Tonight I had a few of my Bending Oaks girls over to make some cookies and watch “Rebecca” (seeing as talking about Poe often leads one to discuss Hitchcock’s many virtues). We made around 60 mini girl-sized sugar cookies, and even got in a flour fight!
Mirabelle has had a pretty busy week. Her mission- take down the entire Cone household, all during her lunch breaks.
First of all, we had the nice little “burning tail” incident, of which I mentioned before. Then on Sunday, we realized that she had single handedly short-circuited our computer cord by biting into it at various spots. Since Jesse’s biggest paper was due the very next day, we spent the entire night trying to splice back together the wires. I’ve actually never seen Jesse truly lose his temper with Mirabelle. His exact words were, “Mirabelle, you’re about to make me curse!” She even tried to attack the cord WHILE we were fixing it.
Here are some pictures of project “Get-the-laptop-light-to-turn-on”.
The next day, I went to use my exercise band and found that one whole end of it was shredded. See, Mirabelle has this game she likes to play with bobby pins. It goes like this: She takes them off of the bathroom counter and sticks them into whatever container she can find, whether that be a shoe or even my exercise equipment box (Jesse says it is pretty typical to be sitting in class and find bobby pins stuck inside his shoe lining). Then, she proceeds to attack the bobby pin inside whatever place she has put it. If it falls out, she puts it back in before she will continue the slaughter. To illustrate this, a video is worth a thousand words.
But today. Oh…..today was where I nearly committed involuntary cat-slaughter and almost threw Mirabelle outside the door to go make her “forever home” somewhere that wasn’t here. Today she spilled a whole glass of water on my cell phone. Now none of the buttons work and my phonebook has been erased. AGH!!!!
But just when I was about ready to explode and throw her out the window, Mirabelle jumped up on my lap and began to purr. Then she literally put her paws around my waist and fell asleep purring. All without me doing anything.
I knew right then that SHE felt very confident in the fact that no matter how naughty she was, we would never give her up:)
Well, Jesse is busy writing again, as usual, so I will have to write about his crazy life FOR him. After turning in a 20+ and a 15+ page paper to two of his professors this week, he had to study for his Ethics final. Which occurred this morning.
I KNOW! Who gives finals on Saturday mornings? Other than, well, Tess’ school:) But seriously.
So Jesse spent all of Friday day/night preparing. Now, when he told me he needed to spent the ENTIRE day studying, I was proud of him and thought, “My brilliant husband. Always so overprepared and freaked out, even when he doesn’t need to be.”
But then he showed me the study guide from Hell.
I tried not to show him my trepidation, the heart palpatations that started just at the sight of that enormous thing. I didn’t want him to know how scared for him I was. After all, it’s never good to hear, “Don’t do it Jesse! We LOOOVE you!” right before you head into an Ethics final.
Good grief, 3 weeks of studying wouldn’t have been enough for that thing!
It started with 15 long quotes he was supposed to identify. Then it gave 3 questions which he was supposed to write “short” essays for. I found out later that “short” means 2 pages. Then it gave 4 more questions which he was supposed to write “short” essays for. This means 4 pages each. EACH. Then came the 2 at the end which were supposed to be “FULLY REALIZED” essays. Jesse wasn’t even finished with one of them, and it was already 4 pages single spaced.
This was only Study Guide Option #1- there was another study guide identical in size for those who didn’t like this one. I mean, come on, what’s not to like??
I asked if this was just preparation for the test, did he really need to do all this work? He said that this “STUDY GUIDE” wasn’t even for the test. The test was going to only have one essay question and the rest was objective. No no no, the Study Guide was actually just another name for “Extra-Assignment-due-at-the-test”.
But Jesse made it through his Saturday Morning Final. I congratulated him, only to discover that it was merely part 1. Who ever heard of a final having 2 parts? Apparently, he also had to schedule an oral exam for next week, at which time he is supposed to present another paper of over 20 pages.
I’m sure he’ll fit it in, somewhere right before or after he takes his other 2 finals. Or in between sleeping.
In other good news here, it’s freezing!!! The weather just said that it was going to get into the “teens” tonight and that it was probably going to snow later on. Hurray!!!!! Fortunately, the insulation in our apartment is amazing- we’ve only used our heater once so far this year and it set off the smoke alarm from weeks of disuse.
8 more days until we fly home!!!
Need a conversation piece? Look no further!
Imagine the awkwardness when you present these Wooden Balls as a gift to your in-laws…
We have reached a new low of stupidity, everyone. All of a sudden tonight, Jesse and I smelled a putrid smoky smell, kind of like when someone has left their hair in a curling iron for fifteen minutes. Only it wasn’t human hair.
Mirabelle had lit herself on fire.
Jesse and I had lit some Christmas candles and set them on our dresser. Not five minutes later, and Mirabelle had jumped up on the dresser and let her tail come to rest on top of one of them.
She didn’t even know what was happening- she probably thought later that WE were the ones to make half the hair on her tail feel crispy. We yelled at her and made her jump off the dresser, carrying with her that horrid burning smell. She ran off, not even knowing what all the big deal was about.
We didn’t stop laughing for a long time. Then we couldn’t stop hypothesizing about what would have happened had there been actual flames coming from her tail. By the time we would have caught her, what with all the yowling, half the apartment would have been on fire.
Yes, it was funny to think about. But nothing could make the smell any better.
Fill out each question honestly! If you don’t, merchant elves from the land of Hawaii will tear out your whiskers and lasso them around little kitties! Plus, you will have bad luck for 10 years! And no kitty litter!
Name: Mirabelle Cone
Favorite–
Color: I don’t see colors.
Friends: Kelly’s my mom, so I guess she doesn’t count. I just use her for cuddling. Jesse’s my toy, so he doesn’t count either since I guess friends don’t bite and scratch at faces. Maybe Allanah, she’s the only person I don’t growl at.
Pastimes: Sticking bobby pins in Jesse’s shoes, sprinting around the house, running into things, meowing all night, biting Jesse’s hand, running on my vertical treadmill (a special model called, the shiny dishwasher).
Food: Toilet water.
Celebrity: Jessica Simpson. SOO Smart.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?: On a couch cleaning my butt
Who are your enemies?: Oh, I have so many, how can I begin….well, all those noises outside the door. Humans can’t hear them, but I do. Trust me they’re there, and they make me so crazy….but it’s not my fault!
What religion do you practice?: I do whatever the little voices say. They tell me to scratch on the wall, I do it. But I can’t stand the sign of the cross. That’s why I hiss.
What special talents do you have?: I can growl. Sometimes, I can even act normal. I also like to hiss alot.
Do you have areas for improvement in your life?: Maybe I could learn to aim as I shove litter over my “business”. Other than that, no. I am the perfect household cat.
Guess what I just found out….around 20 years ago, Lance Armstrong was one of the few and the proud to graduate from Bending Oaks! He is their amorous connection to the world of fame and athletics. The feeling is not mutual, however.
Apparently, Lance is bitter about his high school experience. He lived and went to school in Plano, but then qualified for some huge triathlon. When Plano high school officials wouldn’t let him skip that much school and still graduate, Lance had to turn to Bending Oaks for “alternatives”. He took summer classes and barely passed with enough credits to graduate. Rumor has it that his mom even had to beg the school to grant him his diploma.
Because of this, Lance openly despises Plano. He makes derisive mention of the city (and occasionally Bending Oaks) in his books, and he turned them down flat when they tried to hold a parade in his honor a few years ago.
So there you have it! Lance’s alma mater! Let’s just hope he doesn’t decide to visit…
Slow For The Cone Zone 