I'm in this photo and i don't like it. 😂😂😂

I'm in this photo and i don't like it. 😂😂😂

An update and a grievance aired:

An update and a grievance aired:

We started to suspect that Sindar (cat) had a UTI because we found some bloody spots in what we think was her pee.  It's alarming to see, but we went though this with Booka (dearly departed doggie) and know that it is common in older pets so we didn't freak out; we just made her a vet appointment.  Because of her age we wanted to get her in ASAP, so I called Animal Medical Center (the clinic that is usually open on weekends) on Saturday to get her an appointment.  They were already closed, so I called again on Sunday and they said that due to a staff shortage they are only seeing emergencies / urgent patients on the weekend and that they could see her Monday (yesterday) morning.

We took her to the appointment.  Here is the grievance:  Despite us being very clear why we were there, the vet tells us he thinks that she has an ear infection and wants to test for that.  He tells us he thinks the urination and bloody spots are due to anxiety from moving (Sindar was the first cat that Shaun brought over here, so I feel like that is unlikely), and of course wants to test her ears, urine, and blood.  We're like "Ok.  I guess we could have missed signs of an ear infection."  Turns out that she didn't have an ear infection but of course we got to pay for that test.  Then he sent home 3 medications plus a flea medication (she doesn't have fleas and that wasn't even mentioned).

I'm just irritated.  This same doctor did a similar thing when he saw Faith before.  I feel like he makes up shit to get us to pay for tests; he makes us second-guess our pet-parenting and since we want them to be ok we just go with it.  Then when the tests come back negative we've got confirmation that the thing wasn't wrong and he's got our money.  But when we need someone to see a pet fast, Animal Medical Center is our go-to because they are usually open the longest hours and on weekends.

Anyway, Sindar was sent home with anti-anxiety medication, an antibiotic, and something that didn't even look like a legit medication that was supposed to help with inflammation because she pooped and peed while she was there and there was no blood in her urine, but a spot of blood in her poop although a test for worms was negative.  We gave her the medications last night and decided to allow her in our bedroom and bathroom / laundry area since she's the eldest.  I'm not usually fond of sleeping with animals but I'll do it for our old girl.

We woke up this morning and she was drunk as hell.  It would have been funny except that it wasn't.  We decided that since she's in a cat-less area we would not be giving her the anti-anxiety anymore.  We know our cats and she didn't seem anxious before so with her being alone in a quiet area that she likes to be in she is definitely not anxious now.  We'll give her the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory since there was blood in her poop and hopefully that will help.  The doctor was supposed to call us today with the results of her bloodwork but we haven't heard anything.  I will call them tomorrow, I guess.

In other cat news:  I took Tobi and Adrian for their steroid shots today.  It's SUPER FUN driving with two unhappy cats in the car so they can cry in stereo.  😂😂😂  On the bright side Dr. Long's office is running so efficiently that we were in and out in no time.  I was thinking about asking Dr. Long if I could start picking up the shots and injecting the cats myself (I've done this before), but I didn't see him.  But from the new house to his office is a long drive and it's something we'll have to do monthly so it would be a lot easier to do errands and such in town without unhappy cats in tow.

Well, that's all I have right now.  I tried potting some plants and barely got anything done.  One of the cats got into my utility sink and when I was getting him out I knocked a freshly potted plant into the cat fountain.  I had to stop and clean that out because the cats probably shouldn't drink potting soil water.  That was time-consuming.  Then Shaun had dinner finished and I ate it and now I just want to sleep.  I probably shouldn't, but I bet a Sindar kitty could use some cuddles.  🙂

I'm off, friends.  I hope your day was good.

Been moving stuff today.

Plant shelf in progress.

Plant shelf in progress.

When you see it, leave a 😂.

Update:

Update:

Nom came out to eat yesterday. He walked around for a bit. Maybe he just needed to know he was missed. I don't know, but I'm keeping a close eye on him.

Sindar looks like she might have a UTI. I called the vet that we normally use on the weekends and they are only doing emergency visits today. She has an appointment for tomorrow morning.

Tobi didn't throw up again yesterday so that's great. I'll call his regular doctor when they open tomorrow and get him an appointment ASAP.

Shaun got magnetic closures installed on the lower cabinets yesterday. I got the upper ones contact-papered and lined, and put away the dishes that Shaun brought home. He also brought Anansi home, so I'm happy about that.

I woke up this morning to a bad headache. I think it's hormonal. I've taken Tylenol twice already and it's not helping. I'm about to take a nap.

A pipe in the well burst (we're guessing last night). We have city water in the house so we're fine, but the basement and garage got a relatively small bit of water in them. More to deal with so that sucks, but we're really glad it wasn't worse.

That's all I have right now. I gotta go deal with my head. I still have a lot to do, but I'm not doing anything else until I feel better. 😕

We're having a rough animal day here. 🙁

We're having a rough animal day here.  🙁

To start it off, Tobi (cat) needs a steroid shot regularly or else he vomits uncontrollably.  I made an appointment for his shot and he was going to be seen the 24th very early in the morning, but we didn't make it to his appointment.  We were EXHAUSTED from moving stuff and slept through our alarms.  He's usually ok going for slightly longer than monthly, so I figured I would get him in early this coming up week.  Unfortunately, he started throwing up this morning.  Poor guy.  He's going to be getting some wet food and TLC for the next few days.

After that I heard one of the kitchen cabinet doors slamming.  Sindar (the eldest cat) likes to go in there to hide so I didn't think much of it.  I was heading into the kitchen and it smelled AWFUL.  Shaun was making an upset face and said "I think someone shit in there."  Thankfully, we haven't moved our food / dishes into the cabinets yet so it wasn't hard to clean, but it turns out that someone peed, pooped, and puked up a hairball in there.  Me (being the smallest person in the house) got the super fun job of cramming myself into the cabinets to clean it up.

It would be alarming if it was any other cat, but Sindar is very old and despite multiple trips to the vet has had issues with her potty habits in the past.  Nothing is ever physically found wrong with her and we have multiple litter boxes, all of which we keep clean.  The vet believes it is behavioral.  Thankfully, it's not a constant issue.  Regardless, Shaun is buying some cabinet locks today so that at least if it happens again it won't be in such a hard-to-clean area.

While that would be enough going wrong for one day it sadly is not all.  While making my rounds feeding everyone I've found that Nom (large tortoise) looks like he doesn't feel well.  I'm unsure what could be wrong with him; his setup is better than it's ever been in that he's finally spending time in his humid area like he should.  His nose is no longer whistling which is good.  But he's not consistently active and his food doesn't look touched.  I'm going to try to hand feed him in a bit.  Maybe give him a nice warm bath.  I know that moving is a big transition so I'm hoping that's all that's going on with him.  If he doesn't get right pretty soon we'll be taking a trip to the vet.

And finally (jeez, I hope this is the last bad animal thing to happen today), I found my little Koopa (horned lizard) passed away.  🙁  Their life spans are 5-8 years and I got him in 2013 with no indication of his age, so I think he had a pretty good run.  I'd been thinking he looked thin lately and that he probably wasn't long for this world, but I had no way of knowing when his time would come.  He was still eating and enjoying being sprayed with water up until last night.  I am sad but not surprised by his passing.

Well, I am off to bathe a tortoise and then work on the house some more.  I hope you all are doing well.  Not all of us are at the moment, but we're working on it.  That's all we can do.  ❤

Harley is rolling in the candy...

Harley is rolling in the candy from the stockings like he's Scrooge McDuck in a pile of coins. 😂😂😂

This perspective is mind-blowing. Click the link.

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/

Shaun gave me this shirt for Solstice...

Shaun gave me this shirt for Solstice and I am so happy because I've been wanting since I saw it a few years back. Kira made awesome stockings for me, Shaun, and Shadow; she picked all of the right goodies for us. 😃 The kids opened a couple of presents last night, too, and I think they were pretty happy.

Afterwards, we decorated a Gingerbread house. It was kind of a mess, but fun. We also played the Monopoly card game. Shadow came for me, OMG. 😂😂😂 He played a card to get my property and I had a card saying I could refuse so I used it. But he had a card saying he could refuse, too, so he basically Uno-reversed my refusal, took my shit, and won the game! I was not expecting that! Straight savage. 😂😂😂

I can't wait until all of us are completely moved and settled. We're looking forward to having more together times like this, with or without a holiday. ❤️

I took these photos of Nom last night...

I took these photos of Nom last night and I could not help myself. 😂😂😂

Hey, my buddy decided to say hi!

Hey, my buddy decided to say hi!

This is why we call him Nom - he tried to bite that curtain rod a few times before I got to my camera. And once I put his food down he couldn't even wait for his pellets to soften up. He's almost as mouthy as a dog. He's currently nibbling cat food crumbs up off the floor. 😂😂😂

He was super walky his first day here, but we kept him in his new house because we had too much stuff in the floor that he could get into. After that he was either sulking or for once enjoying his humid hide; I really don't know which. He would come out to eat and then go back in there, which was fine by me.

I am determined to help his shell smooth out with humidity and proper diet. He came to me lumpy and I think his diet is healthy (pellets aren't his main diet, but were on hand), but he never would spend much time in his humid area. I'm really happy that he is now because that will be good for him. I am also happy to see him out walking - he's acting like his usual social self and that makes my day. 😊

I moved a laundry basket full of plants yesterday.

I moved a laundry basket full of plants yesterday. I moved this little bit today. I'm hoping that one more trip will do it and then I can move on to less important things like clothing and dishes. 😂😂😂

Also, check out the floor mat Shaun bought for the sun room. It's perfect!

Tfw you're trying to get stuff done...

Tfw you're trying to get stuff done, but your normally chill reptiles JUST WON'T CHILL. They were acting up so I let them out. Oddly, Nom, (the larger tortoise who's usually causing a ruckus), is relaxing in his humid hide for once.

And yes, they both desperately need a bath. It's on my to-do list.

Ooh, I'm not as sore as I thought I would be!

Not a complaint so much as an observation:

Not a complaint so much as an observation:  I am going to be in pain tomorrow.

I worked nonstop from 10 this morning until 8 tonight debugging, bathing, drying, packing, and moving plants, as well as handwashing pots, disassembling my plant shelf and packing it, and packing and moving other stuff in the house. My hands are sore from so much washing, and cactus splinters, and because I'm not used to carrying so much weight. The psoriasis spots I have are raw and bleeding from the friction of so much movement. I really, REALLY did too much today. I'm paying for it now, but tomorrow is going to be a heavy Tylenol / Ibuprofen day. Hopefully, I'll feel ok enough to chill down and repot some of these plants so I will have accomplished something. We'll see.

Goodnight, friends. It was all I could do to stay awake and have dinner and watch a movie with Shaun and the kids. I'm done.

Shaun's lap...

Shaun's lap - featuring Balthazar, Ember, and Harley.

Tonight's special lap guest:

Tonight's special lap guest: Adrian (bottom of the pic). She was a foster failure, and I'm ok with that. She's a lover. I named her after a shelter cat who she resembled and who was also a lover. Every time I cleaned Shelter-Adrian's condo at PetSmart, she would be SO all over me that it was hard to get anything done. When I'd get there and open the condo, she'd walk straight out and CLIMB up me to be held and petted. It was awful in the sweetest way. 😂

Todays Progress:

Todays Progress:

Pardon the mess, but moving is hard.

I brought plant supplies and naked plants and one of my shelves home recently. I managed to put the shelf together and re-hang the lights today, as well as pot most of the naked plants with fancy new dirt. I would give y'all a close-up, but they look pathetic. They were pretty neglected (even by succulent standards), so I'm ashamed of the shape I let them get into. When they get fat and un-limp, I'll be proud to show them off.

P. S.:  Please don't judge my hanging cacti yet. My grow lights just weren't sufficient for their needs, but hopefully these south-facing windows will help them glow up.

Tomorrow I need to get at least another batch of my plants plus the other shelf and lights. I don't plan to keep my shelves full of junk like they are now, but I filled them up purposefully to discourage the cats from trying to get up there. I *thought* I'd stashed a couple of plants somewhere safe overnight and that turned out to be false because we found some leaves in cat vomit and far more plant pieces on the floor than I'm happy about. 😕 That's why the bottom shelf doesn't (and won't) have plants on it. It can hold my dirt bin and supplies and that's fine with me.

I just realized that the outdoor windows are showing a reflection of the room. There is a cat scratchy, our microwave in the middle of the floor because moving 😂😂😂, a rocking, reclining love seat and reclining couch that we threw sheets over so the cats won't mess them up, and the mismatched-in-size cat doors in the kitchen windows. I know it's probably weird to most people, but I think this room is going to be great when we're done. I love having a space for my plants and animals. I'll have to get a photo of the animal houses soon because I think those look amazing and everyone is settling in nicely.

Well, I'm off to do more stuff before I crap out. I just needed to take a break because I've been working non-stop all day and my back needed a rest. I hope you all are doing well. I'm busy, but happy. Can't really complain! ❤️

Why am I so popular tonight? 😂😂😂

Why am I so popular tonight? 😂😂😂 I have my boyfriend, of course, but also Shaun's brats - Bastian and Calypso.

A mighty dragon was found...

A mighty dragon was found running down the hall. He fought valiantly to avoid being caught and banished to the cold outdoors. Despite all of the damage he inflicted upon me, I was the victor - this time.

Don't look at my plants. They're naked.

Don't look at my plants. They're naked.

Update before I get this busy day started:

Update before I get this busy day started:

Yesterday while we were in Talladega we got a notification that a package was delivered in Anniston.  I didn't think I was expecting a package, but we decided to go ahead over there and see just in case.  Turns out that the large nail polish order I placed when I was consoling myself for doing what I thought was terrible on my final exam had arrived much earlier than expected.  Since I passed the exam and my class I guess that makes it a celebratory package now.  I let Kira know that we had nail mail and she came over and opened it for me.  I love watching her open things.  She Hulks out on packages and it's wonderful to behold.  😂😂😂

As we were looking at our goodies we were talking about what all we could do with them and I started to get really excited thinking about having time for my hobbies once again.  That was the first hint to me that things have changed - knowing that I'll be able to spend time with the kids and do things we enjoy together.  We're so busy moving that we haven't had time to relax, but just knowing that the down-time is coming made me super happy.

While I was at the house I started getting my plants ready to move.  It's going to be a much bigger chore than I thought, though - because of mealy bugs.  I had seen a few here and there and always removed them and sprayed my plants down, but I got really behind on that this past semester and it's a dang mess.  I'd been failing to get them completely under control for months anyway due to time constraints so I'm using moving as an excuse to throw away all of the current dirt, scrub pots, spray my plants down, and then soak them to hopefully drown any remaining bugs.  Of the many plants I did that to last night I found a single live mealy bug so maybe this system will be pretty effective.  I'm planning to spray them down for the next several days even after repotting, so hopefully once they're at the other house I won't have any issues.  I'm just over these bugs and want them gone.

Other than that Shaun and I spent yesterday going through things and packing.  The kids came over and it was great to see them.  They helped him do some things and then we had dinner all together for the first time in a while.  I am really looking forward to getting us all settled and being able to do that more often.  Also, not related to anything but something I found to be pretty funny:  After we got home last night, Shaun put a space show on TV.  It was about the Apollo space ship.  This one guy was talking about them landing on the moon and he said that if the calculations were off that the ship would "intersect the moon."  I've never heard the phrase "crash into the moon" put so oddly.  Intersect. the. moon.  😂😂😂  I found that HILARIOUS, but I was also EXTREMELY tired, so maybe it's not that funny to anyone but us.

Well, I'm off to put my plant shelf together so that I can start bringing my babies home.  I hope you all are doing well!  ❤

I brought my boyfriend home yesterday.

I brought my boyfriend home yesterday. I don't think he's ever been happier to be in my lap. 😂😂😂

As of today we have all 10 cats moved in. We still need to get Koopa (horned lizard) and Anansi (tarantula) moved, plus Cubba and Rose. We're working on it. I just want everything / everyone moved into the sun room before we get the dogs. I would hate to have to go through the gate and battle them to the doorway while carrying critters, or even things. I'm already struggling as it is.

We got a lot done last night, but both of my guys injured me yesterday. Shaun was trying to lay my back seats flat so he could fit more stuff in my car. In the spirit of being helpful I pulled the release so that the seat would fold. Fun fact: the release lives in the crack between the butt part and the back part of the seat. While I was pulling the release he slammed the seat forward to fold it. That would have sucked less had the seat next to it not already been folded down. Alas, it had and my elbow was resting on it. So when Shaun slammed the seat forward it put a lot of pressure on my elbow in the wrong direction. I rarely exclaim in pain, but I did that time.

Later last night I was showing Scar around the house and he was nervous. I take responsibility for not being more thoughtful of his needs. I opened a door and it made a loud sound. He freaked out to flee and in the midst of that scratched me pretty deep above my right eyebrow. Hilarious, considering this is a week I'd planned to have pictures made. 😂😂😂

A fun thing that happened today was that Ashanti (cat) decided to sneak out of the screen door that has problems closing. We ordered parts to repair it yesterday, but they won't arrive until tomorrow. Our cats are strictly indoor cats. We would like to get them a catio so that they can get fresh air, but that's a "let Blu get a job first" typa task. 😂 Back to the story:  I went out to get Ash and she was like "Fine, ok." But then we couldn't find Adrian (also a cat). Shaun and I both looked for like, an hour. We couldn't find her anywhere. Not in the cabinets, not on top of the fridge, not under the couches, not in the closets. We even looked outside although we didn't think it was possible she got out. Since we had stuff to do, we eventually decided to go do it. When we got home she was sleeping on the couch. We still have no idea where she was hiding, but we're glad she's accounted for. I was REALLY worried.

Anyway, we've been moving stuff all day and are pretty exhausted. I'm definitely going to be feeling it tomorrow. Well, I need to get off the internet (and also my butt) because I have a long list of things to do. Nothing urgent, but disorder gets to me mentally and I just need to handle it for my own sake. I hope you all are doing well! ❤️

I haven't really said much on here since announcing my graduation...

I haven't really said much on here since announcing my graduation because we've been busy moving.  I guess this is me checking in.

Before the pandemic hit I told Shaun that I wanted him to make the BIGGEST deal out of me graduating because it's been such a hard journey and it would be a massive accomplishment for me.  I don't care to recap every negative thing that's happened to me since I started college in 2015, but suffice it to say I've hung in there despite a lot of stress and major losses, and poor physical and mental health.  I'd planned to attend the graduation ceremony and I wanted a dinner party at Baja, at the very least.  Obviously none of that is going to happen and while I have a small amount of disappointment over it I know that FAR too many people have had much bigger losses due to COVID so I am not complaining.

In other news:  The house is coming along nicely.  The sun room looks great in my opinion.  We have about half of the animals moved in.  We brought Bruce (ball python) the other day, and brought the tortoises last night.  Tort Baby (predictably) dug a little burrow and went straight to sleep after the car ride.  Nom, on the other hand, peed and pooped in his carrier.  BLEGH.  It was probably a good thing, though, because there was a lot of poop and it looks like he might have been constipated.  On the bright side, he did not seem to mind riding in the car.  He didn't attempt to get out of his carrier.  Just chilled and pooped.  😂😂😂  I love having a utility sink in the sun room because it was super convenient to give him a bath before putting him in his new house.  Unlike Tort Baby, Nom explored and walked a lot and then pooped some more.  I bet he's feeling a lot better today.  I noticed he hadn't been his usual social self and I was wondering why.  I hope that explains it.

Last night despite the rain and darkness Shaun and I moved our big ass couch that we got in February to the house.  I don't think we'll ever buy another couch that isn't a sectional because we moved all but one piece of it in two trips in our little cars.  Not having to carry / maneuver one big piece of furniture is AWESOME. Also, I think it looks great here; it fills out the living room nicely.  Shaun's been doing a ton of work around here, but I could tell his brain was done working on anything else until he got the living room set up.  I totally understand preoccupation and mental blocks, so I was like "Yeah, let's do it.  Let's move this couch in the dark and the rain so we can move on to other stuff."  😂  I can tell he feels happier having a place to rest and take a break.

Other than that things have been going pretty well in regards to moving.  Shaun and I have decided that since the lease for the kids apartment is up in mid-January, they'll be staying in our house in Anniston while we get it ready to sell.  While that house is in a far better neighborhood than the house I owned for 14 years, we're still not comfortable leaving it empty.  I think that will work out great.  No rent for the kids and we get the benefit of their presence and their help while they are there.  So we are trying to go ahead and get moved out so that they can move in.

Anyway, I'm staying busy, as usual.  My stress level has dipped knowing that I passed my class, which is nice.  I basically went straight from the school mindset to the moving mindset, so the fact that I'm done with college hasn't really sank in.  I felt excited knowing that I passed my class, but that hasn't translated into "no more classes or homework" in my brain yet.  I am planning to don my cap and gown and take some photos at JSU (hopefully this week), though.  Maybe that will help it feel real.  Without a graduation I just haven't felt that there is a period at the end of the college sentence.  I know that probably sounds goofy because a lot of people skip the ceremony, but I earned it.  I need something to punctuate the end of this chapter.

Well, I'm off to go try to get some things done.  I hope you all are doing well.  If not, don't forget that things can change in the blink of an eye.  Hang in there.  That's the only advice I can give.  ❤

OMG, this old thing...

OMG, this old thing is loving all over me this morning. Why is she so precious?! 😍😍😍😭😭😭

This is Sindar, the cat companion Shaun had when we got together 12 years ago. I bet she misses the days of being the only cat, but she is pretty effective at letting the other cats know to stay away from her. It's probably a lot easier at the moment since there are only 4 other cats here. We'll be bringing the other 5 this week.

Bonus pic of Bastian napping sprawled out in the floor while Adrian chills under the coffee table.

We spent the last few days...

We spent the last few days working on the house in Talladega as a distraction from anxiety about my grades. We built new houses for the tortoises and the cats got a nice big tower. Bastian couldn't wait for the tower to be finished. He needed to supervise our construction. 😂😂😂 Sindar, on the other hand, is the oldest and just happy we put a couch in the sun room.

So... I did better on my final than I thought.

Well... I had ice cream for breakfast, spent too much money on nail polish, and had a good cry.

Well... I had ice cream for breakfast, spent too much money on nail polish, and had a good cry.

Now I'm helping Shaun with his father's estate paperwork and commencing with the move to the other house.

I am still disappointed with myself, but it's not over yet. If there's another semester in store for me, that's ok. I enjoyed this material and I'll ace the class if I take it again.

I hope you all are doing well. If not, try to make the best of it. That's all you can do. ❤️

By my estimate I made mid-50s on the final.

By my estimate I made mid-50s on the final. That is not enough to raise my grade to passing. I missed 2 problems for sure because I ran out of time. I missed one because I can't fucking factor, apparently. I don't deserve to pass.

I'm in bed for the night; it's my last sleep before I either graduate or fail a class for the first time.

I'm in bed for the night; it's my last sleep before I either graduate or fail a class for the first time.

After my exam I'll either catch up on social media or have a crippling let-down migraine.

Regardless of what tomorrow brings I'm gonna be feeling things.

Goodnight, friends. ❤️

I'm so excited!

I studied SO MUCH today.

I studied SO MUCH today.  Maybe too much.  I got to one of my favorite kinds of problems and then really crapped all over the calculations - repeatedly.  I had to stop and take a break.  Now my anxiety is up and I'm getting a headache.

Other than that I'm feeling pretty decent about the upcoming final exam.  There were a few things that weren't making sense to me that do now.  I've done so many problems over the last few days that if these processes aren't stuck in my head, they just aren't going to be.  I have one more day to review my material and then it's GO TIME.

There is one big monster of a problem that I'm about to go over again and then I'm calling it a night.  Even though I've been sitting here on my butt studying and practicing math, I'm worn out.  Either I'm old or my brain is using up all of my energy.  😂  Goodnight, friends!  ❤

❤❤❤

We kept getting security notifications from the other house...

We kept getting security notifications from the other house. Shaun cast the videos from the notifications to the TV so we could both see them. Turns out that the cats we already moved have gotten into a room they shouldn't be in.

Scar is on the case. I don't know why it's so funny to me to see a cat watching cats on the security camera, but it is. 😂😂😂

Pardon the mess. Shaun's doing repairs and upgrades, so tidiness hasn't been the top priority.

At least Balthazar...

At least Balthazar doesn't make life hard by insisting he be held 24/7. He's happy to be next to me. He's crashed out under my notebook without a care in the world. 😂

I'm taking a little break before I get back to work.

I'm taking a little break before I get back to work.  The last few days that Shaun has been here for me have been really productive, studying-wise.  I'm fairly certain that I can solve a system of differential equations on the exam now.  I'm also good on MOST of the Laplace transform stuff.  Both of those things make up about 50% of the final.  The other 50% is older stuff from earlier this semester.

I made an 87 on the first exam so hopefully all I need on that material is a little refreshment.  The 2nd exam was in the midst of everything going wrong so I hadn't studied or done homework like I should have before the test, although I did eventually catch up (unfortunately not in time for it to affect my grade in a positive manner).  I'll be looking over that stuff during the next two days and hopefully I'll be all set.

I am feeling pretty good at the moment; a little stressed, but not panicked and not feeling like doom is hanging over me.  Since classes ended I've lost maybe 4 days of studying due to mental health and busy days (counting Thanksgiving), but other than that I can honestly say that I have put in some serious work.  I know that I've said it a few times by now, but I absolutely know that I can do this stuff.  The question at this point is whether I can do well enough on the final exam to raise my grade to passing.  We will be finding that out very soon.

Well, I hope you all are having a good evening.  There is one more thing I want to cover tonight before my brain tires out, so I'm off to study it.  Have a good night, friends.  ❤

Honestly out here making my life hard.

Honestly out here making my life hard. Just look at him. How am I supposed to move him off my lap while he's lookin' like this!?

I got some studying done today.

💯

I had errands yesterday so took a pre-planned hiatus from schoolwork...

I had errands yesterday so took a pre-planned hiatus from schoolwork because it just wasn't in the cards.  Today I also got nothing done, but I should have.  I feel like my mental health is slipping.  I'm napping when I shouldn't and I'm still tired.  That is a red flag for me.

Shaun's been spending a lot of time working at the other house.  I've basically just asked him to babysit me for a few days.  The anxiety of school plus how weird it feels with him being gone so much is not working out too great for me at the moment.  I am generally pretty independent, but right now I feel super vulnerable and tense and the tension is sapping my energy and I'm trying not to spiral.  I need help and he will help me, but damn if it wasn't very un-sexy to me to have to ask that of him.

And on that note - despite my 3-hour afternoon nap - I am heading to bed.  I hope you all are doing well.  If not, reach out to someone.  Hang in there.  Goodnight.  ❤

Just a single sleeping kitty...

Just a single sleeping kitty. Nothing to see here. 😂😂😂

Legit.

Legit. Speaking of, I gotta feed Anansi. Wanna keep my girl THICC. 😂😂😂

I've been having stress dreams for the last few days.

I've been having stress dreams for the last few days. I feel my shoulders creeping up to my ears nearly constantly. Of course that triggers headaches which make it more difficult to get things done. I cannot wait to be done with school. I've never had anxiety about anything like I have about college. I know that getting certifications and jobs and all of that will bring a whole different set of worries, but graduating college feels like the biggest hurdle to really changing our lives.

I keep telling myself:  Worst case is that I fail this semester and finish next semester. That's not the end of the world. We're ok and that's ok. It's just hard to accept that when I'm so ready to be done. Also, the sooner I get a job the sooner we can get health insurance and that is a thing we really, really need. ASAP.

Anyway. I'm off to take the kiddo to an appointment and then I'm settling in with cats and math for the rest of the day. Wish me headachelessness. 😂😭❤️

It's 26° F / -3.3° C here right now.

It's 26° F / -3.3° C here right now. Thank goodness for snuggle buddies. This is absolutely frigid for Alabama!