Summer is Over (in my book)

The Summer of 2011 was hell...absolute, energy-draining, soul-sucking hell. Not only because of the things everyone knows about...record-breaking heat, drought and wildfires in the wonderful state I call home...but also because of a ton of personal burdens. Today, after I completely get the Summer of 2011 off my chest, I'm walking away from it for good.

This summer started out with The Kitten attending a new daycare...for one whole week. She hated it and cried herself to sleep every single night she knew she had to go back there in the morning. Since she was traumatized and refused to try another daycare, we catered to her spoiled rottenness the rest of the summer by driving her to whatever extended family member she wished to grace with her presence or bribing her cousins to come to us. At least one of us had a great summer! I don't know of anything stronger than your worry for your child(ren) that can drag you down to a dark, dark place. Unless you have a demanding job too...

So during all that scrambling for babysitters and driving all over the northwest side of Houston, I was also dealing with work. You might recall a while ago I started talking about this big strategic project to which my very cool boss was reassigned and I would be backfilling for her in the meantime, but then as the project moved through its phases, we discovered the entire company would be reorganized and I started tweeting about how I wasn't going to have the same job (my original Business Analyst job) at the end of the six-month project. No? Well, that's your background, and all you really need to know is all that waiting and worrying over the summer came to a head when the available jobs were posted last week. I've narrowed down my five choices (although I know they will most likely place me in the job that most closely resembles the one I hold now and don't want), and now my fate is in somebody else's hands. Of course, I won't know that fate until the end of October, but like I said, I'm walking away. Letting it go, and hoping my company doesn't let me go.

Now the summer wasn't all bad. We had an awesome trip to Disney World the beginning of June. I skated in not only one but two banked track bouts. I spent a weekend with a friend I had not seen since high school. And today...today, I finally found the motivation I need to move to a better place. I start rehearsing with the rodeo choir on September 26th, and our first performance is October 15th. I bet you didn't know that Catazon was a good enough singer to try out for a choir that performs in front of, oh, a few thousand people for three weeks out of the year and actually MAKE IT! Well, you oughta know.

Summer of 2011...you can kiss my karaoke-ing ass.

More Dead Pets

Quite a while ago, I wrote about how good my family was at killing off pets. What I've neglected to tell you is that hasn't deterred us from buying more. This summer, we brought home a Betta for The Kitten's birthday.

Poor little thing died within two months. Being a bit older, The Kitten understood this a lot better than she did with the turtle or the hamsters. There's a memorial in the backyard. So did we stop there?

Of course not. I came home from my wonderful weekend of wine and music to find two guppies and a frog in the tiny Betta bowl. The frog jumped ship within a few days, but the guppies, they held on until the brilliant man I married put them in untreated tap water for too long last night. I hope The Kitten meant it when she was wailing about "No more pets!" She seemed genuinely happy when I told her Santa would bring her a Fin Fin Friend instead.

We are now accepting contracts on any pets you might want to meet an untimely death. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Have Job, Will Travel

Today begins a month of extraordinary travel for my job.  Really, once I put it out there, most people, including me, would say, "Oh, that's not so bad."  Then I put it in the context of "I love the organized schedule of my usual life and so does my daughter", and it makes me a little stressed. Thank goodness I will have time to throw in some personal fun (although I should probably take it easier on that since I recently had the good luck to strand myself an hour away from home with a dead battery just because I wanted to be a badass on the banked track too).

Today, I leave for California at 6:45 p.m. CDT.  Tomorrow, I work for at least twelve and a half hours, which includes a presentation on a subject that gives me indigestion and an evening meeting with Asia Pac that makes my eyes feel very droopy.  I return home at 10:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday.  Friday, we camp; Saturday, we jump out of a plane; and Sunday, we return home for Zeigfest!  Woohoo!

Halloween plans are shaping up nicely, including a Ghostland Observatory show that I have been looking forward to since July.  A long-lost friend from Austin will be joining me and my sister, but no word on whether I can get everyone to dress up yet.  The Friday after Halloween, I'm finally going to a University of Houston football game, almost twenty years after I received my bachelor's degree.  Good times!

The next trip to California will be November 7-9.  This one is extra special because the family will also be dealing with the opening weekend of deer season and the only flight I could take back gets me home at 12:30 a.m. CST on November 10.  Why is this the only flight?  I have to give the October 20th presentation on a subject that gives me indigestion to a Houston audience at noon CST on November 10th, after giving a presentation on my wonderful Community of Practice at 2:00 p.m. PST on November 9th.  Loving my job right about now!  May try to throw in a visit to the Renfest the weekend of the 13th, or The Kitten will hate me forever.

Don't worry; I'm not finished yet.  I'm getting the 36 hours of professional development I need to complete my annual goals at a conference in Washington, DC, November 16-18.  At least I get to see The Yankee on that trip and hopefully come home in one piece.  Last time we partied in DC, I danced on a bar.  Shocking, I know.  I think I lost those pictures when my computer died this summer; well, it was either those or the videos from Key West.  It's a good thing the proof of either is hard to find.

And that, my friends, is my upcoming month of extraordinary travel for my job.  When I get home on November 19th or 20th (haven't decided yet), I'll have already started on ten extraordinary days of no work at all.  Could be worse, y'all, could be worse.

April Fool's Lasts All Month Around Here

Here's a preview of the Catazon's April 2010:

• Good Friday - My 9/80 and The Kitten is looking forward to Iowa Tests being over...girls' day of fun!


• Easter - My 12th wedding anniversary...good way to get out of celebrating it.


• April 5th - A short trip to California...Trader Joe's is calling my name; that and a presentation on Lessons Learned (ick!)


• April 10th - My first bout this season with Crude City Roller Derby...yes, I'm on the roster of a league that is four hours away; come be a fool and watch me!


• April 16th - The day I should be going to the Tiki Bar opening in Maryland again but am instead being a good wife and mother for a change...boo sauce!


• April 21st - The day I was born, 40 years ago...and no, there will not be a party because somebody expects me to send the invitations, clean the house, buy the food and drinks, act as a hostess, etc. (Bite me!)

Now remind me why I'm not going to the Tiki Bar again. Happy April anyway! Usually the best month of the year, but this one has only a couple of bright spots.

BTW...I will be skating in Houston (against Houston Roller Derby) in May. This is not a joke...more info to come. This Cat just won't die, and maybe there's still breath in Catazonia yet.

Oh, and I'm doing NaPoWriMo again!

No, that's the real April Fool's joke.

Wocation

Work + Vacation = Wocation? I love going to California for work, so to me, it is a bit of a vacation. The hotel is comfy, the coworkers are friendly, and the scenery is aesthetically pleasing. Plus I'm on my own schedule, not a six-year-old's, and there's Trader Joe's. Sounds like a perfect reason for a made-up word. I still can't wait to get back to my hometown.

Just wanted to share that mainly because I couldn't make an entire post about the fact that I got a REAL comment today on my last post that was over a month ago. (Update on my last post: waiting till October 1st!).

Boring...zzzzzzzzz

I don't know why I keep up with this anymore. I no longer participate in the reason I started this blog...derby...although I did stop by the afterparty last week. Nobody wants to hear about work...even though my job is pretty awesome now. The Kitten resists becoming involved in any extracurricular activities...although I constantly ask her if she wants to swim or dance or kick and hit things. Life has become pretty boring since I decided to relax this year.

Rodeo is done, and I'm just waiting for April so anniversary and Easter and birthdays and traveling and holidays and my favorite season can begin. Maybe then Catazonia won't be lackin' in the crackin'.

Pets, Plants, and Parenting

I used to joke about staying away from the Three P's of Responsibility: Pets, Plants, and Parenting. As long as I was free of pets, plants, and kids, my life would be perfect. Then my realtor gave me a houseplant when we moved into our current home and swore that it was one even I couldn't kill. It was all downhill from there.

Two years later, The Kitten came along, and while I'm not the greatest mother in the world, she doesn't complain...much. Her father...now that's a different story. However, we survived her first teenage fit last week when we wouldn't take her to the rodeo on our night off...remember, she's only five. By the way, I received another houseplant at the birth of my only child, and both plants are miraculously still alive. So, I think I've got the plants and the parenting down, but guess what?

I killed off another pet. Last year, we had the hamsters, Beautiful Sparkle and Foola, who lasted about six and eight months, respectively. Just a few days ago, I introduced you to Sparkly the Turtle, who The Kitten received for Christmas. Obviously, Sparkly didn't enjoy having her picture plastered all over the web, and she finally gave up this weekend after not eating a damn thing for the past two months. And yes, I did try to feed her! Maybe third time's a charm on the pet thing? What should we kill get for Christmas this year?

What's My Name Again?

My daughter's name is not The Kitten. It's really Sydney. Since she was born, we have called her Sydney Bean...and every other variation of Bean. Beanie Baby, Beanie Weenie, Beana, whatever... Our whole extended family calls her Bean.

Last night, The Kitten asks, "What's my middle name?" I say, "You know your middle name. What is it?"

"Bean?"

"No, your middle name is Marie!", I reply with a big smile.

She puts her hands on her head and exasperatedly says, "I can't believe I told Aidan my middle name is Bean!"

Too cute! Although, I think she *really* likes Aidan, so it might have been a bit embarrassing for her. Good to know I'm already doing my duty as a parent.

First Report Card

First of all, we all know I'm a horrible person. I hit people I don't know, I make fun of coworkers, and I just have a bad attitude in general. Yet, I have never, ever, ever thought that The Kitten was not the most beautiful, funniest, and smartest girl in the world. Until she brought home her first report card...

The Kitten got an N (needs improvement) in "Recognizes letters and letter sounds." When I saw that, all the doubts surfaced. She won't be just like me; she'll fail Senior English just like her dad. She'll have to study instead of forgetting there's a test and still making a B. And if she's below average in academics, then she might be below average in athletics, too. Oh, please Lord, just let her look like her dad and not take after him in everything!!! All those negative thoughts raced through my head.

Then I remembered that the one thing I promised myself not to be a horrible person about is the most beautiful, funniest, smartest girl in the world. So I help her with the letters as much as I can without either one of us getting discouraged, and I keep on telling her she's the most beautiful, funniest, and smartest girl in the world.

The True Meaning of Rodeo

I have been a big fan of rodeoing for many years, which is really strange since I'm not a big fan of cows or horses. I guess I admire the extreme sport aspect of it all. Understandable. Then I saw an extended family member compete in the calf scramble last night.

My husband's cousin's son (what is that? like once removed or something? maybe I should use my skills and look that up?) enters a cow into the livestock show every year, but this year, he had a chance to win a calf he could bring back to show next year. He lined up about a half a foot shorter than the sixteen other boys and eleven girls, but he looked strong out of the gate. Within seconds, he tackled a calf, but the calf flipped around and took off. All the while, I'm jumping up and down, screaming, and trying to keep The Kitten informed on what was actually happening. It was the most exciting thing I have ever seen at a rodeo!

Our cousin kept running until the last calf was caught, and even though he wasn't one of the fourteen who caught a calf, he's still a winner to us. It made me even that much prouder to be a part of something that does good things for so many kids. Maybe that's the real reason why I'm such a big fan.

I Survived Another Year with The Kitten

We had another backyard-destroying blowout to mark four years of fun with The Kitten. She requested water balloons to celebrate the occasion. I think she and her cousins and a few close friends went through 400 of them.

The Kitten also wowed all party-goers with a preview of her gold-medal performance in the Steeplechase for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

I Did Say I Was Going to Talk About My Family Here...

So I clicked on the Family category, and my last post was in December. Really? December?

So then I decided that I better start documenting cute things that The Kitten does or says or I won't have any stories to embarrass her with when she's a teenager. And what better place to do it than the place where I said I was going to talk about my family?

So here goes...The Kitten calls Play-Doh tomato. Don't know why, because she can't (or won't) explain. Confusing, but very cute.

Something else funny about that...when you type Playdoh, spell check suggests Playboy and Playtex. Nice.

Texas State Railroad

This weekend, I finally fulfilled my promise to The Kitten to take her on a train ride. We journeyed into East Texas to ride the Texas State Railroad that travels between Rusk and Palestine. I know she looks like she hated it...


but she was thoroughly enthralled...



While we were there, I signed the petition to save our Texas state parks. There are currently not enough funds to keep these trains going, and it's a shame. Texas' parks serve not only as a glimpse into the history of this magnificent state but as affordable vacation spots for families. Sign the petition, then get out and see the state!

I love my daughter...

and she loves me! Last night, she says, "I wanna look at Catazon." Is that not the cutest thing ever? I'm thinking she really does know that Mommy has an alter ego, and she's ok with that even if her father is most definitely not.

Then I figured out that she actually meant catalog, not Catazon. The toy catalog that came in the mail on Wednesday. Still cute, but not so much now that I know for sure toys are more important than Mommy.

You Take the Good with the Bad

Even though The Kitten stayed home sick today and I have to cover for my evening librarian tonight (which means working over twelve hours), I impressed the socks off two potential employers. My phone interview resulted in an invitation for a face-to-face interview only four hours after we hung up. Then I got the news from my headhunter that my afternoon interviewers were interested but had some additional questions. I've made so many career mistakes already this year that I'm getting a little leery of making another, but I'm also slightly desperate to get off a sinking ship.

Sorry, Diary,

but I've been too busy to write. I started a new job, suffered for seven days and one hour at new job with no knowledge to manage, walked out this morning, and got a phone call in the meantime with another job offer. All while getting ready for the busiest month of the year (rodeo!) and trying not to kill myself in derby. And moving my 2 1/2-year-old into the 3-year-old class at daycare since she's potty-trained at school ONLY. I have a half-day break before my new-new job starts TOMORROW! Back to the "L" word again, but oh, how I missed it for that miserable week and a half.

Very best of luck to the HRD Travel Team, which goes to Tucson this weekend. I'll be at the biggest cook-off in the world, right here in Houston. Where else?!?!?!