Eye of the tiger

Ally is my cat. All is truly a tiger trapped in a tabby-like domesticated cat's body. Ally will latch on to your ankle for no particular reason as you walk by. Ally will show undying affection for you and then walk away when her mood shifts. Ally will pounce upon the other cats in the house for sheer pleasure. Ally is more than a tiger, she is a tiger princess with the occasional sniffles from being out all night. This is my cat. This is Ally.

In A Coon's Age

I guess I have fallen off the blogging map for quite some time and I haven't posted "in a coon's age", which probably means a long time, but I don't see how it could since there are tons of racoon carcuses on the highway. Anyway, I guess it's time to talk about something.

I can't believe it's almost time to return to Edinboro. I've discovered that I am struggling with one main issue- the issue of having a home in two different places. Guess you could say that I'm not the type who will grow up and have a winter cabin or a summer camp alongside a home. Home is where the heart is, but's it's difficult when it's torn.

I already have most of my priorites in line, organized, and ready to go. Call me a dork, but I have my master list already comprised and have bought all the "back-to-school" items. (Hey, my coupons expired at the end of this month, I had to get around to it!) It's tough thinking about the excitement of going back and then thinking of how much I enjoy home life and not having to share a bathroom with 20 some other girls. (On the other hand, I have to share the bathroom at home with one older brother, and that is bad enough or even worse.)

My mentor from school put it best when she said "It's hard to establish two homes. The best thing to do is to enjoy one while you have it." I couldn't really have said it better myself. Infact, I should have thought of it myself. Instead of daydreaming about one, just be content when I am. Sounds good to me.

Hopefully I can build my funds through college with an on-campus job. Sure, Shop N' Save isn't the hottest thing this side of the equator, but it pays the bills and such. This past Spring I couldn't wait to make some cash because I was sick and tired of being a poor boy. (No, just a poor kid, not the sandwich for those of you who know what a poor boy is.) (Do a lot of people know that?)

Thanks to my terrific job of checking out people's food and wiping away the grim and goop of a grocery store, I must cut this short because I've been called in for work! Toodles!

It Never Seems To Get Easier

Losing a pet is almost just as bad as losing a loved one, a family member, a close friend because a pet is all of those listed. Our dog Lilly this morning will be put to sleep after a long battle with cancer.

It's hard to imagine that the same cancer that plagues humans from all over the world plages animals same level also. Lilly was diagnosed in February with Lymphoma and given good reports, and those good reports were given to the right dog. She lasted longer than the odds gave her, she still had time to get herself into mischief and trouble, still took off with her brother Indy for a jaunt in the woods to hunt down a groundhog. She had fight, and she fought it.

Pets in this household are part of the family. They are talked about at the dinner table, treated daily we snacks and leftovers, loved immesly, and are always on top of things. (The couch being one of them, but I was referring more to the idea that they have a heads up on everything going on around here.)

Lilly was only with us for a short time, about four years, but four years is enough time to get attached. She came to us a stray, abused, and overly-shy to come near anyone with a hand, even if it was streched open with welcoming love. She moved into the dogbox outside, then slowly into the house on the floor with her blanket, then to the couch, and then to the beds when she was given the chance. Her course and matted fur turned into silk from the frequent bathing she recieved because of her favorite hobby- finding "substances" to roll in that were extremly offensive to the nose.

This is only the second dog that has been put down in my lifetime that was apart of the family. There have been cats, some old, some young, but the dogs seem like "top dogs" around here. The first pet was Scooter, who also had a battle with cancer. I recall calling my best friend up as a child bawling my eyes out as my mother drove over to the Vet. I didn't want to see him go. In a way it is easier this time because I can be more mature about the issue, it was her time to go, she was suffering, and she'll be in a better place.

Of course there is the long-standing debate about heaven for pets. Some say there is no such thing because pet's don't have souls but I refuse to believe this and in a child-like wishing manner I do believe that when I see the pearly gates that I will see wagging tales too because heaven just wouldn't be heaven without them. God cares for pets, in Jonah it speaks of his care for the cattle when Jonah is stubborn about spreading God's Word to the Ninevites. God replied with a stern yet compassionate response.

"But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

It's comforting to know she will be in a better place, at rest, and not hurting and suffering like she has been for the past several weeks. Yet all of those reasons seem to leave one's mind when tears fill your eyes when you see the empty spot and you cease to hear the bark. Childish it may seem, I don't care. I will miss my dog.

This is my tribute to her.

Lilly, I love you and I'll miss you.

Lilly

A penny for my thoughts

Since today was payday I found it a terrific day to hit the mall with my friend from highschool and spend a little of that green stuff I've earned so diligently for the past week. I love a time out of the house and crusing along towards a mall where I could maybe find someything nifty and cheap.

The thing about me is that I truly AM cheap. Serisouly, if it's not on sale, I don't want it. In fact, I'm a thrift store shopper (gasp). To some people, that may sound "strange" or "weird" but to me it's "neat" and "wallet-friendly".

In fact, I love thrifting for things that you could find no where else in any department store. I find Scrabble ties and panda mugs or brand new designer clothes with the tags still on them for a buck fifty. I get to wear the hot, expensive name brands along with having an awesome wardrobe without the crying wallet.

When it comes to buy something in the mall, or anything for that matter, it's hard to make a decision because I have great regrets for spending money wisely. I want to spend what I have on something I LOVE, not something I like, something I might wear, but something I LOVE and will wear often. So when I was at the crossroads of deciding whether to purchase the "I heart John Deer" t-shirt on sale at the mall, my friend got a first hand look at my decision making skills, or lack there of.

I weight every option like "How long will it last" or "Will it shrink" or "What can I wear this with". I get this trait honest from my Aunt G. who when can't make a choice on a certian blouse, she just buys all the colors to solve the problem. I'm not that bad by any mean, I'm too cheap for that. And repitition of the same shirt would bother me. When it comes to the eye, I am obsessive complusive.

I love having a job tese days because I can spend a bit every now and then and still know there is plently of cash in the bank waiting for a rainy day (or a campus bookstore). I hating being so broke this past Spring without a college job that I joyfully went back to work to earn some dollars of my own. I even find pleasure in trying to work up my bank account in case I may need the money for a rainy day. Money is valuable to me, I try to spend conservativly.

Now I look back at my childhood and homelife and find myself thankful I wasn't handed everything on a silver platter, that I was one of the kids that may have thrown a tamtrum in a store, and that I leanred what it was to respect what I have, to be thankful, and to do a job the hard earned way.

Now it's off for a movie and a milkshake. Have a great night and see you another time!

Laundry Day

There are some things in life people take for granted, this we all now. For example, people point out the environment and how we ignore its transcending beauty or the many blessing in our lives we often overlook. All these things are true, but one of the things in live I've learned to appreciate in my life has been taught through the simplicities of my home life. One of them is the value of water.

If you've ever been to my house, or seen many pictures, you know I live on a pretty high hill, next to a field where you can see fields and trees stretch over the county. Despite the great views in the mornings and evenings, it comes with a price.

Water is a scarcity at times. When my brother and I are away at college, the water issue is no problem what so ever because with Ma and Pa here, the only one using up excessive amounts of water is the dog who insists on rolling in decaying materials and fecal droppings. (We live a glamorous life, I swear!) But when my brother and I come home at the same time, it's hard to run the house with two wells and a reservoir tank.

The two wells we have, one reaching 200 ft. and another reaching 300 ft., you'd think we'd be swimming in droplets of country water. Yet these wells don't pump the amounts even near to what the neighbors 1,000 ft. from the house can pump. It's been a challenge over the years and has taught me made odds and ends about water and wells. My father and I have done many projects together with the family as well, doing things like "pulling the well", digging ditches to correct plumbing lines, cleaning the tank, and my personal favorite to tell people "pumping the wells". (Manual pumping from the lever in teh basement, I thought everyone knew that one! Yeah, right...)

Water issues have left us heading off to the Laundromat throwing loads and loads of our dirty laundry in for a spin for a few quarters and have left my mother yelling at me numerous times to shorten my time in the shower, a time I love to death, a time where dream of turning into a giant prune and let the soap overtake me in a giant mass.

So today was laundry day for me. I found myself heading down to the neighbors/cousin's house for two loads of laundry (which will be followed by two more tomorrow morning). I love doing laundry. It gives me options on what to wear the next day. Sometimes I am ticked to be confused on the matter because it never happens! That perfect shirt that goes with the jeans that would match the shoes is always in the hamper buried by the socks and the shorts from three weeks ago. Laundry strikes are so harsh.

So tonight was glorious. The smells, the fragrances, the cleanliness! Did I mention one of my favorite isles at Shop N' Save is 11, the cleaning isle? So I'm here folding the t-shirts and tucking the socks together while spending some time with David Letterman and Jay Leno at 11:30. It's too bad the time has passed when mom doesn't fold all my laundry like told times. She still does at times, but when I'm at school spending hours at the Potter's House, I wish I had mom's talent for folding the t-shirts properly and getting the sheets to line up. I think it comes with time, so I'll give it a whirl and get that folding under control. Enjoy the day!

Congrats!

I almost deleted the e-mail sent by Chase to me this past week until I took a chance and opened it up. So here I am doing my part and helping him out with his surprise! I'm so excited!


The question heard 'round the world…I have a secret..… For those of you who have been in the loop all week, now is the time. In a couple of hours, Suzanne and I, accompanied by a few of my family members, and some close friends will be on the beach at Tybee Island, where the 4th of July fireworks come a day early. When the sky lights up tonight, I am going to ask Suzanne to marry me. Several of you have arranged to re-broadcast this on your blogs, and soon everyone on the world wide web from California to Austrailia will know, except her. Wish me well, but whatever you do, Please don't call. Thanks again to you all... I've enclosed a picture of the ring she's getting.-Chase

Stopping By

It's been a coon's age since I stopped by on this old blog of mine to post anything new or interesting about my life and the world around me but that old life of mine and the world around me has consumed my time away from the computer and out into the sunshine either lazily floating around on a raft at my cousin's pool or at work checking out irritable customers grub. Either way, I am sorry for leaving. It's summer, I am soaking up the sun as much as I can (in a safe manner with SPF 50, of course) in return for the loads of snow I will see months from now in Edinboro.

I am constantly thinking about stories to tell on here so I make a mental note but since it's a mental note I throw it in the metal trash compactor and forget about it for a long time until something reminds me of that little cube of a reminder I made days ago. It's almost as if I take pictures with my mind and I try to appricate each moment of my life. I was never one of those people through thigh who where dying to graduate and move on with their lives because I tried to enjoy each moment as it came. Since smmer as hit I've had all kinds of stories I want to share but really haven't had time or motivation. Sometimes I feel like no one reads this blog and then a random person mentions something to me that I am pretty sure I didn't share with them- that's when they remind me that they read it on my blog, of course. I look at the comments and no one posts, I try to keep up with the other blogs but I don't have time. But writing shouldn't be about the post or the comments or the reading of other blogs, it should be the sheer enjoyment of writing.

In a quick brief of what is happening around here, I am at Shop N' Save 24/7 lately with 37 hours of grub scanning this past week with a holiday and check day to top it off. The baby shower for my cousin V was great and I am tickled about the new arrival that will be right down the road from me. The few past months I have been secretly crocheting her a baby blanket that I gave to her as a shower gift. Even though I knew every little mistake on the blanket, they acted as if it were perfect.

I have been trying to keep in touch with friends but after the cookout I've been at work a lot, thus making anytime for pow-wow's unfindable. ( Wow, is that even a word?) I have been pondering about changing up the look of the blog. I've have this green and blue theme going on since sometime in the early spring and a nice summer look would be cute, if I can remember how to jazz it up. Maybe I might need another helpful e-mail from Sharon to help me unlock more neat tricks to this thing.

Well, the clock is ticking and it's time for bed. I've found that in comparison to my other peeps the same age as myself, I am quite prehistoric when it comes to sleeping patterns. I usually go to bed at 12, wake up at 8-9AM, and enjoy getting things done in the morning. I no longer find excitement in late night, I rather have the morning. Am I turning into Sharon? I don't think so, mostly because of the fact that I woke up fully rested one morning at 7:30 and refused to get up because I considered it morally wrong to get up and going at that hour. Go figure. Well, anyway, I'm off to bed for a night of slumber and blankies. Goodnight my fellow readers, have a wonderful tonight and a terrific tomorrow.