need to remind myself there is good, as well.

The good? Rover seems to feel better, I think. His appetite has always been hearty, but I think now his eyes look a little brighter, and his energy level is good. I've done some googling of feline heartworms (of course), and it seems that if we can keep him alive for a couple of years, he may outlive the heartworms, and essentially be "cured."

The bad news, of course, is that even with treatment, at any point a heartworm could dislodge and move into just the wrong spot in his heart or lungs, and he will be instantly dead. That thought makes MY heart spasm, of course, but since there's not a damn thing I can do about it, we're just going to keep on keeping on, and know that, if that does happen, it will at least be a quick and painless death. (Always looking for the silver lining, you know.)

Remember my friend with lung cancer, for whom the "litter box brigade" has been scooping since October? Send good thoughts/vibes/prayers her way, if you can. She's been back in the hospital for a while now. They did a procedure to try and open her esophagus (which was badly burned by the radiation) so she could swallow more easily, and hopefully avoid having to go into the hospital so often for nutrients, but though it seems to have helped her swallowing, it's also done something to restrict her breathing, and she's having a very hard time. They also found another spot of cancer, so she'll have to do even more radiation in a few weeks. It's so sad going into her quiet house, and seeing all those little furry faces, clearly hoping it's her this time. And, of course, since I am also a multiple pet owner who lives alone, it's like seeing one of my nightmares come true. What if that happens to me? Who would care for MY critters? Sigh.

Moving on.

New Guy finally feels better! The root canal pain is finally pretty much gone, he's chewing without pain...and then a couple of days ago his wallet was stolen out of his locked classroom. (That damned school is going to chase him out of town yet.) So he's been dealing with all of that hassle (much better than I would be, truthfully), but we managed to squeeze some time in together the last couple of days (and I made him borrow some cash to fill his tank and have money for snacks, 'cause I'm nice like that), which is good, since now he feels well enough to go see his kids this weekend. (He had to miss last weekend, 'cause he just couldn't drive all drugged up like he was.) And that's good for him and the kids, of course, but means it's another weekend alone for me. Sigh.

But the good news is, my tax refund has been sitting in my bank account for a couple of days now, and I didn't spend the WHOLE thing at the vet, so maybe there could be just a little bit of gratuitous shopping this weekend. And Sunday, we're having a meeting of the "drink and bitch" club, which will include an "earring exchange," where everyone brings earrings they no longer want, for the others to paw through. (A couple of months ago we did the same thing with makeup. We may next do it with purses.)

I'm having trouble with this particular concept, though. "Earrings I no longer want." I understand these words individually, of course...but they don't make sense to me strung together like that. EARRINGS that I NO LONGER WANT. What strange nonsense is this? I am a certified earringophile, and there is no such thing as earrings I don't want. I HAVE 8 HOLES IN MY EARS TO MAXIMIZE MY EARRING WEARING ABILITY, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. I do now, in my middle-aged years, reserve the top two holes on each side for tasteful diamond studs, which I wear every day, but otherwise...I change up my earrings every day. To coordinate with my outfit. Apparently, there are people who find one pair they like and wear the SAME ONES EVERY DAY, but I do not understand these people. Several members have made the claim that they intend to leave with fewer earrings than they bring, and I'm sure I can bring myself to help those people out, if necessary. 'Cause I'm thoughtful like that. (And depending on their taste in earrings, of course...I may be an earring whore, but I'm a discriminating earring whore.)

And, for those who may be wondering about the phrase "in my middle-aged years," well...let's just say I was slightly more flamboyant when I was younger, and I sometimes wore a different dangly earring in each hole. Of course, I only had SIX holes then, but you could still hear me coming. "Clink, clink, clink." Ah, youth. Maybe some time I'll tell you about the time we sterilized a sewing needle with Bacardi 151 at a party, and how I thus acquired hole number six. Good times. Heh.

Today it has been exactly five months since I opened the door to see New Guy standing on my porch, and subsequently broke every "safe internet dating" rule in the book. The last month has been a little rough here and there, but mostly it's been quite a ride, and I look forward to seeing what comes next. I think. (Shut up, little insecure voice in my head!) It will be what it will be. (Thanks, little Zen voice in my head!) No expectations. I will simply attempt to relax, and breathe, and enjoy the trip.

Umm...you all have little conflicting voices in YOUR heads, too, right? Right?

In other news, I have been asked to take part in the "Fridiron" show for the press club again this year, and plans are already being made to mercilessly skewer the Spears family--as in Britney, Jamie-Lynn and Mama. (To the tune of "We are Family.") Plus it's an election cycle, with all that ammunition for mocking. Sounds fun, no? Hee.

Have a wonderful weekend! It's going to be close to 60 degrees here this weekend, so even if all I did was sit at home and mope, it would be good. Cold weather is for the birds. Of the flightless, formally dressed variety, of course.