Birthday Blow-Out

I have been planning a huge birthday party for Jose. He turns 40 next month. He let me know earlier this year that he wanted a party for his birthday, but little did I know that it would turn into the huge affair that it is becoming. I figured that we would have a little party here at our house, with perhaps 40 or so people. Now the amount of people has doubled (impossible for our small house) and I have rented a hall to have the party at. I have also hired a DJ and a security guard (the hall insists on security to obtain the beer permit). It's a City of Tucson thing. The food will be catered (Mexican) and the theme is (what else?) Fiesta! It's going to be a lot of fun, but my budget certainly wasn't figuring on all of these expenses. Mind you, I am not poor and I make good money. But I recently bought a new car and my finances have been suffering because of it. I used to be able to save a significant amount of money each month that would go into my CD account, but the car payment has eliminated that. I haven't been able to save anything at all (this is one of my biggest fears, not having enough money to retire on). I love my new car and I would not give it up for anything, but not being able to save money really sucks! Between the car payment, our home improvement loan, and now this birthday party, I feel like I am drowning in debt (maybe because I am!). I never intended on paying for a hall or a DJ. Those are expensive things! Don't get me wrong......Jose is worth spending that kind of money on, but the way that he just expected it of me didn't sit well. I would never expect or ask anyone to spend that kind of money on me. To me it's kind of wasteful, to spend this much money on a party, but then I am a cheap and frugal person. Jose is only cheap when it comes to me. We could have just as much fun at a $500 party, versus a $1500 party. It would not cheapen the celebration in my opinion, but I know Jose puts MAJOR emphasis on how much money a person will spend on him. He guages a person's love for him based on that fact. I'm sure the party will be a smashing success and I will look back later at the amount I spent and think nothing of it. But at this very moment, my pocketbook is screaming in agony!! It's also EMPTY!!

Sheeba has been doing fine since her seizures a few weeks back. She actually had a third seizure not long after my last post, but it was a very minor one compared to the two previous. I have not seen her have one since then. It's so awful to watch her have the seizure......it's like the cat you know and love disappears and is replaced with a non-responsive cat. It's like she goes into a fog and can't find her way out. It's heartbreaking and scary. I hope she does not have another. Maya has finally accepted Sheeba back into her life and stopped hissing and swatting. They are old friends again, chasing each other through the house.

Happy Post 4th of July!

4th of July came and went without a bang. We didn't do anything, didn't even leave the house all day. I got up on the roof to watch the fireworks at A mountain, but it was so fricking hot out (even at 9 o'clock at night) that I only stayed up there for a few minutes. I think it was 110 yesterday and I think that's awful. I hate the hot weather. The monsoon needs to come now.

Sheeba, our 4 yr old black cat, had two seizures on Sunday. We took her to the vet and they did blood work and took an xray. They found nothing wrong with her. She has been fine ever since. It freaked me out to see her in that condition. About two months ago she was playing around and fell about 5 feet. I noticed a bump on her chest, which I figured to be a bone because it was hard. Sure enough, her sternum is deviated because of the fall. She hit something hard. That's not why she had seizures, but I'm sure they are related to that fall. Too coincidental. She is such a loving cat, I would be lost without her. Our other cat, Maya, thinks we brought home a strange cat. She has been hissing at her constantly and even swatted at her. This happens every time we take Sheeba to the vet. She must have a strange scent on her that Maya doesn't recognize. The vet did say that the seizures could be related to feline luekemia and it just so happens, Maya tested positive for it about 4 years ago. It was right when Sheeba was a kitten and we had just gotten her. I'm think we had her vaccinated for it back then, but I can't be sure. Maya is 5 yrs old and except for ocassionally vomiting, she is never really sick. Back then, the vet told us to put her down. I'm sure glad I thought otherwise. No doubt her lifespan may be shortened, but it's now 5 years and she's in pretty good shape.

I am off the rest of this week. Jose took Monday and Tuesday off.....we made sure not to coordinate our days off together. He claims he thought I was taking those same days, but I think he was lying. It's okay though.....we already have every weekend off together and that is enough. Anymore time together and someone might wind up dead! So, margaritas are on tap for today!! I have started to drink a lot, almost everyday lately. I only have margaritas on Wednesday mostly, but every night after work I've had either a couple of beers or wine or my new favorite, Smirnoff coolers. I keep waiting for Jose to say something about it, but he hasn't. In fact, he's taken to drinking the Smirnoffs too! Granted he only has one, but still.......I hope I'm not on my way to becoming an alcoholic. I always tell myself that I can live without it, but I generally don't choose to go without. I guess it's no different than when I used to smoke pot everyday or smoke cigarettes. It's just a daily habit. Instead of polluting my lungs, I'm polluting my liver! It makes life bearable!