Bye Bye Bella

I came home today and my baby Bella was not doing well. Now little Bella is walking on the Rainbow Bridge with Jen's Cleo. Rest in peace my sweet pea. She was still hanging on as I was driving to meet the shelter lady but passed on before I got there. I was with her when she took her last breath. I guess I can take comfort in that -- she didn't pass while I was at work. I can't really write much more but I came home from meeting the shelter lady and started to spoil the other two a little more. I think their future forever home will have a lot to live up to in their eyes. And I will spoil them more and more while I have them. Brooke seemed a little disconcerted but she seems fine now. I guess having two active 3 week old kittens who are now completely roaming the room keeps her occupied. I have started feeding them soft kitten food so that made me laugh when I really needed it.

Allergies are killing me!!!

I can't breath and it's annoying. I am back to Zyrtec D and it seems to be doing the trick. Before you go blaming my allergies on the fact that I have 6 cats, please keep in mind that I am allergic to EVERYTHING. Grass, dust, trees, mold...... doesn't matter. The cats make me happy so they are staying (well, you know what I mean. Brooke and the babies are on a temporary stop in the grand journey of their life). Edward is seriously a talker. I think he might talk more than Simon, if you can believe it! And he loves to run. He has the biggest paws and along with his 6 toes, he is just too cute trying to get around. He also loves to climb up my leg so I need to remember to keep it protected from the tiny claws. Now we have to get Bella some weight and Sierra a diet (poor girl, she has kind of gained some. Yep, I am researching cat diets.)

Today hasn't been that bad. I had a report that seriously made no sense. When I added the data, the formula amount just didn't add up to me. I called the lady who made the spreadsheet and it turns out she just needed 2 numbers and not the spreadsheet filled in. Good for me! Apparently the spreadsheet confused the other regions too.......... Glad I wasn't the only one. I've been productive all day -- now I need to regroup and figure out what needs to be done!

Later!

Monday

Okay, so it hasn't been that bad of a Monday. I have been productive and it is zooming by quickly. It has been busy and I still have two more reports to work on. One requires the managers to pay attention so I might be beating a few up soon.

Today, the kittens are 3 weeks old! Very hard to believe. I have some pictures that I will post either tonight or tomorrow. They are all very active and now starting to explore the world (well, the second bedroom). We had several visitors this week to see the kittens and Brooke did very well. No aggression, no hissing. I think she is to the point where she is relieved someone else is entertaining the little ones, not just her. Bella is still too tiny but apparently I am the only one concerned so I will just let it go. :). Edward and Jasper certainly don't care as they tackle her and sit on her head.

Now, so that everyone will not think that I have turned into the crazy cat lady, I will share other events in my world. As most of you know, I am in the a weight loss contest with my two aunts, uncle and two cousins (Katie and Kelsey) from CA. Every pound lost is 1 point and for every 10 miles you walk/bike/run/move forward, you get .5 point. I truthfully have no idea where I am on the point scale at this time. I probably should have been tabulating my own results. Oh well. This week was one lb lost and 10 miles. I have decided on the weekends, I am going to get up and run/walk at White Rock lake. By the time it cools off at night for me to workout outside, it is too late to safely workout at that lake. It is something different and a work out goes much quicker around a lake than on a treadmill (or elliptical or stationary bike). I still will go around the Village "lake" in the evenings, but that route gets very boring. Plus its only 2 miles. Mentally, it just works for me to hit up White Rock lake.

So, back to the grind. Everyone have a great Monday!

Even more pictures

I have been in a class and will be until Thursday afternoon. It is an OSHA Standards for General Industries. So far it has been interesting, and I really should have taken this class 3 years ago when I started :).
And now the fun part. The babies are now 2 weeks old and are pretty mobile. They are still walking like little drunks, but getting much better. :)




Edward. Poor thing still looks like an alien. He is very sweet and lovable :).















Jasper. Look at that sweet little face!









Bella -- just way too tiny for my comfort however she is active, trying to walk like the other two and does eat. I am going to see about taking her to the vet this weekend just to check her out. It would just make me feel better!

Update and Pics

The kittens are doing well. Bella is still very tiny so I am going to hit up Petsmart later today for some formula to supplement her feedings. I have seen her eat so I know it is happening. I would just feel better if she had a little more meat on her bones!

The weekend has been good so far. The plans tonight are to go dancing and that will be a lot of fun. Two weekends in a row! Yay! I am working through my NCIS DVR recordings this morning (after my workout, of course) although I really do need to get some cleaning done.

Now, onto the pictures......

Kitten Pile!

Proof that Brooke will try to get into any picture I try to get of the kittens.....

Jasper!!!!

Baby Pictures

Edward and Bella (Edward is on top). His eyes are opening and it is so adorable. They do a lot of this -- crawling all over each other!

I do apologize that this pic isn't too clear. Wiggly kitties make for less than perfect pictures :). Below is Edward and his opening eyes. Jasper is opening his as well. I am guessing Bella's will be wide open soon too.

One Week!

The babies are one week old today. It seems so long ago that they were born and I was in serious pain from a cat bite! But, here they are -- healthy and thriving. This is the fun part :).

Cute Overload

I have a few pics, I may have to submit them to cuteoverload.com. Nothing beats a squeaking kitten with its eyes still closed. Total sweetness. Sometimes I think my brain might explode from the adorableness :). The kittens are doing well and are just getting bigger and bigger . And I noticed last night that Edward has 6 toes! I am continually washing towels though. I thought I had a lot -- apparently not! :). And, by the way, Febreze Pet Odor Eliminator seems to be doing the trick. Since I have to keep the door shut, the air doesn't circulate and it is hard to keep it fresh back there. I picked up this type of Febreze today and so far, so good. Not sure what makes it special for pet odors, but hey, it works!

Happy Saturday! I am going to rest up and prepare for dancing tonight. I haven't been in awhile (I think it was Austin) and so I want to do it up right :). I have awhile -- it might be nap time.

Kittens!

Okay, I can type now so I can blog! Brooke bit me rather well and left me with an infection. But hey, I forgive her because heck, I might bite someone when I am in labor too! She is a good mom now and doing so well. The kittens are very active and so cute. I love the squeaking. Seriously, it is the best stress reliever watching them. Monday was very stressful but we made it thru. Both she and I had no idea what to do, but it all worked out in the end!

In the picture below: Jasper in the forefront. He is very vocal and very active. Pretty much a tiny, tiny Simon!

Family photo: Brooke and the babies. The total grey kitten is Bella. The grey with white feet is Edward and Jasper is the white with grey spots. These names are fully dependent on whether I identified the gender correctly! I am pretty sure I got it right but you never know. It is hard to determine in baby kittens.

Tomorrow is Friday! Thank goodness. Seriously, I am tired!!!

The Miracle of Life is Very Gross.....

We have kittens! My hand is swollen from a bite Brooke so lovingly gave me last night so I can't type a lot. I am now on antibiotics to make sure my hand doesn't fall off...... However, we have them, it was gross and they are cute. I had to cut the umbilical cord on all of them -- she has 3 so far. I keep checking to make sure there aren't more but I think she is done. I will tell the story when I have full functionality in my hand :). Once I can get a good picture of them, I will post them as well. Now I need to think of names! One is a girl and I am not sure of the other 2. I don't want to mess with them too much while she bonds with them.

More Pics of Brooke

I have had a laid back weekend, which is perfectly okay! It has rained on and off, which is the perfect weather to be lazy :). I have some more pics of Brooke -- no kittens yet, but I think she is close. Although, I keep thinking that and I have had her a week! She was very cranky yesterday so maybe that is a sign that cats are about to have kittens?? Who knows. I think she is ready to have to them as well!!!

Everyone have a wonderful Sunday! Later :)

By the Way......

I just registered for that 5K on Sept 12. So, I am locked in and committed! Here we go :).

It's only Thursday

This has been a slow week. All the managers are gone so it has been very quiet as well. Nothing super exciting has happened this week.... I am still on kitten watch. Brooke hasn't had her litter yet but she is doing very well. There is really know way (that I know of) to tell when she will actually deliver. I have towels all set up for her though! She seems to like under the futon chair, so I put some there too. Not sure if that is even enough room to deliver kittens, but just case! And I do have a big box that I should prepare for her as well. I just don't want her to figure out she can get into the closet and then decide to deliver there. I will take more pictures of her and post later on. She is venturing out around the room and is rather playful. And of course, when the babies come, I will post pictures as well.

So, I guess back to work. I have another conference call that is about to start. Everyone have a wonderful Thursday!!!

Adventures in Fosterhood

This is Brooke and she is my new foster cat :). "What!", you say? Foster cat?! I had been thinking about it but knew I couldn't keep a kitten because I wouldn't be able to stay home and take care of it (feed, etc). However, with a pregnant mom, once she has the kittens, she does all the care. I provide the quiet room, towels and food/water. The shelter I volunteer at sent out an email looking for a home and I actually said if nobody else could take her, I would. Guess nobody could take her! Anyway, she is about to pop. Any day I could have kittens. Just hoping she finds those towels I put down for her..... And I think once the kittens arrive, I get to name them. Yay! Simon and Sierra really have no contact with her. The shelter said just put her in the room and let her be. The only time Simon thinks something is up is when I go into the room to talk to her. I think it is due more to the fact that there is a closed door between him and momma. Otherwise, he doesn't really notice.

Hope everyone had a great Monday! I will let everyone know once the kittens get here :).

Legally Blonde

Awesome! It was just a fun musical and we really had a great time. The cast was good, the music was great, the costumes were amazing. All I can say, is I want my own Greek Chorus!!! :). Thanks Mom for the tickets!

The Wadding Pool in the Bathroom

Last night, I went to a wine bar in Plano called 55 Degrees. It was pretty nice and the wine was good. The food was good too. Now, the service was kind of stinky but we were sitting at the bar and he was the only guy serving. So, I actually had to give him a break for that fact. And he apologized for the crappy service and was pretty apologetic. Had he not apologized and been a bonehead, I would be a little harder on him and then told you never to go to this place. However, they try and it is a fun place to hang out with friends.

I got home and stayed up to watch some NCIS (USA keeps playing them and my DVR is set to pick every episode up!). So I watched TV until I got tired. I got tired, got ready for bed and settled in at 1:30. Or so I thought.......

(I will say this story I am about to tell is actually better in person because I can use hand gestures.) At 1:30 I hear this gushing sound -- like when the sprinklers come on outside. However this gushing is coming from my apartment. I jump up from bed, run to the bathroom to find the hose on the toilet detached and water shooting EVERYWHERE!!! By the time I got to the bathroom, the water was ankle deep. It was going fast! And I couldn't get the water shut off. The knob was not budging. I call maintenance (love 24 Hour on call), the dispatcher sends a guy my way. While I was waiting, i finally got the water shut off valve working and the water shut off. All the while, water is seeping onto the carpet. Maintenance gets there, starts cleaning up and I finally get to sit down and just chill (before I was trying to find every towel, sheet and blanket in the place. While I have more than I thought I did, it wasn't enough to keep up with the water.). I am soaking at this point too. Trying to get the water shut off put me into the line of fire!!! The carpet is a little worse for the wear but I got very lucky. There was no damage to the unit below me and my apartment has very minimal damage. And while they had a great response time, I never want to have to test that 24 hour on-call maintenance again!!!

Okay, since I finally got to sleep at 3Am, I am kind of tired today. Tomorrow I am going to see "Legally Blonde" at the Summer Musicals with Jen. Can't wait! I have heard it is great. I will report back :). And a shout out to Jen.... she has been very dedicated to her workouts and eating right. All her efforts have paid off too -- 51 lbs so far in weight loss. Lady, you are an inspiration!!! Keep it up :).

Happy Wednesday!

My first 5K is scheduled for Sept 12. That is 8 weeks to train. Off I go!!! :) I am going run/walk with Jen -- should be fun!! And since I am in a weight loss/mileage challenge with part of the CA family contingent, this will greatly increase my points (I'll explain the whole thing when I get more time). I am currently losing and it isn't good. The contest ends Oct 12, so I will have them beat by then.

The week has been okay. Really, I haven't tried to kill anyone. Well, I haven't seriously thought about it anyway. I had a migraine Monday. That was so lovely. I am over it and at work, happily looking up FOIA training options. Friday is coming, Friday is coming!!! I plan to meet Dawn and some other ladies out at a wine bar in Plano. I really am looking forward to it.

As you know, Mom and Dad are in CO. Mom just called but I only talked to her briefly. For some reason, her call was roaming. I am sure it was just because of my location in the building. My cell acts very odd in this place. They are having a blast and now on the way to the zoo. Lucky, lucky people. The cats haven't maimed each other -- Sierra could care less there is another cat in the house and Simon just gets curious as to what is behind the door.

Okay, back to work. Happy Wednesday!!!

"Noises Off", "Harry Potter" and the visiting kitty

The weekend has been good. Packed and a lot of fun. Friday night I went to see "Noises Off" at the Plano Theater. My friend's cousin was playing in it and she was very good. Live theater is always fun and it was in a small venue. Very fun. "Noises Off" is very funny and if you have a chance to watch anybody perform it, you should go! We met for dinner before hand on 15th Street in Plano. There are some great looking restaurants that I need to go back to - especially this Austrian place that we visited during intermission (the back entrance was accessible from the theater entrance). It smelled so great! And the staff was very nice -- definitely a friendly place.

Harry Potter was last night! It was great -- a very well made movie. I have to say though, Helena Bonham Carter was just creepy in this movie. I guess that was the point, huh. Mia and I went to the Studio Movie Grill and I really thought it was going to be packed. I guess the crowds were thinner because the movie opened earlier in the week. It was nice that it wasn't so packed (the Dark Knight was just crazy!) but I was still very surprised. Go see "Harry Potter". So worth it!!!

Now onto the visiting kitty. My parents went to CO this week to visit my cousin, his gf and the new baby (Zoey -- still soooo cute :)). My aunt is visiting as well, so that will be good for them to see each other. Anyway, to make things easier with cat sitting, they brought their cat to me. She has her own room and my two are pretty much ignoring her. Except at 1:30 AM when Simon decides he wants to hiss and throw a fit. Thanks Simon. So nice to wake up mommy....... So far, so good though. All furry creatures are in their own corner and no major cat fights have occurred.

So that is about it. I am in the middle of an NCIS marathon (my new addiction - so much better than a Real Housewives addiction!). I am so out of whack on my seasons though. I really need to grab the DVDs and watch them in order. Have a great day!!

Twilight

I've heard the book is better. I need to pick that up and read it. I am watching the movie right now. I love Vampires but this isn't cutting it. The lighting and coloring is fairly awesome in the movie but yeah, I am obviously not into it if I am blogging :). Vampires don't glitter...... I want Buffy the Vampire Slayer to come in and save the day. He, he.

This weekend has been pretty good. I met Jen last for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Oh, it was so good. It was good to see her too. I haven't seen her in forever and it was nice to catch up. She has a had rough week and my heart has been out to her the entire time. She lost her diva kitty last weekend and the sweet Cleo is now playing on the Rainbow Bridge. Lots of hugs, girl! My little children have been getting lots of love and hugs this week (okay, they always get hugs and kisses but this week it was to the annoyance of them :)).

I am currently in a contest with my Aunt Gail and two cousins, Katie and Kelsey. It is weight loss and mileage (cardio) -- it all counts. I hit the gym today and got in 3.5 miles. I think I pushed it a little too hard though. I feel a little in pain. But its all good. I am starting to get into running and it feels very good. It is nice to push and get additional goals in my fitness routine. I still need to buy new running shoes but other than that, it is all starting off very well.

Okay that is all for now. I am going to finish the movie. Let me make this clear -- I don't think it's bad, I am just not into this kind of vampire lore. I like Buffyverse Vampires better (but heck, Spike and Angel.... just hot....). I will read the book though. I am always up for good books!

Later. And happy Saturday!!!

New Baby in the Family

Yipes didn't post this yesterday when it happened! My cousin Steven and his gf had a baby girl - Zoey Kathleen! She is very cute and I keep trolling Facebook to see if more pics have been posted :). Congrats Steven and Christina. Now I have to get to CO so I can visit her.... (and then to CA so I can see Chloe, Colby and Skyler). Any one want to pay for plane tickets.... :)

Day is great. It's almost over -- and then a 3 day weekend. Woohoo!

Later :)