More kitten cuteness

The highlight of the weekend was Saturday night’s Vegantines dinner & dance. It was also the only time in the period of Fri-Sun that I got to see my husband awake. He had a couple of presentations to give at the Garden Expo, and had to spend the majority of the weekend there.

I was very excited about going to Vegantines for so many reasons, one of which was the fact that there was going to be dancing. I love to dance, but since my husband doesn’t, we haven’t been out dancing for probably close to ten years! I only got him to dance one ‘fast’ song, and only that one because it was Prince, and he just knew there was no way out of that one. He refused the rest of the fast songs and wanted to wait for a slow song. When slow dancing, we spend most of our time arguing about the fact that I am leading. I go backwards, though, so nobody but him can tell. As I always tell him on the dance floor, I will have to continue to lead for as long as he tries to do the ‘white boy shuffle’ out there. I prefer to actually dance. ; )

I was so focused on getting everything ready for my grand-kitties’ arrival this week, that I didn’t get a chance to really put any thought into what I was going to wear to Vegantines until about 20 minutes before we needed to leave. It was during that time period that I realized it had been a long time since I had to dress for a semi-formal evening out. I generally am clothed in either career professional (as seldom as possible, though), jeans, or ratty gardening and cleaning clothes. It was at this time that I found that the ‘little black dress’ type clothing no longer suited my body…as in trying to pack 10 pounds of jello into a 5 pound bag. I managed to throw something together after a great deal of stress. I realized then, that since my one and only appropriate choice was a skirt, I’m pasty, and it’s less than 20 degrees, I would have to wear stockings. UGH! I really, really hate them, and have had the pleasure of NOT wearing them for many years. I had to snap a photo as proof, since some of you wouldn't believe I wore them otherwise. I then quickly slapped on enough makeup that I only looked mildly anemic and sleep deprived rather than my usual ‘knocking-on-death’s door’ look. Yep, as good as it was going to get—time to go.

We arrived on time, which was awesome, considering my wardrobe issues. We usually each try to take our camera with us, as we're 'picture people', but we realized when we got there that we had both forgotten our cameras. What a travesty!


We knew that the dinner would be catered and vegan, but had no idea what they would be serving. Since M & I are the only vegans who hate mushrooms, we spend a great deal of time worrying about having a main course of portabella mushrooms or something like that. We were pleasantly surprised that dinner consisted of some braised roasted, sliced veggies (carrots, zucchini, etc.) and a veggie lasagna. The veggies were delicious! I could have eaten a full meal of just those. The lasagna had tofu, roasted veggies, and soy cheese, and it too was delicious. I ate until I was full (saving a little room for dessert of course), and passed the rest to M who always seems to have room to finish off my plate. The dessert was a cherry chocolate ‘cheese’ cake that was also fantastic. I assumed by the quality of the meal that Lynn had found some amazing vegan catering company but was surprised when she told me that they didn’t even know what vegan was when she first started talking to them. Queen Anne's Catering did an incredible job with the food.

After dinner, the program started. Rick did a great job as master of ceremonies and was perfectly coordinated and festive with his dark suit and red flower with red tennis shoes. I also have to add that Lynn was more drop-dead gorgeous than usual. The Alliance presented several local journalists/media people with the ‘Heart of Journalism’ awards. It was great to see these local heroes acknowledged, and I was touched by some of their acceptance speeches. It’s the little moments like that that I hold on to. I felt so happy and honored to be in a large room full of the best of humanity. It’s so easy to focus on the vile, worst of humanity, as we AR people see all too much of that. The people in that room and others like them are literally my lifeline. They give me the strength and hope to keep going, and they remind me that humans, if they choose, can be astoundingly good and compassionate. They remind me that we can be so much more than what most of us have chosen to be. And they make me proud to be a human. Most people do not.

After the program, we had time for socializing and dancing. We also got to have our pictures taken together. We haven’t done that since before we got married! We are not thrilled with the picture. I think it would be much better if they could make it look more like we look in our own little minds, instead of what we really look like. We need a photo where neither of us is carrying 15 extra pounds, we look well rested, and maybe 10 years younger or so.

As much as I hated to leave such a wonderful time with the best company in the world, I was worried about my little grand-kitties at home. Dej had to work at 7, so she and Joe had to go shortly after we did. The kitties had been fed and were happily sleeping when they left, but I was eager to get back and check on them. I got home and ran up to check on them, only to find they were in almost the exact same position as when we left them, and were just fine.

Dej called me when she and Joe arrived home (our house) from work at around 3:00 am. Once I’m awake, I generally stay that way for a good long time. They were up hanging out for a while, so I went down and joined them for a couple of hours. As soon as I started feeling sleepy again, I headed back upstairs for bed. I was obscenely tired all day Sunday!

Since M was gone all day Sunday, I took the girls out for lunch. Joe joined us, and we did a little shopping. I needed to pick up another large cat crate. Dej is using my big one for Sparta and the kittens, and I needed another big one to take in the two other cats from that shitty house to get spayed and neutered on Monday (today). I really enjoyed having the time with my kids (and Joe). Joe, like Mark, grew up with two brothers and no sisters, so spending time with the three of us—all very bossy females, is good training for him. It can be quite an adjustment to switch to living in an estrogen-laden environment, after all that testosterone they grew up with. My girl and her family have gone back to school, so I will have to wait until Friday to see them again. All of the kittens should have their eyes open, at least partially, by then.