An opportunity has recently fallen in my lap. At least I hope it turns out to be an opportunity. The owner of a private estate that my work has frequently recommended as an alternate site for private events and weddings has asked me to consider being her preferred event coordinator.

She and I are friends. She's a wonderful woman and she has such great faith in my abilities for some reason. She has had some bad experiences with some other coordinators in the area and she would like to be able to start recommending me instead. In fact she wants me to be the only coordinator that she will allow to work on her property.

It's highly flattering and a little intimidating. I mean yes, I've done some events at work and I'm organized enough to think that I can pull it off, but I would prefer to have some formal training. Actually work for someone who has done it for years so I can learn all the tricks and the things to avoid and the questions to ask and make all the contacts. Just walking in and saying I'm your wedding coordinator and these are my prices seems a little daunting and overly ambitious. What if I mess something up big time. I mean this is someone's wedding day. Despite the fact that I think they can be insane and stupid doesn't mean I don't realize how important they are to people. (and yes that is going to be my advertisement)

Anyways I spent the evening putting together a list of what my services would entail. I'm going to have to do more research. I feel a little sketchy on a few of the things I listed, plus a wedding coordinator is supposed to know all the wedding etiquette. What do I know about wedding etiquette?!

So yea. The owner of this private estate is only looking for 6-8 more events for next year, so it's not like that would be anytime soon or very many of them and she started out with no real experience except the two weddings she organized herself for her daughters at the property and she's has a wonderful little business going, so I suppose why can't I?

Yea. Uh-huh.....still terrified

So after bragging in the comments of my last blog that I actually got my cat Willoughby to sleep through the night and not wake me up in the morning my cat decided to show me who the real boss is in the relationship.

I got home really late after watching Harry Potter last night to find that Willoughby had been playing with one of the roommates for a few hours, but was somehow still wired. I continued to play with him as I cleaned up my room hoping to wipe him out. Eventually he wouldn't play with anything I threw his was and I settled down into bed.

And he went to sleep. Only problem is I woke up in the middle of the night and then realizing that Willoughby was practically smushing me, couldn't get back to sleep. So I moved a lot and woke Willoughby up and then it was over.

He decided to play with my feet I decided to kick him out. After that I didn't fall back into a very deep sleep. And then it was 5:55am. Like clockwork, 5 minutes before my first alarm goes off Willoughby starts to meow and claw at the door. He's gotten so good at it that he can open the door somehow.

This problem has been continuous and I have read up on how to keep your cat from meowing excessively. Everything I read said you have to ignore them and not react to the meowing because if you do anything, get up, feed them, kick them into another room you are apparently reinforcing the behavior.

Have you ever tried to ignore a cat who is dead set on getting his breakfast? It can't be done. And you can't go back to sleep. But you don't want to get up because that will reinforce his behavior and you're exhausted and all you want to do is sleep another 15-20 minutes. And you think well if he just stops for a few minutes I'll go out and feed him so he doesn't associated food with the meowing, but he doesn't stop, so you get so annoyed that you get up and lock him in another room and reinforce the behavior. sigh.

Maybe I should try earplugs.

Deanna, my roommate of four years moved out over the weekend. She moved back home to Santa Maria as she is starting teacher training next month and with all the work she'll have to do for that it was easier to be closer to the actual school district where she'll be working. She's been commuting to Santa Maria for school for over a year already. (Crazy!)

I didn't think it would be that huge of a deal for me. I mean I love Deanna but we tend to keep to ourselves, but realizing that I wouldn't see her car in the driveway anymore made me really sad. It was always nice to know she was there. She said it best, we're like sisters. We don't need to talk to each other.

I am not the only one who has been thrown for a loop with this move. Willoughby seems lethargic and sad. He is seeking even more attention than usual and will not stop meowing when I try to settle down to sleep in the evening. This morning I realized how much he must miss Kitten (Deanna's cat). They usually have a morning play session after breakfast. He kept looking to me today to play with him.

We'll see how he adapts to this change. Give him some time, but he is so social I think he might need another cat to keep him company. I know, I know, it sounds like an excuse to get a kitten. Like I'm trying to justify it, but the truth is I don't know if I would want another kitten. I kinda like the idea of adopting a cat who is a few years old. There are some great cats at the shelter who don't find homes for a while because it's kitten season.

Garren is fine with getting another cat. In fact the other night he said we should go get one soon. Today he added he gets to pick out the cat/kitten and it's going to be his. He also mentioned that he's sure as hell not going to name it Daisey (This is the name of one of my sister's new kittens. Her boyfriend Erik picked out Daisey from the shelter). I'm already afraid of what he might name a cute fuzz ball. He's already told me that if we ever get a dog he's naming it Fugly. Imagine his cat naming choices. He already calls Willoughby "Wilotard".

In other news we are now considering moving to San Francisco. Things in Georgia fell through which was I think both a relief and a huge disappointment. San Francisco might be a nice change. Bigger hotels, more movement possibilities and other options if I decide I want to head in a new direction. Don't hold your breath though. Any move won't be happening for at least 6 months. We move slow like that.