Advice, please.

Advice, please. Alabama is having 1000-2000ish new cases of COVID every day. Calhoun County is now a high-risk area. Kira's glasses prescription is out of date and she's having trouble seeing, so we need to fix that.

1) How safe / unsafe do you think it is to have an eye exam at this time? Even masked, they have to get pretty close to you.

2) Where is the best place in the area to go for an eye exam without insurance? We've been avoiding Wal-Mart for obvious reasons. Maybe America's Best would be less crowded and more affordable?

Help us out, please and thank you.

Edited because I accidentally misspoke about our numbers.

Chilling with my boys:

Chilling with my boys: Tobi, Scar, and Balthazar. I get cat - piled every morning while I have my tea. No complaints here; they're nice and warm. 😊

Guess who just applied to graduate in December!

Guess who just applied to graduate in December!

This mammal right here!  😁😁😁

He's not wrong.

I PASSED ABSTRACT ALGEBRA!!!

I PASSED ABSTRACT ALGEBRA!!!

🎉🎈😲😲😲😁😁😁🎈🎉

Now there's just one class between me and graduation / my double major:  Differential Equations.  I love Calculus and I'll be ready, so BRING IT ON!  🤓😁🤓😁🤓

This WindowSwap brought me to tears.

This WindowSwap brought me to tears. Someone has a good old goof who just wandered up with that dish towel. My life is incomplete without a dog friend.

I mean... 😂😂😂

This.

I just finished my final.

Trying to scrounge up a little bit of zen...

Trying to scrounge up a little bit of zen before this exam goes down.

I have my Abstract final today.

I have my Abstract final today. Looks like Alabama set a new 'Rona record with 2283 cases today. I am not feeling 100%.

Good times. /sarcasm

My hormones are out of whack.

My hormones are out of whack.  Two days ago I felt like watering plants but crapped out before I could.  So I napped, then woke up to it raining and was SO FURIOUS about that rain.  Like, I seethed and bitched for hours.  I had nothing planned outside and my plants live indoors.  It didn't affect me, logically.  But emotionally - that was a WHOLE different story.

Yesterday, I did water some plants and moved some babies around.  That went ok, but my body hurts from being in the floor for most of the day.  My sleep schedule is WHACK so I didn't fall asleep until almost 7 this morning.  When I got up I watched my last 4 abstract algebra lectures.  I thought I had a quiz today, but it was cancelled.  My final is on Thursday.  I hope I pass this class because it has NOT been fun.

I miss my family and with the COVID numbers increasing in our counties I'm scared for them.  I'm not having a good time, mental-health wise.  I don't know when I ever am lately, but this pandemic isn't helping.  I hope everyone is staying safe and masking up.  It's a small thing to do to save lives.

I had a little bit of energy yesterday...

Bastian ❤️

Since I'm still running on E I'm budgeting my energy.

Since I'm still running on E I'm budgeting my energy. I feel a bit better today emotionally, but I haven't been sleeping well. I have finals next week and my anxiety is high, so that's probably why. I continue to have nightmares that I won't graduate and they don't seem to ease up the closer I get to finishing school. In fact, it feels like the opposite is happening.

Also, Adrian (cat) doesn't seem to be doing well and was being picked on by two of the other cats. We've moved her to Nom's (tortoise) room so she can get some rest. We took her to the vet last week and she got a shot and an eye cream prescription. I hope she feels better soon. If not, I guess we'll have to take her back.

I'm sorry to anyone I haven't replied to, and I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to say that I would be there for my friends, as well, if they need me / need to talk. It's not that I don't want to be, but I just can't right now. I have to use what energy I have to finish out this semester and take care of myself and my family, (animals included, of course).

Take care and be well. ❤️

Shaun just made popcorn.

I find myself budgeting my energy the last couple of days.

I find myself budgeting my energy the last couple of days.  Today I woke up at 11.  It took me until 5:30 to finally make myself some food.  It then took encouragement from Shaun for me to feed my animals and clean my litter boxes (my only two daily chores).  After I did those things (which take all of 15 minutes, tops), I was then so exhausted that I went to bed and slept for 4 hours.  I've been up for a little while.  The kids came by again and it was nice to see them.  Now it's time for math.

There was a recent post of mine that someone commented on in a failed attempt to make me see their view.  I didn't have the energy to participate in that as much as I felt I should have, so I just wanted to thank my friends for showing up.  To all of you who had my back, thank you and I appreciate you.  I'm really sorry that I didn't have more to say, but as I am in the throws of depression a Facebook post just couldn't be a priority.  I know you understand.

On that note:  I have to go and watch some lectures before I crap out again.  I have an exam on Thursday, I believe.  Until my depression lifts I'll be budgeting my energy and hanging in there.  I hope you all are well.  And just in case you forgot, Black Lives Matter.

I woke up around 10.

I woke up around 10.  Shaun made lasagna and we ate it.  We watched the movie "Best in Show" and I otherwise sat here being a lump until Kira messaged me wanting Zebra Cakes.  Despite it being like 2 in the morning the kids came over.  Kira brought taco salad she'd made.  It was good.

We chatted and almost always when the kids are over, we end up on YouTube.  Kira showed us a freestyle video by Mystikal.  Then me and Shaun were like "Have you heard any of his old stuff?"  So down that rabbit hole we went.

Now I'm crashing again, but for a while today my heart was happy.  Shadow and Kira are my favorite people and when us four are together it's the best feeling.  I know that Shaun and I don't have a conventional relationship with the kids, but we wouldn't change it for the world.

And on that note I'm heading back to bed.  Gotta get up some energy to do school tomorrow.

I've been slowly sinking for about 2 weeks.

I've been slowly sinking for about 2 weeks. Today I slept until 4 and now I'm back in bed. Hello, depression. Let's do this so I can move past you for a bit.

The only problem I have with being short...

The only problem I have with being short - not enough lap to go around. 😂😂😂

In case anyone missed Nom...

In case anyone missed Nom... He wanted attention tonight. He's such a good boy.

We were awoken at 5 this morning by a giant limb...

We were awoken at 5 this morning by a giant limb (about 7 inches in diameter, I'm guesstimating 30 feet long, plus branches) falling on the house. I didn't sleep well after that and woke up with a tension headache. Shaun was able to cut the limb into pieces and remove it from the roof with minimal damage, thank goodness. But I'm getting a late start on getting anything done because I've felt so crappy. I had trouble getting back to sleep after the blast of adrenaline I got when it sounded like the house was coming down. I'm off to feed my animals. I'm shocked that I don't hear tantrums since it's so late in the day.

OMG, M*A*S*H is on Hulu.

Yesterday I felt pretty good and even went walking.

Yesterday I felt pretty good and even went walking.  I saw a groundhog and a turtle!  I came home and watched my lectures and felt good about that.

Today I didn't get anything done.  I guess that's a lie - I napped.  We took Adrian (cat) to the vet.  She's missing her top fangs and we just wanted to make sure she is ok (she is).  There were no lectures posted, so it's not like I slacked terribly on school, but I could have done more homework or something and I didn't.

I feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster.  I can't wait to be finished with school.  The amount of anxiety it causes me is exhausting by itself, but this pandemic type of anxiety is next-level.  Also, I am REALLY HOPING that JSU keeps classes online for the fall semester.  I do not feel willing or able to go into a public space 2 or 3 times / week.  That feels like the wrong thing to do and I don't want to do it.

Anyway.  I hope you all are wearing masks and social distancing and being safe.  Well, I know from posts that a lot of you aren't, but I hope none of your loved ones die because of it.  Be well!

Ok, so I don't enjoy being touched as a general rule.

Ok, so I don't enjoy being touched as a general rule. It's usually physically pretty uncomfortable. I super hate being caressed or rubbed or massaged. Animals have the right idea; snuggling on or next to me without a lot of movement is great.

Scar just laid down with me and put a paw on my hand. I told Shaun it felt glowy and he didn't know what I meant. It doesn't tickle. It's not goosebumps. It's warm and really pleasant and when this happens I don't want to move because that'll ruin it. I could almost say my skin is horny or happy. I don't know how else to describe it, but it's a feeling I've gotten on and off throughout my life and I guess I never really tried to verbalize it before. I get this feeling from various situations; it's not exclusive to animals or even living things. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Shaun sure doesn't.

Abstract Algebra lectures got us like:

Abstract Algebra lectures got us like:

Despite feeling down I did my laundry and showered.

Despite feeling down I did my laundry and showered.  The kids came over and we had dinner and a game night.  I needed that.

I've been struggling with depression for the last couple of days.

Stay home. Stay masked. Black lives matter.

I'm feeling better physically, but mentally / emotionally is another story. I wish everyone would take the pandemic seriously. Calhoun and Talladega counties are both considered high risk now and that's where most of my friends and family live.

The only thing that is giving me hope are the kids. I know how badly they want to be out enjoying themselves (especially during a holiday), but they know it's not worth the risk. I am so grateful that they are making responsible choices. Shadow and Kira really are the best and we love them so much.

Stay home. Stay masked. Black lives matter.

Shaun made dinner for me. It was so good!

Shaun made dinner for me. It was so good!

Today started off great...

Today started off great with a video chat from Janet. The rest of the day was math and then an exam. My body hurts from sitting and my brain is mush. I'm calling it a night!