My name is Bonnie (27), I was born in Jackson, TN.  I’m the youngest of three girls, the [...]]]> Due to the drama with Dammit and some other stuff that’s been going on, I failed to begin this meme on time.  Oh, well, at least I got a late start rather than just giving up halfway through, right?

My name is Bonnie (27), I was born in Jackson, TN.  I’m the youngest of three girls, the oldest being Becky(29), and the middle child being Jerica (28).  As you can see, we were born ridiculously close together.  My mom was done having babies by the time she was 25, and we were all still in diapers when she got her tubes tied.  Thinking about being 27, having been married for less than one year, and no yet having any plans for kinds kind of makes me look like a spinster compared to the previous generations of my extended family.  My great-grandmother had 9 children by two husbands, and started when she was 16.  That boggles my mind.

I’m married to a great guy…I call him “JB” here, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of digging to find his real name.  We met about 3 years ago, I think.  We dated for a couple of months before becoming engaged, then stayed engaged for a year before we got married.  As of today, we’ve been married for 10 months.  He’s an elementary teacher, while I am a grad student.  Those facts are to let you know that I’m not rich…heh.

I’ve lived in Memphis or very nearby for years.  I’ve recently moved to Covinton, TN, which is quite a bit out of the way, and presents some problems as regarding health care, seeing friends, and generally being sane.  I’m getting used to everyone knowing everyone else’s business, but I’m still getting used to the “holier than thou” attitude.

My parents are divorced.  My mom lives in St. Louis with her mom, and is dating someone she calls her “boytoy”.  My dad lives in Collierville with his second stepwife and her youngest son.  Both of my sisters live in the Memphis area.

I suffer from chronic depression, and all the proof anyone needs is to see me after not having my Cymbalta for a few days.  Like tonight.  That was brutal.

I also suffer from chronic pain and fatigue, and seeing as how I do not yet have health insurance (I will in October!), I haven’t been able to get any of the tests to necessarily confirm its origin.  My doctors have diagnosed me as having fibromyalgia.  I am fine with that diagnosis…for now.  There are so many new things out there (like CFS being thought to have viral origins), that I’m not sitting forever without more clarification.

I have recently gained a metric fuckton of weight after going on the pill, nearly having a stroke, quitting the pill, and starting on other medication, the sole purpose of which seems to be to make me retain water.  My self-confidence is good…my self-esteem is not.  I don’t see this continuing forever, but it’s a big part of who I am right now.

I have two cats (Dammit and Sophie), a cockatiel (Spider), and a rat (Johnny Walker).  I adore them all, even when they irritate the piss out of me (for those who follow facebook, Sophie’s attempting to balance on my boobs while cleaning herself…again).  I adore animals.  I’d like to be able to get another part-time job working at a vet clinic, as a tech.  That would be really neat, and would be a relaxing job…that’s something I need.

Um.  I’m a redhead, a gunny, fairly conservative politically, and I stay up way too late.

Chocolate is my ultimate weakness.

If you want to know anything that’s not covered here, just ask.

So far, $70 has been contributed to the “help Dammit’s foot not succumb to gangrene” fund, leaving the bill for us at approximately $120.

That’s MUCH better, but again, [...]]]> Thanks to those who’ve already sent in donations – I won’t call you out unless you want me to, since this is a more public forum than my Facebook.

So far, $70 has been contributed to the “help Dammit’s foot not succumb to gangrene” fund, leaving the bill for us at approximately $120.

That’s MUCH better, but again, if you’re willing and able to help, it’d be much appreciated.

Hit the link to the left (yes, it still says “Flood relief” – they’re not collecting for that any more, so any donation will go straight to helping Dammit’s surgery bill be paid – I’ll fix it later).

I haven’t heard any bad news, so I’m assuming everything’s going okay.  It’s weird to not have him around here today.  Sophie’s just not as engaging as far as company goes.

I’ll take photos of my pitiful kitteh for you guys to look at later, when JB brings him home.

Thanks again!

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UPDATE: They weren’t able to get to him until much later than they’d thought, so he’s staying overnight so that they can make sure he wakes up okay, and can give him whatever else he may need.

:-(  I miss my bubby.

This irritating need to be in my arms all the time? I'm totally missing it today.

I got to the vet and asked what he thought, and he said was I’d kind of figured he’d say…that Dammit’s one toe [...]]]> I was correct in my assessment of Dammit’s situation.  This injury was older than I’d realized, and so the claw was attempting to grow back , resulting in more bleeding and discomfort for him.

I got to the vet and asked what he thought, and he said was I’d kind of figured he’d say…that Dammit’s one toe needed to be declawed in order to prevent further injury and infection.  Once a claw is torn out, it usually doesn’t grow well any more, can ingrow, and will do more to screw up his foot than this initial injury.

So the bleg continues.

Since it’s so early in JB’s employment, all of our money right now is earmarked for bills and house essentials…the bare minimum needed to get through the month.

Again, if you’d like to hit the tip jar to the left to make a donation to help with the costs of my cat’s surgery, I would appreciate it.  $190 is small potatoes for some folks.  It will be for us, one day.  But since it’s not, your kindness is more than appreciated.

Thanks.

In order to get it looked at ASAP, I need to take him to the emergency vet in Memphis tomorrow…the local vet [...]]]> Dammit has pulled one of his claws clean out of the socket.  He’s bleeding all over me, and while I’m trying to keep it clean, he’s obviously going to need a visit to the vet.

In order to get it looked at ASAP, I need to take him to the emergency vet in Memphis tomorrow…the local vet here is closed because it’s Labor Day and it’s a small town.

Because he’s going to need minor surgery, anesthesia (he’s a cat…they won’t do surgery without knocking him out), and stitches (as well as antibiotics and possibly painkillers), I’m willing to bet that the bill’s going to be well over $200.  Much more if they X-ray to find out whether there’s damage to the bone (which is possible…it’s why they take out the first joint when they de-claw, because the two are so closely fused).

If you have a few bucks to spare, I would appreciate it.

As much as I complain about Dammit being kind of annoying, he’s really the closest thing I’ve ever had to a child.  The thought of losing him scares the shit out of me, and an infection could very well result in his death, particularly because without stitches and proper cover, the wound will be exposed to fecal matter in his litterbox approximately 8 times per day.

He’s my constant companion during the day, and sleeps in my chair with me while I’m up late with insomnia.  It doesn’t matter what’s going on or what happens…he’s always happy and meowy and purring.  With me not having many of my good friends around (and me not being able to get out much because I’ve been so sick lately), that’s really important to me.  I love my cat.  I am really scared that if I don’t get this treated, he’s going to get a serious infection.  Infection in an older cat with a compromised immune system (severe food allergy) can be deadly.  At the very least, he would be in pain for an indeterminable period of time.

There’s a PayPal link to the left.

(If you’re going to give me a lecture on how non-gun-friendly PayPal is, save it.  Gpal has stolen about $40 from me by not transferring funds, they haven’t answered any of my messages about it, and they’re at the top of my shitlist right now.)

If you’d like to send a check, because you hate PayPal or something, email me and I’ll send you my mailing address.

Thank you.

I’m feeling a bit melancholy lately (for good reasons…just not ones I’m comfortable sharing), so I figured I’d do this to kind of give me a schedule for the next month, to feel like I have someone expecting something from me that isn’t to be graded (omg i’m so tired [...]]]> I know you’re all just so excited.

I’m feeling a bit melancholy lately (for good reasons…just not ones I’m comfortable sharing), so I figured I’d do this to kind of give me a schedule for the next month, to feel like I have someone expecting something from me that isn’t to be graded (omg i’m so tired of school right now).

First post later this evening, when I’ve had some supper and some booze.

• Day 01 – Introduce yourself
  Day 02 – Your first love
  Day 03 – Your parents
  Day 04 – What you ate today
  Day 05 – Your definition of love
  Day 06 – Your day
  Day 07 – Your best friend
  Day 08 – A moment
  Day 09 – Your beliefs
  Day 10 – What you wore today
  Day 11 – Your siblings
  Day 12 – What’s in your bag
  Day 13 – This week
  Day 14 – What you wore today
  Day 15 – Your dreams
  Day 16 – Your first kiss
  Day 17 – Your favorite memory
  Day 18 – Your favorite birthday
  Day 19 – Something you regret
  Day 20 – This month
  Day 21 – Another moment
  Day 22 – Something that upsets you
  Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
  Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
  Day 25 – A first
  Day 26 – Your fears
  Day 27 – Your favorite place
  Day 28 – Something that you miss
  Day 29 – Your aspirations
  Day 30 – One last moment

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On Monday, just before lunch, JB was going over something [...]]]> My husband is a 4th-grade teacher.  He’s good at his job, he enjoys it, and he comes home every single day with a funny story (i.e. “Kids Say the Darnedest Things!”).  He told me this one last night, and I realized that I just had to share.

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On Monday, just before lunch, JB was going over something having to do with Social Studies, and the question of WWII came up.

Specifically, one of the children asked, “What happened in WWII?  Why did it start?”

JB has his BA in History, and WWII/Hitler was his main topic of study.  He looked at the clock, realized he had 5 minutes before lunch, and proceeded to give a wham-bam-Li’l Hitler demonstration, pulling and pushing the desks around in what was approximately the quickest game of Risk ever.

In the end, the kids understood that greed sucked, and that a certain country [*cough*Germany*cough*] needed to keep its mitts to itself.

_

Yesterday, they began to talk about Geography more in-depth.  As part of the lesson, JB had the following fill-in-the-blank sentence on a worksheet the entire class was going over:

“__________ divide countries into regions.”

The children stared blankly at him.

“Okay, guys,” he prompted, “it starts with a ‘G’…”

One little girl raised her hand and shouted triumphantly, “GERMANS!”

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Who says kids don’t listen?

It’s the little things, truly.

The past couple of times we’ve gone, including tonight, the gentleman who always seats us has waved to us to a [...]]]> JB and I like to go to a Chinese buffet in town.  There are two main ones, but this one’s a little less expensive, and has the garlic green beans I like.

It’s the little things, truly.

The past couple of times we’ve gone, including tonight, the gentleman who always seats us has waved to us to a back booth, close to the desserts, and has automatically gone to get us a couple of sweet teas.

Not that we eat desserts all the time, but that booth is usually open, and we always want a booth.

It’s so weird to have someone not only recognize you and wave you in, but just have everything waiting for you.

It’s a very small step toward feeling at home here, too.

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What sort of things make you feel at home when you’re out and about?  Do you have any local restaurants where the staff knows you and takes good care of you?

My left ring finger is infected again.  Now it’s the left side of the nail, rather than the right.  I can’t blame poor circulation, because my fingers have been too large for me to wear my wedding set for several months.  I haven’t bitten my fingernails in a [...]]]> …but I have to write SOMEthing in here, right?

My left ring finger is infected again.  Now it’s the left side of the nail, rather than the right.  I can’t blame poor circulation, because my fingers have been too large for me to wear my wedding set for several months.  I haven’t bitten my fingernails in a while, so that just means that the nail is growing incorrectly.  Awesome.  I only mention this first because it’s annoying as fuck.

Oh, and I have purple hair.  I’ll take a photo once the large splotches on my forehead fade a bit more.  I had to sit on my shower seat (new acquisition – it helps a lot, thankfully) and lean forward to apply the color, and it just kind of spread downward before I could get at it with a shampoo-soaked washcloth.

I have the entire series of House (i.e. I FREAKIN’ LOVE PIRATE BAY), and am nearly through the first season.  I’ve been watching the day-long marathons on Wednesdays (Sleuth channel) and Sundays (Bravo), and it’s actually surprising how random the shows are in terms of the order played.  I don’t watch ALL day, of course.  But man, I love that show.  If I were to be addicted to a “story”/soap, this is it.

I also have the entire series of Rugrats, along with two of the movies, so…um…there’s may also be something wrong with my taste in television.

I am now going to eat leftover spaghetti with freshly baked biscuits.  Nomtastic.

Where:  927 Bringle Road, Covington, TN  38019

When:  Saturday, October 23, 2010.  11am – ?

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This will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share.  If you want to bring alcoholic drinks, then you’re more than welcome.  We will be providing paper/plastic [...]]]> What:  Southern Blogathon Shoot-em-up Potluck

Where:  927 Bringle Road, Covington, TN  38019

When:  Saturday, October 23, 2010.  11am – ?

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This will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share.  If you want to bring alcoholic drinks, then you’re more than welcome.  We will be providing paper/plastic plates, cups, and utensils.  We will have ice, and will have several types of soda available.  We may even provide chips and dip…you just never know!

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Bring sleeping bags and tents if you wish.  Michael‘s excited about the prospect of being able to camp out in cooler weather, and I know that once his property is seen, quite a few others would like to take that opportunity, as well.  If you have any doubts about being inebriated, and therefore unable to return home, there is room to sleep in the  cabin next to the fishing pond (2 queen-sized beds surrounded by kitschy collectibles and computer parts), and there’s plenty of room on the floor for other people who’d like to stay, but aren’t quite up to par with regard to sleeping outside with the bugs and coyotes.

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I mention the sleeping arrangements because this invitation is open to ANY blogger, reader, lurker, and their friends and family.

I figure that anyone within a 100-mile radius should be able to make this event.

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Bring rifles, pistols, and other items you’d like to test on a range.  We may not get as crazy as the Northeastern Bloggershoot, but if you want to bring an item to reduce to dust, feel free.

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If you have an allergy to chickens, donkeys, or dogs, you’ll want to bring some antihistamines with you.  Otherwise, you’ll miss all the fun!

Please RSVP either in comments here, or via email.

I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone there!

<3