Happy Birthday Mitch!!

So... a cat turns 2 today.

MITCH!!

Mitchell Lamar, Esq., that is.

I got Mitch when he was 6 months old. I really wanted a tuxedo cat, and I saw him asleep in a glass cage at my local Pet Smart. And I thought Here is a calm cat. This will be the ideal companion for Sister Callie Jo.

Because Sister Callie Jo was a bit too much for me. And for some odd reason, she thought I was her playmate, especially after Oscar-Tyrone died.

I am NOT her friend. But I thought Mitch would be a good friend.

Now, Mitch is twice as big as he is in the picture above. He was about 7 or 8 pounds in that picture. He's a whopping 15 pounds now.

And all he does is sleep.

This is in strong contrast to Sister Callie. She's always into something, always busy. And I have NO earthly idea where she sleeps.

Mitch?  He likes to lay it out.

He is such a GREAT mannerable cat.  I am "his person", and he tends to follow me around. (Callie is more attached to my sister. She is STILL wandering around looking for her).

Like I said, Mitch is a very good cat.  He had a tendency to chew up cords around the house, and he destroys cat toys, but that is all good. He rarely chews power cords now. I think he got shocked real good. That's enough to deter that behavior, I suppoose.

Lately though, he's been giving Sister Callie a problem: he's been trying to hold her down and have "relations" with her. This catches me off guard. I am sure it catches Callie off guard even more.

But she's a soldier. She snap on Mitch and let him know to go on somewhere with that tomfoolery.

"That's right, Callie!" I holler, startling them both. "I don't know what you said in meow cat talk, but you let that dude know to get up off you! YEAH!!"

I talk gently to Mitch. "Sir, you can't treat Callie like that. And besides, you don't even have working equipment. No sir. Stop it. No means no."

And it never fails that Callie is laying all over him after all that madness. 

Humph.

But overall... he's a good cat.And that's all I can ask.

Happy Birthday Mitch!!!

Milk and Cookies Picture Show, Part IV (Time with Grandma)

I think the most interesting time with my nephews was over at my grandmother - their great-grandmother's house.

When I got there, Grandma ran up to me (as fast as she could), all excited squeaking "Do you see who is here?"

She shook her balled up fists in the air because she just could not get more words out. I notice when she gets excited and happy, she can't find the words. And that Saturday she couldn't find the words.

It reminded me of how every time we talked, she would say "You know, Kari said he is bringing the boys down here."

And I was thinking to myself... Now you know good and well Kari and driving all the way from Colorado to here with family in tow. That's just too much going on.

But her fists shaking excitedly in the air was her saying I told you so.

I was glad my skepticism was wrong. She's 87 years old. I told Kari to make sure to get by there, 'cause Grandma is 87 years old and may be going to glory one day.

I only got a few pictures. I was only there for an hour at the most. But I did want to get some pictures with Grandma.

I only got one good one of them together. I could not get everyone to look at the camera all at the same time for enough pics, lol. 

She is pleased as punch!!

Here's another. Grandma is telling them to look at them taking the pictures.  Look at the camera, Grandma. Dang!

These two love to take pictures. Not sure what's up with Junior and these pseudo-gang signs, lol. 

He loves taking pictures. He could take them all day long.

I'm just glad that Grandma got some time with her great-grands. It was such a treat, one  I know she will talking about for awhile.

Correction: one she and I will be talking about for a while. 

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

Tuesday Thoughts for YOU!

1. It is AZZ HAWT here in the ATL. Upper 90s!!!  And my air conditioner is in struggle mode. I am NOT interested in having to drop $5000 on a new air conditioner right now, but uh... I am thinking about it. Ain't trying to be sweating like a slave.

2. I had a mammogram today. It is my routine annual one, but I had a moment of angst when I was getting dressed this morning. I was thinking back to that time the mammogram came back bad. Ugh. It was just a moment, though. The mammogram that was done today is over and everything appears to be okay. No need for angst.

3. I haven't done much today, or this week even, at work. I am waiting for an order of chemicals to get in.  My goodness it is taking too long.

4. I supposedly have a CSA box coming in today. I am excited about the fruits and vegetables it contains. I hope it doesn't contain any bootleg craziness that I don't like. In any case, I WILL be cooking it all up. Amen.

5. I had Chic-Fil-A for lunch today. All that grease... ugh. Let's just say I will be having a salad for dinner tonight. Or nothing at all.

6. I actually woke up early this morning, and instead of laying in bed, I got up and cleaned up the kitchen and living room I even took out all the trash. This may be my new norm because I don't feel like doing a doggone thing when I get home from work. Nerp.

7. I even managed to do a little crocheting this morning. It was all of 15 minutes worth, but that's all good. That little bit was therapeutic.

8. My goal is to have more productive mornings for the rest of the year. We'll see how that goes. I'm optimistic. I just feel like I'm losing a lot of time in the mornings. And that ain't good, because it adds up over time.

9. I am still looking back over the time I had with my nephews. It was so good to see my little nephews. It makes me teary-eyed because it was so unexpected. That time with them was a surprise that I was more than happy for, and I will always remember it.

10. We have a workplace audit coming up. I may take off from work during that time. *snickering to self* (We'll see how that works out. I can see my boss kicking in my door and hauling me off to work, lol).

11. Bonus... Song I'm listening to right now. "Heaven Can Wait" by Michael Jackson



*ladylee chair dancing in cubicle*

*ladylee whisper singing*

*ladylee fighting air hard with fists because Michael Jackson is gone*

My whisper-sangin' karaoke of my favorite songs use to drive my former cubicle mate The Cowgirl Cre CRAZY. I am in a cubicle alone now, so I don't think I'm whisper singing that loud.  But I'm getting down, though!

Lawd help me, I miss Michael. Ugh.

That's it for 10 Tuesday thoughts.  Quick, but fast and fun.

Milk and Cookies Picture Show, Part III

So... I don't know what I time I woke up last Friday morning. But I was all excited because my nephews were at MY house. Still, so unexpected. I rarely have folks over, so this was such a treat.

And of course, I was taking pictures again... EARLY in the morning.

Milk and Cookies Junior was the first to wake up and get his shower. He was running around the living room, and I snapped a picture on the stairs.

No one is this bright-eyed and bushy tailed that early in the morning.

(Note: You see the cat kennel sitting there. But there are no cats. Callie and Mitch were hiding out under my bed. They want NO parts of children. Nope!)

Then it was time for them to eat breakfast. My brother had cereal for them.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any milk.  Well, I had almond milk.

 I explained this to them. Even their father was looking at me half crazy. I poured a little in a cup for them to taste test.

My brother said "That's interesting."

I could tell by the scrunched up look on his face that he didn't like it.

Both of the boys tasted it. The oldest said it was alright, and would be okay for his cereal.

The youngest didn't like it. "I like cow milk," he said.

So he decided to eat his cereal dry.

Sigh. I would've had some for him if I knew he was coming through.

Of course I bothered them while they were eating cereal.

I think I was bothering them too much.

I think they wanted to eat in peace. Whatever. I know the next time I see them, they'll be taller than me. So I'm taking pictures!

But all was well. They finished up their cereal and were all smiles...

I have a ton of candy in the fridge. It's for Sharbucks, our bootleg Starbucks at work. I poured it on the table so they could choose what they wanted.

Now this was interested. They each picked six pieces of candy. I gave them baggies for the candy,and Junior labeled the bags.

They even counted their candy.

I asked my brother what was up with that. Children will grab ALL the candy they can.

"They are very conservative," my brother said.

I guess so.

And they were AMAZED at my television on top of a television.

I told them that their other Auntie bought the bottom television at a yard sale for $35. I would feel bad getting rid of it. And the top television is hooked up to my Roku.

They have a Roku at home, so they were ALL about that.

We hung out for a few minutes. I needed to go to work, and they needed to get on with their day.

Of course I took a few more pictures outside. 

It was so good to see them...

My brother with the beard, tho...

LOL.

It was such a good visit.

I only thought I would see them at our grandmother's house, but it was good to get time with them there.

I told my brother to give me a call when he arrived at our grandmother's house on Saturday. Maybe I would come over.

Well he called me up... and I went on over.

And I am so glad I did... because the look on my grandmother's face from getting to spend time with here great-grands was priceless...

Stay tuned. 

Milk and Cookies Picture Show, Part II (Sleepy Milk and Cookies)

(Click here for Milk and Cookies Picture Show, Part 1)

There is something about children who try their best to stay up late with the adults... it almost never works out.

I can remember it not working out for me as  a child. And it didn't work out for my nephews Milk and Cookies, Jr. and Milk and Cookies 3.0.

Both of them stopped and dropped. They fell asleep where ever they happen to be sitting.

Milk and Cookies Jr. was the first to drop, around midnight, right there on the couch beside me.

Oh my... he sleeps like he has a bit much on his mind.

There was no snoring, though. Just a little tossing and turning...

I was just ready to jump and make sure he didn't roll off the couch.

Now that other one, Milk and Cookies 3.0,  was hanging good. But he went to sleep some 30 minutes later.

I  was more concerned about him because he had some contortionist craziness going on. But he appeared to good and sleep.

My brother finally took them upstairs and put them in the bed.

Of course I took more pictures.

I didn't want to take pictures.

I wanted to shake them awake. They are so interesting. I wanted to talk to them more.

But that's not going down at 1 o'clock in the morning.

I stayed up and talked to my brother for another hour or so. I wanted to stay up longer, but I had to go to work in the morning.

I would talk with them the next day.

Stay tuned.

A Milk and Cookies Picture Show, Part I

So... I was sitting at home, minding my own business and I got a call from my brother Milk and Cookies. He wanted to know if he and the boys could spend the night.

Back up a minute.

Now I knew he was in town. I knew he wasn't here to see me, so my thing with him was to make SURE that he went by our grandma's house. ALL she talks about is his sons.

"Lisa, you know Kari say he gonna bring the boys to see me... blah blah blah."

That is ALL she talks about. So I told him that if he stops by there, then call me. I live 10 minutes away and I can get a chance to see the kids.

But, he wanted to come spend the night. OH JOY. Such a surprise.

I was sooooo happy to see them! I haven't seen the oldest one since his first birthday (he is six now), and I have never met the youngest one (he's four now).

I WAS PLEASED AS PUNCH!

(Whatever that means. It means I was very happy!)

I just kept grabbing and shaking and touching them. "Ya'll are so big and so real. And ya'll can TALK!!"

(I know they talked bad about me later. "That auntie... she is real crazy.)

Here's a picture of the whole Milk and Cookies Crew.

Milk and Cookies Senior has a beard now. I don't care for that. I still think of him as 5 years old, which means no beard. Clean shaven. And his voice is deep. I am not use to this.

I miss my brother so much. He use to be my running partner. Sigh.

Here's a pic of the whole family. 

Such a good looking crew! All teeth.

Another picture of the boys.

They are such delightful kids. I forgot how much fun it is to talk to little peoples. They had me laughing so much.

Stay tuned for more pictures.

Ten TUESDAY Thoughts

Here we go with my extra special thoughts.


1. Today is Tuesday. I put TUESDAY in caps because I woke up this morning thinking It's Saturday. I'm so glad that I don't have to work today. 

2. How sad the moment was when I realized that it is really TUESDAY. So very sad.

3. I've been much too lazy lately. I think it's this heat, because it's HAWT in the ATL.

4. They say that it's 120 degrees in Arizona. So I guess the ATL's 95 degree heat is actually not that bad.

5. Someone has a VERY nice fan in the lab. They put their name on it, but I I have to admit that I thought about shoplifting it. Then I thought better of it.

6. I have no idea what I will eat for lunch today. These crackers that I'm snacking on will not do.

7. I have some training today, though. This may mean there will be no lunch. Sigh. But that means that I will just leave early. (Glory).

8. When it's hot out like this, I want something cold to eat. Very cold.

9.  I still have the bootleg TV set up going on in the living room.

Yes. It is bootleg. But I refuse to get rid of that tube television. My sister Kentucky purchased it at an estate sale for $35. She thought enough of me to buy it. I miss my sister.

10. Two little guys were completely intrigued by the two televisions.

"Auntie, why do you have one television on top of another television?"

*ladylee can't answer because ladylee is CHEESING too hard because she gets to hang out with the Milk and Cookies crew (nephews)*

LOL

To be continued...

Quote of the Week

Wordless Wednesday

Lives Lost

Lives lost.

50 lives lost.

Such a tragedy. Tragedy is not a strong enough word for what happened in the early morning hours of Sunday morning. But it is the only word we have to describe the horrific event.

All kinds of thoughts are going through my head: thoughts drenched in confusion, anger, sadness and such.

But one thought in particular outshines all of that.

Soon all the cameras will be gone. All the discussion will be over. And the next mass shooting will take the space and place of this one (and you know there will be other mass shootings).

But you, the family of those who lost their lives that night, are left alone with the ache of losing your loved one. You can't go on to the next thing. I know it's a hurt that may never heal.

My thoughts, prayers and sympathies are for those who lost someone they love. People lost their children that night. My heart goes out to those families.

My  thoughts are with a community that will never be the same again.

And my thoughts and prayers are with the LGBT community, who are constantly vilified, but have been vilified in the worst possible way.

And for that, my thoughts are with you.

My prayers are for you to heal. 

Friday Freestyles

Friday!

BUT it is not Pay Day.

Boooo!

But I will tell you what happened this morning.  I was reaching for something on my bookcase and out fell a bag of cash.

I hollered GLORY!!

And once I got to work, I counted it.

It was a gang of $1 bills. $33 to be exact.

There was receipt in there. For some reason, I threw all the dollar bills from my birthday money cash-in into a baggie... then stuffed it up in the bookshelf.

Not sure what I will do with it. Heck, I haven't even spent my birthday money. Maybe I will save it up until next birthday. I don't know. We will see.

On to freestyles.

Picture of the Week. My sister posted a pic on Facebook. She was going out with some friends.

What a lovely picture. Look how they living in the middle east.

Man, I thought for sure they would be walking around covered head to toe. Nerp!

She comes home in a few weeks. I can not wait. I AM COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS.  I miss my sister! I miss her sooooo much.

Song of the Week. Some Kendrick! Some music off his spare album, Untitled Unmastered. 




Levitate, levitate, levitate, LEVITATE!!!

Strange CD. That is one of the few songs I like.It was nice to hear some very rough cuts of music, though, before it is all cleaned and polished up.

So I'm going to put up some OLD Kendrick! Poetic "Justice", the live version.



That's the first song I heard by him. I had fallen asleep with the TV on. Saturday Night Live had come on. I woke up out of my sleep hollering...  

"I hear some Janet Jackson!!! And who is this little boy!?!?!"

*ladylee's face so close to the tv that her eyeglasses clink against the screen*

Favorite part of this song:

"If I told you that a flower blooms in a dark room, would you trust it?
I mean you need to hear this: 
Love is not just a verb, it's you looking in the mirror."

Wow... *lee fans self with Obama church fan*

 Been a fan every since! Yay Kendrick Lamar!!! You've come a long way, Oldboy!

Well the weekend is upon us. This will be a busy one. Oh joy!

You have a great weekend. On purpose!

Ten Thursday Thoughts... The Politics Edition

It's time for TEN Thursday thoughts. And this is the Politics edition. I could do 10,000 thoughts on this, but we will keep it light for now. I am sure that things are about to heat up.  And there will be MUCH more to say.

1.  So it is official now: President Obama has endorsed Hills...



2. He said a lot in those 3 minutes. Pretty clean and to the point. But what he really said is...

Let's get in Formation.

Plain and simple.

*cues up Beyonce's "Formation"*

3.  That goes out to everyone, especially Bernie Sanders. He's starting to look like a bitter crochety old man. And even with that said, I would vote for him if he was the nominee. But that's not the case. So get out the way, Sir, so they can take care of Trump.

4. Trump... I don't know what to say about him. And I try to listen to each candidate as much as I can.  I want to hear some logic and policy, you know. But I have decided that he is STRAIGHT illiterate. My 6-year-old nephew has a better grasp of grammar and vocabulary than he does.

5. Ya'll still need to help me understand that inane Trump slogan.

6. Let's just say this: America is already great. And if you don't think it is, stretch out your faith and call those things that are not as though they are. And it shall come to pass. Amen.

7. Hillary Clinton gave an exceptional foreign policy speech last week... then she dragged Trump's azz. And rightfully so.



8. Trump messed up when he tripped out on that American judge, who is of Mexican ancestry, who is over that fraud case.  Trump got his own folks looking at him like O_o.

(And notice how I, as a person of intelligence, worded the judge's ethnicity. Now ya'll go explain that to Trump.)


9. Trump needs to be handled like a teenage boy. But I think it may be too late. He's like a teenager who has been allowed to do his own thing for a minute, but when you try to reel him in or advise him, he goes apeshit.  Not a good look. I still think we haven't scraped the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Trump. What reckless thing will he say or do next?

10. The Republicans slip is showing. And their stockings have runs in the them. Many of them.

That's it for my Ten Thursday Thoughts!

Oh the DRAMA this election season will bring...

But remember, we will have a new President Elect in less than 5 months.  Not long now.

GO HILLS!!!!!

I'm not even a Hillary supporter, and I am happy for her.

It would be awesome for the United States to have it's first female president, though.

So if she wins, you will have a problem...

Not a real problem per se, but a problem for the majority in this country.

You will have a generation who only knows of a black president and a woman president.

This becomes a problem.

Let's just say, I wish I had such historical happenings during my childhood. My dreams would have been bigger. I may have gone in a different direction in life.

I'm just thinking out loud. I have done well with myself. But I have had times in my life when I was the only black person in the mix, or the only woman in the mix, and I had to encourage myself and make sure I didn't think of myself as "less than."

Not sure if that makes any sense, but you get my drift.

Anyway... Go Hills!

I mean, Congratulations to the presumptive democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.