Since Mr. V has left lots of stuff has gone wrong. I think I jinxed myself. While other wives were talking about all the bad stuff that happens when their husband deploys, I sat there and said "Nothing bad has happened to ME yet!" I spoke too soon.
Since Mr. V has left:
~a shelf fell down in the closet
~our lawnmower doesn't work
~I have a cat peeing all over the house and with 9 of them its nearly impossible to figure out which one it is.
~The "system failure" light came on in my car, followed by the maintenance required light. My car isn't due for any maintenance and I have no idea what a system failure light means.
~Our dishwasher is dead. It started just by not working right. Now its dead.
I still have many months to go...what else can go wrong?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
RENT the Broadway Tour in Seattle
Approximately 14 years ago, my mom took me to see a new musical that had recently opened on Broadway. The show was RENT. My mom is very big into theater so over the years she has taken me to probably over 50 shows on Broadway (some of them I have seen 2 or 3 times). My mom instilled in me my own love of Broadway and one of the things that I hate about living away from New York is that I can't just hop on a train to see a show whenever I feel like it. When RENT first opened on Broadway it became an instant overnight success. Tickets were sold out for months in advance, so when my parents were finally able to get tickets, I was ecstatic.
Not only did we have tickets, but we had 3rd row seats, which is sort of the first row (The first 2 rows were only sold on the day of the show, so a third row ticket is the closest you can get when you buy ahead of time.) The day of the show my 2 friends, and my cousin met my mom and me at our house in the morning. I remember the events of the day so clearly. My dad was upstairs watching the news and right before we left, he came downstairs and we had a conversation that went like this:
Dad: "Say hi to Bill for me!"
Me, Mom, friends and cousin: "What?"
Dad: "Its Chelsea Clinton's birthday. The president is going to be in New York City today to celebrate her birthday!"
That was all. Just a simple conversation that we forgot about moments later. NYC is HUGE, so who really cared that the president was going to be there right? There was no way we'd ever see him.
Apparently, we were wrong with that way of thinking. We arrived at 41st Street where the Nederlander Theatre, home of RENT is, and the street was barricaded off so that no one could get on it. We were a little worried because we had tickets to see a show and the street looked like there was no chance in the world we were getting onto it. So my mom asked a police officer who was guarding the street what was going on. His response? "The President is going to see RENT." Now, maybe I'm just a huge nerd, but whether or not you like Bill Clinton, we thought that was pretty unbelievable. Especially since we kind of ignored my dad when he made the comment about the Clinton's being in the city that day. So needless to say, we were still allowed on the street, but only if we had tickets to the show, and only after we went through a series of metal detectors, purse searches and my mom had pepper spray taken away from her.
Once we got to our seats, the theatre was just abuzz with noise as everyone waited for the president to come in. We assumed that he would sit in a box seat, or at least be secluded from everyone somehow, but we were wrong again. We noticed that the 3 rows behind us were empty and we actually sat there talking amongst ourselves saying "There is NO way he's going to sit right behind us." But he did! 2 rows behind us. The row directly behind us was filled with secret service agents, the row behind them had Bill, Hillary, Chelsea and friends, and behind that was another row of secret service agents. I am going to have to dig out my pictures from that day, because we got some good ones!
So the show started and it was quite possibly the greatest show I had ever seen on Broadway. I had already memorized the soundtrack before seeing the show, and had already fallen in love with the characters of Mark and Roger. I was so determined to meet and get autographs from Anthony Rapp, who played Mark, and Adam Pascal, who played Roger. My mom and I always waited by the stage door after shows to get autographs and pictures of the cast. We have done it at every show so it was always assumed that we would do it for any future shows. When we headed into NYC that day, I was determined to get Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal's autograph. Well...that wasn't going to happen. Apparently, when the President of the United States is in the theatre, that means that every single patron is ushered off the street as fast as possible after the show and no one is allowed to wait by the stage door. During intermission of the show we were able to get up and shake the president's hand. We also had Hillary Clinton sign our RENT playbills. So after the show, when we were ushered off the street, my friends and I were soooo disappointed that we didn't get to meet the actors that we adored. We spent the rest of the day whining (we were only 14 or 15 years old), saying things like "I can't believe I couldn't meet Adam Pascal." To which my mom would respond: "Girls...you met the president! Quit whining!"
For the next several years I whined and complained about how I didn't get to meet 2 of my favorite actors. It killed me because so many of my friends from school had gone to seen the play and had met them. So I admit...I was horribly jealous. Then Adam Pascal reappeared on Broadway in the musical AIDA. When AIDA opened, my mom gave me tickets for my birthday. I remember the card because it said something like "I don't know what this play is about, but Adam Pascal is in it, so maybe now you can quit whining!" It was the best birthday present ever :-). I did get to meet Adam Pascal FINALLY after going to see AIDA. A few months later I also got a "job" working for Adam Pascal. He has a few CDs out that are produced through an online only record company. Their website was looking for volunteers to hand out postcards advertising the albums after AIDA let out each day. So I volunteered. I spent about 4 weekends handing out postcards (I think this was in 2000), which also earned me the right to be personally introduced to Adam Pascal in the process. I also saw AIDA 2 more times before he left the show. So I have several nice pictures of Adam Pascal, some with me in them, one is autographed and others are just him. For the moment, I was appeased because I got to meet one of my favorite actors.
That still didn't completely stop my whining though. I still wanted to meet Anthony Rapp. RENT was still playing on Broadway but the cast had changed several times since the original cast left. It figures that once I moved to Corpus Christi, Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal revived their roles in the play for a few months. It just wasn't possible for me to get home during that time, so I whined about it. Then the movie version of RENT came out which I cheerfully went to see, but then I spent a few days whining afterwards because the movie stared the original cast, and once again, I was annoyed that I had never met Anthony Rapp.
So fast forward to this past weekend. RENT had a 12 year run on Broadway but it is officially closed now. The Broadway tour is still running though and it came to Seattle this past weekend. The big hype about the Broadway tour? Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp came back to revive their original roles again. I was soooo excited when I heard this. This is apparently a huge deal that they are back too because the show is being advertised as "Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp in RENT the Broadway Tour". The original show never had any "stars". No one person was advertised in the advertisements for it, so I was pretty excited to see their names on the marquee.
We went to the 2:00 matinee showing this past Saturday and I had a blast! I felt like a little kid because I was so excited to see my favorite actors live on stage again! I also realized that it has been 14 years since I first saw the play on Broadway! I didn't realize it had been that long, but I do feel kind of pathetic that I have been whining for 14 years about not being able to meet Anthony Rapp. So of course, when the show was over, I raced out of the theatre to find the stage door. My friends followed but I am convinced that they think I'm crazy. I was shocked at the huge crowd that gathered at the stage door. I just wasn't expecting 2 Broadway stars to have such a huge fan base on the West Coast (although they were in the movie version), but everyone waiting out there was waiting to see them.
So now I can finally say, that after 14 years, I finally got the autographs that I wanted! Not only did I finally get an autograph from Anthony Rapp, but I added another Adam Pascal one to my collection too. Even that one was exciting to me because I became his fan because of RENT and now I finally had his autograph on a RENT playbill.
I don't think my friends were as excited as me and I don't think they really understand WHY I was and still am so excited! But I am thankful that they humored me though, and one of them even took pictures for me. All in all...it was a great day. Now I can say that I met the President AND Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal :-)!
(Yay for Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp getting their names on the marquee!)
(Adam Pascal signing my playbill...thats the back of my head and I look really far away in this picture but I was only about a foot away from him.)
(Adam Pascal)
(Adam Pascal)
(Adam Pascal)
(Anthony Rapp signing my playbill - FINALLY! :-))
(Anthony Rapp)
(Anthony Rapp)
Not only did we have tickets, but we had 3rd row seats, which is sort of the first row (The first 2 rows were only sold on the day of the show, so a third row ticket is the closest you can get when you buy ahead of time.) The day of the show my 2 friends, and my cousin met my mom and me at our house in the morning. I remember the events of the day so clearly. My dad was upstairs watching the news and right before we left, he came downstairs and we had a conversation that went like this:
Dad: "Say hi to Bill for me!"
Me, Mom, friends and cousin: "What?"
Dad: "Its Chelsea Clinton's birthday. The president is going to be in New York City today to celebrate her birthday!"
That was all. Just a simple conversation that we forgot about moments later. NYC is HUGE, so who really cared that the president was going to be there right? There was no way we'd ever see him.
Apparently, we were wrong with that way of thinking. We arrived at 41st Street where the Nederlander Theatre, home of RENT is, and the street was barricaded off so that no one could get on it. We were a little worried because we had tickets to see a show and the street looked like there was no chance in the world we were getting onto it. So my mom asked a police officer who was guarding the street what was going on. His response? "The President is going to see RENT." Now, maybe I'm just a huge nerd, but whether or not you like Bill Clinton, we thought that was pretty unbelievable. Especially since we kind of ignored my dad when he made the comment about the Clinton's being in the city that day. So needless to say, we were still allowed on the street, but only if we had tickets to the show, and only after we went through a series of metal detectors, purse searches and my mom had pepper spray taken away from her.
Once we got to our seats, the theatre was just abuzz with noise as everyone waited for the president to come in. We assumed that he would sit in a box seat, or at least be secluded from everyone somehow, but we were wrong again. We noticed that the 3 rows behind us were empty and we actually sat there talking amongst ourselves saying "There is NO way he's going to sit right behind us." But he did! 2 rows behind us. The row directly behind us was filled with secret service agents, the row behind them had Bill, Hillary, Chelsea and friends, and behind that was another row of secret service agents. I am going to have to dig out my pictures from that day, because we got some good ones!
So the show started and it was quite possibly the greatest show I had ever seen on Broadway. I had already memorized the soundtrack before seeing the show, and had already fallen in love with the characters of Mark and Roger. I was so determined to meet and get autographs from Anthony Rapp, who played Mark, and Adam Pascal, who played Roger. My mom and I always waited by the stage door after shows to get autographs and pictures of the cast. We have done it at every show so it was always assumed that we would do it for any future shows. When we headed into NYC that day, I was determined to get Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal's autograph. Well...that wasn't going to happen. Apparently, when the President of the United States is in the theatre, that means that every single patron is ushered off the street as fast as possible after the show and no one is allowed to wait by the stage door. During intermission of the show we were able to get up and shake the president's hand. We also had Hillary Clinton sign our RENT playbills. So after the show, when we were ushered off the street, my friends and I were soooo disappointed that we didn't get to meet the actors that we adored. We spent the rest of the day whining (we were only 14 or 15 years old), saying things like "I can't believe I couldn't meet Adam Pascal." To which my mom would respond: "Girls...you met the president! Quit whining!"
For the next several years I whined and complained about how I didn't get to meet 2 of my favorite actors. It killed me because so many of my friends from school had gone to seen the play and had met them. So I admit...I was horribly jealous. Then Adam Pascal reappeared on Broadway in the musical AIDA. When AIDA opened, my mom gave me tickets for my birthday. I remember the card because it said something like "I don't know what this play is about, but Adam Pascal is in it, so maybe now you can quit whining!" It was the best birthday present ever :-). I did get to meet Adam Pascal FINALLY after going to see AIDA. A few months later I also got a "job" working for Adam Pascal. He has a few CDs out that are produced through an online only record company. Their website was looking for volunteers to hand out postcards advertising the albums after AIDA let out each day. So I volunteered. I spent about 4 weekends handing out postcards (I think this was in 2000), which also earned me the right to be personally introduced to Adam Pascal in the process. I also saw AIDA 2 more times before he left the show. So I have several nice pictures of Adam Pascal, some with me in them, one is autographed and others are just him. For the moment, I was appeased because I got to meet one of my favorite actors.
That still didn't completely stop my whining though. I still wanted to meet Anthony Rapp. RENT was still playing on Broadway but the cast had changed several times since the original cast left. It figures that once I moved to Corpus Christi, Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal revived their roles in the play for a few months. It just wasn't possible for me to get home during that time, so I whined about it. Then the movie version of RENT came out which I cheerfully went to see, but then I spent a few days whining afterwards because the movie stared the original cast, and once again, I was annoyed that I had never met Anthony Rapp.
So fast forward to this past weekend. RENT had a 12 year run on Broadway but it is officially closed now. The Broadway tour is still running though and it came to Seattle this past weekend. The big hype about the Broadway tour? Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp came back to revive their original roles again. I was soooo excited when I heard this. This is apparently a huge deal that they are back too because the show is being advertised as "Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp in RENT the Broadway Tour". The original show never had any "stars". No one person was advertised in the advertisements for it, so I was pretty excited to see their names on the marquee.
We went to the 2:00 matinee showing this past Saturday and I had a blast! I felt like a little kid because I was so excited to see my favorite actors live on stage again! I also realized that it has been 14 years since I first saw the play on Broadway! I didn't realize it had been that long, but I do feel kind of pathetic that I have been whining for 14 years about not being able to meet Anthony Rapp. So of course, when the show was over, I raced out of the theatre to find the stage door. My friends followed but I am convinced that they think I'm crazy. I was shocked at the huge crowd that gathered at the stage door. I just wasn't expecting 2 Broadway stars to have such a huge fan base on the West Coast (although they were in the movie version), but everyone waiting out there was waiting to see them.
So now I can finally say, that after 14 years, I finally got the autographs that I wanted! Not only did I finally get an autograph from Anthony Rapp, but I added another Adam Pascal one to my collection too. Even that one was exciting to me because I became his fan because of RENT and now I finally had his autograph on a RENT playbill.
I don't think my friends were as excited as me and I don't think they really understand WHY I was and still am so excited! But I am thankful that they humored me though, and one of them even took pictures for me. All in all...it was a great day. Now I can say that I met the President AND Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal :-)!
(Yay for Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp getting their names on the marquee!)
(Adam Pascal signing my playbill...thats the back of my head and I look really far away in this picture but I was only about a foot away from him.)
(Adam Pascal)
(Adam Pascal)
(Adam Pascal)
(Anthony Rapp signing my playbill - FINALLY! :-))
(Anthony Rapp)
(Anthony Rapp)Monday, June 22, 2009
Dear In-Laws
Dear Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law,
Since I can't say this to your face without starting a major family fight, I decided that a blog that you will never read would be the best way to vent my frustrations.
There are a few things that you need to know and understand:
1. I am not Mr. V's secretary. I don't know where he is 24/7. He's deployed. He's not here with me. However, even if he was here with me, I still don't keep track of his every move. If I did know where he was at all times and what he was doing at all times, I still wouldn't feel like giving you a running commentary about his life.
2. When your son tells you "Don't send any mail to this address after *insert date*, that means *gasp* Don't send any mail to that address after that date! Please re-read his instructions before calling me in a panic wondering where to send your 10th care package.
3. Mr. V has email access. He has a computer. I understand he is in another country, but he still has daily access to a computer. In fact, he has a computer with an internet connection in his room. If you have a REALLY important question, you are perfectly capable of emailing him and asking him. There is no need to call me in a panic because you don't know how to get in touch with him.
4. I am perfectly capable of sending my husband toothpaste if he needs it. I am also capable of sending him snacks, razors, soap or anything else he might need. If you want to send him care packages, FINE. But stop calling me, telling me that if he tells ME that he needs something, then I should call YOU so you can send it to him. I am an adult. I have a car. I live in a town with stores. I am perfectly capable of getting into my car, driving to the store, buying some toothpaste, putting that toothpaste into a box and then driving to the post office to mail it. I'm his wife. I don't need his mother to do what I am perfectly capable of doing myself.
5. If you can't figure out how to fill out a customs form, go to the post office and ask for help. Being clueless about a customs form does not warrant 3 text messages to me explaining that you don't know how to write on the form.
6. I don't care if you are on vacation somewhere. Your travels have no effect on my life. Please stop texting me to tell me that you are in Missouri, then Alabama, and now you're back home. If you feel the need to keep your entire family informed of your whereabouts then email Mr. V and tell him. There is absolutely no reason why your travels to Alabama are important enough that you NEED to tell me about them.
7. Please stop asking me for my mailing address. I've given it to you 3 times already. If you lost it, thats your problem. I personally don't think that you lost it and you're just looking for a reason to talk to me, but if you ask me again, I'm not answering. I have more important things to do with my time, than give you the same information over and over again.
8. Please stop asking me for Mr. V's mailing address. I don't believe that you have really lost this address either.
9. If you don't hear from Mr. V in a week, there is no reason to panic. If something happens to him while he's deployed, I promise you that you will know. I'm also not sure why you feel the need to call ME when you haven't heard from him. Did I mention that he has email? Ask him yourself if you're so concerned.
10. No, I do not need you to get on a plane and fly out here to help me or keep me company. I have my own parents if I need parents to do something for me. I also know how to read a phone book and use Google so I am capable of calling a professional if I need something fixed. I also don't want your company. I have friends and a life. They keep me company. So thanks for the offer, but no thanks. (P.S. My own mother was a little insulted when you called her to inform her that you will come out here to take care of me. She has every right to be insulted since I would call MY parents if I need parents!)
11. When your son writes emails to you, don't ignore the things that he tells you. If you ignore what he says, he's going to stop contacting you. Since contact is what you want from him, then it would probably be helpful to pay attention to the things he says.
12. Stop calling me to ask me if I'm doing ok. I am doing fine. Well...that is, until you call. Then I become stressed and irritated. If I don't call you back right away, then you will text me and email me until I do respond. Please stop. If I don't respond to your "We are in Alabama now" text message, that does not mean you have to follow it up with a question that I HAVE to answer, like "whats your mailing address?" As of today, I will no longer answer any stupid questions from you.
Thank you!
Brooklet
Since I can't say this to your face without starting a major family fight, I decided that a blog that you will never read would be the best way to vent my frustrations.
There are a few things that you need to know and understand:
1. I am not Mr. V's secretary. I don't know where he is 24/7. He's deployed. He's not here with me. However, even if he was here with me, I still don't keep track of his every move. If I did know where he was at all times and what he was doing at all times, I still wouldn't feel like giving you a running commentary about his life.
2. When your son tells you "Don't send any mail to this address after *insert date*, that means *gasp* Don't send any mail to that address after that date! Please re-read his instructions before calling me in a panic wondering where to send your 10th care package.
3. Mr. V has email access. He has a computer. I understand he is in another country, but he still has daily access to a computer. In fact, he has a computer with an internet connection in his room. If you have a REALLY important question, you are perfectly capable of emailing him and asking him. There is no need to call me in a panic because you don't know how to get in touch with him.
4. I am perfectly capable of sending my husband toothpaste if he needs it. I am also capable of sending him snacks, razors, soap or anything else he might need. If you want to send him care packages, FINE. But stop calling me, telling me that if he tells ME that he needs something, then I should call YOU so you can send it to him. I am an adult. I have a car. I live in a town with stores. I am perfectly capable of getting into my car, driving to the store, buying some toothpaste, putting that toothpaste into a box and then driving to the post office to mail it. I'm his wife. I don't need his mother to do what I am perfectly capable of doing myself.
5. If you can't figure out how to fill out a customs form, go to the post office and ask for help. Being clueless about a customs form does not warrant 3 text messages to me explaining that you don't know how to write on the form.
6. I don't care if you are on vacation somewhere. Your travels have no effect on my life. Please stop texting me to tell me that you are in Missouri, then Alabama, and now you're back home. If you feel the need to keep your entire family informed of your whereabouts then email Mr. V and tell him. There is absolutely no reason why your travels to Alabama are important enough that you NEED to tell me about them.
7. Please stop asking me for my mailing address. I've given it to you 3 times already. If you lost it, thats your problem. I personally don't think that you lost it and you're just looking for a reason to talk to me, but if you ask me again, I'm not answering. I have more important things to do with my time, than give you the same information over and over again.
8. Please stop asking me for Mr. V's mailing address. I don't believe that you have really lost this address either.
9. If you don't hear from Mr. V in a week, there is no reason to panic. If something happens to him while he's deployed, I promise you that you will know. I'm also not sure why you feel the need to call ME when you haven't heard from him. Did I mention that he has email? Ask him yourself if you're so concerned.
10. No, I do not need you to get on a plane and fly out here to help me or keep me company. I have my own parents if I need parents to do something for me. I also know how to read a phone book and use Google so I am capable of calling a professional if I need something fixed. I also don't want your company. I have friends and a life. They keep me company. So thanks for the offer, but no thanks. (P.S. My own mother was a little insulted when you called her to inform her that you will come out here to take care of me. She has every right to be insulted since I would call MY parents if I need parents!)
11. When your son writes emails to you, don't ignore the things that he tells you. If you ignore what he says, he's going to stop contacting you. Since contact is what you want from him, then it would probably be helpful to pay attention to the things he says.
12. Stop calling me to ask me if I'm doing ok. I am doing fine. Well...that is, until you call. Then I become stressed and irritated. If I don't call you back right away, then you will text me and email me until I do respond. Please stop. If I don't respond to your "We are in Alabama now" text message, that does not mean you have to follow it up with a question that I HAVE to answer, like "whats your mailing address?" As of today, I will no longer answer any stupid questions from you.
Thank you!
Brooklet
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Caboodle Ranch
My friend Anna just sent me a link to one of the coolest places I've ever seen. I was about to go to bed, and now about 2 hours later, I'm still sitting here, amazed by this place.
This is the link she sent me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VswBKrPuAQ
Its a video about a place called Caboodle Ranch in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Its things like this that make me miss living in Jacksonville.
Caboodle Ranch is a large piece of property owned by one man who created one of the best cat rescues I've ever seen. The video tells his story (and then his website corrects some of the "facts" from the video), but basically, this guy has devoted every minute of the rest of his life to caring for about 500 cats! I know there are a lot of people out there who would find that crazy, but this is the kind of place that I want to own one day. I'm not stupid and I know that there is no way I can ever care for that many cats on my own right now, or even in the near future. But my dream is to own a non-profit rescue, and after seeing this video I want my place to be similar to this! I was intrigued by the video, but I was completely sucked in when I read his blog. One of their new projects is the creation of a separate confined area for cats that have tested positive for feline leukemia. After having my baby kitten die from leukemia, I've been very in tune to rescues that provide homes for Felv+ cats. Not many do. Most places will have them euthanized as soon as they test positive. I am happy to say though, that it seems like more and more places are accepting these cats, which makes me very happy :-). I was already in love with Caboodle Ranch when I saw the You Tube video, but it sealed the deal for me when I saw they take in the leukemia cats.
So basically I have been sitting here for 2 hours pouring over this man's website, reading his blog and wishing I was back in Jacksonville, since this place is pretty close to where I used to live. I would LOVE to volunteer my time at a place like this.
If anyone feels the need to be a crazy cat lady like me, then check this place out. If you don't feel like being a crazy cat lady, then at least give the place a quick look. Its pretty amazing to me that this man has all of these cats and they are all happy, healthy, social and obviously well cared for. It does say that he has some volunteers, but just knowing that animals rescues and shelters are constantly looking for volunteers, I'm amazed that he can pull this off so well.
So here is the main website:
Caboodle Ranch
There are links to other You Tube videos on the site, but definitely check out the one I posted at the beginning of this post. That's the one that sucked me in.
He also has a blog that can be accessed from the main site, but it shows up in a window inside of the site. So here is the actual link to the blog.
A Day at the Ranch
I personally think this man is truly inspiring to anyone who wants to own and operate a place like this one day.
(P.S. Check out the merchandise section of the main site too...I'm a fan of all of the crazy cat lady items :-)).
This is the link she sent me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VswBKrPuAQ
Its a video about a place called Caboodle Ranch in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Its things like this that make me miss living in Jacksonville.
Caboodle Ranch is a large piece of property owned by one man who created one of the best cat rescues I've ever seen. The video tells his story (and then his website corrects some of the "facts" from the video), but basically, this guy has devoted every minute of the rest of his life to caring for about 500 cats! I know there are a lot of people out there who would find that crazy, but this is the kind of place that I want to own one day. I'm not stupid and I know that there is no way I can ever care for that many cats on my own right now, or even in the near future. But my dream is to own a non-profit rescue, and after seeing this video I want my place to be similar to this! I was intrigued by the video, but I was completely sucked in when I read his blog. One of their new projects is the creation of a separate confined area for cats that have tested positive for feline leukemia. After having my baby kitten die from leukemia, I've been very in tune to rescues that provide homes for Felv+ cats. Not many do. Most places will have them euthanized as soon as they test positive. I am happy to say though, that it seems like more and more places are accepting these cats, which makes me very happy :-). I was already in love with Caboodle Ranch when I saw the You Tube video, but it sealed the deal for me when I saw they take in the leukemia cats.
So basically I have been sitting here for 2 hours pouring over this man's website, reading his blog and wishing I was back in Jacksonville, since this place is pretty close to where I used to live. I would LOVE to volunteer my time at a place like this.
If anyone feels the need to be a crazy cat lady like me, then check this place out. If you don't feel like being a crazy cat lady, then at least give the place a quick look. Its pretty amazing to me that this man has all of these cats and they are all happy, healthy, social and obviously well cared for. It does say that he has some volunteers, but just knowing that animals rescues and shelters are constantly looking for volunteers, I'm amazed that he can pull this off so well.
So here is the main website:
Caboodle Ranch
There are links to other You Tube videos on the site, but definitely check out the one I posted at the beginning of this post. That's the one that sucked me in.
He also has a blog that can be accessed from the main site, but it shows up in a window inside of the site. So here is the actual link to the blog.
A Day at the Ranch
I personally think this man is truly inspiring to anyone who wants to own and operate a place like this one day.
(P.S. Check out the merchandise section of the main site too...I'm a fan of all of the crazy cat lady items :-)).
Monday, June 15, 2009
Cat Drama
Cat drama...but for once its not mine! :-) Tonight I learned that it IS possible to have more drama in a 1 cat household than in a 9 (10 for now) cat household. Around 8:00 tonight I got a phone call from one of my friends. She was a little upset and asked me if I would go with her to the emergency vet...which, for the record, is 45 minutes away in Mt. Vernon. Of course I said sure. I know she'd help me out with any cat emergency I'd have, plus I feel like rushing cats to the vet every now and then is a normal part of my life.
So why the emergency? Her cat ate some lilies. I didn't know until recently that lilies are HIGHLY poisonous to cats. This same friend told me that when a coworker of hers had a cat eat lilies. I'm thankful that I know this now because I have a few cats who definitely eat any flowers I bring into the house. After tonight I find myself wondering if I ever had lilies around them before, but I'm not sure. Apparently, even licking them can be toxic to them.
So my friend, Mrs. S got lucky tonight. She works at an animal hospital so after calling a friend of hers who is a doctor there, we ended up bringing poor little Gus to the vet right down the road, where she works. 2 of her coworkers came in to help her out so she didn't have to go all the way to Mt. Vernon.
Gus had not only eaten lilies, but he was covered in them. His white fur had turned orange, so somehow he managed to rub lily pollen all over himself and have it stain his fur. After Mrs. S was absolutely sure that she didn't leave any cheetos or cheeze-its laying around, she realized that in a few seconds of leaving a door open, Gus got into the flowers that she had locked away from him.
Gus is a cute little cat, but he has a big attitude problem (although, I guess most cats do). Not only did he just eat lilies, but a few months ago he also ate 15 hair ties (the thick ones) and a shoelace - all of which had to be surgically removed from his stomach. I think Mrs. S was hoping that the emergency issues with her cat were over with but apparently not.
So tonight I learned why vets don't always let you see what they do to your pet. Several years ago, when I was living in North Carolina, the vet I went to took me in the back to show me what she was doing to my Wendy. She also explained to me that they don't usually do that, because owners tend to freak out, panic, and get upset. I kind of understood that, but at the same time, I wondered how people can get upset when someone is just helping your pet. Now I see why. I was fine, and I probably would have been fine even if Gus was MY cat, but I can guarantee that some pet owners would definitely freak out.
Gus is not a very "good" patient. Between his growling and hissing, accompanied by his angry flattened ears, the vet managed to squirt 2 big syringes of hydrogen peroxide down his throat to make him throw up anything in his stomach. He wasn't happy about that at all. When that didn't work, she injected him with something that would make him throw up and also relax him. That didn't work either. He was given a final injection of something, and by this point he was seriously pissed off. It took my friend, the vet and the vet tech to hold him down. Next they had to shave his leg and insert a needle so he can get a fluid IV in him. He definitely wasn't happy about that. More growling, hissing and fighting ensued. Needless to say, the medicines that were supposed to calm him down and make him throw up, weren't doing either. They finally got his leg all set up and it was on to the next step - making him swallow a huge syringe full of charcoal. After a full blown cat fight ensued, even while 3 people were holding him down, they just let go of him. He freaked out, jumped off the table and ran around the clinic in a panic - all with charcoal dripping off of his face. They caught him, and another full blown cat fight ensued. The end result was one ANGRY cat, who was completely covered in charcoal, and 3 people who were also covered in charcoal. At this point they were done with everything they could do, so the put him in a cage, stuck the IV in him, posted a sign on his cage with his name and "Ate lilies :-(" on it, turned off the lights and left. I've never seen a cat look angrier or more confused than he did when we took one last look at him before we left him there for the night.
So my point is...apparently, this cat likes to eat everything in his sight and I think its quite possible that Mrs. S has had more problems with him than I have had with my cat farm. I also learned a good lesson as to why vets don't do things in front of clients. I am willing to bet that if everything that went on tonight was typical, then there is no way in hell anyone would let a client see that. I can just imagine the number of people who would cry if they saw their cat look like poor Gus did tonight. Its probably not very safe to risk assuming which clients can and can't handle watching that happen (and I'm sure this wasn't the worst thing thats ever happened...it seemed pretty calm when I really think about it...but maybe thats just because I know how much cats fight when you try to inject them with something or make them eat something).
On a happy note though, Gus should be perfectly fine. He's not going to be very happy since he is locked in a cage all night with an IV in him, but other than that he'll be fine. And my boring, uneventful night was livened up a little bit from this whole experience :-).
So why the emergency? Her cat ate some lilies. I didn't know until recently that lilies are HIGHLY poisonous to cats. This same friend told me that when a coworker of hers had a cat eat lilies. I'm thankful that I know this now because I have a few cats who definitely eat any flowers I bring into the house. After tonight I find myself wondering if I ever had lilies around them before, but I'm not sure. Apparently, even licking them can be toxic to them.
So my friend, Mrs. S got lucky tonight. She works at an animal hospital so after calling a friend of hers who is a doctor there, we ended up bringing poor little Gus to the vet right down the road, where she works. 2 of her coworkers came in to help her out so she didn't have to go all the way to Mt. Vernon.
Gus had not only eaten lilies, but he was covered in them. His white fur had turned orange, so somehow he managed to rub lily pollen all over himself and have it stain his fur. After Mrs. S was absolutely sure that she didn't leave any cheetos or cheeze-its laying around, she realized that in a few seconds of leaving a door open, Gus got into the flowers that she had locked away from him.
Gus is a cute little cat, but he has a big attitude problem (although, I guess most cats do). Not only did he just eat lilies, but a few months ago he also ate 15 hair ties (the thick ones) and a shoelace - all of which had to be surgically removed from his stomach. I think Mrs. S was hoping that the emergency issues with her cat were over with but apparently not.
So tonight I learned why vets don't always let you see what they do to your pet. Several years ago, when I was living in North Carolina, the vet I went to took me in the back to show me what she was doing to my Wendy. She also explained to me that they don't usually do that, because owners tend to freak out, panic, and get upset. I kind of understood that, but at the same time, I wondered how people can get upset when someone is just helping your pet. Now I see why. I was fine, and I probably would have been fine even if Gus was MY cat, but I can guarantee that some pet owners would definitely freak out.
Gus is not a very "good" patient. Between his growling and hissing, accompanied by his angry flattened ears, the vet managed to squirt 2 big syringes of hydrogen peroxide down his throat to make him throw up anything in his stomach. He wasn't happy about that at all. When that didn't work, she injected him with something that would make him throw up and also relax him. That didn't work either. He was given a final injection of something, and by this point he was seriously pissed off. It took my friend, the vet and the vet tech to hold him down. Next they had to shave his leg and insert a needle so he can get a fluid IV in him. He definitely wasn't happy about that. More growling, hissing and fighting ensued. Needless to say, the medicines that were supposed to calm him down and make him throw up, weren't doing either. They finally got his leg all set up and it was on to the next step - making him swallow a huge syringe full of charcoal. After a full blown cat fight ensued, even while 3 people were holding him down, they just let go of him. He freaked out, jumped off the table and ran around the clinic in a panic - all with charcoal dripping off of his face. They caught him, and another full blown cat fight ensued. The end result was one ANGRY cat, who was completely covered in charcoal, and 3 people who were also covered in charcoal. At this point they were done with everything they could do, so the put him in a cage, stuck the IV in him, posted a sign on his cage with his name and "Ate lilies :-(" on it, turned off the lights and left. I've never seen a cat look angrier or more confused than he did when we took one last look at him before we left him there for the night.
So my point is...apparently, this cat likes to eat everything in his sight and I think its quite possible that Mrs. S has had more problems with him than I have had with my cat farm. I also learned a good lesson as to why vets don't do things in front of clients. I am willing to bet that if everything that went on tonight was typical, then there is no way in hell anyone would let a client see that. I can just imagine the number of people who would cry if they saw their cat look like poor Gus did tonight. Its probably not very safe to risk assuming which clients can and can't handle watching that happen (and I'm sure this wasn't the worst thing thats ever happened...it seemed pretty calm when I really think about it...but maybe thats just because I know how much cats fight when you try to inject them with something or make them eat something).
On a happy note though, Gus should be perfectly fine. He's not going to be very happy since he is locked in a cage all night with an IV in him, but other than that he'll be fine. And my boring, uneventful night was livened up a little bit from this whole experience :-).
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Twilight Insanity
This is a WAAAYY outdated post, but I wanted to play catch up.
About 5 weeks ago (maybe 6?) 3 friends and I took a day trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. The point of the trip was to get out and have fun, and also see the town where the movie Twilight takes place. It should probably be noted that Twilight wasn't actually filmed in Forks, but apparently the residents of the town don't care.
I knew that Forks had embraced the fact that their town is where Twilight is based. I knew that they were welcoming to tourists who came to see the town, simply because they saw the movie. I never dreamed that they were as insane as they were! I don't think there is any way to possibly imagine the insanity that is taking place in this town right now.
We started out the day by hopping on the ferry to Port Townsend. We had breakfast at a cute little bakery/restaurant in Port Townsend (and I wish I could remember the name of it), then we headed off to the Olympic National Park. We spent some time hiking up to a beautiful waterfall and then admiring the crystal clear blue water in a nearby lake. We were lucky in the fact that we picked a perfect day to go sightseeing and exploring. It was bright and sunny and didn't rain a single drop while we were there!
Then we were off to the insanity that is the city of Forks (although why its called a city is beyond me).
Upon arriving in the town we were excited to see the "The City of Forks Welcomes You" sign. This identical sign is in the movie, because the movie copied it, not because its the actual sign. But it was still exciting to see. (Mrs. M decided that she was going to be a vampire in the first picture.)
What greeted us after the welcome sign was where the insanity began. Hotels with signs saying "Edward Cullen DIDN'T sleep here" (I guess because he doesn't sleep?), stores with signs that say "Bella shops here", and tons of signs to welcome vampires and Twilight fans. (You may have to click on some of the pictures to enlarge them to see what they say.)
Our first stop was the visitor's center to see what there was to actually do in this tiny little town. It turns out that there is PLENTY to do, because they have created an official Twilight tour, complete with an official Twilight map. We got to the visitor's center with perfect timing. The Twilight tour bus (yes, there's actually a tour bus) had just arrived and it was filled with screaming ,shrieking middle school girls, and their mothers, who were also screaming and shrieking. We calmly got out of our car, while they raced off of their bus. As soon as they ran into us we were bombarded with questions of "What team are you on? Edward or Jacob?", followed by them being completely horrified when 2 of the ladies I was with told them that they didn't know what they were talking about. (One hadn't read the book and was just along for the ride, and the other didn't know the difference between Team Edward and Team Jacob). Picture a little kid finding out that his dog just died, and that was what these kids looked like when we proved to not be quite as obsessed as they were. I have to admit that I personally was very excited to be there, but these kids were crazy!
Once we were inside the visitor's center we were greeted by a woman who was WAAAYYY too super happy and excited to be telling us about the town. First we had to look at the visitor's center. The following pictures should show you exactly what there is in this town - nothing...except Twilight:
(they even have a Twilight look alike contest)
Outside of the visitor's center was Bella's truck (of course) and it doesn't matter that this isn't really the truck from the movie. People were still beyond thrilled to see it, so of course we needed a picture by it (and I have no idea who the little girl in the back of the picture is).
Upon leaving the visitor's center, we took the super happy, excited lady's map and went in search of the Swan house. According the the lady, this is just a regular house, that a regular family lives in. Its not the house from the movie. In fact, it doesn't even look like the house from the movie, but they have declared it the Swan household. She actually said something like "Don't worry. There are people living there but you can stop and take as many pictures as you'd like." So apparently, this crazy family loves having people take pictures of their house all day long, just because they put a sign outside saying that its Bella's house.
Next on the map was the Cullen household. This house was claimed by a local bed and breakfast that looks NOTHING like the house in the movie and really doesn't fit the description of the house in the book either. But their mailbox says "Cullen" on it, so it was added to the tour! On the porch of the house is a sign that is updated every single day by the woman who owns the place. People in town need to know where the Cullens are at all times, so this message board is helpful for that.
The next stop was one we avoided. Since the Cullens really live in Forks (according to the visitor's center...they are real), Dr. Cullen needs his own parking spot at the hospital. This is also on the official tour. We skipped it though because when we got to the hospital we saw how small it was. To drive in and see a parking spot for a fictional character means that you have to block the entrance to the ER. We thought that was a little ridiculous, so we kept driving. We did take a picture of a replica of the sign in a local tourist shop.
Of course, Forks High School is on the tour. Never mind again that this isn't the school that was used in the movie. And never mind that school is actually in session. The official tour tells you to stop here and take a picture. If you look closely, you'll see that all of the windows have shades over them. I imagine it gets pretty annoying to be in school, only to look outside and see people taking pictures of you all day long.
After going on this tour, we headed out of Forks and into La Push. As fans of the book and movie will know, there is a treaty line on the edge of the Quileute Indian Reservation. Not to be outdone by the town of Forks, this is what you drive into as you enter La Push:
A positive thing about this insanity is that it has to be good for local businesses. The Forks' visitor's center recommended a restaurant to us to eat at and I can honestly say that I never would have stopped there if someone hadn't told me to. It was a run down, hole in the wall, tiny little place that was part of a mobile home park/campground. It looked sketchy and I admit we were a little afraid of eating there when we saw it, but the lady said it was great so we tried it! And she was right. It was probably the best lunch of eaten in a while. And of course, since the restaurant sits on the treaty line, they have to serve Twilight themed food.
La Push was just as insane as Forks. We went to the beach (which is absolutely beautiful and worth the trip even if you hate Twilight) and found "I love EC" written in the sand. Next to it was "I love J". So of course I took pictures.
La Push is obviously Team Jacob, and at the local gas station convenience store they reminded us of this (I love how they have the "Team Jacob" sign over the garlic.). Outside of the store, they had "Bella's Bulletin Board", and I thought some of the things written on it was interesting and amusing.
So if you're up for a day of insanity then definitely head out to Forks! We had a blast while we were there, and even if I had no idea what Twilight was all about, I still think it would have been a fun day. La Push is beautiful and I'd go back there in a second just to relax on the beach. Its definitely a day trip worth taking :-).
About 5 weeks ago (maybe 6?) 3 friends and I took a day trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. The point of the trip was to get out and have fun, and also see the town where the movie Twilight takes place. It should probably be noted that Twilight wasn't actually filmed in Forks, but apparently the residents of the town don't care.
I knew that Forks had embraced the fact that their town is where Twilight is based. I knew that they were welcoming to tourists who came to see the town, simply because they saw the movie. I never dreamed that they were as insane as they were! I don't think there is any way to possibly imagine the insanity that is taking place in this town right now.
We started out the day by hopping on the ferry to Port Townsend. We had breakfast at a cute little bakery/restaurant in Port Townsend (and I wish I could remember the name of it), then we headed off to the Olympic National Park. We spent some time hiking up to a beautiful waterfall and then admiring the crystal clear blue water in a nearby lake. We were lucky in the fact that we picked a perfect day to go sightseeing and exploring. It was bright and sunny and didn't rain a single drop while we were there!
Then we were off to the insanity that is the city of Forks (although why its called a city is beyond me).
Upon arriving in the town we were excited to see the "The City of Forks Welcomes You" sign. This identical sign is in the movie, because the movie copied it, not because its the actual sign. But it was still exciting to see. (Mrs. M decided that she was going to be a vampire in the first picture.)
What greeted us after the welcome sign was where the insanity began. Hotels with signs saying "Edward Cullen DIDN'T sleep here" (I guess because he doesn't sleep?), stores with signs that say "Bella shops here", and tons of signs to welcome vampires and Twilight fans. (You may have to click on some of the pictures to enlarge them to see what they say.)
Our first stop was the visitor's center to see what there was to actually do in this tiny little town. It turns out that there is PLENTY to do, because they have created an official Twilight tour, complete with an official Twilight map. We got to the visitor's center with perfect timing. The Twilight tour bus (yes, there's actually a tour bus) had just arrived and it was filled with screaming ,shrieking middle school girls, and their mothers, who were also screaming and shrieking. We calmly got out of our car, while they raced off of their bus. As soon as they ran into us we were bombarded with questions of "What team are you on? Edward or Jacob?", followed by them being completely horrified when 2 of the ladies I was with told them that they didn't know what they were talking about. (One hadn't read the book and was just along for the ride, and the other didn't know the difference between Team Edward and Team Jacob). Picture a little kid finding out that his dog just died, and that was what these kids looked like when we proved to not be quite as obsessed as they were. I have to admit that I personally was very excited to be there, but these kids were crazy!
Once we were inside the visitor's center we were greeted by a woman who was WAAAYYY too super happy and excited to be telling us about the town. First we had to look at the visitor's center. The following pictures should show you exactly what there is in this town - nothing...except Twilight:
(they even have a Twilight look alike contest)The super happy, excited lady gave us some facts about the town.
First...every single police officer in town will answer to the name Charlie. This is a picture of the real chief of police and if you look closely, it gives his name, followed by "aka Charlie Swan" (and thats Stephanie Meyer in the picture with him).
First...every single police officer in town will answer to the name Charlie. This is a picture of the real chief of police and if you look closely, it gives his name, followed by "aka Charlie Swan" (and thats Stephanie Meyer in the picture with him).
Outside of the visitor's center was Bella's truck (of course) and it doesn't matter that this isn't really the truck from the movie. People were still beyond thrilled to see it, so of course we needed a picture by it (and I have no idea who the little girl in the back of the picture is).
Upon leaving the visitor's center, we took the super happy, excited lady's map and went in search of the Swan house. According the the lady, this is just a regular house, that a regular family lives in. Its not the house from the movie. In fact, it doesn't even look like the house from the movie, but they have declared it the Swan household. She actually said something like "Don't worry. There are people living there but you can stop and take as many pictures as you'd like." So apparently, this crazy family loves having people take pictures of their house all day long, just because they put a sign outside saying that its Bella's house.
Next on the map was the Cullen household. This house was claimed by a local bed and breakfast that looks NOTHING like the house in the movie and really doesn't fit the description of the house in the book either. But their mailbox says "Cullen" on it, so it was added to the tour! On the porch of the house is a sign that is updated every single day by the woman who owns the place. People in town need to know where the Cullens are at all times, so this message board is helpful for that.
The next stop was one we avoided. Since the Cullens really live in Forks (according to the visitor's center...they are real), Dr. Cullen needs his own parking spot at the hospital. This is also on the official tour. We skipped it though because when we got to the hospital we saw how small it was. To drive in and see a parking spot for a fictional character means that you have to block the entrance to the ER. We thought that was a little ridiculous, so we kept driving. We did take a picture of a replica of the sign in a local tourist shop.
Of course, Forks High School is on the tour. Never mind again that this isn't the school that was used in the movie. And never mind that school is actually in session. The official tour tells you to stop here and take a picture. If you look closely, you'll see that all of the windows have shades over them. I imagine it gets pretty annoying to be in school, only to look outside and see people taking pictures of you all day long.
After going on this tour, we headed out of Forks and into La Push. As fans of the book and movie will know, there is a treaty line on the edge of the Quileute Indian Reservation. Not to be outdone by the town of Forks, this is what you drive into as you enter La Push:
A positive thing about this insanity is that it has to be good for local businesses. The Forks' visitor's center recommended a restaurant to us to eat at and I can honestly say that I never would have stopped there if someone hadn't told me to. It was a run down, hole in the wall, tiny little place that was part of a mobile home park/campground. It looked sketchy and I admit we were a little afraid of eating there when we saw it, but the lady said it was great so we tried it! And she was right. It was probably the best lunch of eaten in a while. And of course, since the restaurant sits on the treaty line, they have to serve Twilight themed food.
La Push was just as insane as Forks. We went to the beach (which is absolutely beautiful and worth the trip even if you hate Twilight) and found "I love EC" written in the sand. Next to it was "I love J". So of course I took pictures.
La Push is obviously Team Jacob, and at the local gas station convenience store they reminded us of this (I love how they have the "Team Jacob" sign over the garlic.). Outside of the store, they had "Bella's Bulletin Board", and I thought some of the things written on it was interesting and amusing.
So if you're up for a day of insanity then definitely head out to Forks! We had a blast while we were there, and even if I had no idea what Twilight was all about, I still think it would have been a fun day. La Push is beautiful and I'd go back there in a second just to relax on the beach. Its definitely a day trip worth taking :-).
Monday, June 8, 2009
Deployment Blues
I think it finally hit me that my husband is gone for the rest of the year. Everyone that I have talked to who has been through a deployment before warned me that this would happen. I was told that one day it would all hit me and I'd be sad, lonely and miserable for a while, until something clicked and I became ok again. Well...I'm ready to be ok again :-(.
When Mr. V first left, I was devastated as I mentioned in a post from a few weeks ago. I cried my eyes out and thought I'd never be ok and never survive this deployment. Then about 2 days later, I was fine. I felt happy. I felt normal. I was keeping myself busy and getting into a routine and I was fine. I was hoping to avoid that day when it would all sink in and I'd get upset again. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to avoid it.
This past Thursday my sister-in-law came into town. I knew that she was coming, but originally I thought she was coming later in the month. She is doing a summer study program in Alaska. She had to fly into Seattle and then get to Bellingham to get on a boat to Alaska. After talking to her, I learned that each student was responsible for finding their way to the boat. Once they got to the boat then their travel plans were secure, but before that it was up to each individual person to find a way to get where they were going. So SIL asked me if I could pick her up at the airport, then spend the night at my house and then drive her to Bellingham the next day. Of course I said sure!
I picked her up at the airport late Thursday night. We spent a good 2 hours talking in the car and then we crashed and fell asleep. The next day we lounged around the house in the morning, then I took her to Deception Pass around noon, and then we were off to Bellingham.
Bellingham itself was an adventure, because I had no idea that there was a waterfront there. (Yes it makes perfect sense that there is a waterfront there, but I'm still lacking some basic knowledge of Washington geography.) Of course we didn't think to bring directions with us. We knew what street we had to get to and google maps made it look like the street was right off of the interstate. It wasn't. Of course. Needless to say, we had quite the adventure driving around Bellingham trying to find our way to the boat. We found the waterfront and we found lots of boats, but apparently to get to the Alaska ferry you actually have to leave the waterfront area, drive through the University area, then loop around back to the waterfront (google maps was NOT helpful with that information). We did get a nice tour of the city though :-). SIL had to be at the boat at 3:30pm. We got there at 4:00. A phone call to her teacher assured us that other people were only just arriving and the boat didn't leave until 6:00 so we were good. So after our driving adventure, we got to the boat, got her bags out of the car and got her checked in. When I said goodbye to her, is when the reality of my life hit me.
I'm not sure what caused it, but I got back into my car and started crying :'-(. I had this overwhelming sense of loneliness and I didn't understand why. She was with me for less than 24 hours and we had fun while she was here. I had this weird feeling that I missed her and I was upset because I knew that she didn't miss me. Then logic started working and I realized that I could care less that she was gone. I don't mean that in a mean way. I had fun with her and I would have gladly hung out with her longer, but I think my logic was that I wasn't missing HER, I was missing her brother, my husband. I'm not sure if that even makes sense. Mr. V isn't even all that close with his sisters, but this particular sister is more like him than the other 2. There were a few things that she said and did in the short time she was with me that reminded me of him. Little things like saying that the air at Deception Pass smelled clean and fresh. Mr. V says that all the time and I laugh at him because I'm kind of sick of hearing it :-). When she said the exact same thing it was like he was with me...but he wasn't. I guess in a way, she was my connection to him in a completely illogical way, so when she left, I found myself missing him more than I had before I even picked his sister up from the airport.
I've been ok since then, but the sadness hasn't gone away. I'm thankful that I'm not so depressed that I can't function. The idea of that happening scares me, especially because thats the way I felt the day he left. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I can handle normal sadness, but it still sucks.
Then today, I got my anniversary present in the mail from him. I knew from the moment he checked into his squadron here that we wouldn't be able to celebrate our 1st anniversary together, and I thought I was ok with that. I WAS ok with that until this sadness started creeping back and until I got his present in the mail today. When we got married a year ago (a year as of this Sunday - June 14th), we had a very simple wedding, which was the way I wanted it. I only had 2 things that I absolutely HAD to have in my wedding. I wanted yellow daisies. I wanted a sword arch. Anything else I didn't really care. I'd offer my opinion on other things, but the 2 things I was dead set on were the yellow daisies and the sword arch. Of course it figures, that we had the world's worst photographer and our sword arch pictures came out horrible. Everyone is in a horrible shadow that even someone who takes pictures just for fun, would have been able to figure out. When Mr. V had asked the photographer to turn the sword arch around so we wouldn't be in shadows, she got snippy with him and said that she knew what she was doing. Well..clearly she didn't because our pictures didn't come out good. The sword arch pictures were the ONLY pictures that I really cared about. I just wanted one picture to enlarge and frame and I don't have one that is good enough to do that.
Ironically, the day that I received my present from Mr. V, I had spent the afternoon at a camera store getting one of the sword arch pictures sent out to be touched up by professional people who can hopefully get rid of the bad shadow. My fingers are crossed that they'll be able to do it and I'll have my framable picture. Anyway, my present from Mr. V was the sweetest and most loving present I have ever gotten. He spent hours hand drawing the picture that I wanted so badly. Since the first anniversary gift is traditionally paper, he gave me a piece of paper, with his hand drawn picture of our sword arch. He took the actual picture and copied it in full detail into his own artwork. I knew he had artistic talent, but I didn't know he was able to draw this well at all. I've never been a person who needs or wants extravagant gifts, and thankfully he knows that because this picture means more to me than any store bought gift would. I'd say more about it, but he's getting a thank you letter from me, so I don't want him to read everything I have to say right now, in my blog.
Getting that picture made me even sadder though :-(. I loved it, but that is when reality hit me again. We won't be together for our 1st anniversary, and while I thought I was ok with that originally, I guess I'm really not. Obviously, there is nothing I can do about it, but it still just hurts. I'm sure I'll spend more time crying over this as the week goes on and we approach our actual anniversary.
I'm sorry that this post isn't a very happy one, but I guess I'm just not a very happy person right now. I miss my husband...a lot. I know that this will pass and I'll get back into a routine. I just hope that it passes quickly. I know I'll still miss him, but I hate feeling this sad about it :-(.
When Mr. V first left, I was devastated as I mentioned in a post from a few weeks ago. I cried my eyes out and thought I'd never be ok and never survive this deployment. Then about 2 days later, I was fine. I felt happy. I felt normal. I was keeping myself busy and getting into a routine and I was fine. I was hoping to avoid that day when it would all sink in and I'd get upset again. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to avoid it.
This past Thursday my sister-in-law came into town. I knew that she was coming, but originally I thought she was coming later in the month. She is doing a summer study program in Alaska. She had to fly into Seattle and then get to Bellingham to get on a boat to Alaska. After talking to her, I learned that each student was responsible for finding their way to the boat. Once they got to the boat then their travel plans were secure, but before that it was up to each individual person to find a way to get where they were going. So SIL asked me if I could pick her up at the airport, then spend the night at my house and then drive her to Bellingham the next day. Of course I said sure!
I picked her up at the airport late Thursday night. We spent a good 2 hours talking in the car and then we crashed and fell asleep. The next day we lounged around the house in the morning, then I took her to Deception Pass around noon, and then we were off to Bellingham.
Bellingham itself was an adventure, because I had no idea that there was a waterfront there. (Yes it makes perfect sense that there is a waterfront there, but I'm still lacking some basic knowledge of Washington geography.) Of course we didn't think to bring directions with us. We knew what street we had to get to and google maps made it look like the street was right off of the interstate. It wasn't. Of course. Needless to say, we had quite the adventure driving around Bellingham trying to find our way to the boat. We found the waterfront and we found lots of boats, but apparently to get to the Alaska ferry you actually have to leave the waterfront area, drive through the University area, then loop around back to the waterfront (google maps was NOT helpful with that information). We did get a nice tour of the city though :-). SIL had to be at the boat at 3:30pm. We got there at 4:00. A phone call to her teacher assured us that other people were only just arriving and the boat didn't leave until 6:00 so we were good. So after our driving adventure, we got to the boat, got her bags out of the car and got her checked in. When I said goodbye to her, is when the reality of my life hit me.
I'm not sure what caused it, but I got back into my car and started crying :'-(. I had this overwhelming sense of loneliness and I didn't understand why. She was with me for less than 24 hours and we had fun while she was here. I had this weird feeling that I missed her and I was upset because I knew that she didn't miss me. Then logic started working and I realized that I could care less that she was gone. I don't mean that in a mean way. I had fun with her and I would have gladly hung out with her longer, but I think my logic was that I wasn't missing HER, I was missing her brother, my husband. I'm not sure if that even makes sense. Mr. V isn't even all that close with his sisters, but this particular sister is more like him than the other 2. There were a few things that she said and did in the short time she was with me that reminded me of him. Little things like saying that the air at Deception Pass smelled clean and fresh. Mr. V says that all the time and I laugh at him because I'm kind of sick of hearing it :-). When she said the exact same thing it was like he was with me...but he wasn't. I guess in a way, she was my connection to him in a completely illogical way, so when she left, I found myself missing him more than I had before I even picked his sister up from the airport.
I've been ok since then, but the sadness hasn't gone away. I'm thankful that I'm not so depressed that I can't function. The idea of that happening scares me, especially because thats the way I felt the day he left. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I can handle normal sadness, but it still sucks.
Then today, I got my anniversary present in the mail from him. I knew from the moment he checked into his squadron here that we wouldn't be able to celebrate our 1st anniversary together, and I thought I was ok with that. I WAS ok with that until this sadness started creeping back and until I got his present in the mail today. When we got married a year ago (a year as of this Sunday - June 14th), we had a very simple wedding, which was the way I wanted it. I only had 2 things that I absolutely HAD to have in my wedding. I wanted yellow daisies. I wanted a sword arch. Anything else I didn't really care. I'd offer my opinion on other things, but the 2 things I was dead set on were the yellow daisies and the sword arch. Of course it figures, that we had the world's worst photographer and our sword arch pictures came out horrible. Everyone is in a horrible shadow that even someone who takes pictures just for fun, would have been able to figure out. When Mr. V had asked the photographer to turn the sword arch around so we wouldn't be in shadows, she got snippy with him and said that she knew what she was doing. Well..clearly she didn't because our pictures didn't come out good. The sword arch pictures were the ONLY pictures that I really cared about. I just wanted one picture to enlarge and frame and I don't have one that is good enough to do that.
Ironically, the day that I received my present from Mr. V, I had spent the afternoon at a camera store getting one of the sword arch pictures sent out to be touched up by professional people who can hopefully get rid of the bad shadow. My fingers are crossed that they'll be able to do it and I'll have my framable picture. Anyway, my present from Mr. V was the sweetest and most loving present I have ever gotten. He spent hours hand drawing the picture that I wanted so badly. Since the first anniversary gift is traditionally paper, he gave me a piece of paper, with his hand drawn picture of our sword arch. He took the actual picture and copied it in full detail into his own artwork. I knew he had artistic talent, but I didn't know he was able to draw this well at all. I've never been a person who needs or wants extravagant gifts, and thankfully he knows that because this picture means more to me than any store bought gift would. I'd say more about it, but he's getting a thank you letter from me, so I don't want him to read everything I have to say right now, in my blog.
Getting that picture made me even sadder though :-(. I loved it, but that is when reality hit me again. We won't be together for our 1st anniversary, and while I thought I was ok with that originally, I guess I'm really not. Obviously, there is nothing I can do about it, but it still just hurts. I'm sure I'll spend more time crying over this as the week goes on and we approach our actual anniversary.
I'm sorry that this post isn't a very happy one, but I guess I'm just not a very happy person right now. I miss my husband...a lot. I know that this will pass and I'll get back into a routine. I just hope that it passes quickly. I know I'll still miss him, but I hate feeling this sad about it :-(.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Cattitude
As usual life with a house full of cats is always entertaining. Two days ago I reached the conclusion that the cats are determined to drive me out of my mind. One of the "joys" about living in the Pacific Northwest is that most houses don't come with air conditioners. When I questioned people about this I was told that the weather rarely gets hot enough to need an air conditioner. So far I have yet to see this logic. When we moved here last August it was hot enough for air conditioning for almost the entire month. Being from New Jersey, having the summer end in August is normal to me, but I thought that it was just a fluke...because thats what the locals said. Fast forward to the past 2 weeks. Its June and temperatures have gotten up to 80 degrees with lots of sunlight and lots of humidity. For my husband, who is from Louisiana, thats not hot. For me, thats hot and definitely air conditioning weather. But of course, we don't have an air conditioner. We have windows, screen doors and ceiling fans.
When the heat started getting to be a little too much for me to handle, I did what any logical person would do. I opened the front door so only the screen door was closed. I opened our back sliding glass door an left the sliding screen door closed. Then I opened all the windows.
Last year I learned that one of my cats is capable of opening our sliding screen door. I had a friend over the day I opened everything and both of us paid very close attention to the cats and to every open door and window. I should have realized right away that you can never pay enough attention to these cats.
My friend and I went out to buy ice cream. Before we left I said that we had to close everything up so the cats wouldn't get out. Too late. My friend walked into the kitchen and realized that the screen door was open. How long had it been open? We had no idea. We rushed outside to find 4 of the cats wandering around my backyard and one of them strolling along the top of the fence. I was slightly panicked, but thankfully they must not completely hate me because they raced back into the house pretty quickly when they saw me. The one on the fence, Marmalade was a little harder to get, but overall it was an easy fix to the breakout. The bigger problem was when we got back in the house. We had to count the cats because we weren't sure if any had run away from the yard. We counted 9...then searched and searched for the 10th one. We did eventually find him...sleeping in the far corner of the closet.
The next day, I thought I was being smart. I opened the windows, but kept the screen door closed. Well...not so smart. After cleaning the house all day in the heat and humidity, I felt gross and went to take a shower. Thank God that I had no towels in the bathroom. If I did, I would have lost more cats. I walked out of the bathroom to get some towels and through the open window in my bedroom I heard a little voice say "Heeeyyy kitty! Where did you come from?" I had a moment of stupidity where I thought "He can't possibly be talking about MY cat!" Then the little voice spoke again, "Mommy look! A kitty cat! Where did you come from kitty? Ohhhhh the window!" That got my attention. I raced to the bedroom window and what did I see? Marmalade was strolling along the top of the fence again. The little kid next door had climbed up on his side of the fence and was talking to him. I guess when the kid got to the top of the fence he was able to look into my yard and see the window that had a screen popped out of it. I am thankful this kid had a loud voice and that I heard him at just the right time!
I raced outside again to get Marmalade off the fence. This time he didn't come back as easily. He hopped over the fence, into my front yard (at least it wasn't the neighbors yard). So I ran back into the house to meet him out front. As I ran back in the house, I noticed that another one of my cats, Oreo was wandering around the other side of my backyard. I got to the front of the house and saw Marmalade. He also saw me, and then hopped back over the fence to the backyard. I ran through the house again. (The lock on our gate is really hard to open so it was faster to run through the house.) I managed to grab him from the backyard this time, usher Oreo back into the house at the same time and push Sheena back into the window (she had started to climb out the window at this point), all at the same time. Once inside, I closed the window. Then I closed every other window. The windows stayed closed all day yesterday even though it was still hot out.
Today I woke up to clouds and cooler weather and I have never been happier to not have sun in Washington! Mr,. V received a very prompt email from me telling him that I need to buy some type of air conditioner because monitoring the windows 24/7 is simply not going to work for me.
When the heat started getting to be a little too much for me to handle, I did what any logical person would do. I opened the front door so only the screen door was closed. I opened our back sliding glass door an left the sliding screen door closed. Then I opened all the windows.
Last year I learned that one of my cats is capable of opening our sliding screen door. I had a friend over the day I opened everything and both of us paid very close attention to the cats and to every open door and window. I should have realized right away that you can never pay enough attention to these cats.
My friend and I went out to buy ice cream. Before we left I said that we had to close everything up so the cats wouldn't get out. Too late. My friend walked into the kitchen and realized that the screen door was open. How long had it been open? We had no idea. We rushed outside to find 4 of the cats wandering around my backyard and one of them strolling along the top of the fence. I was slightly panicked, but thankfully they must not completely hate me because they raced back into the house pretty quickly when they saw me. The one on the fence, Marmalade was a little harder to get, but overall it was an easy fix to the breakout. The bigger problem was when we got back in the house. We had to count the cats because we weren't sure if any had run away from the yard. We counted 9...then searched and searched for the 10th one. We did eventually find him...sleeping in the far corner of the closet.
The next day, I thought I was being smart. I opened the windows, but kept the screen door closed. Well...not so smart. After cleaning the house all day in the heat and humidity, I felt gross and went to take a shower. Thank God that I had no towels in the bathroom. If I did, I would have lost more cats. I walked out of the bathroom to get some towels and through the open window in my bedroom I heard a little voice say "Heeeyyy kitty! Where did you come from?" I had a moment of stupidity where I thought "He can't possibly be talking about MY cat!" Then the little voice spoke again, "Mommy look! A kitty cat! Where did you come from kitty? Ohhhhh the window!" That got my attention. I raced to the bedroom window and what did I see? Marmalade was strolling along the top of the fence again. The little kid next door had climbed up on his side of the fence and was talking to him. I guess when the kid got to the top of the fence he was able to look into my yard and see the window that had a screen popped out of it. I am thankful this kid had a loud voice and that I heard him at just the right time!
I raced outside again to get Marmalade off the fence. This time he didn't come back as easily. He hopped over the fence, into my front yard (at least it wasn't the neighbors yard). So I ran back into the house to meet him out front. As I ran back in the house, I noticed that another one of my cats, Oreo was wandering around the other side of my backyard. I got to the front of the house and saw Marmalade. He also saw me, and then hopped back over the fence to the backyard. I ran through the house again. (The lock on our gate is really hard to open so it was faster to run through the house.) I managed to grab him from the backyard this time, usher Oreo back into the house at the same time and push Sheena back into the window (she had started to climb out the window at this point), all at the same time. Once inside, I closed the window. Then I closed every other window. The windows stayed closed all day yesterday even though it was still hot out.
Today I woke up to clouds and cooler weather and I have never been happier to not have sun in Washington! Mr,. V received a very prompt email from me telling him that I need to buy some type of air conditioner because monitoring the windows 24/7 is simply not going to work for me.
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