Waaay Back Tuesday

As I was making my recent photo book, I came across soo many pictures that  reminded me of soo many memories, so I figured I would share those with you today!!

This is one of my favorite pics taken at our first wedding as married guests:

It is also the last time I had blonde highlights!!! Almost 5 years ago!!

Oh and our CRAPPY engagement pics... I soo wish I had of done them with an actual photographer instead of a studio:

We got a whole bunch and mike's smile looks silly in this one... but this is the only one that popped up on my cd!

Our Christmas card in 2008:

This took a lot of patience on both M and I's part. Half the pics ended up with the cats looking miserable, or Diamond's ears back. M had to catch the cats as they tried to escape, luckily motion was slowed down with those hanker chief's around their necks! No one was injured during this picture! lol

And then I came across this one, which just made me laugh... Jazz is such a loving cat:

No one was injured... they were just playing. This is how Jazz plays!!

I got a new iPhone and I am just now trying to figure it all out!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Is There A Such Thing As Bathroom Etiquette Part 2

It is that time again.. it has almost been a year! Time for me to discuss bathrooms once again!

Soo my office switched buildings and after only being in the new office for a week, I already have a bathroom etiquette post for ya! You may recall part one of the bathroom etiquette HERE.

I am slowly becoming able to go to the bathroom when someone else is in the bathroom with me... like my cat... he counts right? Because I don't have a bathroom break at home without him.. whether I like it or not.

Now on to this new office... we have a public bathroom of course, however it is literally a bathroom, with one toilet, one sink - no stalls, a door that locks, you get the picture. I like this idea waay better then a bathroom with stalls. 

However, there is just a few problems soo far! I am one of maybe 4 girls on my floor, the rest are men. Men and bathrooms just equals disaster! I will be honest, my husband keeps his bathroom pretty clean and I don't need to remind him all that often to clean it. Heck he is trained well from the last house that only had one bathroom and even puts the seat down. Thanks to a cat that got stuck in the toilet... thanks Copper - he just loved fresh water... until the seat fell on him and he was stuck.

Picture this:

link

Except under the seat as well!

Anyways, back on topic. The men leave the seat up! I do not want to touch that! It sucks that they have to touch that and probably didn't wash their hands... we won't go there. But put the seat down please! I don't get why they have to put the seat up in the first place, the circumference you gain from putting the seat up is not that much.

Luckily I went into the cupboard under the sink and found some Lysol spray - yes I am the one that sprays before sitting now! The Lysol is a girls best friend when it comes to sharing public bathrooms with boys. The smells... oh we won't get there... Shit happens, I get it, but there is no need to advertise that. There is aerosol spray, a fan, scented soap - use it - please! Oh and if you make a mess - clean it up. Gross.

A Trip Down Old Christmas Photos Lane

Soo today I found this super old pic of M and I during one for our first few years of dating at Christmas time:

Look how young we look!!

I also found this one:

This one was from M's commencement - so this one would have been a year into our relationship! Look how tint M looks! Haha! I look tiny too... too tiny! This would have been taken the year before the first photo, a couple weeks before Christmas!

Another old one!

2007 Christmas card picture:

Look how tiny Jewish looks!! I miss Diamond and Copper!

Ripper and Diamond opening their presents in 2008 - They sure did love opening presents!!

H's First Christmas 2009:

First Christmas Family Photo:

Binx's First Christmas/my Christmas present from M:

Our First Year Hosting Christmas Morning:

Gracie's First Christmas:

(7 Months)

I don't have access to 2010 right now... and I will be sure to get some for 2011!!

I hope you enjoyed a trip down Christmas memory lane!

Rain, Rain, Go Away - Come Again Another Day

Wow we are getting a TON of rain, but I am more than happy it is rain!!! Snow and I don't get along. Although I heard we may get some of that tonight :(

Sorry I missed blogging again yesterday, I ended up doing some typography for a client! They ended up looking something like this:

via Pinterest

This was the first typography project I did and it was a lot of fun!!! I will try to remember to post the ones I did!!

I also ended up getting my new phone:

via

It is sooo cute!!!

And last night ended up being bath night for the dogs!!!

Let me think back to what my weekend was like...

Friday - M and I chilled at home. With him working Saturdays it kind of kills the social life lol, but that is okay!

Saturday - I went shopping with my mom and H. We tackled my sisters 3 page grocery list.... yes 3 pages... with a toddler.... in Walmart!!! I think we are crazy!!! H was totally done by the end of it! I will admit I was shopped out too!! Have I ever mentioned how much I hate shopping at this time of the year? Mini rant: People need to be patient and less rammy! Don't park your cart in the middle of an isle so no one can get around you! Don't ram your cart into the back of my heels! Okay, I will stop there.... you probably all know what I am talking about!!

M attempted to make the same dinner I made last Friday and FAILED...

I watched Marley and Me Saturday night, which only stirred up soo many emotions!!! Why do I do this to myself?! I LOVE the movie, but it had me in tears. I can relate to that movie sooo much!! Not to mention Diamond looked like Marley, especially in the end!!

Man I miss her!!! M had come up to bed by the end of the movie and we were both in tears!!! We laid in bed and reminisced about her!!

She was such a good sport!!!

She came to the wedding... okay the pictures portion!!!

Loved boating and had mastered the I can sleep sitting up!!

Although we had rescued her and didn't have a destructive dog, I think Lily's puppy stage made up for that... and Dimey had to put up with her....

Miss you Dimey!!!

Sunday - we headed to KW and hit up Costco and Henry's! I am trying to choose between the Canon T2i and the Nikon 3100!!

That was pretty much our weekend....

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! I will hopefully get caught up on blog reading soon!!!

Day 27 - Pets (LONG post)

Where do I begin?


I think for all of our sakes, I will just give a brief story about each pet. Because eventually they will have a post of their own.

My first dog ever was Snoopy. He was 2 when I got him and I was 14. I am actually surprised that I even got a dog. My Mom was not a pet person and actually has pet allergies. However, she made a deal with me that if I got straight A's in Grade 8 (last year of grade school) then I could get a dog. Now don't think that I am a slacker, I just usually got at least 1 or 2 B's. And I did technically get a B on my Grade 8 report card, but I fought it. They gave me a B in Gym class because I did not wear the newly inforced uniform, because my Mom thought it was stupid to buy a gym uniform for half a year. So I got a A!

I went to camp for a week and when my Mom came to pick me up, she said we were going to look at a dog! Sure enough it was Sir Snoops and we took him home that afternoon! The best first dog ever... miss you buddy ;(

Then came along Jazz. We adopted Jazz from the SPCA when she was about 4 months. She was the only solid color cat in her litter, as well as the only girl. Her brothers were all striped tabbies. We brought her home and her and Snoopy were instant buddies. Snoopy loved to lick her and well, Jazz didn't seem to mind. Jazz learned a lot from Snoopy and was more canine-like than feline-like when she was young... she's back to feline now..

Then we got Diamond. She was 8 when we got her. We got her from my Dad's friend, who was moving out west. She lived with a LARGE family....Diamond was a sweet sweet dog, but was not used to big spaces, in fact we had to do a lot of work with her because of her previous situation. But she was perfect! I miss her free-spirit everyday! She was about 12 years old or so and she ended up have mini-strokes. There were days where she could not see us, or didn't know us, but there were also days where she was great. It was really hard going home from work and never quite knowing what your dog was going to be like. It was also hard for Lily, because she was home with her all day and they were inseparable. Lily ended up being a bit depressed towards the end of Diamonds days.

Copper was the next addition, and he was a drop off at Mike's parents farm. Copper weighed not even 2 pounds as a fully grown male cat. He was declawed and fixed as well. He was touch and go for a while, but decided to stick around. We had no clue how old he was or anything about him. It took him a while to trust us humans, but once he did, and once he realized that we were on his side, we had a great relationship. We said good bye to Copper last year.

Along came Lily 6 months or so after we said goodbye to Snoopy. I must say she was a pretty good puppy, until she hit 8 months and the chewing started... here we had thought we had the best puppy EVER and that everyone was crazy for saying Golden's are notorious chewers... Well she just hit that road late... nothing a massive kennel (that she chewed the bottom out of... and learned how to get out of...) couldn't fix.. RIGHT.. She is no longer in the kennel and can actually have free range for the most part. Every now and then I will find a kitchen towel nibbled on, but not too often. Lily weighed 105 pounds!! She is a BIG dog. She was just recently diagnosed with hypothyroid  and is on meds. We are pretty sure she has lost weight, and her energy levels have sky rocketed! Her average weight should be about 85 to 90 pounds.

We got Gracie when the day we put Diamond down. What an emotional day, but I would highly recommend it. It was easier for Lily because she was never really alone and sort of distracted her from the fact that Diamond was gone. I guess it helped distract us too, but it was still equally hard, but now we had a little joy in our grief. Gracie is was trouble from the get go.. not as bad as Marley (from Marley & Me), but there were days that I swear it was. She is better now, but I won't say much better... she has slip ups and attitude adjustment days and a few time outs... She is in and out her kennel. We have tried putting them together in the bathroom, but just this past weekend she chewed the bottom of my curtains. Granted our house is a disaster zone (no joke) from painting the bedroom and now we are getting Mike's parents bedroom furniture this week, as they ordered new stuff. But still, this is what she does, she goes through periods of excellence, marked with periods of NON excellence.. DOGS... can't live without them, never a boring day!

Binx was my Christmas present last year. She was rescued from the SPCA as well, but we got her when she was about 8 weeks. She is crazy! Her and Jazz seem to get along, but Jazz is much older and not as playful. They still play, but is more on Jazz's terms... sort-of... Binx is a ball of energy that very rarely stops. Although with the newest addition, we are learning a bit more about Binx!

And last but not least... Lux. We just got this little guy this past weekend and he is about 7 weeks old. This one is all on Mike. I am still getting used to this idea of 3 cats, but he is super sweet and social. He just wants to be loved!

Cats

Has anyone really wondered what it would be like to be a cat? I mean maybe I am the only one, but I doubt it! I have had 3 cats in my life time and I grew up with cats at my Grandma's.

We all think that we choose cats, but really when it comes down to the truth... cats choose us. Lucky for them, they choose who they like and don't like and it is just accepted. Actually, you can't really make a cat do anything! They have this attitude about them.

I look at Jazz, who is my baby... she does not really like anyone else, I think she just tolerates other peoples presence. She is lovey-dovey with me, but she hates Mike, Mike or the dogs ( and she does not mind the dogs) can just walk in the room and she will growl at them. I personally think it is funny. If you even so much as look at her the wrong way, she will growl. But with me, she just purrs and cuddles in. I come home and she greets me. She is not the most playful cat in the world and never was... I think that is why I picked her , but wait, I didn't pick her, (don't ever tell her that) Mike picked her. If I had my way I would have picked the long-haired grey and white one. But Mike didn't fall in love with her, he did with Jazz.. but I say it was just lust, because they clearly can't possibly LOVE each other or maybe it is a secret affair, if I am not around then she will warm up to him.

Jazz with the only girl in her litter and her brothers were all striped brown and black tabbies. Jazzy is solid grey... with a white blotch on her belly. She is beautiful! A little over-weight in a healthy fashion, but beautiful. She would not play in her cage with her brothers or the toys, she actually just sat there and Mike felt bad for her, so he wanted to hold her and she bit him. She bit his ear to be exact. That is why Mike chose her and I still haunt him with his comment "We will get this one because she has SPUNK". Well that spunk stuck around.

I think I love Jazz sooo much, because it is like she chose me and she still chooses me. Even when she is in trouble for something... she still only listens to me, I have to be the one to give her crap... because she chooses to listen to me.

Jazz is one of those cats who will go up to anyone and say Hi, but it is on her terms, if she chooses to continue to get love. She will rub up to the dogs and they won't move because she is unpredictable. It is kinda funny... she may or may not have a bit of a personality disorder.

With Copper... he didn't choose us. We were just the next best thing, we were his heroes, but whether or not he cared is unknown. We chose him, brought him home, brought him back to health.. paid for vet visit after vet visit, spent hours trying to get him to choose us or even just to choose to live. We NEVER understood that cat, never really knew him really, but he knew us and he tolerated us. I remember the first time he purred after we had him for like 6 months, it was like an old engine trying to start. I think that he was trying to be cautious about choosing us, because no one had ever chose him, but they got rid of him and that would hurt.

Binx is just Binx, she is wild and crazy, but we chose her and I think she has chose us... hard to say she is still young...

Could you imagine, if we, as humans, could just drop each other off on the side of the road? If we could just pretend not to have feelings, or even if we could not freely express our feelings? What if no one out there cared? What if no one chose us? Just simply imagine being out in this crazy place we call our world alone... I wouldn't make it without the people and animals around me. They are what makes me ME! They encourage me to be ME and you to be YOU... who would you be today if your parents just abandoned you and you had no one... you may have picked up some friends along the way... but I am sure you would have encountered some problems too...

I guess what I am saying is that being a cat is full of choices and choices that you and I would sometimes never get the opportunity to make because of how we were raised... cats raise themselves. Put yourself in a cats paws...

My Introduction

Thank You for checking out my blog! I figured that I may as well do some introductions of my family!! I have a loving husband name Mike. We got married on July 21st, 2007. We have known/dated each other for 9 years... seems sooo long! We bought a LITTLE tiny house, which we have lived in for 4 years!

We currently have 2 dogs, 2 cats and 1 aquarium.

Diamond (Golden Lab) is 12 years old. She is a wonderful dog, who unfortunately just keeps getting older and older :( We got her when she was 8 years old. We call her time with us her "retirement years". She has had a bit of a tough go at life before we got her.

Lily (Golden Reriever) is 1. She is an amazing dog! We got her when she was 7 weeks old! We met her when she was 5 weeks old. She had come a long way from a 10 pound puppy when we got her, to a whopping 85 pounds!! She was my replacement puppy, after I lost my Shih Tzu (Snoopy). Snoopy will be a post for another day.

Jazz is our grey cat. She is 4. We got her for a companion for Snoopy when we moved into our house. Snoopy wasn't too sure about her at first, but did love to lick her fur. We adopted Jazz from the SPCA, where I was currently volunteering. What a hard task it is to pick out just 1 cat!! Jazz won the vote between another grey kitten, because she bit Mike's ear. Apparently that meant that she had spunk, who knew that her attitude against Mike then, would still be a problem now!! In other words, she really is MY cat!!

Copper came to us just about a 1 year ago. This poor little guy has had a tough go at life. We found him at my in-laws farm. We don't know very much about him, but he wasn't in good shape when we got him. Copper has almost died on us 3 times now!! He weighed 4 pounds when we got him, as a fully grown male cat. (He now weighs 12 pounds) You could count every bone on this poor guy. The vet has told us 3 different things about him. First they said he was young, the second time he went (he was sick yet again), they said he was very old and this year when we went and he was healthy, he said he is around Jazz's age (4). This cat is CRAZY! He can open doors, get into things that you wouldn't think a cat could do!

Now that I have introduced my family, you will slowly get to know myself, without an explanation! Gotta keep ya coming back somehow!!