Friday, November 1, 2013

It Was An Alarming Week

When I am Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, I am going to declare the day after Halloween to be a holiday from school. Get ready for it. In the meantime, I must plod along life with the rest of the masses, biding my time, and occupy myself by finding the thankful in the past week. Here goes.

1. You know how you get a song stuck in your head for days and days and can't get rid of it? I had Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" on interminable repeat in my head (and I like the song, actually, if I hear it every once in awhile, but not over and over and over...) and FINALLY was able to dislodge it. 

2. We all know the only way to dislodge a song that's stuck in your head is to replace it with another one, right?  Goodbye, "Wrecking Ball." Hello, "The Cup Song (When I'm Gone)."

3. Got rid of "The Cup Song" by, yes, replacing it with ANOTHER song. This time up, "Royals" by Lorde. I do love her voice! Which is a good thing, because I keep hearing it over and over and over and....




4. I make a pretty darn fine sugar cookie. This week, I made a double batch and cut them out into pumpkins and fall leaves, then frosted them and sprinkled them with colored sugar. I would show you a picture, but I ate them all. 

5. Always good to have a reason that I can't possibly finish the laundry.




6. Had a follow up visit with my general surgeon, Dr. Dorian Grey. He did a VERY THOROUGH breast exam, made all the more weird by the fact that I can feel the pressure of the exam but not actually feel anything on my skin. Ever fall asleep funny on your arm and your hand goes to sleep and is so far beyond the prickly stage that it seems completely dead? Like that. He didn't find anything of concern, and I don't get to gaze at his unlined face and auburn hair don't have to go see him again for another six months.

7. Our security alarm went off the other night at 1:30 a.m. Before going to bed that night, I had taken an ibuprofen p.m. in an attempt (failed) to thwart the insomnia I have been having for the past few weeks, and had finally dropped off into that deep, dark sleep that sometimes happens right after you drift off. At the blaring of the alarm, my husband leaped out of bed and headed for the upstairs alarm control panel, catching his foot in the handle of a duffle bag that was sitting outside the hall closet door on his way.  I was aware of the alarm going off and of my husband thundering out of the room, and was trying to drag myself out of my ibuprofen p.m.-induced sleep when I heard the crash caused by him falling over the bag, followed by a stream of curse words. He got the alarm off, then headed downstairs to investigate when the alarm went off a second time. I had gotten up by this time and pushed my way past him, going down the stairs to the alarm control panel in only my pajama top, having shed the bottoms during an earlier hot flash, and hoping I didn't meet a burglar. When I checked the downstairs panel (which is the only one with a digital read-out of the alarm status), I saw that the cause of the alarm going off was a problem with the phone line. I walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Problem, all right: no dial tone. (Cell) phone calls to the alarm company and the telephone company and two hours of flopping around, hearing "Wrecking Ball" or "The Cup Song" or "Royals" on an endless loop, and I finally dropped off to sleep. Aaaand the alarm went off again. AND IT WASN'T EVEN SET. So what did I bring away from this for which to be thankful? No burglar, silly!

8. I had a dream this week that I was pregnant, and in spite of my basket being rendered relatively useless from two uterine ablations, and my egg production halted both by the monthly Zoladex injections and the daily Arimidex tablets, I woke up just short of hyperventilating. Once my heart stopped racing, though, all I could think was, "Whew!"

9. Halloween is over! Yahoo! (I really don't like Halloween that much.) It rained buckets all that morning and into the afternoon, but by 4:00, the sun was shining and in another hour, the kids started ringing the doorbell. We ended the night with over 900 trick or treaters, and now it's over for another year.


About 6:30 p.m.



Really starting to get busy. Around 7:30 it was crazy,
with kids lined up all the way from our front porch to the street.


10. Best for last! We have a new baby at our house. As of this writing, she remains nameless (and we are open to suggestions). The other two cats hate her. HATE her. HAAAAATE HER. She is currently kept segregated from them until everyone can play nice. And I love her.





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52 comments:

  1. Have you tried drinking chamomile tea before bed? Or putting lavender oil on your pillow?

    I do still adore your little calico. She's so cute. I'm still going with Koala....although, maybe given the connection of an earlier suggestion of yours, you could call her Cuoco - whaddya think?

    I hate burglar alarms. And fire alarms. And alarm clocks. I'm always IMMEDIATELY bolt-awake, as though the sky had fallen on me, and when it's unexpected, it's shattering. I had one truly awful experience at a hotel, which left my nerves jangling for about 3 hours.

    Also SO thankful for no burglars! They seem to be one of my worst fears. The other weekend, while visiting, my MIL had gone out on our balcony and I'd forgotten about her. Then the curtains blew inwards, and I saw the door swing open behind them and thought "Oh crap, we left the door open, I hope no burglars come in..." and then this FOOT APPEARED THROUGH THE DOOR...my heart clean near stopped! I was the MOST SCARED EVER. And (of course) had to hide it, because how could I admit that I'd forgotten that MIL was there?!

    900 trick or treaters is ridiculous. Throw eggs at them and yell 'TRICK!' next year.

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    1. Someone suggested Melatonin. I have to check with my oncologist before I take anything, though.

      The list of baby kitty names is endless. We are trying to get 4 strong-willed people to agree.

      I KNEW it was the security alarm, yet I didn't. Awful at 1:30 in the morning (and 1:35 and 3:30). You'll have to tell me the hotel story.

      I'm really not sure why I was the one that had to go downstairs and check the panel, because if there HAD been a burglar, I would have been toast. How do you forget your MIL is there? That's something I wouldn't forget....

      I can't afford 900 eggs.

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    2. My son took melatonin for a long while (he has Asperger's...and has always had issues with sleep). Then, I saw a thing on Dr Oz about it. First of all, it is a 'hormone' so he heavily suggested that kids not take it. !!!! woops! Secondly, melatonin should be used more for helping to get sleep cycles back on track (say, like after one has traveled and has jet lag or maybe worked nights and now is trying to get back to sleeping normally at night that sort of thing). I think if you go to the Dr Oz site and do a search for melatonin, there's a 3 or 4 pt video series all about it.

      All that said, going along with what Lizzi said... Keenan did try chamomile tea before bed when I made him stop taking melatonin. And it did help. Lavender also works pretty well. But, if your issues are more than just 'not sleeping well' those methods probably won't work.

      ALSO...(sorry, I don't mean to be a know-it-all, comment hog here..) Have you ever tried white noise? We bought Keenan a "white noise machine" for about $50. He takes it everywhere with him. I don't have one, but use an app on my phone called "Relax & Sleep". The idea behind white noise is that it helps block out noises that we hear when we are sleeping that make us think we need to wake up or that keep us awake. It masks them. I can't sleep without some form of white noise...even if it is just a fan running in my room. However, white noise will do NOTHING for burglar alarms ---THOSE as you know will shoot your blood pressure right up like a rocketship!!! Few things worse than being bolted awake like that! ugh!

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    3. I forgot because the visit was very sudden, and I wasn't in a 'paying attention' kind of place at the time. Lol. I never told her though.

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  2. OMGosh, that kitten is the CUTEST.THING.EVER.!
    I want some of your cookies. They sound delish.
    My husband has a knack for waking me up at that moment you described, that moment of deep, dark sleep. It makes me mildly homicidal. Glad you didn't have any burglars lurking around.
    I am blown away by 900 Trick or Treaters!! That's crazy!

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    1. I KNOW, RIGHT?! She is too cute. Too bad the other two cats don't agree.

      The cookies were delish, but I'm sorry I ate them all now. Okay, not that sorry.

      I didn't have to kill him; he nearly killed himself falling over the duffle bag.

      People from 3 states come to our street to trick or treat. No lie.

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  3. Calico Pie
    The little birdies fly
    Down to the calico tree...

    Its an old poem... I cant remember who wrote it but the little birds say tilly-hoo...I wouldn't propose the name tilly but I do like Pi...

    I get music stuck all the time... have a perpetual run of "yellow submarine" no matter what else is in my head...it can be other music and its still there...Its been running since the 60s... It's actually (I hate to admit it) a form of OCD ... its called 'musicolalia"... in folks who just get something stuck in their heads though its just called "annoying as shit."

    We did not get ONE kid this year... I think our house is too spooky looking in the dark...its an old barn on a dirt driveway...set back ...not that its a hopping neighborhood anyway... its pretty rural...but 900...yeesh!

    I clicked on to your Dr. story... love the auburn haired guys... To bad about the girls ... looking nice is great too but feeling them would be good... I had surgery that left me numb from shoulders to just above the hips...its annoying but really great when I have to give myself an injection... it IS a bizarre sensation at times though.

    Have a lovely week... I bet you got to see some fun costumes with the kiddos in school yeah? But that next day sugar hangover had to be hell to deal with!

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    1. I keep thinking of The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat.

      I had NO IDEA there was a word for getting a song stuck in your head. Guess I shouldn't be surprised - there's a word for everything. I'll take Miley Cyrus over "Yellow Submarine" though. Is it only OCD if you have it for 50 years?

      Your house is awesomely cool, but I can see where it might not attract many trick or treaters. Our street is the most popular one in town, because it's in an old historic neighborhood (a/k/a "Snob Hill") and still has the original street lights that were once gas.

      Love my Dr. Dorian Grey. I'm also numb from about 2 inches above my bellybutton to 3 inches below it. Makes it great when I get my monthly Zoladex injection in my tummy, although I'm not brave enough to try it without the lidocaine injection first.

      The kids have never been more wound up. It's going to be a rough ride with this group from now until Christmas.

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    2. I had my surgery that caused the numbness about five years ago now and the sensation is just barely starting to come back some... but just an fyi I didn't start using the lidocaine until this year because it was pretty much eezy breezy with no sensation... so who knows?

      Yeah its only OCD if its over a sustained period of at least weeks...

      and yeah we just have a spooky house... a barn is a barn is a barn....especially when the folklore says its haunted...

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  4. Oh my, that nameless baby is priceless! Thanks for sharing her with us. And whoo boy, I understand about the song in your head! Always have one of them playing!

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    1. She is very sweet (so far)! You probably have some tasteful, classical music going through your head rather than a former Disney star's song.

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  5. What a cute kittie!!!!
    As I was reading about the cookies I said in my head: I want to see them! then I read that you ate them all!! they must have been really good then ;)
    oh no! now I have "wrecking ball" stuck in head!!

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    1. She is sooooo cute! She is currently crashed on her daddy's chest. I made a double batch of the cookies and am pretty sure I am responsible for eating 85% of them. And you're welcome! Enjoy that Miley Cyrus!

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  6. Dyanne, you got to come to Germany if you want November 1st off.. Public holiday here ;-)

    What a cute little kitty you got, love the little one. I hope the other kitties accept her in the club soon! I'll show the picture to Lily later and ask her how she'd name her. She's really good at naming animals -- sometimes.

    Ok, I really had to click the link, I wondered if your surgeon's name was REALLY Dorian Grey ;-) We have a neat program her for really, REALLY early detection of breast cancer: They train blind women, who have a better feel, and they do 45 to 60 minutes exams. I'll definitely start seeing them as soon as my GYN-office is getting one of those ladies. The only office in town who has them now sucks, so I can't go there now..

    Would you mind sharing your cookie recipe? I've been looking for the perfect sugar cookie recipe for quite a while and haven't found it yet.. (btw: why not naming the kitty "Cookie"??).

    Have a wonderful weekend, Dyanne!

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    1. Maybe I should declare my German heritage and take November 1 off every year. Do you think I would actually have to be German to do that?

      Would love to have Lily's input. We can't decide on anything, although at the moment, I'm leaning towards Farting Felicia, as she is trying to get used to a change in cat food....

      Nah, not really Dorian Grey. Dr. Bumberry. But he looks so young, and he isn't much younger than me. No grey hair. No lines on his face. I've never heard of anything like Germany's early detection program, but that is AWESOME! They would have the most sensitive fingers for something like that. Very cool! I want to research that some more.

      I'll send you my recipe. And my niece's cat is named Cookie, so we had to discard that as an option already :)

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  7. My 4yo thinks you should name her Cutesy. I say Snickers.

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  8. great now I have gustatolalia…can't get the taste of sugar cookies out of my mouth… (ha ha zoe)

    900? where do you live, in the 'it-takes-a-Village-to-provide-after-dinner-candy Village'??!

    ok can I stop with the silly made up Comment jokes now? good to have a doctor that you have confidence in, I am a total believer in the idea that your belief in them is a factor for good, when it comes to physicians and such.

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    1. that comment definitely left a taste in my mouth , Clark... lol... no really...lol.

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    2. You think YOU have gustatolalia? I ATE THEM ALL.

      We live in 'the-best-place-in-town-to-trick-or-treat' village. Word is out.

      It's the Think System at work, Clark.

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  9. I came so close to shutting off the alarm and making Friday a day off but needed to get a lot of things done which is a no go with a house full of kids. I totally understand your feeling though not from your point of view!
    I actually read over your doc's name a couple of times thinking, no way could I go to a doctor named Dorian Grey! Then I caught that it was a link. Forgive me, I have a belly full of Mexican food and am in need of a good sleep. I get it now :)
    I hope you get rid of that insomnia! It is the worst. I hate not being able to sleep.
    I've only had our alarm go off a couple of times. I always set it when my husband is out of town and my stepdaughter opened the back door one night at 11:30 (to sit outside before bed, yeah right!) and scared the living hell out of me. I came down the stairs with my baseball bat. Scared the hell out of her. She won't do it again.
    Your new baby is too cute. I wish I could help in the name department. I stink at picking pet names. Our chocolate labs name is Chloe because when my kids were younger and had Webkinz, one had a chocolate lab named....yep, Chloe! Sounded good to me!
    As for the 900 trick or treaters....I'm not a Halloween fan either so I would have shut off my porch light and called it a night after about 50! Wow....that's a crazy number!

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    1. I have had trouble sleeping ever since my surgery, which means a year and a half. Recently, it has been worse. The funny thing is I'm very seldom sleepy during the day, considering how disrupted my sleep is at night.

      My husband keeps a baseball bat under the bed. It's a good thing he didn't try to grab it first or the alarm panel might be a casualty. And yeah, I TOTALLY believe your daughter just went out to get a breath of fresh air before bed. Mhm.

      Our neighborhood is insanely busy on Halloween, but it's kind of fun, too. We sit on the front step and hand out candy until it's gone. We made it to 8:15 this year.

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  10. OK, not laughing about the dream of pregnancy because that is NOT funny. But I did laugh about the songs being stuck in your head. I wake up with a different one virtually every day. It lasts for the day (maybe two) and then I get a new one. It's like my brain is on constant shuffle mode...in many ways, actually, but specifically in this instance.

    I think you should name her Frannie...not for any particular reason except I think she looks like one...and that's the end of my suggestion list.

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    1. The pregnant dream is NEVER FUNNY. NEVER.

      I should keep a list of the songs that get stuck in my head and look for some kind of pattern. At least, thanks to Zoe, I now have a name for it!

      I like Frannie! Definitely on the list.

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  11. Very cute nameless kitten! The black mark on her nose is so distinctive. We had a cat named Smudge once who had a black spot on her nose, but I think your kitten might be a bit beyond Smudge. Whatever you decide to call her, she's sure adorable!

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    1. I've always wanted a calico kitten, so when my friend's mama kitty had this one, well, what was I supposed to do but take her home?

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  12. Oh god, the songs in your head is the worst, and you know as soon as you actually tell someone that, then they make it their goal to get a terrible song in your head.

    Bahahaha I wish you would have caught the burglar alarm incident on video. Sounds like a scene from the movies.

    Your pregnancy scare dream is hilarious. We have all had those dreams that feel so real and you wake up in a panicky state.

    900 trick or treaters is INSANE. Holy moly.

    Jak says the kitty should be names Maxine. I kinda like that too.

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    1. Do you have Wrecking Ball going through your head yet? Keep thinking about it....

      I didn't get to see any of the part with my husband falling over the duffle bag, but my mental picture makes me laugh.

      I was beyond panicked when I woke up from that dream! I remember having one when I was in high school and hadn't ever done anything to get myself that way, and I STILL woke up scared!

      Maxine goes on the list!

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  13. Dreams like that seem real can be crazy. But I will dream you are ruling the world so we all get a day off!

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  14. Ooh...the pregnancy scare. NOT fun. I recently was late (which I never am) and I am to the age that is possible that I could be starting menopause, but.... also could still get pregnant. And even though my husband has been.. *ahem*..."fixed" I have heard stories of people getting preggers years after their husband's vasectomy! Needless to say, I was not pregnant but the waiting to find out was excruciating!

    The kitty... first two things that came to my mind were "Susie-Q" and then "Blinky" I have NO idea why, but...literally first two names that popped into my head. Probably doesn't help much, huh?

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    1. My husband has been clipped, too, so the odds are, well, there would probably be a star in the east and three wise men looking for me. And I can name 3 people who have had "oopsies" after a clip job and 2 who have after getting tubes tied. Yeah, no thanks.

      Any and all names will be considered, as getting all four of us to agree is going to be no easy thing.

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  15. Calyspo, for the music or the mythlogical God. I just like the musical sound of the name plus she is a Calico. You could also name her Patches, but that is a very common Calico name. Just some thoughts. She really is a pretty cat. :) Now I want to go find a second one, but I just told my husband I didn't want to get any more cats because of the cost of vacinations and I hate litter cleaning. Most inportantly though I can't stand dealing with the liter and no one else will do it for me even though they love our cat too. I am still thankful for him though and for them too. I need to stop rambling now. Thanks for sharing this week. :)

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    1. Adding your names to the list! Oh, I'm the litter person, too. Which is why the cats know I'm the mama and am their favorite. Be nice to the one who scoops your poop!

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  16. You get 900 KIDS!!!!!!! :O You need to move!

    Is it bad that I started to chuckle picturing your husband running out of the room and getting caught up with the duffle bag? Oh. My bad. ;P

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    1. Crazy, isn't it? When new neighbors move in, we always let them know that Halloween is insane.

      I laugh, too, every time I think of it :)

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  17. My step-daughter took melatonin and it helped her to sleep. It's also non-addictive...and OMG that kitty! Cutest ever! Yay to no burglar. Meeting one pants-less would be less fun than fun. Love your list!

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    1. I have to check with my oncologist before I can take it, especially since it's a hormone, but I'm hoping it will be okayed AND that it helps regulate my sleep.

      Oh, this baby is so cute! She's asleep on my arm right now. I am going to tuck her in bed with her teddy bear/faux mama in just a few minutes.

      I don't want to meet a burglar, pants or no pants.

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  18. Haha, I know exactly what you mean. I get songs stuck in my head for days too. And these days they are usually nursery rhymes which drives me (and others) to the brink of insanity. I do like The Cup Song though :) I can't believe you had over 900 trick-or treaters! I had to read that three times just to make sure I'd read it right! We participated in our first ever Halloween this year (we're Aussies so that's not so abnormal) and I couldn't believe we had more than twenty! How much money did you spend on lollies?? (sorry, that's Australian for candy). The next day I was cursing the fact that there wasn't a nationally declared public holiday too. Maybe you could petition for a referendum?? LOL have a fantastic week.

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    1. It's so rare that it's a fantastic song that is stuck in your head. And it's always just snippets, and worse, the same snippet over and over and....

      Our neighborhood is THE place to go in town. We only give one piece of candy per kid, and it's never chocolate or it would cost a fortune. I gave out mini tootsie pops, Laffy Taffy and Sweetarts. It was under $50, but if we gave out chocolate candy, it would have been more than double that.

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  19. That is a lot of trick or treating!! I have had Wrecking Ball stuck in my head recently. Which isn't a bad song as long as I block the visual of the video from my mind. I love Royal. Have you heard any Lana Del Rey songs? Her voice is magical. I had someone recommend Melatonin to me due to insomnia, but I'm not big on vitamins, so I haven't tried it. I hope everything goes well with your doctor's appointment. My boyfriend's mother was diagnosed in spring with breast cancer and it's been an uphill battle. Wishing you the best of luck.

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    1. Yeah, the video isn't really my favorite, although I will say her body looks great. I like Lana Del Rey, too. My daughter really loves her. Doctor's appointment went just fine. Everything is going well. Saying a prayer for your boyfriend's mother. I wish everyone could have the experience I had.

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  20. I'm going to start with the kitten. I am a sucker for kittens. The halloween trick or treaters were out in droves! Holy moly! 900!? We live so far out in the country, in the seven years we've lived here, we've never had a single trick or treater. The next neighbor lives a mile away. Haha.
    The alarm thing sounds awful. no fun. I would be highly annoyed - you're great to find some gratitude in it. ;)

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    1. I'm a sucker for kittens, too, and I'm pretty sure I'll be a crazy cat lady when I'm old.

      Next year, you can come here and hand out candy. It's exhausting!

      You have to be thankful for false alarms, I guess, even ones that scare you out of about five years of life!

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  21. 900??? I have never heard of such a thing. That's amazing. I wish I could ship you my excess candy. We had about 8. Maybe 10. That's a lot of leftover candy for me to eat.

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  22. I REALLY hope 900 was rounding UP. We got about 10. The last couple, my husband DUMPED the rest of the bag into their trick or treat bag, so WE wouldn't eat them, and he was hoping they wouldn't think he was a cReEpY van-driving weirdo.
    Cute cat! I always pick nerdy book character names, like Nagini or Dobby from Harry Potter.

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    1. More like rounding down, I'm afraid. I bought 975 pieces of candy. Had maybe 30 left, but I gave extra to a few kids I knew.
      I like people names for my pets. We finally have it narrowed down to two or three to argue over.

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  23. Loved this! Loved your excuse for not doing laundry, and oh that new kitty is so cute. We have a big old mamma calico and she's as cute as ever. But she is a pain at times - she has phases when pees all over the place and actually sprays! (In places like over the presents under the Christmas tree.) The vet said they (calicos or tortieshells) are the only female cats who do this, so be warned and train yours out of it if she starts!
    So good to hear you good news from your doctor.

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    1. Do not, I repeat, do NOT mention that little spraying quirk to my husband.

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  24. Damn your stupid video. I really like that song a lot, but then it kept highlighting other videos I either like or was curious to hear so I was stuck here for an additional 15 minutes easily before forcing myself to read the rest of the entry and comment.

    I know all bout getting songs stuck in my head, but I've semi subscribed to the belief that it results at times from only partially hearing a song. If a song sticks in your head, though, they definitely did their job.

    I'm really glad there was no robbery, but from the sounds of it there should have been pictures! I think I would have been fairly annoyed if my alarm system was continually going off.

    And 900 trick or treaters?!?! Seriously? That is insane. How much candy do you have to buy? lol I get 0... but I live in an apartment I suppose.

    I like your new addition to the family! Hopefully by the time I read the newest TToT entry the cats get along a lot better!

    The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

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    1. I never seem to get a song stuck in my head that I know all the words to. It always seems I only have snippets, and even those have some la la la moments where the lyrics are vague.

      Usually, the alarm works as it's supposed to, although we have to shut off the family room when we go out of town, because a couple of times, Pete has set off the motion detector in that room, due to being a rather large target.

      If it had been warmer and a Friday or Saturday, we could have easily had 1200. I only give out one piece of candy each; it's all I can afford.

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