CUTE BABY!

The ol' blog's slowed down a bit lately. Lots going on with the move and stuff. I have blogs planned, I promise you, but I haven't had the time to give you the quality blogging you deserve. That'll change. Soon.

In the meantime, watch this incredibly adorable video of my 6 month-old niece on the swings with her mommy and grandma.

Halloween

When we were little, my sister and I really wanted a pet. We both loved animals so much. A coworker of my dad's had a cat who had kittens in the fall, and right around our birthdays, he brought one of them home as a present to both of us. He even helped us name her, for the holiday that fell between both our birthdays, Halloween. Weenie or Weenster for short.

We loved our kitty. We played with her all the time. She loved to chase strings or ribbons or a laser pointer dot. We tortured her, as kids do, putting her in enclosed spaces, lifting up her front legs to make her dance, or trying to walk her outside on a leash.

She got into the strangest spots. Like all cats, she liked enclosed spaces and would step into any box make herself comfortable. I don't remember how she got on top of the ladder, but I suspect it had something to do with my dad.

We had a voice for her. It was like Roseanne's voice. My mom does it best. As cats tend to be, she always seemed annoyed with anything that wasn't exactly what she wanted.

She lived with an old dog that predated her, an excitable border collie, and my own adopted stray who came into her life after she was established as the Queen of the House and would hear no challenges.

Like most cats, napping was an art for her. She always found the best places to curl up. As we grew up, she became our mom's cat, as kids' pets tend to do. My mom always took the best care of her and made sure she was petted and warm and cozy at all times.

She lived to be 21 years old. Earlier in the week, she succumbed to kidney disease and last night we let her go. We all took a turn holding her and petting her and telling her we loved her. My mom sang the silly song she made up about her when she was just a kitten. And then she went to sleep.

I like to think she'll go to the guy who first brought him home and keep him company. Farewell, Weenster. I hope where you are there's a soft blanket, lots of petting, all the soft salmon cat food you want, and someone to dangle a string or point a laser pointer. I love you, kitty.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called the Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, they go to the Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been made ill or old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

Happy Birthday Dad

Today you would have been 58. A lot has happened in the last 12 years, but I'd like to think I don't have to tell you all about it because you're somewhere where you can see it. I hope you enjoyed the Superbowl this year, we tried to do it up the way you would have. If I wasn't so sick, I'd raise a beer to you, but since I am, I'll have to toast with what you used to call "The World's Largest Orange Juice" and maybe some saltines with peanut butter too. 

I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday.

I probably should have posted this sooner...

...but I've got to move in 6 weeks and I have 15 people coming over for the Superbowl and I have been going to the gym like a demon and...I'm a bad blogger.

Check out the video for "Water on the Coast" by Schocholautte.

Little Miss Sunshine

Today's Happy Thought is kind of special. It's a realization I had about myself.

When I first found that we had to move, I had my typical High Drama reaction. I sank to the floor and started crying and wailing "What are we gonna do?" But in about ten minutes, I pulled it together and got out the door to get on with my day. When I brought it up with my mom, I cried again, but got over it. By the time I told my sister a little later, I was upset, but able to hold back the tears. 

That night, I told Kris I was doing better, but I was just pissed. There is no denying that is sucks that we are basically being evicted, having done NOTHING wrong, and forced to move on someone else's timetable, when given our choice, we  wouldn't do any of this. So we both tapped into our anger about that and shared it with each other. And then we let it go. 

Sunday, I spent time thinking about it, talking about it with Kris's family who were up for a visit, and getting excited about possibilities. What if we get more/better appliances? Or our heat bill is less? Or our place is more modern? Or my commute could be shorter? Or we have more outdoor space? There's a million ways this could make our lives better and I started to see that without very much prodding.

By the time we went to bed last night, we were talking about it as accepted fact and planning and hypothesizing about what new good things we might find. I went through real estate listings today and I'm actually pretty stoked to look at some of these places.

And another thing. I mentioned it to my coworkers and they were very sympathetic. The one who's kind of a drama queen and very negative started to go off about how unfair it is and how much it's going to suck, in the context of feeling bad for me. But I found it annoying and I just wanted it to stop. I wanted to just experience the positive side of this change and leave the negative alone.

My point is this, and those of you who've known me a while know this is true. In past years, dealing with something like this would have been a totally negative experience. I would never stop bitching and complaining about it and would frequently stress and get upset over it, like it's the end of the world. And now, my processing time for that sort of thing is much shorter and I'm able to see the bright side without having it underlined and highlighted for me. 

I'm incredibly proud of this kind of growth. I know it has a lot to do with Kris, from him teaching me to deal better with situations like this, from him being someone I can rely on for help in situations like this, and a little because I know he gets tired of my drama in situations like this. In the future, I'd like to eliminate the High Drama reaction (possible) and only ever see the positives (doubtful), but for now I'm happy with how much I've grown and I'll celebrate that.

Starting Over. Again.

We're moving. We have to be out of our house by March 15th. So, if I don't have a lot of time to update, you'll know why. Here's what happened.

You probably know the part where our landlady wanted to sell the house, tried to sell it to us, we couldn't afford it, and so she put it on the market. There were a few weeks of showings and judging by how they went, we expected that it would take a long time to get the place sold. We reconsidered our options, realized we didn't have enough money to buy anything that we would want to own, and decided that, since we were going to rent anyway, and it didn't seem like our place was going anywhere, we would just stay here awhile. We had just gotten used to that idea.

This morning our landlady knocked on our door to inform us that she accepted an offer on her house and that if all goes well, we all have to be out by March 15th. This comes as a total shock, knowing that she rejected three offers less than two weeks ago because they were too low and having been told that she would not accept any less than she was asking, saying she'd rather stay here than lose money. So we are surprised to learn that in this market, someone actually offered her the price we figured that no one would give her. 

This is not terrible news. As much as we love our place, the amount of the space and the incredibly low rent, there are other things we wish we had in this place that hopefully we will be able to find in a new apartment. Mostly what upsets me is that I am suddenly being made to do this on someone else's schedule and that the decision is made for me. I don't get a choice. I have to spend the next 2 months in total upheaval and leave a place we are perfectly comfortable in. Thanks, Universe.

So wish us luck and offer us help and support because we will need it. And when this whole thing is over, the party's at our place (assuming our new landlord is cool.

Yes. We. Can.

I was incredibly inspired watching the inauguration today. I admired the gravity in our president's face as he took on the solemn job of leading our country to a bright new day. He didn't look overjoyed. That would have been all wrong. A man facing this many challenges should know how hard the road ahead will be and that was all said by his face as he entered, even before he spoke those inspiring words.

What struck me most as I watched, was the massive size of the crowd gathered on the National Mall. I cannot ever remember knowing of an occasion in my lifetime where that many people gathered for one purpose. I admire those people, for braving the cold and the crowds, sure, but more for setting aside their lives and making a point to be there. To show up to support our president. To say, we are here and you can count on us. I realized that there was no good reason that I wasn't there myself other than it never occurred to me to go. I wish I had been there to witness history, but at least I am aware of the shift that happened today.

The crowd made me think. Look at all those people here for this one thing. Imagine what all those people could accomplish if they worked together to try to solve our problems. And as naive and idealistic as that may seem, I think that that is what this is all about. President Obama is here to lead us, to show us the way, to teach us to work together to solve the problems of our nation that were caused by doing just the opposite. So I say, let's not let him down. Let's do what we came here to do. Let's not let the battle cry of the campaign die out, but instead let us put it into action.

For me it all goes back to one of the earliest pieces of campaign propaganda. Before Obama was a rockstar, when he was a relatively unknown politician from Illinois. Will.I.Am made this inspiring video that still moves me. So let's follow it's call to action. 

Yes. We. Can.