"I do still love my blog, Monica -- my life is just really boring right now. What?? Ouch, stop hitting me!"

I try to go out to my parents' for dinner and a movie or something at least once a weekend. Last Sunday, however, my parents and I went to see True Grit (which was amazing - I'm getting it on dvd the minute it comes out), then they came over to my place for dinner, since I live five minutes from the theater and the movie got out too late for me to go all the way out to theirs. It was really lovely -- my mom brought homemade soup and bread, and I provided salad, drinks, and a little bit of dessert. It had been a few years since my dad had seen my apartment and I've made a lot of changes in that time, so it was fun to get a whole new batch of compliments on the place. I spent the whole weekend cleaning before they got here, so it's also been really nice having a clean, straight living space. It was such a resounding success, in fact, that we decided to do it again this weekend, although now that today has arrived and I am sitting in my bathrobe and blogging at quarter to three (New Years resolution to go to church every Sunday FAIL) and am facing the fact that I actually have to get up and clean now instead of settling in for a lazy afternoon viewing of a movie, I'm sort of having mixed feelings about the idea. Only sort of mixed, though -- I really enjoyed last weekend and I won't miss the drive out to my parents'.

As you may have gleaned from Twitter, I'm currently treating poor Gracie for a UTI. There was this whole drama over trying to get a urine sample out of her involving earplugs and a urine-covered bathroom, and I've been feeding her pills every day since. The nice thing is that it's only been a week, but I'm pretty sure she's getting better! She's suddenly more affectionate than she's been in, like, ever, which makes me wonder how long she was sick (sigh). But she actually approaches me for pets and cuddles more often than Garfunkel does now. She also seems more more energetic and playful than she had been in a little while. Accurate diagnosis and a cuddly, healthy kitty for the win. :)

Don't you know this life goes on

Well, I wasn't quite able to swing starting night-classes this semester, so I'll be starting in the summer. Although it'd be nice to feel like I'm finally moving on, I'm actually kind of happy. It'll be nice having nights free for a while without grad school research or a portfolio hanging over my head. I have delicious plans for finally getting back to weaving, reading a bunch of books, cleaning, redecorating, drawing, toying with photoshop, maybe reading a little fanfiction, plus I'm thinking about taking a 10 week pottery class at the UICA come spring. I've never successfully been able to throw a pot on a potter's wheel, which is something I'll have to be able to teach if I teach high school art. Even if I take a pottery class later at AQ, I have limited confidence in my ability to master the technique without a heck of a lot of practice. Plus, clay is fun. Nothing relieves stress like beating air bubbles out of clay; basically you take the hunk of clay and hurl it at a table with great force. Repeat. Very theraputic.

Kathleen and Courtney are both gone now -- Courtney to Spain to teach English; Kathleen and husband Noah to Oregon for a new publishing job and grad school. I'm legitimately happy that they got out and found interesting new lives to sink their teeth into; they were at least as dissatisfied in their publishing jobs as I was, if not moreso. But... meh. I miss them.

This summer will be my 5 yr anniversary at Workplace, which, while that particular thought fills me with ennui, panic, and despair, it does mean I get an extra week of PTO starting this year. This is something I'd totally forgotten about, and it immediately brightens my mood whenever the thought pops into my head. Chances are I'll be using a great deal of it for classroom visits, but my joy refuses to be quelled. More vacation time, guyz!!!!! Yaaayyyyyy!!!