Hello (and Goodbye) Kitty!

Me and Beth, driving along a 4-way highway.

Furry little thing shoots across the street.

"WATCH IT, WATCH IT, WATCH IT!"

I brake. I miss it. I don't know how I miss it, but I do.

"What was it?"

"A cat...I think."

I pull over. Nothing around but fields...and lots of traffic.

We don't even know what we're looking for.

We search through the tall grass. Beth spots it. "There it is!"

Tiny little kitty. Soooo tiny. Striped. Skinny. Trembling. Terrified.

Beth scoops it up and we run back to the car.

Eli, in the back seat, is not a happy camper. This is the dog, after all, who recently swallowed a bunny whole.

"What're we gonna do with it?"

Me: "Hell if I know. I have to go to work in an hour!"

Eli meets my eyes in the review mirror. We are not keeping that thing.

"I know," I tell him.

We are so not keeping it. I will eat it.

He demonstrates this by launching between the seats and opening his jaws over the kitten's head.

"Bad dog! Leave it!"

Not a good idea to bring a kitten into a house with a dog who hates cats. Especially bunny-sized cats.

"I can keep it in my room," Beth says.

"OK. Just till tomorrow. Then we'll figure out what to do."

We stop at Petco to buy litter, a pan, and cat food. The staff all crowds around the kitten, ooh-ing and ahh-ing.

He has a booboo on his head and one on his tummy. His woodpecker heart beats hard against my hand.

I take a chance. "Um, anyone want him?"

YES! Someone wants him! A very nice girl. She cuddles him to her chin, already in love with him.

"Thank you, thank you!"



Kitty has a home!

I put the kitty litter back on the shelf.

Eli is pleased: I told you so!

My Next Adventure...

So in the twilight of my nursing career (though twilight is a small exaggeration as I'm sure I'll be working long past retirement age...yanno, if I wanna eat past age 66) I'm being forced compelled to get an official certification in psychiatric nursing.

Really.

This involves a two-day class (15 CEUs), an additional 15 CEUs in some kind of psych nursing, and a one big fat honking exam similar to State Boards.


GIFSoup

Pros:

1. Raise

2. Get to add one whole initial to my signature (whoopee)

3. "..." (I'm thinking)

4. ...Mmm, I guess I could add "professional satisfaction" but seriously, my job is so satisfying in so many ways, I just don't feel the need to add that extra letter after my name.

Cons:

1. Psych has never been my forte. It's the only nursing class I got a B in (I missed an A by 1 or 2 points, so it's not like I was flunking. But still). I couldn't keep the theories straight. I couldn't keep my FACE straight! It didn't help that my instructor wasn't wrapped too tight, either (BTW, if you're reading this, I apologize--but remember when you made us crash a CLOSED bipolar support group and how embarrassing it was when they kicked us all out? That was so not cool).

2. This means sitting for an exam that I've been told is about as horrible as waking up with shingles on your face and cottage cheese in your sheets.

3. The prep book alone is almost $70. A book I will never look at again. Not available on my Nook.

4. You have to complete 150 psych CEUs every 5 years in order to renew it--and for the price of the renewal I could buy 4 tickets to a Broadway show and have a nice night out on the town.

5. I have NINETY DAYS to do it.

6. I'm supposed to be writing--and now I have to spend all this time catching up on CEUs and studying for an exam?

7. 

I ordered the course for the additional CEUs I need...something about "Depression in Adults" (and it's 20, not 15 CEUs, but it was cheapest course they had). Ha--depression in adults? At this point I could re-write that book. I could star in the film version--which, after this news, would be a pretty accurate bio-pic.

Not fair. I'm old. I should be finished with school.

Book Signing!

Anyone in the Youngstown, Ohio area? I'll be signing copies of THE UNQUIET at:

Barnes and Noble in Youngstown, Ohio
381 Boardman-Poland Rd
Youngstown, OH 44512
330-629-9436

Thursday, August 16th, 2012
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

I hope to see some of you there!

DARK PLACES: A Free e-Book Sampler from Bloomsbury

This is so totally cool, and it's now available FREE! DARK PLACES: A free ebook sampler with exclusive bonus material from FRACTURE by Megan Miranda, FREAKS LIKE US by Susan Vaught, TRANSCENDENCE by CJ Omololu, and THE UNQUIET by Jeannine Garsee.

"When everything else falls away, all we are left with are the Dark Places of our minds...

In these tales thrilling tales of psychological suspense from some of the leading young adult authors, you will meet an assortment of young men and women who must answer the question of what is real and what is only in their minds. They have entered the Dark Places and they will never be the same."

Rinn and Tasha appear in this sampler, in a disturbing "pool" scene from THE UNQUIET...only this time the action is from Tasha's not-so-pretty point of view.

Download DARK PLACES FREE for your Nook or Kindle at the following links--and enjoy!

DARK PLACES for Nook

DARK PLACES for Kindle

Nice Start to the Day--NOT!

This is what happens when you step on your glasses in the middle of the night:




This is your reaction:




This is your reaction when you discover your warranty has expired and they no longer have these frames in stock:




This is your reaction when you learn another store DOES have your frames in stock, though you have to drive to another town to get them:




These are your new glasses:



Too much drama for one morning.