About An Hour Ago

Blogs like this are very difficult for me. Blurry eyed, pounding headache, and a hot face. My family dog, Sammi, died today. She would have been 16 this fall. I remember when I got her. I was 9 years old before I headed off to 5th grade camp. I remember I didn't want to leave the new puppy.

Sammi definitely made you laugh... A lot. In this picture I was laughing because she had hurried to eat a dandelion before I took the picture.



She was incredibly courageous. I felt so safe with her while I walked the 20 acres alone. She was loved by all of the cats in the house... Except for maybe Libby.

I don't really know what else to say. Other than I'm just incredibly sad. I'm going to miss her so much. So much.

She was beautiful...




This would have been her facebook picture.

My Frustrations Are Getting The Better Of Me

I haven't posted a blog in a very long time. Brian and I have been incredibly busy with, well, everything.

Our neighbors have started to verbally harass us. And it's only because we've called animal control on them twice. As of last week, I have witnessed this dog try to attack someone five times. Brian and I no longer enjoy living here. And I hate to say that. We've had so many good memories in this home. But it's escalating. We just want out of this house. We don't even want to deal with them anymore. We talked with one of our other neighbors about it and he told us that he believes that they know someone in law enforcement. So, it's not like we can even call the police. And where is the justice in that?

While writing this post I feel very cynical. I'm just fed up. And I'm no longer happy. Brian's pretty much the same way. Normally, Brian and I are joined at the hip. We are always together - the ultimate best friends. And these past few months since these neighbors have moved in, it's like we've somehow gotten closer.

So, Brian and I have been house hunting. We have viewed about 5 different homes, and about 50 online. And there is one that we absolutely love. And I am constantly praying that we get this home. I will be so relieved if we do. But, it's still unclear if we will. We went in for a second viewing the other day.

Well, in other news... Natilee turned 1 in January. She's getting so big.









She's growing like a weed. Sara brought her into the office this past week to show me that Natilee is finally WALKING. Amazing.

The kittens are getting bigger and bigger every day. Aesop was neutered a few weeks ago. We had him tested. He is still positive for fe leuk.

Cognac was in and out of the vet. We found out that he has a rare disorder where he is allergic to his teeth. He's been on antibiotics and steroids. If this fails, he may have to get his teeth removed. Hopefully that won't happen. Poor little man. He's lost a lot of weight, too. He's a skinny string bean now.

Bella's doing good. Other than Cognac doesn't like her. So, Bella had a pretty nasty cut on her nose for a couple weeks. Now it's just a scar.

Georgia is as crazy as ever. So silly.

Last week Brian and I went through our entire house and cleaned everything. And in all honesty, I just want to start packing. Even though there's nowhere to go for right now.

I'm feeling pretty negative right now. So, I think I'm going to end this post and go play with a kitty.

Who Wants To See Me As A Tiny Tot?

...

Hey Y'all

Brian and I have been extremely busy. I feel as if I'm neglecting this blog.

Update: Aesop and Amelia are doing great. Aesop goes in for his "snippety snip" this Friday morning. Also, while Cognac was yawning he screamed again. And I've heard him do it a couple more times while either drinking or grooming. So, he's going to the vet on Friday afternoon (whilst we pick groggy Aesop up) to get a check up. Bella is doing well and just as clingy as ever. And Georgia, well, she's great. She spends most of her time playing with the kittens. Or watching them play. She finds them entertaining.

Brian and I had amazing Christmases this year. And are so fortunate for the family we have.

Natilee's birthday is coming up already. It's unbelievable. I can't believe she's almost one. We'll be having a party on her birthdate; January 17th.

I recently finished a book titled Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. It is incredibly emotional, but a very good read. I got around 16 books for my birthday / Christmas, so I have a lot of reading to do. I just started The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis on Sunday. Gotta be honest, Uncle Andrew is a tad creepy...

Anyway, that's all for now. It's after 10:00 p.m. right now. Must sleep.

Also, here's a picture of Natilee that I did some photoshoppin' to.

So, A Lot Has Been Happening... Let Me Explain.

Where to even begin. This week has probably been the most insane week Brian and I have experienced in a long time.

Last Saturday Brian and I were in our living with Aesop, Bella, Georgia and "Amazing" Amelia (that's what we've been calling her - you'll see why later on.) And out of nowhere we hear Cognac screaming in the kitchen. He was running away from the food bowl. Brian and I noticed about eight months ago that Cognac would make that same noise here and there when we'd pet him. At that time we thought maybe he had an inner ear problem. He would go a while without making that noise, so it was kind of pushed to the back burner. Well, after we got the kittens Cognac made that noise again. So, I asked our vet what he thought it was one day when Aesop and Amelia were in for a check up. He said he wasn't sure but that we should go home and try to get him to do it again. Well, we never could. Anywho, after that had happened this past Saturday while he was eating, it dawned on me that he probably had a bad tooth - this whole time. So, I knew we'd need to call the vet first thing on Monday morning. On Sunday Cognac did it again - twice.

The first thing I did on Monday morning was call our vet. They wanted him to come in that morning at 9:40 a.m. Since my work deadline was on Monday I couldn't leave, so Brian drove Cognac to the vet. When he got him there the vet tried looking into Cognac's mouth. But Cognac wouldn't let him - he wouldn't let us either when we tried. But he said that from what he could see there was blood in the back of Cognac's throat. Our poor little man.

We called the vet later that day and he said he'd have to work on Cognac after office hours because it was really busy there. Later that night he called and we were told that Cognac had a lot of infected tissue in the back of his throat and that he had removed it. He said he couldn't find what had caused it either. And he said that Cognac could come home the next day.

So, Tuesday we picked him up. And it was so sad. His mood instantly changed. And he was so happy to see us. But he had a lot of dried blood around his mouth. He talked to us the whole way home. I was surprised it wasn't painful for him.

Tuesday night we were supposed to be testing driving a truck. I opted to stay home with Cognac because I wanted to make sure he'd be okay. I wanted to be sure that he wouldn't be coughing up blood or anything since it was dried around his mouth. So, Brian went. He absolutely loved it. This was the vehicle that we spent six months looking for. We got it from Smith and Doster. Mike Smith, who my family has known for over 20 years owns it and runs it. He's the best mechanic I know. I also got my focus there. And I get it serviced there as well. Mike gave us a super deal on the truck, too. We later found out that it was because he likes us a lot. :)

Anyway... Here it is...



It's amazing. And so comfy. Brian's Dad had always let him borrow his truck for the winter. But we found that sometimes there were scheduling conflicts on when they wanted to use it to when we needed it and vice versa. So, Brian and I decided that we needed a 4x4 vehicle that was ours. It took six months to finally find one that was an amazing deal. And Mike even threw in brand new snow tires.

With stuff going on with Cognac, getting a new vehicle (doing the run-a-rounds for it), Christmas shopping, and general business that goes with both of us working full time and house cleaning, we have been trying to remember the good/funny/relaxing moments...



Georgia showin' off her boobies.



Amelia being a perfect, adorable circle. (Please excuse the excess kitty hair on my Christmas mat.)



Brian finding a funny item in the store.



Bella on the computer. We joked that she was skyping with the cats from my parents house. (I bet she really doesn't miss them though.)



"Amazing" Amelia getting on the coat rack.



Both kittens sleeping peacefully with me. (Not the most flattering picture of me, but oh well. They're cute.)

And we're trying to stay warm in the snow with some hot chocolate.



I also need to bring up that my Goddaughter is the cutest kid in the world...







I like how she's grabbing the present, too. Like, "For me, right?"

Anyway, that's all for now.

Thanksgiving / Birthday / Turkey Induced Coma

Hey!
So, today was Thanksgiving as well as my birthday. It didn't even seem like a birthday since I did so much cooking.

Lately at work I have been pretty swamped.
Like, really swamped. This is a project that has literally consumed me for months and resulted in overtime:



So, I was pretty surprised that HPS had flowers delivered to the office as a birthday gift.









Usually on the day before a holiday our CEO lets us leave the office early. It's not something that I count on. But it is really nice of him to let us go home early. Though, yesterday he did not. And knowing what all I had to cook for today was kind of stressing me out because I didn't think I'd have enough time.

At about 4:50 p.m. I had more flowers delivered...



In my favorite color, too...





Can you guess from who?



That's right! My husband!

After receiving those, my mood had lifted. I got home and cooked like it was my job!

I made my birthday cake, a spice cake, chocolate cookies, and homemade cranberry sauce.

That was probably the most fun thing for me to make this season.



I boiled water and sugar until the sugar was completely dissolved. Then I added in fresh cranberries (rinsed) and covered it with a lid. Cranberries pop when heated, so it's best to cover it. Then as that was simmering I squeezed the juice out of a whole orange and a half a lime and added that to it and let it continue to simmer.

I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but it was AMAZING. I'll be making another batch for the McKinley Thanksgiving that we'll be going to on Saturday. So, I'll get the finished picture then.

After making it homemade, I don't think I'll even consider the gelled can stuff again.

I woke up at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Showered and got ready for the day. Brian let me open my gifts then, too. So, I fiddled around with them for a little bit.

Then I made homemade chex mix!



That's always a favorite for my Dad... And he did enjoy it. For seasoning I used unsalted butter, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and progresso Italian bread crumbs. Sooooooo good! Sometimes I make a spicy chex mix for Brian by adding in Tony's Creole seasoning. He likes it.

My Mom arrived while I was making the chex mix with the ham. Yeah, my family cooks ham and turkey for Thanksgiving - It's weird, I know. Let's move on...



We used pineapple, maraschino cherries, and cloves to cook it. Mom later made a glaze out of water, clove honey, and mustard.

Our menu was pretty impressive:
1. Turkey
2. Ham
3. Mashed potatoes with gravy
4. Au gratin potatoes
5. Cranberry sauce
6. Stuffing
7. Biscuits
8. Cheddar biscuits
9. Pumpkin pie
10. Lemon birthday cake
11. Spice cake

Mmmm.... Stuffing... *drool*



I did forget to make homemade green bean casserole. I was so mad at myself. Oh well, it's not like we starved without it.

My birthday was pretty busy. There will be some celebrating tomorrow since I can rest and not cook a ton of food.

That's about it. I hope everyone who reads this had a good Thanksgiving, too. Preferably less busy, though...

Too Funny

This weekend Aesop was sleeping on my lap while on his back. I was playing with his tail. I stuck it straight up and it STAYED that way. :) So, naturally, I took pictures. I laughed so hard I had tears.





That's pretty much it for now. I just had to share this.