Sneaux day.

Louisiana is the armpit of the sun.  It’s hot, it’s humid, it’s miserable here in the summer.  You walk from your car to your house and melt in a puddle on the cement.  There’s no hope for your hair.  With the humidity, my hair looks like Don King’s hair puked on it.

So, it’s quite alarming and a tad bit exciting when it snows, er sneauxs, here.  Everything shuts down like it’s the end of the world.  People stock up on bread, milk and cheese.  Schools close, kids make mini-snowmen out of the 1” of snow that manages to stick on the ground.  It’s glorious!  It’s already snowed twice this winter season, and it also snowed last December (2008) – just a few weeks shy of Christmas.  I believe it’s because my child was born.  She’s graced Louisiana with white winters.  You can donate to her college fund as a thank you for all that she’s done for this state. 

Here's Anna's first white Christmas – 12/11/2008.

This was actually a very beautiful snowfall.  It reminded me of the “blizzards” we used to have up north.  The snow stayed on the ground for almost a week. 

Here she is outside.  In the snow.  On a very cold day.  CPS, anyone?  

Brrrr!

Even Cosmo got in on the action!


So, here's this year's sneaux pictures!

Kinda pitiful in comparison, right?  Oh well, everything still shut down.  Snow day!  Woot!

Here’s my little girl looking at the snowflakes.  The last time it snowed, she was in an infant carrier seat and a bouncy.  Now she’s standing and walking and running.  My, how time flies!  (I just noticed she had my TV remote in her hand.  I haven’t seen it since that day.  Blargh!)

So, I want to thank God for deeming Louisiana fit to take part in the white washing that normal states get. We enjoyed it, even if it lasted for 5.5 seconds and melted right away. At least I have pictures to prove that it did sneaux in the dirty dirty south.

Giant rat.

I'm an animal lover. People who know me know that I will go to the ends of the earth to save an animal. Many times I've dodged traffic to save a stray dog from certain death or slipped in mud and muck while trying to catch an abandoned kitten. With all of my good animal deeds, one would think I'd have a harem of great pets, right? Wrong.

My animals are all nightmares. All three of them. Little furry puking, pooping, peeing balls of nightmares.

Don't get me wrong. I love them.

Sometimes.

Most of the time I'm looking at them with malice in my eyes for the many presents they leave me on the floor. I'd say this look pretty much sums it up for me:

Thank God for my Steam Vac and my ability to somewhat keep a clean house otherwise these animals would get the best of me.

So, in keeping with their aggravating personas, tonight while I was putting something away in Anna's bib drawer, I had the scare of my life. Heart-attack inducing. Gut wrenching. Pass out on the ground and wake up 5 hours later scare.

A rat jumped out of the drawer.

A huge, gray and orange rat with big, freaky eyes and a furry tail. A rat that meowed much like one of my cats would meow. A rat with cat breath and cat whiskers.
A rat named Chloe.

Chloe the cat or rat had taken ownership of my daughter's bib drawer when it was semi-opened from earlier. I guess she assumed it was OK to nap in there because she certainly looked put-off after I opened the drawer and accused her of being a huge rat.

She is very rat-like, isn't she?

Babeh vs. Kitteh.

Let me preface this video with a disclaimer.  No kittehs were harmed during the filming of this video. Before any PETA activists come banging down my door, I can assure you that my stout cat likes the rough stuff which is why she kept coming back for more.  I broke up my babeh and my kitteh before it got too ugly. 

Anna has finally started learning how to properly pet a cat. However, the learning process is slow going. That's very apparent in this video. Baby steps, baby steps.

(Note: Looks like this SoapBox program is not working very well. I will upload the video elsewhere and replace it tomorrow. Sorry about that!)

Kitteh needz homez.

My friends call me Noah Natalie and Dr. Doolittle.  There’s a reason for this.  All animals come to me.  Homeless and afraid?  Go find Natalie.  There must be some secret animal society out there with a list of the top 10 suckers who will take in any living, breathing creature if it needs help.  I’m #1 on the list.  My sister is #2. 

I don’t mind.  My husband, on the other hand, does mind.  You see, he loves me, but he does not love animals – at least not to the same degree that I love them. So, this causes problems. Anytime another animal sees the word “Sucker” written on my forehead, my husband gives me the “You’re not taking this animal in” look.  Being the wife I am, I disregard that look and take them in anyway.  I’m a feisty one.

But enough about me.

Here's the reason for this post.  Another kitten has found me, Noah Natalie, and he needs a good home.  A home where he will be loved and cherished for the rest of his life.  A kitten this cute deserves that, right?

His name is Cheeto. Or Boodan (Boudin - don't ask me why I named him after sausage). I'm still deciding which name fits him better. Cheebo is kinda cute - it's a good mix.

Here he is climbing up my leg.   

Here he is climbing my leg again.  He’s a leg man, I guess. 

Excuse the blurriness.  It’s not exactly easy to photograph an energetic kitten.

See what I mean?  Not easy! 

Anyway – Cheebo/Cheeto/Boodan is the sweetest, most loveable kitten I’ve ever fostered.  He will make a wonderful pet for a loving family.  I am willing to drive a reasonable distance to bring him to you if you’re interested.  Please just send me an e-mail and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Please feel free to pass along this information to anyone you know who may be in the market for a new kitty. I appreciate your help (and so does Cheebo/Cheeto/Boodan). :)

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and now is as good a time as any to reflect on the many blessings in my life. I can't believe this year is quickly coming to a close. Where did the time go? I can remember sitting down on New Year's Eve and thinking how far away Christmas seemed and how long the year would be, and it's already over - just like that - a blink of an eye. I woke up on January 1st, blinked once and now it's November 19.

Sometimes I feel like Adam Sandler is playing around with my remote control of life ("Click" reference for those of you who haven't seen that movie). The only difference is that I don't want my life to go by in the blink of an eye. I want to deal with all of the everyday "inconveniences" that slow me down a bit and make me reflect on how short and sweet life truly is. I want to sit down at my desk and write another check for a bill and be grateful that we have a wonderful house to call home and bills that we have the ability to pay because of our jobs.

Life is made up of millions of inconveniences, millions of menial daily tasks that we'd rather avoid - those few moments of pure bliss, those unforgettable seconds of time, those are few and far in between. Why wait around for those moments to happen and ignore the sweet filling in between? Call me crazy, but the best part of cake is the filling in the middle - the actual cake is just a bonus.

I am thankful for the arguments. I've been married for four years to a wonderful man. We have our moments, our marriage is far from perfect, but through each argument, I feel like we learn more about one another. I feel like we mark our battles down in some invisible, unspoken history book and learn from our mistakes. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. I am thankful to have a husband who loves me and knows me and still accepts me for who I am even with my many faults.

Waking up at 6:30 a.m. is a blessing. Why would anyone want to be greeted by the irritating beep of an alarm clock and be pushed out of a warm and cozy space? That's easy. It's a blessing to me because I have a place to go, some place that makes my life worthwhile, a true blessing to work where I work and for whom I work. A job that pays my bills and gives me some extra spending money when I just "need" that new "insert whatever gadget is popular now-a-days". An incredible boss who goes above and beyond for his employees. Great co-workers who are funny and smart and good people. This is what life is all about. This is the good filling.

Airing up my tire is a blessing. I've had a nail stuck in my right front tire for the past 6 months. Why haven't I replaced the tire, you ask? It's a matter of principle. I just had all four tires replaced and within a week's time, the nail became embedded in my tire. Kinda aggravated me, so I still drive on it since it's not that big of a deal. It causes a slow leak that I have to fix on a weekly basis. Air it up, I'm on my way. How is that a blessing? Because I have a car. It may not be the latest and greatest or even considered middle-class, but it gets me from point A to point B, and it's always pulled through for me whenever I needed it to. It's paid for. It drives well. It's my car.

My family. The entire dynamic of my family has changed. My maternal grandparents are gone, our holiday get-togethers are at different locations and not all of us can make it there anymore. I had the sickening realization the other day that after my generation is gone, no one on earth will have ever had the opportunity to know my grandparents in life. They'll never get to hear my grandmother's voice, or see the beautiful wrinkles in her hands or hear The Price is Right music playing in her kitchen early in the morning. They'll never know that my grandfather loved to eat bananas and how he used to wear mechanic jumpsuits just to piddle around the house. How he worked on crossword puzzles daily and how is eyes turned a weird shade of blue once the cataracts got too bad. They'll never get to hear them say "I love you" and to know how good it felt to be loved and embraced by them. We can pass their memory along to our children and our children's children, but it will never be the same. They will never know.

This makes me want to hold on to my loved ones even more - to embrace them and cherish them and love them because they won't be around forever. When they're gone, that chapter of life will close. No video or picture or funny story will ever depict just how wonderful they were. I am thankful for them.

I am thankful for my pets - all three of them. If you've never owned a pet, especially a dog, I highly recommend it - if for nothing more than the therapeutic value. My dog is my psychologist. He's my sounding board and my rock at times. I had an emotional day a few days ago. Hey, it's OK to cry, right? My dog was intently chewing on his bone and stopped immediately once he knew I was upset. He came over to me and kneeled down right next to me and just let me lean into him and cry on him. He's a 2 year old lab puppy, so this was a huge feat for him. When I pulled my face back, he looked straight in my eyes and licked my face as though to say "I love you, I'm here for you." I know that sounds stupid, but it's like he just knew. It was one of the most powerful moments of my life. How can something so uniquely different from me be so connected to me on so many levels? My cats are the same way. If I'm sad, it's like they know. They follow me around more, sit on my lap more, head butt me more, whatever they can do to make me happy. I am thankful for them.

I am thankful for all of you and thankful for the many everyday blessings that may not necessarily seem like a blessing. It's time to start focusing on the in between moments, the filling of the cake, the sweet part that is often hidden from the naked eye but makes your life incredible once you reach it. It's the in between moments that count. Let's make them count.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Extra Extra.

I haven't written a blog in quite some time, so I thought I'd chime in about some recent happenings in my life. I know you guys and gals sit in front of your computer monitors 24/7 just waiting for me to churn out another of my marvelous blog entries. Wait no more, my friends, I'm back, and I'm fierce!

"Unfortch" (word shamelessly stolen from Pink is the New Blog), going forward this entry will pale in comparison to my magnificent opening paragraph, but at least I hooked you in the beginning.

On with it...

So, this past Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion. That's shocking for two reasons: 1) I can't believe I'm already old enough to be attending a 10 year high school reunion and 2) I can't believe I'm already old enough to be attending a 10 year high school reunion. I was quite surprised at how great a time I had. With the exception of feeling awkward for most of the night, Joe and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to see some of my old friends and to catch up on our lives. The only issue I had was the constant series of obligatory questions that everyone asked:

- "How have you been?"
- "Where do you live now?"
- "How many children do you have?"

The third question got me the most. By the end of the night, I was almost apologetic for not having a gaggle of children. I was one of only three couples there who were childless, and two of those couples were newlyweds.

So, where does that leave me? Let's just say I'm starting to feel some pressure. I'm 28 and a few months old, I still have no desire to have children and I'm not really sure if I will ever want a child. Houston, we have a problem! Or do we? Who says you have to have a houseful of snot-nosed children to be happy in life? Who says that? If you can find me the person who says that I'll give you a $100 reward and a stick of gum - sugar-free gum for all you dieters out there.

Maybe I'll change my mind over the next few years. I know my mom's praying for that, and I'm sure Joe is praying for that as well. He's still on the fence about the child issue - his fence separates daddy-hood from corvette/camaro-hood. Methinks he'll choose the car, but I could be wrong.

So, aside from my child issues, I had an excellent time at my reunion. There were a few awkward moments throughout the night, but it was all bearable. I did find it shocking that half of the hard-bodied jocks of my class put on about 10,000 lbs. collectively.

Next...

Joe and I are off to Houston on Friday for the American Idol concert (Sat. night). I'm really looking forward to just getting out of town for a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to score some awesome pictures like my friend Jill did (check out her slideshow). We have third row seats, so I'm hoping to get some great shots. With our luck, we'll be behind a 7', one-ton man and only get to see the show from the big screens on stage. Isn't that always the case?

On a lighter note, one of my cats is crapping outside of the litter box now.

That is all.