A rainbow a day...

I'm in paradise. Now, don't hate 'cause it's not all perfect, but the weather is absolutely fabulous. Everytime I walk outside, there's a small part of me that braces for the rush of cold air because it IS January everywhere else in the world. Here though, on this beautiful island, it's an average high of 75 right now with average lows around 68. So, I am always surprised when the cold doesn't hit my skin, but rather a relaxing, balmy breeze. I don't think I'll ever take it for granted, even though I've heard people say "after three years you'll be ready to get off the island." Let's give it three years and I'll let you know. For now, I'm happy to wake up, walk outside, and more mornings than not, see a rainbow off our back patio.

It's been crazy since we've been here. Some days are lazy and relaxing, some are rushing around trying to get so many things done. Because of Bruce working during the days, and us only having one car (it's a rental) we can't really spread things out. This past weekend we were driving around trying to check out a lot of houses, even though we didn't want to move into any of them. We're choosing to live on base, but we still had to "aggressively" search out housing until we actually signed the paperwork saying we would accept the house they offered us. We did that today. I was a little hesitant because we agreed to take the house sight-unseen, but I'm trusting that it's the right thing for us. We have seen a clip on youtube, though,  where someone gave a tour of a house with basically the same floor plan, in the same area. It's new. Not brand new, but only one family has lived there before us. We should be ready to move in at the end of February. I just hope our household goods arriving coincide with the home being ready.

Our miniature tiger is with my girlfriend in Atlanta... AKA, the Hotlanta Hottie. She's a bleeding heart for animals, which definitely worked to my advantage. Not only is she just the most wonderful, sweet person you could imagine, but she also convienently lives very near a major airport. Sometimes things just work out, y'know... and in this case it couldn't have worked out better. Ginger (the mini-tiger) is having a blast with her new friend, Melvin, too. He's a long-haired tabby with the same coloring as her, and even though they didn't exactly mesh for the first two weeks, they are now napping together side-by-side. I was told today that Ginger is even allowing Melvin to clean her coat. Yep, that's my cat... she knows how to get things done. Speaking of getting things done, she had her FAVN bloodwork done today. EXPENSIVE, let me tell you. Since I chose to have to bloodwork overnighted to KSU, that was an extra forty bucks on top of everything. I hope that cat, at some level, knows how lucky she is! I am honestly having some slight panic attacks as I watch our savings drop at a drastic speed. It should, and I pray it does, be all reimbursed within the next month. I'm not gonna relax until that happens, though.

Well, it's time to go wake up Alyssa. Quiet time is over, with a capital O. Just as soon as I wake her up, it'll be a mile a minute of toddler talk. Ahhhh....well, it's not that bad, though. As a matter of fact, I really can't wait to hear what she has to say. I never had a clue as to how funny a three year old could be. She says things that literally make me laugh out loud. It's refreshing. Her topics of choice lately are giants and dragons. Let's hope she's not feeling like a dragon when I wake her up. Ta Ta for now.

It's been a week

We've been here a full week now. Due to the Army's schedule of when they start in-processing and the fact there was a federal holiday yesterday, we were lucky enough to have Bruce all week. He's back to work today, but it sure was fun. We rented a car from last Wednesday through today and proceeded to drive around the entire island. I've already decided that my favorite beaches are in the south around Honolulu. Northshore was pretty too, but a little rocky. I've taken tons of pictures that I'm sure are going to start boring all my friends and family on Facebook. I'm thinking one set of waves is not going to look much different from another, at some point.

We had beautiful weather the entire week up until yesterday. It's been raining off and on. What's funny is that when we left here yesterday it was gloomy and sprinkling. By the time we reached the shore it was beautiful. I even got to see two rainbows! We stopped by a macadamia plantation and I picked up a few items by myself. Bruce wasn't as thrilled as I was to go in, so I just told him to wait with Alyssa in the car. Secretly, I was kind of relieved to go in by myself. My child has the tendency to be the bull in the china shop.... bless her heart. And it was nice to get 10 minutes to myself that didn't take place in a bathroom. So, anyway, I bought some black lava sea salt (it's black!), some cinnamon macadamia nuts, and a box of dark chocolate macadamia clusters.

I've been eating a lot of fish here. I'd never tried fish tacos before, but I've had them twice already. I've also tried poke, which is raw fish mixed with onions and greens. I loved it. I bought some real sushi yesterday and I plan on eating it for lunch today. When I say "real", I mean it's different than the stuff I used to buy at Publix with the imitation crab and shrimp. This stuff has real big chunks of raw fish. There's no denying it's SU-SHAY. Oh **sigh** I'm going to love eating over here.

Which makes me think of weight. Since Bruce has been home, I've been eating more than ever. It's been constant eating out, succumbing to desserts, and not always healthy options to pick from. I have no clue what the difference is from when he was not here to now, but what would've made me gain 10 pounds is having the opposite effect. I've actually lost three. Maybe it's all the happiness endorphins from having my husband under the same roof or being in such a beautiful environment. Either way, I was shocked when we bought a scale and I stepped on to see I'd lost. Normally, I wouldn't trust a new scale, but my jeans are loose and Bruce has gained two pounds. lol...

I am now the proud parent of a child who will not shut up. **rolling eyes** Speech delay? Well, let me tell you... delay over. She has, within a month, mastered the English language. OK, so maybe not "mastered" the entire thing, but with the attitude of her delivery, we understand 100%. Her words, about 80%. Also, I can't help but think "All right people, where the hell did this kid learn to roll her eyes at three years of age!" Oh, I bet it was from Cruella the drunk, off-duty, Delta flight attendant. Yeah, I forgot about that evil, eye-rolling chick. ;)~

If yesterday had only been caught on video, it may have even seemed humorous with a replay.

Let me start out by telling you that flying should be a reasonably pleasant experience. Barring the screaming child with ears that won’t pop, or having a person of larger size in the seat next to me and yet taking up my space, too…. I enjoy flying. Even after 30 or so flights, the novelty had not worn off. Take note of the past tense “had”.

I wrote the flight to South Korea off as a situational purgatory. I mean, really, who wants to fly non-stop fifteen hours with a two year old? Only a sadist, I say. But an eleven hour day of flying, which included two stops, and also a husband to help with the now three year old, I thought it would be fun. Um, not so much. Amazingly, my child was an angel throughout almost all of the day. We started our journey in the Augusta airport, which is tiny. All the people there were so nice. I guess it’s because they don’t seem deluged with crazy travelers, yet that’s where the first mistake occurred. They didn’t give my husband his boarding pass, just a small slip of paper that I guess they let passengers board with there. Not so in San Fransisco, as we were to find out later. So after I went through the security checkpoint with a family we had been chatting with on the flight, with Bruce following and holding Alyssa, he was re-ject-ed.  Oh! But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let me first tell you about Atlanta. In case you don’t know they board passengers with small children first, then the rest follow by section. We were the first to get on, along with the family I mentioned before. Even though all tickets were bought at the same time, they wouldn’t give Bruce a seat until we checked in. Go figure, but as I’m sure you can imagine where this is going, we had to do some charming, followed by threatening the passenger who was seated beside Alyssa and I. Now before you think I got all redneck with him, I didn’t. I just batted my eyelashes and asked if he was traveling by himself (yes) and if he would mind greatly switching seats with my husband so that we could all sit together. He was a big whiner. After listening to a two minute spiel about how he was flying ALL the way to Hawaii and didn’t feel like sitting anywhere else, I simply said “Oh, bless your heart… then I should forewarn you that my daughter is three and her ears have trouble popping, on top of being in that “three” stage, so if you’re looking for a calm flight, it might be to your advantage to switch… she’ll probably get a little ornery.” More whining from grown middle-aged man. Thankfully, there was a gentleman sitting in the row across from us who said “Sir, I had a window seat in row 35 that I am not using, please feel free to take it.” STILL more whining, but he moved. Seriously, he got to move to a window seat, NINE rows away from ALL the small children on the flight. I’d call that a generous offer. But you know…. Some people can really whine. Now stay with me here, I’m not done whining myself, lol. You see that wasn’t all that was going on during those first moments of boarding. All four families, including a total of six children had the opportunity to  hear this: “All children should be drowned at birth”. This came from the lovely, possibly drunk hag, that was an off-duty Delta flight attendant. I kid you not. Several of us just stood there in disbelief. The woman in the row behind me asked her for her name, to which she responded “WHY?” When asked if she was a flight attendant she said yes, but that she was off duty. Finally, she gave the name “Margaret”. Surprise, surprise... that wasn’t her real name. She gave her real name to a lovely young childless woman named Nadia, who took offense to what she said but buttered her up during conversation throughout the flight to get details about her…. Which when the plane landed in San Fransisco, she promptly approached us with and asked us to write Delta about her, too.

 At this point, we’ve had two connecting flights, had been told we’d were supposed to get a meal on the flight from Atlanta to Hawaii, but had yet to see anything other than seven mini pretzels, and been forced to listen to Cruella De Ville, the off-duty flight attendant rant about methods of killing the offspring of us "breeders."

This is where I need to refer to the San Francisco security checkpoint and the incident of being separated from my husband and child. Now, the TSA agents were only doing their job, which I think is necessary, and I applaud them for being thorough, it’s just hard to look at it like that when it’s happening to you or someone you’re with, and you have twenty minutes until take-off. Enter the charming TSA gentleman who saw me still standing in the check point area perplexed. The other military family we were sitting with stayed with me, which was really nice, and he approached us and asked if I had Bruce’s boarding pass by mistake, which I did not, but as soon as I mentioned he was military, the gentleman said he’d take care of it immediately and would return with my husband and child. About four minutes later, Bruce and Alyssa walked through the security checkpoint escorted by him. He was such a sweetheart.

OK, still not done getting out the poison here. On the final leg of our flight, thinking we were going to get a meal, we did not buy any food during the short layover, before boarding the same plane. The flight attendant had told me my daughter’s stuff would be fine left in the seat, so I left her bottle of water in the seat. Gone, when we got back. That is, of course, when Alyssa started begging for something to drink. That’s all I’d had! So, no big deal, I thought I’d just ask the flight attendant for some water, right? I pushed the button for the flight attendant. At that point we had 5 hours and 35 minutes remaining in the flight. When she came to ask us what we needed there was 3 hours and 5 minutes left in the flight. Yep, over a two hour wait. Thank goodness Alyssa had fallen asleep across our laps, because I can’t believe that Delta would consider that a reasonable amount of time before getting back to a passenger. Seriously people! I know the cost of gas is high, but when the tickets for three people cost around three thousand dollars, is it unreasonable to think you could get some damn water? Not to mention, this attendant was rude, deaf, and huge! She hit every single person going down the aisle. Every time I looked at her I couldn’t help but think of the stereotypical mean German nurse named Helga. She was so rude, I’m just going to leave it at that, but let me tell you, by the time we were asked if we wanted something to eat, they were all out of sandwiches and snack boxes. We got a fruit plate with two apple slices, three cheese slices, one strawberry, ten grapes, and two crackers. Alyssa ate most of that, and Bruce and I split an expensive “snack box” between the two of us. What I don’t understand is what the hell is the airline thinking? Are they trying to push people to the point of aggression by depriving them of water, while waiting for their blood sugar levels to plummet? I think it might be a ploy to garner public sympathy from those who do not fly, by creating these situations and then putting a PR spin on it as if “look how badly our attendants are treated.” I kept my mouth shut, kept a smile on my face, but inside I was cussing every attendant out with some of the dirtiest words of any known language. I know if my father knew what I was thinking he would still ground me even though I'm pushin’ forty.

Some positive points… I met two great Sara’s who are staying at the same military hotel as we are, with their families. We are now fifth on the housing list, which is a huge plus. A gallon of milk is only $4.81, which is actually good because I was scared it would be $6-7 a gallon. And finally, it's a beautiful day here in Hawaii, and I have a strong feeling I'm going to be saying that quite a lot over the next few years. I have more to write but this has been enough for one day, and the hotel's internet is about to literally drive me to the point of insanity. Maybe I need a nap.

You think you're busy? Read this....

It's wilder than a spider monkey jacked up on mountain dew here. There's a three year old running around who has discovered how to speak in full sentences. (And why was I rushing that? I forgot.) There's about seventeen half-finished lists in various spots throughout the house, and it's just getting started! Anyway, it's been a lot of fun and a lot of work. We drove to TN to visit some family the day after Christmas. That was the shortest trip we've ever made there. Drove down on Monday, left on Wednesday morning. My favorite part of the trip was Monday and Tuesday... lol. It was bittersweet though knowing that we aren't going to see our family and friends for a while... possible a very looong while.

To backtrack, Christmas was fantastic. Alyssa loved all her gifts from Santy Claus, and all her birthday gifts too. When I looked at everything under the tree, I thought "Wow... that's spoiling a kid." BUT, when I reminded myself that it was her birthday too, then it seemed reasonable. Also, this was a special Christmas since Bruce wasn't here last year. It was just a big celebration all the way 'round. He made her the most precious little "princess castle" birthday cake. It was a non-stop, but fun day.

New Year's was very relaxing and low-key. Oh, well... 34 minutes of the evening was at least until we crashed at 10pm. It was the anniversary of the night we met, too. I'm so pig-in-the-mud-happpy with this man that I don't even miss a big date night to celebrate. I'm just over the moon to have him home. Back to the business at hand...  We signed a contract with a rental manager to take care of renting out our home. The woman we decided to go with is a hoot. I think she's going to take good care of us. We also sold the Jeep Wrangler. All this in a six hour time span. And I mean from posting the car ad to it being loaded on a trailer, and signing all our paperwork and having a "For Lease" sign put in the front yard.

Yesterday we realized we needed some more luggage for our move to Hawaii. I checked online and decided we'd start with Kohl's and Target. Kohl's ended up having the best deals for the best luggage. It was BOGO free for all Samsonite luggage, plus I had a 20%  off coupon. It was an investment, but when it was all said and done, we paid about 40% of the original price for two large and two medium pieces of luggage. They're so nice. Four wheels, ultra-light, effortless movement. I don't know why, but it just thrills me that we now own some really, really good luggage. They've got a bluish sheen to them too. Just real purty, I tell ya.

The fun doesn't stop there! Today we're taking down all our Christmas decorations. Bruce is out now having the oil changed in our one remaining Jeep. **sniff, sniff**  Then tomorrow morning we're picking up a rental SUV and we're off to Atlanta! Ginger, the miniature tiger, is going to be roommates with my girlfriend Kimberly until she can be flown over to Hawaii, and we're dropping the Jeep off to be shipped overseas. Then turning around and driving back.

AND THEN... the packers will be here the next morning! Three days of watching them put everything in boxes, not to be seen for at least another month. I've got a hotel for us starting on the second day just in case they finish up early. Lord have mercy, this is a whirlwind. Somehow I have to work in three haircuts, highlighting my hair, picking up medical records, getting an extra insurance policy on the home, and not least of all... keeping little tater tot entertained through it all. Our final thing here will be to hop on a plane and hurry up and wait til we get there. I can already smell the breezes and taste the Mai Tai's.

So, 2011 is over.... thank you little baby Jesus... and we're on the brink of our next adventure.

Yes, Santa, I've been a very, very good girl.

Bruce has been home for two weeks but it's hard to believe. In a way I feel like he just got home yesterday, but then there are moments when it feels as if he was never gone. It's odd in a way to feel like this, but either way I am so truly happy to enjoy his company again. This wonderful man has let me sleep in almost every morning. He's gotten up with Alyssa, made her breakfast, entertained her... all while I sleep away upstairs. Two mornings I even slept til 9am! I almost feel rested. HAHAHAHA.... then I remember that all hell is about to break loose with our schedule. Oh, the joy of it. Actually, I am very excited. Or at least I will be when we're in a house and unpacking.

I saw a Rheumatologist today. He asked me many questions, was concerned with my symptoms, and actually told me three things that my symptoms may be pointing to. He reviewed the xrays that were in the system and was able to see a couple of things that the initial Dr. who had ordered the xray missed. After he did an examination I went and had blood work, has a very specific x-ray of my pelvis done, then picked up a vitamin D supplement from the pharmacy for the deficiency I seem to have. I can't tell you how much better I feel, just from the fact alone that I was able to see a Dr. that seem to care, took the time to listen, followed up with his own questions, and finally gave me an idea of what my immune system may be doing. A part of me has relaxed just knowing that this man is obviously a good Dr. Too bad we're moving in two weeks, but he did say he will connect me with a Dr where we are going.

We took Alyssa to see Santa this morning. Poor Santa. He looked as if he was about to have congestive heart failure. He was sweating and wearing the weakest smile. The poor man needed a fan with that thick suit on. I may just call the mall tomorrow and tell them do something about that. Well, anyway, Alyssa sat on his lap, told him to look at her pretty dress, then told him she wanted a book, a ball, and a piano. Santa's got it covered. **wink**

This Christmas is going to big for us. Bruce is home, Alyssa turns three, and of course Santa's coming. What a day! Bruce already gave me my Christmas present 'cause I was just so damn good. It's a Kindle Fire. It is so cool and like any kid with a new toy, I take it everywhere with me. Now the big question is: What do I get him???? He wanted a camera, which we tried to buy, but they were out, and now he says he doesn't want one right now. What's a girl to do?!?! Brainstorming begins...

Merry Christmas!

What is this?... A second honeymoon?

I'm a happy woman. I've gotten to sleep in three mornings in a row, I got to go shopping by myself today without having to rush, and I have my husband to keep me very warm at night in bed. Now, if this damn crick in my neck would go away, everything would be perfect.

I got some good deals today shopping. We needed a new printer, scanner, and copier, and I found one on sale at Target... add to that my Target $8 off  $80 coupon and a $5 Target gift card, and I walked out of there with one inexpensive wireless all-in-one. Bruce already has it put together/loaded up/ whatever it is that needed to be done so that I can print from my upstairs laptop should I feel inclined (lazy) to do so.

We're decorating our tree tonight. Then I plan on sleeping in AGAIN tomorrow morning. But, don't think I didn't offer to get up with Alyssa... I did. Bruce just says he isn't tired, and I figure I'll be back to getting up with her every morning he's at work, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can. I slept until 9am the last two mornings! Considering I usually got up anywhere between 4:45am and 5:45am when he was in South Korea, this is a BIG deal for me.

Crack is not good for the heart

The dreadful, year-long unaccompanied tour is OVER! I picked my husband up from the airport on Thursday night. It was touch and go for a few minutes, though. As I was driving to the airport my phone rang from a number I didn't know. When I answered it, it was a collect call from Bruce. My heart fell. He was supposed to be up in the air at that very moment, but he wasn't. There was a needed repair on the plane, and they were "pretty sure" they could fix it. They were only waiting to find out if the flight was going to be cancelled because of how late it was getting. He was flying in to the Augusta Airport, which is not a big airport. It's tiny, and there are no arriving flights after 11:40. It was 11:25 at that moment. Anyway, I asked him to call me back and let me know, but he never called. I was so excited to see him, yet I was so worried there was going to be another delay. I was beginning to make a plan to drive to Atlanta, if needed, and I waited in my car, at the airport, for him to call back. I got on my phone and pulled up the airline's flight schedule, but all it was reporting was that the flight was on time. Since I knew that wasn't true, I went on in to see if I could find out if the plane even took off. It had, thank goodness. About forty minutes later, people started coming down the terminal. I was right there waiting with full perma-grin. Then a man walked up to me and asked if I was waiting on a gentleman coming from Korea. **heart stopped** He was very serious. When I replied "yes", he paused, then started laughing that my husband was waiting at the wrong baggage claim. He said he was sure he'd be along in a minute, once he figured it out. Ahhhh.... relief washed over me. It was only a few more moments until I saw my absolutely wonderful and handsome husband walking towards me. He was sporting a pretty good grin, too. It was such an incredibly happy moment for me. We hugged, kissed, looked at each other, kissed again, and then that crack in my heart completely closed.

The Homecoming Outfit

OCD cleaning going on here... something big must be about to happen!

I'm sick of it. Absolutely, completely sick of it. And I refuse to sleep two more nights alone. That's it. I draw the line. It's a good thing my husband is coming home.... lol.

I've been vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms. I've just finished a glass of wine, and I figure I deserved it. It was the last of some ChocoVino.... thanks Renae.

Alyssa is watching one of the many Christmas movies I've recorded. That's been a surprise to me. I had no clue I would develop this overwhelming urge to record/watch every classic Christmas cartoon from my childhood. Yet here I am, loving every minute of Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, among others. OH, and I have, in every way, made up for not decorating for Christmas the last five years! I've got the tree, tons of ornaments just ready to be carefully placed on each limb in hopes of a gorgeous "themed" tree that my husband wants **grin and roll eyes**, the table has a pretty snowflake tablecloth with a neat little centerpiece, the top of my bookcase is now a winter wonderland, and I've even bought three framed pictures for the walls. Ahhhhh.... for me, this year is worth celebrating. Bruce will be home, Alyssa is old enough that she's beginning to understand what Santa's about, and.... well, I just felt like it. Bruce and I have also bought some beautiful fine pewter snowflakes that we are going to start "our" tradition with. We've decided to have one engraved each year, with the date and the place of where we're currently living.

The next time I write something on here, I'm going to be a satisfied woman. **wink, wink** No more sleeping alone for me! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!



................... dancing a little jig..............................

I welcome my enemy, the cold.

Usually I hate the idea of cold weather. The only things that I can possibly muster some enthusiasm about during this time of year are the 1 in 84,000 chance that I may be able to make a snow angel should it snow and snuggling closer to my husband in bed. Although he squirms and complains when I put my ice cube hands all over him while I laugh hilariously, I really think deep down he likes it. Other than that, I can't stand cold weather. My back hurts more from the arthritis and my fingers go bloodless-white and numb on the tips when I get cold for more than 10 minutes. Then there's also the other reasons that people generally don't like winter as much as all the other seasons: staying inside more, no cookouts, and less hours of daylight.

I walked outside this morning and I smelled it: The cold. Not just felt it, but caught a whiff of that crispness which promises only colder days to follow. This time I smiled. I was hit by a wave of joy and relief. It was this time last year that I said goodbye to my husband at the airport. At that time, the thought of an entire year passing was heartbreaking. It felt as if father time put a cruel hand up to halt the seconds from passing. The seasons have passed though, as they will. First was winter and the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I trudged through each one telling myself it was just one of many more to come. Then spring entered in and a few more birthdays and holidays slipped by. When summer arrived, there was a brief reprieve when my husband came home to visit for a few weeks. That feels like forever ago... especially when the Georgia climate hangs onto summer like a two year old with its favorite toy. Finally the leaves have begun to change and fall. Now I welcome the cold. Let it come! It only means one of the most wonderful things in my life will be returning. In just a matter of weeks this entire melancholy separation will be over. Just in time for me to have my hot stud muffin back in bed to keep my ice digits warm on those really cold nights.

I'm also looking forward to our move. Well, not the move itself, but rather the climate of where we're going. I've heard Hawaii is pretty nice. **wink**

Cats and Crocs

I opened my mailbox today to find it stuffed with all sorts of goodies. When I say stuffed, I mean stuffed! My mom sent Alyssa a beautiful little dress that has smocking on the top and an adorable Little Bo Peep and two sheep embroidered on it. I just love it! Alyssa is all about the dresses lately, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon. I imagine she'll get a lot of wear out of it in Hawaii. It makes me feel a little guilty that I don't buy more expensive dresses for her... but hey, that's one of the many reasons why grandparents are so great.

I also got my Crocs. Considering I wear a size 10, I'm sure you can see why the mailbox was stuffed with the shoes, the dress, and all the cool magazines and Christmas catalogs that came, too. But before you dare think "Oh, she's got big feet!", I'll have you know they are not "big". They are simply firm foundations. So there. Anyway, once I tried them on, I got it. I now completely understand what all the hoopla is about with this brand of shoes. They were, quite honestly, the most comfortable pair of shoes that have ever been lucky enough to envelope my firm foundations. It felt as if I was walking on the softest, air-filled, squishy pillow. They fit perfectly, too! They're not clunky, either. They're cute little silver slingbacks with a purple detail around the sole. I can't wait to wear them out.

Since we are moving to Hawaii, I checked into the regulations on taking animals. It seems they are pretty strict about this and I wish I had known sooner. Once I realized there was a 120 day waiting period from one particular shot, my heart sank. But this morning I grabbed the cat carrier, caught the cat as she unsuspectingly came around the corner, and then proceeded to try to avoid as many scratches as possible once she realized her impending captivity. When all the caterwauling was over, I only had three minor scratches on my hand. Not so bad, really. She did great getting the shots. Didn't cry at all. I told Alyssa she could learn a thing or two from this and remember it when her next round of shots comes around. Hehehe... yea, I know. That wasn't exactly the best parenting tactic, but you have no clue as to what my morning with her had been like. At the time, I just figured it was calling things even. Back to the cat: We're only about two months out from moving, so our little miniature tiger is going to have to be in quarantine for about 50 days or so. That sucks. Bruce has tried to reassure me about the whole thing, but I just can't help but feel sad about it. Oh... I'll be fine.... it's the cat I'm worried about.