woohoo!

I got the job! I will now be an official high school Spanish teacher! Crazy! It should be a crazy adventure. I start next week with new teacher orientation and then the following week is in service week. Then school officially starts on Aug. 15. It is coming up so quickly, my head is spinning a bit!

moving

I'm getting my stuff together. I really don't have that much to move but it still takes me forever to get it all organized and in boxes. I pulled out the cat carriers; the cats are lying low, not wanting to bring any attention to themselves.

I really hate packing. What should really only take me a day is taking me a week to do. I keep procrastinating and finding other things to do. I know that eventually I'll have to get my act together and get moving, and I did get a lot done last night. I would like to finish as much as possible today and then have the rest of the week to clean, 'cause I'm going to need it!

pics

Here are a couple of pics of the kitties. I have many more, so be looking for new additions to the ol' blog!

Beauty and the Geek

Okay, so my new favorite show is Beauty and the Geek. I blame it on the fact that it's summer and all the shows are in reruns. But let's face it; I would watch this show in the height of Sweeps (except if it was opposite Lost; that would be a tough call).

My fave couple got the axe this week. Bummer. I loved Lauren, she was so cute and sweet. And let's admit it, Bill turned into a stud after his makeover! What is up with the uber-goofball Rich?! Get him off the show! It's like he doesn't want to learn how to not be a social outcast! Is he only there to be annoying? Anyways, I'm going to have to go with Scarlett and Shawn now. We'll see what happens...

http://www.thewb.com/Shows/GenericShow/0,11116,228773,00.html

Things are falling into place for my move. I fly there on July 6th to look for apartments and to hopefully have some job interviews lined up. I can't believe how quickly it's coming up! I'm in the process now of applying to various school districts as well as finding a certification program. God is continually putting people in my path who are helping me in this transition. It's so exciting!

Fluffy

So, my sister sent me the cutest birthday present. I open the box and inside there is a stuffed hippo that she bought at the San Diego Zoo. She is so creative. When she and my mom came to visit me in December, we took a trip to Animal Kingdom. One of the best rides is the Safari thing and as we passed by the hippo pools, I commented, "Wow, those hippos are so fat!" The "tour guide" didn't appreciate that very much and replied, "They aren't fat, they're fluffy!" Now I have a memento of that. She cracks me up, my sister not the hippo. The hippo just kind of sits there.

I finally got the cd player my sister gave me installed in my car. I can't even begin to tell you the difference. I can't wait to get into my car now! It's amazing! It will definitely help on that 18 hour drive to Dallas in a month and a half...

So, I'm moving to Dallas. It's a crazy big step for me, but one I am reading to make. I have been wanting to move there for a long time to fulfill my dream of attending Dallas Theological Seminary to get my Masters of Bibical Counseling. It all came about so suddenly. I mean, I've been praying about this for a long time but just didn't feel any real direction from the Lord to start pursuing it. Then, one day about a month or so ago, my roommate and I found out that our apartments are being converted into condos, meaning that there would be no option for renewal. I started looking for apartments when it hit me..."why am I staying in Orlando?" I know I have a great church and lots of wonderful new friends, but staying here is not getting me closer to fulfilling the purpose God has for my life. So, I'm moving to Dallas. Now, just getting all the details in order to make the move...

"Love God, then do as you please." --St. Augustine

5 love languages

I know what my cats' love languages are. Ginger is definitely touch. She will sit with me for hours and let me pet her. If I stop, she meows her tiny little meow and gives me those huge green eyes as if to say, "why are you stopping?" If I don't restart the petting, she turns around and prisses away on her tiny little petite paws, visibly hurt.

Simba, on the other hand, is gifts. He goes crazy when I say the word "treat". He can't get enough of them! When I get home in the evening, he follows me around the apartment, meowing super loudly and looks up at me. "You've been gone all day, I want a treat!"

I should write a book on the love languages of pets...I could sell it at PetSmart!

I came out to my car this morning to find 2 flat tires. There was just enough air in them to get them to the gas station where I filled them up. When I got dressed this morning I picked out a new shirt I had just bought. It's flowery and very pretty. Of course this would be the day that I would end up having to fill my tires with air and get my hands all black from car crud. I knew that since the tires were flat that I should take my car in asap to get the tires checked out. The guy assured me that it wouldn't take too long since they weren't busy. Then, one of the mechanics gets a call from home and his car had just gotten stolen, so he had to leave to fill out a police report. That meant the wait time increased from "not too long" to "we're not too sure how long." One person really does make a difference. I'm sitting there waiting, watching the Tony Danza show (the guest was Sly Stalone who incidentally has his own magazine coming out), and the mechanic comes in with a frown and says, "there's a problem." Yikes! Not only are the 2 tires irrepairable, but because I had bad allignment, all 4 tires need to be replaced.

It's days like this that you wonder why you even got out of bed in the morning...

cat tales

Ginger found a new place to hang out. I left one of my dresser drawers open one morning as I was getting ready for work. I walked back into the room and Ginger was just laying in there, sniffing around, checking things out. She is the most inquisitive cat I know, yet she's terrified of her own shadow. How does that work? I'm surprised she hasn't had a heart attack yet.

I went to buy my kitties some diet cat food, as they are in need of some weight reduction. I found some that said "weight management" but I don't want to manage their weight, I want them to lose it! Anyone know where I can find low fat/low carb cat food?

quarter life crisis

I am having an identity crisis. First, I can't seem to get my name changed. Some people know me as Annette, others as Anna, and other refuse to call me Anna so they only call me Annette. I know this is confusing, most of all for me!

Secondly, what the heck do I want to be when I grow up?! This question haunts me many a sleepless night. Okay, not really, but I do think about it a lot. I wish I knew where my calling was. Neon signs are always welcome...

life lessons

I learned a valuable lesson on Saturday. Don't ride two roller coasters back to back with only a few minutes in between to recoup.

How did I learn this lesson? Well, a friend graciously invited me to go to one of the many theme parks in the area. I was so excited because I haven't gotten to ride any cool rides in forever. There is one coaster that is actually two in one; there are two trains that go at the same time side by side. Well, I rode one and it was one of the best coasters I've ever riden. It had tons of loops and when I got off, I was really dizzy. I couldn't even walk straight! We figured that since we were already at this ride, we should go for the other coaster as each one is different in the turns and speeds. We got in line and within minutes were riding the other train. When it stopped at the end, I thought I was going to loose my Cinnabon breakfast!

I think I'm getting old...

Life

Does life ever slow down? I feel like the older I get, the busier and more full my schedule becomes. I know, I know, boundaries, right? I feel like I have good boundaries, but I also want to be involved in my church and in the lives of my friends. The balance is so hard to find!

flute lessons

I have finally found a creative outlet. I just began flute lessons! I am really excited about it and looking forward to seeing if I will ever be able to play that Vivaldi piece that I listen to and imagine myself on a stage, playing with an orchestra behind me...or at least being able to remember the fingerings for the various notes.

My cats, on the other hand, are not excited about this new venture. The first day I practiced they both looked at me and ran. Ginger hid under a table and Simba went into the other room. The next time I played, Simba looked at me with this, "What the heck?!" expression and sauntered out of the room; he likes to act like he's not frightened by walking out cool-like, but you can tell he's terrified. Ginger does not hide the fact that she's scared. She looked at me with those wide open green eyes, her mouth in a little frown, and hid under a chair, looking out occasionally to ask with her eyes if I was done yet. Yesterday I practiced and Simba has gotten used to it. He even sat on the bed next to where I was standing as if to be my audience. Ginger looked at me as I opened the flute case, then darted out of the room. I need to get her some valium.

you think you know someone...part 2

The saga continues...

The woman who previously owned my kitties came over to visit them. She brought over paper work from the original owners when they were adopted from the Humane Society). I thought the cats were 3 1/2 years old. According to the paperwork, they will be 7 years old this March. This could actually explain alot...like why Ginger is so fat! She's not 21 in people years, she's almost 49!

I know, I know, you are all thinking I am a crazy cat lady with all these stories...

I'm in the money!

Okay, not really, but I finally got a job! Woohoo! I start on Jan. 31st and it's a great company to work for. Benefits start the day I start and I get to wear jeans to work! Plus, if I hit all green lights, it's only 5 minutes away from my apartment. It's nice to finally have that soap opera done, at least for now. God provides in His time, I just need to contantly remind myself of that!

you think you know someone...

I got a call the other day from the woman who owned my cats previously. She wanted to know how they are doing. She asked, "So, what did you end up naming them?" I said, "I kept their names the same, Ginger and Simba." She laughed hysterically and said, "That's not their names!" I was so confused. I said, "Your roommate told me that their names were Simba and Ginger." We both laughed and she explained, "When I got them, their names were Cleo and Leo. I didn't like those names so I changed them to Gin and Juice."

I can see how you could get Ginger from Gin, but Simba from Juice?

I decided to do an experiment. Ginger was in the same room and I called out, "Cleo!" She looked right up at me and meowed as if to say, "yes?"

Kind of explains why they never respond when I call them...that, or they are just being normal cats...

Simba

My cat Simba is a beautiful cat. He is a tannish color with slightly darker stripes. Everyone who meets him thinks he is beautiful.

I thought it would be cute to get him a Simba stuffed animal from the Lion King movie. My mom purchased it for me and I brought it home to him. "Look Simba, it's you," I said and laid the stuffed lion on the bed next to him. I walked out of the room and when I came back a few minutes later, the stuffed Simba was laying on the floor.

I guess the live Simba doesn't like competition, or he is not happy with the representation of himself in the stuffed one.