Woo! Fed tax refund landed. Now to be a grownup and put it all in savings. I'm going to try to count it as savings this year. Ditto on my healthcare reimbursements. Because it is now Year 4 of mortgage, and while I've been breaking even more or less, I really haven't been able to put anything into savings like I used to regularly. I know I'm lucky, but this isn't my comfort zone. Even as I got my retirement annual statement and was pleasantly surprised for once.

And my savings is my emergency fund: plumbing epic fail, car epic fail, lesser discretionary big home improvement projects, fear of layoffs.

It's a start.

Was kind of astounded by my bonus, considering I only started my job the last week of August. I can afford to pay all of my owed taxes and also put a bit into savings. Thank goodness.

Sara, shall we get our grown-up cards laminated this weekend?

Nunya's new bad habit: tapping on the window. I wouldn't be bothered, except that the girls have a habit of slipping out the door after my last cigarette and I don't realize they've been out in the cold night for five or more hours until I hear scraping or meowing at the door at two in the morning. So when I hear that tapping in the wee hours, I wake up in a bit of a panic.

Why the heck is she tapping at the window? Anybody else have window-tapping kitties?

If I can wait until tomorrow to move the money to savings and just bask in the balance of my checking account for a wee bit!

The card isn't as impressive as I'd like... Needs more sparkles.

I have blinds-banging kitties. And Devi used to scratch at the sliding doors in the apt when I was on the other side. OH! And Pumpk has figured out how to get herself into all the deck facing windows when I'm out there. She's positively cartoonish in her meowing.

...but tapping? NSM.

I'm so sorry, Sophia. But you're probably right.

Pockets: Left front - headphones, coins. Right front - adapters, guitar picks, drum key. Left cargo - smartphone, wallet. Right cargo - two sets of keys, leatherman.

I had to buy a slimmer wallet for this purpose when I got the bigger phone. And the leatherman has to lie flat or it gets annoyingly poky with the keychain (which has a triangular circuit board and a rescue key fob and my Hardison UV light.)

I'm kinda a cheater though, I think, because for anything serious, like dayslong conferences and whatnot, I also carry my backpack with laptop, and there's lots of extra stash room in there for stuff like water bottles, kleenex, Nook, knitting, etc. I just don't carry it for most things, like going to the store or whatever.

I swear, I'm going to lose my security deposit on my apartment because of Nunya. The front door veneer and storm door molding have all been pryed up, because the pita can't stand to be outside for more than two minutes and resent the dining room window not being open for her convenience during winter months.

But I love her other new habit of sitting on the back of the futon behind my head and wrapping her body around me, so her toes are poking my left cheek and her front paws shoving my right cheek staring at me upside-down and blissed out with her head on my shoulder. Which ocassionaly translates to her kicking my head just to watch it bounce, but most of the time I get her yummy tummy to rub my head on.

My mom's neurotic cat now associates me with being put in his carrier and taken out of the house - he runs and hides whenever I visit. Last night it took 30 minutes of me lying on the floor petting him under an end table before he deigned to purr and stretch his chin out for scritching.

Teppy, I'd have laid money on you being the person who answered my plea. And I'd totally never considered Prince Albert as a partial explanation. Perfect. Thank you *so* much.

My sister gives me questions specifically for y'all (I wonder if she once thought I had all this info in my head?), and my parents have done the "Oh, well, if they could help answer..." Never worse off for trying, mother dearest.

for anything serious, like dayslong conferences and whatnot, I also carry my backpack with laptop

I am so glad these days are past! The tablet without the keyboard is good for a few days, including work, and the tablet with the keyboard--I can't work on it because I don't get work email on it, but in terms of laptop replacement, the main shortcomings are that I can't plug it into a wired network, or a camera or scanner. But I can swing about a week on holiday without yearning for those.

They sometimes forget and treat you like you are 12. When you are healthy.

Try never being healthy, but wanting some time to yourself without it being a thing. V. difficult.