Bad Blogger

I know. I'm the worst blogger ever. It's just so much stuff has been happened I kind of let this blog fall by the wayside.
I started my job at the casino. It's a very easy job but I like the people I work with and on slow nights I spend most of time talking with them or reading or writing my zombie novel.

Rick and I got married! The wedding was in March in Las Vegas and our families all came. It was amazing. We had so much fun and it wasn't stressful at all because the wedding chapel planners did everything. Our minister seemed really nice and he was...it's just that he was completely different during the ceremony. All of sudden he had this crazy evangelist preacher southern accent. And before and after the accent was gone. So I had to concentrate really hard on Rick and sort of tune him out so I didn't collapse into giggles.

My youngest sister got married a few months later in Jamaica. We had so much fun there! I can't wait to go back. Jamaica is beautiful and it was a great wedding even though it started pouring rain as soon as the ceremony started. We were all drenched but it was very memorable and we had a great time.

I also got very sick a few months ago with bronchitis. And so I decided to quit smoking which has been extremely difficult. Rick quit with me and I couldn't have done it without his support. For a little while there I really felt like I was losing my mind. I didn't realize how strong this addiction can be. I'm sure I was very difficult to live with too. Poor Rick :( There were lots of times he just held me and tried to make me laugh while I ranted and raved about how life was just not worth living without a cigarette. How jealous I was of people who were still "allowed" to smoke. It gets a little easier every day but I still have alarming relapses in my thoughts sometimes. If they aren't around I won't want to smoke them but otherwise...it's something I will have to be vigilant about for the rest of my life. I have to keep telling myself it's worth it. I want a long and happy life with Rick. I like being able to breathe and exercise without coughing up a lung. I LOVE the way food tastes now. And I don't smell anymore! Those are real tangible advantages.

I'm trying to write a book now. I've always wanted to write books. It's the only "career" I could see myself doing when I was young and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I've been an avid reader my whole life and there is nothing I love more than a good book. I'd love to write good books that people would get lost in. About a month ago, I thought how fun it would be to write a book about my favorite scary subject. Zombies! There is nothing that scares me more (in a good way) than a good zombie book or movie. So I've been working out outlines and characters and actually starting to put my story together which is really fun and exciting. Even if it never gets published it is still a joy to be writing it.

Bridget the Cat is doing well. We moved to an apartment that allows cats and dogs so we don't have to hide her anymore. She loves to hang out on the balcony and watch the hummingbirds. She also likes to escape onto the roof. And once she jumped down onto the ground and spent hours hiding in hedges and I was in tears and Rick was so tired of searching for her. We went home and I was just hoping she would come home and she did five minutes later. I heard her meowing at the door to be let in. She knows where we live and comes home when she damn well pleases. I'm still not comfortable with letting her wander wherever she wants. I know she can take care of herself. It's just there are a lot of things out there which can hurt her.

So that's my update. I'm sorry it's been so long. I'll try not to let another half year go by. :(

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Christmas was great here. Santa was good to all of us. He even brought presents for Bridget. It was a gloomy, rainy day and we just stayed in and snuggled up. I've been away from my family before on Christmas. It's just not possible to always get together when we all live in different places. I've come to terms with that. However, it was the first Christmas when all my siblings were separated. All four of us were in a different places so that was a bit strange. Last Christmas, I could phone my mother and hear all my siblings in the background having a great time. I talked to all of them but it was still a little sad. I think we all missed eachother.
Tomorrow, I start a new job! It's at a resort and casino and I'm working in room service. It was a very long hiring process as I had to get a gaming license even though my position has nothing to do with gaming. It involved an extensive background check and lots of paperwork and the whole process took about a month but everything cleared and I start tomorrow. I'm a little jittery and nervous about it. I always am when I'm going into a new place. I think that's normal. I just hope I can sleep tonight!
I haven't been able to be on SL for any extended period of time lately but I did pop on a few times to pick up some of the great freebies my favorite designers were giving out. It was great!
I don't seem to have much to say tonight. My mind is too full with all the things I'm supposed to memorize from my new employee handbook. I keep running over the company motto and the mission statement.
I want to let my friend Joonie know that everything is fine with me since I know she worries about me when I'm not blogging or on SL as much as usual. I'm sorry I've been so distant. My New Year's resolution is to write in this blog at least once a week! It's good for me to write here and I love the blogger community.
I wish you all the best New Year! I hope it brings blessings to everyone.

Another Winter Picture

Alicia's Winter Picture Challenge!

I'm not a very good photographer. I still don't know how to play around with Windlight although I have tried. But I like dressing up and taking pictures and thought Alicia's challenge sounded fun. So I dressed up warm and put on my skates and went to this beautiful sim I found called Midsomer Meadows. I don't know how to put in SLURL's either but if you go into search and put in Midsomer meadows you will find it. There is a winter wonderland there!

Astrid is also a much better skater than I am.

Making snow angels!

And lastly, my favorite kind of winter. In the hot tub in my beach tree house! With my bright pink Christmas tree!

A Treehouse

Rick and I rent a beautiful little piece of land in the Estate of Mind sim. It's a quiet neighborhood and the people who live there have created a beautiful neighborhood. We've had it about a year now and recently I thought I'd like a change. We had a simple house before and it was nicely decorated but I have a thing for treehouses and thought I'd like a change. So we went shopping last night and found a great one!

I spent a long time rearranging things and placing my furniture and here it is! Astrid and Frey's beach treehouse!

A romantic picnic spot on the beach.

A campfire and swing

The first level of the treehouse.




The only enclosed room in the treehouse



And the top level with a little hot tub!

I love my new SL home! Come and visit sometime! IM Astrid Foulon for the Landmark!

Updates

Wow! A lot of things have been happening. I haven't blogged in so long. First of all, Bridget's spaying went very well. She had to wear a lampshade collar for ten days and she hated that. I just took it off her a few days ago and she was so happy. She spent a whole hour cleaning herself and running all over the place. About a week after the surgery I noticed a strawberry sized lump under the incision. We took her to the vet and she had an infection. It didn't seem to bother her but it't important not to ignore these things. So she is taking Amoxicillin now for a week. Twice a day I squirt the medicine into her mouth with a syringe. It smells like bananas. I think she likes it. The bump is going away.

Now all this Bridget stuff happened a week before we were supposed to move to Utah. It was very stressful. We weren't sleeping and everything was packed so we were eating off paper plates or just getting fast food. Rick had some health problems and we went to the doctor. All this stress started making us think. And we started talking about things we had just pushed to the back of our minds because we didn't want to think about the disadvantages of what were thinking of doing. There were a lot of things to think about, risking all our money on a business venture that may not work out. And since the business is on park land, it may be hard to sell should we ever want to sell it. The current owners are having trouble selling it because of the bad economy. We also didn't have a place to live. We could stay in the cabin during the off-season but we'd have to buy a house trailer eventually.

And it's not like we hate it here. I love living here. The traffic gets to me sometimes but we have everything we need here and we love our place. We decided not to do it. In some ways, it was sad to let go of the dream but in other ways it's a relief. I just want us to be together no matter where we are. So we've given up on this dream for now. But I have lots of dreams and they are coming true every day. Rick and Bridget are both doing really well now and I'm so happy about that.

Yesterday I bought a wedding dress! It was a lot of fun, trying on all these fancy princess gowns. I felt like I was in SL! The second gown I tried on was "the one." As soon as I put it on I couldn't stop smiling. It felt perfectly right for me and I've never felt so beautiful. So I bought it and put it in my hall closet which we never use. It's in a garment bag, but even so I want it kept far away from kitty claws. I also bought some beautiful shoes! I'm posting a picture of them here. The dress pictures will have to wait until after the wedding because of all that superstitious stuff. I don't believe in it but my mother would be upset if Rick happened to see the pictures before the wedding so out of respect for her feelings I'll go along with all the hoopla. But the shoes don't count! Do they? I don't know anything about this wedding stuff. haha.

Cat scratch fever!

The last few days have been a bit difficult. Bridget has been acting strange. Yowling and crying at all hours of the night so we don't get any sleep. She has just been acting very agitated and I thought she might be sick but she is eating fine. Then I did some research and found out that she is at the right age for her first heat. Poor Bridget! I wish there was some kitty Midol I could give her.

So we made an appointment to get her fixed on Monday. I know it's a routine, standard procedure and most likely she will be fine. But I am very worried and I wish we didn't have to do it. But I think it's a good idea. Cats can go into heat very frequently and it will help her to calm down a bit. I just hope it goes well. Please pray for Bridget on Monday or send good thoughts her way!