Friday, October 31, 2008

New Name...

Well, after a week and a half... we have given Mr. Luke a new name. "luke" just didn't seem to fit him.... so he is now "Hank"!!

with a very awesome nickname... Little Hanky Panky! Mike, however has only called him "little Dude" since we have had him. Anyway... 4 generations of Lobe men before Mike had some form of Henry in their name. ... His great grandfather was named Hendrick, his grandfather was originally named Hendrick Jr, but it was changed to Henry at the age of two...when they immigrated to the US from Polland. Mike's dads middle name is Henry and his Uncle's name is Henry (but... he goes by "Babe" and Mike's dad is often called Henry... go figure). Anyway... had Mike and I ever had a little boy... Henry was on the short list of names. So... since "the Baby" (as I refer to him) has the same birthday as Mike... I feel it very fitting that he have a nice Lobe family name!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Mr. Luke!

Ok... I know what you are thinking! I am crazy. Well... maybe I am. But, I just couldn't resist myself when I met Little Mr. Luke at Operation Catnip last weekend. well... when I met him, he was "Lucy". The caretakers thought he was a girl. He is from a feral colony, one with a bad reputation at our clinic (for aggressive cats, and cats that are usually underweight and in poor health). Well, he tamed himself. He was starved for human contact and would run up to the caretakers when they called him. But, unfortunately, he was full of worms and not gaining weight. We (me and the other volunteers) couldn't send him back to the colony. So, the volunteer who helps trap the cats from the colony to bring them to the clinic guilted the lady into giving him up. It was hard convincing her...(she supposedly has some physical and emotional problems... she is almost like a hoarder when it comes to her colony). But... MaryBeth was successful and I agreed to bring Mr. Luke home with me. Despite him being under 2 lbs... the head vet went ahead and neutered him. He also got his rabies and distemper vaccines.







Wednesday, October 22, 2008

bye bye mini-me....

Ok... so I have to admit, I am a little bit sad to have to pack up my mini-me and mail her off. At least she will have the company of her good friend, Dr. Heidi, for the journey. And... like any good mom, I packed them a snack and some changes of clothes. I can't reveal too many details, as there needs to be some surprise left for Jane when she gets me and Dr. Heidi!

the mini-me and mini-heidi have been so popular here at work that people are saying they want their own little mini-me's! hmmm... maybe this could be a business opportunity!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Dr. Heidi in progress...



So, here is Dr. Heidi so far. I am having a bit of trouble figuring out how to style her hair... Any suggestions from the real Dr. Heidi?? Also... I can't show you her knockers for two reasons. 1) I wouldn't feel comfortable showing you someone else's knockers and 2) I was running out of the cream colored yarn and had to chose between ears and knockers. Ears won. Sorry Heidi... Hopefully I can find some more of this yarn in my scrap bin and give you the knockers that you deserve! And...oh yeah, notice the subtle "Y" on the sweater. Dr. Heidi is a big Yankee's fan... so I had to give her shirt a little personality. Being the perfectionist that I am...she may get a new sweater. not sure yet...

Monday, October 20, 2008

making me....

Ok... so I couldn't bring myself to make McCain and Obama finger puppets! But... I am making Shannon and Dr. Heidi finger puppets for our friend Jane in Azerbaijan. That way... it will be like having us there.

Check out my knockers! I think they may need to be a little bigger!!


Here I am with hair and clothes!


Dr. Heidi is just half a head with some hair, so... we (me and my mini-me) wont post a picture of her yet. it could be a little disturbing to some!

Friday, October 17, 2008

You shouldn't mix crocheting and politics...

But.... that is exactly what Lion Brand Yarn has done! In the email newsletter I got from them today... they had free John McCain and Barack Obama finger puppet patterns!! (they are advertising that you can hold your own debate!) What is this world... and this election coming to!


Friday, October 10, 2008

How to feed multiple cats at one time...

I have recently upgraded from regular ceramic bowls to a ceramic 9" x 13" casserole dish! Complete with a wrought iron stand! As you can see, 6 cats are comfortably eating from it... and there is even room for a few more heads!




clockwise from bottom left: Lydia, GG (Cowgirl), Tatie (Tater Tot), Emmy, Cowboy and Paisley

Mom update...

Just letting all of you out there in blog world that my mom got a good report at the doctors. Her CT scan looked good and she started her maintenance treatment. She was pretty much there all day getting an infusion. But, she said that gave her some benadryl like stuff before hand (I guess to prevent an allergic reaction) so she was able to take a nice nap while she was there! She goes once a week for the rest of the month.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Crazy Times...

Hi All... Just want to update you on what is going on in my life. October has been a rough month so far. I got bit by a heroin addicted rat! Had to go to employee health...the ER... no fun. But I did get a few days of worker's comp out of the deal. Had to get another tetnus shot... that hurt like a you know what. About as bad as the rat bite itself! I was put on an antibiotic right away... which made me completely hormonal. I didn't put two and two together for a few days... but I realized that the antibiotic was messing with my b.c. pills (which I have to take to keep my endometriosis under control). Talk about a crazy emotional roller coaster. Here are a few of the ups and downs I have been dealing with (and trying to keep under control with my crazy hormones).

Mike and I are getting ready to celebrate our 6th anniversary on the 12th. However, we have been finding it hard to celebrate as Mike's last few days of employment are quickly approaching. His last day is on the 20th. With the economy in a downward spiral... the idea of him being out of work has been very stressful. Especially on Mike, since he already stresses way to much about money and finances (working in the field of finance and investments is probably not the best for him... to stressful). He does have an interview tomorrow with another investment firm. Please say a pray that this pans out... as it has been the only real "bite" he has gotten from all the resumes he has sent out and jobs he has applied for. It is just not a good time to be working in the financial world. He is in a way, happy to be leaving Wachovia, as their future is so uncertain right now.

Mom goes in to see the oncologist today. She is very nervous. She had her CT scan last week, so has had a week so think about the appointment today. Please pray that all goes well. She says that her stomach has been bothering her again, we are hoping it is just nerves and not the cancer coming back.

Rachel had her bone marrow transplant this week... thoughts of her are constantly in my head throughout the day.

My dad finally got some hearing aids yesterday! He is very excited about them! He recently had surgery on both eyes due to cataracts. He can now see and hear so much better... although talking on the phone is going to take some getting used to, as he has to hold the phone in a completely different manner.

With the economy the way it is right now... some of my future goals have kind of been put in box to be packed up in the attic. When Mike lost his job, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to finally be able to go to vet school. However... with the real estate market being so bad... we would never be able to get enough for our house to cover every thing we have done to improve it. And... with banks tumbling... getting another loan would be difficult. If I were to go to vet school, it would be something I would have to do sooner than later.... as I don't want to be in school when I am in my 40's... that is when I want to be gearing up for retirement (hopefully) not starting a new career with a giant tuition loan looming over my head. The disappointment I have been feeling with this new realization has brought back all the disappointment I felt when Mike and I found out that we couldn't have children. I thought I was past that disappointment... but it seems to have reared its ugly head and every time I turn around someone I know or see on tv or walking down the street is pregnant. It can be very trying. Don't get me wrong... I am still thrilled for those I know that are pregnant. It can just be hard...

And... to top it all off... October marks the one year passing of Lexi. I can't say enough about Lexi... While Wheezie was everyones favorite. Lexi was my soul mate kitty. She and I connected on a deeper level. She seemed to understand my pain. When I was going through the original baby woes.... she would curl up and sleep right up against my stomach as if to say "it's ok mommy... I am your baby". There was just something about the way she would cuddle up against my stomach that made me feel so much better. Every now and again, one of our other cats will do something similar... but it isn't quite the same. Even though we now have a very full house...with a total of 9 cats... the void that Lexi left behind feels very very big right now. Tater Tot and GG (aka...Cowgirl) are trying hard to fill in... it is like they know that it will take two of them to fill Lexi's shoes.

oh yeah... and did I mention that Mike broke a bone in his foot last friday. Yeah... he did. Feel off the little landing behind our house when he was letting the little neighbor boy help in the yard. He was trying to keep Evan from getting hurt and ended up hurting himself!

alright... probably an emotional overload for all of you. I will keep you posted on all the happenings this week... mom's dr's appt., mike's interview... etc.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Catnap...

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This is what we typically find when we get home from work in the afternoon....a giant Cat Nap!!
from left to right: Ldyia (on the floor), Cowboy, Emmy, Tater Tot, and Cowgirl

Paisley and Tater Tot in the new "kitty" chair!

All of the cats love this thing!! Gilbert was getting mad at the
kittens last night b/c they were spending so much time in "his" new
chair! It is meant for kids/teens... I think it was marketed as dorm
furniture. Well... I found it on clearance for $5!!! I have to make a
slip cover for it (so it can be taken off and washed as needed... and
so we don't have a pepto pink chair in our family room!)

Monday, October 6, 2008

Hootie

It isn't the best picture... but this is Hootie, the owl. We see him from time to time in our backyard. He is HUGE! it is too bad that he turned his head when Mike was taking the picture b/c he has a beautiful face. With the cooler weather... Mike and I have the a/c off and the windows open. Hootie and his friend/lover/enemy...whoever, will sometimes wake me up at night talking back and forth across the swamp.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Toad Lily

Here is one of the newest additions to my garden... a toad lily! I
got this one at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Fall plant sale. My
friend Karen has around three other varieties that she is going to
share with me.

Cowboy taking a nap on Paisley's bum...

He sure does look comfortably! Paisley is the "plumpest" of the
kittens... so I guess he chose the right sister to take a nap on!