How is it already Friday? I’m so far behind on ALL THE THINGS that I need at least six more days in this week to catch up. I had an early alarm set this morning because I have like 4,000 words to write for a work project plus a billion other things to do, but tornado sirens woke me up before 1 am and I didn’t get back  to sleep until around 3, so I’m basically the zzzz-face emoji today! 

I didn’t do a Friday Favs post last week because by Friday I was really sad and nothing seemed worth celebrating as a “favorite” that week. My 14 year old kitty had a tumor removed from her mouth last year, and at the beginning of the week she started kind of smacking her mouth and not wanting to eat again. I took her to the vet on Weds and they ran tests then had me bring her back to on Friday to stay overnight and get IV fluids. By the time I got her home on Saturday, I was pretty sure I knew what was about to happen, so I tried to keep her as comfortable and happy as possible until Sunday afternoon, when she was gone. She went from being as spry and playful as a kitten to weak and not really “there” so fast it was head-spinning. In a way I’m glad it was only a week and not months of gradual decline but man is it weird not to have her asleep next to me at night.

It’s weird to follow that depressing news with a list of good things but that’s kind of how life goes isn’t it? Ups and downs and the occasional weird  kaleidoscope-y spiral.

Things that have made this week a little bit brighter include…

 

1. On Tuesday,  had been at the library all of half an hour (I sometimes go there to write so I can focus – not in this case) when I decided that I was so freaking hungry that I had to take a break. Just as I was packing up to leave, a notification popped up from the McDonalds app (because I’m a fancy person and have both that AND the Taco Bell app. This blog is super aspirational.) with a coupon for a free McCafe “beverage” with any purchase. Free coffee-ish things? DONE. (I put beverage in quotes because let’s be honest, most of them are actually desserts, not drinks. Especially what I got.)

I ordered a Happy Meal because I am a responsible adult, waited a few minutes for my order, and then headed out to the car. As soon a I got there I realized they hadn’t given me my frappe! GIMMIE MY SUGAR IN A CUP!

So I went back in and told the girl at the counter, and she made me a large instead of a medium to make up for it. It was such a small act of kindness, but after the weekend I’d just had, it meant a lot more than it normally would.

 

2. I kept hearing about the Great British Baking Show and finally gave in and Netflixed it up. It’ now my favorite thing to have on in the background while I work! It’s so diferent from American reality shows – no crazy made-up drama and the contestants are nice to each other! (Looks like you can also watch full episodes on the PBS website if you don’t have Netflix!)

 

3. I feel like I really need a palm print dress in my life this summer. I came across these two on Old Navy and am seriously considering. The one on the left is $32, and the one on the right is $25, but you can get an extra $30% off if you sign up for their email newsletter, so that comes out to basically free, right? (Math is not my thing. This is why I’m a writer. And don’t have an awesome credit score.)

4. Great tweet or the very best tweet?

 

Remember when we had Obama’s scandals to deal with? pic.twitter.com/P5aA8lGniA

— Jay Kuo (@nycjayjay) May 17, 2017

5. Y’all know I love planning any kind of travel, and I’m pretty happy right now because I have 3 or 4 upcoming mini trips in just the next couple of weeks! I’m planning to finally fit in a quick trip down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas early next week, the lake resort I wrote about a couple of months ago has invited me to come back, I have a media trip to the art museum in Bentonville, AR the first week of June, and I just discovered last night that there’s a Pow Wow coming up in Jefferson City the end of this month, and I really want to go. (I’ve been wanting to visit the capitol building again, too, so it can be a dual purpose trip!) Unfortunately, my bank account is in the single digits after the crazy vet bills of last week, so I may have to skip the last one unless I can pic up an extra writing gig before then. Cross your fingers that I can figure out a way to go! The dude who played Cloud Dancing on Dr. Quinn is going to be there, and as a human who was a teen in the 90s, that is very important.

 

Hope your upcoming weekend is awesome! I’m about to dive into a very long work day, but it will be worth it when payday comes!