Work it Out

There it is. THE chart.

This is hanging on my wall, in our loft. It’s a LARGE picture frame. I bought one for each of us years ago, flipped the paper inside of it over to show the white side. Now we’ve each got our own dry erase boards.

Blue and I each use our to chart weight loss and working out. Seeing it on a chart is motivational for us. The kids have their list of daily chores on them.

I’ve been eating better since Thanksgiving weekend. Having treats here and there. REALLY trying to get myself set for tomorrow. Yep it’s been 17 days since my 35 by 35 post here. Tomorrow starts the working out, and the no cheating part. So far I’ve been prepping myself, coaching myself, and here and there walking, bike riding and trying to get psyched up for this.

My goal was originally 35 by 35. Sadly after I came up with that brilliant idea, I gained a few more pounds. So it went to 38 by 35. NOW I’m back to 35… so if you were trying to do some math by my board… oh and I ran out of room for the last 4 pounds. It should go to 107 (which is what my drivers license says!) Shit, if I get down to 111 I’ll make a chart JUST for the the last 4 pounds!

A side note. PLEASE don’t freak about the numbers. Note I am ONLY 5 feet tall. My average weight for my height is 105-110 lbs.! I can’t stand it when people freak out about the numbers. I’m LITTLE and SHOULD be a little number.

SO… that being said. Here’s to me. Here’s to getting healthy. Here’s to a start of a new me getting back the old me in a new way…? I like that I’m starting a month before everyone else on this too.

Go here to my Pinterest motivation to work out, be healthy and live better!!

Work it Out Pinterest Link!

Happy Friday!

JCat McGack

Shopping for food and bigger boobs

Today is the 4th day of our “Eating Healthy and working out” life changing event. I’m way less stabby.

I posted a few days ago about how motivated I was… I still am. I have to be honest the first day was one of my lower moments.
I cried. I sat in front of the open fridge drinking Boones Farm Sangria to numb my pain of not being able to eat pasta for every meal. My food heart was broken. I went to my Pinterest board of “Work It Out” and looked for inspiration.

So instead of caving, I went to bed at 9:30pm. The next day was ok… I ate a lot. But all snacks. So eggs for breakfast, then a few hours later an apple, after that lunch was a measured cup of pasta (I NEED carbs) snack was pretzels, dinner was pork chops, corn and apple sauce.

I was wearing thin again that night. It’s our tv munching that gets us. So the next morning I dropped Buzz off at school and Blue and I went to shop for food. Aldi and Walmart later we came home with food we loved to eat. BUT was healthy. A variety of fruit for snacks, pretzel chips, yogurt, fish and chicken for dinners, and now we’ve added Hummus to our snack foods.

Work out routines for me haven’t started yet. No good reason. Soon… maybe today I’ll do the step routine I found in Shape’s recent magazine.

So yesterday my MIL called to celebrate my Christmas with her. It’s been YEARS since I’ve done this with her. It includes a day of clothes shopping and dinner afterwards.

My MIL was hesitant of buying me clothes, if I was going to loose all this weight. HA. I’ve been saying that for 4 years now. I need new clothes. At least feel good about clothes that I know fit me now.  I’ve got to get to that smaller size, before I start worrying about having to big of clothes. New clothes that fit THIS me, inspires me to loose weight, so I can fit into even smaller and cuter clothes!

Starting in Victoria Secrets Pink store. This is my SECOND time EVER in this store. First time was a few weeks ago, my best friend took me. She had to pay a bill… omg. I FEEL IN LOVE. HARD. Bright colors, comfy clothes, cute clothes, things I WEAR everyday!! I spent a good amount of my Christmas present in that store.

Now we ALL know how mean florescent lighting is. Those evil mirrors and all in a tiny room full of static electricity! Gah! It was an awakening to what size I fit in, and what I look like in it… almost like looking at myself through other peoples eyes. Gross.

I’ve had good self esteem most of my life. (thanks to my parents for ALWAYS boosting me up) I’ve got tough skin, but this was brutal.

I’m SUPER inspired to purge the HELL out of my closet. Donate, donate, donate. Again, the new years resolution of 2013, Simplify.

NOW onto the good news. I had my Pink girl, Cassie, measure me. FIRST time ever to be actually measured for a bra (sad I know) I was always a small B. Had kids, kept the big boobs… figured I was a small C now… Cassie said (and I’ve read this before) that 70% of women are in the wrong size bra. Well I walked in wearing a 36 B bra. She measured me. I had her measure me again. And still I doubted her… a 36D!?! WHAT?

ME?

Yes. She showed me on the measuring tape. She wrote it on the little boob card so I can keep it forever. Ah, if I could time travel and show this card to my 12 year old self, and say “You’ll get there someday”

The girl who for 16 years of her life prayed for nothing but boobs. I’m NOT kidding. Church every Sunday? boobs. Mass every morning before classes? Boobs.

I wanted boobs. Everyone else had them, I was tired of being made fun of for not having them. 16! I was 16 when I finally got them! Now don’t get me wrong, I know they are bigger due to my weight. I’m sure when I loose weight, they will get smaller too. I’ve enjoyed my big boobs, and living in big boob land. But I’d be MORE then happy to be my little self again with little self boobs… well not LITTLE boobs. You get my point.

Cassie might as well have said “You aren’t a large, you are a XS!” it was such a compliment… now if I could be an XS again, AND have boobs… life complete*.

JCat McGack

*Amazing that the world paints a picture for what we should be. Not saying I’m gullible and HAVE to fit a stereotype, if that is what my blog post reads as. I want to be healthy, but still have the curves.

35 by 35

That is my goal.

July 19th, 2013 I will be 35 years old. Age is just a number to me, 30 was just another candle on the cake for me. I said it then, 35 will probably hit me harder then 30 does! And I was right.

30 for me was a starting point. I had JUST had my son 3 month prior to my birthday. My plan in life? Married, a home, two kids. All before 30. Done, done, done and done. I rocked my check list. The new start at 30 was to enjoy our children, and the new life as four of us, instead of two.

All fine and dandy. I had a horrible time with PPD, leading to PTSD. I was good at hiding it. Just like most people with depression. You think you know… you have NO idea, what is going on in their heads. The most painful part for me was the kids. My daughter had said to me once “Will you always be an angry mommy?” I was crushed. I vowed to focus, to blog, to journal. And to give myself time outs when I just couldn’t handle the stress. If it was an over eventful few days, or even just a barking dog. Anything could set me off. I’d be sad, angry and short with everyone I came in contact with. Nothing seemed to calm me down faster then food did.

I have, like most people I know, loved carbs. Love them like I love my own children. I mean what’s more comforting on a shitty day, where NOTHING is going right, then a bowl of mashed potatoes? A big bowl of mush to just comfort your sad self.

Now if you’ve been reading my blogs (I’ve gone through a few) you know this isn’t my first attempt to eat right. Be healthy. Blah, blah blah.

But now… now that I feel that the PPD, the PTSD, is gone. That my husband and I are doing good, no fighting. Not much stress around the house, no drama with friends, I can focus on me.

I’ve got to say I thought about taking an easy way out. A friend of mine is taking special pills to help her loose weight super fast. I’m jealous. She’s beautiful to begin with, inside and out. AND now she’s dropping weight super fast?
I remind myself that has NOT worked for me in the past. I get freakishly jittery, and do not do well with drugs.

I tell myself that THIS time both Blue and I are serious about this. He’s doing this with the guys at work. Their company is hosting a get healthy sort of competition for 6 months. This is perfect, he’s my biggest motivation (He’s done the P90X work out 90 days, twice. And gave up his Coke cold turkey 3 years ago. Not drinking pop since)

NOW my motivation in the past has been doing it for the kids. So I’m healthy for them (good idea) I’ve also had reunions I wanted to look great for, or it’s summer, winter, fall, spring, so many reasons, some good some not so good. But none of them were for that ONE reason.

Me.

I had to get my mental self better before I could work on the physical me. I’m there. I’m not getting any younger. I attempted to jog in The Color Run 5K a month back. It was sad… a sad, sad day for me. I’m not a runner, but that was not my best game. I KNOW I can do better.

Proud that I did it. Proud that I did the Warrior Dash 5 months ago. It’s more then I was doing 6 months ago. But it’s not good enough.

Last night was my last night to pig out. I had gone to the store, made a WHOLE pan of dumplings. I ate the WHOLE damn pan full. WOW.

Needless to say I’m good on that food for a while! Same goes for all the fast food I ate last week. It was a busy week, no excuse but I ate like crap just about every day, all day.

Not sure why, but when I have the thought of working out, and eating healthy, I have to say good bye to all my favorite foods by eating them all. Good bye Taco Bell Volcano Burrito (worst thing on the menu for you) good bye deep dish pizza, culvers, shells and cheese…

No more.

Time for 5 small meals a day. Proportions. Eating for the body I want, not the one I have (found the quote on Pinterest)

Oh, HUGE motivation for me. I’ve GOT to share this. I’m a visual girl. MUST see things to get it, to understand. I made myself a board on Pinterest, “Work It Out” I LOVE to read the quotes, thoughts and see the pictures of in shape people. It’s what works for me.

Picked up the newest copy of Shape magazine. Of coarse it’s perfect because my favorite rock star is on the cover, P!nk. So many great ideas, work outs, and tips are in there.

So… that’s all I’ve got for now. 249 days till July 19th. Fingers crossed, stay tuned. I’ll be posting more ideas, inspirations and pictures to come!

JCat McGack

Back to life

I must confess to those of you who are new here. This blog is my 4th attempt to have a blog with out being out of line, drama producing and down right rude.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard some of those bloggers get the best traffic. But mine wasn’t good. It was babble and anger mixed with insanity.

I’ve never been about traffic on my blog. As much as I am an attention seeking poodle. And I DO love comments on my posts. I do it for the sake of emptying my brain out, and hoping some one else out there reads me and says “Damn. I’m not the only one”

I can’t promise that with this 4th blog I’ll be swear free. That wouldn’t be me. I will say I’ve learned that some posts are just as good with other words put in. But there will be times I’m not going to hold back. If that deters you from reading me, well then move on and find a safe blogger that keeps all her F words to herself.

I have to say my first blog in 2007 was when my daughter (now 6) was just one. I used it to vent, as a Post Partum Diary of sorts, and to tell my stories.

I started another a few years later, and that was still a PPD or by then a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder type of blog.

THIS blog. THIS is me. PPD and PTSD free.

PPD and PTSD really shut me down. I lived life, but having children made me sad, and bitter. And I spent 6 years trying to get ME back. The funny, silly, random, weird, happy-go-lucky me.

About a year ago I came back.

I’m still working towards being more social. Remembering to call my friends, to not shut out phone calls. I don’t know why PPD and PTSD did that to me. Why I shut myself in.

I realize I’m back. Different then before kids. But it’s a new me. It’s a revised version. The 2012 JCat McGack.

Socially I’m so much better. For example in the last few months I’ve accepted a play date trip to the Zoo. I’ve had play dates at the library. And 14 Princesses at my daughters 6th birthday didn’t make me twitch. I went to my good friends son’s birthday and was elated to see old friends, and missed my good friend who wasn’t there. Hoping to make plans to all hang out in the future.

I’ve been seriously involved with the local art center. I’m going to be on their board! I want to blog and be involved in the local Patch news website.

Making new friends with the Three Rivers Art Council has made my life feel whole again. Chill people who ALL have one thing in common. We BIG puffy red heart art of ALL kinds. My best friend comes with me often and it makes my world happy.

My home life is more organized, and my family life has always been my #1 priority. I feel energized more often, I feel creative again, I feel normal. And don’t laugh at normal. I mean normal by I feel like me with a new twist to it normal.

It’s not just the pot of coffee talking here. It’s me.

Hello. Nice to be back to life. It’s time to do what I do. Socialize. Create. Be. Live.

I’ve got this,

JCat McGack

Sharks for lunch, and ketchup faces!

 

Lunch for the kids is the same routine day in and day out. Something healthy, something they WANT to eat, and to get them to be on the same plate isn’t always easy.

Today I opted for the deli chicken, slice of American cheese, pepperoni slices (Buzz/Alex only) and shark cheese crackers.

I have before just put it ALL on a plate, but I’ve learned if I take the time (a few minutes extra) I get this sweet giggly reaction to lunch, bonus. PLUS I get them to eat in minutes, with out having to say, eat. take a bite. eat. eat. take a bite.

Buzz is learning his name (I know, I know, I let you all in on my kids name! GASP secret identity revealed!) so anything with his name, is cool. Especially the X. He LOVES the X.

Tink/Mia loved her plate too. The sharks swimming around her letters, and happy to NOT have pepperoni on her plate.

I do this with most meals. If I can create art with food, so be it! Plus it just looks more appetizing! Another one I do often, is Buzz likes to have his mac and cheese on a plate (I have one with a high edge) I spread it out flat, cools MUCH faster, and he LOVES ketchup on his. So I LOVE making some sort of face. Happy, tongue out, or sad if he’s grumpy.

When you take the time to make just about anything for a kid fun. The odds of them doing it, eating it or wearing it seem much better!

JCat McGack

Give it up.

Yes I’m talking about the ever so wonderful season of Lent. Raised Roman Catholic, this was a BIG thing around me. For 20+ years I would fast from meat on Ash Wednesday (yesterday) and every Friday until Easter Sunday.

Well now fast forward to me being 33, NOT being Catholic anymore. BUT still giving things up for Lent. Sounds odd, but my husband still plays along with the fasting of meat (which seriously messed with my menu this week. So I went to Culvers for his Religious reasons, and bought fish) and giving things up.

I said it’s like I slacked off from my New Years Resolutions for the last 54 days of 2012. So lets start over on Ash Wednesday. AND make a big deal of Fat Tuesday, because who doesn’t love a day to indulge on everything we shouldn’t for the fact that people say we should?! Plus saying I’m only giving it up for the next 40 days makes it that much easier.

And so with out further ado, here is my list of things I’m going to attempt to give up. Start to do. Or do better… (please don’t laugh till the end. Thankyou.)

1. One carb a day. So my 1/2 bagel for breakfast? That’s it!
2. Exercise of some sort EVERYDAY. Warrior Dash is coming soon… 100 plus some days. Will be here before I know it.
3. Do dishes after every meal. Shiny sink at night.
4. WE will not buy fast food (if someone else, say his parents do. It’s ok. BUT we still are on the one carb rule.)
5. I am TRYING to stay on top of housework like a champ. Not like the slacker that has taken over me the last 6 years. But really try hard.
6. Blog more. Comment more.
7. Balance time. Again this is a BIG new year one. I think from 2011’s list.

Well that’s what I’ve got for now. Not too crazy of a list right? I’m sure I’ll break those, all of them. But hey I can’t say I didn’t humor the idea. Oh and just to give my husband something to shake his head at. I enjoy eating meat every Friday in Lent. It’s the agnostic thing to do. (cheesy smile here)

Until my next post!

JCat McGack

2012 the big list

Her it is. The list I make every year. You know that one where I say what I’d LOVE to do to change my life, big or small.

The list that is the new me. The way I want to be. What I want to strive to be.

It’s always good to make change. I’m one of those happy optimistic people who embrace new ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I’m comfortable with the old way just as much as the next guy but you don’t know.

After searching ‘Pinterest’ for a great ‘Change’ quote. I came up with my own.  “I don’t want to change THE world. I just want to change MY world.”

Sounds selfish? Nope. Who isn’t out there to better themselves? And hoping a better me, makes a better world.

So onto the ‘list’ of BRILLIANT idea’s, thoughts and wishes for myself for this Twenty 12.

• Weight loss. I think I’ve saved this one for last before, but let’s not fool anyone. Pretty much everyone I know has this one on their list. Speaking of Pinterest, I did find this to be quite inspiring…And on the weight loss thought… let’s just say it will be it’s own blog post.
• Milltown sales. Simple enough, but quite complicated. This Milltown is an antique mall. We rent a booth, to sell all the crap in our houses (my mom and I are in together) great idea, like a permanent garage sale. Higher prices, and we don’t baby sit it. Either way I’d rather MAKE things to sell. SO I should probably MAKE things, and SELL them. Otherwise all my great idea’s will stay trapped in my head! (dangerous place to stay!!)
• LESS stuff. we have a messy house because we have TOO much stuff, and the golden rule of “a place for everything, and everything in it’s place” is NOT working here! It’s simple. Or it should be. Much simpler. We’ve just got TOO much.
• Garden better. I tried two years ago to garden a TON of flower beds, in result I’ve got 5 beds… NOT well maintained AT all. To a point where I loathe gardening. I do love it, it was just becoming more of a job then a hobby. Need to make it, again, simpler. Baby steps.
• Be nicer. Sounds easy. But since I’ve had kids, and I fought with PPD so much I just seem to snap so much more. I’m short, rude, and to the people I love most. It’s a work in progress. But always trying.
• More art room time. Sounds greedy. But it’s what I do. Some people watch t.v. I sit in an art room with my cats and chill. I need to balance it so I get down there more, but it doesn’t take away from my family life, and housework.
• Family time. I make this the most important thing in my life. My family of 4 gets my attention over any one else. But my wonderful family of 3 that I started with, Queen, Carrots and Frances. I have to make sure they are around me as often as I can see them. They are what made me me.

Have to laugh, after I wrote out all I want to change, about 80% of this list is EXACTLY what I said last year. Not that I didn’t do these things in 2011 but, I’m glad I’ve got goals to keep striving for.

So Happy New Year to you, hoping this Twenty 12 is good to you, that you grow and change, that you accept your life, or make it better. YOU are your own change.

JCat McGack

Freedom

If you’ve been keeping up here, you know that recently we (my family and I) found out about an App for iPad users to speak for them. To get up to speed check out this post and come back… I’ll wait here…

Now that your up to speed, and you realize that it’s been 15 years, yes HALF of my sisters life has been silenced by her muscle disorder. Dystonia.

Until today.

The 4 of us piled into the van (it’s an hour away to our destination). It’s a Cat family adventure. We’ve taken MANY of these adventures, they are Frances adventures, for almost 6 years we searched for what was wrong with her, and after finding out the one word ‘Dystonia’ we then searched for a cure… there is none, but that didn’t stop us from our adventures. We went on to search for more knowledge of it, how to adapt to it, how to work with it, and how to make it better.

For YEARS, we insisted Frances would talk again. We knew she would. Our brains just wouldn’t let us think she wouldn’t. We tried Botox injections in her neck… not with a hard needle, but a soft bendy needle that she needed to have put in about 5-7 different injections around her neck. It was so painful she would squeeze my hand, I quickly learned to take off any rings. (after she squeezed my wedding ring right into my finger)

After a year of Botox injection, she was clear for DBS (Deep Brain Surgery) surgery, now years after the surgery, Frances is better with her Dystonia. Better as in she’s not twisted, bent over and contorted to the left at all times. But her ability to eat and drink is extremely difficult. Do me a favor… next time you try to eat or drink… don’t shut your mouth… you have to tilt your head, take miniature bites, and sips, and hope not to choke… that is how Frances eats and drinks.

And her speech is silenced.

Again, until today.

We walked into the Apple store. None of us owning anything newer then a iPod with a wheel on the front. Touch screens, and sliding screens, teaching my parents what an ‘App’ is (I’ve got a cell phone from Wal-Mart's pay monthly company) so it was ALL new to us.

As we all touched, and poked at these new machines, we laughed about how cool we were with our Apple II E WAY back in the day, and besides my iPod that is 4 years old, these are the ONLY two things we know about Apple.

We were greeted at the door by Megan. She was amazing. HOURS with us. Going over the Proloquo2Go app (they had one uploaded at the store. So we really got to see what this app was about) Megan has a cousin with Autism, so this was perfect. She knew this app well, and knew a site that had many other apps that talked for you, some under or around $5.00 too.

You could see that she knew how much this all meant to us.

It was between an iPod, or the iPhone… we were almost SURE we would pick the iPhone for Frances, it’s smaller, easier to carry… but she gave us a look and said no. And iPad is what she wanted. Bigger screen, easier to touch, and bonus the screen is so big our parents don’t need their reading glasses to read what Frances has typed (if she’s not going to have the iPad read it out loud)

I was SO excited for her, and I mean PUULLEEASSE, you KNOW I’d love to have an iPad myself, I tried to say I needed one too, just to help her learn to use it… that fell quickly on deaf ears.

So I did what I do best. Talked, and tried to take the iPad from my sister to show her what little I knew about it the app that I had googled online.

She promptly took it back. Gave me the finger. And quickly found the ‘Please be quiet’ button on the Proloquo2Go App… sigh. Well I wanted her to communicate so that is what I get!!

After hearing Frances talk through the app I looked at my mom with tears running down my face. She too was crying, and my dad was smiling. My sister had a grin from ear to ear, and that was when Megan and a manager started to hug us. They realized that this was not just a new toy for someone. It was changing a life.

It didn’t take long for us to quickly decide that this was it for Frances!

An iPad, Proloquo2Go App, a book like case to cover it.

I have to say we were amused at how fast it was to buy at the Apple store! You don’t go to a register, Megan had a small phone like device, slid the credit card right there, and my mom signed with her finger!

It doesn’t take much to entertain us, and this store, from it’s layout, to the devices in hand, the amounts of people pouring in to be helped and the HUGE amount of people working. It was a whole new world for us. And we were falling in love fast! (I was for sure!)

Now we, as in my parents and I. We’ve waited SO long to hear again what Frances was thinking. Blue has also never heard Frances. But we all probably agree the two people we want her to talk to… more than anyone… is Buzz and Tink.

Tink has already spent 5 years not hearing what Frances has to say, and Buzz 3.

It’s been hard for her to communicate with my kids. They can not read so her written, or typed out words were useless to my two, and with little and or no communication between them, their relationship was not what we all had wanted. Tink and Buzz love their Aunt, and talk of her often, they ask why she doesn’t talk, and I’ve explained. They accept her for who she is. And I’m hoping that they don’t remember the times when they couldn’t communicate with her.

So after a LONG day on our adventure, we come home, Tink and Buzz went crazy with questions to Frances. All we could do was smile and enjoy the conversation…

Frances talking to Buzz and Tink for the first time.

It was a huge day in our family history. I’m hoping to be interrupted, and told what my sister really thinks. I mean just think. ALL these years I’ve been the one doing all the talking. Jeez, I’m tired already. It’s time for Frances to have a voice.

Today was a day that we all know didn’t fix Frances’s voice, but what it did do is set her free.

JCat McGack

Puffy face, throat closing allergies

You’ve GOT to be kidding me… so I go in for my allergy part of testing the other day. This involves needles…

First she swabbed down my back with alcohol, then numbered ALL over my back 1-25. These needles were like little pinches all over my back.

(not me ^)

Each needle with a different thing I could possibly be allergic too. Leave it on for 15 minutes… Dr and nurse came back in and checked them all. I was allergic to none of these.

She said the second part of testing is on my arms… more needles. And she said these would hurt. 6 in each arm. Needle needles. Each one filled with more allergy possibilities.

Again, alcohol on the arms, numbered 1-6 on the right. and 7-12 on the left… these needles HURT damn it. And instead of 12, I got 13 since one hurt so bad I jumped back and had to get it again.

I sing the Oscar Meyer Weiner song when I have to give blood, I sing (and I do not sing well) because I’d swear like a sailor otherwise. Takes my mind off of it, sort of, and it makes the staff laugh. So if I can make people laugh while they stab me repeatedly, bonus.

15 minutes again… man some of them itch… that can’t be good… whatever #6 was… I was sure I was allergic, the puffy circle was really red… and most of my left arm itched… oh this should be good.

Dr came in with nurse again, and she asked me if I was scratching all over my arms. I said I didn’t touch them. She seemed surprised. Great, so I’m SO allergic to these things it looked like I helped out the red process?

So I know your dying to know what I’m allergic to, so here’s the list (in order of least dramatic to most traumatizing to me)

1. Mold- as in outside plants, like the rest of the free world… whatever, this does suck because I enjoy gardening, but I wear my good gloves, and will just take some allergy meds OTC, and call it a day!

2. Dust mites – Well that’s just gross. And after reading this blog on them I was even more grossed out. One of those things you don’t want to know, but now that you do it’s STUCK in your head for.ev.er.

And I know everyone has them in their homes. But thanks to the doctor for giving me details on the fact that they eat our dead skin cells, and now I’m allergic to them and their feces. Yummy.

3. … it’s hard to type… I cried all the way home… it’s not allergic like I’ve got to get rid of something… but it’s allergic like I need to NOT be so close to it… it’s my Sophie. I’m allergic to dogs?

This breaks my heart. I was told she couldn’t sleep with us anymore… but it helps her get over the loss of her sister, Maggie…

I made it one night with her on the couch and she was so sad the next day. She thought she did some thing wrong. I can’t do it to her. And until I have horrible allergic break out reactions I won’t make her sleep anywhere else. She’s 7 years old, and boxers don’t live much past 9. I won’t hurt my Sophie. I won’t. She sleeps with me. Allergies or not.

4…. #6 now this one is weird. I’ve lived my WHOLE life surrounded by these. I’ve never had issues, and I know allergies can just show up after years. But it’s hard because I’ve always wanted to work with them… Cats of all kinds are my favorite animals, and that hard. I started going to school to work as a Vet Tech. I mean I LOVE cat’s. Here are my two.

(My Chloe and Boobie MaGee)

My parents have ALWAYS had at least 3 since I was little, and they still do. Meet the current residents of the Cat family.

Annie Bananie… she’s probably my favorite, and yes I have favorites, she was bought when I was in High School and still lived at home, so she’s still a part of my history… and she likes me.

Sassy (Sassafras) who was my Grandma’s cat till she passed away and is now adored by my sister… Sassy once hated me, but she’s come around to tolerating me. I can pet her, and take her picture, so I’ll take that. I think since Miss Abby came along she’s passed along the ‘Hate JCat’ torch to her…

And this is Abby… or Abacus the Evil to me. She HATES me. LOATHES me. When I walk in my parents house she is ANGRY. Hisses, spits, swats. And Siamese are NOT shy, she chases me around! Not my kids, Blue, or anyone else but me. Oh Abb… someday you’ll love me… so see I’ve got fuzzy friends ALL over the place so I just can’t avoid them!

Doc says I just need a Hepa filter for my art room where the cats live. I just worry… will I some day break out into puffy face throat closing allergies around my two favorite things? I mean when all my babies are gone am I going to have to stop having pets? Go back to my love for reptiles?

I mean I loved my turtles, iguana, gecko, newts, toads and frogs but they are SO different then the love you get from a dog or cat.

Until I break out in throat closing, puffy face allergic reactions I will forever snuggle and kiss and hug my fuzzy babies. I love them, and they love me. They rely on my love to get through the day, and I know I rely on theirs.

After all my tears, sadness, and my pity party for one over this news, I thought the thought I do every time I feel sick, or have bad health news.

“Someone out there is worse off then you.” and I know that I’m lucky to have the few issues I do. So I’ll take my asthma, and my 4 allergies. I’ll take them and be thankful for who I am.

JCat McGack