It's Been A Long Week....

Soooooo, it's been a week since I've posted...one very long week.

It's been a week full of sickness, doctor's visits, church events, wintry weather, school delays, school closings, and (of course) loads upon loads of work. See? Tons of stuff!

Quick Recap [I may find the time to expand on a few things later...maybe]:

Gesundheit!!

- Thanks to my kiddo's recurring allergy problems [boo, genetics!], he was the unfortunate recipient of an ear infection last week. Luckily, I was able to get him an appointment with his doctor rather
quickly and he was back to himself in no time. As crappy as an ear infection is, we finally found a medication that will be useful when allergy season arrives [several medicines have been tried and failed...thankfully, this one doesn't have 'mood/personality' changes as a common side-effect!].

- My parent's church hosted a weekend for Junior High youth this past weekend. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, I'd agreed to a pretty significant role [the preacher asked me about it while we were standing in line to get soup and sandwiches after the service a few weeks ago...I was hungry, there were sandwiches....I shouldn't be held accountable for things I agree to when pondering sandwich selection!].

The weekend ended up being phenomenal! I honestly think that I may have gotten more out of the weekend than some of the Junior High kids did [though, I hope that they did get just as much from the weekend as I did...]. At this point in my life, I shouldn't find things like this surprising anymore, and yet...I still find myself in awe of God's capability to use unlikely situations to bring me back from my [mostly self-induced] melancholy haze.

I can already tell that this topic alone could manifest several posts, so I'm just going to roughly summarize: this kids were amazing, spending time with people that I'd forgotten were my friends was something I'd needed for quite some time, hearts were touched, tears were shed, some spiritual lives were awakened for the first time, other spiritual lives received the revival that they'd been sorely needing...songs were sung, skits were performed, and hilarious inflatable sumo suits were worn in the Fellowship Hall! It was a good weekend...

- Alabama got a hefty dose of winter weather over the past week...Hamilton got 12' of snow! Pretty sure that 12' in one day is a lot, even by Northern standards! As could be expected, there was a lot of overreacting to the snow and ice...just about every day this week, school was delayed or cancelled. After the "Snowpocalypse" of last year, I guess the overreaction can be justified. Things are supposed to be much warmer this weekend...highs in the mid- to upper-sixties! Welcome to Alabama, home of the craziest weather patterns ever!

Soooo, that was my week, in a nutshell. Throw in some 3DS Ocarina of Time and Big Hero 6 and that'll do it! Hopefully, I'll be back to posting regularly soon!

Behold! The terrifying wrath of the spurned Cuckoo!

Bible Studies and Benadryl...

Hey guys...hope you've been having a great weekend...

After a fairly rocky start, my weekend has surprisingly taken a turn for the better!

This morning, I decided that I would join a bible study group. My parent's church has held a few of them over the last couple of years, I've always been invited but never joined one. This Sunday marked the beginning of a study on the book of Daniel...again, I was invited...and this time I didn't have a good reason to decline the invitation. [Though, I'll admit that I probably could have made it to previous studies...instead, I let myself make excuses. /sigh yeah...]

If I'm being completely honest, I really didn't want to go to this one either. Mentally, a ran through the gamut of 'reason' to stay home: I was too tired, I need to take care of stuff around my apartment, I don't have anything to wear, I don't think those people actually like me, etc...

But...I managed to find a decent-looking outfit, got ready to go on time, and, quite frankly, couldn't come up with a viable reason to not go. 

One of my favorite gifs ever!

You know what?

I'm glad that I went. Very glad.

I'm hoping that shaking up my routine a bit will help get me out of the rut that I feel like I've been stuck in for so long. 

In addition to starting the bible study, I've decided that I need to put more effort into positive thinking. I feel as if I'm doing better at it [especially when I consider about 6 months ago], but I know that I can be very quick to fixate on the negative. /shrug Old habits die hard...but I think that's alright, just as long as they die...

Oh! I learned something new today...

I learned that my kiddo is allergic to dogs. [Well...I am 99.999% certain he's allergic to dogs]

This afternoon, we went by to hang out with my buddy Mr. C...Mr. C said he was putting together a new desk and asked if we could come and keep him company. Now, Mr. C has two indoor dogs...the kiddo and I have been over there several times, and never really had any problems, allergy wise. Not today, though...

After about 15 minutes, my kiddo was sneezing up a storm and I could hear that he'd developed that lovely little wheeze sound...you know, that little sound that indicates that you're about to have a harder time breathing than you'd probably like. 

At this point, I still didn't think that the sneezing was anything to be concerned about [I've got an allergy to cats, myself...I'm no stranger to the sneeze-fest]...but then my kiddo turned around to face me and his eye was all nice, puffy, and painfully swollen.

Hilarious in the movie, not so much IRL...

Yep. It was a complete and total Hitch moment.

I immediately took the kiddo to the nearest grocery store and got him some Benadryl. Luckily, the allergic reaction subsided fairly quickly...but I guess I need to remember to add 'dogs' to the list of potential allergies...aaaaand I definitely need to take the kiddo to see an allergist this year....Yep.

Who Wants A Kitten?

Know what sucks?

Really, really, really, wanting to get a pet and not being able to.

The kiddo and I fell in love with the idea of getting a kitten while I was helping one of my cousins pick out a cat for herself. The problem?

I'm allergic to cats. I hate being allergic to cats!

I've done some research, so I know that there are a few breeds of cats that are 'less' allergenic. But I also know that there is no such thing as an absolutely hypoallergenic cat...even within those few breeds, there's no guarantee that you won't have an allergic reaction to a particular cat.

Unfortunately, the breeds that are known for being less-allergenic are quite expensive...sooooo, I couldn't afford one even if I could find one. [Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but I had an incredibly hard time finding Russian Blue and Siberian cat breeders...]

So, if you'd like to adopt a cat and you live near the Birmingham area, please give these two kittens some consideration! I'd love to give them a home, but my nose won't let me :( [I apologize if the formatting gets a little wonky...I'm adding the cat's descriptions from their sites and sometimes other site's formatting doesn't like Blogger very much...]

Whisper

Friends of Rescue - Whisper

A walking miracle, Whisper defied odds by winning the battle against an illness that claimed the life of her sister. This determined young girl has an incredibly strong spirit, and her voice is as soft as a breeze. Whisper enjoys each day to the fullest – playing and playing, and then playing some more! Her striking blue eyes and gorgeous coat are captivating, but her personality is what endears her to all she meets – Whisper has an amazing zest for life! Happy. Spunky. Loving. There is no mistake that Whisper is grateful for her second chance, and she makes the most of every moment.

Whisper loves children, and gets along great with other cats and dogs. At 4 months old, she’s the perfect age to adapt to any new home environment, and has already completed all her vetting. Whisper is being fostered in Huntsville, and is ready for her FORever Home. Please email us at info@FORrescue.net to learn more about Whisper, or to request an application to adopt this very special girl!

Ziva

Adopt-A-Pet - Ziva

My name is Ziva, I am a beautiful solid black little girl who really needs a home! Sometimes I can be a little timid (I'm so little who can blame me?!) but I always enjoy playing with my brother and sisters. Once I feel safe I love being held and I have such a loud purrr that I know you will love! I hope you will come and meet me, but remember to give me a chance to feel safe, I have had a hard little life. I would love to be a part of your family, I have an awful lot of love to give!