Monkey Hat

I finished the monkey hat for Dr. Bowman... and made everyone in our "group" at work put it on during our Christmas Luncheon, so I could take pictures to show him. Here is the sign I made to take to Dr. Bowman... I think he will get a kick out of it!



...ok... Just got back from visiting with Dr. Bowman! He loved the sign! And... I made him wear the hat for most of my visit! He has rotator cuff issues, so he couldn't get the hat on or off...so I put it on, and told him that I wouldn't take it off for a while! Mike surprised him and showed up to! Dr. Bowman is big into woodworking and enjoys talking shop with Mike!

Lewis Ginter Festival of Lights

Here are the pictures that I promised of our trip to the Lewis Ginter Garden/Festival of Lights.

The first one is of me in the conservatory next to a giant cactus. Mike made me stand next to it... my dad like's cacti, so he thought he would enjoy the picture. (ok...I am being called to dinner...will try to finish my commentary later)

Feeling better today...

Ok, so I am not as crampy today... still a little "moody"... but hey... I am a girl, we are allowed.

I can't believe that it is the 18th of DECEMBER!! Christmas is only a week a way!! It just doesn't seem possible! I am looking forward to having some time off and going to Ohio. However... I am no where near ready to drive 8 hours. I feel so unprepared for Christmas. I think that I have all my shopping done and have finished up all my hats (I think) that are being giving as presents. I am working on a monkey hat right now, I hope to finish it tonight. It is for Dr. Bowman...one of the PhD's here at work. He turned 80 this year and has been at VCU for over 50 years. He had spinal surgery two weeks ago and has been in the hospital much longer than anticipated, due to complications with medications. He was transferred to a rehab facility yesterday! It is right down the street from me...so I told him I will pester him everyday on my way home. For the next few days... we have a standing 4:00 "date". He is such a sweety...I consider him to be my substitute grandpa here in Richmond.

Hopefully, I will remember to bring my camera in tomorrow...so I can download some pictures of the lights we saw the other night.

have a wonderful Tuesday!

Two Words...

I have two words that I would like to share with all my faithful readers....

CRAMPS SUCK!!!!!

Uugghhh

Uuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhh....

So all the cleaning we did here at work.... getting everything off the floor, moving equipment into other labs and offices...
they didn't do our floors last night!!!! What a pain in the .....................

Now... we have to move all the stuff back in so that we can do our work... only to probably pick it all back up again this afternoon.


Uuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh......

Rachel's Froggy Hat

Here is a picture of Rachel in the froggy hat that I made for her! One of my co-workers gave me the yarn to use... She is still in the remedial crocheting group at lunch and she wanted to make sure that the hat turned out really nice...so she turned the yarn over to me. It is made out of a chenille yarn...and is super soft!! I think that Rachel will enjoy wearing it!

It is HOT outside!!

Who would have ever thought that it would be 80 degrees on DECEMBER 12th!!! Definitely not me!! But... the real kicker is that the high tomorrow is only 49!! I find that a little crazy.

We took advantage of the warm weather last night and went to the festival of lights at the local botanical gardens. We went with our neighbors, Hollie and Cleve...and their 3 kids. It was a lot of fun...and beautiful. I will post pictures when I get them downloaded. Hopefully I will be able to make photo captions as fun as Amber (who really needs to update her blog!).

Other than going to see the lights...things have been rather uneventful here in Richmond. I have been crocheting hats like there is no tomorrow! My back muscles ache from crocheting nonstop all weekend. I basically sat on the couch all day...watching cheesy ABC Family and Hallmark Christmas movies...crocheting hats. I got about 4 hats made this weekend! Not too shabby. And... I got to watch like 10 cheesy movies! AWESOME!!!

Mike worked on building platforms to go around the hot tub... making getting in and out easier and decreasing the chance of bringing gravel and dirt into the hot tub. We drained the tub on Monday night so that Kevin could install some type of water filter. I am going to take advantage of the warm weather this afternoon and give the tub a good cleaning. Since it is a used tub, we don't know how often it was cleaned before we got it. I should have cleaned it before we filled it the first time...but we were too excited. I am not all that excited about sitting in an empty hot tub with a bottle of bleach and a scrub brush...but, I guess that is something I will have to get used to if I am going to be a hot tub owner!

well...I better get back to hiding my valuables! (we are having our floors cleaned at work, and have to hide things like scales, calculators, drugs...)

look how cute my mom is....

Here is a picture of my mom in her new favorite outfit and one of her favorite hats. It is actually a hat I made for myself when I first started crocheting...but, when she was in town I let her go through all of my hats as well as all the ones that I made for her. I still have the matching scarf...it is curly like a slinky... it got rave reviews when I wore it yesterday! ok...I am regressing. Doesn't my mom look super cute!! I can't wait to see her in the santa hat that I crocheted for her using Caron Simply Soft Yarn with some chenille trim!! I will post a picture when I get one (I just mailed the hat yesterday).



as an update: My mom just finished round 2 of her chemo treatments. She will be feeling pretty yucky for the next week or two...but the good news is that Christmas should be her best week! She is excited about that. Mike and I are actually going to be there for Christmas this year...she is excited about that too. She will be going back for chemo shortly after christmas.

SCORE!!!

I won a new pillow at the Chiropractor!! I didn't even know I was entered to win!! I took in some canned goods for their food drive... I guess that made me eligible. Anyway... I won a Tempur-Pedic Neck Pillow.... a $99 pillow!! and, you all know how much I like bargains... Free Stuff is even better! You can click below to learn about my new pillow! I slept really well with it last night!

The NeckPillow by Tempur-Pedic™

So BIG!

I just wanted to show everyone how big my little baby, Mustachio, has gotten. He turned 7 months old this past weekend.

Here is a picture of Stachie from July...just a few weeks after I found him. He was 2 1/2 months old in this picture.


Here is a picture of Stachie on his 7 month b-day!! He is huge!! He is the same size ... if not bigger... than Lydia. I think the boys, Milo and Gilbert, are still bigger than him. But it wont be long...




Here is a picture Stachie...chilling IN the christmas tree!!!

A healthier lifestyle...

Hi Everyone...

I just wanted to let you all know that Mike and I have decided to make some changes in our diets and adopt a much healthier lifestyle! We started looking at the number of calories and sodium that are in the foods we eat. Yikes! We ate really, really bad. Did you know that a cup of chocolate chips has 840 calories!!! Crazy. One double cheeseburger from McDonald's has 440 calories. We are trying to cut out all the frozen foods of convenience that are oh so bad for you... like taquitos and frozen pizza. It will probably cost more to buy mostly fresh foods...but I think the benefits out weigh the added costs. I am hoping that I will start acquiring a taste for more veggies... like peppers and things. So many recipes call for them...

welll... I better get back to work. I hope that everyone has a great day!

Hee Hee...

One saggy boob said to the other saggy boob:
"If we don't get some support soon, people will think we're nuts."


...this really made me chuckle!

Wet Bathing Suit = Cat Toy?!?!

Lydia has a new favorite toy... my wet bathing suits!! Let me tell you that it is very strange to see a petite little cat carrying your bathing suit around the house!! She cries like she just caught something too!! Funny, funny cat. I guess she will be mad once I get some of those little suction cup hooks for in the shower. Right now, I am just hanging my wet suits over the side of the tub!!


Here is a picture of Lydia carrying one of her other favorite toys around... now... just picture her with a bathing suit in her mouth! Craziness!

My New Happy Place!

Here is a picture of me in my new happy place...



ok...so, I haven't taken a picture of our "new" hot tub yet. But...this is a picture of the same brand with my head photo-shopped in!! Our friend Kevin repairs hot tubs and got us a really really good deal on a used two person tub! WE LOVE IT!

Nuxhall, youngest player in MLB history, dies at 79

ESPN - Nuxhall, youngest player in MLB history, dies at 79 - MLB

Good-bye Joe Nuxhall...

Many of you may not know who Joe Nuxhall or Marty Brennaman...but the duo will forever be etched in my mind as a major part of baseball...and my childhood memories of baseball. They were pretty much celebrities around town...everyone knew who they were. They did commercials together... maybe for Kroger. I can't remember. I know it was one of the grocery stores.

I never realized that he was the youngest person to ever play in the majors... less than 16 years old... can you imagine!

Trying to stay healthy shouldn't hurt so bad....

I got my flu shot this morning... I was doing ok at first, but now my arm hurts so freakin' bad! I can hardly move it. It hurts even when I don't move it. This is only my third flu shot... The same thing happened the first time I got one. I couldn't move my arm for like a week (ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little). Last year... my co-workers convinced me to get one. It wasn't bad at all. ... So, I decided to go ahead and sign up for one this year. The actually shot itself wasn't that bad. It has been about 5 hours and I am in rough shape right now. My fingers a tingly and numb and my shoulder hurts like you wouldn't believe. Two out of three shots have been horribly painful for me....hmmmm, I am not seeing too many flu shots in my future. I guess I will wait and see how long the pain lasts. I just took some more aleve... hopefully that will help!

Tootsie Roll Pops

Did y'all know they have new tootsie pop flavors??? Here is a link to the tootsie pop site.
Tootsie Roll Industries - Tootsie Roll Pops

I got some for halloween and was surprised to see the new colored wrappers. I have to say, I am quite fond of the watermelon tootsie pop that I am currently enjoying (sorry, I couldn't bring myself to say... that I am currently "sucking"). I am a little leary about the newest flavor...lemon lime. I am just not all that fond of citrusy flavored candy. hmmmm...

Have you guys ever seem my shirt with the owl and a tootsie pop on it that says "how many licks does it take?" I love that shirt! A lot of people here at work aren't familiar with the old tootsie pop commercials, so they have no clue what the shirt is about.

A good visit with the parents...

My mom and Larry got in around 2pm on Friday afternoon... and left around 8 am this morning. It was a really nice visit. My mom was having trouble controlling her emotions...but heck, who wouldn't. Mom and I got to do some shopping. Our trip to Kohl's was a little disappointing... I know, I know... it is hard to believe that going to Kohl's could be disappointing. Mom was looking for some new robes for her and Larry. But, all they had were these super duper heavy fleecy/microfibery type robes. She wanted something a little lighter for herself and Larry needs something even lighter. I guess they only stock super thick robes in the winter.

Mom and Larry brought me a rocking chair from Uncle Clifford's house! He had two, mom is keeping the other one. They are soooo comfy. I have it in the spare bedroom right now. It looks great in there. I hope to refinish the wood and get it re-upholstered (I may attempt that myself). Here is a picture of the chair, I took this picture when we were in Cincy for my brother's wedding.



They also brought Mike a huge old 2 person saw. Mike fell in love with it when we were there. We hope to hang it over the doorway in our fireplace room (don't worry... we plan to secure it really really well to the wall!)

Fwd: testing

>
> Ok... I am testing the email blog thing to see how it works (so I
> can hopefully make blogging a little easier on my mom!). I am
> supposed to be able to send an email and have the message post
> automatically. that is kind of cool...if it works!
>
>

My (New and Improved) Spare Bedroom...

Here is what the bedroom used to look like back in 2005, when my grandparents came to visit.





Here are the pictures of our newly painted spare bedroom! (it is still a work in progress...but I thought I would post my hard work so far...)

I bought the new bedding with some of my Atlantic City winnings! I am going to have Mike make some shelves for the walls. I am going to paint them white. I have some antique fishing pictures that we got from Uncle Clifford. I am going to frame them for that room. My mom is bringing some of his old fishing things...old wooden bobbers and such, that will help to decorate the room. I am hoping that this room will be my little oasis...where I can retreat to when Mike is snoring to loud!! Oh yeah... we purposefully left the drawers out of the armoire. We plan on turning the opening into the kitties feeding station.

Amber Electric

Here is the link to Amber Electric. They have like a diamond or something in the picture...kind of reminds me of "amber sparkles" hmm... I wonder if there is any copy right infringment going on???

www.amberelec.com

I'm back...

Mike and I are back from our little get-away to Atlantic City. It was a very nice and relaxing trip! Mike suprised me with a room upgrade... he got us a suite!! Super nice!! It had a wonderful soaking tub!! I got like 2 baths a day!! It was wonderful!!

I forgot to take my camera :( so I don't have any pictures of the trip! bummer... I know! I saw so many awesome things from the car too. I could have had some awesome pictures taken from the car! Here are some of the things I would have liked to snap photos of...

Amber's Electrical
Picnic Grove Homes (the glorified name of a trailer park!)

ok... so I am now having a brain fart and can't remember all the other things I told myself to remember for the blog!

but... I do know that Mike and I came back with more money than we left with!! that is awesome! Mike bought himself a new chainsaw with some of his winnings. I bought new bedding for the spare bedroom. I don't know what we will do with the rest of the money... maybe save it for our next trip up there!

Rachel's Hats

Here are some picture's of Rachel in the hats that I made. Rachel was a piggy for halloween. She got to go trick or treating up and down the hallways at the hospital.

Not so bad...

So... the chiropractor wasn't all that bad. I did have to sit through a pretty lame video talking about how chiropractic treatment is the best possible thing you can do for yourself. A lot of what they "teach" ...they don't just want to help you they want to teach you... makes sense. It is all about the correlation of the spine and the nervous system to the rest of the body. As a biologist, it makes total sense to me. However, it is still kind of hard to get the "chiropractors are a bunch of quacks" idea out of my head. I am not into the total holistic approach that some of them use. I am all for medications, however... I also know that some medications are just bandaids. But, sometimes...you need the bandaid to help you heal!!

I do have to say that the best part of the visit was getting to lay on the massaging table for 10 minutes after my adjustment!! The table has these big rollers under it that move up and down massaging your back, neck, ect... so relaxing!

I also went to the dermatologist yesterday. One of the moles that they took off the last time I was there was "pre-cancerous" or something like that... They had only shaved and cauderized it the last time. This time... he sliced and diced me. They wanted to make sure they got it all, so thy have to dig deeper and wider than the area that the mole covered. I have an 1 1/2 to 2 inch slice in my arm. With 9 or 10 external stitches... and a whole bunch of internal ones too. It hurts pretty bad today. Which reminds me... I think I am due for some more tylenol!!

Hi MOM!!!

I just wanted to take a second to say hi to my Mom! She has recently started reading my blog! I guess I have to watch what I say now (hee hee hee). Actually... where do you think I got my perverted mind from!!!

Going to the Chiropractor

So... I have had this pain in my back for a little while now. It is like there is a spot that needs to be popped/cracked but I can't get to it. It right between my shoulder blades. It is affecting how I sleep...or don't sleep! There is a constant dull ache in my neck and back. I have finally given in and called a chiropractor this morning. They just had a cancellation...so I will be going at 3:45 this afternoon. I have always been a little leary about going to the chiropractor...but I don't know what other options I have. The receptionist was so unbelievably chipper. She genuinely seemed very happy to have me come in this afternoon. It is husband and wife that are the chiropractors. They just moved into a brand new office space.

I am nervous, but really excited too... I am really really hoping that they can help me. This pain is really starting to effect my quality of life.

Keep your fingers crossed!

For Adult Eyes Only

Ok.. I have been a little hesitant to post pictures of our costumes...as they are a wee bit on the naughty side! but...since pictures have been requested, I will post them. Look at your own risk!

The first few pictures of Mike's costume is the "tamed down" version. I made a felt coving for his center dog! The covering was removed for the other pictures (we wanted to guage the crowd before unvailing the center hot dog!)

Halloween Costume

Ok... So I have been working feverishly to finish our halloween costumes for the party tomorrow (we are going with our neighbors to a costume party). It has been nice to have something else to think about when I am at home...

Mike is going to be a hot dog vendor. And... knowing me... you know it is slightly perverse. There will be a larger-than-life, life-like "hot dog" (yay Model Magic!) that comes out of mike's shirt and lays in a large bun... surrounded by much more normal sized hotdogs and buns (that I have sewn out of felt). I made mike a red and white striped vest to wear. and a little vendor hat. I have made lots of buttons for him with some clever slogans... So... You may be wondering what I am going to be?? a giant hot dog...NO!! I am going to be the Champion Hot Dog Eater!! The following is the design that I am going to put on a shirt using an iron-on transfer!



** I will make sure I sing "DownTown" a couple of times throughout the night!!

p.s. I apologize to anyone offended by the contents of this post! But... if you are reading this, you most likely know me and you know how my mind works!! (and I know how your minds work too!!)

Lexi is with Wheezie...

Lexi Lobe
6/15/02 - 10/24/07



I had an appointment for Lexi today... but when I got home yesterday at lunchtime, it was time. She looked so miserable. the sparkle had left her eyes. She purred for us...but what not really there. She didn't really acknowledge us other than the purring. she just looked spaced out. Luckily my husband decided to come home to be with us during his lunch break. We decided that we couldn't let her go on another night. Her condition went downhill so quickly (which I guess is a blessing in disguise, noone wants to see their kitties suffer with a lingering ailment). The vet and I both noticed yesterday that she had become jaundiced...which she wasn't on monday at her appointment. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But... I know that the disease would have taken her soon and it wasn't fair to her to let her go on any longer. She is with Wheezie now. The two of them had always been linked together. I had a very bad feeling for the last week that Lexi was going to be joining Wheezie soon. Lexi joined our home because of Wheezie... so it only makes sense that she joins Wheezie in her new home up in heaven. (as a side note... I found Wheezie's picture on petfinder 4 1/2 years ago. She spoke to me through that picture. My husband laughs at me when I say that...but she did. Lexi's picture was there too... she didn't really appeal to me. But, for some reason... it was linked in my head to Wheezie's picture. When we went to meet the girls. Wheezie came running up from outside and greeted us at the door. We barely even saw Lexi. When I asked if the two got along...she said that they were best friends. So, we gave Lexi a shot. She turned out to be the most beautiful and loving kitty ever. she loved giving kisses and snuggling with her mommy. she was a momma's girl. Wheezie was two months older than Lexi and was in her first home (the foster home) two months before lexi... I guess it is only fitting that Wheezie had to go try out her new home in heaven two months before Lexi...)

I will really miss my girls. The Wheeze and my Lexi Lugi Boogie Beara.

Tipsy is still finding solace in her cage. She is happy and content in there. She really wants nothing to do with coming out of her cage. I hope that she will one day rejoin the rest of us...but right now, her quality of life is 100 times better in the cage then out of it... I think she likes the security of having her own space. I am not going to force her to come out. I hate to think of her spending so long in there...but if that is where she is happiest and content. who am I to judge or make her change.

appointment

Lexi is not doing well. I have an appointment for tomorrow at 4:40. Please keep us in your prayers. This is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

and it gets worse...

the vet says that the masses look like a mesentaric lymphoma. and, Lexi tested highly positive for the corona visus and is clinical for FIP. surgery is no longer and option. ... I wouldn't want to fo that route anyway. It is jut a matter of keeping her comfortable for as long as I can. for as long as her quality of life is ok....

some sort of mass...

So the xrays confirmed that there is some sort of mass in Lexi's abdomen. I wasn't thinking properly yesterday to ask more questions. The doctor took some more blood to check for diseases such as FIV, FeLV, FIP and the likes... Still waiting for word on the results. I need to ask the doctor some questions about the mass... was it in, or out of, the GI tract. If it was in there, does it look like a foreign body?? She is suggesting ultrasound or surgery. I want to avoid surgery at all costs. ... look what it did to Wheezie. But, they can't get her in at the specialist until the 2nd or 14th of November, depending on which Dr. I see. I have to ask if I can wait that long. Or... should I try to get in there in an emergency slot. I know that they keep some of those available. But, of course it will cost more. She is fighting hard against getting the medicine and is not really eating on her own. I have been trying to force feed her. She is fighting that too. I am still giving her fluids to keep her hydrated.

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to do....

It's been one heck of a morning...

Lexi had to go back to the vet this morning. I was a little nervous about taking her back...b/c I am worried about her. I just have a horrible feeling in my gut. This weekend, she has been really pissy. She hates her medicine...and now hates me for giving it to her!! She seems more lethargic/depressed since starting the medicine. Well, the vet office doesn't open until 8. I was taking my time getting ready since I had an extra 50 minutes! The phone rings at 7am. MIke's parent broke down (in our "new" truck). They are trying to get in touch with Mike. He is already downtown. So, I hurry up and finish getting dressed, brush my teeth and rush out the door. Drive 15 minutes to go pick them up and the 15 minutes back to their house. All the while, my stomach has been acting up...probably due to my female friend and nerves. I can barely make it to their house... I tell them that I will see them later and I will be in the bathroom for a while. I finally make it back to our house... I have to still finished getting ready, take my own medicine and give Lexi her medicine. Lexi really hasn't been eating, and she hates her liquid antibiotic, so I decide to mix it with some food. She wont eat it...so I decide to syringe it to her. As I am holding her trying to squirt food in her mouth I notice my leg getting nice and warm...and wet. Turns out Lexi had been holding her bladder all night... I must have squeezed too hard in trying to hold her to medicate/feed her. Yup... about 2 minutes worth of pee on my leg and the spare bed. I didn't want to pick her up and carry her to the litter box b/c that would mean pee all over the carpet that I just shampooed yesterday. I have never seen so much pee come out of a cat!! Once she finally stops peeing I sit her on the ground and gather up all the linens of off the bed. Luckily the egg crate/pad seemed to be the stopping point. I think I will be investing in a waterproof mattress pad today! Needless to say, I had to reshower and start some laundry. The other cats are going crazy trying to figure out what in the heck is going on. I finally get Lexi to the vet. I stop by the store on my way in to work...since I am already running late, I might as well buy some cookies to cheer me up. Anyway... In hte middle of my shopping trip, I have to drop my basket and run to the restroom b/c my stomach issues are returning. Luckily, my basket was wear I left it when I went back to look for it. I got my cookies (and a few other snacks) and headed into work. I barely made it to the first floor bathroom.

It has been a couple hours and lots of water and some rice later... I am slowly starting to feel a little better. Stress is not very friendly to my GI system.

I just got off the phone with the vet. Lexi's white blood cell count is back down to 15!! That is good. It is still considered high... but not nearly as high as 27,000!!! She is, however, still running a fever. The vet felt something in her abdomen that didn't feel right... so they are doing some x-rays. I am waiting for the results. Hopefully I am just being overly cautious given all that we have been through this summer...but I have a really bad feeling.

We have ourselves one sick Lexi Loogie Boogie!

Lexi is fighting off some deep seeded infection. Her WBC is through the roof... 27,000. The vet says she gets worried if it gets up to 30!! I guess around 16 is normal/high for a cat. She is going to be put on two different antibiotics. I have to keep a close eye on her b/c of her sensitivity to drugs. I guess Lexi and I will be staying in the princess recovery room for a few more nights. My poor Loogie Boogie Bear (that is her nickname). The scary thing is that the numbers are all to similar to Wheezie's. I don't think Lexi ate anything. So who knows what is causing this. Hopefully the antibiotics will help.

So tired....

I didn't sleep much last night. Lexi is sick. Not sure what. We are waiting on the bloodwork results. There is a good chance that her depression turned into not eating which turned into Fatty Liver Disease. She had a fever of 104 at the vets yesterday and was down to 10 lbs (for 12lb in February, when she was last weighed). She was dehydrated. The vet gave (well...sold) me some fluids to bring home. I gave her about 200 mls of saline last night and another 50 this morning. I dropped off a urine and fecal sample for the vet this morning. The "princess recovery room" was re-instated last night for Lexi. That is what we called the spare bedroom when Wheezie was sick. Lexi ate some for me last night, but pretty much just curled up with me and slept on and off throughout the night...as did I. More not sleeping than sleeping...especially between 1 and 2 am when Milo, Mr. Separation Anxiety, decided to scream for me outside the door. Yes...for the entire hour. All the while he was trying to get the door open or dig under it. I finally gave in and went out to the couch at 1:55am! He just curled up on the loveseat and settled in. I couldn't get comfy on the couch, so after about 20 mintues, I told Milo that Lexi was sick and mommy need to go sleep with her. He was fine for the rest of the night. I guess he just wanted to make sure I was ok. He is like my guard kitty. He likes to sleep on the floor next to the bed and as soon as I stir slightly, he is there to check on me. If I go to bed before Mike... Milo will sleep on Mike's side of the bed.

When I find out the results of Lexi's tests, I will post them.

Back to the vet...

Well, I have broken down and gotten Lexi an appointment at the new vet. Call it mommy intuition or just being overprotective...but I think that there is something going on more than just the grieving. or... the grieving has caused some physical issues. She seemed a little dehydrated last night and her coat isn't look as well kept as normal. I will update tomorrow on how things go this evening.

Bad Night...

So I had a small emotional breakdown last night. I have been really worried about Lexi, she has been very mopey since Wheezie died. She just wants to sleep all the time. (I know, that is very cat-like...but this is different). Anyway... For the last month and a half, I can't say that I was in denial...but more relieved. I was relieved for Wheezie, that she wasn't suffering any more. Relieved more me...because I could actually relax a little bit. It wasn't until she was gone that I realized that I had spent the last two months worrying constantly about her. i wasn't sleeping. And the stress of Tipsy didn't help. Until now, when I thought about Wheezie, I could only see the last two months of her life. Well...I am finally moving past that . I was actually kind of excited that I was remembering all the good things about her. But, those memories made me really sad. For the first time, I think it really hit me. and hard... I don't want to disrespect my other cats...because I love them all dearly and they bring much joy into my life... but Wheezie was truely one of a kind. She brought more joy and laughter into our lives, and the lives of those that met her, then probably all of our other cats put together. She just had a way with people. She made me smile just looking at her. There was just something so very special about her. Mike always laughs at me about this... but her picture on petfinder spoke to me. She was yelling out to me to that she was my cat! and, when Mike and I went out to meet her and Lexi... Wheezie was outside and she raced to greet us at the door as we pulled up. She is the reason we adopted Lexi. For some reason their two pictures seemed linked together. Lexi has always been Wheezie's right hand kitty. I think she feels lost without. I don't think she knows where her place is in the house. She hasn't really stepped up to be the alpha kitty. Lydia has taken over that role. I am doing my best to spend as much time with Lexi as possible and give her all the love she needs right now... I am trying to make sure that she is addressed and petted before all the other kitties. I want to make her feel special. She is now the oldest and will get all the perks that come with it.

I am doing much better today. While I am experiencing a new kind of sadness... my grieving process is moving forward and that has to be a good thing. Maybe it will help me get out of the rut I have been in.

5 Years Ago Today....

I was getting MARRIED!!! I can't believe it has been 5 years! (That almost makes me feel as old as thinking about what year we started and graduated from college!!)

Here is a fun picture from our special day!


I still have to point and scold him from time to time! Some of the other fond memories I have from that day include:

Heidi having an entire plate of glitter dumped in her hair!! (while the rest of the girls only got a light sprinkling of glitter!) I know that may not have been all that fun for Heidi, but... it helped calm my nerves.

My brother Chuck trying to introduce us as husband and wife as we walked out of the church...but not knowing our last name!

The limo driver kidnapping us after the ceremony!! The photographer wanted pictures of us getting in the limo and driving away. The limo driver kept driving!! We were afraid that the priest was going to be mad at us...he specifically told us to not waste any time and to get the pictures done asap!

Being so totally shocked when Mike's dad start dancing all freaky with me on the dance floor!

oh...there are so many great memories from that day! and Mike and I have made so many more great memories in the last 5 years!

A big heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you who helped make our wedding, and the last 5 years, so wonderful!

Coupons

Ok Ladies-- I know most of you are like me, and enjoy a good deal/clearance/coupon etc...

Here is a website that a coworker told me about:

CouponCabin

You can sign up to get weekly emails from them. I have the printable coupon section bookmarked on my computer (I prefer the printable ones, since I don't do much online shopping).

Hats for Rachel

Here are some pictures of the newest hats that I've crocheted for my cousin's baby, Rachel (she is 16 months old and has been diagnosed with AML...a type of leukemia). The hat models are: Evan Nix, Marlie Nix and James Bell. I was trying to have a controlled photo session, with Evan being the only model (he is only 2 months younger than Rachel)...but all the other kids had to join in! So... I will definitely be re-washing all the hats before sending them to Rachel.

My favorite so far are the animal hats. The bear hat was my first. Then the pig, puppy and bunny. I am definitely improving as I go! I've seen similar hats being sold online for $25 - $35!!! Mike wants me to make some to sell, it only takes a couple of hours over the course an evening or two to do an animal hat...but still, that is a lot of work! I will focus on making them for friends and family first! I am sure you can guess what the kids in the family are getting for christmas!!

Marlie in the teddy bear hat!

Marlie "ham"ing it up in the piggy hat!

Evan liked the piggy hat too!


The puppy hat was a hit with Evan and James!! I love this one too....it is just so dog-gone cute!! I may have to make one for myself!!
Evan in the puppy hat!
James cheesing it up for the camera!

Here is Evan in the bunny hat... I don't know if I am going to add a face to it or not. I kind of like it as is.
Little bunny Evan

Evan in the sparkly yellow hat
Say Cheese!

Daddy Cleve wasn't home to see Evan in the girly green hat!

My coworkers have joined in and have started making hats for Rachel too! There are about 4 or 5 of us that crochet at lunch.

Evan sporting Karen and Sallie's stripped hat with twirlies on top!
Marlie really liked Sallie's blue hat! She wouldn't let me fix it so we could see her eyes!