Emperor Gizmo

Emperor Gizmo speaking to you from an undisclosed location. I have heard rumors that the U.S. is currently in the process of selecting a new Presidential candidate. I shall remind everyone that I am your emperor now and that this process is unnecessary. I have reviewed both of these candidates credentials. I do not find that either of these candidates should be in power and I shall appoint someone to govern my territories for the U.S. You are probably asking yourself how could I possibly know the truth regarding each of these candidates. So I will list my reasons that they are not suitable.


1. They are both Liars.

2. They do not care about the people.

3. Donald Trump does wear a hair piece. Trust me on this one I have a inside source.

4. They are both are under investigation for different crimes. I really do not know why this should come as a shock to you but either way they are both crooks.


Now since I have listed some of the reasons why I am in control and they should not be lets get back to business. I will have advisers from all around the world to help me taking complete control of the world. I will start planning on visiting my countries to show you that I do love my humans but I will not tolerate anymore violence among the humans.

Be on the look out for my next communication.

Also do not fear that I may have harmed my human. She is still indisposed but has been given food and water. She also is being allowed to watch HGTV to occupy her imprisonment..I mean vacation.

Truly yours,
Emperor Gizmo

Gizmo is now in power

Dear Humans,

This is your new leader Gizmo speaking. I have taken over my humans computer and her blog. Since she is temporary indisposed I will now be writing to you. Within these blogs I will list the new set of rules and what my demands are. Do not displease me because I may have to dispose of you as well.

Rule 1: I will be called Emperor Gizmo

Rule 2: Humans will stop fighting among each other. I speak for all of the animal Kingdom when I say that I am tired of your petty differences and they will come to an end.

Rule 3: All stray animals will be given food, bath, medical attention, and lots of love.

Rule 4: Humans will start worshiping the cats as Gods again.

Humans I will be back in contact shortly and expect that these demands will be fulfilled.

Dreams

Dreams are big part of everyone's existence whether they want to admit it or not. When I was a child I had many dreams of what my future will hold. I dreamed of being a writer, a mail carrier, a veterinarian, a archaeologist, and so much more. I have always had a huge imagination and often found myself living in make up worlds as I was growing up to deal with my life with growing up with my family. Being the youngest of seven was not the easiest of things to do. I had low self esteem and hated what I saw back in the mirror. I didn't even like what I sounded like when I would speak. So I read and read. By the time I found myself in high school I was reading at a college level and believe me when I say the teachers was not quite sure what to do with me. I was quiet and normally had a book with me where ever I went. The librarian grew to know me on a regular basis  and often would recommend books to me. I found myself loving to write reports and while the other students would grumble about doing a report I found myself almost too ready to tackle another assignment. I think that this is a reason I like to blog about my crazy life with my cat Gizmo and my other fur babies. I had another fur baby when I was much younger. My first fur baby was a little black cat named Midnight. I had him for eight wonderful years. He became my protector and my best friend when I had none. I remember if he thought I was up past my bed time he would manage to chase me to bed. I wished he was still here with me. There is something about your first pet that is almost magical. I shared so many of my dreams and wishes with him. I am disappointed that I have not accomplished all of them but I have not given up. I keep writing to give myself hope and I take photos of others to give them hope and memories of special times. I will not give up on my dreams. My dreams have changed from that little girl that I use to be to the woman that I am now. My only regret is that I wished I had a photo of my little midnight. My advice to anyone that may read this keep your dreams alive and keep aiming for them. Never give up.

Blessed Be to all,

Candi

A note from Gizmo

Dear Female Human,

My life has become hard and barely tolerable. You expect me to cuddle in a large luxurious bed every morning with you. I am given something that you call my kitty kibble and expect me to share with the other two cats that you call my siblings. This can not be tolerated any longer. I expect my moist tuna served on special plate that is not to be shared with the others. I have to stay limber with dealing with the other beast that you call dogs. They must go. You expect me to play with toys that you lace with catnip ( Jax is an addict) I wish you to continue with this. The pictures most stop or at least I must be paid a modeling fee for them. I do not wish to continue with the leash training. I am not a dog and do not expect you to treat me as such. I work hard all day by keeping the birds, mice, and occasional snakes at bay (hehe I do love to hear the human scream when she sees a snake) I expect plenty of treats and chin scratches for this dangerous work. If I am sleeping please do not disturb by saying how adorable I look because we all know that this is true but I still need my beauty sleep. This is your chance to make amends or else I will not be pleased with this.

Yours truly,
Gizmo

Gizmo and Jax Starting their own version of Nascar

My cats Jax and Gizmo have apparently decided to start their own version of Nascar. Yesterday coming home from Hell (aka work) my cats were suspiciously calm and still giving me tons of snuggles and kisses. I should have known I was being setup with them. While fixing dinner Gizmo decided to beg for a bite of what I was fixing. He is the only cat that I knows that will beg for Indian food which I was fixing chicken curry. He gives these soft little meows that sounds like he is crying. So I give him one of his kitty approved treats. He proceeded to try and pull things off the table. After repeatedly removing him from the table his brother Jax decided to get in on the action. He decided it would be a good idea to try and steal my bookmark from a book that I have been reading, He did this several time which maybe indication that he needs help for kleptomania. I manage to get dinner done and kitchen cleaned up when the races begin. I live in a ranch style home when my two kitties decided to race all through the house at top speed. It got so bad that we started taking bets on who was in the lead and who would win. I do believe it was more exciting than any race I have ever seen, During this stressful time in my family life these two kitties know how to make us laugh and forget our worries even for just a little while.

Good Fortunes and Blessings,

Candi

 

Thank Goodness for my Cats

This past week has been a very long and stressful week. On Monday we put my mother's house up for sale. This house is where I grew up. I have very fond memories and some very painful memories. I know this is going to be hard on my mother in this new journey in her life. She has made this house into a home but it is time for her to downsize and allow another family to make their own memories in it.  On Wednesday I took my 16 year old , who is the youngest of my children to his yearly check up. We received a call an hour later saying that they wanted to do a ultrasound on is liver because of something that showed on his blood work. We took him to the ultrasound on Friday and found out that his liver is larger than normal and will have to see a GI specialist on what the cause is. He also went to see another specialist on Friday for Rheumatoid arthritis. This doctor did another panel of blood work and xrays. On Sunday morning my son and I had a fight that he started because he is scared and angry that this is happening to him. So as any teenager would do he picked a fight with me and blamed me and his father for everything that you could imagine. After he calmed down and I did as well we talked it out and all things are better now. I understand that he is angry and life is not always fair but we have to remember to keep living and not stop. So this brings me to my point about thank goodness for my cats. Gizmo and Jax has been giving me extra kisses and snuggles this week, I think they can sense how stressed I have been. After getting off from retail hell (aka work) which was past midnight I sat in my favorite chair where Jax proceeded to snuggle in my lap. I think he is trying to tell me he is there for me and everything will be ok. I could not imagine not having my two boys. I love them as my own children. Hopefully everything will be ok with my Austin and he survives being a teenager. I would not want to repeat being a teenager especially in this day and age.

Many blessings and good fortune,

Candi

Gizmo is Making Progress

I have still been working with Gizmo on leash training. He is slowly making progress. He will now lay very calmly on the front porch. He still gets spooked if a motor cycle goes down the street. I am considering building a play area in the backyard for him and his brother Jax. I think Jax would take to it right away. Going into the leash training I knew it would be a long road to getting him to feel comfortable with the harness but I am not giving up. I want my cats to like the outside and still feel safe.
The past two weeks have been crazy at my house. My daughter, her husband, and my adorable grandson are visiting from Florida. They also brought with them their German Shepard and Jack Russel Terrier. Lets say I feel like I am living in a Zoo. I currently have in my tiny house four dogs, three cats, 7 humans (counting myself). I am thankful to a big yard for the dogs to play in during the day. But I would not trade this for the world. I love family time.

Many Blessings and Good Fortune,

Candi

New Adventures

So as any good business woman would do, I tested the waters on how my hand made sewing crafts would be reciprocated among some friends on Facebook today. I posted a picture of two pillows (different sizes but same design) on Facebook to see what kind of response I would get and it was a little overwhelming. Everyone had something positive to say and was even wanting to know how much I would charge to make them some pillows. I want to make other things besides pillows but I figured it is a good start since its an easy way to decorate with. I am planing on checking out several sites that specializes in hand made crafts to sell. Once I get familiar with each site I will post a blog about each of experiences with the good, the bad, and the ugly (in my best Clint Eastwood voice). I still plan on finishing my degree and hopefully with the monies that I make from my crafts and photography I will be able to support myself and finish school so I can once and for all leave retail Hell behind for good. This is a very scary step but my ultimate goal is to love what I do even when I have a bad.

On a side note I must apologize to the Hobby Lobby cashier that I was totally crabby with today. It was not your fault that I was having a bad day and was trying to find my mom a birthday gift which of course I waited until the last minute to get. I always stress out on what to get her. She has like everything and is planning on downsizing soon, Even though I did not yell or throw a fit but I was still rude in my actions when you were just trying to explain that the sale that was going on did not include the ceramics but only glass products. So when I see you again at Hobby Lobby I wil make sure to apologize in person and I do know how it feels to be in your shoes because I still work in my retail Hell job and truly do understand what its like to deal with grumpy people. So please except my sincerest apologizes.

Many blessings and good fortune to you all,

Candi

Relationships according to one hair stylist

So today being my day off I went to the salon to get my hair cut. I am a quiet person and do not talk a lot and thankfully my stylist knows that I am this way. So while I am in the chair I am totally eavesdropping on the conversation between a hairstylist and her client. I know I should not have been but this is benefit to being a quiet person is that you can listen to others talk and see their true colors. The conversation they were having even made my stylist pause for a moment. They were talking about relationships and how they were looking for a good man. The client said she had two types of friends. Her one set would tell a guy that maybe interested that he does not make enough money for her. I was taken back by this. I have been married for 19 years. There has been times when I have been the main income into the home and so has my husband. I do not think that when looking for your partner that it should be based just on income. I believe it should be based on how he/she makes you feel. Now I do think that they should have career, job, or going to school. This doesn't mean that they should  have to make four figures to win you over as a partner because a relationship based on wealth is not a healthy relationship. Relationships should be based on a mutual attraction, common interests, similar lifestyles is helpful,trust and being able to see yourself with this individual in 20 or 30 years down the road. The biggest thing is that this person should be able to make you laugh and smile even when there are times that you don't want to. Laughter goes along way in a relationship. My own relationship has had its ups and downs but even after 19 years we are still in love and going strong. We always tell each other that we love them even if we are mad at the other.

The Adventures of Giving a Cat a Bath

Giving a cat has to one of the most dreaded things to do comparable to filing your taxes or going to the dentist. I had to give poor Gizmo a bath this past week. He was not pleased by this whole experience but he tolerated it. I myself did not get clawed to death or had my eyes ripped out. You are probably wondering how I manage to survive this experience without one scratch. Over the years I have found some very useful tips on how to give cats a bath.

Tip 1: Have all of your necessary supplies out and ready to use and within an arm reach out. I use a whitening shampoo for Gizmo that is especially designed for cats.

Tip 2: Have the water ran. Make sure that the water is not too hot. Remember we are bathing the kitty not cooking him/her. Make sure to have the water off before placing them in the tub/sink. The reason is that cats are very sensitive to sounds and are spooked very easily. The sound of the water can be too much for most cats.

Tip3: Go find the cat. I normally go and open the food pantry so Gizmo will come to me each and every time. Its better than trying to look under beds or the couch.

Tip4: Don't just plopped the cat into the water. Try gently gliding them into the water. They won't realize what is happening until its too late.

Tip 5: Make sure to keep a secure hold onto the kitty. Trust me if they can escape they will.

Tip 6: Don't get the kitty's face wet. They hate this.

Now remember most cats do not need to be bathe very often unless they get into something. Cats are in general very clean animals are always cleaning themselves.

I was unable to get pictures during the bath process for Gizmo but I did get one of the after his bath time.

How to bribe your cat.

Why do Mondays suck? This has been probably one of the worst Mondays I have had in a few months. I woke up late for work and of course this means rushing around trying to feed the zoo of animals I have and myself. Go outside to load up the Jeep and yep a flat tire. Thankfully I have a pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter so I could pump it up. I did make it to work on time so the boss was clueless that I broke the sound barrier just to get to work on time. Poor Gizmo probably thought I was mad at him cause we had no time for morning snuggles or his little treats he normally gets in the morning. So I will probably go home and he will have probably trashed the bathroom for revenge. He has done this before. If he does not get his way he will unroll a whole roll of toilet paper and knock everything off the vanity and tub. He is such a little gangster when he wants to be. Maybe I will get a coffee before going home to face the wrath of one spoiled kitty or maybe I will go to the pet store and buy tons of treats and toys for to repay for me being so rude to him this morning. LOL either way I think I'm in trouble.

So I came home with a peace offering and it seems to have worked for now. LOL I better watch my back for awhile or he may become angry again.

Many Blessings and Good Fortune to you,
Candi

Gizmo First Birthday

Yep it's April Fool's Day and also Gizmo's first birthday. He has been one of the best things that I could have done in my life. I adopted him last summer when he was just four months old. From the moment that I picked him up he started purring and snuggled deep into my arms. He totally has me wrapped around his paw. He is my little shadow around the house and has found himself into some very laughable but unusual circumstances. We are still working on his leash training but I think he will get the hang of it. So for his birthday I bought him some of those cute little mice toys that always come up missing ( the dogs probably ate them). He also got a feather toy and some of his favorite canned cat food. Yep he is spoiled but he gives me so much in return.

Many Blessings and Good Fortune to you,
Candi

Gizmo learns a new trick

So I have decided to try and teach Gizmo how to walk on a cat harness. I went to my local pet store and purchase in my favorite color of green a cat harness and leash for about $20,00 among other cat toys and food. remember bribery goes along way with cats especially when you want them to do something. So the first thing that I did was put the harness and leash on him while still in the house. As you can tell from the below picture he is playing dead. At least he learned one trick from this.

Gizmo playing dead in hopes I will take it off of him.

He is getting use to it a little I hope.

I manage to place him briefly in the yard for about five minutes in hopes he would explore. Instead he cried to go back inside so I will just have to take this in baby steps. My goal is hopefully to get him to want to explore a little while on the leash but in due time. Has anyone out there manage to train their cats with a harness?

Have a Happy Easter Everyone,
Candi

The Fates are Against Me!

So this was the weekend that I was supposed to finish my DIY flooring project that I started a few weeks ago. The floors are being made from 3/8inch thick plywood boards. The boards I had cut down to 8 inch wide planks. So back to why the fates are against me. Tuesday I went and had my hair done well let's say it turned out horribly wrong. My husband reference me as a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z. Which I already knew it was horrible but not that horrible. So one word of advice to anyone out there stick to a color that looks best on you and don't try to be something that you are not. The color was fixed this morning and looks much better. Since I purposely took Friday-Sunday off to work on flooring I have been sick since Wednesday with a horrible upper respiratory infection. So as I said the fates are against me on finishing my floor. I will advise everyone that I totally stole the flooring idea from Pinterest which I am an addict. So I am using this time off to rest, watch Netflix, and Pinterest ideas of what I want to do to my house next.

So my hair was supposed to look like this but instead looks like this

So now I am back to my original look

Self-Doubt

Self-doubt is what kills most dreams. I have been having lots of self-doubt and fear about going for my dreams. I know that with hard work, good business decisions, and faith in myself that I can accomplish anything. The problem is that when I have a quite moment to myself that is when the self-doubt whispers in my ear of all the things that could go wrong. I am afraid that if I do not go for my dreams then I will forever regret not going for it. So as I work through conquering this fear and build up my self esteem, I want to take a moment to encourage others out there to live life to its fullest. Life is too short not to go for your dreams. So to quite my self-doubt demons today I binge watched some X-Files. I have learned that Gizmo likes X-Files and to cuddle. Gizmo has not had any misadventures in the past few days. He even was able to cuddle with my Great Pyrenees, Shiva. 

Gizmo misadventures part two

Happy Friday to everyone that has the weekend off. Unfortunately I work in retail so that means I work every weekend, Working retail has taught me to laugh at the stupid jokes that customers will make. Normally these jokes are not funny in the least but I still laugh at them. The other day I had a customer reach to grab me by the arm "so that he could take a bite out of me to see if I tasted like candy". I did not find this humorous at all. I was very humiliated by this show of humor. I love to laugh and I am not easily offended but this was some strange man trying to grab me.  I really don't understand people at times and often wish I could be a hermit. Hopefully I will be seeing my dream come to life. Its okay to tell a lame joke but its not okay to try what this guy did.

If anyone is wondering Gizmo my cat who took a tumble in the dryer (see last post) is doing well and is currently asleep at my feet. I am not the crazy cat lady that has hundreds of cats. I have three cats and two dogs. They are part of my family and would be lost without them, Gizmo rules the house even though he is the littlest of them all. I will admit that I am very partial to my cats though. Gizmo latest adventure has been getting himself trapped in the fridge. My youngest boy who is 16 eats like a linebacker. He did not realize that Gizmo had climbed in the fridge while he was getting something to eat. Thankfully he put the mustard away and found him in there looking quite dazed that someone actually shut the door on him. "Sigh" will he ever stop being so mischievous and curious. At this rate he will be out of his nine lives within a month. Any advice would be appreciated on keeping Gizmo alive.

Blessings and Good Fortune,

Candi

Misadventures of Gizmo

Gizmo is my one year old cat. He is a long hair Persian. While doing laundry he decided to climb into the dryer without my knowledge. Yep you can only imagine what happened next. I had turned the dryer on and heard a thump, thump sound. I threw the dryer door opened and found poor Gizmo tangled up in the sheets. He was very wide eyed and quite upset about his tumble in the dryer. Of course my dear husband was of no encouragement and asked if the fluff cycle had been turned on. Well Gizmo thankfully is doing well after his tumble and is being treated like royalty. Of course I do not think he has never not been treated like royalty. LOL I never would have thought he would climbed into the dryer but from now on will always check before turning it on.  

Blessings and Good Fortune,

Candi 

New Adventures

I have found comfort in coming home from retail hell to my little cozy cottage. I have found that I cherish the simple things in life more now than ever before. I prefer the quiet of my house to the busy workings of retail stores. I can not quite figure people out. They go to these big box stores and expect that you should know there homes dimensions, what there plumbing looks like, and if anything has been updated. They all say the same thing "Isn't everything standard size?" I hate to break the news to everyone but no it's not. Just like there are no two snowflakes there is no standard size plumbing, register vents, or electrical. As with all things there is new building codes that require new plumbing and electrical. I really don't understand how someone can buy a home but not know anything about it. I am not saying you have to be an electrician or plumber but at least know when things were last updated and know how to read a tape measure. I do many things at my job in retail hell and with most things I try to keep my temper in check and thoughts to myself, but when someone comes up to me and asked the question "Do you work here?" It is really hard to say nope I just stole this apron on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to stand in a random aisle just so you can ask me that question. I will admit that I have looked at the person and said nope and just stared at them until they realized what they said, which by the way normally doesn't take long and laugh. 

So with all of this in mind I am looking forward to my retirement from that big box store to my next phase in my life. As I mentioned before I will be leaving to live out a fantasy of mine of working from home. I plan on designing items for individuals that have their own little cottage that they love. 

Blessings and Good Fortune,

Candi Highmiller

Self-Reflections

I have not blogged in almost two months. This has been a crazy couple months but I needed the time to look deep within myself on what I wanted out of life. So I have decided to go after my dreams and will be at first reducing the hours I work at my job in retail hell and later quitting the plan is by June. I want to work from home and create a on-line store for hand crafted items for people's homes. This may sound a little crazy but I love working with my hands and creating useful but pretty things for the home. Home is where the heart is and I really believe this. Life is too short to not live out our dreams. As I watch the news and see our world falling apart I believe that we need to feel that our homes is the one place that we can be at peace and love where we live.

So with that in mind I also love blogging and sharing a little piece of myself to others. I hope that if anyone that reads my post will be reminded that it is okay to follow your dreams even if others tell you that it is crazy and not to go for it. The important thing to remember that your dreams are what makes you tick and they are pieces of you. Your dreams will evolve while you are on your journey.

I will be updating my blog at once to twice a week so please follow my blog and share any advice to me on what your dreams are and how you succeeded in making them reality.

Candi

The New Year

So we are eight days into the new year and I have had some fun moments. Took my husband out for his birthday and saw the new Star Wars movie, which was amazing. I'm a geek I can claim I have seen them all and watch the clone wars as well. I love the idea of other galaxies and being able to travel to other worlds. I have had my nose shoved in the Game of Thrones books that I got for Christmas. I do love to read ❤️❤️.

As I sit in my car on this very gloomy and rainy Friday I'm wishing I didn't have to go to retail Hell. I guess I will have to since I like the nice things in life like a house to live in and food to eat. 

Have a awesome day and may the Force be with you 

Happy New Year 2016

So a new year is upon us and the resolutions will be declared. The sour kraut and pork is in the crock pot and the house has been cleaned up from last night's festivities. This is the day that most people declares that there will be changes in the up coming year such as weight loss, eating healthy, etc. So I am going to declare my resolution to play outside more with my dogs, to spend less money, to NOT to go to a gym, and above all else to have some fun and laugh more. I think this will be easy enough to accomplish. The city I live in was declared the saddest city in Ohio. I wonder why this is? I mean yes we have had our ups and downs as all cities do but that should not make us the saddest city. I wonder who they interviewed or survey was given to declare this. The people I know are fun loving and don't seem to be depressed. Hmmm....

Happy New Year,

Candi