it has been a while....

For those of you that followed little Rachel's story (my cousin's daughter who was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukemia shortly after her first birthday)... here is an update from my cousin, Lindsay:


"Hello everyone,

I know it has been quite some time since the last time we have posted and for that I am sorry. There has been so much happening I am not even sure where to begin…..

Three years ago today Rachel received her life saving bone marrow. I honestly cannot believe it has been that long. I can vividly remember every detail down to who was in the room at the exact time the marrow started to flow into Rachel’s little body. She was so little!! I remember being very aware of the gravity of the situation and I believe Rachel was too. It was as if she understood what was happening.

I remember being told it would be anti-climatic. We found it to be anything but….. It was the most powerful, God inspired moment of our lives.

Rachel is now a bouncing, happy 5 year old. She is in kindergarten at Nativity. She loves school. Actually, at one of the first meetings in regards to volunteering we toured her classroom and found a note she had written us. It was a standard piece of paper with a generic saying on it that each kindergartner finished. It said,” In kindergarten I want to…. Many of the children wrote things like be a ninja, play soccer, learn to read. Rachel wrote I want to make friends. It brought tears to my eyes. My daughter finally gets to be a kid. And what a kid she is!!

Olivia is in the 8th grade at John 23rd middle school in Middletown. It was an adjustment at first but, now she has really learned to shine. She has stepped out of the shadow of her sister’s illness to become a bright and beautiful young woman. We are very, very proud of her!!

Andy is busy as ever in his first school year at DePaul Cristo Rey. He loves the school. He loves the students. And I believe that the staff and students love him. It is obvious in the way they look to him. Go Bruins!!

Thank you for checking in on us.

Love,
Lindsay"

Winky's New Vacuum!!

I had a surprise waiting for me on my porch yesterday afternoon!!!

Winky Won!!!!!

Hi All!!! Winky won her segment (segment 9) of the 12 segment Bissell Pet Photo Contest!! She was in the lead by over 100 votes -she had 938 votes!! the second place dog had 800 votes!!! Thank you all for your support. Winky also had a lot of friend on Face Book that helped network for her. I also spent a lot of time emailing, networking, etc on behalf of Winky and Operation Catnip. So...what's next. Winky moves on to the final round. She will be one of 60 animals (out of many thousands!) to be presented to representatives of Bissell. They will then choose 5 winners. Grand prize gets $10,000 for their charity, a $500 shopping spree, and their picture on one of Bissell's pet vacuum boxes. The prizes decrease in value with 5th place getting $1000 for their charity. The final winners should be announced on or around April 10th. In the mean time, if WInky is declared the official Segment 9 winner, we win a $25 visa gift card and a new Bissell Vacuum (we would have 4 different ones to chose from).

There is a cat named Montecore entered into the current contest (3/12 - 3/18). He is entered on behalf of the Feral Cat Foundation. A group based out of California that is similar to Operation Catnip.
Vote For Montecore

Winky's Blog...

Yes... winky has a blog now. But, it is a blog that I created to sell my catnip toys as a way to raise money for operation catnip!!

Click her to visit her blog!

BISSELL MVP Pet Photo Contest | Pet Details for "Winky the One-Eyed Wonder"

Please vote for Winky in the Bissel photo contest!! you have to put your name and email in... but it is totally worth it. If Winky is in the top 5 of her contest group...she moves on to the finals. The overall winner will get $10,000 to go to their charity!!!

****Voting is from March 5 - 11*****

BISSELL MVP Pet Photo Contest | Pet Details for "Winky the One-Eyed Wonder"

my new etsy shop...Hooked On Nip

click the following to visit my shop Hooked on Nip

Winky "posing" with the new "winky wion" catnip toy!!

hi everybody

sorry for my lack in posting... not too much going on - other than snow. we have had quite a bit of snow lately. Enough that they closed work twice!!!

the adventures of Cindy and Larry are going well. They recently took a trip down to Clearwater, FL. They had a great time walking the beaches. Larry even found a Star Fish!!!!

oh...they also went to "The Holy Land Experience" and said it was wonderful. Mom cried the whole time. She said she got lucky when they were at the Last Supper, cause she was seated next to another cryer!

well...that is about it. I hope all is well on your end...wherever that may be! have a happy Valentine's Day!
love,
Shannon

Winky and the new laptop!

Winky (the one-eyed wonder) loves to help me when I am on the lap top... "we" took this picture while she was invesigating the cursor!

the adventures of cindy and larry --alabama

Hi all... Mom and Larry drove to Orange Beach, Alabama to attend mass at the church where Larry's cousin is a priest. They said it was a wonderful mass and it was really nice visiting with him. Mom and larry say it is beautiful there...although rainy and windy today. They are staying at a hotel there overnight. They are on the 5th floor...and was a wind advisory and tornado watch till 5. They closed the beaches, mom had to call me to tell me how high the waves were. I was able to look up the weather for the area for them, tomorrow has highs in the low 60's and sunny-so they are excited.

probably wont here from her again until the 26th or 27th (when their mobile plan transfers over and they get more minutes).

I will update when I know more...


as for things in VA, they are ok. I have been busy with the neighborhood ferals. I trapped again today... I set 6 traps and would check them every 30 to 60 minutes. Didn't have much luck, trapped 3 cats. 2 of which I had already trapped and had spayed and vaccinated (Cookie, the black and white female from Dec, and the little black female from last weekend). then...just as I was starting to pull the traps b/c of the rain I had a third... I put all the other traps in the car before looking at the cat in the trap. I kept my fingers crosses and....SUCCESS! finally a kitty without an eartip! I was able to confirm the gender, a male version of Cookie. He is a cutie pie. I have 4 appointment slots at the SPCA for tuesday. so, I am going to try trapping again tomorrow evening. Also... I am taking the pimp daddy pomeranian dog of the neighborhood in to be neutered. I think he has gotten the female beagle at the house where I am trapping pregnant. This would be his 3rd baby mommy! he gets around!

well...I know it is only 7:15 but I am exhausted, my throat is starting to hurt....so I am going to take some nyquil and call it a night!

the adventures of cindy and larry --florida

To all those following the adventures of cindy and larry and their trip to florida. they are having a good time. they make breakfast in the morning pack a picnic lunch...walk the beaches...drive through the glitzy neighborhoods. they say that by the time they make it back to the apartment they can barely walk up the stairs to the bedroom. haven't called the doc. yet... so no news there.

also...they are going to the library to get online and check email. however - mom didn't realize she wouldn't be able to access her address book. so family (and friends) are welcome to email them at:
lcsteimle@bright.net

Evelyn's favorite napping spot

aka...where she spends over 1/2 of the day!

A typical night on the couch...trying to watch TV!

Newest Feral

We have an Operation Catnip Clinic this weekend... and the number of cats in our neighborhood seems to be increasing, so I decided to start trapping today. Trapped two cats... one was a repeat from last month, so I released her. This is the one that I have right now. I am calling he/she "Kenobi" in honor of a friends cat, named Obiwan...who just had surgery today to remove bladder/kidney stones. I am really hoping that I have better luck tomorrow. It would be nice to get as many cats spayed/neutered as possible before breeding season starts up again! fingers crossed...

Daddy's little man

Hank has started a new nightly ritual of snuggling with daddy in his recliner!

Mustachio... then /now

same basket... two and a half years ago vs yesterday!!

What the cats and I did over the break.....

These pictures pretty much sum up what the cats and I did with my two weeks off!! (minus the junk food).

new and improved Feralville (aka: Feral Kitty City)

Before putting the cats back into their kennel, I totally restructured it for them. Before, I designed it based on what my indoor kitties would like. After having the feral cats for almost two weeks, I learned that they don't think the same way that indoor
kitties do. They prefer their houses lower to the ground... more hidden. I gave them a lot more nooks and crannies to hide in. Also, after learning where they liked to potty the most, I added a built in litter box. I put the lid of a large tote on the ground and filled it with clay kitty litter. It WORKS!! I'm sure moving two of the houses to ground level also helped...b/c it takes away from floor space to potty. I also added a light (for my convience, and to help warm the place up when it is cold). I can already tell they like it much better! (or they were just happy to be out of their traps). Sir Sampson (the big black male, with a little bit of white finally got a name) was the first one released back into the kennel and he went straight for "the big house" -the one in the shelving unit - which is where he stacked his claim before. Cruella and Damion were released at separate times, but went straight to the same new hiding spot (I swear ... they are a little kitty couple).

Pics of Emmy... crazy cat

This is how I found Emmy this am...... the second picture is my
favorite.
Annie-- Emmy is my most siamese cat. We call her our "white girl" b/c
she is the only cat that we know of that can't jump.

-Shannon

Biff.... on my shoulder

Biff has a new obsession: shoulder surfing. He will jump up and drape himself over your shoulder and just ride along while you are walking around or doing housework. But...Just to let you know... it is hard to take a picture of yourself with a cat on your shoulder... especially once he notices the camera. But, as always... he did take some time to give me a kiss!