Seek the Fashionisto

Seek likes climbing in my closet. It turns out, he also likes "helping" me fold laundry.

Or maybe he just puts up with me folding laundry on "his" bed.

Continuing Kitten Antics

Not surprisingly, Hide and Seek are still silly, energetic, and curious. The result is sometimes...hmm. Interesting may be the word.

Exhibit 1: I have a dangly mousie that hooks over the door on my bedroom door. The cats go crazy for it. On the other side of the door, I have my ironing board on a door-hook-thing. One morning recently, I woke up to a thunderous noise. Thinking the house was falling down around me, I jumped up to investigate. It turns out that Hide had managed to bat the mousie over the door. The cacophony was the sound of him climbing the ironing board to retrieve his toy.

Exhibit 2: Turns out, Seek likes clothes. If I open my closet door for more than a millisecond, both cats take advantage and go in to play (their names are appropriate, after all). Last week, I discovered Seek standing on my clothes. No, not on a pile of clothes on the floor or a shelf. ON THE CLOTHES ON HANGERS. I don't know how he got there or why he thought it was a good idea, but he's done it several times, so it must be fun.

Exhibit 3: They also, not surprisingly, like to jump up on the kitchen cabinets, where they can look down on me from their superior position. Typically, they jump to the counter next to the fridge (the only counter area they're allowed to be!), then up on top of the fridge, then to the cabinets. Okay, not abnormal, right? What is surprising is that, if I have the freezer door open, Hide will jump from the floor into the freezer. That's right, he jumps straight up about four feet into the FREEZER. Why? My only guess is that he likes surprising me.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more ridiculous cat stories in days to come.

What is normal, anyway?

As I mentioned a few months ago, I started a new medication in December. It's made a remarkable difference. I feel...well...normal. Of course I still have moods, but the ups and downs aren't months-long, and they don't control me. I can be sad without it taking over my brain, and I can be happy without worrying about when it will end. How weird is that?

Another note about depression: one of the problems is that it can make you feel helpless and controlled by the condition. What I've discovered is that, in addition to therapy and medication, taking any concrete step makes a huge difference. Rather than wallowing, I just get up and clean the sink, or exercise for 10 minutes, or sweep the floor, or cook dinner. A small step makes a big difference! I guess Nike knows what they're talking about--just do it. 

The Book Junkie

I have a secret: I spent a bunch of time working on an exciting (to me, at least) project. I didn't tell anyone about it, because I didn't want any pressure or discouragement from anyone who might have thought I couldn't do it or that it wasn't a worthwhile use of my time.

So here it is: The Book Junkie! The Book Junkie is a website devoted to books--book reviews, book lists, book resources, book recommendations, etc. For anyone like me, who's addicted to books, I think it will be a lot of fun. In addition to my reviews, I've included several ways to interact with me/the site, including a discussion forum, where readers can critique my reviews. You can also follow the Book Junkie on Facebook (Yup! I set up a Facebook fan page) and on Twitter.

I'm very happy and excited to have completed the first stages of establishing my site--and even more excited at the prospect of keeping it up and running! I've found a way to do something practical with my love of reading and writing. Who'd have thunk it?