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I'll never understand people that say it's cruel to keep domesticated animals as pets, that they should be allowed to roam and live free. I want to invite them into my house and I want to introduce them to my cat.

Today Apollo could not stop meowing at his food dish because his own toy that he put into his dish himself was blocking him from eating the food in it. I had to make a grand show of taking out his toy fish and shaking his bowl before he would come eat, and then he couldn't stop gratefully weaving himself around my ankles.

My cat needs a parent.

Mid-May is when I will get my results back.

The last four week have seem to drag by....not sure if I can make it another month or so.

Self-distancing with a 3 and a half year old who wants to go to the park and go outside and play. My God have mercy on my soul.

Send booze.

Previews this past weekend were a success, and our official opening is tomorrow night.

Though I must say, after seeing some of the changes that have been made to the Broadway run of Six, I'm happy that we're able to keep the aspects that make Six unique. I understand Broadway and Equity issues but still. Ah well, c'est la vie.

So exactly what is the rule on an acceptable amount of time between the first and second honeymoon? Regulus and I just got back from ours a few months ago, I would have tried to get him to stay at the resort longer than the two weeks but my parents wouldn’t keep our daughters any longer. Something about wanting them to be settled in at home before the new school year started. But that’s not the point of my question - is six months too early to be plotting to steal him away for another two weeks without our children?

I think my daughter is ready for her big girl bed and is outgrowing her crib. Today she managed to climb out of it on her own and give me one hell of a wakeup call by jumping on my bed at 6am. Can she please stay a little girl a little bit longer? She's only 3. I'm not ready for her to grow up.

In a week I will be sitting in a room, taking my exam.

I can' believe it's almost time, where has this month gone?


Time to tighten up on my studying.

Well the dogs have finally quit growing I think. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part after having to buy a new couch for their room so that Aslan, Chip and Apollo can all three stretch out on it at one time without being on top of each other. Which considering that more often than not they end up sleeping in an enormous pile at their nap times I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to them when they’re going to sleep. But I really do hope that Aslan isn’t going to surprise me with another growth spurt now because I have no idea where I’d go to find a larger couch then this one. Or how I could get it into their room. Short of having to take the wall out since this one was rubbing on the door frame when the movers were carrying it in.

[Regulus]
So…how much trouble am I in for buying it without consulting you first? And how much trouble do I get out of for saying that I’ll count this as my discretionary spending for the next 8 months?

How to know your parent is a cop.

My daughter stepped on a crayon & broke it she turned to me saying “Oh no mom I assaulted the crayon!”

It's not my job in life to parent other people's kids. I've got two, I'm responsible for them. More if you count the ones with fur. But that's all I'm responsible for. So I'm not going to tell other people how they should and shouldn't raise their kids.

However I can silently judge them when we have story time at the library and one kid will not stop talking over the guest because he thinks whatever he's talking about is more important.

I've been so busy between school, practice, and work that I haven't even had time to post here about my mother's reaction when I got the part.

Mom thinks she has a sense of humor. I mean, okay. She does, but it's a weird one. Knowing how absolute horrified I've been about the movie version of Cats since the trailers first hit, she decided to tell me that to celebrate? She was going to get us all tickets. The woman told me this with a straight face, waiting until the look of horror and shock washed over me before she finally gave up and started cracking up.

Thank the gods that it's already out of theaters, because I think she would have actually spent money on this joke otherwise.

When the state of the world is a mess that impacts your job and it just so happens to also be National Chocolate Cake Day, so all the stress baking comes out...

( Cut for space, visible to all )

And this was after only two hours, and there are still plenty of more hours in the day to go along with the hits that just keep coming. Something tells me it will be gone before the end of the day at this rate.

I'm not sure exactly what my cat has against the laundry, but every time we've got a load going? Apollo just sits there and meows loudly at the washer and dryer. Which is apparently gaining the dogs' attention and they start running when they hear him crying. The laundry room isn't big enough for the four of us. Ever tried to fold sheets while trying not to trip over a mastiff?

Okay, so it's definitely not the water. Cuz I've been drinking nothing but bottled just in case and I GOT DREAMS. What. Is. Happening.

I was some sorta soldier for something called the First Order, and I'm not 100% sure, more like 101% sure we are bad guys. No man left behind is definitely not their thing.

And that village on that desert planet...

Who names a planet Jakku??

February 25 and 26, 2020 are the dates set for the bar exam.

It's time to buckle down and to a refresher, so I can ace this test and get a job within a law firm.

There’s a large sign on my horse’s stall that says ‘Do not enter without owner’. When the staff lets him out to pasture on days I can’t get up there they make sure to put him in the pasture that is furthest from the stable and the trails. And then go and put a sign on the fence around it that says ‘Do not enter. Do not feed.’ There’s a reason for that, other than my being a possessive asshole when it comes to my animals - although that is a part of it - Shadowdancer is extremely skittish with most people. He was abused before the organization I adopted him from rescued him and treated his wounds. It took me weeks to earn his trust enough to even step into his stall without him getting aggressive. And that was with regular daily visits to talk to him from outside the stall so that he’d know me. Longer than that for me to able to touch him let alone put a saddle on him and take him for a ride. Even now that we know each other and he trusts me - he still tries to take a bite out of me if I startle him. He’s always likely to be skittish.

And one of the most gorgeous horses I’ve ever seen so I do understand the desire people who see him have to touch him. But those signs are up for a reason - to protect you and him. If you ignore them and he bites you? It’s your fault. Not his. Read the damn signs people. Animals are not public property.

There's definitely something very pure about watching a five year old getting excited about sublimation. I mean okay, I think it was just playing with the bubbles but it was still science and exciting for them so it counts.

Yup. It's official. I still hate Egg Nog.

I took Mare to see Santa. It was a total bust. She screamed and sobbed the entire time.

I think I just figured out the true reason why we've always gone to England for Christmas with my parents - our lights just came to life and wrapped themselves around Chip. I couldn't even get mad at him for destroying the living room trying to get out of them. Now to figure out what was more heart wrenching during that entire fiasco - his whimpering or the girls crying because their puppy was being hurt. He wasn't actually - just a few patches of fur got torn out.

He's getting extra treats after dinner tonight.

I hope that whoever wrote the sign I found in the teacher's lounge today didn't mean for it to come across as creepy as it did? At the same time I think I am going to give up coffee at work for awhile and just drink water instead...

( cut for image but visable to all )

Note to self: next year put the Advent calendar somewhere your kid can't reach it.

She ate the whole month of December in a matter of minutes.

Me: Why is your hair so tangled?
Daughter: Honey

So that's my morning.

Hello Orange County, I'm Alecto Carrow.

I will be staying here for a long while, getting settled with my family and reconnecting with my best friends.

You'll be seeing me around.

[Lily]

Oh Lily!! SURPRISE!

MySpace is dead, gone, and buried along with all the embarrassing pictures of me on it. I'm a married man with two daughters, three pets, a career, and a day job. I am long since out of high school and college. Now is NOT the time for my inner emo kid to want to spring back to life.

But am I still going to go to MCR's reunion show and drag my husband with me? Yes, yes I am.

So, not only did I seemingly miss the entire month of October, and thus Halloween. But then I come back to the area and it would appear as though my business partner for Pimpernel Outreach, his wife and I think his brother in law all seem to think they're from Australia in the 1920s and are busy solving a murder mystery because....of course they are.

I woke up this morning with a mandrake leaf in my mouth. Let me tell you, that is not a fun experience. I'm pretty sure I very nearly died. Aside from the choking hazard, this is vile tasting.

[Lily]
And, according to my dreams, I'm probably going to have to keep it there for at least an entire month. Sorry, luv.

I made lunch with the news on than tuned it off to have a nice meal with my daughter.

Meltdown ensues - tears, screaming, pushing the plate away because "I ruined her whole life" by turning off the news.


I feel like my kid is broken.

I hope everyone's days are going alright, but if they're not, maybe this baby polka dot zebra will help brighten your day. My ex-wife used to I used to be told that mixing polka dots with stripes was absolutely taboo, but I think it looks just fine to me.

I must say, it's always rather interesting to see what Dreams end up on repeats when they aren't the ones that feel like they have a strong meaning or that could be counted as a 'major moment'. Instead it's the random interactions with people in the streets, buying an apple from Louise Audu and talk of marching on Versailles or the Bastille, going to salons put on by Sophie de Condorcet or with Olympe de Gouges or reading L'Ami du peuple and Robespierre's previous speaking out against capital punishment.

Such is life though.

A week into rehearsals for Bonnie & Clyde and I can already tell that it will be amazing, which of course it will. It's been a little over eight years since I was last in this show but it's as if it was only yesterday in that regard.

One of my sailors left his shampoo out during his room inspection. I told him that I would be expecting a 500 word autobiography from his bottle of shampoo on my desk by Monday morning.

From the look he gave me, I'm near certain that he would have preferred a more traditional sort of punishment.

The school is getting ready for that magical time of year again, or at least it always was the most magical time of the year for me growing up, the school book fair. I always saved my allowance as soon as it was announced every year so I could blow it all at once on one huge book spree... I'd probably still do the same now if our bookshelves weren't already overflowing, if I was going to be perfectly honest.

We were expecting the books we ordered for the sale to come today, and it was getting close to the end of the school day without any packages being brought to the library. We checked with the office, and there weren't any packages brought there by mistake. I figured it was just delayed and went on the website with our tracking number for it to say it had been delivered at noon today.

No, no it hadn't been.

I clicked on the link to talk to their AI, because fed ex apparently is too cheap to hire an actual representative to handle the chat. Maybe I should have called, I'm not sure, but I wanted to be able to do this without leaving the library if possible, in case it turned up. So I explained the problem, gave it the tracking number, and it told me that the package had been delivered and to please check where our mail is normally delivered. I said that was the problem, it had not been delivered.

And the computer's answer? "I'm about to show you an answer I have already given you. Would you like to see it? Yes No."

I am pretty sure I was just told by a robot to go fuck myself. I mean, is there any other way of taking that?

We FINALLY found the packages as the teachers were getting ready to take the kids to line up for their buses. The driver had decided that the back door, out in the open and far away from the library or even the office, was the perfect place to leave all the packages. No security at all, no one signing for them, out in the open for anyone to take. And I'm pretty sure given the amount? They were supposed to be signed for. They just didn't want to take them all the way inside. Not their problem, apparently.

Somehow I thought my Dreams coming to an end would also put an end to my husband and I waking up to find weird gifts having crossed over from them. At least we're fairly certain that the Pensieve that showed up in our bedroom was from my Dreams due to the...contents. It could come in handy around here though as a way to store memories that I'd rather not forget and share them with others.

Why is it so hard for people not to be creeps. You don't need to stare at someone as you drive by and then have to turn your attention back to the road, only to pull into a parking lot they're going by and just STAY there and seem to wait around and watch for what direction they're going and then pull out when it seems you've figured it out and show up where they're heading.

It's just..ugh.

Today is already fucked up, seriously the last thing I needed to deal with
Unless its
Fuck

So I had another fun dream about the Shadowhunter Academy last night. A couple of us were tasked with finding a rogue vampire so of course a couple of the others started asking me about being a vampire, but I didn't remember any of that since my memories still hadn't come back about that time. They didn't believe me at first. Honestly, some of those Shadowhunters are dicks. Anyway, the vampire was in Brooklyn, so we were dispatched and when we found her, she begged me to let her go cause she recognized me of course. I hesitated and almost got both me and Jon killed, but Isabelle showed up but someone showed up and killed the vampire and since Jon had gotten knocked out, he thought I'd done it when he came to. Once we were back at the Academy I basically got in an argument about Downworlders and the way Shadowhunters treat them, with some of the kids.

In the end, Catarina told me a story, where the moral was basically about me choosing my own path and I started to remember more about Clary cause she came to see me and talked to me about some stuff and so yeah, it's fun going to school with a bunch of elitist assholes. I just hope that if I make it through all this training and become a Shadowhunter, maybe I can help change things.

In more fun news, some Gen 5 Pokemon were released in PokemonGo today and I've already caught four of them plus I caught a shiny version of an older Pokemon that I've been searching for forever! Yes, I know, all of that is incredibly nerdy, but it's what I like to do.

How can one small cat eat so much? And how does it smell ten thousand times worse coming out than any of it smelled going in? I don’t think anything that came out of the twins ever smelled near as bad as what’s in Apollo’s box does. And they adored that revolting pea baby food. And the equally appalling Chicken with rice one.

[Regulus]
I don’t care if he is scared of the damned thing at first - I’m buying him one of those self cleaning litter boxes. He’ll get used to it.

Okay.

I'm either having a stroke or ...no, I have to be having a stroke.

All day, out of the corner of my eye, I've been seeing a ..dinosaur? A little one?

And I'm sober today, not even hung over

I might actually break my rule and have a cup of coffee. I'm clearly dreaming.

Something is very wrong today. I cannot... access my powers, nor locate my hammer. It is as though I am no longer Thor, God of Thunder, but merely Thor, Odinson.

Oh dear. I was forced to return home from work early today, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to return or even leave my home at all.

I am most certain that this sudden urge to devour my crew is not from my dreams. What in the devil is happening to me?

Boris Johnson lost his majority in Parliament today. Shockingly there are still members of Parliament who seem to have at least half a brain and realize a No Deal Brexit would devastate the UK. So we'll see how this plays out now.

Now if Parliament could get something done before Friday when they go on prorogue that might actually block a No Deal Brexit, that would be great.

I went to pick up my allergy meds from the drugstore today, and while I was waiting in line? All the songs on the muzak were songs that I loved when I was in high school. And then it hit me. I turn 27 next month. These songs are all ten years old now, or more.

Oh my god, I'm old. When did that happen?

I'm trying to get revisions done, so I can have this all finished and sent back to my editor before the wedding and I won't have to worry about it. But it looks like one of our four footed children has other plans. As I'm sitting there on the computer, Apollo comes up meowing at me. I think he's wanting to play or attention, but he keeps ignoring my attempts to throw his mice or pet him. Finally I get up, thinking maybe it's his water or his litter box. I don't speak cat, all I can do is just ...process of elimination.

As soon as I got up, he jumped into my computer chair and curled up to go to sleep. He has other beds. He has Aslan, who is used to being used as a bed.

....I think I'm going to go check on how everyone else is doing. Maybe my chair will be free when I get back.

Guess who has their license again!

I'm so done with these dreams. Like really.

Magic and the fairy tales I can deal with, being sucked into another realm all because I stopped someone from killing the Evil Queen is not okay. What the hell is a reaper anyway? I thought that was just for the people who were dying?

End up sucked through a portal, transported into another realm where we're in like the olden ages or something and we can't get home.

Worst part? I wake up with hair that's been brutally set upon by humidity. Took way too long to shower and get it sorted, I had to skip breakfast just to make it to work on time and I'm grouchy and can't show it.

Not amused Dreams, not amused.

I really was expecting to be more nervous this close to the wedding but I just keep feeling even more certain that this time is right. The only bit I am nervous about is being away from our girls for so long. I haven’t spent more than a couple nights in a row away from them since getting custody back. I’m probably going to drive Regulus insane with wanting to check on them at my parents. And if by some miracle I don’t end up driving him nuts doing it I will end up driving mum and dad nuts with it.

[Filtered to Magic Guild]
I’ve been told that I’m not allowed to pop back while we’re away. No matter how messy things get here. If we end up facing another mini-apocalypse though...hopefully one of you can get around to making sure our house is still standing. I’m going to redo my wards before I leave so people breaking in isn’t a concern.

Do these fucking dreams ever stop?

So I have a question for all the dreamers out there. Okay wow that sounded like some really crappy thing a radio DJ would say but hey go with the flow.

How do you generally deal with stuff from the dreams turning up here? Like actual things? Things that were not there before you went to sleep?

I don't think my dreams have anything resembling continuity. Which on the one hand, I like that there isn't the whole 'what's going to happen, how will this affect me' thing. On the other, three children are regularly causing serious infrastructure damage on a weekly basis and nothing is done about it?

It also strikes me as strange that everyone is cool with us busting out of kindergarten every day via the roof. That's dangerous!

In less crazy news, I am officially a dog walker for the summer! I get to take out the shelter dogs, and maybe, hopefully, they can meet some nice people who will adopt them! I have two little terrier buddies today and I'm really looking forward to it!

For anyone interested, The Nightcrawler will be showing the Women's World Cup semi-final soccer match between the U.S. and England tomorrow. So if you want, come on down to watch the game with other fans and enjoy some specials on drinks while it's going on. Kick off is at noon Pacific time.

It's really my fault the microwave blew up, even if I don't know how he blew it up. There's a reason Amycus doesn't cook, he's an absolute disaster in the kitchen.

Everyone's okay, the house is fine. The microwave is very dead, though, and from what I read on the internet, it's going to stay that way. Apparently trying to fix it if you haven't gone to school for it is a sure fire way for something worse to happen.

So anyone have any suggestions on what brand to get? Before, I just got whatever was cheapest.