This photo says a lot about who I am as a person. This is the collection that has gathered on the shelf in my bathroom after a summer of travels.

1. 1. Imma girl who wants to be in the sun, but am also afraid of the sun.
2. 2. The degree to which Imma ‘fraid of the sun varies by location, as noted by the chosen protection level.
3. 3. These were purchased in different hot AF locations, and let’s be honest, I can’t remember shit these days – but apparently imma girl who is Brand Loyal without knowingly being brand loyal.
4. 4. It’s cute that I choose the “sport” brand. Every. Single Time. Like Imma going to be sporting out there in the sun. I mean, I am sporting, if sporting consists of getting onto a floating hammock, or reading a book. Then imma girl who’s super sporty in the sun.
5. 5. Imma girl who hasn’t fully put away all her vacation supplies this summer, which frankly is a little lazy and I’m not going to deny that.

I’m a cocky, proud, insufferably gloaty mother right now, Reader, and I have been sitting with my feelings for the past few weeks.

My heart has been swollen with pride over two of my six three cats. I’m no math wizard, yet even I know that’s more than HALF of my cats, Reader, that have swelled up my ego.

While My Mister and I were on our vacation trippy in June and my Houseboy* was doing the job of his title of house-ing, which also means keeping the Bad Cat Smells under control, we received a front-porch gift bagged in grocery-store plastic.

*i’m living like lifestyles of the rich and famous, with a live-in house-helper now who’s also part of my family and believe you me, it’s made me even bossier and a lot less walk-up-the-stairsy-er as I can now bellow, “hey! take this upstairs for me!” or “hey! bring that downstairs for me!” 

Apparently, two of my three cats are charmers.  And they’ve charmed a little girl named Caitlin who lives several blocks over and takes walks with her mama down my street.

Caitlin won a gift card from school for good grades, and determined my cats have provided so much pleasure during her walks, she was going to spend part of her winnings on food and toys for them.

She wrote, “even if they are yours and not strays, thank you for taking care of the cats,”

and, “seeing all these cats on my walk makes me happy, even if they are not friendly,” 

and a special addendum at the end, “your black and calico cats are so cute!” heart emoji.

And now I love Caitlin and am so proud of two of my three cats, I want a bumper sticker for the back of my car that says, “Four of my three cats may be assholes, but two of them are neighborhood delights, so suck it, Dog Lovers!”

This note and treats have been sitting in my mind for a few weeks now, with my not adequately being sure I could tell the cute feels this RACK* has give me, and I’m sure this hasn’t done Caitlin and her mama justice with how stinkin’ adorable this move is, but i’m just trying to get my writing fingers back to working and all the words aren’t flowing like wine just yet.

*RACK = Random Act of Cat Kindness, and yes, I just made that up, consider this my trademark

Speaking of wine* I ordered a case of wine and it arrived yesterday and now there is no good reason that the words shouldn’t be flowing like wine. Or because of wine.

*see how I segued from cats to wine talk?? That’s a skill right there, Reader. 

But back to Caitlin, her mama, and my Good & Friendly Cats: Yay for all of them! 

****Lastly. Yes, four of my three cats go outdoors. No, I never thought I’d allow that either. No, it doesn’t mean that I love them less than you love your indoor-only cats. Yes, I’m aware of the predator risks. No, I can’t stop them from bulldozing me out of the way when I open the door. Yes, we live on a low-traffic street. Yes, they stick around the house mostly. Yes, they eat mice and moles and Gussy is a chipmunker. No, I don’t like that part of their cat behavior. Yes, Gussy has brought not one, but two live chipmunks into the house. Yes, I screamed and My Mister rescued and released one of the live chipmunks. Yes, the first time it happened and I heard a “squeak” and told My Mister, “there’s something in the house that doesn’t live in the house!” and he thought I was kra, and that maybe it was the smoke detector meeping.  No, it wasn’t the smoke detector meeping. Yes, My Mister discovered the remains and now he has another life skill. Yes, he now listens to me when I scream that, “there’s a noise in the house that shouldn’t be in the house!”  No, don’t @me with a bunch of your thoughts on indoor-only-you’re-a-bad-mama cat thoughts, i’ll ignore them so don’t waste your time. Gussy has informed me that the heart wants what the heart wants, and they wanna be indoor-outdoor cats.

Purry is enjoying the catnip while the Good & Bad Boys are outside:

The end of one cute cat story.

Yesterday while driving, My Mister noted aloud that the side of the street was dotted with signs for a local Russian church offering Drive Thru Hot Dumplings.

And then he didn’t turn on his signal to immediately turn into that church driveway advertising Drive Thru Hot Dumplings.

I mean, Reader.

I stared at him incredulously, as he kept driving straight. As we got to the next stoplight, I advised him that his life was currently being held in the balance of the next decision he made.

Keep driving straight or turn the fuck around. What’s it going to be, Boy*? (sung to the tune of Meatloaf’s Dashboard Light).

My Mister: “You can’t really want to try those dumplings, DO YOU??”

As if he was going to try to shame me or something.

Um, it takes a waaaay bigger event than a request for Hot Dumplings to shame me. Come on. I stand on my deck naked. In the city. Pretending I’m invisible.

Trixie: “You can’t actually think you’re going to announce CHURCH MADE drive-thru HOT DUMPLINGS and that we’re NOT going to turn right into that lot and get some. What part of your brain thinks that’s an option? Do you even KNOW me??”

Reader. Who have I been in a relationship with for the past bazillion years?? How is this even a discussion we were having??

He made the right decision for his life and soon we were shoveling Hot Dumplings right into our dumpling-hole.

Listen to me now and hear me later, Reader.

These dumplings? If the $16 we spent went right into Putin’s pocket? Baby Jesus would forgive us. Because oh-my-garth, were these worth it.

And this is how we spent part of our weekend at church. Because we are holy and reverent. And tithed right to Russia or something, in the name of dumplings. Amen.

It’s Mother’s Day, so my friendie and I wished each other a Happy Tight Vagina Day, because neither of us have used that hole as an exit. P-LENT-Y of entrance, but no exit.

Welcome back, Me!

I know, with that kind of an opener, maybe you’re wishing I had stayed MIA a bit longer.

Too bad, baby! I’m back! But who knows for how long or if we’re going to go on another unplanned extended hiatus.

I don’t know why I haven’t been here. It’s my form of public journaling, which kinda makes me an exhibitionist, except with words instead of nakey pictures and for that, Reader, you’re welcome.

I did spend a moment today looking at my freshly showered and still naked self in my full length mirror and I deemed myself just fucking fine.  Because I am fine, no matter what this body looks like. Makes no matter. I’m fucking fine. Because I’m more than any dumb scar or fat blob or bowlegged-ness or freckles or wayward hairs.

So yeah. I’m sitting over at Chez Bang Bang and feeling pretty cocky about myself on this Mother’s Day 2022.

My Mister and I have been racking our brains to find a good enough reason to buy a whole Dairy Queen cake and eat it, and today was that occasion. Since we plan on eating the entire cake between the two of us – no share-sies – we of course had it personalized with a very special message to us:

“Fattie” happens to be whomever is eating this cake.

The poor teen at DQ didn’t even want to write our message on the post-it, she insisted I do it.  She said, ‘I can’t even write that down, are you sure??”

Yep, Youngster. We’re sure. Because we don’t give any fucks and it made us laugh the whole way home AND while we cut two giant wedges to shove down our cakeholes.

She came back with it and said, “I had them use pink icing to make the message .. prettier.”

And guess what? We DID ENJOY that cake. Just like the message directed.

So here’s your blog. Enjoy, Fattie!

Maybe I’ll be back sooner rather than later. I know, I know – you can only hope.

I’m a Blamer, Reader. You may know this or you may just be learning this about me.

Of course it’s not my fault that I haven’t made time to tell you All The Things that are going on at Chez Bang Bang. I write the stories in my head as they’re happening. But then it must be My Mister’s fault for being SO NOISY that I can never ever sit down and just think and actually tell you some stories.

Or I have too much LAUNDRY.

Then there’s the DUSTING and the THINGS that need ORGANIZED and MyGod have you seen my bedroom??

And don’t forget that my six three CATS are keep me constantly cleaning up spills that eject from inside their bodies.

Who can a girl* write with even one of those things happening, much less all of those things all the time.

*still throwing around the word girl like I’m 16 and not pregnant. No plans on stopping.

Regardless of the very valid reasons or who’s fault it is exactly, we’re here now despite my best start-stop-start efforts.

*since I started this post, I’ve cleaned the track of my sliding glass doors with a scrub brush, cleaned and cut up a pineapple to roast with cinnamon from a recipe of my new book purchase, Vegan, at Times, re-heated leftover cashew chicken, picking out the chicken to make it sort of at-timesy a little bit vegetarianish to go along with the mojo of my day and will probably leave the chair two more times after typing these reasons for distraction. So you see, everyone and every thing else is to blame for my not typing up the stories that circle ’round in my brain.

This is just to get me back in the seat. Come back later, we’ll talk about how I’m now willingly involved in a throuple that back in the olden times we used to just call a good ol’ fashioned threesome, how else I’m spending countless hours on the computer, and have grand plans to start a section called Cringe, wherein we will unpack the details of old pictures I’ve found of me, and maybe I should rethink naming this series to “I put the Me in AwesoME.” Because the hairstyles alone, Reader. The hairstyles are enough reason to come back to me.

*also, the name of this post? those exciting times are AHEAD. Not necessarily right here. I just clickbaited you. Sorry not sorry.

If you’re here reading this, we’ve made it.

We didn’t get out of 2021 unscathed.  We’ve lost loved ones.  We’ve lost our sense of self at times. Our compassion. Our humor.

But! Personally, I’ve also been very fortunate in 2021. A great job. Solid friendships. Paid off some offensive bills. I had the good fortune to travel to the Caribbean before the world imploded again with Covid variants. I’ve had enough of everything I’ve needed. Maybe not everything I’ve wanted, but certainly all I’ve needed. My six three cats have all made it into 2022 with us, and my old girl is going to make it to 20 this year. I’ve improved some of my cooking skills. My cooking style can be summed up in 3 words: Hit or Miss. Some things are great, others are meh.

My friend Kelly is an amazing cook and is unknowingly inspiring me. Everything she makes is the most delicious thing.  So one of my goals for 2022 is to try one new recipe a month. When I accomplish this, I will have added 12 new things to my cooking repertoire. Because I easily get into a cooking rut and go back to the same three things:  tacos, pot roast, chicken soup. Although to be honest, I could eat tacos a solid three days a week and not be mad about it. Kelly tries new recipes and if they are a hit, she prints the recipes and keeps them in a binder and then they are always at her fingertips and I’m going to do that, too, because it’s a solid idea.

My brother gifted me with a cooking mag subscription and at first I really didn’t think I would read through it. However, the first issue arrived and I read it from cover to cover. It was chock full of stories and the “why” behind cooking methods that normally I would discount as unnecessary fluff.  Except with the “why” explained, I can get behind the extra steps and maybe just maybe we will enjoy home cooking more around Chez Bang Bang.

We are doing Other Things around these parts, and this is not even what I intended to say to you on this fresh page of the New Year.  But it’s late, I’m full of cake and a crown pork roast and I’ve just said enough for the moment.  So you know. Until tomorrow.

And cheers to a year of More. More of all the best things.

I joined the goddamn gym and I get up in the mornings now – SOMETIMES BEFORE THE MOON HAS GONE TO BED – and take my half-asleep ass to the gym and work out BEFORE work and now I don’t even know who I am anymore because obviously I’ve been body-snatched as this voluntary behavior goes completely against the night-owl-lazy-girl current.

I should be there RIGHT NOW, as a matter-of-fact, but I’ve decided I need to write some words here before a blogger search party goes out for me, and also I’ve had a request from my one millions of  reader(s) to tell her what’s going on in my head so here we are! Blame Thank her for this mess.

Today is the day I need to start de-assembling my delightful deck, and also the day where I ask myself yet again why I live in a state where so much of the snow flies for so long. In super-exciting news, I could REALLY live anywhere … just pack up my crap and head in any direction.

Because guess what, Reader??

I FINALLY GOT A PERMANENT FUCKING JOB AND IT’S REMOTE ALL THE DAMN TIME.

Exactly the way I’ve been manifesting that for myself every single day, launching up my rockets of desire and I actually drew a third-grade worthy photo of myself in said rocket, surrounded by dollar signs and the word “BONUSES” scribbled on it, and guess what came next, Reader?

I got a permanent fucking job with lots of dollar signs, AND BONUSES!!

Not to mention work I already know (it’s my contract job turned perm), a GREAT boss (literally those words were on my manifested list), REMOTE WORK, and I’ve established relationships and have almost a new work BFF. I mean, I think she is my new remote work BFF.  I proclaimed it to her one day, in my way of just stating, “Hey, we’re going to be friends whether you want to or not because I like you so just get used to the idea!” and it just worked and now we’re friendies.

It was really this news that prompted my decision to just join the gym and get up and do some stuff in the morning. One evening, I made a joke to the neighbor that I was on my way to the gym, when really I was going to the store for cake, and then on the way to the store I told myself, “Self, what if this isn’t a joke, and you just join the gym and go work out tonight instead?” and then that’s what I did. And then I went back the next day.  And I’ve kept getting up and going. Except for today, where I’m talking to you instead, Reader.

Now, getting a job didn’t inspire me to join the gym.

But working remotely for permanent did.

I’m using what would have been getting really ready for work and commuting time to gym it up. Then I come home and get good-enough-for-virtual-meetings ready for work. Which involves hair/makeup/jewelry/nice shirt, the same pair of shorts every single day and flip-flops on the bottom.

It’s the 2021 Mullet. Biz on top, party down below.

Did I mention I joined a gym and work out in the morning before work now? Yes, I’m going to be insufferably gloaty about it for forever a while at least.  Don’t feel too jealous of me yet, Reader. I’m still exactly the same fat as I was before I started working out. My fat just won’t quit me. It loves me long time. As I do you, Reader.