Still crazy kittens...just bigger!

Today I came home from an impromptu lunch with Holly (aka Sunshine in the blogging world) with many things in my hands: keys, drink, purse, etc. I made it in the door, but couldn't take my sunglasses off. So, I slowly made my way in the dark to the table, so I could set my drink down and free a hand. Drink down, I pulled my shades off, only to find before me two cats watching with disinterest at the blind lady in their home. They must have thought I was blind, because they were sharing a placemat on the table for a little catnap. Sheesh! Not even a bit of fear that they might be caught! Granted, they usually aren't able to get up to the table because we keep chairs pushed in tight and they're too small to jump all the way up, yet. So they usually don't get on the table to even get punished, which is probably why they didn't think they would be today when they found my chair at just the right spot for them to make it to the table. What a surprise for them when they both got a good squirt from the water bottle!

Anyway, that was just my adventure for today. Every day is entertaining with these two! They certainly live up to their names! Here is a pic of my hoodlums that I took today. Taking pics of one cat is hard enough, but I don't think I'll ever get both of these guys in focus in the same shot! I'm surprised they're even both looking at the camera!

Bonnie (l), Clyde (r)

Azariah at 6 months

Lens: 50mm f/1.8

Aperture: f/5.0
Speed: 1/320 second
ISO: 400

Bekah's Cakes

I just thought I'd give a plug for one of my good friends, Bekah. I've been chowing down on quite a bit of her cake, lately, and realized the world needs to know about Bekah's Cakes!! Pictured here are all the cakes I've had from her, ranging from chocolate to checkerboard to vanilla and even to mint! Every one of them are beautiful and delicious. And I have two more on the way in the next couple of weeks. Woohoo! So, if you're in my area and are looking for a way to give a personalized cake, I would highly recommend Bekah. Check out her site for all her cake designs (and she'll customize for you, as well!), and scroll to the bottom for her contact info.

About a year ago, I was turning off of I-35 to Waco when I saw a kitten in the grass. I pulled over to check on him. He was very feisty, and for all his 1 pound worth, he hissed and tried to be as big as possible. I called Leanna, asking what should I do. I was from out of town, it was a Sunday afternoon, and I had to be at a dinner meeting in about an hour. My options didn't seem very good. I called Jon and talked it over with him. Among the three of us, we decided that the kitten's mother was probably around, and either way he seemed like he could fend for himself. So I left. As I headed to the car, the kitten ran after me, meowing a pitiful plea. Every week I turn that same corner, and I've never seen the kitten again (though I always look, even now). Whether he made it or not, I don't know, but I've regretted my decision ever since.

So, I decided that I would never again pass up helping an animal, and leave hoping someone else would do it or things would just work out okay. I've turned around for a turtle I saw on the highway. (It turns out cold-blooded beings don't last long on hot pavement, even when they haven't been hit.) I've gone back to lead a puppy back home. The "puppy" ended up being full-grown, and he probably knew what he was doing, and he certainly knew where home was. I've driven the access road to check on a dog, though by the time I got there he was gone.

So all my past efforts have failed, but tonight they did not. Tonight, I was walking to the truck and noticed a toad making its slow way to the other side of the road. As I turned on the truck, I wondered how long it would take him to cross. By the time I got to him, he was only about a third of the way, and I couldn't be sure he'd stay put while I went around him. So, true to my decision, I got out and gently returned the toad to the curb. Hooray! I saved an animal...at least until he goes back out into the road. I can't know what he'll do, but I do know that I did what I could to keep his life going a little longer.

And that's something I won't regret.

Cats Stats

We went to the vet today for Bonnie & Clyde to get their booster shots. They got a regular checkup, as well. This was the first time for them to go to our vet--the Animal Shelter offers the spaying/neutering at only one office in town, so we had to go there for their first checkup so we could set the date for their "alterations."

Everyone was so glad to see the little guys again. They all oohed and aahed about how much they'd grown, and how they were lighter than everyone expected. The mama cat was still in the office, so they brought her by. The meeting was friendly, but she didn't seem too interested, and wandered off after a couple nose touches.

Bonnie was a champion patient. She weighed in at 3lbs 11oz, everything sounded great (breathing, etc.), she stood very still for the thermometer, and didn't seem to notice the shot too badly. We were a little concerned about the chub she's starting to develop on her belly, but the dr. wasn't worried at all. He promotes free-feeding until about 6 months, at which time their energy levels and growth rates wane, and it's time to start measuring out food. This was different from what the Animal Shelter's doctor said. He believed in regulating food amounts right at the beginning. I didn't really agree with him, though we did watch a little better that we just fed them enough for them to eat in a day, instead of leaving it full all the time. So I was happy to hear that our vet thought that was fine.

Clyde was up next. He weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 5oz (no wonder he wins all the fights!). Dr. M detected a small heart murmur and suggested it might be caused by parasites. (The parasites thin the blood, which makes it swoosh through the heart faster, causing noise.) He assured me that this murmur was not on the same scale as Friday's, and if the cause is parasites, it will go away when the parasites are taken care of. We have been directed to collect a stool sample (and yes, my pregnant self has a big rubber glove for the occasion!) so they can test it. Clyde didn't do so well with the thermometer. By the time it beeped that it had registered, he had crawled on to my arm and heading up my shoulder, trying to get his booty as far away from the dr. as possible. He's going to be our problem child at the vet, we can already tell. :) After that he did fine with the shot.

All in all, the cats did very well. They were content to let everyone come by and pet them, and Clyde even purred while Jon held him. They remain our laid back kitties.

I'd like to put in a huge plug for my vet. If you live around here, I would really recommend them. They go above and beyond in their care for our cats, and have been great to us, as well, as we've dealt with some hard blows in the pet arena this year. They honestly care about each animal, and the vets (Dr. M in particular) are very thorough. The vet techs are huge animal lovers, as well. When Smith & Wesson were so sick, they needed a certain tube of vitamin goo; the office didn't have any on hand, and one of the vet techs went to her house and brought back her own tube for us to use. They've also sent us a rose for each cat we lost, and cried with us and hugged us, assuring us we were still good pet parents. Then, best of all, they called us about Bonnie & Clyde, and boarded them for 7 weeks at no cost to us, because they really wanted us to have them. Those kinds of things just don't happen at every vet office.

I would also recommend the vet that will be doing the spaying/neutering, but for different reasons. My vet is a small establishment and pretty laid back, and this one is larger with more sparkle. They took pictures of the cats to put in their records, the ear scope is connected to a monitor so the pet owner can see what's going on, they have an online portal so I can view the records, and they send out periodic e-mails about pet-related stuff, including appointment reminders. The building is very clean and nice, and much closer to our house. If we weren't so happy with our vet, I would probably switch to this one for the convenience. So for that reason I recommend both.

Obviously I've kept the names anonymous because I have this idea that I've somehow managed to keep my location unknown from random people online. In reality, that's probably not true, but, oh well. If you know you live near me, ask me about these places and I'll tell you. :)

Now, Bonnie & Clyde are sacked out, and probably will be for most of the rest of the day. That seems to be what happens with shots. We like it because then they're cute and cuddly. :)

Goin' on Vacation!

This summer has been kind of hard for me, because my work doesn't give paid maternity except for the vacation days I already have saved up. So, considering I only have four weeks saved up, and I want to take six weeks maternity, every day I take off is yet another day unpaid in the future. Knowing that I have NO days off has been very...depressing. No vacation, no visiting family or even long weekends. All I have are the company holidays, which is one day every two months. Ugh.

But I'm still getting to go on vacation! After work on Wednesday, I'm heading to the most relaxing place I know to spend a few quality days. Yep, I'll be at my parents house. And since I work at home, and "home is where you pick up internet," I'll be able to work on Thursday like normal, and enjoy Friday and Saturday with my family.

I'll miss Jon while I'm there, and I told him he'll think my belly's grown so much when I get back--maybe not from Newbie but from good cookin'! I can't wait. My parents have made their home--inside and out--such a peaceful place, and I'm looking forward to the visit.

Every Cat Has Its Quirks

Here are a couple videos to show you Bonnie and Clyde in all their personality wonderfulness.

Bonnie is the explorer. She's the first one anywhere, and always curious. She's found the inside of the refrigerator, the inside of the dryer, the back corner of the closet, the top of the dresser, and the piece of paper in the trash can.

Well, maybe that last item isn't exciting for you, but it sure was for her!

And no, she never figured out she could knock the can over and retrieve the paper.

And Clyde, well, he's just as laid back as Bonnie is adventurous. He is the cat who wakes up from a nap and runs up to my desk chair to beg for lovin's. He'll sit on my lap, and I'm pretty sure he sleeps right on top of me all night long, until the morning comes and my love-deprived kitty meows incessantly for me to pet him. So, while it was certainly weird, it didn't seem too out of character that our sensitive little boy sucks his thumb. (The next video is two minutes long of thumb-sucking. If you've seen enough after thirty seconds, you won't miss much the rest of the way. If, however, you're like me and can't stop looking at something weird, then you'll have a whole two minutes of weirdness to watch.)

Jon says we have to try to break him of the habit, just like we would a kid. I think it's kind of cute and I'm not too worried about my cat's psyche, but we're supposed to be a united front, right? So I'm trying. But probably not hard enough and not successfully. He's just so cute....

Garden goodness

Today I had a salad of tomatoes and cucumber with ranch. It was yummy, and the best part was that I grew it all in my own back yard! (Not the ranch.) So, being as I am not usually successful in my gardening attempts, I've deemed these Very Easy To Grow. When we were out of town in Boston, the temps unexpectedly rose to 100 degrees, and my cucumber plants (out in full sun all day) were fried. The tomatoes, in partial shade, fared better, but the leaves have always been puny. Still, both have been putting out the vegetables! I'm growing grape tomatoes and pickling cucumbers. I'm also growing a variety of each of hot pepper and bell pepper, but I don't think they'll have peppers growing for awhile yet. They're starting to get blooms, though.

All in all, I have enjoyed gardening so much. I think it would be a really good hobby. Jon's promised that whenever we buy a home, he'll till up some of the back yard for me. I already have big plans for it. :) Have I mentioned that before? I feel like I have.

5 Qestions

I've been tagged by Tricia! Here are my answers:

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago was June of '98, and I was adjusting to a new town and new church. Our house was a crazy mess--a major fixer-upper--so that was going on all summer. My Mawmaw moved in with us, and my brother moved out...though maybe he was there through the summer? Ooh, that was officially the first time we had a TV in the house since I'd been born, so my dad and I pretty much soaked up all the Law & Order, Lois & Clark, and whatever else was on that we could. We were pretty much TV junkies.

2) What are five things on my to-do list today?

Well, the day is almost done, but here was my list for the day: Photo shoot with Holly & Sophie, movies with Jon, take a nap, pick up stuff at Wal-Mart, babysit for Bekah.

3) What snacks to I enjoy?

Salty stuff! Chips and salsa, pretzels, chips, pickles, pepperoncini peppers, and cheese are all fair game for snacking. On the non-salty side I like apples, and sometimes I like sugary cereal eaten dry (woohoo for Marshmallow Mateys!).

4) Where are some places I've lived?

In the big city, in podunk-ville, in city planning at its best, in the sticks, in college-mania, and in the ghetto (back to the big city). All in Texas. :)

5) What things would I do if I were a billionaire?

I would try to maintain a normal standard of living, with a few exceptions: I would have an architect build our house, and I would hire someone to do the housework. Maybe I'd even get a hybrid vehicle. I would like to pay off bills, making sure everyone in the family is taken care of, including a trust fund or something for future family. Then I would use a lot of it for missions efforts, and some of it for research and implementation of effective no-kill animal adoption centers. With the rest, I would travel the world, sometimes for specific missions purposes, and sometimes just to see if Michelangelo's David is as really amazing as everyone says.

I tag:
Lorie
Margie
Jill
Kaitlin
ChristieLynn

My most popular blog post

I use Site Meter to check on the stats of my blog. It tells me where people are from who come to my blog, what pages they look at, and how they got there. Consistently, one page keeps coming up as viewed, and most times because of a specific Google search for "fall hair color" or "strawberry blonde hair color" etc. Of the last 100 hits to my blog, 19 of them have been to this page! I'm sure Leanna's already guessed the page:

Leanna's Hair Color, posted on August 15, 2007

So, Leanna, when I did that, I had no idea that so many people would be looking at it. Just think what an impact on society you might have! That haircut might be the new Dorothy Hamill cut!

(You made it into both blog posts today, Lea. Don't you feel special??) :)

Kitten Pause

The other day I was laying down and Bonnie was laying close next to me, staring into my eyes. I winked at her, keeping my right eye closed. Her gaze shifted to my left eye. I closed my left and opened my right. I saw her eyes again focus on the open eye. How do cats (or people or anyone) know that the eyes are the window to the soul?

Clyde loves the refrigerator! Wherever he is, when I open the fridge door he comes running into the kitchen, sliding under the open door as if sliding into home base. He hops up into the refrigerator before I even see what's going on. We haven't shut him in, yet, but there have been many times when I'd normally just let the door close on its own and I realize there's a curious kitten inside!

Jon gets up earlier than I do, so he lets the cats in before I'm out of bed. They clamber up the side of the bed (it's still quite a climb for them) and race toward me as if their night of no lovin's has left them in serious need. Still trying to sleep, I reach out one hand to subdue the masses and otherwise lay still. The kittens decide--eh, who needs lovin's, let's play!--and the covers (with me under them) becomes a playground/boxing ring as they roll around. Inevitably, I start to wake up...just as they start to fall asleep...which puts me back to sleep. It's led to me getting up late several days in a row now. This morning they were both cuddled up right next to me, purring in sync with each other. Who wants to get up and face the world when purring kitties is the alternative??

I am not used to having cuddlebugs for pets. I've never had a cat who would sit in my lap, and it was a rare day when one would lay next to me on the bed. So having these little cuddlers has been so much fun...and brought some problems as well. Things I've learned regarding lap cats:

1. If you think you might need that hand at some point in the next hour or so, don't let them lay their head on it.
2. If you think you might need an item that is not within arm's reach, be sure and gather it to you before the cat finds your lap.
3. If you need to get up and be productive, do NOT let the cat cuddle. This will only result in unproductivity for the next hour.
4. Sometimes a cat is content enough that you can adjust them so you're more comfortable, but there's a risk it will wake them up enough to realize they have other things they want to do.
5. Cuddle cats are good during nap time, but hard during the night, when they manage to find the very part of you that you were about to move (leg, arm, etc.) and sit right on it...for the next 20 minutes.

As a mother to kittens, here are things I listen for:

1. Silence. I immediately pick up on the calm before the storm. Either they're asleep, which is fine, or they've just discovered something new (an open toilet could be a possibility) and are about to explore further.
2. Chewing. Kittens are like babies: they're so close to the ground they find all the things you never knew were there. This could be paper bits or a bug, which is generally okay, or it could be plastic, a rubberband, or an electric cord. Either way, it's best to distract the kitten and take away the item of interest immediately.
3. Water. The cats drinking water sounds a lot like peeing to me, for some reason, and I start every time I hear it. I'm getting more used to it, but I'm always on the alert for a kitten who has forgotten her way to the litterbox. Thankfully, these two have had no accidents, so I think I can rest easy.
4. Scratching. Not acceptable except on the scratching post or cardboard scratchers. I have caught myself yelling out, "NO!" only to realize they were scratching on an approved item, so I try to identify where they're scratching before coming out with water bottle spraying.
5. Purring. Ah...the sweet life of owning a cat. There's nothing more rewarding than a purring cat. Of course, Bonnie starts purring just because you look at her, and Clyde purrs the minute you pick him up, so it doesn't take much with these two!

Have I made you want a kitty, yet?

A Good Thing for Pets

When we decided to get two cats, I picked out this waterer for them:
It works great, and I highly recommend it. I have only refilled it once, and it gives a constant supply of water for our two cats. It would not have worked for Friday, who had a tendency to splash his water all over the floor, but these cats don't play in it, so it's just fine.

On a random, only-related-because-it's-a-cat, note, I love that the kittens are still small enough to pick up and hold in one hand.
That's Bonnie, and both she and Clyde will sit in my hand like this for awhile. They're just as cute as can be!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

This is a week late, but here are the photos of Sophie's birthday party.

The kids loved to play in the pool, and I took a ton of pictures of that. It was a great party! And now Sophie is two! I can't believe it! I first met her when she was four months old.

Here she is at 7 months or so:

My little cutie neighbor!

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!

Okay, so I may not be that big, yet--still looks like I just finished off a gut pack from Viteks--but the bluegrass band I'm in is officially disbanded after today's performance.

We sang/played at Dave's elementary school. It was their last day, and there were 500+ kids packed into the cafetorium, ready for a sing-along. We were the guest musicians! Woohoo! We were all pretty nervous, but I think it went really well. The kids sang along with You Are My Sunshine, and clapped on the fast songs. We didn't forget our words or mess up too badly on our chords, so I consider it a great success!

After this, we'll only get together at random times, instead of weekly like we have been. It has been a lot of fun, and while I still can't play anything more advanced than straight chords, I do think I've improved tremendously. I'm grateful to the guys for putting up with my very basic guitar skills!

At some point, we've talked about taking a Saturday and recording all the songs we've learned. If we end up doing that, I'll try to put a few of the songs up for you!

Bonnie & Clyde

Bonnie:
Is very communicative. She meows if we pick her up, she meows to be picked up, she meows when she's purring....
Has beautiful eyes.
Has a deep, happy purr.
Is the adventurous one.
Likes to be going and doing.
Always starts the fights, but never wins.


Clyde:
Loves to cuddle.
Is content to be pet.
Has the same deep, happy purr.
Follows his sister into whatever she falls into.
Never starts the fights, but always wins.

Introducing....

We've had Bonnie & Clyde for a week now.

When I first got them home, I couldn't tell which was the boy and which was the girl. I thought I'd finally figured it out, but it turns out I was picking up the same kitten every time, so I'd gotten it wrong. When Jon got home and we got them both still, we determined who was whom. Even now we have to check their noses to know who we're looking it. Bonnie's nose has more pink than Clyde's.

We tried to put collars on, but they would have none of it. Clyde freaked out.

Clyde is the more high-strung in some ways. He about hyperventilated on the first car ride, and meows and pleads on any car ride. Bonnie seems to be more laid back. She instigates wrestling, and has even perfected a body slam from the couch, but Clyde always gets the upper hand.

They follow pretty well in male/female roles. Bonnie is communicative and loves to be held. Clyde is more aggressive and wild. I think both have the makings of lap cats, but the jury's still out on that.

The cats have made themselves quite at home. They have free roam of the house, including the bedroom, which Friday didn't get to go in for quite awhile. They do get kicked out of the bedroom at night. The first night they were in there it worked out okay, but the second night they decided to have a long wrestling match on top of the bed, so that was the end of that. Maybe later when they're older and sleep more!

These cats have two speeds: crazy playful and dead asleep. There's no cat napping or "resting." They're either wide awake or zonked out. It's a constant blur of motion and noise while they're playing, and then suddenly it all stops, and they've cuddled up together (evidently calling a truce during naptime) in some dark corner--under the couch, behind the pillows under the bed, and other places we haven't figured out, yet.

Bonnie & Clyde are very social. We had 8 people over to the house last night, and the kittens were immediately at everyone's feet. Clyde found a friend in one of the guests, and Bonnie flitted from person to person, depending on how interesting their shoe strings were at the time.

All in all, we love these kitties! They are happy and healthy, and they make this house and crazy and fun place to live. I'm so glad we have them!

Uncle Jon

We got to see my family over Memorial Day weekend. Ian, like most babies, loved to hear Jon's voice.
What a cutie! It makes my heart melt to see how babies love Jon. I love him, too! :)

Off to Boston!

Jon and I are headed for Boston in the morning! I'll be attending the HOW Design Conference, and Jon will be tooling around town taking pictures of everything I'm missing! I'm pretty sure I'll get a chance to sight-see, too, and I'm really excited for the chance to go somewhere. This will be my first trip to New England!

See ya next week!

Secret's Out!

I just told my boss, so everyone can know now! Secret's out!

The details:
13 weeks along
Due November 21st
Check out the blog for the Norvell Newbie!

Blogs

Pearls Before Swine

I've decided to combine my LMN-o-Photo blog with this blog. I don't post much on it, and not many people look at it. So, when I have a cool photo (and time to format it), I'll stick it here.

Hooray for simplification!

You know you're in the sticks when...

...you've lived there for years and Google still hasn't mapped your neighborhood.

The Auction

Tuesday night was the night of the auction. Since Jon would be downtown just getting off work at the time the sample portrait needed to be there, he took everything and set it all up for me. He came home telling me there was tons of stuff there, and we needed to be back there at 9-ish to pick everything up.

Before we left, I put on a cute top--just in case we met the person who bid on my services, I wanted to look artsy. :) We got to Joe T's, and it was a madhouse of people. The auction had just ended, and everyone was in a long line...for what I don't know, but it was something about claiming their purchases. We made it through to my portrait pretty quickly. There was a small table right next to it, with a framed piece of paper explaining what was being bid on, and my business cards in front of that. The stack of business cards was noticeably smaller than the stack I sent with Jon, so that was exciting.

Then I saw another framed piece of paper--this time for another photographer, with a value of $600!! Sheesh. Were all the donations that generous?? I knew at this stage I couldn't afford more than the $150 I gave, so I didn't feel bad in that way, I just felt kind of small. That coupled with the fact that I found the rest of the stack of business cards underneath my portrait kind of deflated my balloon a little.

I wandered around looking for the coordinator--I'd never met her, and thought someone might care if they saw a random person walking off with a large portrait. I didn't find her, but I did find all the other auction items. Thankfully, it seemed $600 was toward the high end of things, and there were a lot of $25 and $50 items. Usually, with charity auctions, items go for much higher than their value--a cake for $150 for example--but given the volume of donations, I'm wondering if things went for less than their value.

Finally, Jon and I just packed up the portrait and left. I did find someone who looked somewhat important and told her I was taking it. She said that was fine. She didn't ask my name or anything...weird.

All in all, it was a weird experience. Not quite what I'd expected, but I'm hoping it gave me a little more publicity than I'd had. What I've learned in marketing is that if your name is out there, it's out there. It's not always easy to put numbers on how valuable that is, but it's valuable every time. And even if I don't make any more money or connections out of this auction, it still gave me a good deadline to get my website up, my business cards together, and my price sheet finalized. So I'm glad I did it.

New site is up!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a quick introduction to my new site, lmnovations.com. I've had it for awhile, but it's housed my graphic design, etc. portfolio, and now it houses my photography stuff!

It will still have some tweaking and more pictures added, but I'm already passing out business cards, so I wanted it to at least be up.

More about the progress of the photo business coming soon!

Kitten pics!

Okay, we made it back from the vet! We played with four of the cutest and healthiest little kittens and their mama! I mean, these kittens were just balls of fluff, two weeks younger than Smith & Wesson, and probably weighing twice as much. You couldn't find a bone on them. Mama's milk has been good to them! And on top of that, they were so lively and cute. They had just had a nap and were wired for playing. Balls, string, boxes, each other....everything was fair game.

There are three females and one male. We picked out the male and one of the females, but someone else actually has first dibs, and she's picking two as well. So we'll get the two kittens that she doesn't pick. If she's not picky, the vet techs said they'd let her know our preference.

So yes, we're getting kittens!!

We're going to Boston for a conference mid-May, and they're going to hold the kittens for us free of charge until we get back. Or, we can pick them up earlier and take them back for the week we'll be gone, but that seems like a lot of change for the little guys to go through. Plus, this gives us a chance to get our house kitten-proofed and load up on toys, because these are some toy-lovin' kittens!

I don't think I got pics of all of them (well, I did, but they were so active a lot of the shots came out as blurs), but they all look basically alike. The boy has more orange on his face than the others, and one of the girls has an almost solid black back. So now, without further ado, the kitties!


And here is the mama so you can see how beautiful they will grow up to be.

Kittens

The vet's office called yesterday and said they have a litter of kittens, if we'd like to come look at them. The kittens are only 4 weeks old, so not ready to come home with us, but that actually works out well because the next few weeks are going to be very busy in the Norvell household, with many days out of town. So, we're going to look at little tiny kittens today!

We still have the vouchers for the Humane Society, but Jon doesn't really want to go that route since we're not guaranteed healthy animals, and we had such a bad experience last time. By going through the vet's office, we know the entire life history of these kittens (and their mother), plus we know that the vet will be taking good care of them until we can bring them home. If we go through the Humane Society, we had decided to get older cats with stronger immune systems, but we were sad that we would be missing out on the super-cute kitten stage. Through the vet, we'd still have that kitten stage. So, there are a lot of positives to going through the vet, though that would mean we'd lose our money at the Humane Society. However, I'm pretty sure we could reallocate that money to "sponsor" a cat who is less likely to be adopted. By covering the adoption fee, it could encourage someone to adopt a cat that is older, has been at the shelter for a long time, or needs special care. I'll have to see what I can find out about that.

But first, the visit to the vet this afternoon! I'm taking my camera because I don't want to miss out on any photo-op of our potential new babies! I'll let you know what happens! I'm just excited to be petting tiny kittens!

I understand

The last couple of weeks, the Calvin and Hobbes comics have been very poignant...and very close to home. I miss my kitties.
(By Bill Watterson)

(click on the comic to see a larger version)

Update on the earring

In February, I got the cartilage pierced in my left ear. Just in case someone was considering doing the same thing, I thought I'd give an update.

My ear was very sore for the first two weeks or so. I also had ringing in my ear, I'm guessing from the swelling. The swelling went down and my ear got much better, but I wasn't able to sleep on my left side until about two weeks ago. Even then, I have to shield my ear from the pillow with my hand. So, I thought my problem might be the earring post and back getting in the way, catching on my glasses, and generally keeping the area sore. Today I bought a nice sleek hoop that's small and makes a perfect smooth circle when it's closed. I figured it would be perfect.

I've had this piercing about 11 weeks now. The instructions said to keep the original earring in for 8-12 weeks, so I figured I was fine. It was kind of hard to get out because the earring back was "locked" on from the piercing gun. When I did get it off, my ear immediately swelled up. Great. I cleaned everything off really well, including the new earring, and started to put it in. But, the new earring is rounded, and the hole had swelled too much for me to easily put it in. At this point, I started to feel faint. :) I called Jon in to figure out what to do. After a few more attempts, we decided it was simply not time to put a new earring in, so back went the stud.

Maybe I'll try again in a few weeks. I do think the new ring would help keep it from getting knocked, which might be one reason it hasn't healed. On the other hand, I mentioned the soreness to a girl I bought the earring from today, and she said that could last up to a year! So maybe this is just normal.

It's not infected, and in almost every situation I don't even notice it, but I will be glad when it's healed. And I'll be glad when I can put the new earring in, because I like it.

So to all of you considering cartilage piercing, 3 months into it I like it, but I'm not sure it was worth it. I certainly wouldn't get another one. However, I do think I'll keep the one I have.

Japanese Gardens

Last Saturday Joe and Leanna came out to visit the Japanese Gardens with us. It was tons of fun, and we got lots of neat pictures. Lea, if you want any of these full-size, just let me know!

Awareness

There are a couple things going on that I wanted you to be aware of.

First, there is a new movie called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. A documentary by Ben Stein, Expelled seeks to open up conversation between those who believe in Evolution and those who believe in Intelligent Design. To do so, he brought in the most polarized scientists from each camp. That has stirred up some controversy, because there are many "middle ground" campers. However, taking a view to its logical conclusion often leads to the very view of the polarized group. To illustrate the point, Stein interviewed Richard Dawkins, a staunch Darwinist and athiest. He argues that evolution, taken to its logical conclusion, means that there is no God. Another scientist whose name I can't recall, exultantly stated (in paraphrase), "There is no God, there is no life after death, there are no moral values, there is nothing!" That same scientists was also in favor of euthenasia, which is another logical conclusion of evolution. If we are just cells smashed together by chance, here for ourselves and no one else, then why live after it's not fun any more?

The real revelation from the movie is that both scientific theories--Evolution and Intelligent Design--come through their own world views. A world view is, simply, one's belief about the world that affects one's decisions. The important word is "belief." Evolution requires a belief system for it to work, and yet Intelligent Design is invalidated for that same reason.

All in all, it's an excellent documentary. I would highly recommend it no matter your beliefs. I would caution you, however, on your discussions after the movie. The point of the movie is to open calm, thoughtful conversation between the two sides. However, this is an issue where emotions run high, and rational thought is easily put aside for less productive words. You can find evidence of that all over the internet; I encourage you to do some sleuthing on both sides. Find out if the movie is showing near you!

In other news, many of you have probably heard of Oprah Winfrey's new "cult religion." Oprah has started a webinar series on the book A New Earth written by Eckhart Tolle. In typical Oprah fashion, the book is very New Age. And also in typical Oprah fashion, what she touches turns to gold, and thousands have joined in on the webinar series. I read a blog post that had some very good comments on what is going on, and I will encourage you to read it as well instead of me rewriting what's been said. I'm not an Oprah watcher, but I know many people who are. Be aware of what's happening so you can discuss it with someone who might be duped by it.

It's good to be informed about these kinds of things: origin of life discussions and support of a New Age movement by a very influential person. As much as I'd like to duck my head in the sand 'til Christ comes back, I know that won't do the Kingdom any good. And it won't help the people who are lost and seeking.

Get informed and get in the conversation!

Showerhead Innovation

I ran across a new kind of showerhead today, and I thought I'd pass it on. There is a whole line of showerheads made by Evolve that preserve water when you're not using them. How many people (or people's spouses) turn on the hot water to the shower, then go off and do other things waiting for it to warm up? Shave, pick out clothes, check the mail.... When you get back, the water is nice and warm. But how long was it running nice and warm?

The Evolve showerheads have an auto-turnoff that reduce the flow of water to a trickle once the water hits 95 degrees. That will indicate that it's hot, and if you're in the middle of something, you don't waste any more water! Some people like water hotter than 95, and the showerhead does not prevent it from getting hotter; the designers evidently figured 95 was a comfortable temp to start, at least.

Check out the site! Only one of the showerheads is a low-flow design; the others are normal flow just like what you're used to. The cheapest one is $40, which is more expensive than the cheapest you can find at Wal-Mart, but really pretty on par with other showerheads. There's also an adapter which looks like it fits between your existing showerhead and shower arm, just in case you just bought your dream showerhead and are now finding it lacking. The site says the showerheads are available at The Home Depot, so we may go check them out. I know this would be useful at our house!

A Step

Today I've signed up to donate my photography to an auction whose proceeds go to a Christian school here in town. I'll be donating a sitting and a 16x20 portrait. I had started to donate an 8x10, but that's not going to be very impressive over someone's mantle, s0 a 16x20 it is. I'm giving about a $150 value (yes, those new prices I've yet to really use), and hopefully someone will bid more on it than that so that the school will make lots of money. And also, hopefully, this will be good publicity for me, too. I'll get to have my business cards set out as well as a sample of my work.

As far as a sample goes, I have two options for family portraits. One is the Sapp family. The other is the Schield family. The Sapps are a little older, with two grown boys, while the Schields are a mixture of ages (though they're all siblings except Mrs. Schield). The Schields is a more colorful picture, but I like the lighting in the Sapp portrait. What do you think? Let me know which one would make you bid for a portrait sitting for yourself.

This year's garden

This year, I haven't done nearly the planning as I did last year. I decided this morning that during my afternoon holiday, I'd go get some flowers. I didn't know how many, or what I would put where. I did know I wanted another rose and cucumbers.

So, I went to my favorite garden center and found flowers: petunias, daisies, verbena, and a rose. I also got some herbs: cilantro, dill and chives. And of course I got the cucumbers.

When I got home, our neighbor (not Holly) had her normal passel of kids over--her own, her nieces and nephews, and I'm pretty sure a few just come over that are no relation. Anyway, one little girl asked if she could watch me plant. Fine, I said. I was planting the herbs at the time, so I had them smell the leaves of each herb and I told them what they were and how to use them. I was pretty proud of myself. (Oh, and I say "them" because one little girl had grown to two girls and three boys, ranging in age from 5 to 10, most closer to 5).

Then, suddenly, it was not fun any more to just watch. Everyone wanted to help. Which was okay, because at the moment I was struggling with getting my rose planted. Well, before I knew it, the rose was done, as well as all the flowers, and all I had done was enough to show them how to plant. I showed them the proper way to get a plant out of it's plastic pot, how to carefully separate the roots, and how to cover it with dirt. I planted two flowers, and suddenly, each kid is at a different pot, planting "their" flowers however they saw fit. And, they didn't do too bad of a job, I have to admit.

They all begged me for the petunias. They asked how much they were, and could they buy them from me. I told them to ask their mommas to take them to Wal-Mart to get some petunias. I'm sure their mommas will appreciate that. But, at the end, we had a little dirt left over, so I asked each kid to fill one of the little plastic pots with dirt, and I gave them all seeds I had left over from last year's gardening experiment. They planted them and I watered them, and each kid took one home! I hope they have better luck than I did!

So, at first I was pretty proud of myself, able to handle five and sometimes six kids in a garden. Then I got a little frustrated, because I was reminded how self-centered kids are--especially young ones. But I think they had fun, and maybe they'll want to garden a little. And it was pretty cool, all in all.

I hope my plants grow! If not, I'm totally blaming it on the kids. :)

Happy Birthday!

We all celebrated at John & Karen's house. Bekah made the cake and it was SO yummy!

My dad laughed because he got to hold Ian first.

My mom looking upset because she wasn't the first to get a hold of Ian.

Little did either of them know that Jon and I got to hold him first!

Ian working on tummy time!

Look at how high that head is coming up!

Jon and I headed for the Stockyards today.

This horse was beautiful, and the longhorn was NOT wanting to do the walk around the block they do twice a day.

This guy was really pretty.

My handsome man! Taking me to Riscky's BBQ for lunch!

...and 5 pictures later....

I, however, never tire of the camera.

I'm so distraught about being in jail....and did I mention I dyed my hair red?

This little girl was the cutest, riding the bull like a pro!

Another sad post

Sorry for yet another sad post....Wesson died today. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Kitten update

Smith died this morning. Wesson is doing worse--acting like Smith was a couple of days ago.

Little kitties

If you are the kind of person who prays for animals, please pray for my kitties. They have had upper respiratory infections since we got them, and they are both getting worse. Smith doesn't have much more room to get worse, and I really don't want to lose another cat. Wesson has been our trooper, but even he is not wanting to eat now. The vet's done everything he can, and so have we. Pray that we'll keep working hard to get them better, that we'll have the energy we need (we're doing 2am feedings, and if this is any indication, we'd never make it as parents of a newborn!), and that the kitties will have the will to brave it out and get better.

General Update

The kitties are still sick. :( No real change from yesterday. Smith is still pretty sick, though I've noticed little improvements: he's making better eye contact, has stood up more today, went to the bathroom on his own, and hasn't needed glucose but once today (four times yesterday). Wesson is still Mr. Sneezy, but he wanted to play a little today. Mostly they've just slept! But, they're stinky and grossie, so I think they're headed for another bath soon.

And, on another front, Jon and I are going to dinner with a seminary professor to talk about church planting tonight. He's the head of the Nehemiah Project at Southwestern, and will probably be an invaluable resource to us. I'm excited about our conversation tonight.

At work, I'm ALMOST done with a website that persists in acting dumb. There are some bugs I just can't figure out, and I've spent the whole day today on it. Very frustrating.

I donated to the Arbor Day Foundation, and got 10 free trees! I gave 5 to Holly, and we planted them a week or so ago. And our crabapples are starting to get leaves! Hooray!

Other than the trees, I haven't planted anything, yet. I'm thinking we might be done with frosts, but I'm not sure. I know a few things I want to plant, though.

I got a bike rack and basket for Christmas, and I got it put on a couple weeks ago. The weather has been too cold/rainy for biking, so I'm looking forward to a day pretty soon when I'll be biking to the park with a picnic in my basket! I'm so excited!

Anyway, I guess that's about it. I have Spring Fever, and I really want a vacation. I'm taking next Monday off, so hopefully that will suffice.

Things I've learned today

1. Roughly two thirds of the casualties in the Civil War were due to disease.
2. Until about WWI, all prior wars had more casualties due to disease than they had actual victims of battle.
3. Kittens can have low blood sugar levels when sick.
4. Glucose is like syrup in a syringe.
5. When kittens are dehydrated, Pedialyte can be a bettery hydrator than water.
6. For as bad as Pedialyte tastes, kittens don't mind it so much. (Seriously, have you tried it??)
   

My husband knows all about war, and he still has the soft side to buy his kitties Pedialyte. What a great guy.

HOORAY!!

So I haven't posted in a week, which is unusual for me. Sorry about that. It's been a really tough week. Even my dreams have been bad. Evidently losing a kitty and facing an unknown future aren't good for the psyche. Anyway, it hasn't made me up to chit-chat, and the tag I got from Teresa...well, I tried to fill it out, but it just turned out depressing. A lot like this first paragraph.

So...on to lighter things! First, it snowed! A lovely white, fluffy snow! It was beautiful.

And second, well, I'll let you watch the next video to find out.....

So yes, we have two kitties, Smith & Wesson. (I think they'll always need the ampersand, don't you?) They're from the Humane Society, and kind of pitiful. I thought we'd seen it all with Friday, but evidently we hadn't. We are familiar with Amoxyl (that you all took when you were kids, and yes, the kitty version also smells like bubble gum), and we give them extra nourishing food in a syringe, as well as give them droppers of water. The food (for my parent's information) is a lot like what we gave Mitten when he was so sick. And the syringe is because their nose is stopped up so they don't smell/want food. Anyway, they'll be up and at 'em in no time, I'm sure. In the meantime, we're enjoying their cuddliness, and hope it lasts when they get to feeling better!

I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty more of this crazy pair! I officially have a new label for all things Smith & Wesson (though Blogger didn't seem to like the ampersand design choice). And probably pretty soon I'll have that tag from Teresa done, this time on a little bit lighter note!