Thursday, December 31, 2020

Make it happen, cap'n

Today I have an early release from work at 3pm, and you really have no idea how excited that makes me.

Excited So GIF - Excited So Yes GIFs

It's not even that big of deal, but it's the little things sometimes, y'know.  It's being able to wear jeans on Fridays (although at my new office, it's only the first Friday of every month. blah. 😒). But again, it's better than nothing.

On top of my early release AND having tomorrow off for the kickass start of 2021, I am also teleworking today!!!! It's the perfect kind of day to be teleworking, too.  It's super cold, and it's been raining non-stop.  I feel sorry for all those mad foolz who had mad plans to shoot off some fireworks tonight because I'm pretty sure they won't be able to get them lit with all this rain.  Rest assured, mad foolz - all your fun shalln't be spoiled as the rain does not prevent you yourselves from getting lit!

Speaking of getting lit, Nathan and I crazily decided to kick off our "Let's get healthy in 2021!" on Monday, so we're 4 days in and have promised ourselves (and each other) that we're going to make.it.happen. this year!  To facilitate this, we've issued dollar amounts that we will either earn for every day of making.it.happen (i.e. sticking to allotted calorie amounts) OR we will have to forgo the moneymoneymoney to a cause or a person we wouldn't ever dream of contributing funds to (i.e. The Proud Boys, Mitch McConnell, Trump, etc.)

Pretty brutal, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I was thinking about my post yesterday on my recent read, and I think I really left off a lot more that I wanted to say about the book, particularly how strong I found Lisa Brennan-Jobs to be at times and also how much it seemed she used her unique past and childhood to learn and grow into the person she is now.  It reminded me of the girl who wrote Educated (Tara Westover).  I don't know that had I experienced some of the things that these women endured, I would have come out in the way that they did:  a New York Times Bestselling author. :)  Kidding, but really...I feel really strong sometimes or proud of the way I come out after facing trials and adversities over these past 33 years, but other times I'm like "just give me the EFFING dessert, and let me donate all my money to stoopid Trump."

On an unrelated note, I had a dream that involved Nathan and me hanging out with my bestie T-Swift and her guy pal Joe, and I'm now convinced this was a premonition.  This could be because I've been streaming Evermore and also Folklore like a mad woman (😉) very, very softly with headphones while I work for the past 3 days.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Small Fry, Big Thoughts

Two nights ago, I finished reading Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs.  I've had it on my TBR list (as the cool kids say...I'd just as well call it my "reading list" because we all know that nothing on the reading list is still waiting to be read if it's on there since it would then be moved to the "read" list. nonetheless, TBR list is kind of cheesy to me, but I've been trying to be cool since about 1996, so there's no since in stopping now.)** for a while ever since my sister-in-law mentioned it months, maybe a year or so, ago.

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As is the case sometimes with books, at least for me, it got pushed further and further down the list over time.  Then a few weeks ago, I finished a book one night and was an eager beaver ready to start a new one.  I requested a few from Libby (my lady-love library app), and I downloaded Small Fry and something else at the same time.  I ended up reading the other one.  Sorry, Lis.  However, one day when I was knee deep in the other book, I accidentally clicked on Lis' work and read the first few lines, which went something like "Three months before my father passed away, I began stealing things from his house."

and I was like "OoooOOOoooh, girl! No you didn't!"

So then I was re-excited about reading it, and so I did.

For starters, bless dear Nathan for lending an ear to my rants almost every evening after reading a portion before going to bed.  I'd heard things over the years indicating that Steve Jobs (who shall henceforth be called "Steve" since that's what Lisa called him, and it's kind of ingrained in me now.) was maybe not really the nicest to people he'd either worked with, who worked for him, he'd encountered through the years, etc.  But I'd never really heard anything concrete to tie this notion down.  I'd just heard it generally and figured it must be true and also that you probably don't become a billionaire by being a really nice person. That is, unless you're Willy Wonka.

But oh my goodness, I had no idea what I was in for.  Between the manipulation and the physical and financial AND emotional withholding, and moodiness, and at times just being off-the-wall CRAY in his actions and words (e.g. asking your teenage daughter if she masturbates. Hello! Not really appropriate, Steve!), I don't think I'll ever think about Steve the same.

I should say, I know there are always at least two sides to every story, and this memoir was written by Lisa, and it was published after Steve's death so there isn't a whole lot of arguing he can do regarding the way he was painted in this book, but I also don't feel like this was an expose to get rich on her part.  I think, sure, she probably knew she could sell a few copies because people would be intrigued to read about Steve from an insider's perspective, a daughter he blatantly lied about fathering for many years, but there is just so much of a common thread in his actions and words throughout the book that it would be just too hard to make it all up.

I also know that there are times throughout my life where my dad disappointed me (and I'm sure I did the same to him. Maybe.  I was his angel child, so it doesn't compare to what my heathen brothers did. hah!), but as a whole, I love him and I'm so grateful for all that he did for me, and I'm also grateful that I didn't have Steve growing up.

Enough about crazy Steve.

The book was good, a four out of five stars on the Courtney Richter*** scale...whatever the hell that is.  I feel like I had more to say, but my time is running out, and I've got to keep some stuff for my memoir. 😉

Only 1 more day of 2020, folks!


**you're so welcome for that.

***If there's a Courtney Richter out there and you ever come across this blog after googling yourself, please DM or IM or something-M me. :)

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

T-minus 2 days 'til 2021

Apparently, Blogger decided to change up it's draft-posting interface while I took a little hiatus, so this is new. You can't see what I'm seeing right now, that is unless you're peeping over my shoulder during my lunch break at work, and if that's the case, kudos to you good sir for your invisibility and your ability to bypass the courthouse marshals, that is...unless you work here, and in that case Darren! Turn off your invisibility powers, and go back to your desk! 

Oh 2020 - just a mere 2 and 1/2 more days of your tomfoolery and then so long forever to your crazy self! What a year! Can I just say that again? Okay. thanks. What a year! 

We sent out Christmas cards with photos this year. I always thought this would be something we'd never do until we had cute little cherubs' faces to grace the card, but this year is what it is. Also, I'm narcissistic and I thought "Everyone's had a rough year. Maybe they'll smile at getting a card from us where we're dancing and laughing, and their holidays will be merry and bright!" Not really. But we did make it weird in typical Nathourtney fashion in taking a jab at the usual photo cards. AND and we included a puzzle for curious minds to solve.
(I redacted our last name from the card.  I swear we know how to center text correctly.)

So far only 3 people (out of almost 50) have solved it. I don't credit our mad puzzle-making skills for this, but more so that 40-something people saw the front of the card, thought "I don't get it. These people are weird," and then turned the card over to discover some ancient hieroglyphics strung across the bottom and proceeded to toss said card in the trash. 

Well, you know what I say to those 40-something people...


Okay, I've got a confession. *cue Usher* When I just typed out "hieroglyphics," I was convinced I spelled it incorrectly, but I didn't get the little red squiggly underneath it.  So I thought this new interface doesn't spell check.  Then I found an arrow and clicked on it, and switched from HTML view to Compose view, and now Blogger looks normal!  Hooray!  

Also, apparently I know how to spell "hieroglyphics" correctly because I checked Google, AND I don't have a squiggle. But I did misspell "invisibility" up there, so there's that.

Do you think 2021 will be like switching Blogger back to Compose view after a harrowing year of HTML view?  I sure do hope so.

I know I can't complain much.  I've got a man who loves me, a cat who loves me relies on me for food every day, a nice place to lay my head at night in a city I've dreamed for a few years of living in, a job that pays, and a heart that beats regularly, for which I am oh so grateful for.

but

man, this year's been a toughie.

I've had the urge to write more these past few days/weeks, so maybe you'll get a few more ramblings from me here and there, but that's it for now.  I'd like to write more, but it's back to the grind, and I fear that if I leave this unpublished 'til later, later might not come for who knows how long.  And then I'd have to go back up there and change the number of days that it's been after 2021 started and it'll all just be a big ole mess.

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Gretchen and Delia

Well......I didn't plan on taking a month off to update you on all the exciting changes happening around these parts, but life uh....finds a way.

Life Uh GIF - Life Uh FindsAWay GIFs

That doesn't make any sense.  You know what else doesn't make any sense? Nothing really changed about the coronavirus except that cases decreased a lot in some areas because everyone was social distancing/teleworking/wearing masks during the very limited number of outings they were taking and then SOMEBODY was like "Well, I guess we're through the worst of it.  Back to normal, folks!" ...and here we are again with the number of cases increasing skyrocketing...and when will my better half and I finally be able to venture out into the great unknown of glorious Dallas??? #firstworldproblems

Okay, I'll stop being a little storm cloud now.  Onward to sunshine and rainbows.
Recent Reads

After rereading one of my favorite books for the fourth fifth sixth time (I don't really know...more than a few, but less than the number of times Nath'n has watched The Empire Strikes Back), I decided to give a book I started years ago another chance.  Back in what I would guess was probably 2014, I decided to read The Happiness Project because it seemed like an interesting topic, it was a New York Times Bestseller, and who couldn't stand a little more happiness in their life? Win-win-win, right?

I remember getting through the first few chapters back in '14, but I wasn't as avid of a reader as I am these days.  So naturally after not picking it up very often and feeling like it was taking for-ev-er to get through (my fault, I thought), I decided it just wasn't for me.  Since then I've wondered if maybe it was just me, so why not give the ole gal Gretchen another chance!?

I was wrong.

While I won't say that I hated the book, it was rather hard at times to get through.  I've told myself in the past that if I'm just not feeling a book after a few chapters in, it's okay to put it down.  Coincidentally, Gretchen says the same thing in this very book.  There are plenty more fish in the sea books on the shelf.  But then I'd think "Well, that's what I did last time!" So I'd make myself keep trudging, and boy was it a trudge! I found parts of the book interesting and enjoyable (at times), but all-in-all, it just wasn't my favorite.  I feel like it could have been three-quarters, if not half as long as it was, and it was just really hard to relate to the author at times because she has such a different personality than me and values things differently than I do. I'd give it 2 stars.

Needless to say, it won't be my go-to stocking stuffer for family members this year.  Except maybe the ones who wronged me.  hahaha jk #nohateforgretchen


My subsequent and latest read was Where the Crawdads Sing.  To be honest, I wasn't particularly stoked about starting this because I'd been burned in the past by a New York Times Bestseller (cough, cough-see above), and I sometimes get a little weird about a book that I feel like everyone raves about when it's probably not typically something I'd read.  I knew this was set in the south in the mid-20th century, and I'm more of a modern fiction person.  But I thought, you know let's just see.  I can always put it down if I'm not digging it.

I was wrong.

It was sooooooo good! Count me in on the bandwagon of people who really liked (maybe even loved or lurved) this book!  While it was more nature-descriptive than I may like at times, I will say the author, who is a zoologist, has a way with words.  It also had a good amount of suspense throughout, which is not the norm for my reading choices.  A few nights when I was going to bed, I was like "Lawd Jesus, please let me not have any nightmares about the Marsh Girl!" And then one night when I was brushing my teeth after a particularly suspenseful chapter, Nathan showed up behind me in the mirror after I had closed my eyes for a minute, and I was so startled! #scaredycat

Scared Funny GIF - Scared Funny Cat GIFs
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Anyway, it kept me guessing throughout about who may have murdered the town superstar, but I won't give it away in case you read this and don't want the ending ruined.  And by "you," I mean you, Nathan.  Hah!  (p.s. thanks for being amazing and reading my sorry excuse of a blog) Back to the book - all in all, it was a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it!! 5 stars, Delia!

So yeah.  That's about it on the reading front for now.  I've just started this, and I'm already digging the small intro portion I read last night.  Excited to report back here hopefully soon with my overall thoughts.

Until then (which may be a month, but let's hope not), keep it funky and fresh and for goodness sakes SOCIAL DISTANCE AND WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK!!!!

Coronavirus Covid19 GIF - Coronavirus Covid19 Covid GIFs
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**Who am I doing blog posts with back-to-back Jurassic Park gifs in my posts? Oh...Nathan's wife.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Decoration Day (& picture overload)

Dijaknow that Memorial Day used to be known as Decoration Day because soldiers used to decorate (with flowers and flags...not like garland and lights, although wouldn't that be a scene?) the graves of their fallen comrades?

That's the only bit of sustenance in this post. (but really...)

Apparently I have a knack for Memorial Day blog posts (seen here and here), so I'm coming at you again in 2020, bitches.  Sorry, but not sorry for the lack of a 2019 post.  From what I can remember, we ventured from the southeastern corner of the state of LA to the northwestern corner of the state (still LA) to hang out with mi padre.  Nate the Great also planned a little reunion fun with some old work buddies, and we just took it all reallllllll eassssssy. :) We have good memories from a year ago when cloth masks weren't strapped to our faces and the sun was nice and shiny...



Mi Padre and Mi Amore


which is the opposite of today.



I am not one, nor will I e'er be one to complain about a rainy day off work, but Nate and I dreamed up a grandiose good time outdoors today, including a nice little hike at nearby Piedmont Ridge Trail and a picnic lunch outside, but the weather kind of changed all that for us.

After busting our bootays this morning doing a workout from my new trainer (#bigballin'), we got all cleaned up and were like "This rain is going to pass, and we'll just get a little mud on our shoes!"  However, that soon turned into "it's really coming down out there! Mebbbeeee we should reschedule for another day." :( But we made light of it and took some pics by the door.


Hot stuff!

I'm pretty sure I was mid song here.


I guess I could have cropped some of these a bit, but la to the zy.


DEFINITELY mid-song here.

It's all good in the 'hood.  We had a turkey sammiches with a little side of Mr. Trebek, and all was right in the world again.


Alex Trebek Dancing GIF by Jeopardy! - Find & Share on GIPHY

Then I had the bright idea to go ahead and knock out getting a few groceries from Trader Joe's, and I thought "It's Memorial Day AND rainy - - Trader Joe's is going to be EMPTY!" (are you picking up on the foreshadowing I'm putting down?  'cause if not, then maybe I'm a bad writer you need to go back to 8th grade reading class.)

Little did she know that everyone in the DFW metroplex had the same idea.



So after nearly 18 minutes in line, I hightailed my slippery shoes through the store and was out in less time than my wait time.

But you know what?! Who the eff cares? Cause it's STILL a day off work! #MemorialDayBitches

This is my current view. 



No rearranging/posing things to make it cooler. #lazyblogger  So you just get a plain, boring candle picture. 



And another cat picture. (THANK GOD he's feeling oodles and oodles better than last weekend.)

P.S. That's not water in my water bottle.
P.S.S. Yes it is, because my trainer said I can't have alcohol.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Something old, new, borrowed, and blue

Hello from the other siiiiiiiiide.

Still in lockdown, still working from home, so not really the other side, but I felt like saying it anyway.  Today marks the start of my 9th week of teleworking. So while I'm really enjoying no commute time in my day and more comfortable clothes and easier lunches and more time working out in the morning and working alongside Jim and this and that and the other, I do feel really bad for all of the people out of work or suffering from the sickness or loss of income, etc. etc., and it'll be nice when we reach "normal" again.

But enough virus talk for now! On to more exciting things like what is up with the title of this post? I'm actually kind of proud of myself for such a clever title and post idea.  (at least proud by my standards, which we all know are extremely low.)

Clever Girl Jurassic Park GIF - CleverGirl JurassicPark Angry ...
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Something old


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I decided to brush the dust off my copy of The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail whilst I was waiting on the library to get off their sorry ass* lend me my next read, and boy howdy am I ever glad for making such an important decision.  For those of you sorry asses that don't know, this book, is phenomenal. Period. It has wit and intelligence and perfect segues and inspiration and why am I not already living in the woods in my own Walden, living off my bean patch, eating imaginary huckleberries, but am instead tied to THE MAN???  It is just so, SO good, y'all. And if you haven't read it, then you should, and you will love it and reread it from time to time and also send me a thank you note at my cabin in the woods.  Of course, it'll be from your cabin in the woods and will probably be written on a stone, written by using a sharp stone (apparently, it's really stony around your cabin), but I'll appreciate the gesture nonetheless. 😉 
p.s. I swear I'm not stoned.

Something new

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My last read, before I manhandled (with my brain and eyes) the aforementioned, was a book called The Girl He Used to Know (not to be confused with this.)  I had high hopes for it being another book I would love (like this one) or even really like (like this one), buuuuuuuuuut it wasn't. It wasn't horrible by any means, and I was nice enough to give it a 3/5 stars on GoodReads, but it just didn't do anything for me. It was an easy read and *SPOILER ALERT* was interesting reading a love story about a girl who is on the Autism spectrum and seeing how she perceives things, as well as how others perceive her (the chapters alternate between her point of view, as well as the point of view of her love interest), but again, nothing really spectacular.  There wasn't witty banter or a great plot, and the ending (which was spanned over the last 6 chapters or so) were centered on September 11th, and it just wasn't that great. In conclusion, if you're desperate, read it, but don't say I recommended it.

Something borrowed


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When I thought up this catchy title for the blog post, this was the hardest (#firstworldproblems) blurb for me to come up with, but then the perfect-est thing dawned on me that I had to vent about.  So for work, we have to/it looks really good to participate/learn in these continuing education type webinars.  In one last week regarding helpful ideas for paralegals, the former attorney leading the course was describing how to use a particular website to research case law and/or briefs that might be helpful to your (my) attorneys.  At one point, she said "And when you find these previously published briefs that could really be helpful, you should use the information.  It's not stealing - think of it more as borrowing. You're borrowing points and ideas someone else has already made or used."

While I understand what she's saying and have no issues utilizing this approach #butdon'tplagairize, it really bothered me that she thought to use the term borrowed to make it all sound... alright?  I got the impression she uses this verbiage often, considering the webinar I participated in was spread out over three sessions, and she used this "explanation" twice.  Just call a spade a spade, lady.  When I borrow a book from the library, I intend to give it back.  I don't think when you "borrow" language or ideas that you give it back. Except I guess you kind of do because you're not literally taking the text away from them and leaving them without it, but.... Okay, this post is already too long, and I've still got the blue part, but hopefully you catch my drift and agree that she should just use another word. *end rant.*

Something blue


Isn't that the most pitiful thing you've ever seen??
Oh my goodness - did we have an eventful weekend! On Saturday, Sagan seemed fine and dandy in the morning and afternoon, but then around dinnertime, he ralphed upchucked vomited tossed his cookies. Big deal, right? He's a cat and occasionally has hairballs and sometimes this happens.  Not this time - nosireee.  So then he tossed them again about an hour or so later, and not to be gross, but the substance contained... fewer cookies.  I swear this is important for the story - I'm not just being gross.  Fast forward to later and later in the evening, and more tossing and less and less cookies until it was like, poor thing - he's got nothing left in him except for bile.  (He also didn't eat or drink anything else after the initial tossing started.) So then I'm all in a panic like WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH OUR CAT?! and Nate is like I don't know, but we should plan on taking him to the vet on Monday (reminder, it's Saturday night), and then I am ferociously googling things like "feline acute vomiting" and "take cat to vet after excessive vomiting" and Nate the Great is probably like "if she's like this with our cat, what in the hell is she going to be like with kids?!?"

So the tossing continued to the point where it then started to contain blood (so sad, I know...and also gross - sorry), and it was 10:30 p.m., but we were like "okay - we need to go to an ER vet." So we did, and Sagan was a terror like he always is at the vet, but we didn't have to experience it because with COVID, no one was allowed in the vet, so they came to the car and got him.  Long story way too long - we went home with him that night after no sign of what the hell happened and then we had to take him back to the vet 12 hours later on Sunday morning and they sedated him and took x-rays and still NOTHING, and then he had a massive diarrhea explosion at the vet (thank god we were confined to our car just waiting on the verdict at this point) and they offered to keep him overnight but wanted thousand(s) (yes plural, and no I'm not kidding) of dollars to keep an eye on him, but we were like, please don't send us to the poor house, we'll take him home with us and administer meds and keep our own eyes on him.  And here we are today:

Already hard at work plotting his maniacal revenge for 2 vet visits.
So they shaved his arm for the IV because he got dehydrated after all of the aforementioned tossing and not eating or drinking, and now we think (and we're super hopeful) he's on the up-and-up, and so we can now make fun of his ridiculous appearance. :) And also really love on the little booger.

In a nutshell, we think these may have been the culprit because of reviews online that sounds similar to our problem, but maybe Sagan was just constipated and wanted to make a big show out of it!

*just wanted to clarify that anyone who knows me knows that i freakin' love the library and basically everything I say on here is nonsense and that librarians are heaven sent and should be paid millions of dollars.
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Sunday, May 3, 2020

Updates and Mercy

It's been 487 days, and she's back with a bang, folks!
Not really...I just think that writing is therapeutic...cathartic...good exercise for my fingers something, so here goes.

I'll spare you (you=no one) the nitty gritty details of the past 487 days, but a lot has happened.  Tom Hanks died. Queen Elizabeth had a baby.  You know, the normal stuff that takes place over the course of a year and some change. In all seriousness,
  • Nate the Great graduated! (A to the men! No doubts whatsoever in my mind, but SO glad he's done dealing with the college stuff from this place, and also SO SO glad that the funds in our savings account is no longer being slowly slurped away by that place!)
  • We moved to Dallas!
  • Coronavirus struck the earth, and we've all been on lockdown for the past ~6ish weeks give or take.
So yeah, I think that's all the blog post I have in me for now.  See you in another 487 days. 


(If you don't click that, you're dead to me.)

No, but really.  We're super excited to finally be living in Dallas.  We seriously considered the idea not long after we decided to sell our half of the granola company, but then things didn't align properly (aka the stars), and so it was pushed aside.  And then we'd keep talking about making it a reality but this, that, and the other would get in the way or convince us to hold off on it for now and then we almost bought a house in Shreveport, but then thank god we didn't because we decided to move to New Orleans for a job offer for me and then we were living in the big NOLA and then Nate had school to finish, and then...I've been rambling enough already, and this post was supposed to be about my most recent read.

Hah! Did you miss me? (again, you=no one)

But we're here*, and even though we were really only able to explore the city for a good week or two (after all the unboxing and "ughhhh where the hell are we going to put all. this. stuff?"), we're really REALLY excited about getting here and the next chapter of our lives.

Speaking of chapters... 



I thought it might be fun for me to at least pretend that I should jump on the ole blogger every few weeks or so when I finish a book to A) document it and give my review of it, as well as B) make some kind of excuse to really just get my butt back to blogging/documenting life.  I mean, I've already rambled on for how long and look where were at.


Source...and get you a copy while you're there
I finished Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy last night, and I'll go ahead and let the cat** out of the bag (so he can breathe again), and let you know that I'd give it 5/5 stars!

It was a really interesting read about capital punishment and equal rights with an emphasis on death row, as well as how messed up our criminal justice system is, all while interweaving real life stories of men and women and kids (who became men and women) who were helped by Mr. Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative, or EJI.

The Civil Rights Movement and civil rights in general are something that I feel I've always been drawn to.  I always have felt that Rosa Parks in particular was someone I have looked up to, not to mention MLKjr, and after Nate and I visited the Civil Rights Museum and Lorraine Motel in Memphis this past August, I don't think I'll ever view that time period the same.  (Sidenote:  I highly recommend everyone go.  It's so well done, and overall, one of the best museums I've ever been to.)

Back to it - this book is so good, but also is heavy at times.  Some nights after I'd put it down, I'd just stare at Nate and say something like "I just don't understand how they can treat people like this." So if you're looking for a lighthearted beach read come July when your toes are submerged in the surf....who am I kidding, we will STILL be on Covid-19 lockdown come July.  All that to say, everyone should definitely read it, and we should all give our whole paycheck every month to the EJI because man..those people, Bryan Stevenson in particular, are saints.

Enough for now seeing that it's Sunday at 5 til' 5, and dinner ain't gonna make itself. 

*If you know this movie and love it (like you should), email me so that we can be BFFs.
**The cat already has enough trouble trying to breathe through his crusty, runny nose.