Missing Out On Life?

So my question is this: if I sleep away each day, am I sleeping through life, or is sleep my life? Either way, I wake up and my kitty has grown and achieved new things.

As you can tell, Heidi's arrival three months ago really added joy to my waking life! I'm a little worried about her appointment next month to be spayed. I know it's just routine, but not for her!! Anyway, as I gaze at her playing in the recycle-trash bag next to me, I know I would be heartbroken if anything bad were to happen! She makes me smile and laugh when I'm too tired to do much else. I guess maybe her middle name would more appropriately be "Blessing"!

Heidi's Resume

My kitty's resume:

Job Resume

Name: Heidi Bonk Lindenmuth

Age: 6 Months

Height: Apx 18"

Weight: Apx 6 lbs

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Tumbleweed Blonde with White Highlights

Interests:

Bird Watching

My Family

Watching TV

Massage

Chasing a foam ball up and down the stairs

Catnip

Napping


Job Experience:

Able to save messages to folder in Juno format (only done this once)

Able to leave memo on phone answering machine (has done this several times!)

Able to thoroughly investigate unusual (and usual) noises

Able to make unusual (and usual) noises

Able to use my own body as a paperweight (and look very serious doing so)

Able to keep up with a cursor moving quickly on a computer monitor

Able to verify that shredded documents are indeed thoroughly shredded (by rolling in them)

Able to turn on and off the touch lamp on Sarah's headboard bookcase (and can do so at 3:00am when Sarah is trying to sleep)

Able to check out curious objects, especially on the inside of paper and plastic bags

Able to assist in compacting recycle paper products (puts whole self into this project)

Able to imitate a fainting goat without going stiff, and still look quite fetching and adorable

Able to protect Oma from her electric razor by hitting it with my paw with a very serious "don't ever do that again" look on my face

Able to "stand pretty" on my back legs and tap Oma's hand with one or both front paws in order to receive "treats"

Able to inspect all pages exiting the printer (very good at this and consider it my responsibility)

Able to jump 3-4 feet into the air, catch a 2" fur covered mouse and land on all fours! (I love practicing this activity and receive many compliments for this skill!)

Has done intensive research of the substance "catnip" (Nepeta cataria), finding it pleasantly intoxicating, yet not addictive (preferred scent: "Sarah's old shoes", a slightly more addictive odor)

Able to bring joy to my family by looking silly, being cute and mostly staying out of trouble

Comments: I am particularly interested in items that are "Under" other objects, and enjoy pursuing them. I am not comfortable about large shoes and am afraid of Oma's electric razor and it's case, black shoes and some other dark colored objects. Though some people call me timid, I am quite friendly and am very tolerant and trusting. I am very serious about my job and do take my responsibilities seriously!

Da Pur Ting!

Heidi has the sneezies. We think it's a dust allergy. Her first vet appointment is September 9th... I'll let you know how it goes!


Quiz: Veggie Tales/What character are you?

Thoughts On Suffering

Thoughts from my Mom: "I've noticed that after a tiring ordeal of suffering, relief can almost feel euphoric. I think this is how suffering and God's blessings go hand in hand - we don't appreciate the blessings nearly as much until we have experienced suffering. Our sense of joy is in direct proportion to how much we have suffered. I heard Joni Eareckson Tada on the radio last week talking about suffering. She believes God only gives suffering to those whom He trusts to handle it. I guess this means that those of us who suffer are really a lovingly chosen group, who are given an extra blessing in life in order to experience deeper joy and bring even more glory to our King of Kings!" Illness can be really humbling. I believe that God often uses it to make us think; to put us in a place where our daily activities can no longer distract us. One of the books I have found most comforting to read when I feel particularly weak and sick is Amy Carmichael's Rose From Brier. She describes the many, many blessings she received while being bed-ridden with a variety of illnesses. I am always amazed by her openness to God's mercies and her joy despite suffering! "God never wastes His children's pain."- A.C. Quiz: Which Book of the Bible are you?

Blogger in Absentia

Sorry y'all. Been sick for a couple weeks. Plus, everytime I thought of something in the middle of the night to write, I'd be too tired to write it down, and then completely forget! So here's a some stories about Heidi that my Mom wrote about:

"Heidi just turned 5 months old [August 10th]. She is a very adorable kitten most of the time and so submissive to us But well, Heidi is also kinda "stupid" - so stupid it is endearing! Today she was sitting on our bed watching herself in the full length mirror propped up close to [the side] of the bed. She does this every day when I wake up, stares at herself in the mirror and sometimes goes over and touches noses with "the cat in the mirror". Well, today, she was staring into the mirror creeping closer and closer to it 'til suddenly she jumped and went headfirst into the mirror - Bonk (which, happens to be her middle name!) - fortunately no damage done to either....

Heidi is also farsighted (she might be nearsighted too, not sure how to check that). Heidi can't see when we put certain treats onto a plate or the floor unless we place them on a contrasting surface. I figured that's how cats are, they're nocturnal and see better at night than in the day. I just feel bad for her.... I've been trying to teach her a trick - to stand up on her back feet to "sit up pretty" for a treat. She looks so adorable in that posture and I was hoping it would be good for her to learn a trick. But, even if I let her smell and lick the treat first, she can't see it when I hold it up so she starts to walk away..... I tap the floor to get her attention and she runs over to where I tap the floor looking for the treat. Sometimes I just feel so sorry for her I go ahead and give her the treat so I don't frustrate either of us. I truly believe if she knew what I wanted her to do she'd do it - she really "tries" to be good! Ya just can't help but love a really cute, half blind stupid cat!"

You Poor Things!

I know, I know, and it's probably a typical "beginning blogger" habit... I haven't written for almost a month. I have my hands full with Heidi, all the books I'm reading, doctors' appointments, and just being so-o tired! Forgive me. I can't say I'm repenting though. I've become an armchair traveler. I'm addicted to reading about China and unless I go blind, I'm not stopping. With the unpleasant summer weather, I've found reading to be my only consolation. My dream summer vacation: alone, in an air-conditioned room with a nice view, unobtrusive room-service, a stack of books on China, a cozy bed, and Heidi. Unfortunately, I'd have to sleep and eat. Well, I have to admit, I've got things pretty good as it is! Quiz: What Chinese symbol are you? Fun link: Mah Jong Mania (requires Shockwave)

Heidi "Dunk"

Heidi and I have bonded well. She is a gorgeous orange tabby with golden-brown eyes that tilt up at the outside corners. Heidi will be 4-months-old on July 10th. Still a kitten, 100%!! She doesn't sleep as much as I do, but she's fine with entertaining herself when I'm sleeping. And I haven't had to shut the door on her like my first kitten (who was only a few weeks old and wanted to nurse from me!).

Now, don't tell Heidi that I'm telling you this, but her first day here we heard a noise in the first-floor bathroom, and Mom saw her speeding away, shaking her paws with every step. A brief peek in the bathroom: the toilet cover was up and there was water on the seat... apparently Heidi accidentally took a bath in the toilet! hee,hee!

With spunk like this little 'un has, I've been too tired to think!

Quiz: What Kind of Cat Are You?

Lazy, or Intelligent?

"To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual." -Oscar Wilde

Suffice to say, I'm a "practicing" intellectual. The less I do, the more potential I have to learn something new. Thinking is most perfect when done alone, in the absence of any other activity. Wilde's point seems to be that thinking, as a solitary labor, is that which is most difficult. It has the appearance of inactivity, but it is the greatest challenge in a world defined by industriousness. Let me know if that sounds about right to you...

Cat Nap

Cats sleep a lot, don't they? Well, more than dogs! I've always wondered what a cat thinks of when it lies there, stretched out in a ray of sunlight or curled up like a roly-poly ball of fur. And when they sleep, do they dream? My new kitten, Heidi, arrives tomorrow at 5:00pm. I hope she doesn't snore.

The Curtain Rises on "Reveries"

Welcome! A rookie at blogging, but not at journaling, I thought I'd introduce some of my thoughts to the wide world of the Web. I am, however, a chronically exhausted person, and therefore limited as to how much I can post and when. So I'll begin with this small revery: "People all around me continue to live, even when my life seems at a stand-still. Stillness does not presume absence of life. Still waters run deep . . . I breathe, therefore, I am."