Here is a meme for you to do if you want

I'm not sure why it is called a meme...something like a memo about 'me' would be my guess. One of my favorite bloggers michellesmiles.com did it on her blog today. Anyway here it is and I tag Patty to do one on her blog!

Ten years ago… I was working at the paper, but single and not even dating. Although I knew of a Mike where I worked I didn't really know him. Come August we started dating - our first date was a home Jaguar game on a Thursday night. God had made me a football fan for some reason that year - I no longer am one - and he had gotten free tickets from the paper. We started out slowly - like a date a week or so. (It was Gator season so Saturdays were out!); but by the following Valentines Day we were engaged.

Five things on my to do list today…Well it is 9pm so I will tell you my list for tomorrow: Take library books back; Do 3 loads of laundry; Swim in the pool with my family; Call about getting the kittens fixed (their poop is very stinky so we are hoping that will help - and yes Patty I know you will think this is too much information!) Try to relax - I have been having muscle spasms in my back all week.

Snacks I enjoy… ICE CREAM! Popcorn, Nuts, chocolate with nuts;

Things I would do if I was a millionaire, Travel alot; Have Jamie enrolled in activities that she loves like dance, or gymnastics or swimming and have means to get her there every day. Have a personnel trainer who would be hard on me so I would get in shape; Buy and sell houses but pay others to do the work; Have a personnel chef; Get involved in animal welfare in some way. I would love to set up a cathouse for kitties with no homes, where people can will their cats to.

Ok now it's your turn, go do one on your blog and leave me word in the comments so I will know to come read it.

Which is the best scratching post for cats?

I have decided that I don't want to declaw these kitties. It really is a cruel procedure and would like to see if we can skip it. I wanted to skip it with my last batch of cats, but when I got Katie my mom lived with me so I had her declawed to satisfy mom...and the other two because it wouldn't be fair to Katie. But since we are starting fresh with these guys I really want to give this a chance. They say behavior issues can arise from declawing...and I have had kitties with behavioral issues. Katie was such a brat cat...nobody but us would dare to pick her up and she did her share of growling at me....Poncho was codependent kitty...he had to be right with me to the point of irritation, and Kimba was very neurotic...he would back into the walls and couches and spray when upset. Who is to say these issues were not because of being declawed?

So the search is on for a good scratching post. This 'Purrfect Post' seems to be among the better of the two, the other is called Top Cat. They are both about $60- which sounds like alot but wouldnt it be worth not getting the furniture messed up?
I hope to get one soon before any of them find the couches, at this point they are scratching at the foam letters blocks on the floor, which I think is fine, but I know they will go for the vertical stretch soon.

Any experience out there?

Life is good

Well we have some good news! Mike finished his tasks Monday! He has finally completed 22 tasks that were assigned to him a year ago and should be getting his permanant certificate sometime soon. Since he stayed up all night on Sunday to finish them on Monday he is still not back to normal. He fell asleep right after we put Jamie to bed tonight and is still sleeping (11pm). Poor baby...too bad he procrastinated so much last summer and fall - he really had to put it into hyperdrive this past month.

During his hyperdrive, his mom and brother visited - Which Miss Jamie thouroughly enjoyed. She just loves her Grandma Fifi and Uncle Bruce. They left this morning - it was a shame Mike had to work on his tasks most of the time during the visit.

Oh but his weight loss campaign seems to be working out nicely he has lost about 15 or 20 lbs or so...hard to tell as he didn't weigh in until he was dieting for over a week. Also because he isn't eating carbs I am not eating so much bread, potatoes pasta and rice I also managed to lose 5 lbs. Now if I can give up sweets and start exercising I should be able to lose more as well.

My mom is settling into living here in our fair town again. She is hoping her Mobile home sells soon on the other side of the state but seems happy to be back in River City.

We are having rain almost every afternoon reminicsent of the early 90's when I first moved to Florida...Doesn't make for enjoyable evenings in the pool, but at least we aren't breathing smoke from forest fires as in years gone by.

My job is great, I am busy driving all over town most days, but for the most part I love it. It's just a tough time to sell advertising, but it will pay off later when the market picks up again, or so we hope.

The kittens are good, mostly affectionate and loving, but also playful and full of fun. They really enjoyed Mikes mother being here as she gave them plenty of extra attention. They are getting bigger, and I need to set appointments for them to be fixed soon, I don't want to take the chance of any hormones starting up. We had a kitty who would 'mark' his territory and we don't want to go down that road again.

Ok good news about the hubby, the relatives, the pets and the weather, now to what truly matters - News about the Princess of the house:

Jamie is quite recalcitrant recently - She was really quite a challenge at dinner tonight, frowning and backtalking both of us. Whenever visitors leave she suffers a bit of a social hangover I am afraid, but this too shall pass.

She uses whole sentences now, missing some of the smaller sight words but I can usually understand her. She enjoys a dill pickle most mornings on the way to daycare and likes wearing dresses and skirts. She is also getting interested in her dolls. I need to look for some Barbie Doll clothes for her.

She gets a bit rough with the kitties, but I am being firm and watching her closely. I will not allow her to be mean to them...they are so affectionate, and I want that to continue. If she is rough with them I am afraid they will hide from her, and that's no fun!

Ok off to bed, what is good in your world?

Fun at the zoo

We got an annual pass to the zoo courtesy of our city foster & adoptive parent agency, or courtesy of the zoo...not sure who, but it was a great bonus. We went for the first time in over a year so this time Jamie was really aware of what animals she wanted to see - the Giraffes and the Monkeys. We saw both, but the giraffes are much more photogenic because they come right up to you and you can feed them. Last time we went the giraffes heads came right up into the enclosure, but the put some rocks down on the edge of their field so they cant reach so close. I guess their heads were swinging and hitting folks...could be quite the liability. Did you know that a giraffe's tongue comes out of thier mouths about 8-10 inches?! We really enjoyed the visit, it was amazing how good it went with 2 two year olds and a three year old.

Our zoo is a wonderful facility with gorgeous flowers and greenery and some pretty natural settings. (Except the bears, I bad for their little area surrounded by a driveway and some sort of shed.) It's nice that they put in a water park for the kids to cool off in too. Next time I may wear a suit underneath and get wet as well. Speaking of suits, I lost Jamies Nemo suit...I had it hanging on the handlebars of the stroller and it didn't make it out of the park. I meant to call today and see if it was in Lost and Found.

******************************** Speaking of not so fun stuff I am having a colonoscopy on Friday. So at least this will be a short week at work.

Kitties vet check

I had to take the kittens back to the Animal Control today. Jamie got hysterical in the driveway when I left the house with them this morning, and silly me thought she was sad to see me go to work without taking her to daycare. No...she was freaking out cuz she thought I was taking the kittens away...for good! "Daddy kitties gone?" she sobbed...Anyway the kittens were due for their shots and to get weighed. They were less than 2 lbs each when we picked them up 3 wks ago. Now Truman (the Siamese) is 2 lb 15 oz and Minnie (the dark calico) and Spicy (the dilute calico) weight about 2 1/2 lb each. They were very happy to see me come back to pick them up! Next I get to take them back to be spayed and neutered. Can you believe they are able to do that to such young kittens? they just need to be at least 2 lbs and 8 weeks old. Then we can adopt them. So we're still a foster family. A gal I used to work with just started working there doing PR and I saw her on the news Thursday and again this morning. Sounds like an interesting job but I am afraid I would want all of the animals. I remember once going to a kennel with a friend who was thinking about getting a cat, and just sobbing in front of the cages, knowing that most of them would be put down soon.

Truman is the most loving or codependent of the 3 - he reminds me a bit of my dear Poncho- he follows me and wants to be where I am and talks alot. I am glad Jamie loves the kittens as they will be part of her life a good long time. I hope they play with her and follow her around as time goes by- right now they tolerate her petting them and thrusting stuff in their face all the time. She is starting to play with them though, she was rolling a ball for Spicy for over 10 minutes earlier.

The kittens are about 11 weeks old now, I figured their birthday is March 23 2008, my 15th anniversary of working at the paper. (Who'd a thunk I would be at this job so long!)

Truman is sitting on my tummy (I am laying on the couch typing this on my laptop)...he is such a lovey. I am so happy to have kitties in our lives again.

Move over Dora, Elmo, Barney & Boobah ~ Make room for Thomas!

As Jamie gets older she is much more demanding about what she would like to watch. Although our public library here in town has a fine selection of dvds available to borrow at no cost, OnDemand is a wonderful, convenient source for all of her faves, including the new one on the list - Thomas the train. Who'da thunk that a show about a train would be so popular...but there is something about it I like...could be I love me some Alec Baldwin voiceover and the use of 'cross' instead of mad always makes me smile.

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Mike installed 'Twitter' recently (see the sidebar on the right) and it's kind of neat, but it is a bit of a new widget program. I wanted one that would allow me to announce a sort of 'swimming pool open house' whenever we were in the pool...so far nobody has taken us up on it. I guess people are just more comfortable with a phone conversation instead when you are talking about coming by...there is a function that can alert people via cell phone but I think it involves text messaging and my friends and I just arent there yet. Also before I got in today Twitter was down so I couldnt change the widget to say we were in the pool.

So anyway everyone I know irl if you read my blog and its Sat or Sun, check it to see if we are 'in the swim'.